Geography

The most north-westerly country in the European Union, the island of Ireland is 480 kilometres long and 305 kilometres wide. It is battered from the west by the Atlantic Ocean and lapped from the east by the choppy Irish Sea.

Ireland is divided into 32 counties, including the six British-controlled counties in Northern Ireland, and four provinces - Ulster, Leinster, Connacht, and Munster.

The centre of the country, or midland area, is dominated by limestone lowland, while the coasts are generally more mountainous. Glaciation has shaped the landscape, with a resultant smoothing of the coastal mountains and the deposit of large volumes of clay and sand in the central plain.

Flowing from north to south is the Shannon, the longest river in Ireland and Britain. Nearly half of the Shannon above the estuary comprises three lakes; Lough Allen, Lough Ree and Lough Derg. All Ireland's principal rivers flow from the plain and an interior canal system facilitates transportation.

The highest mountain in Ireland, Carrantuohill in the MacGillicuddy's Reeks range, stands at 1,041 metres (3,419 ft) and is located in the south-western county of Kerry.

Other prominent mountain ranges are the Nephin Beg range in the west with Mount Nephin at 719m (2,359 ft); the Caha Mountains in the south-west with Mount Knockboy, 707m (2,321 ft); the Boggaragh Mountains in the south; rising to 640m (2,100 ft) and the Wicklow Mountains in the east, reaching more than 915m (more than 3,000 ft).

Among the many wonders of the Irish landscape is the Burren, Co Clare, in the mid-west of the country. The Burren, meaning 'great rock', is described by geologists as 'Karst', after a similar Slovenian formation. It is a strange lunar-like region of bare carboniferous limestone, occupying 250 square kilometres north-west of Lisdoonvarna. The Burren is known for its rare alpine flowers and spectacular caves, streams, potholes and 'turloughs' (seasonal lakes).

Dublin city is located midway between north and south on the east coast of Ireland, in Leinster. As the Dublin metropolitan area increases in density on the approach to the coast, it is split by the River Liffey, which creates a natural north/south division. The city centre's perimeter is traced by the Royal Canal to the north and the Grand Canal to the south, while the Liffey, Dodder and Tolka are the rivers of note.