Transcript Landforms and Resources of Europe

Landforms and Resources of
Europe
The Peninsula of Peninsulas
Peninsulas
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Scandinavian Peninsula
Jutland Peninsula:Denmark
Iberian Peninsula: Spain and Portugal
Italian (Apennine) Peninsula: Italy
Balkan Peninsula: Greece and Albania
The Hardangerfjord in Hordaland, Norway
–Fjords: steep U-shaped
valleys created by receding
glaciers.
An old photograph showing the seven sisters waterfall
at the Geirangerfjord in Norway.
The coastline of
eastern Greenland,
with its many
fjords. At the
bottom is the
longest fjord in the
world, Scoresby
Sund.
Islands
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Great Britain
Ireland
Greenland
Iceland
Corsica (France)
Sardinia (Italy)
Sicily (Italy)
Crete (Greece)
Shetland Islands (G.B)
Malta
Sardinia
The Alps
France
Italy
Switzerland
Austria
Germany
Balkan Peninsula
The Pyrenees
• separates the Iberian Peninsula from the
rest of Europe.
Carpathian Mountains
• located in Romania, Hungary and Slovakia
Danube River
Cuts through the
heart of Europe
from west to
east. It links
Europe to the
Black Sea.
Rhine River
• Flows 820
miles from the
interior of
Europe to the
North Sea.
Other Important Rivers
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Seine (France)
Elbe River (Germany)
Oder River (Germany)
Po River (Italy)
Tiber River (Italy)
Thames River (England)
Fertile Plains
• Northern European
Plain:
– Relatively flat
– Desirable for
agriculture
– Many armies used
this area to move
across Europe
Resources
• Mineral
Resources:
– Coal
– Iron
– The abundance
of these
resources made
Europe the
leader in the
industrial
revolution.
Energy and Agriculture
• Oil and Natural
gas beneath the
North Sea
• Agriculture:
– 1/3 of Europe’s
land in suitable
for agriculture
Other Resources
• Peat:
– Partially decayed plant matter found in bogs.
– Used for fuel to heat homes throughout
Europe.
Bog Mummies
Over the years, peat cutters working the bogs of
northwest Europe have uncovered hundreds of
mummies. A bog's naturally acidic environment also
helps to create mummies and gives them a
distinctively brown, leathery and life-like appearance.
Bog Mummies
• The oldest "bog mummies" are from the Iron Age (between 400
B.C. and 400 A.D.) and were Celtic or Germanic
contemporaries of the Romans. Strangely, many of the
mummies found in the European bogs show evidence of
violent deaths. With slit throats and broken skulls, these
individuals may have been victims of ritual sacrifice, not unlike
the mummies of the high Andes.
Bog Mummies
Climate and Vegetation
Westerly Winds:
– Marine West Coast
climate
Ocean Currents:
North Atlantic drift:
Warm water flows
along Europe’s west
coast warming the
coastal areas.
Harsh Climate Regions
Humid Continental Climate Region
• Sweden
• Poland
• Slovakia
• Hungary
• Romania
Mediterranean Climate
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Southern Spain
France
Italy
Greece
Balkan Peninsula
• attracts many tourists
to southern Europe.
Special Winds
• Mistral Winds: cold dry wind from the
Alps.
• Sirocco Winds: hot steady wind blowing
from North Africa into southern Europe.
These winds bring moisture as they travel
across the Mediterranean Sea.
Land of the Midnight Sun
• Scandinavia
– Winter nights are extremely long.
– Summer days are extremely long
– There are days when the sun never rises
and days when the sun never sets.
Arctic Circle
Antarctic Circle
Land of the Midnight Sun
Stamsund, Lofoten Islands,
Norway, at midnight. The
Lofoten Islands, in northern
Norway, north of the Arctic
Circle, have several months of
midnight sun during the summe