Unit 7. Europe & Spain
7.1 European Relief
* Europe is the second smallest continent because its area is 10.5 millions km2.
* It is located in the Northern hemisphere.
* Its natural borders are…
• Arctic Ocean
(North)
• Atlantic Ocean (West)
•
Mediterranean Sea (South)
•Ural Mountains & River, Caspian Sea, Caucasus, Black Sea (East).
* Europe has a low relief because its average altitude is 340 m
a) Great plains:
•They cover from France to Russia.
•The land is very fertile because many rivers cross the great plains.
b) Older mountain ranges:
•They are on the north (Kjolen Mountains) and east (Ural Mountains).
•They aren´t too high because they are eroded.
c) Younger Mountain ranges:
•They are along the Mediterranean coast.
•They are high because they are younger and they are less eroded.
* Pyrenees
* Alps
* Apennines
* Dinaric Alps
* Carpathian Mountains
* Balkan Mountains
* Caucasus (Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe. It is a volcano)
7.2 European coasts
•Peninsulas are 27% of Europe:
–S_______ Peninsula
–I_______ Peninsula
–B______
Peninsula
–I______
Peninsula
•Islands and archipelagos are 8 % of Europe:
–Iceland
–Ireland + Great Britain = British Isles
–Balearic Islands
–Corsica
–Sardinia
–Sicily
–Crete
–Cyprus
7.3 European rivers & lakes
•European rivers:
–They are important for:
• producing electricity
• water supply
• transportation
a) Arctic Ocean
•They have a large flow
•They freeze in winter
•Examples:
River Pechora
River Dvina
b) Atlantic Ocean
•They have the largest flow
•Examples:
River Vistula
River Oder
River Elbe
River Rhine
River Seine
River Loire
River Tajo
c) Mediterranean Sea
•They have a small and irregular flow because it doesn’t rain in summer.
•Examples:
River Rhone
River Po
d) Black Sea
River Danube
e) Caspian Sea
River Volga (It is the longest river in Europe)
•Lakes:
–Caspian Sea
–Ladoga
–Onega
•Copy the list first, then try to locate all the places in your map while the other students
finish copying.
•Do a neat work:
–Double check the spelling
–Use small letters or you won´t have enough room
Spain´s physical map
•Atlantic Ocean
•Mediterranean Sea
•Cantabrian Sea
•Central Plateau
•Central Mountain Chain
•Northern Sub-plateau
•Southern Sub-plateau
•Mountains of Toledo
•Galacian Massif
•Mountains of Leon
•Cantabrian Range
•Basque Mountains
•Iberian Mountain Chain
•Sierra Morena
•Pyrenees
•Catalan Coastal Chain
•Betic Chain
•Subbetic Range
•Penibetic Range
•Ebro Depression
•Guadalquivir Depression
•Mulhacén
•Aneto
•Teide
•Gulf of Biscay
•Gulf of Cádiz
•Gulf of Almería
•Gulf of Valencia
•Gulf of Roses
•Cape Finisterre
•Cape São Vicente
•Tarifa Point
•Cape Gata
•Cape Palos
•Cape Nao
•Cape Tortosa
•Cape Creus
•Balearic Islands: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Cabrera, Tramuntana Mtns
•Canary Islands: Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Gran Canaria,
Fuerteventura, Lanzarote.
Number/Name the rivers:
1. R. Nervión
2. R. Nalón
3. R. Navia
4. R. Miño
5. R. Sil
6. R. Duero
7. R. Tajo
8. R. Guadiana
9. R. Guadalquivir
10. R. Genil
11. R. Segura
12. R. Júcar
13. R. Turia
14. R. Ebro
15. R. Llobregat
7.5 Spain’s location in Europe
•Spain is located in:
–the Iberian Peninsula
–the Canary Islands
–the Balearic Islands
–the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in northern Africa.
•Spain is surrounded by:
–the Atlantic
Ocean
–the Mediterranean
Sea
–the Cantabrian
Sea
•
Spain is one of the largest
countries in Europe with an area of 500,000 km2.
•Spain is one of the highest countries in Europe with an average altitude of 660 m.
7.6 Spain’s relief
a) The Central Plateau is located in the center of Spain and covers 45% of the country.
b) The are 2 mountain ranges crossing the Central Plateau:
- The Central Mountain Chain that divides the Central Plateau into 2: the Northern SubPlateau and the Southern Sub-Plateau.
- The Mountains of Toledo
c) There are 6 mountain ranges around the Central Plateau:
* the Galacian Massif and the Mountains of León to the northwest.
* the Cantabrian Range and the Basque Mountains to the north.
* the Iberian Mountain Chain to the East
* Sierra Morena to the South
d) There are 3 mountain ranges far from the Central Plateau:
- the Pyrenees in the north
- the Catalan Coastal Chain in the northeast
- the Betic Chain in the south, divided in…
the Subbetic Range in the north
- The highest peaks in the Peninsula are the Mulhacén (3,478 m) in the Betic Chain and
the Aneto (3,404 m) in the Pyrenees.
e) There are 2 triangular depressions:
- the Ebro Depression in the north
- the Guadalquivir Depression in the south
7.7 Spain’s islands relief
A) Balearic Archipelago:
- 5 islands:
- They are flat except for the Tramuntana
Mountains
B) Canary Archipelago:
- they have a volcanic origin
- the highest peak is the _____ (3,718 m)
–there are 7 main islands:
7.8 Spanish Rivers
•Compared with other European rivers, Spanish rivers are short and have small irregular
flows.
•Cantabrian Sea:
- They are short and fast
- They have a large flow because it rains a lot.
b) Atlantic Ocean:
- They are long rivers because their sources (
- They have a large flow because their tributaries (
mountains.
) are in far mountains.
) start at rainy
c) Mediterranean Rivers:
- Most Mediterranean rivers are short with small flows because it doesn´t
rain in
.
The End