1. Europe

2. Physical Geography of Europe

3. Mountains and Plains Landforms shaped lives of Europeans
Geologically older mountains across northern Europe
Younger, higher mountains in the south (Alps, Pyrenees) created by recent tectonic activity
Alps separate warm, dry climate of Mediterranean from cooler northern Europe
Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe
Northern European Plain- across northern Europe
Fertile soil, good for agriculture
Location of largest cities in Europe
Hungarian Plain- eastern Europe, good agricultural area
Along Danube River,
Long rivers in heartland of Europe- Rhine, Danube, Rhone, Seine, Po
Europeans have altered waterways (canals, dikes) to connect industrial centers
Danube most important river in eastern Europe, Rhine important to western Europe

5. Physical Geography of Europe
Most people live within 300 miles of ocean/sea, shaped lifestyles
Netherlands mostly below sea level
For over 500 years Dutch built large dikes to hold back North Sea
Polders are reclaimed land
Provide land for settlement and farming
Use windmills to pump out water

6. Land of Peninsulas Europe is a large peninsula
Scandinavian Peninsula- Norway, Sweden, Finland
Norway’s coast has many small inlets called fjords- evidence of glaciations
Jutland-Denmark
Iberian Peninsula- Spain and Portugal, most of it is a semiarid plateau, cut off from the rest of Europe by Pyrenees Mts., mts kept region isolated
Apennine Peninsula- Italy, along spine of peninsula Apennines Mts., earthquakes, volcanoes common in region
Balkan Peninsula- southeast Europe, tangle of mountains and valleys, historically kept people isolated

8. Islands
Major Islands
Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland located in Atlantic
Climate moderated by warm North Atlantic current
Sicily, Crete, Sardinia, Corsica in Mediterranean
Characterized by earthquakes and volcanoes
Mt. Etna Europe’s largest active volcano located on Sicily

9. Natural Resources
Abundant supply of coal, iron ore helped fuel Industrial Revolution
Many starting to be depleted
Vast oil reserves in the North Sea
Wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power in widespread use
Geothermal energy abundant in Iceland

10. Climate and Vegetation
Europe’s relationship to the sea influence climate and vegetation
Western, Southern Europe benefit from maritime winds
Western Europe- maritime west coast climate (mild winters, cool summers, abundant rainfall)
Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift bring warm water from tropical regions, westerly winds carry warm moist air to European landmass, Scandinavian Peninsula and southern Iceland
Arctic, subarctic climate types found across northern Europe

11. Climate and Vegetation
Southern Europe- most is a Mediterranean climate
Balkan Peninsula (subtropical), Spain (steppe )
Alps block moisture from Atlantic
Local winds cause changes in the normal pattern- Mistral (brings cold air from Alps to southern France), Siroccos (brings hot dry air from North Africa to region)
Eastern Europe humid continental climate, cold winters, hot summers
Does not benefit from ocean influence
Steppe climate in southwestern Europe characterize by drought, poor soils
Influenced development of region