by Night Strike on Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:49 pm
Round 8: British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain and Ireland, and numerous smaller islands. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ireland. There are about 136 permanently inhabited islands in the group, the largest two being Great Britain and Ireland. The islands are at relatively low altitudes. The Scottish Highlands in the northern part of Great Britain are mountainous. Other mountainous areas include Wales and parts of the island of Ireland. Lakes on the islands are generally not large, neither are rivers particularly long. The English Channel and the southern North Sea are the busiest seaways in the world. The Channel Tunnel, opened 1994, links Great Britain to France and is the second-longest rail tunnel in the world.
The Isles have a long shared history. Even though they are one of the smallest areas in our trip, it has some of the most interesting sights. These include Hadrian’s Wall in northern England (built by the Romans in 122 and still used today as a bike trail), Westminster Palace in London (including the palace and Big Ben), Stonehenge, Loch Ness in Scotland, and Dublin University in Ireland.
This is the next to last leg of the race, and we are down to our final 6 teams. Half will be eliminated, so I hope you’ve stored up enough tiebreaker points throughout the tournament.