Geography of Europe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Europe is traditionally reckoned as one of seven continents. Physiographically, however, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or Africa-Eurasia): Asia occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass (save the Suez Canal separating Asia and Africa) and all share a common continental shelf. Europe's eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia. The south-east boundary with Asia is not universally defined. Most commonly the Ural or, alternatively, the Emba River serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains or, alternatively, the Kura River in the Caucasus, and on to the Black Sea; the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. However, numerous geographers consider Azerbaijan's and Armenia's southern border with Iran and Turkey's southern and eastern border with Syria, Iraq and Iran as the boundary between Asia and Europe because of political and cultural reasons. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean; Iceland, though nearer to Greenland (North America) than mainland Europe, is generally included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe is. (See Transcontinental nation for a more detailed description of the boundary between Asia and Europe).

The idea of a European "continent" is not universally held. Some geographical texts refer to a Eurasian Continent, or to a European subcontinent, given that Europe is not surrounded by sea and is, in any case, much more a cultural than a geographically definable area.

The two largest of these are "mainland" Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia, Italy and the Balkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains.

Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. 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. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in the western British Isles and continuing along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway.

This description is simplified. 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. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean which is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off.

The few generalizations that can be made about the relief of Europe make it less than surprising that the continent's many separate regions provided homes for many separate nations throughout history.

Contents 1 Geology 2 Rivers 3 Lakes and inland seas 4 Major islands 5 Plains and lowlands 6 Mountain ranges 7 Temperature and precipitation 8 Landlocked countries 9 Countries consisting solely of islands or parts of islands 10 Countries bordering or spanning another continent (namely Asia) 11 Countries that share a name with their capital 12 Countries whose capital is not their largest city 13 List of countries by the number of other countries they border 14 Geography by country 15 See also

[edit] Geology

Main article: Geology of Europe

The Geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.

[edit] Rivers

Main article: List of rivers of Europe

Important rivers of Europe with approximate length:

1. Volga 3,690 km
2. Danube 2,860 km
3. Ural 2,428 km
4. Dnieper 2,290 km
5. Don 1,950 km
6. Pechora 1,809 km
7. Kama 1,805 km
8. Oka 1,500 km
9. Belaya 1,430 km
10. Dniester 1,352 km
11. Rhine 1,320 km
12. Elbe 1,165 km
13. Vistula 1,047 km
14. Tagus 1,038 km
15. Loire 1,012 km
16. Ebro 960 km
17. Sava, 933 km
18. Seine, 776 km
19. Po, 652 km

[edit] Lakes and inland seas

Main article: List of lakes of Europe

[edit] Major islands

Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Rockall, the rest of the British Isles, part of the Azores, Madeira, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Ionian Islands, Crete, Aegean Islands, Åland Islands, Gotland, Saaremaa, Hiiumaa, Jan Mayen, Canary Islands and Svalbard

[edit] Plains and lowlands

• East European Plain, the largest landscape feature of Europe
• Northern European Lowlands
• Pannonian plain
• Meseta Central is a high plain (plateau) in central Spain (occupies roughly 40% of the country)

[edit] Mountain ranges

Main article: List of mountain ranges of Europe

Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are:

• Ural Mountains, which separate Europe and Asia
• Caucasus Mountains, which also separate Europe and Asia, and is the namesake of the Caucasian race, not to be confused with Caucasian peoples
• Carpathian Mountains, a major mountain range in Central and Southern Europe
• Alps, the famous mountains known for their spectacular slopes
• Apennines, which run through Italy
• Scottish Highlands, the rugged and mountainous regions of Scotland
• Pyrenees, the natural border between France and Spain
• Cantabrian Mountains, which run across northern Spain
• Scandinavian Mountains, a mountain range which runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula, includes the Kjølen mountains

[edit] Temperature and precipitation

The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. Europe has less precipitation in the east than in central and western Europe. The temperature difference between summer and winter gradually increases from coastal northwest Europe to southeast inland Europe, ranging from Ireland, with a temperature difference of 15 degrees, to the area north of the Caspian Sea, with a temperature difference of 70 degrees.

[edit] Landlocked countries

• Luxembourg
• Andorra
• Vatican
• San Marino
• Republic of Macedonia
• Serbia
• Switzerland
• Liechtenstein
• Austria
• Hungary
• Czech Republic
• Slovakia
• Belarus
• Moldova
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Kazakhstan

Notes:

1. Liechtenstein is doubly landlocked
2. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and the Republic of Macedonia constitute a contiguous landlocked agglomeration of (eight, 8) countries in Central Europe and the Balkans, stretching from Geneva all the way to Greece
3. Armenia and Azerbaijan make up a landlocked pair of countries
4. All other landlocked countries (Luxembourg, Andorra, Vatican, San Marino, Belarus, Moldova, and Kazakhstan) are "standalone" landlocked countries, not bordering any other such European one (the emphasis is necessary, since Kazakhstan borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, thus forming a vast landlocked expanse in Central Asia)

[edit] Countries consisting solely of islands or parts of islands

• Iceland
• United Kingdom
• Ireland
• Malta
• Cyprus

[edit] Countries bordering or spanning another continent (namely Asia)

• Georgia
• Azerbaijan
• Kazakhstan
• Russia
• Turkey

[edit] Countries that share a name with their capital

• Luxembourg
• Monaco
• San Marino
• Vatican

[edit] Countries whose capital is not their largest city

• Kazakhstan (capital: Astana; largest city: Almaty)
• Liechtenstein (capital: Vaduz; largest city: Schaan)
• Malta (capital: Valetta; largest city: Birkirkara)
• San Marino (capital: San Marino; largest city: Serravalle)
• Switzerland (capital: Bern; largest city: Zürich)
• Turkey (capital: Ankara; largest city: Istanbul)

  [edit] List of countries by the number of other countries they border

  • 14: Russia (Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea)
  • 9: Germany
  • 8: Austria, France, Serbia, Turkey
  • 7: Hungary, Poland, Ukraine
  • 6: Italy
  • 5: Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Switzerland, Belarus, Spain, Kazakhstan, Slovakia
  • 4: Belgium, Greece, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
  • 3: Finland, Norway, Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 2: Sweden, Netherlands, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Estonia, Moldova
  • 1: Denmark, Ireland, United Kingdom, Monaco, Portugal, Vatican City, San Marino
  • 0: Iceland, Malta, Cyprus

  [edit] Geography by country

  v • d • e

  Geography of Europe

  Albania · Andorra · Armenia² · Austria · Azerbaijan⁴ · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus² · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia⁴ · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Kazakhstan¹ · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia¹ · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey¹ · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Vatican City

  Dependencies, autonomies and other territories
  Abkhazia⁴ · Adjara² · Åland · Azores · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Crimea · Faroe Islands · Gibraltar · Guernsey · Isle of Man · Jersey · Kosovo · Madeira · Nagorno-Karabakh² · Nakhichevan² · Transnistria · Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus^2, 3

  ¹ Has significant territory in Asia. ² Entirely in West Asia, but considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons. ³ Only recognised by Turkey. ⁴ Partially or entirely in Asia, depending on the definition of the border between Europe and Asia.

  [edit] See also

  • List of Europe-related topics
  • Europe
  • European Union
  • Extreme points of Europe
  • Extreme points of the European Union
  • Countries bordering the European Union
  • Extreme points of Eurasia
  • Extreme points of Africa-Eurasia
  v • d • e

  Europe

  Culture of Europe • Demographics of Europe • Economy of Europe • Geography of Europe • History of Europe • Politics of Europe