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Europe. European Geographical Facts. Europe is the world’s 6 th largest continent, making up 6.5% of the earth’s total land area. Europe is the 3 rd most populous continent, with a population of around 739 million. Europe is the northwestern peninsula of the “supercontinent” Eurasia .
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European Geographical Facts • Europe is the world’s 6th largest continent, making up 6.5% of the earth’s total land area. • Europe is the 3rd most populous continent, with a population of around 739 million. • Europe is the northwestern peninsula of the “supercontinent” Eurasia. • Europe and Asia are divided by the Ural Mountains, which are located in Russia.
Europe’s Physical Geography • Europe is a continent of peninsulas – bodies of land surrounded on three sides by water. • Physically, Europe can be divided into four major regions: • Atlantic Highlands/Scandinavian Shield • North European Plain • Central Uplands • Alpine System
Atlantic Highlands/Scandinavian Shield • This region curves along the western edge of Europe and is an area of hard, ancient rock shaped by glaciers. • The region is covered by many marshlands, lakes and fjords, which are long, narrow inlets of the sea surrounded by high, rugged cliffs.
Northern European Plain • Also known as the Great European Plain, this is the most densely populated area of Europe. • This is Europe’s most productive agriculture region. • As this region extends into Russia, it become know as the steppes. • This region has a mild climate due to: • North Atlantic Drift • prevailing westerly winds
North Atlantic Drift • The North Atlantic Drift is a warm water current that is an extension of the Gulf Stream. • This warm current brings a milder climate to Western Europe and plenty of precipitation, which aids the Northern European Plain region in regard to agriculture.
Prevailing Westerlies • The prevailing westerlies are a constant flow of air from the west to the east in the temperate zones of the earth. • In Europe, these winds blow across the Northern European Plain, keeping the climate milder than what its latitude would indicate.
Central Uplands • The Central Uplands extend across a small part of Central Europe. • This region is also heavily forested and sparsely populated except for certain river valleys.
Alpine System • The Alpine System consists of the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Apennines, the Dinaric Alps, the Balkan Mountains and the Carpathian Mountains. • Mont Blanc, of the Alps, is Western Europe’s highest point at 15,782 feet above sea level. • Europe’s highest point is Mt. Elbrus (18,510 feet above sea level), located in the Caucasus of Russia. • This region also has several active volcanoes, including Mt. Etna and Mt. Vesuvius of Italy.
Communism and the Cold War • Communism is a system of government in which the government controls the means of production. • After World War II, much of Eastern Europe was dominated by the Soviet Union, which was a communist Russia. • Known as the Communist Bloc, this region suffered under the harsh control of Joseph Stalin. • Economically, Eastern Europe fell way behind Western Europe and continues to try to make up ground today.
Western Europe’s Human Geography • In regard to human geography, Western Europe is divided into three regions: • The British Isles and the Nordic Nations • Central Western Europe • Mediterranean Europe
The British Isles • Great Britain is the largest of the British Isles • The second largest, Ireland, is known as the Emerald Isle. • The Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel, connects the islands of Great Britain to mainland Europe – it’s the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world (a little over 30 miles).
The Nordic Countries • The Nordic Countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. • The northern regions has very long winters due to its northern latitude. • Iceland produces geothermal energy, which is produced from the heat of the earth’s interior.
The Sami • The Sami are the indigenous people of the Nordic Countries. • They have traditionally lived in the northern area known as Lapland. • They are most well known for reindeer herding.
Central Western Europe • This region can actually be divided into three regions of its own: • France and Germany • The Benelux Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) • the Alpine Countries (Switzerland and Austria)
The Benelux Countries • These countries are also known as the Low Countries because most of it is low and flat. • This region is the most densely populated region of Europe. • In the Netherlands, 1/5 of the land is actually reclaimed from the sea with a series of dikes, which are embankments of earth and rock used to hold back the sea. • The polder is the land reclaimed from the sea is used largely for agricultural purposes.
The Basques • In northern Spain, in one of the most productive areas of the country, are the Basques. • The Basques are an example of cultural divergence – having the desire to protect your culture from outside influences. • The Basques desire for independence within Spain has at times led to violence between them and the Spanish government.
The Vatican City • Inside of Rome, Italy, is the Vatican City. • The headquarters of the Catholic Church, the Holy See is actually a sovereign state. • It covers less than a square mile, has a population of less than 1000 and is the smallest sovereign state in the world
The European Union • The European Union is an economic and political organization that was formed to stimulate trade and build up the economies of its member countries. • Formed in the 1950’s, it adopted a common currency in 1999 – the euro.
Eastern Europe • Eastern Europe is divided into four regions. • Poland • The Czech and Slovak Republics and Hungary • The Balkan Peninsula • The Baltic States and Border States
The Holocaust • The Holocaust was the execution of six million Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. • More than three million Jews lived in Poland before World War II. • The Nazi’s forced them into areas known as ghettos– an area of a city where a minority is forced to live. • The Nazi’s later removed the Jews from the ghettos and took them to concentration camps, where they were forced into labor or killed. • Today, less than 10,000 Jews live in Poland.
Czechoslovakia • Czechoslovakia was created from the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War I. • During the late 1980’s, a velvet revolution occurred – a revolution without bloodshed – and Czechoslovakia gained its independence from the Soviet Union. • During the early 1990’s, growing disputes between the Czechs and Slovaks (Slavic tribes) led to a peaceful separation in 1993.
Yugoslavia • Yugoslavia was created after World War I. • It was made up of six Slavic republics that were united under one communist government after World War II. • After the fall of communism, tensions between the different ethnic groups led to the collapse of the country.
Bosnia-Herzegovina • In Bosnia, Bosniacs, Croats and Serbs battled for power for four years. • The Serbs used ethnic cleansing or genocide, killing over 250,000 and driving around 2 million from their homes. • In 1995, NATO forces were sent in reestablish order and several Serbian leaders were later found guilty of war crimes.
Chernobyl • The Ukraine is an important agricultural region of Eastern Europe. • In 1986, an explosion occurred at a nuclear reactor plant in Chernobyl. • It was one of the worst nuclear accidents in history and affected not only the Ukraine but also Belarus and Russia.
Russia • Russia is the world’s largest country. • The plains and plateaus of Russia are drained by some of the world’s largest rivers, including the Volga River, the longest in Europe. • The Volga drains into the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest lake. • Also located in Russia, Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest lake (over 5,000 feet deep) and the world’s largest freshwater lake. • Today, Russia is facing severe economic and environmental problems as well as problems with organized crime.
