PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE AND RUSSIA Chapters 12 and 15

NORTHERN PENINSULAS  Scandinavian Peninsula: located in Northern Europe; home to Norway and Sweden. Bounded by Norwegian, North, and Baltic Seas Shows results of glacial movement Hard to farm on the thin, rocky soil  Jutland Peninsula: directly across North Sea from Scandinavia; Denmark and a small part of Germany Gentle, rolling hills and swampy low-lying areas Great for farming Opposite of Scandinavia

FJORDS: steep, U-shaped valleys that connect to the sea and that filled with sea water after glaciers melted.

SOUTHERN PENINSULAS  Iberian Peninsula: Spain and Portugal; Pyrenees Mtns. block off this peninsula from the rest of Europe  Italian Peninsula: Italy; boot shaped; extends into Mediterranean Sea  Balkan Peninsula: bordered by Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas; mountainous

ISLANDS  North Atlantic Islands: larger islands  Great Britain  Ireland  Iceland  Greenland  Mediterranean Islands:  Corsica  Sardinia  Sicily  Crete *ALL EUROPEAN ISLANDS DEPEND ON TRADE*

MOUNTAIN CHAINS  Alps: cross France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria  Cut off Italy from the rest of Europe  Pyrenees Mountains: form border between Spain and France; restrict movement from France, Spain, and Portugal  Apennine Mountains: run like a spine down the middle of Italy, divide the country into E and W halves  Balkan Mountains: block off Balkan peninsula from rest of Europe

MOUNTAIN CHAINS (RUSSIA)  Ural Mountains: Separate N. Europe and W. Siberian Plain  Border between Europe and Asia  Eurasia  Caucasus Mountains: border between Russia and Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia)

UPLANDS: HILLS OR VERY LOW MOUNTAINS THAT MAY ALSO CONTAIN MESAS OR HIGH PLATEAUS  Meseta: Central Plateau of Spain  Massif Central: uplands of France; 1/6 of French lands located here

RIVERS – USED TO TRANSPORT GOODS AND IDEAS; CONNECTS EUROPEANS  Danube River: cuts through heart of Europe from W-E. Links Europeans to the Black Sea. 1,771 miles; touches 9 countries  Rhine River: 820 miles from interior of Europe north to the North Sea

 Volga River: longest river in Europe; starts near Moscow and drains into the Caspian Sea (2,300 miles)  Caspian Sea: a saltwater lake; largest inland sea in the world  Arctic Basin: largest river basin in Russia. Ob, Yeinsey, and Lena rivers deliver water to the Arctic Ocean through 3 million square miles of river basin

 Aral Sea: a saltwater lake; receives water from Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Officials redirected water form these two rivers for large irrigation projects.  The sea began to evaporate, 1960-present, lost 80%  Could vanish within the next 20 years

 Lake Baikal: deepest lake in the world  More than I mile at it’s deepest point  Nearly 400 miles N-S  Holds nearly 20% of the world’s fresh water

NORTHERN EUROPEAN PLAIN  Extensive lowland area  Over 1,000 miles from Western border of Russia to the Ural Mountains  75% of the region’s people live on the plain  Chernozem: “black earth  Some of the most fertile soil in the world  Located on the Northern European Plain  Region’s 3 largest cities are located here: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev

REGIONS  West Siberian Plain: lies between Urals and Yenisey River, and between shores of the Arctic Ocean and foothills of Altay Mountains; tilts northward  Central Siberian Plateau: made up of high plateaus (1-2,000 feet) between Yenisey and Lena Rivers  Russian Far East: east of Lena River; complex system of volcanic ranges. Includes Sakhalin and Kuril Islands

REGIONS  Transcaucasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia  Siberia: part of Russia that lies on the continent of Asia

RESOURCES  Europe has an abundant supply of 2 natural resources: coal and iron ore  Led to an extremely industrialized society  33% of Europe is suitable for agriculture  Peat: partially decayed plant matter found in the bogs.  Irish cut peat and use it for fuel (instead of coal)

 Deforestation: been a problem for centuries.  Wood is used to burn for fuel and for building ships and houses  Needed more wood in the s during industrialization  Acid Rain: factories produce high amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide – mixed with oxygen, produces acid rain or snow  This hits Scandinavia hard  Affects ¼ of Europe’s forests  Russian Winter: 32 million people live in Siberia  Most variable temperatures on Earth  -90 in winter, to 94 in summer!  So cold, regular activities are painful  Trans-Siberian Railroad: links Moscow- Vladivostok  5,700 miles  7 time zones