Europe

Leading countries according to GDP  Switzerland  Luxembourg  Sweden

Leading countries according to Land Size  Ukraine  France  Spain

Leading countries according to population  Germany  United Kingdom  Italy  France

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS  Part of a large landmass called EURASIA  Europe includes four peninsulas  A peninsula is a body of land surrounded by water on three sides

 Europe’s peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, Scandinavian,and the Jutland

 Europe also has three ISLANDS  an island is a body of land completely surrounded by water  Europe’s main three islands are Great Britain, Ireland and Sicily

 Europe is also home to many FJORDS  A fjord is a narrow valley or inlet from the sea--originally carved out by glaciers

 Two Major mountain ranges exist in Europe  Alps-  Alps-Central Europe  Pyrenees-  Pyrenees- border between France and Spain

 The largest physical characteristic in Europe is the North European Plain  The North European Plain is a large flat fertile stretch of land important for agriculture, especially in Western Europe

 Rivers also play an important role in Europe.  They are or were used for transportation, power, and trade.  The most important are the Danube (Germany), Rhine (Germany), Seine (France), and the Thames (United Kingdom)

 Seas Oceans  AdriaticAtlantic  AegeanArctic  Mediterranean  Baltic  Black  North

 Landmarks  Strait of Gibraltar- separates Europe from Africa at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea  Climates  varied climate regions-- everything from tundra to mediterranean

 Europe’s climate is also affected by the North American Drift and the prevailing westerlies

 North American Drift is a powerful ocean current that carries tropical water toward the coast of Europe.  The winds which blow across the North American Drift are known as the prevailing westerlies.

 Combined they help to produce a warm, moist climate in most of Europe

Economic Characteristics  The Mountain regions of Europe are famous for tourism, recreation and mineral resources.  Many areas of Europe are threatened by air and water pollution.

 Forests--Black Forest of Germany (acid rain)  Cities--Venice,Italy  Rivers--Danube, Rhine, and Seine

 Many of Europe’s largest industrial and transportation centers developed near mineral deposits, especially coal and iron ore  Ruhr Valley (Germany)  Po Valley (Italy)

 Rivers and canals served as the major transportation links

 There are oil reserves in the North Sea. Great Britain has claimed many of them.  Most countries of Europe, especially Western Europe, have a well educated workforce.

 Most are industrial or technological societies (Switzerland specializes in banking).

 The countries of Western Europe also use advanced farming techniques which gives them high crop yields.  Fertile soils and the chernozem (black earth of Russia) are also found in Europe.

 Most of Europe has a well developed infrastructure.  Infrastructure is things such as roads, power companies railroads and air carriers

 France and Great Britain have built the Chunnel to provide a railroad transportation between their countries.

 Western Europe and Eastern Europe have different industrial systems and different industrial development because of different economic and political systems since 1945.

 Most of western Europe belongs to the Economic Union today. Eastern Europe is slowly catching up after changing their systems in the early 1990s

 The Economic Union is a economic union used to tie the economies of Europe together for the benefit of all members. It is an ECONOMIC ALLIANCE.

 Trade is important in Europe, especially to the island nations.  Sweden and Denmark allow their governments to play a large role in their economies.

 Eastern Europe has begun the switch from communism to capitalism  the Netherlands grows crops on land reclaimed from the sea (Polders)

 Their demographics are typical of a developed nations.  High per capita GDP  High literacy rate  high life expectancy

 low infant mortality  low percentage of the population under the age of 15

Cultural Characteristics  Europe is the birthplace to the Industrial Revolution  The Industrial Revolution was the switch from hand or manual labor to using machines for labor

 England was the center of the Industrial Revolution

 Europe is the home to many ethnic groups   each group brings different languages, religions and customs

 This has led to sporadic conflict among the groups  such as war and revolution

 Europe is the birthplace of modern democracy  Greece is the home of Democracy

 Europe has spread its’ culture to other parts of the world through  exploration  colonization  imperialism

 Europe is highly urbanized  It is one of the most densely populated areas of the world  Most of Western Europe is a member in the political/military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

 All of the following cities act as centers for culture and trade in Europe  Berlin, Germany Rome, Italy  London, England Paris, France  Madrid, Spain  Athens, Greece  Warsaw, Poland

Cultural Landscape  In Paris the following cultural icons can be found:  Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Eiffel Tower

 In Italy the following cultural icons can be found:  Colosseum, Leaning Tower of Pisa, St. Peter’s Basilica

 In Greece—the Parthenon  In England--Westminster Abbey and Big Ben  In Europe in general--windmills (Netherlands) and castles

Parthenon in Greece

Arc de Triomphe in Paris

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower -- Paris

Colosseum--Italy

Leaning Tower of Pisa-- Italy

Big Ben--England

Westminster Abbey

St. Peter’s Basilica

Windmills and Castles

Louvre

Fjord

Alps