Warm-Up
Which country is the largest
country in the world?
Russia
Opening: What are political maps?
Learning Target:
Work Session:
1. Check Political Map of Europe
2. Begin Physical Map
What does a political map show?
Boundaries of different countries
Check your Political Map of Europe
____ Belgium
____ France
____ Germany
____ Italy
____ Poland
____ Russia
____ Spain
____ Ukraine
____ United Kingdom
Opening:
Why does location matter?
SS6G8 – The student will locate selected features of Europe.
a. Locate on a world and regional political- physical map: the Danube River, Rhine
River, English Channel, Mediterranean Sea, European Plain, the Alps, Pyrenees, Ural
Mountains, Iberian Peninsula, and Scandinavian Peninsula.
Why does location matter?
• location affects a society’s economy, culture,
and development.
Europe: An Asian Peninsula?
Standard
SS6G8 The student will locate selected features
of Europe.
a. Locate on a world and regional politicalphysical map: the Danube River, Rhine River,
English Channel, Mediterranean Sea,
European Plain, the Alps, Pyrenees, Ural
Mountains, Iberian Peninsula, and
Scandinavian Peninsula.
Vocabulary Terms - Organizer
What is a peninsula?
A piece of land surrounded on three sides by
water and connected to a larger mass of land
What is a plain?
A large area of flat or gently rolling land with little
forest areas
What is a plateau?
An elevated plain, usually with at least one steeply
dropping or rising side.
What is a strait?
A narrow stretch of water that connects 2 larger bodies
of water.
What is a channel?
A length of water wider than a strait, joining two larger areas
of water, especially two seas
Peninsula
Think “Florida”
Think “Italy”
Think “Baja” California
Think “Iberian” Peninsula
Channel
The English Channel
Plains
North European Plain in Europe and the Great Plains of North America
Plateau
Strait
Strait of Gibralter
Bering Strait
Strait of Magellan
The Geography of Europe
Before the 1900’s, the easiest
way to travel around Europe
was by water.
This is because some parts of
Europe are very
mountainous.
Many rivers and seas make
Europe ideal for waterway
travel.
Today, Europe is full of
railways, airports, and roads.
These man-made
transportation corridors
allow people to move
throughout Europe without
waterways.
Before the advent of modern
transportation, the many
waterways were vital to the
growth of Europe.
Water surrounds almost the
entire continent.
The southern coast of Europe
borders the warm waters of
the
Mediterranean Sea.
(Color blue and label)
Crossroads for 3 continents
(Europe, Africa, & Asia)
Mediterranean Sea
English Channel
Waterway between Great Britain and France. It is
150 miles wide at its widest and only 21 miles wide
at its narrowest. (Label and color blue)
The Chunnel is an undersea rail tunnel
Linking the United Kingdom and the rest
Of Europe. It is 31.4 miles long.
Europe has an extensive river
system.
Major Rivers
Rhine River
Danube River
Volga River
These rivers allowed for
movement of goods,
people, & ideas throughout
the continent in the past.
Rhine River
(Color Blue and label)
Longest and one of the
Most impt. rivers in
Europe.
Navigable (deep & wide)
for carrying trade goods
inland.
Flows north though
Germany to the
North Sea.
Danube River
(Color Blue and label)
Flows threw 10 different
European countries.
One of the most impt.
commerical waterways on
the continent.
2nd longest river in Europe
Begins in Germany’s Black
Forest and ends in the Black
Sea.
Volga River
(Color Blue and label)
hhhhhhhhhhhhhh
European Russia’s longest
river, the Volga, flows
into the Caspian Sea.
Landforms of Europe
Europe is sometimes called a
“continent of peninsulas.”
This is because several large
peninsulas, or bodies of
land surrounded by water
on three sides, form the
European continent.
Iberian Peninsula
(Color Orange/Peach)
Includes: Spain & Portugal
2nd largest peninsula in Europe
Lies west of France
Italian Peninsula
(Color Orange/Peach)
Scandinavian Peninsula
(Color Orange/Peach)
Includes: Norway
&
Sweden
& Northern Finland
Rich in timber, iron, and copper
Balkan Peninsula
Greece, Bulgaria,
Albania, Turkey,
Macedonia,
Montenegro, and
Serbia
Balkan Peninsula juts into the Mediterranean Sea to the south with the Adriatic Sea to the
West and the Black Sea to the East.
Landforms of Europe
Along the jagged shorelines
of the Scandinavian
Peninsula are fjords.
A fjord is a long, narrow,
deep inlet of the sea
located between steep
cliffs.
These were carved by
glaciers during the last ice
age.
Landforms of Europe
Much of Europe is covered
with mountains.
All of the peninsulas we
just saw contain
mountain ranges. The
highest mountains in
Europe are the Alps.
Draw brown peaks to show
location of mts.
The Alps
Major Tourist Destination
Pyrenees Mountains separate
the countries Spain and France
and the Iberian Peninsula from
the rest of Europe
(draw brown peaks for the Pyrenees)
The Ural Mountains divide
the continent of Europe
from Asia.
(Draw brown peaks)
The people on the western side of
the Urals have more of a
European culture, whereas
those on the eastern side have
a more Asiatic culture.
Not all of Europe is mountainous.
A large region called the
Great or North European
Plain stretches from the
coast of France to the
Ural Mountains making
it one of the largest level
land areas on earth.
This land is good for
farming.
Most people live on the
plains.
Color the plains green and label
The North European Plain
is home to some of the
world’s best farmland. It
also contains many
rivers, which made it a
great place to live in the
days before modern
transportation & grocery
stores.
A plain is a large, flat area
of land, usually with few
or little forest cover.
Climate of Europe
Europe usually experiences
cold winters in the northern
regions.
Overall, western Europe is
warmer than other places in
the world at the same
latitude, like Canada.
This is because the
gulf stream brings warm water
to the continent which
makes warm weather.
Climate of Europe
Natural Resources of Europe
Europe had an abundance
of natural resources. It
still has a lot, but Europe
has so many people that
the resources go quickly.
Europe has a good bit of
coal, ores, & mineral
resources.
Most of the forests have
been cleared for timber.
Let’s Review Last week
Physical Map of Europe
Locate the selected physical features of Europe:
European Plain
Iberian Peninsula
Scandinavian Peninsula
Alps Mountains
Ural Mountains
Danube River
Rhine River
Mediterranean Sea
English Channel