1. Europe and the Russian Core Chapter Notes
PreAP World Geography
Unit 6:
Europe and the Russian Core
Chapter Notes

2. NORTHERN EUROPE

3. Physical Geography of Northern Europe
Landforms
Northern Europe is made up of five countries: Norway and Sweden on the Scandinavian Peninsula, Denmark on the Jutland Peninsula, Finland in the eastern part of the region, and the island country of Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Glaciation is the primary process by which the landforms of Northern Europe came to be as they are today.
During the last ice age, ice filled the valleys and carved out fjords that are now filled with seawater, creating steep, rugged mountains.

4. Physical Geography of Northern Europe
Water Systems
Glaciation left hundreds of thousands of lakes in Northern Europe.
Iceland’s rivers consist of glacial debris, making them cloudy.
Many of the rivers on the Scandinavian Peninsula contain falls and rapids that hamper transportation between cities.
The countries of Northern Europe harness the power of these falls and rapids to run hydroelectric power plants.

5. Physical Geography of Northern Europe
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
The climate patterns and biomes of Northern Europe are affected by latitude, landforms, wind patterns, ocean currents, and distance from water.
Natural vegetation varies from forests to tundra plants.
While the area has oil and natural gas resources, the countries of the region are leaders in developing renewable energy.

6. Human Geography of Northern Europe
History and Government
Northern Europe, also referred to as the Nordic countries, has been shaped by years of invasions, migrations, and trade.
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland have similar structures of societies and cultural traits.
Industrialization brought an influx of new social classes, which changed the political culture.
Following World War II, the Nordic countries developed democracies.

7. Human Geography of Northern Europe
Population Patterns
Migration and ethnicity have influenced where people have settled.
The Sami are descendants of nomadic peoples who lived in Scandinavia for thousands of years.
The Nordic countries have lower population densities than most other countries in Europe.
Populations concentrate in areas near the sea and in metropolitan areas.

10. Human Geography of Northern Europe
Society and Culture Today
While Protestant religions dominate in every Nordic country, society is very secular.
Northern Europe is filled with the world's most educated population, with literacy rates at nearly 100 percent throughout the region.
The governments function as welfare states, providing social services but levying large taxes.
Women are achieving equal status in Nordic society, nearing the same status as men in the workplace.

11. Human Geography of Northern Europe
Economic Activities
All of the Nordic countries are small, open economies that rely on foreign trade.
Nordic countries rapidly evolved from agrarian-based economies into modern, industrialized countries.
Commercial fishing, mining, forestry, and energy are the main resources in the area.
The Nordic model emphasizes labor force participation and promotes gender equality and fiscal expansion.

12. People and Their Environment: Northern Europe
Managing Resources
Natural factors and human activity are causing environmental problems.
The Baltic Sea has a unique ecology because of its isolation from the open ocean.
Increased shipping has brought a number of invasive species, non-native organisms that threaten local habitats.
Industrialization has damaged many wetlands.

13. People and Their Environment: Northern Europe
Human Impact
Climate change, acid rain, and pollution are affecting Northern Europe.
Scandinavian scientists were among the first to understand the environmental effects of acid rain.
The high latitudes and steep mountain valleys make climate change more noticeable in Northern Europe.

14. People and Their Environment: Northern Europe
Addressing the Issues
Governments and civic groups are taking steps to address environmental problems.
Environmental management focuses on sustainability and long-term planning.
Conservation has been an important issue for the Nordic countries for over 100 years.
The region supports ecotourism, a way to encourage tourism that limits damage to the unique lands of Northern Europe.

15. NORTHWESTERN EUROPE

16. Physical Geography of Northwestern Europe
Landforms
Northwestern Europe consists of plains interrupted by mountains.
Filled with fertile soil and many rivers, the Great European Plain is an important area for farming.
The southern edge of the plains is covered in loess, a fine, rich soil left by glaciers.
The Alps, a tall, jagged mountain range, runs across the southern part of the region.

17. Physical Geography of Northwestern Europe
Water Systems
Water plays a critical role in the lives and economies of Northwestern Europe.
Most cities are within 300 miles of a sea or ocean coast.
The lakes in the Alps are an important water source.
With nearly 25 percent of the Netherlands below sea level, the Dutch have built a series of dikes, banks of earth or stone, to hold back water.

18. Physical Geography of Northwestern Europe
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
The North Atlantic Current brings warm water up from the Caribbean, contributing to mild winters, cool summers, and abundant rainfall.
Local winds can cause changes to the normal weather pattern, like the foehn, dry winter winds that can cause avalanches, the destructive masses of snow and ice that slide down mountainsides.
The area’s abundant supply of coal and iron ore fueled industrial development.

19. Human Geography of Northwestern Europe
History and Government
Northwestern Europe was profoundly influenced by Christianity and the Roman Empire.
The Crusades opened up trade routes to the eastern Mediterranean.
During the Enlightenment, people began to embrace reason and to question tradition.
The European Union was formed in the 1990s as an alliance that works toward European economic and political unity.

20. Human Geography of Northwestern Europe
Population Patterns
Internal and external migration have shaped this area of Europe.
After World War II, guest workers, or foreign laborers working temporarily in industrialized countries, helped encourage economic growth in the postwar period.
Low birthrates have resulted in decreasing populations in some countries.
Cities along navigable rivers like the Seine and Thames are key trading centers.

21. Human Geography of Northwestern Europe
Society and Culture Today
Many people speak more than one language in most of the countries located in Northwestern Europe.
Christianity is the primary religion in the region, although many do not actively practice their faith.
Women in this region achieved suffrage, or the right to vote, before women in the United States and many other areas of the world.
Many influential artistic movements began here, such as Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism.

22. Human Geography of Northwestern Europe
Economic Activities
Northwestern Europe is the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
Over 70 percent of workers are employed in service industries.
Agribusiness, or large-scale corporate farming, arose to address the increasing demand for food as the number of farmers shrank.
The EU has achieved high volumes of trade by eliminating tariffs and trade barriers among member nations.

23. People and Their Environment: Northwestern Europe Europe
Managing Resources
As a highly developed and industrialized economy, Northwestern Europe consumes large amounts of natural resources and generates large amounts of waste products.
Countries that border the Mediterranean Sea sometimes use it for waste disposal.
Overfishing has been a problem in the subregion.
Fragmentation of the landscape is causing some animal populations to become isolated.

24. People and Their Environment: Northwestern Europe
Human Impact
Manufacturing and heavy auto use has increased air pollution.
Polluted clouds drift from the industrial belt and cause acid deposition, wet or dry acid pollution that falls to the ground.
This acid pollution withers forests, reduces oxygen for fish in rivers and lakes, and even damages buildings.

25. People and Their Environment: Northwestern Europe
Addressing the Issues
Countries in the EU can face legal action if they do not respect environmental protection laws.
Many factories now burn natural gas instead of coal, or are powered by alternative energy sources.
All the countries in Northwestern Europe have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, part of a treaty on climate change.
Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are working to protect ecosystems.

26. SOUTHERN EUROPE

27. Physical Geography of Southern Europe
Landforms
Southern Europe is made up of three peninsulas: Spain and Portugal on the Iberian Peninsula, Italy on the Italian Peninsula, and Greece on the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula.
Andorra, San Marino, and Vatican City are smaller countries in the interior, while the island nations of Malta and Cyprus serve important functions in the Mediterranean Sea.
Mountain ranges like the Pyrenees and the Alps form a natural border with Northwestern Europe.

28. Physical Geography of Southern Europe
Water Systems
Although important to the ecology of the region, Southern Europe’s shallow rivers are not viable transportation or trade routes.
The Ebro River in Spain provides hydroelectric power and water for agriculture.
The drainage from the Po River in Italy feeds the country’s most fertile plain.
Italy’s Tiber River is the primary water source for the capital city of Rome.

29. Physical Geography of Southern Europe
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
The Alps block Atlantic winds from the north, causing the warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters of this Mediterranean climate.
The subregion is well suited for growing grapes, olives, shrub herbs, and raising livestock.
Tungsten, one of Spain’s many natural resources, is essential to the high-tech industry.
Italy has few mineral resources, while Portugal has large deposits of copper.

30. Human Geography of Southern Europe
History and Government
The civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome laid the foundation for Western civilization.
The Renaissance marked a period of cultural revival and enlightenment.
Spain and Portugal became leaders in the Age of Exploration, establishing new empires.
Nationalism and unification in the 1800s and 1900s brought political stability to the area.
Recent economic challenges include high unemployment rates and credit problems.

31. Human Geography of Southern Europe
Population Patterns
Southern Europe is one of the most populated regions of the world.
As the populations of Greece, Italy, and Spain age and the birthrates fall, care for the elderly is straining the social welfare systems.
Demand for labor is being met by migrants within the European Union.
Economic migration throughout the EU has resulted in a growing diversity of cultures. 31

32. Human Geography of Southern Europe
Society and Culture Today
Education in Southern Europe is mandatory for all children.
The cultures of Greece, Spain, and Italy are centered on the family and are influenced by the Roman Catholic religion.
Women have achieved a high level of gender equality in higher education and business, though their success in politics has been slower to develop.
The Greeks and Romans developed many important elements of art and architecture.

33. Human Geography of Southern Europe
Economic Activities
The global recession of 2008 hit Southern Europe hard.
Spain and Italy continue to face challenges.
As one of the least developed in the area, Greece’s economy remains weak as it grapples with high public spending, low productivity, and tax evasion.
The EU is facing its first test of economic stability with Southern Europe suffering from record national debt and high unemployment.

34. People and Their Environment: Southern Europe34

35. People and Their Environment: Southern Europe
Human Impact
The decline of fish stocks has adversely affected the overall health of the marine biome.
Manufacturing and tourism cause pollution that is a major threat to surrounding seas and agricultural resources.
Pollutants and other human impacts have led to pollution hot spots, the extreme damage or even death of the local ecosystem. 35

36. People and Their Environment: Southern Europe
Addressing the Issues
The EU created the European Environmental Agency to effectively deal with environmental issues.
Many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as Earthwatch, are working on solutions to environmental problems.
Certification is a way to combat deforestation and to ensure that forest resources are being used responsibly. 36

37. EASTERN EUROPE

38. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Landforms
The area is characterized by several mountain ranges that are extensions of the Swiss Alps.
Lowlands within this region have a karst topography, areas of barren and rocky ground.
The Balkan Peninsula’s rugged landscape makes traveling over land difficult, thereby increasing the importance of waterways for transportation.
The Balkan Mountains provide a climate barrier between the Danube River valley and the transitional climate south of the mountains. 38

39. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Water Systems
Large rivers and seas act as natural borders between countries and are important to economic activities in the region.
The Danube is the second largest river in Europe, passing through nine countries and emptying into the Black Sea.
The Vistula River in Poland serves many major cities and industrial centers, including Warsaw.
Other waterways, such as the Oder River, branch out from the main rivers to provide access inland. 39

40. Physical Geography of Eastern Europe
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
Much of Eastern Europe has a humid continental climate.
The Carpathian and Balkan Mountains, along with the Hungarian Plain, make up the Danube region.
Some coastal regions along the Black Sea have micro-biomes.
The Carpathian Mountains contain large energy reserves, while areas around the Baltic Mountains rely on water as a natural resource. 40

41. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
History and Government
Eastern Europe is a shatter belt, or region of great political instability, that drove the area’s Balkanization, or the division of the region into smaller hostile regions.
Yugoslavia attempted to reverse this process, since it combined smaller regions into one country, but it fell apart with the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Power struggles led to civil war and ethnic cleansing, or the genocide of an ethnic group, and Balkanization has continued with countries declaring independence. 41

42. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Population Patterns
The Slavs are an ethnic group that includes Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Macedonians.
The Roma are of Indo-European origin and are the largest minority population in Europe.
The majority of people live in urban areas, although there are large populations along the Danube and Vistula Rivers.
Eastern Europe experienced large migrations during and after World War II with people leaving to escape war and poor conditions. 42

43. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Society and Culture Today
Countries have faced economic challenges in the transition to democratic governments.
The area is marked by many different religious and ethnic groups.
The family is the basic social unit and serves to reinforce social values.
The long history of folk and classical music makes it an important art form among peoples of the region. 43

44. Human Geography of Eastern Europe
Economic Activities
Over the past 20 years, Eastern Europe has transitioned to a market economy.
The region is known for low-cost, high quality electronic and automotive manufacturing, but still maintains its agricultural roots.
As political stability has improved, the region has become increasingly linked to Western Europe through trade and, more recently, by joining the European Union. 44

45. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Managing Resources
Rapid and intense industrialization without regard to the effects on the environment have damaged water quality.
Illegal logging and the burning of those logs generates air pollution that has led to great losses in the area’s biodiversity.
Interest in reforestation, or renewing forest cover, has increased, but countries continue to struggle with protecting the environment while providing opportunity for economic growth. 45

46. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Human Impact
Eastern Europe’s high concentration of industry and excessive reliance on coal have had a devastating impact on the environment.
Waterways have been affected by acid rain and meltwater, the result of melting snow and ice that have carried pollution into lakes and rivers.
As Eastern European countries have joined the EU, environmental protection standards and strict emission controls are helping to address these problems. 46

47. People and Their Environment: Eastern Europe
Addressing the Issues
Serious efforts have been made to help clean up the environment, but directing and funding cleanup is difficult because the process involves many countries.
For countries not yet admitted to the EU, gaining membership provides an important incentive to manage resources and minimize environmental impacts.
Cooperation among Balkan countries is needed to ensure effective resource management. 47

48. RUSSIAN CORE

49. Physical Geography of the Russian Core
Landforms
The Ural Mountains form a natural barrier between European Russia and Siberian Russia.
The majority of the Russian population lives in the southern part of the Northern European Plain where there are waterways and fertile soil.
Ukraine, the second largest European country, has vast stretches of plains and plateaus.
Belarus, the smallest of the three Slavic republics that were once part of the Soviet Union, is a landlocked country with many lakes. 49

50. Physical Geography of the Russian Core
Water Systems
The longest river in Europe, the Volga, along with its tributaries, is an important commercial, transportation, and hydroelectric resource in Russia.
The Dnieper River in Ukraine creates hydroelectric power, enables commerce, and provides fresh water.
Lake Baikal in Siberia, the world’s oldest and deepest lake, is home to many unusual freshwater marine species. 50

51. Physical Geography of the Russian Core
Climate, Biomes, and Resources
Russia’s vast expanse of land lies at a high latitude, resulting in cold, snowy winters.
The interior of the country experiences continentality, or the effect of extreme variation in temperature and very little precipitation.
Much of Russia’s abundant natural resources are in remote and climatically unfavorable areas, making them difficult to utilize. 51

52. Human Geography of the Russian Core
History and Government
Unrest during World War I triggered, or set off, the Russian Revolution of 1917, signaling the demise of Europe’s last absolute monarchy.
The Communist-controlled Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) emerged and engaged in a political and ideological war with the West.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the independence of 15 different countries in the region, including Belarus and Ukraine. 52

53. Human Geography of the Russian Core
Population Patterns
About 80 percent of Russians live west of the Ural Mountains where there is rich soil, waterways, and a milder climate.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, people were free to migrate, and many settled in cities, such as the capital city of Moscow.
The region is facing a population decline, with death rates increasing while birth rates are falling, resulting in a smaller, but older population. 53

54. Human Geography of the Russian Core
Society and Culture Today
The Soviet government promoted atheism and discriminated against different ethnic groups.
In the late 1980s the government began to loosen its restrictions on religion and the arts, leading people to rediscover both.
Russian women have a long history of working, first in industry and now in all sectors; financial necessity is increasing their numbers in the workforce, contributing to a lower birth rate. 54

55. Human Geography of the Russian Core
Economic Activities
With the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced a rocky transition from a command economy to a market economy.
Natural resources account for most of Russia’s exports, such as crude oil, minerals, and lumber.
Although a key trading partner with Russia, Ukraine remains wary of Russia’s former power and is considering joining the European Union.
Belarus remains industrially integrated and closely allied with Russia. 55

56. People and Their Environment: The Russian Core
Managing Resources
Russia’s rapid expansion in the oil and gas sectors has led to conflicts with organizations seeking to protect the environment.
Drilling inside the Arctic Circle and pipelines travelling through protected areas generate billions of dollars, but these also threaten the surrounding environment.
The use of supertrawlers with huge trawl nets has led to the unnecessary death of millions of fish and marine animals. 56

57. People and Their Environment: The Russian Core
Human Impact
Soviet-era industrialization has damaged Russia’s water, air, soil, and forests.
Nuclear wastes, the by-products of producing nuclear power and nuclear weapons, pose a devastating impact on the environment.
The Chernobyl disaster, toxic waste dumping, and overuse of pesticides have polluted the air and water, resulting in health problems and sometimes even deaths. 57

58. People and Their Environment: The Russian Core
Addressing the Issues
Environmental groups have come together to demand an improvement in environmental standards.
International regulation has encouraged steps to prevent further contamination.
Conservation efforts continue to help Russia better manage its resources. 58