Europe: A Peninsula
of Peninsulas?
OR
A Peninsula of Asia?
Europe: An Asian Peninsula?
Northern Peninsulas
Scandinavian Peninsula
Jutland Peninsula
Southern Peninsulas
Iberian
Peninsula
Crimean
Peninsula
Italian
Peninsula Balkan
Peninsula
Anatolean
Peninsula
Some scholars believe the word Europe is
related to an Indo-European word, Ereb,
which means “the western lands,” and
similarly, Asia means “the eastern land.”
European soil was divided into “Imperium
Romanum” and “Germania.”
Europe was designated as Christendom to
distinguish it from the Moslems and
Eastern Greek Orthodox Christians.
Religious differences destroyed the unity of
Christendom, encouraging the
development of unique independent
states.
Sovereignty of individual states was
recognized. The concept of nationality
had trumped the idealized unity of the
Papacy.
Through the efforts of Peter the Great, by
the 18th century Russia was now included
in Europe.
Since the Ural Mtns. of Russia are the first
natural barriers to the east, it made sense
to make Europe’s eastern boundary
there.
This is why sometimes Eastern Europe is
called Central Europe—these countries
are sandwiched in between Russia in the
east and western Europe.
The North European Plain
The Northern European Plain --> An
Invasion Route into Asia (& Vice Versa?)
Is Russia a part of Europe today?
What do you think?
Steppes: “Soviet” Breadbasket
World’s largest island, Greenland, is also
considered a part of Europe, not North
America, because it is a part of Denmark.
 27
states presently make up the
European Union. However, not all
countries belong and Turkey, a Moslem
nation, since 2005 has been a candidate
for full membership.
How would you answer the
question: What is Modern
Europe?
Europe’s Latitude v. US
Former Soviet Region Compared in
Latitude & Area with the United States
Satellite View of Europe
3,800 square miles
R
E
G
I
O
N
S
Continents by Size
(sq. km.)
Asia
44,579,000
Africa
30,065,000
North America
24,256,000
South America
17,819,000
Antarctica
13,209,000
Europe
9,938,000
Oceania (incl.
Australia)
7,687,000
Europe is well defined by water to the
north, west, and south.
The eastern boundary does not have any
physical barrier since the North
European lowland is simply renamed the
Russian Plain across the Russian border.
The most
important
feature of
European
physical
geography is
its mild
climate that is
a temperate
mid latitude
climate.
The orientation of mountains in Europe is eastwest, not north-south as is the case along the
Pacific rim of the Americas. Thus the
mountains do not block the westerly flow of
warm moist air onto the European continent as
they do in North and South America. In the
Americas, the mid latitude westerly winds must
be lifted over the mountains to get to the
interior. Rising air cools and cooling air can't
hold as much water so the west sides of the
mountains are wet and the eastern side is dry.
This does not happen in Europe because of the
orientation of the mountains.
The prevailing westerly winds also tend to
prevent bitterly cold arctic air from
penetrating into Europe. Instead, polar air
sweeps into Russia, which does
experience bitterly cold winters. Only
occasionally, due to changes in jet stream
currents, does arctic air penetrate all the
way to the Mediterranean. Europe is
dominated by milder maritime air from the
Atlantic instead of the frigid polar air of the
Arctic.
The North Atlantic gyre brings warm moist air and
water far to the north making ocean temperatures
warmer than you would expect at this latitude. Air
and water is warmed as it moves along the
equator in the tropical Atlantic, Caribbean Sea,
and the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Stream and the
North Atlantic drift currents bring warm moist air
to the British Isles, Scandinavia, and even into the
Arctic Ocean (where the Russia port of Murmansk
remains open in the winter, albeit with ice breaker
help, despite being located above the Arctic
Circle.)
The relatively warm water of the
North Atlantic Drift warms the air
masses that flow into Europe from
the west and provides moisture and
atmospheric instability that gives
much of Europe beneficial
precipitation. European climate is
much milder than it would otherwise
be if the currents flowed somewhere
else.
The other dominant climate in Europe is
the Mediterranean. This climate covers
much of Southern Europe including most
of the Iberian Peninsula, Southern France,
Southern Italy and Greece. It is
characterized by hot, nearly rainless
summers, and mild rainy winters. It makes
for highly productive agriculture where the
soil is adequate. For those of you who
have not traveled to the Mediterranean the
climate is like California.
 With
a population of 582 million, Europe
comprises about 9% of the world's
population. Its land area of 2,193.6 square
miles constitutes less than 5% of the
world's land area. This gives Europe a
population density of 265.1 people per
square mile. This is the third largest
population density after south Asia, east
Asia, and southeast Asia.
World Population by Continents
Asia
3,737,000,000
Africa
823,000,000
Europe
729,000,000
North America
486,000,000
South America
351,000,000
Oceania (incl.
Australia)
31,000,000
Antarctica
no permanent
population
European Population Density
Population Density
[People Per Square Mile]
Belgium
336.82
Mexico
52.15
Japan
336.72
United
States
29.77
India
336.62
World
14.42
United
Kingdom
244.69
Norway
14.42
Italy
192.96
Canada
3.36
France
108.09
Russia
8.61
Population
Growth
This is the
latest
population
movement
in Europe.
Are you
familiar with
any earlier
ones?
Major
Religious
Groups
in
Europe
Acid Rain
Major
Environmental
Disasters
& Pollution
Problems
Consider:
•Physical
Landforms or lack thereof
•Climate/Weather
•Waterways
•Resources
•Population Movements
Sources:
• The Center for Learning. Advanced Placement
European History I: Concept Europe.
• Dr. Paul Roebuck. Community College of Denver.
http://www.roebuckclasses.com/105/wrgeog.htm
•Susan Pojer, Horace Greeley High School,
Chappaqua, NY