Section #1 A Land of Varied Riches

Vocabulary Mediterranean Sea – an inland sea that borders Europe, Southwest Asia, and Africa Peninsula – a body of land surrounded by water on three sides Fjord – a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea located between steep cliffs Ural Mountains – a mountain range along Europe’s eastern border that divides the continent from Asia Plain – a large, flat area of land, usually without many trees

Main Ideas Water was the fastest form of transportation in early Europe The Mediterranean Sea, Rhine, Danube, and Volga rivers were important waterways Europe is made of many peninsulas Europe has many fjords Europe itself is a giant peninsula The Ural Mountains divide Europe from Asia Mountain ranges separated groups of people. That is why many cultures developed. The Great European Plain stretches from France to the Ural Mountains.

GEP – contains some of the world’s richest farmlands Ancient trading centers attracted people there The trading centers are now some of the largest cities in Europe – Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, & Moscow The climate is cold in the north. Countries along the Mediterranean Sea are protected by the Alps & Pyrenees The south is pleasant There are large deposits of coal in the Ruhr Valley Russian & Ukraine have vast amounts of iron ore There is rich soil for forests, orchards, vineyards, dairy land, rye, potatoes, and wheat