West Central Europe

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Chapter 25

• West Central Europe

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West Central Europe Map Quiz
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West Central Europe

• France
• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Liechtenstein
• Switzerland
• Austria
• Germany
• Monaco

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Section 1

• France

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Physical Geographyof France

• English Channel
• Atlantic Ocean
• Mediterranean
• Sea
• Northwest
• Highlands
• Northern
• European Plains (Most of France)
• Central Uplands
• Alpine Mountain
• System

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Mountains

• Massif Central
• Jura Mts.
• Vosges Mts.
• Pyrenees Mts.
• Alps

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Rivers

• Seine River
• Loire River
• Garonne
• River
• Rhone River
• Provide a
• vast transportation
• network

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Climate

• North
• Marine West Coast
• South
• Mediterranean
• Mistral
• Strong, cool wind that blows from the Alps toward
  the Mediterranean coast

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Economic Geography

• Agriculture important part of economy
• Second only to United States
• In the north and interior they produce wheat,
  sugar beets, potatoes, dairy products, and meat

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• In the south grapes,
• olives, and vegetables
• France also produces
• wine

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Lorraine

• In the northeast
• Europes largest iron ore source
• Foundation of Frances early steel industry

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• The southern part of France produces
• Satellites
• Jet aircraft
• Helicopters

Fouga CM-170 Magister
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Energy Resources

• Hydroelectricity
• Solar energy
• Tidal power
• Nuclear energy (over 50)
• Must import energy as well

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Marine Energy - Tidal Power
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La Rance experimental tidal power plant
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Exports

• Perfumes
• Jewelry
• Glassware
• Furniture
• Leader in fashion design

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Jean-Paul Gaultier
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Tourism

• French Alps
• French Riviera
• Brittanys coast
• Wine producing regions
• Paris

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Human Geography

• Religion
• 80 Catholic

Chartres Cathedral
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Paris

• Primate city
• Ranks first in population and economy
• Center for education, government, communication,
  banking, business, transportation, and tourism
• Suffers from air pollution, traffic, noise, and a
  high population
• Located on the Seine River

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Marseilles

• Located on the Mediterranean coast
• Oldest and second largest city
• Has a major French naval base
• Is an industrial center

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Lyons

• Located on the Rhone River in eastern France
• Third largest city
• Is an important manufacturing center

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Issues

• Rapid growth
• High unemployment
• Move away from socialism

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• French Community- Organization that helps France
  maintain close ties with most former colonies
• Islands in the Caribbean, the south pacific, and
  the Indian Ocean
• Send representatives to France

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• France has had a long relationship with the U.S.
• Declaration of Independence and the French
  Declaration express similar ideas.

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• Section 1 Review Questions

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1. What landform regions and climates does
France have? What economic activities are found
in different areas of France?

• Landform regions are Northwest Highlands,
  Northern European Plains, Central Uplands, Alpine
  Mountains
• Climates are Marine west coast and Mediterranean
• Economic activities
• Agriculture in the north, interior, and south
• Mining and industry in the northeast
• Mining and aerospace industry in the south
• Tourism in many areas

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2. How are Paris, Marseilles, and Lyons
important?

• Paris
• Ranks first in population and economy
• Center for education, government, communication,
  banking, business, transportation, and tourism
• Marseilles
• Has a major French naval base
• Is an industrial center
• Lyons
• Is an important manufacturing center

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3. Compare Frances relationship with its former
and present colonies to those of the United
Kingdom with its former and present colonies.

• The French have the French Community and the
  British have the Commonwealth of Nations, both of
  which are organizations of former colonies.
• Both countries still have a few small colonies.

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Section 2

• Germany

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• Made up of 16 Landers
• Landers are states
• Three of which are city-states
• Self-governing cities
• Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg
• Berlin is the capital

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• Landers

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Physical Geography

• Has three main land form regions
• North German Plain
• Central Uplands
• Alpine Mountain System

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• Lowest elevations
• are in the North
• German Plain by
• the North Sea
• and Baltic Sea

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Germanys Rivers

• Rhine
• Most important to Germanys transportation system
• Danube
• Elbe
• Weser

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Rivers of Germany
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Rhine River
Danube
Weser
Elbe
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Climate

• Mostly it has a marine west coast in the north
  (Mild)
• In the south and the eastern parts there is a
  continental climate (warm summers and colder
  winters)

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Economic Geography

• Europes largest economy
• ¼ of the European Unions production
• 10 of the worlds exports
• Germany is resource poor
• Imports enough iron ore to make it Europes
  leading steel producer
• Must import most of its natural gas and oil

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• 1/3 of Germany is forested
• Pollution has destroyed much of the forests
• ½ is farm land and pastures
• Its industrious population is its most important
  economic resource, the workers are the..
• Best paid
• Best educated
• Leaders scientific, technology, and
  organizational skills

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• Leader in production and export of cars,
  electronics, chemicals, and optical and surgical
  instruments
• Has an excellent transportation system

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Five Major Regions

• Northwestern Germany
• The Ruhr
• The Rhineland
• Southern Germany
• Eastern Germany

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Five Major Regions

• Northwestern Germany
• By coast of the North and Baltic Seas
• Has poor soil
• Has thick loess dust sized particles that are
  deposited by the wind
• Grains, potatoes, sugar beets are main crops
• Hamburg
• On the Elbe, major seaport, second largest city,
  and an important media and financial center

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• The Ruhr
• In western Germany
• Industrial heart of Europe
• Had Europes largest coal deposits
• Germanys most densely populated and polluted
  area
• Smoke stack regions
• Manufactures chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
  plastics, and automobiles

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• The Rhineland
• In the west and south of the Ruhr
• Has fertile soil
• Is an agricultural and industrial area
• Is famous for its castles, forests, vineyards,
  and farms
• Air transportation and financial center

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• Southern Germany
• Major city in the south is Munich where
  electrical and scientific equipment, automobiles,
  textiles, toys are produced
• The south has rich farmland, mountains, forests,
  and lakes

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• Eastern Germany
• Where the nations capital, Berlin is located
• South of Berlin is Saxony which is the most
  industrialized and populous Lander in the region
• In the regions north they grow sugar beets,
  potatoes, grains, and other crops
• Major challenge is cleaning up the pollution
• Its services and its inefficient and outdated
  industries are being modernized
• Wealth gap exist eastern Germany and the rest of
  the country

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Forest
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Issues

• The high costs of rebuilding East Berlin after
  reunification in 1990
• East Berlin had environmental problems, crumbling
  infrastructure, and high unemployment rate
• Many East Germans moved west for jobs

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Berlin Wall Built August 1961
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Wall Being Torn Down February 1990
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Pollution and Acid Rain
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• Germany is a member of the EU and NATO

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• Section 2
• Review Questions

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What are Germanys major rivers, and how are they
economically important? What products does
Germany export?

• Rhine, Danube, Elbe, Weser
• They are important transportation and industry
• Steel, automobiles, electronics, chemicals,
  optical and surgical instruments

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Which of Germanys regions are agricultural?
Which are industrial? Which have coal resources?

• Agricultural
• Northwestern, southern, eastern Germany, and the
  Rhineland
• Industrial
• The Ruhr, the Rhineland, and southern Germany
• Coal
• The Ruhr, the Rhineland, and eastern Germany

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Explain both the positive and negative aspects of
Germanys reunification.

• Positive
• Reunification was a cultural goal
• Allowed the country to combine resources
• Negative
• The country must deal with eastern Germanys
  relative lack of modernization, environmental
  problems, poor infrastructure, and high
  unemployment

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• Section 3
• The Benelux
• Countries

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The Benelux Countries

• Belgium
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg

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Belgium

• Has three landform regions
• A coastal
• region
• A central plain
• The Ardennes
• 2,283 feet

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Language Regions

• Northern coastal region
• Flemish is spoken, which is related to Dutch
• This region is called Flanders
• Includes 70 of population
• Southern Region
• French is spoken
• People are called Walloons
• This region is called Wallonia

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Resources

• Main resource is its skilled and productive labor
  force
• They produce high quality machinery and textiles

Clothing
Curing Compound Machine
Materials
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• Carpets
• Diamonds
• Chocolates

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Brussels

• One of Europes most cosmopolitan cities
• Has many foreign influences

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The Netherlands

• Means low lands
• Nearly ½ lies below sea level
• Dikes were built to keep water out
• Built a system of canals and wind mills to drain
  the water
• These areas are called polders

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Polders

• Lowland areas that have been drained

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Economy

• Sugar beet
• Potatoes
• Flowers (Tulips)

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• Must import almost all of its industrial raw
  materials
• Cheaper to import coal than mine for coal
• Has large deposits of natural gas, so they export
  about half
• Must import most of their oil
• They also rely on tourism

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Amsterdam is capital
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Rotterdam, Netherlands

• Serves the trade traffic that enters and exits
  Europe

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Luxembourg
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• Hilly country that is bordered by France,
  Germany, and Belgium
• Almost everyone is Roman Catholic
• They speak a Germanic language with French
  influences
• Most people are multilingual and well educated

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Section 3 Review

• What is Belgiums major resource? What is
  significant about the Netherlands elevation?
• Its labor force
• Most of the country lies below sea level and it
  has to be drained

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• 2. What are Belgiums two language regions?
• Flanders in north where Flemish is
  spoken-Wallonia is south where French is spoken
• 3. Suggest three reasons for Luxembourgs
  prosperity.
• Well educated population, banking center,
  diversified economy

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Section 4

• The Alpine Countries

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Switzerland
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• Is a confederation of 26 cantons, or states
• A group of states joined together for a common
  purpose
• Each cantons self governs itself, except for
  military defense and international relations.

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Physical Geography

• Contains three landform regions
• 1. Forested Jura Mountains
• 2. The Alps
• 3. Swiss Plateau
• Most is mountainous. Glaciers, long narrow lakes,
  and snow is the scenery
• Many rivers including Rhone and Rhone begin in
  the Swizz Alps

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Languages in Switzerland
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Climate

• Mainly highland climate
• Mountain protect from Northern Europes cold air
• Foehn is a warm dry wind that blows down the
  slopes of the Alps

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Economy

• Resource poor except for hydroelectric power
• Dairy farming and grape growing
• Depends on foreign trade especially with the EU
• The is little arable land, or land that is
  suitable for growing crops

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• Zurich is the major city.
• The leading world banking center

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Austria
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• Almost all the population is German speaking and
  Roman Catholic
• Vienna is the Capital

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Economy

• Agriculture and Industry
• Limited resources, forest resources and
  hydoelectricity
• Most valuable is scenic beauty, tourism

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Hallstatt, Austria
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Section 4 Review

• How has Switzerlands physical geography
  influenced its culture and economy?
• It is mountainous, tourism is important to the
  economy, and agriculture is not. Because of the
  countrys location, its people are culturally
  diverse
• 2. What is Austria's major resource?
• Agriculture and forest resources,
  hydroelectricity, scenery