1. The climate and vegetation
Chapter 11: Section 2—Europe

2. Standards and Objectives
H.S. 14 – Create and use maps, technology, imager, and other geographical representations to extrapolate and interpret geographic data.
HS63. Engage in informed and respectful deliberation and discussion of issues,  events, and ideas
HS4. Investigate the historical development and impact of major scientific and  technological
Objectives
Compare and contrast the climate of Europe with that of the Oregon coast.
Analyze and compare the vegetation of Europe with that of the Oregon coast.
Interpret a variety of maps and graphs related to Europe’s climate and vegetation.
Examine a current scientific article about modern advances in the understanding of climate.

3. Bell Work: Pages 230-235 1. Define: chaparral
Mediterranean climate area of shrubs and short trees
2. In which country is the Black Forest located?
Germany
3. What type of climate is found in northwestern Europe?
Marine West Coast
4. How has human interaction affected the forests in Europe?
Cut trees down for agriculture and industry; pollution kills trees

4. Europe’s Climate Regions
Climate is closely linked to northern latitude and proximity to large bodies of water
Question: Between what two lines of latitude are most of Europe and the northwest coast of the United States? Near what two large bodies of water are the northwest coasts of Europe and the U.S. located? What factors of climate might be affected by these characteristics:
Therefore….

5. Europe’s Climate Regions
Most of the continent has a mild climate
Cities with the same latitude, like Winnipeg, Canada, are colder in winter and warmer in summer
This is because Europe is a peninsula surrounded by water; water retains and releases heat much more slowly than land

6. Europe’s Climate Regions
Major Climate Regions
Mostly Marine West Coast
Year-round moderate temperatures
20-40 inches of precipitation per year
Caused by winds that blow from the Atlantic

7. Europe’s Climate Regions
The Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift are currents that bring warm water from the equatorial regions
The warm water heats the air above it and prevailing westerly winds blow that warm air over Europe
Even Norway has ice-free ports in winter
Tromso, Norway, 350 miles north of Arctic Circle

8. Europe’s Climate Regions
Southern Europe has mostly a Mediterranean climate
Hot dry summers, mild rainy winters
Alps block moist Atlantic winds
In winter winds bring precipitation from the Mediterranean
Los Angeles and Athens at about the same latitude, shortest air route. Question: Since they are on the same latitude, why not just follow that line with the plane?

9. Europe’s Climate Regions
Siroccos, hot winds from North African deserts, bring dry desert air and dust to Spain, France, and Italy
Mistrals, cold Alpine winds, carry cold air to southern France

10. Bell Work: Page 237, Locating Places
Directions
Use a separate sheet of paper
Number it 18
Title it: Locating Places in Europe
Number 1-10
Match the letter of each place to the location. Write the letter and the name.
Answers
B—British Isles
G—Rhine River
I—Sicily
D—Apennine Mountains
J—Danube River
F—Mediterranean Sea
C—Scandinavian Peninsula
H—Crete
A—Iberian Peninsula
E—Balkan Peninsula

11. Europe’s Climate Regions
North European Plains area has a humid continental climate
Greater differences in winter and summer temperatures because too far inland from ocean winds
Hot summers, very cold winters
Question: NYC is next to the ocean. Why do you think it such a harsh climate compared to London?

12. Europe’s Climate Regions
Other Climates
Northern Italy has humid subtropical
Some areas in Spain have steppe (semi-arid)
Parts of Iceland and Scandinavia have subarctic and tundra climates: extremely cold winters and short, cool summers; these areas are permafrost
A bustard on the Spanish steppe

13. Europe’s Climate Regions
Alps have a highland (mountain) climate with cooler temperatures and more precipitation
Dry winds called foehns blow down from the mountains
Can cause avalanches
Swiss dry snow avalanche with powder cloud

14. Europe’s Climate Regions
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Avalanches
Rock Avalanches on Mt. Rainier, Washington

15. Europe’s Vegetation Focus on Geographic Themes—P. 232
What areas of Europe have coniferous forest?
Sweden, Finland, Alps area, part of Poland
What vegetation area includes the British Isles, France and Germany?
Deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forests
Where in Europe does chaparral vegetation thrive?
Portugal, Spain and along the Mediterranean
Where are Europe’s grassland areas located?
North European Plains, Spain, hungarian Basin

16. Europe’s Vegetation Natural Vegetation Patterns
Vegetation areas generally match climate areas
Marine West Coast climate areas tend to have deciduous forests
What are deciduous trees?
Trees that lose their leaves, like ash, elm, oak, maple
Elm Tree

17. Europe’s Vegetation
Coniferous trees (trees with needles) are found in northern Europe and mountain areas—these include fir, pine and spruce
Name U.S. states that have Douglas
fir trees. What climate areas do
these states have in common?
Nnnnnnnnnnnnn Compare this to the areas of
Europe containing coniferous
forest.

18. Europe’s Vegetation
Mediterranean climates include broad-leafed evergreens, like olive trees
They do not lose their leaves in winter
Leaves have a waxy coat that helps retain water

19. Europe’s Vegetation
Grasslands make up the Northern European Plain; places with more rain have longer grasses and places with less rain have shorter grasses, like the Hungarian Basin
Dry Mediterranean areas have chaparral, or shrubs and short trees
The tundra of the Arctic region supports wild flowers, mosses and lichen in the summer

20. Europe’s Vegetation Human Interaction
Cut down most of the trees to clear space for agriculture and to fuel industry
Some countries, like Germany in the Black Forest, regulate logging and require replanting
Unregulated air pollution from industry has ruined forests and other vegetation

21. Graph Study: Comparing Climate Regions
Paris, France Directions: Line graph the average high (F), average low (F), precipitation (inches), average precipitation days, average sunshine days. What type of climate is this?

22. Capstone Project: Current Events
Logging Read the articles on logging in Europe and logging in Oregon. Answer the questions relating to both articles.

23. Bibliography Slide 1: Picto Pin—Discover Pictures to Pin
Slide 4: Stone, Greg; Prime Time; “Making Free Custom Charts for Your Night Sky;” August 18, 2009
Slide 5: Morten; The Community Works: Creating OGC Conformance Test Map; “Straight Lines on a Sphere;” 2008.
Slide 6: Pidwirny, Michael; The Encyclopedia of Earth; “Weather and Climate;” January 12, 2011.
Slide 7: Visit Norway; Norway Tourist Site;

24. Bibliography
Slide 8: TimeandDate.com; Distance from Athens to Los Angeles.
Slide 9: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Sirocco; February 14, 2014.
Slide 9: Arrow used courtesy ofWikipedia Commons.
Slide 10: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Climate of Missouri; 2007.

25. Bibliography
Slide 11: Munoz, Juan Carlos, photographer; WildWonders.com; March 31, 2005.
Slide 12: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Avalanche; February 20, 2014.
Slide 13: Doughton, Sandi; Huge Rock Avalanches Rumble Down Mt. Rainier; Seattle Times; June 28, 2011
Slide 15: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Elm Tree; February 22, 2014.

26. Bibliography
Slide 16: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Douglas Fir; February 15, 2014.
Slide 17: Wikipedia Encyclopedia; Olive Tree; March 3, 2014.
Slide 18: Tundra
Slide 19: Lonely Planet
Slide 20: Paris Weather Data; Future City Lab