Name_______________________ Date___________________ Period______________
“I grew up in Europe, where the history comes from.”
Eddie Izzard (performer and writer)
PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
Directions: Use units 4 and 5 of textbook, library books, internet, atlas, and other
resources to complete the following.
1. Russia: Use colored pencils to label the following on the map below. Create a map key.
*Arctic Ocean
*Bering Sea
*Volga River
*Ural Mountains
*Moscow
2. Russia is the largest country in the world, but has little variety in landforms
or climate. Complete the blanks below.
A. Russia has the longest continuous coastline of any country in the world at
___________miles.
B. The _____________________ River is vital to Russia. Two-thirds of Russia’s water traffic
flows along this river.
C. About one-fifth of the world’s ______________________ lie in Russia—75percent of
them in Siberia.
D. Lake _________________________ is the deepest, freshwater lake in the world.
3. Use colored pencils to label the following on the map below. Create a map key.
*Alps
*Bay of Biscay
*United Kingdom
*Mount Etna
*Pyrenees
*Norwegian Sea
*Adriatic Sea
*Vatican City
*Mount Vesuvius
*Strait of Gibraltar
*Russia
*Mediterranean
*Atlantic Ocean
*Rhine River
*Iceland
Sea
4. List and DESCRIBE 3 examples of Europe’s landforms that have been created and shaped over
time by physical processes.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________________________
5. List 3 ways in which Europeans depend on rivers and canals.
1. ___________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
6. Europe is a large peninsula made up of smaller peninsulas. Define peninsula, and give two
examples. _____________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
7. Europe contains 50 countries, and its landscape has shaped the lives and settlement patterns of
Europeans. It’s beauty continues to attract visitors from around the world. Complete the blanks
below.
A. ________________________ -created by glaciations and folding; contains Mont Blanc at
15,771 feet high; source of the Rhine and Po Rivers
B. ________________________ -located south of Arctic Circle; contains volcanoes and geysers
C. ________________________ - located over Sicily; Europe’s highest, active volcano
D. ________________________-the most important river in western Europe; connects many
industrial cities
E. ________________________ - smallest country in the world;
home of the Pope and the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church
F. The ____________________________chain forms a high, rugged barrier
between Spain and France. The mountains stretch for 270 miles. Many of the mountains are
more than 9,000 feet tall.
G. Some of the fiercest weather conditions of the Atlantic Ocean can be witnessed in the
___________________________. The area is home to large storms during the winter months
and there have been countless ships wrecks reported from the area as a result of the gruesome
weather.
H. The ___________________________ Sea contains rich deposits of oil and natural gas under
the sea bottom and is explored commercially.
I. The _________________________ Sea is the largest inland sea in the world.
J. The ______________________________ contains the countries of England, Wales, Scotland,
and Northern Ireland.
K. The _________________________ is the opening gateway from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Mediterranean Sea. Europe and Africa are separated by 7.7 miles at is narrowest point.
L. _____________________________ in Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It
is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the city of Pompeii. It is
considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world.
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
9. Who was Mikhail Gorbachev and how did he help transition Russia away from communism?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
UNITED STATES CONNECTIONS
10. The fall of communism in the Soviet Union led to Russian involvement in the
_______________________________ beginning in 1998.
11. What were the Cold War influences on American and Russian culture? _________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
12. List 4 other ways that European cultures have impacted the United States.
1. ________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________
13. More than 40 million Americans identify themselves as _______________________, the largest
self-reported ethnic group in the United States.
EUROPE AND RUSSIA TODAY
14. _________________ is the capital of Russia.
A walled fortification preserves cultural and historical monuments important to Russia. The
crown jewels of the Russian tsars are kept here, and the Russian president has his official
residence here.
15. EXPLAIN the significance of the European Union?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
16. Areas of Russia and Europe are currently facing various problems. Complete the chart below.
Problems:
Explanation: (why)
17. What is Russia’s most important industry today?____________________________________
18. Other than Russia, what is the most populous country in all of Europe? ___________
19. Paris, Brussels, and London are linked by a high-speed rail triangle that passes beneath the
___________________________________.
20. Writing: