Geography of Europe

For the political geography of Europe, see Europe § Political geography.
Several of the oldest cities of northwestern Europe are highlighted in this astronaut photograph from just after midnight (00:25 Greenwich Mean Time) on August 10, 2011.

Europe is traditionally reckoned as one of seven continents. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or the larger Afro-Eurasia); Asia occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass and all share a common continental shelf. Europe's eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally the Ural River or, less commonly, the Emba River. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains (or, less commonly, the Kura River in the Caucasus), and on to the Black Sea. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland, though on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and nearer to Greenland (North America) than mainland Europe, is generally included in Europe for cultural reasons and because it is over twice as close to mainland Europe than to mainland North America. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls.

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the ISS on a pass over Europe. The two videos were shot simultaneously using different cameras: one pointing toward the northeast, and one pointing toward the east.

Overview.

Satellite image of Europe by night

Some geographical texts refer to a Eurasian continent given that Europe is not surrounded by sea and its southeastern border has always been variously defined for centuries.

In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas and nearby islands. The two largest peninsulas are mainland Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia, Italy and the Balkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland. The Balkan peninsula is separated from Asia by the Black and Aegean Seas. Italy is separated from the Balkans by the Adriatic Sea, and from Iberia by the Mediterranean Sea, which also separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains and Ural River, the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains.

Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in western Ireland and continuing along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway.

This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is of North Atlantic volcanic formation, while the latter consists of upland areas once joined to the mainland until cut off by rising sea levels.

Peninsula of peninsulas

Europe is sometimes called a "peninsula of peninsulas", to draw attention to the fact that Europe is a relatively small, elongated appendage to Asia, and that a large part of Europe is made up of peninsulas.[1]

Partial list of peninsulas of Europe

Geology

Main article: Geology of Europe
The coast of Europe is heavily indented with bays and gulfs, as here in Greece.

Europe's most significant geological feature is the dichotomy between the highlands and mountains of Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from the United Kingdom in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps/Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the Scandinavian mountains and the mountainous parts of the British Isles. The major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the Celtic Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea complex, and the Barents Sea.

The northern plain contains the old geological continent of Baltica, and so may be regarded as the "main continent", while peripheral highlands and mountainous regions in south and west constitute fragments from various other geological continents.

The geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.

Population

Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 731 million in 2005 according to the United Nations. In 2010 the population is 857 million, using a definition which includes the whole of the transcontinental countries of Russia and Turkey. Population growth is comparatively slow, and median age comparatively high in relation to the world's other continents.

Rivers

The Volga, the longest river in Europe, near Kazan, Russia.
The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, in Budapest, Hungary.

The longest rivers in Europe with their approximate lengths:[2][3]

  1. Volga -   3,690 km (2,290 mi)
  2. Danube - 2,860 km (1,780 mi)
  3. Ural   -    2,428 km (1,509 mi)
  4. Dnieper - 2,290 km (1,420 mi)
  5. Don   -     1,950 km (1,210 mi)
  6. Pechora - 1,809 km (1,124 mi)
  7. Kama -  1,805 km (1,122 mi)
  8. Oka   -   1,500 km (930 mi)
  9. Belaya - 1,430 km (890 mi)
  10. Tisza   -   1,358 km (844 mi)
  11. Dniester - 1,352 km (840 mi)
  12. Rhine   -   1,236 km (768 mi)
  13. Elbe   -   1,091 km (678 mi)
  14. Vistula - 1,047 km (651 mi)
  15. Tagus   - 1,038 km (645 mi)
  16. Daugava - 1,020 km (630 mi)
  17. Loire - 1,012 km (629 mi)
  18. Ebro - 960 km (600 mi)
  19. Nemunas - 937 km (582 mi)
  20. Sava - 933 km (580 mi)
  21. Douro - 897 km (557 mi)
  22. Oder - 854 km (531 mi)
  23. Guadiana - 829 km (515 mi)
  24. Rhône - 815 km (506 mi)
  25. Seine  - 776 km (482 mi)
  26. Mureș - 761 km (473 mi)
  27. Prut - 742 km (461 mi)
  28. Po - 682 km (424 mi)
  29. Guadalquivir - 657 km (408 mi)
  30. Olt - 615 km (382 mi)
  31. Glomma - 604 km (375 mi)
  32. Garonne - 602 km (374 mi)
  33. Siret - 559 km (347 mi)
  34. Neris - 510 km (320 mi)
  35. Maritsa - 480 km (300 mi)
  36. Vltava - 430 km (270 mi)
  37. Ialomița - 417 km (259 mi)
  38. Vah - 406 km (252 mi)
  39. Vardar - 388 km (241 mi)
  40. Shannon - 386 km (240 mi)
  41. Someș - 376 km (234 mi)
  42. Morava - 353 km (219 mi)
  43. Drin Albania 335 km
  44. Torne - 324 km (201 mi)

Lakes and inland seas

Major islands

Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Ireland, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Cyprus, Ionian Islands, Crete, Aegean Islands, Åland Islands, Gotland, Saaremaa, Svalbard, Hinnøya, Senja, Zealand, Fyn and North Jutlandic Island.

See also List of European islands by area and List of European islands by population

Plains and lowlands

Mountain ranges

Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe.
Mount Olympus, legendary abode of the Greek gods.
Maja Jezercë in Albania at 2,694m high is the highest peak of the Dinaric Alps.

Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are:

Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain (classification from UNEP-WCMC):

≥4500m 3500- 4500m 2500- 3500m 1500- 2500m & slope ≥2° 1000- 1500m & slope ≥5°
or local elevation range >300m		 300-1000m & local elevation range >300m Mountainous TOTAL Europe TOTAL
1 km2 225 km2 497886 km2 145838 km2 345255 km2 1222104 km2 2211308 km2 10180000 km2
0.00% 0.00% 4.89% 1.43% 3.39% 12.00% 21.72% 100.00%

Temperature and precipitation

The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. Europe has less precipitation in the east than in central and western Europe. The temperature difference between summer and winter gradually increases from coastal northwest Europe to southeast inland Europe, ranging from Ireland, with a temperature difference of only 10 °C from the warmest to the coldest month, to the area north of the Caspian Sea, with a temperature difference of 40 °C. January average range from 13 °C in southern Greece to -20 °C in the northeastern part of European Russia.

Western Europe and parts of Central Europe generally fall into the temperate maritime climate (Cfb), the southern part is mostly a Mediterranean climate (mostly Csa, smaller area with Csb), the north-central part and east into central Russia is mostly a humid continental climate (Dfb) and the northern part of the continent is a subarctic climate (Dfc). In the extreme northern part (northernmost Russia; Svalbard), bordering the Arctic Ocean, is tundra climate (Et). Mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, have a highland climate with large variations according to altitude and latitude.

Landlocked countries

Notes:

  1. Liechtenstein is doubly landlocked.
  2. Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and Macedonia constitute a contiguous landlocked agglomeration of eight countries in Central Europe and the Balkans, stretching from Geneva all the way to Greece.
  3. All other landlocked countries (Luxembourg, Andorra, Vatican, San Marino, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan) are "standalone" landlocked countries, not bordering any other such European one (the emphasis is necessary, since Kazakhstan borders Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, thus forming a vast landlocked expanse in Central Asia)

Countries consisting solely of islands or parts of islands

Countries bordering or spanning another continent

Eurasia Armenia, Azerbaijan, Republic of Cyprus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Greece (some Aegean islands and Kastelorizo island in southeastern Mediterranean)
Europe-Africa Malta, Spain (Ceuta, Melilla and Canary Islands), Italy (Lampedusa and Lampione), Portugal (Madeira),[4] France (Réunion and Mayotte)
Europe-South America France (French Guiana)
Europe-North America France (Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St. Pierre et Miquelon), Denmark (Greenland), Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius)

Countries that share a name with their capital

Countries whose capital is not their largest city

Country Capital Largest city
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein Vaduz Schaan
Malta Malta Valletta Birkirkara
San Marino San Marino San Marino Serravalle
Switzerland Switzerland Bern Zurich
Turkey Turkey Ankara Istanbul

Note: Italy's capital, Rome, is the country's largest city if only the municipality (comune) is considered. Greater Milan is the largest Metropolitan Area in Italy.

Brussels is considered to be the largest city of Belgium, according to the population of the Brussels-Capital Region. According to the population of the municipality of Brussels, which is 'only' 160,000, Antwerp is the biggest city of the country.

List of countries by the number of other countries they border

Map of European countries by number of neighbouring countries.
14 Russia (Including Kaliningrad)
11 France (Including overseas departments and territories)
9 Germany
8 Austria, Serbia, Turkey
7 Hungary, Poland, Ukraine
6 Italy
5 Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Macedonia, Slovakia, Spain (Including Ceuta and Melilla), Switzerland
4 Albania, Armenia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Slovenia
3 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Netherlands (Including Sint Maarten), Norway, Luxembourg
2 Andorra, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Sweden
1 Denmark, Ireland, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, United Kingdom, Vatican City
0 Iceland, Cyprus, Malta

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Europe:Physical Geography National Geographic - Education
  2. ↑ "European Rivers". worldatlas.com.
  3. ↑ "River Systems of the World".
  4. ↑ Peoples of Africa. Marshall Cavendish. 2000. ISBN 9780761471585.
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