The Isle of Man is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical center of the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but external relations, defense, and ultimate good-governance of the Isle of Man are the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom.
The island was a Celtic community which came under the rule of the Norse in 1079. This has left a legacy from the Tynwald government to many place names. After a period of alternating rule by the Kings of England and Scotland, the Manx came under the feudal over lordship of the English Crown. The lordship revested to the British Crown in 1764 but the island never became part of the United Kingdom. This accounts for its current position as a Crown dependency.
The Isle of Man is not a part of the European Union, but because of Protocol 3 of the Treaty of Accession in 1972, there does exist the free movement of goods between the two entities. As well as the main island of Man itself, the Isle of Man includes some nearby small islands: the partially inhabited Calf of Man, and the uninhabited Chicken Rock and St. Patrick's Isle.
The Isle of Man is located geographically in the middle of the Irish Sea, which is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by St George's Channel between Ireland and Wales and Cornwall to the south and by the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland.
The Isle of Man is part of the British Isles, an archipelago off the north-western coast of mainland Europe. The island lies in the Irish Sea, approximately equidistant between England, Scotland and Ireland.
Approximately 32 miles (48 km) long and between 8 and 15 miles (13 and 24 km) wide, the island has an area of around 221 square miles (572 kmē).
Hills in the north and south are bisected by a central valley. The extreme north is exceptionally flat, consisting mainly of deposits built up by deposition from glacial advances from Western Scotland during colder times. There are more recently deposited shingle beaches at the Point of Ayre. It has only one mountain higher than two thousand feet (610 m), Snaefell, with a height of 2,036 feet (621 m). According to an old saying, from the summit one can see six kingdoms: those of Mann, Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, and Heaven. Some versions add a seventh kingdom, that of Neptune or the Sea. | 
