CHAPTER 13: EASTERN EUROPE

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

LANDFORMS Carpathian Mountains in Slovakia Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria Dinaric Alps along Adriatic Sea All are eastern extensions of the Swiss Alps

LANDFORMS Adriatic coast exhibits KARST topography: limestone bedrock with rocky ground, caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and absence of surface streams and lakes Due to the soluble limestone

LANDFORMS Plains dominate the north (Poland and Baltic states) Part of the Northern European Plain Hungarian Plain: runs through Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and western Romania

RIVERS Danube River: 2nd longest in Europe; begins in the Black Forest (Germany) and empties into the Black Sea Vistula River: largest in Poland; empties into Baltic Sea Oder River: begins in Czech Rep.; forms part of boundary btwn Poland and Germany

seas Black Sea: eastern coast of Balkan Peninsula Baltic Sea: north; btwn mainland Europe and Scandinavian Peninsula Adriatic Sea: btwn Balkan Penin. and Italian Penin

Natural resources Natural gas, coal, and oil in Carpathian Mts Poland: coal, nat gas, iron, zinc, lead, copper, silver, amber Bauxite is abundant (used to make aluminum)

SECTION 2: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

SHATTER BELT Nickname for E. Europe Due to constant political and territorial fracturing along ethnic lines More likely to engage in interstate wars

EARLY PEOPLES Early people were called Slavs Migrated from Asia Balkan peninsula mountains protected them from invaders 106 A.D.: Romans conquer the area and name it Romania

CONFLICT Balkans has long been unstable After WWI (break up of Ottoman Empire), people left with no formal country Yugoslavia is created, combining numerous different ethnicities in one area BALKANIZATION: division of a region into smaller regions Yugoslavia creation was the opposite

SOVIET UNION After WWII: Eastern Europe falls under control of the communist Soviet Union Brings about Cold War E. Euro was a “buffer zone” for the Soviets Provided military protection and led to different types of political, social, and economic changes

THE NEW ERA 1950s-1980s: periodic revolts against communists 1989: Berlin Wall falls, marking the end of Soviet control By 1991, nationalist protests led to the secession of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, and Macedonia from Yugoslavia

NEW ERA CONTINUED Serbia and Montenegro remained in Yugoslavia Led to ethnic tensions, resulting in civil war Serbia, under Slobodan Milosevic began practicing… ETHNIC CLEANSING: the expelling from a country or genocide of an ethnic group Targeting Bosnia Croats and Bosnian Muslims

NEW ERA CONTINUED International peace keeping force responds Milosevic overthrown 2006: Montenegro declares independence from Serbia 2008: Kosovo independence Yugoslavia now divided into 8 countries

ECONOMICS Industrialized under Soviet rule Still fairly agrarian Olives, citrus fruits, dates, grapes Center for low-cost manufacturing of electronics