Europe

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Europe is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, on the south is the Mediterranean Sea, the eastern border is somewhat skewed and on the north is the Arctic Ocean.

Europe does not have an obvious outline of its border and it is to be thought of a continent more for its cultural and characteristics than for its natural features. The eastern region of Europe is referred as a line beside the Ural Mountains to the Caspian Sea and to the northeast is beside the Caucasus Mountains to the Black Sea.

Europe border does follow a clear distinct geographical features but it has the disadvantage of placing the western top of Turkey in Europe and the rest of Turkey in the Middle East. Europe also includes the western region of Russia and a vast eastern region of Russia in Asia.

British Isles, Iceland, the Spitsbergen islands, and the Shetland Islands in the North Atlantic are also part of the European continent. As well as Greenland, which is technically part of North America for its cultural and political association with Scandinavia, but it is part of Europe. In the Mediterranean Sea, Cyprus is the only island not considered part of Europe.

The land

Europe has its base along the Ural Mountains in the east and its end extend west into the Atlantic Ocean. The Scandinavian Peninsula in the north stretches to southeast toward the North and Baltic seas. The Norwegian Sea is to the west and north of Scandinavia and north of Russia is the Barents Sea. Each of these seas are connected to the Arctic Ocean. The southern region of Europe is the Balkan and Italian peninsulas stretching southward toward the Mediterranean Sea.

There are many large body of water surround Europe, making it the largest continent for the ratio of coastline and land. The estimated length of the coastline is about 50,000 miles (81,000 kilometers).

The basic regions of Europe can be separated into four sub regions from east to west, north and south. The northern region are the highlands stretching from the northern British Isles across Scandinavia and it is generally a harsh climate with poor soil and it is lightly inhabited. The Scandinavian countries are Sweden and Norway, which have the least productive land because of the effect of enormous glaciations from the last ice age.

To the south is a region of lowland stretches to western France, southeastern England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, northern Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and large sections of Russia. The landmass in this area is referred by the European as the Plain because the land is covered with rich materials, a lot of it were deposited by glaciers. The land is cultivated with fertile soil and the European Plain is heavily industrialized. These factors have formed one of the most densely populated regions in the continent and the world.

The next region, called the Central Uplands, is a plateau region that stretches from Spain through central France. It marks the southern boundary of the European Plain from Germany to Poland.

The alpine mountain is another region of Europe located in the south, extending from the Sierra Nevada mountain system of southern Spain to the Caucasus Mountains in southeastern part of Europe. It is clear that the southern region of Europe is still undergoing changes with volcanoes and other natural activities.

The Mountains

The southern region of Europe is mainly cover by mountains. Possibly the most famous and vital mountains are the Alps because it is a natural wall between the north and south of Europe.

The Alps are a complex mountain system with many different branches. The Alps runs from southeastern France to eastern Austria. The eastern end of the Alps splits to one branch called the Dinaric Alps, it stretch south through the Balkan Peninsula. The other branch is called the Carpathian Mountains, which stretch from east to the Czech and Slovak republics, and on to the south of Romania.

The geological evidence shows Alps mountains are young with its sharp peaks and steep sides. The glaciers are the reminders of Europe’s geological history, it indicate that a great area of the continent was once covered with ice. These glaciers of past ice ages carved deep alpine valleys of Switzerland and northern Italy.

In addition, the mountain range in Europe is the Pyrenees, which separate Spain and France. The Pyrenees form a natural wall between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. In southeastern Spain, the Sierra Nevada mountain range is part of a group of mountain ranges known as the Sierra Nevada system.

Other significant mountain ranges in southern Europe are the Apennines, which stretches from the Italian peninsula. Also, the Balkan Mountains, which stretches from the east and west to southern Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. North Balkans is the Transylvania Alps stretches from east to west and connect to the Carpathian range at its southern tip.

To the east of Europe, the Ural Mountains divide Russia on a north to south axis. Unlike the alpine mountain system, the Urals are low in altitude and have a rounded appearance characteristic of older mountain systems.

Between the Caspian and Black seas, are the Caucasus Mountains a natural land-water wall between Europe and the Middle East. The Mt. Elbrus is the tallest peak in the Caucasus Mountains and it is the tallest mountain in Europe at 18,510 feet (5640 meters) above sea level. The lowest elevation in Europe, measured at 92 feet (28 meters) below sea level located at the northeast, on the northern shore of the Caspian Sea.

Rivers

The rivers in Europe are the key to its economic advances. Several of the rivers are deep and wide enough to provide passage for ships traveling inland, moving goods and people. Many of these rivers are connected by man-made canals to enhance their effectiveness as shipping routes. As a result, it is feasible to travel from one end of the continent to the other with a small boat.

Because of Europe’s shape with its peninsular arrangement, most of the continent’s rivers flow from the central mountain regions and then flow down to the surrounding seas. Some of the rivers that flow down to the Atlantic Ocean are the Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Tagus, and Douro rivers of Portugal and Spain; and the Garonne, Loire, and in France is the Seine rivers.

One of the most significant rivers in northern Europe is the Rhine. The river start in the eastern Switzerland and flows 820 miles (1320 kilometers) throughout Germany and The Netherlands and into the North Sea. The Elbe also flows into the North Sea and it passes through Germany and the Czech Republic then connect with the Baltic Sea through Poland.

Over in Eastern Europe, one of the most important rivers is the Danube. The Danube starts in the southern Germany and flows 1750 miles (2820 kilometers) into the Black Sea. The Danube passes through and forms some of the borders of Slovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

The longest river in Europe is the Volga. It is about 2290 miles (3690 kilometers) from its starting point near Moscow at the east and then flow south to the Caspian Sea. Many other rivers flow down into the Volga, stretching its basin into Russian.

The Dnieper is Europe’s third longest river and the Dniester, both run through Ukraine and flow into the Black Sea.

Along the southern Europe, majority are the Mediterranean rivers and their flows are more seasonal, by drying up through the warm summer months because of little rain. Except for the Rhône in France, the Ebro in Spain, and the Po river in Italy. These three rivers get most of their water up in the mountains toward the Mediterranean basin.