Physical Geography

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Chapter 12

• Physical Geography
• of Europe

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12.1 Landforms and Resources

• Europe is known as the peninsula of
  peninsulas, so most locations in Europe are no
  more than 300 miles from an ocean or sea. What
  does this mean for their way of life?
• The peninsulas illustrate how glaciers moved
  throughout the Ice Age glaciers scraped off the
  rich top soil making it impossible to farm.

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• Northern Peninsulas- In Norway, glaciers formed
  fjords which are steep U-shaped valleys near the
  ocean, these provide excellent harbors for the
  local fisherman
• Southern Peninsulas- Three major peninsulas in
  the south Iberian (Spain and Portugal), Italian
  (Italy), Balkan Peninsula (bordered by Adriatic,
  Mediterranean and Aegean Seas)
• Islands of Europe- Great Britain, Ireland,
  Iceland and Greenland

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• Mountains in Europe- represent walls by
  separating groups of people. The mountains also
  affect the climate of this area.
• Most famous chain of mountains in Europe are the
  Alps- they basically cut Italy off from the rest
  of Europe
• The Pyrenees restrict movement from France to
  Spain and Portugal.
• Uplands are low elevation mountains, many of
  these are the base of the major mountain ranges

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• Rivers are the heart of communication and
  transportation in Europe. The Danube and the
  Rhine Rivers are the two major systems of Europe.
  Danube stretches over 9 countries and links
  Europeans to the Black Sea. The Rhine flows
  north to the north sea.
• Many Europeans in history have used these rivers
  to travel and trade with other groups of people.
  It also helped the spread of ideas and diseases.

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• Europe offers one fertile plain. It stretches
  from France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark,
  Germany and Poland. This is the most desirable
  land in Europe for farming unfortunately it is
  also a very flat part of land that many soldiers
  have found as the short cut to different parts of
  Europe, making it unable to be farmed at times.

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• Resources of Europe consist of two major natural
  resources, coal and iron needed for their
  industrial economy. Having both of these
  resources makes it easier to produce steel.
• Two major sources of energy are oil and natural
  gas, both of these were found beneath the North
  Sea Floor in 1959.
• Resources and Landforms influence the lives of
  people as well as climate.

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12.2 Climate and Vegetation

• Due to the marine west coast climate, many
  European countries enjoy warm summers and cool
  winters, milder then what other regions at their
  latitude experience.
• North Atlantic Drift is a current of warm water
  from the tropics that flow near Europe's west
  coast
• Unfortunately for those that live inland, they do
  not experience these milder conditions, hotter
  summers and colder winters (countries such as
  Poland, Slovakia and Hungary)

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• The Mediterranean climate extends from south
  Spain through France and Italy into Greece and
  Balkan Peninsula.
• Why is the climate so mild?
• What is protecting this region?
• France is hit with a Mistral wind that comes from
  the north that is very cold and dry.
• Sirocco is a hot steady south wind that blows
  from North Africa across the Mediterranean Sea
  into southern Europe.

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• The far northern region of Europe witnesses very
  sharp variations of sunlight. Most of the region
  remains in a state of permafrost all year round.
  
• There is a village in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden that
  builds an Ice Hotel every winter made out of
  10,000 tons of ice and 30,000 tons of snow!!!

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12.3 Human Environment Interaction

• God created the world, but the Dutch created
  Holland (pg. 282)
• Nearly 40 of Holland (Netherlands) was once
  under the sea. The Dutch needed more land for
  their growing population so they took land from
  the sea!
• They created polders which drain and dam the
  water off the land.
• How is this land affected during big storms?

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• During flooding the Dutch created seaworks, which
  are used to control the water impact on the land.
• The Dutch also created a freshwater lake out of
  an arm of the North Sea, they built a dam around
  the entrance of the arm, no salt water flowed
  into that body of water so eventually it became a
  freshwater lake called Ijsselmeer.

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• In Venice, Italy if you want to get from one
  place to another you have to walk or take a boat.
• Venice consists of 120 islands and part of the
  mainland. People took shelter in the safety of
  the islands from invaders in the past creating a
  city and port for the future.
• Unfortunately Venice is sinking due to rising sea
  levels and water pollution that is eating away at
  the foundations of the buildings under water.

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• Deforestation is not only an issue for the major
  rain forests in South America, but also for the
  small forests that provide the native Europeans
  their wood. Since the early 1700s people have
  been clearing areas of the forests for the wood
  to burn for fuel and to build ships and
  communities.
• Forests in Europe are also suffering from the
  affects of acid rain. European factories produce
  high amounts of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
  emissions that combine with water vapor affecting
  ¼ of European forests.