Peninsulas & Islands
Physical Geography: Europe
Peninsulas & Islands
- Europe is a large peninsula of Asia
- Has its own peninsulas known as “the peninsula of peninsulas”
- Northern Peninsula
- The Scandinavian Peninsula includes Norway & Sweden
- Ice age glaciers leave thin rocky soil
- Glaciers create fjords in Norway
- Jutland Peninsula forms a large part of Denmark and small part of Germany
- Southern Peninsula
- Iberian Peninsula: Spain & Portugal
- Italian Peninsula includes Italy
- Balkan Peninsula is surrounded by Adriatic, Mediterranean and Aegean Seas
- Islands
- Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Greenland
Mountains & Uplands
- Mountain Chains
- Alps is Europe’s most famous chain
- Crosses France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria & the Balkans
- Cuts Italy off from the rest of Europe
- Pyrenees block movement from Spain/Portugal and France
- Apennine Mts. Divide Italy between East & West
- Balkan Mountains block of Peninsula and separate Ethnic groups
- Uplands
- Uplands: Hills or low mountains, may have mesas, high plateaus
- Include: Scandinavian KjolenMtns, Scottish Highlands, Brittany in France and Mesta plateau in Spain
- Massif central uplands in France border mountainous areas
River’s Europe’s Links
- Rhine River & Danube Rivers have historically acted like highways
- Rivers connects good, people and ideas and aid in economic growth
Fertile Plains:
- Northern European Plain is one of the most fertile agricultural regions in the world
- Includes France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Germany & Poland
- Provides tons of food, but flat lands also provide invaders an east route to Europe
Resources
- Coal & Iron need to create steel for industrialization: Belgium, Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland
- Ruhr Valley is a major industrial zone
- Oil/Natural Gas: found in North Sea in 1959. Petroleumis supplied by Norway, Netherlands and Britain
- Farming: 33% of Europe is suitable for agriculture (world average is only 11%)
- Distribution of resources creates regional differences
- Peat: a partially decayed plant matter from bogs that Irish burn for fuel
Climate
- North Atlantic Drift: warm-water tropical current flows by west coast carries warm current
- Sirocco: Hot North African winds carries seas moisture or dessert dust
- Land of the Midnight Sun: north of the arctic circle some winter days have no sun and some summer days have no night
Creating Holland
- 40% of the Netherlands was once under water
- They used dikes (earthen banks that hold back the sea) to create polders: land reclaimed by diking and draining
- Seaworks: structures like dikes that control the sea’s destructive force
- Terpen: High earthen platforms that provide safe ground during floods
Venice:
- Venice is made of 120 islands and runs through 150 canals
- Current issues are the city is sinking and major water pollution
Deforestation
- Demand for wood and acid rain has led to deforestation