European Countries North/ West Europe (11) Ireland UK France Sweden Finland Denmark The Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Iceland Monaco Central Europe (11) Germany Czech Republic Poland Estonia Latvia Lithuania Austria Switzerland Hungary Slovakia Liechenstein Southern Europe/Balkans (16) Spain Portugal Italy Vatican City San Marino Andorra Slovenia Croatia Bosnia Herzegovinia Serbia Montenegro Greece Albania Bulgaria Romania Russia
Significant Landforms
3 R E G I O N S
Europe: A Peninsula of Peninsulas? Or OR A Peninsula of Asia?
Northern Peninsulas Scandinavian Peninsula Jutland Peninsula
Southern Peninsulas Iberian Peninsula Crimean Peninsula Italian Peninsula Balkan Peninsula Anatolean Peninsula
Ural Mountains: The Great Divide
The Ural Mountains
Alpine Mountain System The Alps France, Switzerland, Italy, & Austria NOT a barrier to trade as mtn passages are low.
Apennines Mountainous spine of the Italian boot, volcanic activity Vesuvius, Pompeii Mt. Etna, Sicily
Fjords Fjords Narrow deep inlets of the sea between high rocky cliffs. Carved out by glaciers at the last ice age as the ice retreated Coast of Norway & Iceland
Why are most of the capitals of Europe on major rivers??
Capitals on the Rivers (1) London on the Thames Paris, right bank of the Seine Prague on the Vltava Budapest on the Danube
Capitals on the Rivers (2) Moscow on the Moscow River Berlin on the Spree Rome on the Tiber Vienna on the Danube
Answer: They are Europe s lifeline!
The Volga River Longest river in Europe = 2,300 miles long. Extremely polluted!!
The Danube River 2 nd longest river in Europe. Important for trade & hydroelectric power.
Lake Baikal, Siberia e The oldest and deepest lake in the world. e 20% of the world s total UN-frozen water supply.
Transylvania in the Carpathian Mountains e Home of Vlad Tepeš, the Drakul ( Count Dracula )
The BeNeLux Countries * Belgium * Netherlands * Luxembourg
Reykjavik, Iceland: e Volcanoes e Hot Springs e Geysers
Mediterranean Islands Sardinia emountainous e Mediterranean Sea is polluted eestimated it will take 1,000 years to clean up. Cyprus Malta
English Channel: Body of water between England & France. Connects the Atlantic Ocean & the North Sea.
The Chunnel Tunnel "Chunnel" links the UK & France. Chunnel Tunnel: beneath the English Channel. Travel by train or take car on ferry boat.
POLDERS
Climate
Europe s Latitude v. US
Climate Zones
North Atlantic Drift The Northern part of Western Europe has a marine west coast climate with mild cool summers and warm winters due to the NAD and prevailing westerly winds.
Vegetation Zones
Siberia --> Permafrost e Average temperatures of January vary from 32 to -58 (winter) and in July from 34 to 77!! e A former gulag Soviet prison camp. epopulation is 40 million (1/4 of the Russian population, yet ¾ of the landmass)
Precipitation + pollution = acid rain Cause: burning of coal, gas, & oil by cars, factories, & power plants Acid Rain Harms the environment and a) damages statues, buildings, & bridges, b) has killed entire fish populations c) can harm forests and soil
Air Pollution/Smog Fog + pollution = Smog Destroys plant life Causes building materials to deteriorate faster than usual
CHERNOBYL: How Did This Happen? Reactor overheated (4/26/86) Winds carried radioactive material into N & Central Europe. Soviet leaders concealed this for 2 days, refused outside help. Health problems for people & their unborn children continue in this area.
Language
Members of the Indo- European Language Family
Religions
Major Religious Groups in Europe
Economy
Economic Systems GDP of European countries varies greatly. 5 of the top 10 wealthiest nations in the world - European. Countries in color are socialist. W. Europe: Free Market E. Europe: Socialist
European Union Economic & political union of 27 countries located primarily in Europe. Grows in size & power as new countries join. http://www.ecb.int/euro/intro/html /map.en.html EU born because Europeans wanted to prevent the atrocities of WWII from ever happening again. Eliminates Trade Barriers among members (NAFTA, ASEAN).
Political & Population Characteristics
Political Systems US & Europe: constitutional democracies with elected representation. European monarchies are limited in power. (ie parliament or some sort of representation for the people). Red: Monarchy Blue: Republic
Population Distribution
Population Growth
Genocide Definition: The deliberate & systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group. Bosnian Genocide: 1992-1995 during Bosnian War, target - Bosnian Muslims & Croations. Over 50,000 men, women & children murdered during this time. The Holocaust: murder of over 11 million people: Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Communists/political dissidents, Slavs, Jehovah's Witnesses, some Protestant pastors & Catholic priests, black people, mentally & physically disabled, as well as others. 1933-1945: 2 out of every 3 European Jews murdered.
Northern Ireland Ireland The World
Ireland & the IRA IRA wanted independence from England to create an independent Irish republic Post WWI British army sent over former World War I soldiers to fight; many settled in the N. part of Ireland England gave Ireland freedom (1921), kept the Northern part is still a part of the UK today.