The British Isles
British Isles, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. Geographically, they consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland, and numerous smaller ones, including the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, and those of the Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland, and Scilly Islands. Politically, virtually all the islands are part of either the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are dependencies of the United Kingdom but not officially part of it.