Europe

I

Introduction

Europe, conventionally one of the seven continents of the world. Although referred to as a continent, Europe is actually just the western fifth of the Eurasian land mass, which is made up primarily of Asia. Modern geographers generally describe the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, part of the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains as forming the main boundary between Europe and Asia. The name Europe is perhaps derived from that of Europa, a consort of Zeus in Greek mythology, or possibly from Ereb, a Phoenician word for “sunset”.

The second smallest continent (Australia is the smallest), Europe has an area of about 10,525,000 sq km (4,065,000 sq mi), but it has the second-largest population of all the continents, about 729,239,900 (2006 estimate). The northernmost point of the European mainland is Cape Nordkinn, in Norway; the southernmost, Punta de Tarifa, in southern Spain near Gibraltar. From west to east the mainland ranges from Cape Roca (Cabo da Roca), in Portugal, to the north-east slopes of the Urals, in Russia.

Europe has long been a centre of cultural and economic achievement. The ancient Greeks and Romans produced major civilizations, famous for their contributions to philosophy, literature, fine art, and government. The Renaissance, which began in the 14th century, was a period of great accomplishment for European artists and architects, and the age of exploration, beginning in the 15th century, included voyages to the far corners of the world by European navigators. European nations, particularly Spain, Portugal, France, and Great Britain, built large colonial empires, with vast holdings in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. In the 18th century modern forms of industry began to be developed. In the 20th century much of Europe was ravaged by the two world wars. After World War II ended in 1945, the continent was divided into two major political and economic blocs—Communist nations in Eastern Europe and non-Communist countries in Western Europe. Between 1989 and 1991, however, the Eastern bloc broke up. Communist regimes surrendered power in most Eastern European countries. East and West Germany were unified. The Soviet Communist party collapsed, multilateral military and economic ties between Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were severed, and the USSR itself ceased to exist.

II

The Natural Environment

Europe is a highly fragmented land mass consisting of a number of large peninsulas, such as the Scandinavian, Iberian, and Italian, as well as smaller ones, such as Jutland and Brittany. It also includes a large number of offshore islands, notably Iceland, the British Isles, Sardinia, Sicily, and Crete. Europe has coastlines on arms of the Arctic Ocean and on the North and Baltic seas, in the north; on the Caspian Sea, in the south-east; on the Black and Mediterranean seas, in the south; and on the Atlantic Ocean, in the west. The highest point of the continent is Mount Elbrus (5,642 m/18,510 ft), in the Caucasus Mountains in south-western Russia. The lowest point of Europe is located along the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, about 28 m (92 ft) below sea level.

A

Physiographic Regions

The geological underpinning of Europe includes, from north to south, an ancient mass of stable, crystalline rocks; a broad belt of relatively level sedimentary materials; a zone of mixed geological structures created by folding, faulting, and volcanic activity; and a region of comparatively recent mountain-building activity. This geological pattern has helped to create the numerous physiographic regions that make up the landscape of Europe.

The Fenno-Scandian Shield, formed during the Precambrian, underlies Finland and most of the rest of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Tilted towards the east, it forms both the mountains of western Sweden and the lower plateau of Finland. Glaciation has carved the deep fiords of the Norwegian coast and scoured the surface of the Finnish plateau. The movement of a segment of the Earth's crust against the stable shield during the Caledonian Orogeny (about 500 to 395 million years ago) raised the mountains of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and western Norway. Subsequent erosion has rounded and worn down these mountains in the British Isles, but the peaks of Norway still reach 2,472 m (8,110 ft).

The second major geological region, a belt of sedimentary materials, sweeps in an arc from south-west France northwards and eastwards through the Low Countries, Germany, Poland, and into western Russia. It also includes a part of south-east England. Although warped in places to form basins, such as the London Basin and the Paris Basin, these sedimentary rocks, covered by a layer of glacially deposited debris, are generally level enough to form the Great European Plain. Some of the best soils of Europe are found on the plain, particularly along its southern margin, where wind-borne material called loess has been deposited. The plain is widest in the east.

South of the Great European Plain, a band of dissimilar geological structures sweeps across Europe, creating the most intricate landscapes of the continent—the Central European Uplands. Throughout this region the forces of folding (the Jura range), faulting (the Vosges and Black Forest mountains), volcanism (the Massif Central, or central highlands, of France), and uplift (the Meseta, or central plateau, of Spain) have interacted to create alternating mountains, plateaux, and valleys.

The major European physiographic province furthest to the south is also the most recently formed. In mid-Tertiary time, about 40 million years ago (see Oligocene Epoch), the Afro-Arabian plate collided with the Eurasian one, triggering the Alpine Orogeny (see Plate Tectonics). Compressional forces generated by the collision thrust great thicknesses of Mesozoic sediment upwards, creating such ranges as the Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, and Caucasus, which are not only the highest mountains of Europe but also the steepest. The frequent occurrence of earthquakes in this region indicates that changes are still taking place.

B

Drainage

The peninsular nature of the European continent has resulted in a generally radial pattern of drainage, with most streams flowing outwards from the core of the continent, often from headwaters that are close together. The longest river in Europe, the Volga, flows primarily in a southerly direction into the Caspian Sea, and the second longest, the Danube, flows west to east before entering the Black Sea. Rivers of central and western Europe include the Rhône and Po, which flow into the Mediterranean Sea, and the Loire, Seine, Rhine, and Elbe, which enter the Atlantic Ocean or the North Sea. The Oder and Wisła flow north to the Baltic Sea. The radial drainage pattern lends itself to the interconnection of rivers by canals.

Lakes occur both in mountainous areas, such as in Switzerland, Italy, and Austria, and in plains regions, such as in Sweden, Poland, and Finland. Europe's biggest freshwater lake is Lake Ladoga in north-west Russia.