Download Chapter 12 Europe

Europe
www.worldmapsonline.com
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www.worldmapsonline.com
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Describe the location of major physical
features and their impact on Europe.
Describe the major climates of Europe and
how they have affected Europe.
SSWG6.A,
SSWG6.B
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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http://www.danishnet.com/info.php/travel/arhus-25.html
www.worldatlas.com
Southern Peninsulas
www.kids.britannica.com
• 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
www.destination360.com
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.
www.destination360.com
www.my.opera.com
Mountains and Uplands
• The Alps also cut Italy off from rest of Europe.
• 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.
All these mountains block groups of people from contact
and contribute to the ethnic diversity of Europe.
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 the
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 the
United Kingdom.
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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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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http://tiborhartel.blogspot.com/2010/08/protected-areas-in-traditionally-living.html
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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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
http://www.luxurytraveladvisor.com/monaco/makeover-monaco-india-mahdavis-redesign-monte-carlo-beach-hotel-1128
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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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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Land of the Midnight Sun
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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http://www.flickriver.com/groups/muehlen-mills/pool/interesting/
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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A Centuries-Old Problem: Deforestation
The Demand for Wood
www.thinkglobalgreen.org
• Huge areas of Europe fall prey to deforestation
annually.
• Wood is burned for fuel and used as a 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 dying, caused
by acid rain.
• Factories produce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
oxide emissions.
• These combine with water vapor to 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.