Transcript A Peninsula of Peninsulas

A PENINSULA OF PENINSULAS
European Geography
FOUR MAJOR LANDFORMS
Northwest Highlands
 Northern European Plain
 Central Uplands
 Alpine Mountain System
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NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS
Make up Northwestern part of France; some of
the Iberian peninsula; hills of England and
Ireland; Scottish highlands; and mountains of
Scandinavia
 Glaciers scoured through Scandinavia and
British Isles carving fjords on Norway’s coast
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NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS CONTINUED
Fjords are narrow
inlets of the sea set
between high rocky
cliffs
 The glaciers left
behind thin soils and
thousands of lakes
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NORTHERN EUROPEAN PLAIN
Ranges from the Atlantic Coast to the Ural
Mountains
 Made up of numerous rivers where many river
towns and port cities have developed
 Contains large cities like Paris and Berlin
 Due to its physical geography, human contact has
been relatively easy – it has many rivers, short
distances, and smooth terrain
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NORTHERN EUROPEAN PLAIN CONTINUED
Such a geography has promoted trade between
culture groups, and traveling and migrating have
not been difficult
 It is Europe’s most important farming and
industrial area
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CENTRAL UPLANDS
Massif Central of
France and the Jura
Mountains on the
French-Swiss border
 Moves northeastward
across southern
Germany to the
Bohemian highlands
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CENTRAL UPLANDS CONTINUED
Composed of hills, small plateaus, forested
slopes, and fertile valleys
 Has productive coal fields which have nearby
industrial towns and cities
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ALPINE MOUNTAIN SYSTEM
Ranges from France’s
Mediterranean Coast
to the Balkan
Peninsula
 Alps – Europe’s major
mountain range
 The high mountains of
this system have not
deterred human
interaction; not a
serious barrier

ALPINE MOUNTAIN SYSTEM CONTINUED
The Alpine mountain system also includes the
Carpathian mountains in Eastern Europe, the
Apennines in Italy, and the Pyrenees of France
and Spain
 This system was formed by tectonic plates
pushing against each other
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WATER
Europe is a peninsula so it is surrounded by
water on 3 sides
 The Mediterranean is in the South; the Arctic
Ocean, North Sea, and Baltic Sea are around
Northern Europe; and the North Atlantic Ocean
is off of Western Europe

WATER
The North Sea has
been an important
hub for fishing and
trading
 The North Atlantic
Ocean has
transported explorers,
fishers, and
merchants for
centuries
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EUROPE’S COASTLINE

Europe’s coastline
creates many natural
harbors which are
usually located at the
mouths of navigable
rivers
Navigable rivers are
deep enough and wide
enough for shipping
 They have made
trading by sea ideal
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EUROPE’S COASTLINE CONTINUED
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Such a coastline has influenced Europe’s history
Harbors have offered protection for ships
 Water offered opportunities to explore, fish, trade,
and it promoted political and military power
 The Phoenicians, Greeks, and Vikings sailed and
explored Europe’s coastline
 Helped Rome establish a vast empire

EUROPE’S COASTLINE CONTINUED

The sea also provided
global colonial and
economic power
Spanish and Portuguese
sailed around the world
in the 1500s setting up
trading posts and
colonies
 1700s and 1800s Great
Britain was the world’s
dominant colonial and
sea power
 How did the ability to
travel the sea help
establish empires?

RIVERS
The Rhine and Danube are Europe’s most
important rivers
 Numerous cities and industrial areas are located
long the banks and both have barges constantly
transporting goods
 The Rhine starts in the Swiss Alps; it flows
northwestward through Germany and the
Netherlands to the North Sea
 The Danube starts in the uplands of southern
Germany and flows eastward through 9 countries
in central and eastern Europe and ends in the
Black Sea
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CLIMATES AND BIOMES

3 major climate types:
Marine west coast
 Humid continental
 Mediterranean
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MARINE WEST COAST

Consists of more of northern and western Europe
which includes southern Iceland, the British
Isles, and it stretches from northern Spain to
Poland and Slovakia
It has frequent rainfall because of storms coming off
of the Atlantic
 Mild temperatures
 Cloudy, drizzly, or foggy days are common
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HUMID CONTINENTAL
Includes the interior of Norway and Sweden to
the Black Sea
 Four distinct season, from severe winters to
summer droughts in Hungary and Romania
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MEDITERRANEAN
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Makes up most of southern
Europe
Usually has mild, rainy
winters because of North
Atlantic Drift and sunny
summers
North Atlantic Drift is a warm
ocean current from the gulf
stream in North America that
warms the air above it which
is carried by winds to Europe,
brining mild temperatures and
rain
SMALLER CLIMATE REGIONS

Subarctic climate is across northern Norway,
Sweden, and Finland
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The extreme northern part of these countries have a
tundra climate
Most of Spain has a semiarid climate
FOUR MAJOR BIOMES
Temperate forest
 Mediterranean scrub forest
 Boreal forest
 Tundra
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TEMPERATE FOREST
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Most of Europe lies within this biome
Trees are common
 Covered in fields and towns
 Once covered in dense forests but now there are only
remnants
 Badgers, deer, and a variety of birds still live here
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MEDITERRANEAN SCRUB FOREST

Composes the drier
areas of southern
Europe
Small trees, shrubs,
and drought resistant
plants
 Still has roaming wild
boars and wild sheep
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BOREAL FOREST
Large parts of northern and central Europe
 Finland, Norway, and Sweden have Europe’s
remaining woodlands
 Provides much of Europe’s timber for building
and papermaking
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TUNDRA
In the far parts of
northern Europe like
Iceland and northern
Scandinavia
 Land is frozen most of
the time
 Treeless but does
sustain migratory
birds during the
summer and reindeer
and foxes
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NATURAL RESOURCES

Europe’s resources consist of forests, soils,
fisheries, energy, and minerals
Much of the original forests have been cleared
through the centuries and pollution has destroyed a
lot that is left
 Much of Europe has to import timber
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NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
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Soil has been a critical asset to Europe – more
than half of Europe is used for farming
Northern European Plain has the best soil, some of
which is developed from loess – fine-grained,
windblown soil; very fertile
 Southern Europe benefits from alluvial soil that can
produce a wide range of crops – areas like Italy’s Po
Valley and Spain’s Guadalquivir are major farming
centers

NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
Some major crops include grapes, olives,
potatoes, and wheat
 Europe has the highest crop yields in the world
because of modern technology

Chemical fertilizers
 Crop rotations
 Modern machinary
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NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
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Polders
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Land reclaimed by the
sea
The Dutch built earthen
walls called dikes along
the shoreline
Windmills pumped out
the seawater
Reeds are planted to
draw out more water
Reeds are burned and
plowed so its ready for
farming
Allowed Dutch to
increase amount of
available farm land
NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
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Fishing as historically been a part of Europe’s
economy
Fishing villages dot Europe’s long coastline and the
water is covered in fishing boats
 The North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and the North
Sea have the best fishing
 Some of Europe’s major fishing countries include
Iceland, Norway, Spain, and Denmark
 The industry is being threatened by overfishing and
pollution
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NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
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Energy and Minerals
Europe’s advanced technology requires resources of
oil, iron, and other metals that it does not have so it
must import
 Does have a natural abundance of coal but oil has
since replaced coal as the main energy source
 Beneath the North Sea there are oil and natural gas
deposits which benefit Norway and Britain
 Hydroelectricity is an energy source produced in the
mountains of Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland
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NATURAL RESOURCES CONTINUED
Ocean Tidal power and solar power are produced
in France
 Iceland uses geothermal energy
 Nuclear power is also an energy source for some
Europeans but it is considered too dangerous
 Some other mineral resources include iron ore,
uranium, lead, and zinc which can be found in
Sweden, France, and Spain
 Southern Europe mines marble for building and
art
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