Intro to Europe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8brpoU_HNI
NOTES:
Europe and Russia are in the Northern Hemisphere
Europe is the 2nd smallest continent (Australia is smaller)
Asia and Europe are on the same land mass, separated by the Ural Mountains
Russia is located on both continents; it is the largest country in the world; 2X the size of the US
Europe (peninsula) is bordered on three sides by water
o North – Arctic Ocean
o West – Atlantic Ocean
o South – Black, Caspian, Mediterranean Seas
Europe is the 2nd most densely populated continent (Asia is most densely populated)
Europe is highly urbanized
Humans have lived in Europe for tens of thousands of years; favorable geography
1/3 of land in Europe is arable (“good for farming”)
Northern forests offer timber for most of Europe
Water currents from the Gulf of Mexico allow a mild climate in Europe
Large rivers offer transportation corridors throughout Europe; Volga is the longest river
Europe is mostly low elevation, except for the Alpine regions (run E-W)
o North of the Alps – colder, wetter, and heavily forested
o South of the Alps (a natural barrier to the north winds; rain shadow) – warmer, dryer
Regions
o Western Europe
o Easter Europe
o Russia
Russia
o About 4800 miles from Europe to Pacific Ocean
o Extends the full length of the northern border of Asia
o Larger land mass in Asia, but most of the citizens live in Europe side
o Siberia is least hospitable area on Earth, with winter temps dipping to -900
o Frozen tundra for top 1/3 of land mass
o Taiga (forest zone; mostly conifers) cover much of Siberia; source of most of Europe’s
lumber
o Has great oil, gas, coal, iron & mineral deposits, but obstacles to getting them (climate,
heavily forested/frozen land, distance from population/transportation sources)
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
U.S.S.R. was a collection of states/republics, many of which became independent in the 19801990s.
Europe, a peninsula itself, includes five (5) peninsulas
o Norway/Sweden
o Denmark
o Italy
o Greece
o Spain/Portugal
Scandinavia includes Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
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