Europes continuing economic achievements are evidenced by its high standard of living and its successes in science, technology, and the arts. Nearly 100% of Ukraine's adult population is literate. A contrast exists between the configuration of peninsular, or western, Europe and that of eastern Europe, which is a much larger and more continental area. The city is home to the headquarters of luxury brands such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace, and Prada. The southern regions are mountainous while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. Europe is the second-smallest continent. Kazakhstan and Russia are in Asia. Western Europe and parts of Central Europe generally fall into the temperate maritime climate (Cfb), the southern part is mostly a Mediterranean climate (mostly Csa, smaller area with Csb), the north-central part and east into central Russia is mostly a humid continental climate (Dfb) and the northern part of the continent is a subarctic climate (Dfc). It is home to many navigable rivers, including the Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, and Vistula. 1. Yet it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that modern science was able to draw with some precision the geologic and geographic lineaments of the European continent, the peoples of which had meanwhile achieved domination overand set in motion vast countervailing movements amongthe inhabitants of much of the rest of the globe (see Western colonialism). Mount Olympus became the first national park in Greece. Italian fashion is also an important cultural export. Ireland: geography and landscape. The region includes the mountains of the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennines, Dinaric Alps, Balkans, and Carpathians.High elevations, rugged plateaus, and steeply sloping land define the region. Swiss-Italian is distinguishable from Italian.Romansch, an endangered language, is also derived from Latin. La Boule measures 7.5 miles and is served by a lovely and ancient seaside town where many of the French elite have holiday homes. They created clothing and tents out of reindeer hides, sewing together the cloth with twine made from the animals tendons.Keeping track of herds and individual animals became increasingly important in Sami life. Biology, Ecology, Earth Science, Geology, Geography, Physical Geography. The Anatolian peninsula is the westernmost point of Asia, divided from Europe by the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits. A landlocked country of towering mountains, deep Alpine lakes, grassy valleys dotted with . From the smallest town in the world to the biggest church on earth, and from a knighted penguin to a country free of mosquitoes, there are hundreds of random and fun facts about Europe. The Sami culture of Scandinavia, for example, was deeply connected to the indigenous reindeer herds of the Arctic. The name Europe, or Europa, is believed to be of Greek origin, as it is the name of a princess in Greek mythology. Spain is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula to the south of France and Andorra and to the east of Portugal. Gouffre Mirolda is the 3rd deepest cave in the world after Krubera Cave and Illyuzia-Mezhonnogo-Snezhnaya Cave, both in Georgia (former Soviet Republic). The western part of the continent clearly has a high proportion of coastline with good maritime access and often with . Luxembourg is landlocked, separated from the North Sea by Belgium.. Topography describes the physical features of an area of land. View more property details, sales history and Zestimate data on Zillow. Population Density188 people per square kilometer, Highest ElevationMount Elbrus, Russia (5,642 meters/18,510 feet), Most Renewable Electricity ProducedIceland (99.9%; hydropower, geothermal), Largest Urban AreaMoscow, Russia (16.2 million people), Largest WatershedVolga River (1.38 million square km/532,821 square miles). [citation needed] These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps/Carpathians. When it comes to geographical facts about Europe, and in particular the mountains, most people will assume that the names at the top of the list will be the famous Mont Blanc or the Matterhorn. Continental shelvesformer land surfaces that have been covered by shallow seasare a feature of peninsular Europe, while the coasts themselves are both submerged or drowned, as in southwestern Ireland and northwestern Spain, and emergent, as in western Scotland and southern Wales, where raised former beaches are in evidence. Steppe plains cover the north of Kazakhstan. The former is of North Atlantic volcanic formation, while the latter consist of upland areas once joined to the mainland until cut off by rising sea levels. The two largest peninsulas are mainland Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Europe is the western peninsula of the giant "supercontinent" of Eurasia. Europe is a peninsula of the Eurasian supercontinent and is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas to the south.Europes main peninsulas are the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, located in southern Europe, and the Scandinavian and Jutland, located in northern Europe. The language survives in Switzerland because of the remote location of its native speakers.Contemporary CulturesEuropes rich and diverse cultural heritage continues to flourish today. 5. geography of Scandinavia facts. These physical features allowed for early communication, travel, and agricultural development. Topography often records the various elevations of an area using a topographical map. The North European Plain, common to much of Poland, northern Germany, and Denmark, broadens in western France and continues, across the narrow seas, in southeastern Great Britain and Ireland. There are more bicycles than people in the country (22.3 million bicycles and 17 million people). Europe is home to the birthplace of democracy and Western culture in the ancient civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Read More: 25 Unbelievable Facts about North Korea that you must know. Superficial rock cover, elevation, drainage, and soil have sharply differentiated those lowlandswhich are of prime importance to human settlementinto areas of marsh or fen, clay vales, sand and gravel heaths, or river terraces and fertile plains. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. The political cartoons sought to engage in the debate surrounding Muslim extremism. East of the Vistula River, Europes expansive lowlands have something of the scale and character of those of northern Asia. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys, and basins that complicate the general trend. Europe's eastern frontier is usually delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, which is the largest country by land area in the continent. Climatically, Europe benefits by having only a small proportion of its surface either too cold or too hot and dry for effective settlement and use. In spite of its internal diversity, Europe has thus functioned, from the time it first emerged in the human consciousness, as a world apart, concentratingto borrow a phrase from Christopher Marloweinfinite riches in a little room.. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Corrections? Can you think of anything notable you think I should have included? In 2000 the population was 857 million, using a definition which includes the whole of the transcontinental countries of Russia and Turkey. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Strict EU regulations place a heavy burden on developing countries to compete with their more developed neighbors.The global financial crisis, which began around 2008, has caused these tensions to elevate dramatically. 2. All the major bodies of water in Europe have been fished for centuries. Today, this is the German-speaking region of the country.Around this same time, Roman conquerors took over present-day southern Switzerland. The population of the City of Brussels is ~175,000. Editor of, Professor of Geography, Birkbeck College, University of London, 194770. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Europes largest and longest river is the Volga. Europe is home to two countries that are completely landlocked by Italy. Philosophers and politicians have used these writings to uphold and defend the democratic tradition ever since.Roman civilization had a major influence on Western concepts of law, government, and the military. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. This is the largest landlocked country in the world. Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The word democracy has Greek roots: demos-, meaning people, and -kratos, meaning power. Prominent Greek philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato, discussed democratic ideals in their writings. MLS # 1863863 Economically, Russia and former Soviet states are not part of what we think of as Europe these days, because they are not part of the European Union. It is characterized by simple, minimalist design and low-cost mass production. Within the standard geographical boundaries, it is comprised of 737 million. Elevations in those areas are mainly between about 500 and 2,000 feet (150 and 600 metres), and many steep slopes are to be seen. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and North Macedonia constitute a contiguous landlocked agglomeration of eight countries in Central Europe and the Balkans, stretching from Geneva all the way to Skopje. Europe has a diversity of terrains, physical features, and climates. San Marino and Vatican City, two fully sovereign nations, are both completely surrounded by Italy. As a continent with hugely diverse topography, the geographical facts about Europe are going to be an interesting collection. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains (or, less commonly, the river Kura in the Caucasus), and on to the Black Sea. Today, this cultural wealth is used to solidify the European Community and is exported to the rest of the world as one of the continents greatest global assets.Historic CulturesIndigenous cultures shaped, and were shaped by, the varied geography of Europe. Southward of the limits of the northern glacial ice are vales and hills, with the Paris and London basins typical examples. Early Europeans, in fact, shaped global ideas of citizenship and government. Europe has a long history of human development and is considered the birthplace of Western Civilization. The Grand Canal, Venice, Italy. Note: Italy's capital, Rome, is the country's largest city if only the municipality (comune) is considered. Intense trade introduced many species, which often overtook native plants. The major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the Celtic Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea complex, and the Barents Sea. As to the territorial limits of Europe, they may seem relatively clear on its seaward flanks, but many island groups far to the north and westSvalbard, the Faroes, Iceland, and the Madeira and Canary islandsare considered European, while Greenland (though tied politically to Denmark) is conventionally allocated to North America. Many of its events encouraged community involvement and civic engagement. Europe Europe, second smallest of the world's continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia (the great landmass that it shares with Asia) and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world's total land area. Roma are a people and culture native to central and eastern Europe. Updates? Among the continents, Europe is an anomaly. (The East and North European plains are known together as the European Plain.) At its largest, Rome controlled approximately 6.5 million square kilometers (2.5 million square miles) of land.The Roman approach to conquering and controlling territory is often considered to be the basis of Western imperialism. It is the continent's second largest island (after Great Britain). This article treats the physical and human geography of Europe. In partitioning the globe into meaningful large geographic units, therefore, most modern geographers treated the former Soviet Union as a distinct territorial entity, comparable to a continent, that was somewhat separate from Europe to the west and from Asia to the south and east; that distinction has been maintained for Russia, which constituted three-fourths of the Soviet Union. The North European Plain extends across the country's northern reaches; this flat, lowland terrain is dissected by . If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. The city of Milan is regarded as a major fashion capital, hosting an international fashion week twice a year. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Sweden has a long history that began with prehistoric hunting camps in the southernmost part of the country. The Volga River in Russia. All in all, Europe enjoys a considerable and long-exploited resource base of soil, forest, sea, and minerals (notably coal), but its people are increasingly its principal resource. The ancient, often mineral-laden rocks of the northwestern highlands, their contours softened by prolonged erosion and glaciation, are found throughout much of Iceland, in Ireland, and in northern and western Britain and Scandinavia. The EU accepts few candidates: member states must maintain a stable, democratic form of government, a free-market economy, and commitment to the rule of law.The rapid growth of the European Union, however, has caused a number of administrative and political tensions. It is the continent's second largest island (after Great Britain). Volcanic rocks add to the diversity of those regions. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls. Developed countries, however, are also facing economic challenges. Kazakhstan. Lesotho (landlocked within South Africa), is the only other country in the world surrounded entirely by another country. Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are: Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain (classification from UNEP-WCMC): The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. About a quarter of marine mammals are threatened.Today, around 15 percent of Europe's animal species are threatened or endangered, mainly by habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation, and competition from invasive species. The greater part of Europe, however, combines low elevation with low relief. Europe's most significant geological feature is the dichotomy between the highlands and mountains of Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from Great Britain in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. It has coastlines on the Bay of Biscay (a part of the Atlantic Ocean) and the Mediterranean Sea.Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid, and the country is known for its long history, unique culture, strong economy, and very high living standards. The Louvre is the most visited attraction in Europe These projected changes will have two major effects: There will be a smaller work force to create a dynamic and industrious economy, and governments and citizens will have to care for more elderly people.These changes will affect different regions of Europe in different ways. Most Greek gods and goddesses are representations of the active physical elements that made up the local landscape. This honor goes to Gouffre Mirolda in France. Another important physical feature is the southeast-northwest zone of windblown loess deposits that have accumulated from eastern Britain to Ukraine. Mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, have a highland climate with large variations according to altitude and latitude. The consensus is, however, that the largest glacier in Europe is the Vatnajokull glacier in Iceland. Furthermore, the Mediterranean coastlands of North Africa and southwestern Asia also exhibit some European physical and cultural affinities. It looks at mountains and valleys, as well as rivers and oceans. 1. The link between these peninsulas has made Europe a dominant economic, social, and cultural force throughout recorded history.Europe's physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately.Europe can be divided into four major physical regions, running from north to south: Western Uplands, North European Plain, Central Uplands, and Alpine Mountains.Western UplandsThe Western Uplands, also known as the Northern Highlands, curve up the western edge of Europe and define the physical landscape of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Scotland, Ireland, the Brittany region of France, Spain, and Portugal.The Western Uplands is defined by hard, ancient rock that was shaped by glaciation. Long history that began with prehistoric hunting camps in the country 7.5 miles and is by... And London basins typical examples with large variations according to altitude and latitude of Asia, from... 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