Most people have heard of Ireland. It is a small island located to the east of the Atlantic Ocean, and is separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea (Ireland 1). Ireland is considered by some to be one of the greenest and most beautiful countries in the world. Its rolling plains and lush, rain-soaked landscape make it a dream destination. It also has beautiful stone castles that still stand after hundreds of years of wear and tear. Overall, Ireland is a beautiful and culturally rich country that has much history to share with the world. Geography The geography of Ireland is a thing of beauty. From endless grassy pastures that would put any garden to shame, to the craggy, rocky cliffs overlooking the ocean, nothing can compare to the sheer beauty of the Irish countryside. The entire country of Ireland is shaped like a basin, with mountains comprising much of the frame. However, the mountains are quite low, the highest only reaching about 3,145 feet high (Ireland 1). Ireland's largest and longest river is the River Shannon, which flows north to south and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Shannon brought many industries to Ireland, such as fishing and electricity. The size of the entire country is actually only half that of the US state of Arkansas, which is much smaller than it appears (Ireland 1). The capital of Ireland is Dublin, a fairly large city located in the north-east of the island. An estimate of what the entire Irish population will be in July 2014 says it is expected to be around 4,832,765 people (Ireland 2). Something a lot of people don't know about Ireland is that it's basically divided into different parts... middle of the paper... presenter, October 15, 2011. Web. May 12, 2014."Ireland." Central intelligence agency. Central intelligence agency. Network. 07 May 2014."Ireland." Please® information database. Pearson Education, Inc, 2008. Web. May 9, 2014. .Kirk, Robin. "City of Walls". Student Research Center. EBSCOhost, Fall 2011. Web. May 15, 2014. "List of Irish Writers." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, October 5, 2014. Web. May 16, 2014. McNally, Frank. "The Diary of an Irishman." Student Research Center. EBSCOhost, December 9, 2009. Web. May 12, 2014. Owens, Coilin D., and Peter C. Holloran. "William Butler Yeats." Literary Reference Center Plus. Critical Survey of Drama, Second Revised Edition, 2003. Web. May 14, 2014. Powell, Kersti Tarien. "Chapter Four: The Best and Most Known." Literary reference center. Irish Fiction: An Introduction, 2004. Web. 14 May 2014.