Eurasia is the world’s largest landmass. It is made up of the
continents of Europe and Asia, and much of it lies in the
northern latitudes. There the climate is colder and the
growing season is shorter than in countries farther to the
south.
The continent of Europe is made up of 48 countries, and
each country is about the size of an average state in the
U.S. Included on the European continent is part of Russia,
the largest country in the world. Beyond the Ural Mountains
that mark the boundary between Europe and Asia, the
Russian region of Siberia extends for thousands of miles
across northern Asia.
Europe has four major land regions:
 The ancient mountains for the NORTHWESTERN
HIGHLANDS are found in the northern parts of France, Great
Britain, and Scandinavia. The mountains have been eroded by
centuries of wind and weather. Few people live here where the
climate is severe, the soil is thin, and the farming is poor.
 The NORTH EUROPEAN PLAIN extends from southern
England and France to the feet of the Ural Mountains in
Russia. This is a region of rich soil, productive farmland, and a
high population density, which is the average number of
people living in an area.
 The CENTRAL UPLANDS stretch across the center of
southern Europe. This region is made up of mountains and
plateaus, which are large raised areas of level land. The soil
in the Uplands is too rocky for farming, but the land is rich in
minerals and is good for grazing goats and sheep.
 The ALPINE MOUNTAIN SYSTEM is a series of high
mountain ranges that cover Europe from Spain to the Balkans
and extend to Georgia east of the Black Sea. The Alps in
Switzerland are a spectacular part of this region, and the
majestic, snow-capped peaks are a favorite vacation spot for
hikers and skiers. The region to home to families who work
small farms in the valleys and meadows high in the mountains.
SIBERIA. To the east of the Ural Mountains lies a vast, low,
marshy expanse called the West Siberian Plain. It covers
more than a million square miles. It is known for its long, cold
winters, harsh (difficult) living conditions, and small,
scattered population. Summers are cool and short. Snow
covers the ground for six months of the year, with winter
temperatures often falling to -500F.
At the eastern edge of the plain, the Central Siberian Plain
slopes upward. The land continues to rise, forming the East
Siberian Uplands. This is a desolate (deserted, abandoned)
region of rugged mountains, stark (plain) plateaus, and more
than twenty active volcanoes.
RIVER RESOURCES AND TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS
The highlands of Europe and Russia are the source for many important
rivers. High in the Swiss Alps, melting glaciers form two streams that
combine to become the Rhine River. The Rhine River winds its way for
865 miles through forests and plains, past castles, factories, and cities
before ti flows into the North Sea. The Rhine River and its canals and
tributaries, which are smaller rivers and streams that connect to the
main channel, form a network of transportation corridors (like a
highways) that reach every part of Western Europe.
The Volga River is the longest river in Europe. If flows for 2, 193 miles
through western Russia and empties into the Caspian Sea. Its tributaries
and canals link the Volga River to the Arctic Ocean and the Baltic Sea.
However, the river is frozen for three months of the year, so during the
winter months the Volga River and many other rivers in Russia are not
navigable, which means ships cannot travel on them.
The Danube River begins in the mountains of Germany and flows
through eight countries before it empties into the Black Sea. The Danube
River is the second longest river in Europe, and it is navigable all year
round. The factors make it an important corridor for trade and travel.
Ships from the Mediterranean Sea can travel up the Danube River to
ports in Romania. From there, the cargo (freight) can be transferred to
smaller boats that can continue up the river.
The continent of Europe forms a peninsula, a body of land that is
surrounded by water on three sides. It juts into the Atlantic Ocean
(west side) and is bordered on the north by the North, Norwegian,
and Baltic Seas, and is bordered on the south by the
Mediterranean, Caspian, and Black Seas.
The entire continent is affected by all of this water. The warm
ocean current called the Gulf Stream (which begins in the Gulf of
Mexico) flows northeast to join the Atlantic Ocean in the north.
The warm water in the Gulf Stream keeps the northern coastlines
of Great Britain and Norway from freezing in the winter, even if the
land is covered in ice and snow. The waves that have battered the
coastline for millions of years have formed many bays, inlets,
coves, harbors, and fjords.
Moist, warm air blows inland from the coast, sweeping across the
North European Plain. West of the mountains, rainfall is heavy.
When the moist air rises over the mountains, it cools and falls as
snow along the ridges of the Alpine Mountain System. Not much
moisture makes it over the mountains, so this area – around the
Mediterranean Sea – warmer and dryer. It is in the rain shadow
of the Alps Mountains, an area on the dry, sheltered side of a
mountain that receives little precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet).
CAN YOU FIND THE FIVE (5) PENINSULAS INSIDE EUROPE?
Taiga
Steppe
Temperature, rainfall, altitude, and latitude are four factors
that determine the natural vegetation, or plant life, of an
area. Deciduous forests, made up of trees that lose their
leaves, once covered most of Europe. Over many years,
people cleared the forests to create farmland and build
cities. (What is this interaction with the environment called?)
In northern Europe and Russia there are large coniferous
forests, which have trees with needles and cones.
In Russia, the taiga, as the forested region is called, covers
more than four million square miles. The soil is not so good
for farming, and the growing season is short. The North
European Plains were once covered with grasslands called
prairies. People created farmland in this region. In Russia,
the grasslands are called steppe. The fertile, black soil is
good for farming.
The tundra is a treeless plain where only grasses and
mosses grow. Here, the ground is permafrost, or frozen
soil, and there is only a short growing season when the top
layer of soil thaws. In Iceland, Norway, and northern Russia,
the people have had to find ways to raise their food and
construct shelters without the natural resources that forests
provide. (What is this interaction with the environment
called?)
Europe is a wealthy region and a world leader in economic
development. Part of the wealth and success comes from
Europe’s rich supply of natural resources, such as fertile soil,
water, and fuels. Russia has a wide variety of resources, but its
harsh climate, frozen rivers, and huge transportation distances
have made it difficult to turn their resources into wealth.
Fossil fuels in the form of oil, natural gas, and coal provide
energy for industries. They are called fossil fuels because they are
formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient animals
and plants. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable resources; once they
are used up, they are gone.
Millions of years ago, marine plants and animals called plankton
died and settled on the ocean floor. Over the years, the plankton
was covered with mud and sand. The weight of the material
gradually changed the plankton into oil trapped inside of porous
rock. Oil drilling equipment cuts through the rock and removes the
oil, which is called crude oil. Crude oil is then cleaned to make
refined oil products that are used to run cars and heat homes.
There are oil and gas deposits under the ocean floor in the North
Sea and Siberia. However, these resources in remote parts of
Russia are thousands of miles from the country’s industrial
centers. They must be transported by pipeline.
Coal is made from ancient plants and animal materials that
decay to form peat. Over millions of years, the pressure of
materials heaped on top of the peat deposits gradually
changed the peat into brown coal. Increased pressure
gradually turned the brown coal into what is called soft coal
that is used in industries worldwide.
Coal is mined in Great Britain; the Ruhr Valley of Germany;
in the industrial center called Silesia, which is where Poland,
Germany, and the Czech Republic come together; in
Ukraine; and in Russia, which has one-third of the world’s
coal reserves.
Russian also has great reserves of iron ore, which is used to
make steel. Most of these mineral deposits are west of the
Ural Mountains, which is where Russian’s industrial centers
are located.
In western Europe water is an important resource. People use the
water supply for personal use, irrigating crops, transportation, in
industries, and for energy. The force of water flowing from a
waterfall or from a dam on a river can spin machines called
turbines. Spinning turbines generate, or create, electricity.
Hydroelectricity, therefore, is the power generated from the force
of moving water. Norway gets all of its electric power from
hydroelectricity, and Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, and
Portugal all run on power generated by dams on rivers that flow
out of the mountains.
Except in the southern and western part of the country, the frozen
rivers of Russia and Siberia cannot be used to generate power
because they are polluted by industrial waste. These polluted
rivers will need to be restored before they can be developed as a
natural resource.
Over thousands of years, winds have deposited fertile, dust-like
soil called loess across the North European Plan. This soil,
combines with the plentiful rainfall and long growing seasons,
enable European farmers to produce abundant crops. In the
Ukraine, a black soil called chernozem is very fertile. It is
extremely important for food production in the region.