1. Physical geography of Europe notes

2. How many European countries have you been to?
Mrs. Breen has been to 12! 

3. climate

5. Climate zones
Name of Zone
Weather
Location
Marine West Coast
Mild temps, high rain, long growing season
NW and Central
Humid Continental
Cool summer, cold winter
Eastern and Northern
Mediterranean
Summers = hot/ dry, winters = mild/wet
Southern
Subarctic
Cold, evergreen trees
Norway, Sweden, Finland
Tundra
Frigid cold, treeless plain, winter=4 hours of sun
Highland
Cool to cold, rainfall varies
Alps and Carpathian Mountains
Europe has three main climate zones—marine west coast, humid continental, and Mediterranean.
Three additional climate zones appear in small areas of Europe— subarctic, tundra, highland.

6. Landforms and waterways

7. Landforms and waterways
Europe has a long coastline. It borders the Atlantic Ocean
The Baltic, North, Mediterranean, and Black Seas.
Only a few countries are landlocked, or do not border an ocean or a sea.
Nearness to water has influenced Europe’s history and people. Shipping and fishing encouraged trade and helped build Europe’s economy.
Exploration spread European culture worldwide and brought ideas from Asia, Africa, and the Americas to Europe.

9. Landforms and waterways
rivers
Lakes
Danube
Rhine
Rhone
Seine
Thames
Volga
Como
Geneva
Garda
Constance

10. River thames
River rhine

11. Lake Geneva, Switzerland
Lake como, italy

12. Landforms and waterways
Peninsulas
islands
Iberian (Portugal, Spain)
Balkan (Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Bosnia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia)
Italian (Italy)
Scandinavian (Norway, Sweden, Finland)
Jutland(Denmark, part of Germany)
Great Britain
Ireland
Iceland
Cyprus
Greenland (belongs to Denmark)

13. Landforms and waterways
Physical map
Iceland spas!

14. Landforms and waterways
Plains
Mountains and highlands
The Northern European Plain is Europe’s major landform.
The soil is rich, and the plain also holds underground deposits of coal, iron ore, and other minerals. Most of Europe’s population live and work on this vast plain.
Other lowland areas include the Hungarian Plain and Ukrainian Steppe.
Europe’s highest mountain ranges form the Alpine Mountain System.
The Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Carpathians are included in this system.
People and goods travel through passes, or low areas between mountains.

15. European plain
alps

16. resources

17. Natural resources
Coal has been a key energy source for Europe. In the 1800s coal fueled early factories. Today Europe supplies almost half of the world’s coal.
Two other energy resources are natural gas and petroleum. Productive oil fields are found beneath the North Sea in areas controlled by Norway and the United Kingdom.
Europeans also use clean energy sources that cause less pollution. Swift- flowing rivers create hydroelectric power. Wind farms use turbines with fanlike blades to make electricity.

18. Natural resources
Other resources include iron ore and manganese used to make steel. Marble and granite provide building materials. Many of Europe’s once-vast forests have been cut down
Fertile soil allows farmers to grow large amounts of crops, including rye, oats, wheat, and potatoes. Europe’s waterways provide another valuable resource—fish.

19. Environmental concerns
The waterways in and around Europe are polluted. Sewage, garbage, and industrial waste are dumped into the region’s seas, rivers, and lakes.
Chemicals in pesticides and fertilizers run off from farmland into rivers, harming fish and other marine life.
Smoke from burning oil and coal creates air pollution, which causes breathing problems and other health risks. When chemicals in air pollution mix with precipitation, acid rain results

20. Russia information

21. Russia is the largest country in the world, measuring about 6,200 miles from east to west. The country is located on two continents— Europe and Asia. The Ural Mountains divide the European and Asian parts of Russia.
Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest freshwater lake, is located in southern Siberia. It holds one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen freshwater.

22. Most of the European portion of Russia lies on the Northern European Plain. This fertile area has a mild climate, and about 75 percent of Russia’s population lives there.
Moscow, the capital, and St. Petersburg, a large port city near the Baltic Sea, are located on the Northern European Plain.
Good farmland and grassy plains are found farther south along the Volga and other rivers.

23. Russia is filled with natural resources
Russia is filled with natural resources. The country has large reserves of fossil fuels—oil, natural gas, and coal.
It also has major deposits of iron ore, copper, and gold. The iron ore has been used to build up Russia’s steel industry.
Another valuable resource found in Russia is timber.

24. Most of Russia is located in the high latitudes
Most of Russia is located in the high latitudes. Because it is so far north, Russia does not receive much of the sun’s heat, even during the summer.
Much of Russia also is inland, away from the oceans.