Eastern Europe

Eastern EuropeChapter 4 Section 1Chapter Atlas

Physical FeaturesMain landforms in Eastern EuropemountainsBalkan PeninsulaBalkan MountainsDinaric AlpsCarpathian MountainsTransylvanian Alpsbroad plainsGreat Hungarian Plainbetween the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvanian AlpsNorth European Plainstretches from the Baltic Sea to the Black SeaMost of the Eastern European farms and cities are located here

Balkan PeninsulaPhysical FeaturesThe physical features of the northern Eastern Europe were shaped by an ice age.time of lower temperatures when much of the land is covered in iceIce piled up as deep as 2 miles thick.Glaciers heavy sheets of icescraped up rocks and soil as they moved slowly dropping materials as they meltedcreated ridges of hills that extend for hundreds of miles across the regionformed lakes and rivers

Physical FeaturesReading Check

What effects have glaciers had on the physical features of Eastern Europe?

Glaciers have created ridges of hills, dug out land for lakes, and deposited material that blocked the flow of rivers.Climate and AgricultureLatitude is the main factor affecting climate in Eastern Europe.Southern Latitudessummers are dry and winters are rainyNorthern Latitudeswinters are very cold and summers are generally mild

The continental cool summer climate covers much of Eastern Europe.

Climate and AgricultureRainfall on the Adriatic Coast is different from east of the Dinaric AlpsOn the coast, 200 inches of rain may fall in a year.Inland areas may get only 30 inches.

Climate and AgricultureThe difference in climate between coastal and inland areas is caused by:Air rising over the mountains cools and drops its moisture as rain on the coastal side of the mountains.Air that reaches the inland side of the mountains is quite dry so it brings little rain.Rain Shadow Effect

Climate and AgricultureThe growing season on the North European Plain is shorter than the growing season farther south in the region.Mechanized Farmingfarming with machineseasy on large expanses of flat landWheat and rye are common crops in this regionwell suited to the cooler climate and easy to harvest with machines

Climate and AgricultureReading Check

How is agriculture in the north of Eastern Europe different from that in the south?

In the north, agriculture is mostly mechanized. In the south it mostly uses human labor instead of machines.Natural Resources and the EnvironmentPhysical geography influences industry as well as agriculture.The location of Eastern Europes factories depends on the location of natural resources.PolandcoalUkraineiron orecoalsteel is an important industrial product

Natural Resources and the EnvironmentOil and gas are in very short supply in Eastern Europe.countries import what they need to develop industry

Natural Resources and the EnvironmentThe need for energy to fuel industry has created serious environmental problems.Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine1986 explosionWinds spread radioactive pollution over a huge area in Europe.Many people became sick and died from the radiation.Farmland was contaminated, so that the food grown there was no longer safe to eat.20 years later, the area around the power plant was still contaminated.

Chernobyl, Ukraine

Natural Resources and the EnvironmentEastern European countries have drawn on their coal reserves.Burning coal and other fossil fuels sends chemicals into the air that cause acid rain.precipitation that is acidicForests have been destroyed soils are too contaminated for cropspolluted water and soil have cause higher rates of birth defects, cancer, and other diseases

Natural Resources and the EnvironmentTo join the European Union, countries must install equipment to make power plants cleaner.

Natural Resources and the EnvironmentReading Check

What has caused damage to the forests of Eastern Europe?

acid rainReligious Diversity in Eastern EuropeChristianity is the dominant religion in Eastern Europe.Divided into the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox ChurchCatholic Churchheaded by the pope in RomeEastern Orthodox Churchheaded by an Ecumenical Patriarch

Pope Benedict XVIof the Catholic Church

Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox ChurchReligious Diversity in Eastern EuropeMuslims are the largest group of non-Christians who live mainly in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo, and the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine.the southern part of Eastern Europe has been a borderland where the Christian and Muslim worlds meet

Religious Diversity in Eastern EuropeJudaismDuring the Holocaust of the 1940s, 2/3 of the Jews in Europe were murdered.During and after the Holocaust, many Jews left Europe.there has been a revival of Jewish communities in some areasJews still continue emigrate, or leave Europe.30,000 Jews leave Ukraine each year for the United States, Israel, and other places

Religious Diversity in Eastern EuropeThe laws of the Soviet Union restricted religion.Eastern European governments discouraged religion under Soviet rule.Today, many people in Eastern Europe do not belong to any religion.More than half of the people in the Czech Republic and 40% of those in Estonia claim no religious faith.

Religious Diversity in Eastern EuropeReligious life has become more active since the end of communism.people have more opportunities to start and join religious organizationsEastern Europeans have had the chance not only to return to traditional religious practices, but also to live more freely in other areas of their lives.

Religious Diversity in Eastern EuropeReading Check

Where are many Muslims found in this region?

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Serbia, and Bulgaria