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The Middle Ages page 1 |
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The Geography of Europe |
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Europe - is the second smallest continent, but has a very large population for its size - is a land of many nations ex. Russia is the largest, Vatican City is the smallest |
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Europe is part of a large landmass called EURASIA EURASIA includes two continents: Europe and Asia |
| Europe has many natural regions: |
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1.
low
lying plains
ex. North
European Plain - most fertile farmland in Europe 2.
high plateaus 3.
high mountains ex. Alps, Apennines, Pyrenees
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4.
islands ex. the British Isles, Iceland |
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5.
many navigable rivers
navigable means - wide or deep enough to be traveled on by
ships |
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ex.. 1. Volga -
Europe's longest river
2. Danube -
Source in Carpathians; empties into Black Sea
3. Rhine –
source in Alps 4. Rhone - source in Alps 5. Thames – flows through London, UK |
| 6. Seine - flows through Paris, France |
| Europe contains many landlocked nations |
| Landlocked means: completely surrounded by land |
| Europe
is often called the peninsula of peninsulas.
WHY?
It is really a huge peninsula that is made up of many smaller peninsulas. |
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Because Europe has so many islands and peninsulas, it has a very long COASTLINE.... which allows it to have many harbors and ports and this leads to...... |
| What is the effect of Europe having so many major rivers? |
1. travel 2. trade 3. power (hydroelectric, etc) 4. communication
and,
of course, CULTURAL DIFFUSION
| EUROPE has many climates (look at map on p 211 GB) |
| How many different climates? nine |
| HOWEVER,
the climate is mainly temperate, or mild due to the fact
that winds bring warm air from currents in the Atlantic
Ocean.
1.
The Gulf Stream warm ocean current that flows N. and E. from across Atlantic from Gulf of Mexico 2. North Atlantic Drift -currents that flow around the British Isles |
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Europe’s
rich geographic features 1.
navigable rivers 2.
mild climate 3.
central location 4.
long coastline
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