Europe

Overview Europe is the second smallest of the world's seven continents. Nevertheless Europe has more people than any other continent except Asia and Africa.

Land and Climate Europe has scarcely any desert, and a greater proportion of its land is suitable for farming than in any other continent. More than half the land— including much of Western and Eastern Europe—consists of fairly flat, low plains. In parts of Northern Europe glaciers have created a rocky landscape. Southern Europe occupies land that juts into the Mediterranean Sea. Europe's highest mountains are found in the south. The rugged Alps dominate south-central Europe, while the Pyrenees form a high barrier between Spain and France. Europe's eastern boundary is formed by the low Ural Mountains, which stretch through Russia from north to south. (Western Russia is part of Europe, while eastern Russia lies in Asia.) Europe has many rivers but few large lakes. The major rivers include the Rhine, Seine, and Rhône in the west, the Po in the south, and the Danube, Elbe, Oder, Vistula, Volga, and Don in the center and east. Most of Western Europe has a moist and moderate climate, while Eastern Europe has cold winters and hot summers, especially in the southeast. The winter can be long and very cold in the far north. The countries near the Mediterranean Sea have hot, dry summers and mild winters.

Plants and Animals Evergreen forests of pine, spruce, fir, and larch grow in parts of the north and northeast. In the southeast lie areas of grassland. Plants that do not need much water, such as olive and cypress trees, grow in the Mediterranean region. The rest of Europe was once a vast forest, but most of it is now gone. Over the centuries people chopped down trees to make room for farming and other human activities. Many large animals—even lions—once roamed Europe but have disappeared because of human activity. The gray wolf and beaver now survive only in a few remote areas, and the range of the European bison also has been much reduced. Northern Europe is home to reindeer.

People Most Europeans are descended from other Europeans, though some Europeans are of African or Asian ancestry. The vast majority of the people speak either a Romance language (such as French, Spanish, and Italian), a Germanic language (such as German, English, and the Scandinavian languages), or a Slavic language (such as Russian, Polish, and Czech). Some form of Christianity is the main religion in almost every European country. Most Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, French, Austrians, Hungarians, Poles, and Belgians are Roman Catholic. Protestantism is the main religion in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and The Netherlands. Eastern Orthodox Christians live in Greece, Russia, and other eastern and southern countries. Jews live throughout Europe, but their numbers were greatly reduced in the Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany during World War II. Muslims live in many European countries and form the majority in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey. Europe is a world leader in education and health. European governments generally provide health care to all citizens, and on average Europeans live longer than people in many other parts of the world.

Map of Europe

Castle in the Ukraine

Fjord in Norway

Spanish girls in traditional costume

Bibliography "Europe." Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., Web. 5 Jan ?articleId=353110