EuropeIts major landforms, water forms, population, climate

and natural resources

EuropeUne présentation Powerpoint

Introduction Europe is one of the world's

seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast.

• Europe is the world's sixth largest continent. Together with its adjacent islands, it occupies an area of about 4,000,000 square miles (10,360,000 square kilometres), roughly 8% of the world's land area. Geographically, Europe can be seen as a peninsula of the single great continent called Eurasia (Europe and Asia combined). However, because Europe has such a distinctive history and culture, it is considered a separate continent.

Landforms of Europe

{Relief de l'Europe}

Alps: Located in south-central Europe, they

extend for almost 700 miles from the coastline of southern France into Switzerland, northern Italy and Austria, then southeast through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as the. They end in Albania on the rugged coastline of the Adriatic Sea.

Alps

• Apennines:• The source of almost all rivers in Italy including

the Arno, Tiber, and Volturno, the Apennines Mountains 830 miles in length, form the backbone of the country, and run the entire length of the Italian Peninsula, ending on the island of Sicily. 

• Atlantic Highlands:• Formed million of years ago during the

Caledonian mountain-building periods as western lands were (forced) or pushed against the Scandinavian Shield. Significant mountain ranges here include the Kjolen in Norway and Sweden, and the Pennines that stretch through the central United Kingdom.

Apennines

Atlantic Highlands

• Balkan Mountains• These mountains extend from

Yugoslavia across Bulgaria. Additional ranges run through Albania, Greece and Macedonia. Its most famous mountain is Mt. Olympus, the highest and most awe-inspiring peak in all of Greece. In ancient times it was the mythical home of Zeus, and was declared the first national park in Greece in 1939. It stands at 9,568 ft. (2,918 m).

Balkan Mountains

• Carpathian Mountains• This mountain system located in eastern

Europe is the source of the Dniester, Tisza and Vistula Rivers. They form the natural border between Slovakia and southern Poland, and then extend southward through Ukraine and into Romania. 

• Great Hungarian Plain Located in southeastern Europe, and surrounded by mountains, the land features several small forests and large patches of grassland. It averages only 100 meters above sea level and often suffers from dry conditions, thus relying on winter snow run-off from the Alps and Carpathian Mountains. 

Carpathian Mountains

Great Hungarian Plain

• Kjolen Mountains This jagged mountain system runs along the border of eastern Norway and western Sweden. The highest point is Mt. Kebnekaise, standing at 6,965 ft. (2,123 m). 

Kjolen Mountains 

• Massif Central This mountainous plateau of southeastern France is the source of the Allier, Creuse and Loire. It's about 32,189 sq. miles (85, 001 sq. km) in size, and the highest point is Puy de Sancy at 6,186 ft. (1,885 m). 

• Mesata The central plateau, or Mesata, covers nearly half of the entire country of Spain. This high plateau averages about 2,300 ft. (700 m) in the north, and 2,000 ft. (600 m) in the south. 

It's surrounded by a series of mountain ranges including the Cantabrian, Sierra De Gata and Sierra Guadarrama in the north and central, and the Sierra Morena and Sierra Nevada in the south. 

Massif Central

Mesata

Waterforms of Europe

{Formulaires eau de l'Europe}

• Europe's longest river is the Volga, which runs for almost 2,300 miles in central and western Russia before emptying into the Caspian Sea. Europe's second longest river, the Danube, runs through the heart of the continent. About 1,770 miles long. A third prominent river is the Rhine, which winds through west-central Europe for 820 miles before emptying into the North Sea. Other chief European rivers include the Elbe in central Europe; the Dnieper and Don in Russia; the Garonne, Loire, and Rhône in France; the Tagus in Spain; and the Oder and Vistula in Poland.

Volga

Danube

Rhine

• The Caspian Sea, with an area of 143,550 square miles, is the largest inland body of water in the world. The largest lake within the boundaries of Europe proper is Russia's Lake Ladoga, which covers approximately 7,000 square miles. Other large European lakes include Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland; Constance on the border of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria; Balaton in Hungary; Como, Garda, and Maggiore in Italy; and Vättern and Vänern in Sweden.

The Caspian Sea

Lake Lagoda

Population of Europe

{Population de l'Europe}

• Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 731 million in 2005 according to the United Nations. In 2010 the population is 711 million, using the definition which has been used for centuries, that Europe's boundaries are on the continental divides of the Caucasus and Ural mountains and the Bosporous, including the populated parts of countries of Russia, and a portion of Turkey, with tiny parts of Georgia and Azerbaijan. Population growth is comparatively slow, and median age comparatively high in relation to the world's other continents.

Climates of Europe

{Climat de l'Europe}

• Hot Dry Summers, Warm Wet Winters

This type of climate is also call the Mediterranean type of climate. This is because most of the countries which have this climate lie close to the Mediterranean Sea. Temperature in the summer is quite high; Mean temperature of the hottest month at Rome is 76 F (24C) at Athens 80 F ( 27C). The sky is cloudless and the days are beautifully sunny. In winter when most of the Europe is experiencing a harsh winter with bitter cold , these lands enjoy quite warm temperatures .

• Mild Winters , Cool Summers

This type of Climate is also called the British type of Climate. It is found in North Western Europe that includes the British Isles, the greater part of France excluding Southern France, Belgium, the Nederland and South western Norway. This region has rain all the year round. The summers are cool; typical temperatures are around 60 F ( 16 C) and the winters are mild . The temperatures of the winter months are usually above 32 F ( 0 C) .

• Cold Winters , Warm Summers

This type of climate is found in the heart of Europe in countries like Germany, Poland, Austria, Switzerland etc. The winters are cold with at least one month below 32 F ( O C) and summers are quite warm. The days are warmer in summer and cooler in winter than the British Type because these areas are located at a greater distance from the Atlantic ocean than the cool winter type and its moderating influence does not reach them.

• Very cold winters and Hot summers

The areas which fall under this category include the countries of Eastern and East-Central Europe which includes Southern and Central Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania , Bulgaria etc. These areas are located very far away from sea and have a typical continental climate of hot summers and very cold winters. Similarly in Summer Moscow and Kiev both have at least one month touching 68 F ( 20 C ) while Bucharest and Belgrade have two months exceeding 70 F ( 21 C).

• Very cold most of the year with a very short summer.

The North of Russia, Norway except the south western part, Northern Sweden and Finland etc. fall under this category. The winter is very severe and long while the summer is short and warm. This area is the coldest of all the areas described above hence very thinly populated. The extreme winter is due to two reasons; its high latitudinal position and remoteness from sea.

Natural Resources of Europe

{Ressources naturelles de l'Europe}

The natural resources of northern Europe are largely in metals such as bauxite (to make aluminum), copper and iron ore. Some northern European countries such as Denmark have some reserves of petroleum and natural gas. Germany has large coal reserves, as well as nickel and lignite (or brown coal, similar to peat). Scandinavia is relatively rich in oil and natural gas, and is a major fishing center.

Southern Europe- has substantial reserves of coal, mercury and zinc. Croatia has limited amounts of petroleum and some bauxite. Bosnia has reserves of bauxite, coal and iron ore. Greece has some iron ore, bauxite, some oil, lead and zinc. Southern Europe has a well-developed fishing industry.

Spain and France share strong coal and zinc reserves, as well as copper and lead. France has an edge in bauxite and uranium. Great Britain has some offshore reserves of oil and natural gas, as well as substantial coal reserves and some gold. Iceland is one of the main fisheries of western Europe, as well as a leader in hydro-power and geothermal power production. Portugal boasts of some gold, as well as zinc, copper and uranium.

• Ukraine and Russia both depend heavily on their large natural gas and oil reserves. The Baltic states are more or less poor in natural resources, though Latvia has begun to take advantage of its hydro-power potential.

• Poland is blessed with substantial coal reserves, as well as natural gas, iron ore and copper reserves, as well as some limited supplies of silver (and has historically been a target of larger powers for this reason).

• Serbia has some oil and natural gas, as well as copper and zinc. She also has some limited supplies of gold and silver.

• Bulgaria produces bauxite and copper. Kosovo, however, is likely the most blessed of all eastern European states, since it is sitting on what some say are trillions of dollars worth of gold, silver, natural gas, bauxite nickel and zinc.

• Europe has substantial resources in metals. Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of oil, which has given them a strategic edge in international negotiating. Outside of Russia, oil is relatively scarce in Europe (except off the coast of Scotland and Norway).

• Timber, peat and potash are also important to the European economy, as are its well-developed fishing industry. Zinc and copper are the primary resources shared by almost all European countries.

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