Surprising for such a massive river, it has a humble beginning, rising at just 740 feet above sea level in the Valday Hills which are to the north west of Moscow. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Today, this is the German-speaking region of the country.Around this same time, Roman conquerors took over present-day southern Switzerland. The Iron Curtain took on the physical shape of border defenses, walls, and limited diplomacy. Germany's largest wooded area,. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys, and basins that complicate the general trend. Note: Italy's capital, Rome, is the country's largest city if only the municipality (comune) is considered. The landlocked countries in Europe are: Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Liechtenstein (which is doubly landlocked), Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Vatican City. A contrast exists between the configuration of peninsular, or western, Europe and that of eastern Europe, which is a much larger and more continental area. This linguistic diversity is present in the Alpine regions of many contemporary European countries today.Switzerland, for example, has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansch. Slavic-based civilization dominates much of the territory occupied by the former Soviet Union from the Baltic and Black seas to the Pacific Ocean. The link between these peninsulas has made Europe a dominant economic, social, and cultural force throughout recorded history.Europe's physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately.Europe can be divided into four major physical regions, running from north to south: Western Uplands, North European Plain, Central Uplands, and Alpine Mountains.Western UplandsThe Western Uplands, also known as the Northern Highlands, curve up the western edge of Europe and define the physical landscape of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, the Brittany region of France, Spain, and Portugal.The Western Uplands is defined by hard, ancient rock that was shaped by glaciation. Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. The Alpine region also includes active volcanoes, such as Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius in Italy. In many places, including the Mediterranean and North seas, waters have been overfished. The nation of Germany was divided in two. The most common way to show this is using topographical maps. Aby witryna CORDIS dziaaa poprawnie, obsuga JavaScript musi by wczona. Topography is the study of the Earth's surface. Certain countries and regions have even developed an identity or branding focused on specific products and exports.Scandinavian design, for instance, is primarily focused on fashion and home wares. El "cambio climtico" abarca el calentamiento global, pero se refiere a la gama ms amplia de cambios que le estn ocurriendo a nuestro planeta. This is to be found at Le Baule-Escoublac, on the southern coast of Brittany. Europe is a peninsula of the Eurasian supercontinent and is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas to the south.Europe's main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, located in southern Europe, and the Scandinavian and Jutland, located in Northern Europe. These events had a devastating effect on Denmarks reputation as a progressive and welcoming country. (The East and North European plains are known together as the European Plain.) Historically, Europe has been a center of immigration. The worn-down Ural Mountains also belong in that category, and their highest point, Mount Narodnaya (6,217 feet [1,895 metres]), corresponds approximately to that of the Massif Central in south-central France. The central uplands and plateaus present distinctive landscapes of rounded summits, steep slopes, valleys, and depressions. Automobile companies such as BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are known throughout the world for creating cars with dynamic designs and an engaging driving experience. Longest beach The longest beach in Ireland is a continuous 20km stretch of sand in County Wexford connecting Cahore Point to The Raven Point. Europe Facts for KS2 Children. The link between these peninsulas has made Europe a dominant economic, social, and cultural force throughout recorded history.Europes physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately.Today, Europe is home to the citizens of Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), and Vatican City.Cultural GeographyEurope has a long history of human development and is considered the birthplace of Western Civilization. Other political institutions of Rome persist throughout Europe and former European colonies. Professor of Geography, University of Connecticut, Storrs. This honor goes to Gouffre Mirolda in France. Above all, in southern EuropeAustria and Switzerland includedlevel, low-lying land is scarce, and mountain, plateau, and hill landforms dominate. The United States and the Soviet Union built up huge nuclear arsenals, with many missiles aimed at targets throughout Europe. Let's take a short tour around some of the most notable geographical facts about Europe. Greater relief is found in those areas in the heart of western and central Europe where uplifted and faulted massifs survive from the Hercynian orogeny, a late Paleozoic period of mountain formation. The 4,506 sq. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls. Brussels is considered to be the largest city of Belgium, according to the population of the Brussels-Capital Region. Geographically, Turkey forms a natural land bridge between the old world continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. As observed on Germany's physical map, the country's topography varies significantly from north to south. Europe's northernmost point is the Svalbard archipelago of Norway, and it reaches as far south as the islands of Greece and Malta.Europe is sometimes described as a peninsula of peninsulas. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. International economic and military organizations developed on either side of the Iron Curtain. The city is home to the headquarters of luxury brands such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace, and Prada. It is the continent's second largest island (after Great Britain). Moose, bear, and elk (Cervus canadensis) are native to the European taiga.Just south of the taiga is a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees, including beech, ash, poplar, and willow. World War I (1914-1918) left about 16 million people dead. Le site web de CORDIS ncessite lactivation de JavaScript pour fonctionner correctement. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Glaciation is the process of land being transformed by glaciers or ice sheets. The European Union has established the Schengen Areaa zone where Europeans can travel from country to country without having to show their passports. Ireland: geography and landscape. San Marino and Vatican City, two fully sovereign nations, are both completely surrounded by Italy. Those are coastal and interior lowlands, central uplands and plateaus, the northwestern highlands, and southern Europe. Some of these facts about Europe are newer than others. Among the alternative boundaries proposed by geographers that have gained wide acceptance is a scheme that sees the crest of the Greater Caucasus range as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, placing Ciscaucasia, the northern part of the Caucasus region, in Europe and Transcaucasia, the southern part, in Asia. By the end of the war, the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires collapsed and broke into a dozen separate nations. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. Early Europeans, in fact, shaped global ideas of citizenship and government. 3. Editor of, Professor of Geography, Birkbeck College, University of London, 194770. With such a large number of nationalities compacted into such a small area, Europe strongly supports individual cultural identities and products.The European Capitals of Culture program, started in 1985, has become one of Europes most important and high-profile cultural events. Veuillez activer JavaScript. The most important rivers in Europe are Danube, Volga, Rhine, Elbe, Oder and Dnieper, among others. Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. Associated vegetation and soil forms also show continual variety, but only portions of the dominant woodland that clothed most of the continent when humans first appeared now remain. This map shows the physical features of Europe, surrounding lands, and offshore areas. Still another scheme with many adherents locates the continental boundary along the Aras River and the Turkish border, thereby putting Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Europe. The other landlocked countries are "standalone" landlocked, not bordering any other such European one (the emphasis is necessary, since Kazakhstan borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, thus forming a vast landlocked expanse in Central Asia). East of the Vistula River, Europes expansive lowlands have something of the scale and character of those of northern Asia. Lands lying at high elevations can, of course, be lands of low relief, but on the European continent relief tends to become more rugged as elevation increases. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. The climate supports a wide variety of seasonal crops. [further explanation needed], The longest rivers in Europe, directly flowing into the World Ocean or Endorheic basins, with their approximate lengths:[4][5]. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the Scandinavian mountains and the mountainous parts of the British Isles. Desert climates are found in the European portion of Kazakhstan and South Eastern Spain. A fjord is a long and narrow inlet of the sea that is surrounded by high, rugged cliffs. Today much of topography is focused on creating 3D representations of the Earth's surface. Rocks of all geologic periods are exposed, and the operation of geologic forces during an immense succession of eras has contributed to the molding of the landscapes of mountain, plateau, and lowland and has bequeathed a variety of mineral reserves. Political geography is the internal and external relationships between governments, citizens, and territories. The highest peaks in those ranges are Mount Corno (9,554 feet [2,912 metres]) in the Abruzzi Apennines, Bobotov Kuk (8,274 feet [2,522 metres]) in the Dinaric Alps, Mount Botev (7,795 feet [2,376 metres]) in the Balkan Mountains, Gerlachovsk Peak (Gerlach; 8,711 feet [2,655 metres]) in the Western Carpathians, and Mount Moldoveanu (8,346 feet [2,544 metres]) in the Transylvanian Alps. Fortuitously, Europe has no continuous mountain obstacle aligned north-south, corresponding, for example, to the Western Cordillera of North America and the Andes Mountains of South America, that would limit access into western Europe from the ocean. January average range from 13C in southern Spain and southern Greek islands to -20C in the northeastern part of European Russia. Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are: Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain (classification from UNEP-WCMC): The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Important Scandinavian companies focused on designed products include Electrolux, which makes home electronics, and Ikea and H&M, famous around the world for inexpensive but well-designed home furnishings and clothing, respectively. Italian fashion is also an important cultural export. Only North Korea has such high literacy rates as Ukraine. Steppe plains cover the north of Kazakhstan. The Republic of Ireland occupies 80 percent of this landmass, while a large chunk of land in the north, called Northern Ireland, is part of the United Kingdom.All together, the island of Ireland is made up of 32 counties. Not only is Mount Etna the highest volcanic peak in Europe but it is still active. For the political geography of Europe, see, Countries consisting solely of islands or parts of islands, Countries bordering or spanning another continent, Countries whose capital is not the most populous, List of countries by the number of other countries they border, Last edited on 19 February 2023, at 19:57, List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe, List of European tornadoes and tornado outbreaks, List of the highest European ultra-prominent peaks, Special member state territories and the European Union, Language facts European day of languages, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geography_of_Europe&oldid=1140367331, Lower Danubian Plain, between Balkan Mountains and, This page was last edited on 19 February 2023, at 19:57. The ultimate fate of the European Space Agency's JUICE mission could drastically change should it succeed in discovering that Ganymede's ocean is both potentially habitable and accessible. Key Facts. Topography and bathymetry are shown in a combination of color with shaded relief. The consensus is, however, that the largest glacier in Europe is the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland. For discussion of individual countries of the continent, see specific articles by namee.g., Italy, Poland, and United Kingdom. Indeed, Turkey has sought membership in the European Union (EU), and the Republic of Cyprus joined the organization in 2004. From the smallest town in the world to the biggest church on earth, and from a knighted penguin to a country free of mosquitoes, there are hundreds of random and fun facts about Europe. Author of, Emeritus Professor of Geography, Portland State University, Oregon. Updated: 07/28/2022 Table of Contents A study completed by the Berlin Institute for Population and Development found that Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, western Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Austria, and France have the best prospects of supporting vibrant and economically successful societies. Intense trade introduced many species, which often overtook native plants. [citation needed] These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps/Carpathians. Southward of the limits of the northern glacial ice are vales and hills, with the Paris and London basins typical examples. To read all future answers to your comment, please bookmark this page. The continent is awash with stunning beaches so its only right that the facts of European geography include its longest beach. 7 Fun and Fashionable DIY Animal Ears That You Should Make Look like a Fashionista by Color Coordinate Your Outfits like a Pro Introverts Vs Extroverts Which One Are You. These regional labels are used more for identification than for regional analysis. Corrections? Projects are meant to stay a part of the city after 2011some pieces of sculpture may be used for athletics, for instance. A small troop of Barbary macaques lives on the tiny island of Gibraltar, between Spain and the African country of Morocco.The waters surrounding Europe are home to a number of organisms, including fish, seaweeds, marine mammals, and crustaceans. The tallest mountain in Europe is Mount Elbrus in Russia. In fact, the most famous symbol of the Iron Curtain was the Berlin Wall, which divided the East German city of Berlin into western and eastern-controlled parts.The economic and political demise of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Iron Curtain in the late 1980s. During the Middle Ages, dominant European powers conquered the strategically important mountain territory of the Alps. Luxembourg is a small country located in the Low Countries, part of North-West Europe It borders Belgium for 148 kilometres (92 miles) to the west and north, France (73 km [45 mi]) to the south, and Germany (138 km [86 mi]) to the east. Antwerp is the biggest city of the country. Among the struggling economies that may suffer from carbon emission limits are Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova.Thus, it seems that Europes historic disparities between north and south, west and east, will continue to widen in the future. A landlocked country of towering mountains, deep Alpine lakes, grassy valleys dotted with . A convenient division is made by a line linking the base of the peninsula of Jutland with the head of the Adriatic Sea. The Iron Curtain was an ideological boundary that divided Europe into two blocsWestern countries influenced by the United States, and Eastern countries influenced by the Soviet Union. Holland is a nation of cyclists. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. It's a multi-lingual continent. Table of contents: The Tallest Mountain in Europe The Largest Lake in Europe The Longest River in Europe The Highest Waterfall in Europe The Longest Beach in Europe The Deepest Cave in Europe The Tallest Volcano in Europe Biggest Glacier in Europe The region includes the mountains of the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, Balkans, and Carpathians.High elevations, rugged plateaus, and steeply sloping land define the region. Enacting regional social policies and economic legislation, especially through bodies like the European Union, may help curb that trend. Europe's highest peak, Mount Elbrus at 5,642 meters (18,510 feet), is in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia. As glaciers receded from the area, they left a number of distinct physical features, including abundant marshlands, lakes, and fjords. 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