Europe SS6G8 The student will locate selected features of Europe. b. Locate on a world and regional political- physical map: the countries of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and United Kingdom

Belgium ● Belgium is located in Western Europe ● Bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea. ● Terrain is generally flat and becomes more hilly and forested in the southeast region. ● Climate is cool, temperate, and rainy ● Belgium is one of Europe's true melting pots with Celtic, Roman, Germanic, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Austrian cultures. ● Languages: Dutch, German, French

France  Largest country in Western Europe  Borders Germany & Belgium in the north, Atlantic Ocean in the west, and Pyrenees Mtns. And Spain in the south, Med. Sea in the SE, and the Alps, Switzerland, and Italy in the east  Europe’s tallest mountain (Mont Blanc – 15,781 ft.) in French Alps  One of the oldest nations on Earth  Famous for cuisine (food), art, music, fashion, politics, film, and literature allery/Paris/Eiffel/EiffelChampNi ghtSmall.html

Germany ● Germany’s (Deutschland’s) location at the heart of Europe has helped shape its history (for both the good & bad) ●Temperate; Generally cool, cloudy and wet winters and summers ● Borders 9 neighbors…(GREAT FOR TRADE)

Italy ● Boot-shaped peninsula that sticks out into the Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Tyrrhenian Sea. ● The Alps cut across the northern end of the country ●Most of Italy has a Mediterranean type of climate, which has cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. ● Italian art, architecture, and culture…huge influence around the world ● Famous painters: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo ● Italy is the heart of the Catholic Church…Vatican City (a city-state) is surrounded by Rome, Italy.

Poland ● Located at the heart of the continent ● Currently has 7 neighbors, but over the centuries, its borders have changed many times ● Because of wars and pollution, many of Poland’s wild animals have decreased in population…the current government is trying to reverse the damage

Russia ● Largest country in the WORLD!! ●Cold winters; mild summers; frigid in the Arctic regions. ● Rich in natural resources but its COLD where the resources are located!

Spain ● Occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula ● Famous for their love of life, regional dances and music, and soccer ● Pyrenees Mountains form the border between France and Spain

Ukraine ● Ukraine suffered from radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident which occurred in Ukraine (USSR) in ● Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in August ● Some of the oldest known dwellings in the world are found in Mezhirich, Ukraine (found in 1965)…these homes are made from mammoth bones!

United Kingdom ●United Kingdom (also called the U.K.) consists of four nations…England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. ●Britain is an island country and the surrounding sea gives England a varied climate. It can be sunny one day and rainy the next. In general we have warm summers and cool winters. Summers are cooler than those on the continent, but the winters are milder. ●The main influence on climate is the close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the northern latitude, and the warming of the waters around the land by the Gulf Stream (a warm current of the northern Atlantic Ocean).