1. Europe: A Cultural Region

2. Cultural Region Key Terms
CULTURE: Refers to the various characteristics of life (language, livelihood, religion, food, customs) that are shared by a group of people.
CULTURAL REGION: An area characterized by a common culture where people have one or more cultural traits, like language or religion, in common
CULTURAL TOURISM: Tourism designed to encourage people to experience the culture of a specific people and region

3. Europe: An introduction
Today – most countries in Europe are the envy of the world. Its people enjoy high living standards, which we can see in the high levels of literacy, health care and income.
Its languages are now spoken throughout much of the world as many countries in Europe explored and conquered various parts of the world.

4. Europe: An Overview 6th largest continent, population ~ 740,000,000
Despite sharing landmass with Asia, Geographers consider it a continent due to distinct cultural differences
Europe separated from Asia by Ural Mountains and the Caspian and Black Seas
47 countries (not including those shared with Asian continent) and assorted dependencies and territories
Incredible global influence from early exploration, colonization, present day

6. There are 5 ways that geography has helped European societies flourish:
Location: on the North Plain with fertile farmland along coastline
Climate: temperate, moderating effect of the water; Atlantic storms encourage people to be adaptable
Mountains: settlement in lower elevation along coastlines and rivers
Peninsulas: as a point of land surrounded by water; numerous settlements developed along the many coasts
Proximity to water (rivers & ocean): transportation, trade, fishing, power, exploration and colonization potential.

7. Europe & Tourism Western Europe top tourist region in world due to:
People’s historical/cultural ties
Wide range of historical/cultural attractions
Small continent means travellers can see many places in a short period of time
Highly developed transportation and tourism industry
Peaceful, accessible