Transcript Europe www.worldmapsonline.com Physical Geography of Europe • Because of its unique geography and weather patterns, Europe’s landscapes, waterways, and climates vary greatly. The Alps http://dreaminginkanji.blogspot.com/2012/03/austrian-alps-make-your-vacation-unique.html The Mediterranean.

Europe
www.worldmapsonline.com
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Physical Geography of Europe
• Because of its unique geography and weather
patterns, Europe’s landscapes, waterways, and
climates vary greatly.
The Alps
http://dreaminginkanji.blogspot.com/2012/03/austrian-alps-make-your-vacation-unique.html
The Mediterranean Coast
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http://www.theage.com.au/travel/at-warp-speed-on-a-rail-odyssey-20111020-1m9qp.html
Landforms and Resources
• Europe is
composed of
many
peninsulas and
islands.
• Europe’s
landforms also
include large
plains and
mountain
ranges.
www.geology.com
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Peninsulas and Islands
Always Near the Water
• Europe is a large peninsula that lies west of Asia.
• Europe also has its own smaller peninsulas: a
“peninsula of peninsulas” most places are within
100 miles of the ocean or a sea.
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Northern Peninsulas
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/baltic+sea
www.eurorivercruises.com
• The Scandinavian Peninsula
includes Norway and Sweden.
– It is bounded by the Norwegian,
North, and Baltic Seas.
– Ice Age glaciers removed the
topsoil; leaves thin, rocky soil
behind.
– Glaciers create fjords in
Norway. These are steep Ushaped valleys connected to
sea, filled with seawater.
– The fjords provide harbors for
fishing boats.
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• Jutland Peninsula forms large part of
Denmark, small part of Germany.
– This area has gentle, rolling hills and swampy low
areas.
http://www.greatbigcanvas.com/view/jutland-peninsula-denmark,1006168/
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Southern Peninsulas
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• Iberian Peninsula is home
to Spain and Portugal.
• Italian Peninsula includes
Italy, and extends into the
Mediterranean Sea.
– It is the boot-shaped
peninsula with over
4,700 miles of
coastline.
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• The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the
Adriatic, Mediterranean, Aegean seas.
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www.metmuseum.org
Islands of Europe
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http://www.diplomatic-corporate-services.si/services/embassies-consulates/embassies/ireland-embassie-in-slovenia.php
• The larger islands include Great Britain,
Ireland, Iceland, and Greenland in the North
Atlantic Ocean.
• The smaller islands include Corsica, Sardinia,
Sicily, and Crete in the Mediterranean Sea.
Corsica
Ireland
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Mountains and Uplands
• The Alps are Europe’s
most famous mountain
chain!
• They cross France, Italy,
Germany, Switzerland,
Austria, and the Balkans.
• The Alps also cut Italy
off from rest of Europe.
www.destination360.com
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www.my.opera.com
• Pyrenees mountains
block movement
from France to Spain
and Portugal.
www.worldatlas.com
• Apennine mountains
divide the Italian
Peninsula between
the east and west
coasts.
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www.awesomestories.com
• Balkan Mountains block off the Balkan
peninsula and separates different ethnic groups.
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http://holidaybalkans.blogspot.com/2009/07/balkan-peninsula.html
• Europe has many Upland areas, or hills / low
mountains.
• These may also be mesas, or high plateaus.
• Some of the European uplands are the eroded
remains of mountain ranges.
• European Uplands include the Scandinavian
Kjolen Mountains, and the Scottish Highlands.
• Other examples of highlands are the areas of
Brittany and the Massif Central uplands in
France, and the Meseta plateau in Spain .
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Rivers of Europe
Moving People, Goods, Ideas
• Network of rivers bring people and goods
together.
• European rivers allow goods to be moved inland
from coastal harbors and aids economic growth.
• Two major, castle-lined rivers have historically
acted as highways:
– The Rhine flows north 820 miles from interior to
North Sea
– The Danube flows east 1,771 miles, through 9
countries, to Black Sea
• These and many other rivers connect Europeans
and encourage trade and travel.
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Fertile Plains
The Northern European Plain is one of the most
fertile agricultural regions in world.
• Curves across France, Belgium, Netherlands,
Denmark, Germany, and Poland.
• This flat agricultural land produces vast
quantities of food.
• The flatness of this area has given invaders an
open route into Europe.
• Other, smaller, fertile farming plains include
areas in Sweden, Hungary, and northern Italy’s
Lombardy area.
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Resources that Shape Europe’s Economy
Fueling Industrialization:
• Coal and iron ore are needed to
create steel for industrialization.
• These minerals are found in
Belgium, Netherlands, France,
Germany, and Poland.
• Major industrialized regions
include the Ruhr Valley, in
Germany and parts of United
Kingdom.
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Energy
• Oil and natural gas are
found in the North Sea.
• Petroleum is supplied
to Europe by Norway,
Netherlands, and
Britain.
www.oilofscotland.org
Agricultural Land
• 33% of Europe is
suitable for agriculture.
This is much higher
than the average
world-wide.
http://spittoon.23andme.com/23andme-and-you/genetics-101/the-origin-of-farming-in-europe-a-view-from-the-y-chromosome/
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Affecting All Parts of Life
• Resources affect food, jobs, houses, and even an
area’s culture.
– For example, folk tales set in deep, dark forests of Old
Europe.
• Distribution of resources creates regional
differences.
– The Irish burn peat—partially decayed plant matter from
bogs – for fuel.
– Polish miners have worked in coal mines for generations.
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Climate and Vegetation
• Much of Europe has a relatively mild climate
because of ocean currents and warm winds.
• Eastern Europe has a harsher climate because it is
farther from the Atlantic Ocean.
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Westerly Winds Warm Europe
A Mild Climate for a Northern Latitude
• There is a marine climate on
the west coast with warm
summers, cool winters.
• Areas in this climate zone
include Spain, France, Poland,
the British Isles, and coastal
Scandinavia.
• This is from the North Atlantic
Drift, a warm-water tropical
current that flows by the west
coast.
• Prevailing westerly winds
carry the current’s warmth
and moisture inland .
www.oceanwxnow.com
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• Alps’ high elevation creates colder climate,
deep winter snows
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http://www.globeimages.net/img-lake-bled-karavanke-alps-slovenia-369.htm
Forests to Farms
• Mixed forests are cleared for farming to grow
grains, sugar beets, livestock feed, and
potatoes .
http://eijournal.com/industry-insights-trends/drones-keep-tabs-on-european-farms
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Harsher Conditions Inland
Not Reached by Westerly Winds
• Inland areas have a humid continental climate:
cold, snowy winters with warm or hot summers.
• Areas with this type of climate include Sweden,
Finland, Romania, eastern Poland, Slovakia, and
Hungary.
• There is adequate rainfall for agriculture here.
• Broad, fertile plains were once covered with
grasses but today wheat, rye, barley, potatoes,
and sugar beets are grown.
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Sunny Mediterranean
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An Appealingly Mild Climate
• The Mediterranean climate has hot,
dry summers with mild, wet winters.
• This climate zone includes Italy,
Greece, and southern Spain and
France.
Special Winds
• The Mediterranean coast of France
is not protected by mountains like
the rest of the area.
• This area has a cold, dry winter wind
from the north called a mistral.
• In other areas, a Sirocco, or a hot
North African wind, carries sea
moisture or desert dust.
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The Mediterranean climate attracts tourists.
• Most of the vegetation is evergreen shrubs
and short trees.
• Major crops of the area are citrus fruits,
olives, and grapes.
• Sunny beaches attract many visitors.
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Land of the Midnight Sun
Cold, Dark Winters
• There is a tundra climate in the far north, in Scandinavia,
along Arctic Circle.
• This area has permafrost with no trees, only mosses, and
lichens.
• South of tundra is subarctic climate with cold, harsh
winters. There is little growth here except stunted trees.
• The region’s sunlight varies sharply with long winter
nights, and summer days.
• The area north of the Arctic Circle is known as the Land
of the Midnight Sun.
• Some winter days here have no sun, and some summer
days have no night.
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Human-Environment Interaction
• The Dutch and the Venetians altered lands to
fit their needs by constructing polders and
canals.
• Uncontrolled logging and acid rain destroy
forests.
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Polders: Land from the Sea
Creating Holland
• “God created the world, but the Dutch created
Holland.”
• To hold growing population, the Dutch reclaimed
land from the sea.
• 40% of the Netherlands was once under water.
• The Dutch built dikes—earthen banks that hold
back the sea.
• A polder is a piece of land reclaimed by diking
and draining land.
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Seaworks
http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terp
• Seaworks are structures
like dikes that control the
sea’s destructive force.
• Terpen are high earthen
platforms that provide
safe ground during floods.
• In 1400s windmills were
used to power pumps
that drained land. Today,
the pumps are powered
by electricity.
A Terpen
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Transforming the Sea
http://www.lorentz.leidenuniv.nl/history/zuiderzee/zuiderzee.html
• Zuider Zee is an arm of
North sea that the Dutch
turned into a fresh-water
lake.
• The Dutch built dikes across
the waterway in early the
1900s.
• The saltwater was eventually
replaced by fresh water.
• The project added hundreds
of square miles of land to
the Netherlands, and
created Lake Ijsselmeer.
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Waterways for Commerce: Venice’s
Canals
• The city of Venice is made up of 120 islands.
• Two of the largest islands are San Marco and
Rialto.
• People and goods are moved by boat over 150
canals.
• The city formed when people escaping invaders
settled on lagoon islands.
• The city’s location at north end of Adriatic
makes it a good trading port.
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Building on the Islands
• Builders sunk wooden pilings into swampy
land to support the buildings.
• Entire oak forests in northern Italy and
Slovenia were leveled for the pilings.
• The weight of the buildings is compressing the
ground, so Venice is slowly sinking.
• Rising sea levels and removal of groundwater
are also causing sinking.
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Problems Today
• Severe water pollution from industrial waste,
sewage, and saltwater eat away the city’s
foundations.
• Erosion lets saltwater in, and creates floods.
• Agricultural runoff promotes “killer algae” growth.
• The algae grows rapidly, dies, decays; and this
process uses up the water’s oxygen, so the fish in
the waters die.
• Dead fish attract insects and create a stench in the
warm weather.
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A Centuries-Old Problem: Deforestation
The Demand for Wood
www.thinkglobalgreen.org
• Huge areas of Europe fall prey to deforestation
annually.
• Wood is used for fuel, building material for
ships, and houses.
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Acid Rain Strips Forests
• In 1960s the Germans noticed that the Black
Forest’s trees were discolored, and were dying,
causing acid rain.
• Factories produce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide emissions.
• These combined with water vapor, create acid
rain or snow.
• Strong winds carry the emissions to other areas,
affecting one-fourth of Europe’s forests .
• Scandinavia suffers heavily due to the direction of
prevailing winds.
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