Transcript europe - slhsworldgeography

EUROPE
Physical
Geography
Overview Video
The Peninsula of
Peninsulas!
Peninsulas
Northern
Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway & Sweden)
Jutland Peninsula (Denmark and Germany)
Southern
Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal)
Italian Peninsula (Italy)
Balkan Peninsula (Greece - surrounded by
Adriatic, Mediterranean, and Aegean Seas)
Fjords
Steep u-shaped
valleys carved by
glaciers that connect
to the sea and that
filled with sea water
after the glacier
melted.
 Found in Norway

Islands
 Large-
Sicily
Britain,
Ireland, Iceland,
Greenland
 SmallMediterranean Sea
Islands (Sicily,
Crete, Corsica
 All depend on
trade
The Walls of Europe?



Mountains and uplands separate
groups of people.
Make it difficult for people, goods
and ideas to move easily from place
to place (ex: languages – small
countries).
Also affect climate (ex: Alps blocking
north wind into Italy).
Mountain Chains

Alps: France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland,
Austria, and northern Balkan Peninsula
 Pyrenees: separate Spain from France
 Apennine Mtns: like a spine down Italy
 Balkan Mtns: cut off Balkan Peninsula
from rest of Europe
UPLANDS
(not mountains!)
Uplands are hills or very low mountains
that may also contain mesas or
plateaus.
Kjølen Mountains:
Scandinavia
 Scottish Highlands
 Meseta: plateau in
Spain
 Massif Central: French
uplands

Fertile Plains: Amber Waves
of Grain

Northern European Plain
– One of the most fertile regions in world
– Huge! France, Belgium, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and
Poland
– Great for farming!
– Great for invaders attacking Europe!
Rivers


Many rivers- important
for trade and have helped
in the development of
Europe
the Rhine is one of the
longest and most
important rivers in
Europe, it is a vital and
navigable waterway
carrying trade and goods
deep inland
Rivers
Thames – Flows
through London
 Seine – Flows
through Paris

Europe’s Natural Resources
•
•
•
•
Coal & Iron (needed
for industrial
revolution)
Oil from North Sea
Agricultural land
(33% of Europe is
suitable for farming)
Timber- Scandinavian
Peninsula
Resources Shape Life!
Food, jobs, houses,
even culture (ex.
Traditional European
Folk Tales)
 Distribution of
resources creates
regional differences
(ex: peat used as fuel
in Ireland instead of
coal; tradition of coal
miners in Poland)

Climate and Vegetation
Most of Europe :
 Warm
Marine West Coast
summer, cool winters
 North Atlantic Drift – warm water flow
from tropics flows near Europe’s west
coast
 Prevailing Westerlies pick up warmth
from this current and carry it over
Europe (Also carry moisture providing
adequate rainfall)
 Crops,
such as grain and potatoes
North Atlantic Drift
Inland :
Humid Continental
 More
severe
weather changes
 Cold, snowy
winters
 Warm or hot
summers
 Adequate rainfall
Sweden
Mediterranean Coast :
 Hot
Mediterranean
dry summers,
mild wet winters
 Winds
– Mistral- cold, dry,
north wind
(received by France
in winter) there are
no mountains to
block this wind
Mediterranean Coast :
Mediterranean
 Winds– Sirocco- hot,
steady,
southern wind
from Africa
into southern
Europe
 Citrus
fruits,
olives, grapes
 tourism
Arctic Circle :
Tundra
 Winters-
long
hours of darkness
 Summers- long
days
 Inside the circleLand of the
Midnight Sun
In Finland and Norway
Northern
Lights