Transcript The Physical Geography of Europe and Russia

The Physical
Geography of Europe
and Russia
Landforms (4 major regions):
1. Northwest Highlands: rugged hills & low
mountains, Iberian Peninsula is part of this
(fjords)
2. Northern European Plain: broad coastal
plain (from coast of France to Urals)
3. Central Uplands: hills, small plateaus &
fertile valleys
4. Alpine Mountains System: includes a
series of ranges that stretch across
Europe
Mountain Ranges:
 Alpine Mountain System – across
southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula
 Ranges such as the Alps, Apennines,
Pyrenees, and Carpathians make-up this
system (cover most of Switzerland and
Austria – parts of Italy and France).
Mountain Ranges:
 Ural Mountains
 Divide the region
 Areas west are part of Europe, to the
east, Asia
Peninsulas:
 The Northern Peninsulas:
 Scandinavian Peninsula = Norway and
Sweden
 Fjords: long, steep-sided
glacial valley now filled
by seawater
 Jutland = Denmark
Peninsulas (cont.):
 The Southern Peninsulas:
 Iberian Peninsula = Spain and Portugal
(semi-arid plateau)
 Apennine Peninsula = Italy
(mountainous)
 Balkan Peninsula = former Yugoslav
republics, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania,
and Turkey - very mountainous
Scandinavian Peninsula
 Iberian
Peninsula
 Apennine
Peninsula
Major Water Features:
 Mediterranean Sea: lies to the south
of Europe (connected to the Black Sea
and Bosporus)
 North Sea: along the shores of
northern Europe (south of the
Scandinavian Peninsula & northeast
of the British Isles) – key for trading
and fishing
 Atlantic Ocean: lies to the west of the
European continent
Water Features:
Rivers:
 Rhine – most important river in western
Europe – flows from Switzerland to the
North Sea
 Danube – flows 1,776 miles from
Germany to the Black Sea
 Thames – allows oceangoing ships to
reach the port of London
 Rhone – runs through Switzerland and
France towards Lake Geneva
Rivers of the Region:
The Rhone
The Danube near the
Romanian – Siberian
border
The River Thames
The Volga River:
 Located in the southwestern part of
Russia near Volgograd
 South flowing river
 Plays a major role in
the shipping industry
as well as a source of
hydroelectric power
Siberia:
 is a vast region on the eastern and NorthEastern part of Russia
 It extends eastward from the Ural
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and
southward from the Arctic Ocean to the
hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the
national borders of both Mongolia and
China
Siberia: