1. EUROPE

2. 1. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
RELIEF
CLIMATES
LANDSCAPES
RIVERS

3. RELIEF
Europe is located in the northern hemisphere between 25º and 72º N. It is a major peninsula of Asia; hence the whole continental block is known as Eurasia.

4. a. GEOLOGICAL HISTORY PRECAMBRIAN (4600 to 600 million years)
The BALTIC SHIELD was formed and flattened by the erosion.

5. PALEOZOIC OR PRIMARY ERA (600 to 225 million years)
Different orogenies due to the movement of the tectonic plates. Today are round and short mountains.
CALEDONIAN OROGENY: Emerged:
Scandinavian Mountains, Highlands and Wales.

6. HERCYNIAN OROGENY: Emreged:
Massif Central of France and Ardennes.

7. SECONDARY ERA (225 to 65 million years)
Period of geoloical clam, mainly sedimentation.
TERTIARY ERA (65 to 25 million years):
ALPINE OROGENY: Collision between Euroasian plate and African plate.
Emerged: Pyrenees, Alps, Appenine, Blakans, Carpathians, etc.
Also volcanic
islands

9. QUATERNARY (from 25 million years)
Period of sedementation and changes caused by sea, rivers and glaicers.

10. b. MAIN TYPES OF RELIEF OLD MOUNTAINS:
They are mostly located in the northwest and centre of the continent, such as the Central Massif and the Vosgues (France), the Scottish Highlands, or the Scandinavian Mountains.

11. YOUNG MOUNTAINS
They are mostly found in the south and they grew during the Alpine orogeny. Alps, Pyrenees, Baetic Systems, Appenines, Balkans, and Carpathians are the main young mountain ranges.
PLAINS
They occupy a large area from the Pyrenees towards the Ural Mountains bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. The main plain is the Great European Plain.

12. CLIMATES

13. OCEANIC CLIMATE Atlantic side of the continet.
Milds temperatures and abundant precipitations that occur in all seasons.

14. MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE:
It is around the Mediterranean basin and it can be coastal or inland Mediterranean climate.
Temperatures: high in summer and mild in winter.
Precipitation are scarce, especially in summer.

15. CONTINENTAL CLIMATE: It occupies most of Central and Eastern Europe.
Winter is very cold and summer is very hot.
Preipitations are concentrated in summer.

16. ALPINE CLIMATE
It is just located on the highest summits of the continents.
Temperatures drop as altitude increase.
Precipitations are
abundant all the year
round.

17. POLAR CLIMATE:
It is located in the northernmost areas of Scandinavia and Russia.
Temperatures: winter is long and hard (between -20ºC and -50ºC), and summer is practically nonexistent.
Precipitations are scarce.

18. LANDSCAPES The European landscapes are:
Temperate climate landscapes (oceanic, contiental and mediterranean)
Cold climate landscapes (polar and high mountain)

19. OCEANIC:
It is the common deciduous forest that is present in most of the western area of the continent where oaks, beeches, or elms can be found. Moreover there are moors and meadows.

20. MEDITERRANEAN
It is composed of Mediterranean forest (holm oak, cork oak, pine...) and Mediterranean scrubland.

21. CONTINENTAL
It is common in the interior of the continent and it is composed of taiga (conifers), steppes, and prairies.

22. ALPINE
On many of the mountains of the continent it is composed of vegetation distributed in tier.

23. POLAR
Tundra in the far north of the continent and it is composed of moss and lichens.

24. RIVERS
Arctic drainage basin. They remain frozen most of the year (Northern Dvina, Pechora).
Atlantic drainage basin. They are long and have a large flow (Rhine, Elbe, Seine, Loire, Garonne, Duero, and Tagus).
Mediterranean drainage basin. These rivers are commonly short are very irregular due to little rainfall in this area (Ebro, Rhone, and Po).
Black Sea drainage basin. They are long rivers whose flow is quite large (Danube, Dniester, Dnieper, and Don).
Caspian Sea drainage basin. They are long rivers with a large flow that cross the Russian steppe (Volga, Ural).