Imperialism is a policy that has been used throughout history, most notably by European powers and the United States. At its largest, Rome controlled approximately 6.5 million square kilometers (2.5 million square miles) of land.The Roman approach to conquering and controlling territory is often considered to be the basis of Western imperialism. Those are coastal and interior lowlands, central uplands and plateaus, the northwestern highlands, and southern Europe. 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). It was clear as well that a succession of climates, markedly different from those of the Mediterranean borderlands, were to be experienced as Europe was penetrated from the south. Encyclopedic entry. Wcz obsug JavaScript. Thrace is the western part of Turkey on the European continent.. There are also central highlands and deserts features in the south. Brussels is considered to be the largest city of Belgium, according to the population of the Brussels-Capital Region. Topography and bathymetry are shown in a combination of color with shaded relief. The Iron Curtain was an ideological boundary that divided Europe into two blocsWestern countries influenced by the United States, and Eastern countries influenced by the Soviet Union. Strict EU regulations place a heavy burden on developing countries to compete with their more developed neighbors.The global financial crisis, which began around 2008, has caused these tensions to elevate dramatically. Not only is it pretty huge (2.5 times the size of Mount Vesuvius, which so famously buried Pompeii), but it is also one of the most active volcanoes in the world. The country is also home to a number of outstanding schools for automotive design, such as the Hochschule Esslingen and Hochschule Pforzheim.Political GeographyEuropes long history and economic progress have been shaped by its political geography. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or the larger Afro-Eurasia ); Asia occupies the centre and east of this continuous landmass. The financial crisis is defined by debt and high unemployment. Among the alternative boundaries proposed by geographers that have gained wide acceptance is a scheme that sees the crest of the Greater Caucasus range as the dividing line between Europe and Asia, placing Ciscaucasia, the northern part of the Caucasus region, in Europe and Transcaucasia, the southern part, in Asia. It includes parts of France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Poland, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and Belarus.Most of the Great European Plain lies below 152 meters (500 feet) in elevation. The Kimmel Falls are in Hohe Tauen National Park and are one of Austrias most visited tourist attractions. The proportion of people older than 65 will grow from 16 percent to 28 percent. Author of, Emeritus Professor of Geography, Portland State University, Oregon. Climatically, Europe benefits by having only a small proportion of its surface either too cold or too hot and dry for effective settlement and use. Glaciation too has left its mark over wide areas, and the processes of erosion and deposition have created a highly variegated and compartmentalized countryside. The financial crisis, along with concerns about immigrants connections to terrorism and religious extremism, has caused Europe to develop a more guarded approach to immigration. Europe has a diversity of terrains, physical features, and climates. Fewer than a million people are fluent in Romansch. The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It covers an area of 357,022 km2 (137,847 sq mi). Protests developed across the Muslim world, and demonstrators set fire to Danish embassies in Lebanon, Iran, and Syria. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Mount Olympus became the first national park in Greece. That civilization is distinguished from the rest of Europe by legacies of a medieval Mongol-Tatar domination that precluded the sharing of many of the innovations and developments of European Western civilization; it became further distinctive during the relative isolation of the Soviet period. There are more bicycles than people in the country (22.3 million bicycles and 17 million people). 3. Norway has the longest coastline in Europe. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean. Yet it was not until the 19th and 20th centuries that modern science was able to draw with some precision the geologic and geographic lineaments of the European continent, the peoples of which had meanwhile achieved domination overand set in motion vast countervailing movements amongthe inhabitants of much of the rest of the globe (see Western colonialism). Still another scheme with many adherents locates the continental boundary along the Aras River and the Turkish border, thereby putting Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia in Europe. Associated vegetation and soil forms also show continual variety, but only portions of the dominant woodland that clothed most of the continent when humans first appeared now remain. It is the continent's second largest island (after Great Britain). In spite of its internal diversity, Europe has thus functioned, from the time it first emerged in the human consciousness, as a world apart, concentratingto borrow a phrase from Christopher Marloweinfinite riches in a little room.. During this time, a number of anti-communist revolutions swept central and eastern Europe. Europe is the second-smallest continent. It is the continent's second largest island (after Great Britain). The Republic of Ireland occupies 80 percent of this landmass, while a large chunk of land in the north, called Northern Ireland, is part of the United Kingdom.All together, the island of Ireland is made up of 32 counties. Economically, Russia and former Soviet states are not part of what we think of as Europe these days, because they are not part of the European Union. 5 x Fun Facts about Europe The longest town name in Europe is Lanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogo, in Wales The Czech Republic is the most beer-drinking country per capita There are more UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe than any other continent in the world The highest toilet can be found at Mount Blanc Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. 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 Great Britain in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. In fact, the tallest mountain in Europe is in Kazakhstan and is called Khan Tengri, standing 22,999 feet high, some 4,500 feet higher than the next tallest, Mount Elbrus in Russia. The landlocked countries in Europe are: Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Liechtenstein (which is doubly landlocked), Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Moldova, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Vatican City. Each country could easily make a contribution with an interesting fact as the landscape changes so dramatically across small spaces, unlike other continents. They are very detailed and are often produced on large sheets of paper. [2] A prehistoric perspective would include Britain and Ireland as the core of a further very significant European peninsula prior to the post-glacial rise in sea-levels.[3]. The continents eastern boundary (north to south) runs along the Ural Mountains and then roughly southwest along the Emba (Zhem) River, terminating at the northern Caspian coast. Here are 21 things about this amazing continent that may just surprise you. As a conceptual construct, Europa, as the more learned of the ancient Greeks first conceived it, stood in sharp contrast to both Asia and Libya, the name then applied to the known northern part of Africa. Table of contents: The Tallest Mountain in Europe The Largest Lake in Europe The Longest River in Europe The Highest Waterfall in Europe The Longest Beach in Europe The Deepest Cave in Europe The Tallest Volcano in Europe Biggest Glacier in Europe National Geographic News: New Fault Found in EuropeMay 'Close Up' Adriatic Sea, National Geographic News: Volcanic Ash Stops Europe FlightsWhy Ash Is Dangerous, European Environment Agency: European Land Cover, National Geographic Education: Mapping EuropeLand Mammal Range. Only hill masses less than 800 feet (240 metres) in height rise gently within the Russian (East European) Plain, which continues northward into Finland, westward into the North European Plain, and southward in the Romanian, Bulgarian, and Hungarian plains. In the extreme northern part (northernmost Russia; Svalbard), bordering the Arctic Ocean, is tundra climate (Et). The goals of the program are local, regional, and global. It even includes roads! Greece is well known for the thousands of islands dotting the three seas that surround the country. Four broad topographic units can be simply, yet usefully, distinguished in the continent of Europe. World War I (1914-1918) left about 16 million people dead. Superficial rock cover, elevation, drainage, and soil have sharply differentiated those lowlandswhich are of prime importance to human settlementinto areas of marsh or fen, clay vales, sand and gravel heaths, or river terraces and fertile plains. Europe is the second-smallest continent. Steppe plains cover the north of Kazakhstan. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036. The lowest terrain in Europe, virtually lacking relief, stands at the head of the Caspian Sea; there the Caspian Depression reaches some 95 feet (29 metres) below sea level. Corrections? San Marino and Vatican City, two fully sovereign nations, are both completely surrounded by Italy. The 15 rivers of Europe by average discharge, including only rivers directly flowing into the World Ocean or Endorheic basins: Aegean Islands, land, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus (Adjacent to Asia), Fyn, Faroe Islands, Gotland, Great Britain, Hinnya, Iceland, Ionian Islands, Ireland, Malta, North Jutlandic Island, Saaremaa, Sardinia, Senja, Sicily, Svalbard and Zealand. 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. Germany's largest wooded area,. Europes largest islands and archipelagoes include Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Svalbard, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the British Isles, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Crete, and Cyprus. International economic and military organizations developed on either side of the Iron Curtain. Topography studies the . Volcanic rocks add to the diversity of those regions. Can you think of anything notable you think I should have included? Europes boundaries have been especially uncertain, and hence much debated, on the east, where the continent merges, without sundering physical boundaries, with parts of western Asia. It is one of the biggest glaciers in the world, covering almost 9,000 sq km (3,500 square miles). Europe is home to two countries that are completely landlocked by Italy. Il sito web di CORDIS prevede che JavaScript sia abilitato per funzionare correttamente. The United States and the Soviet Union built up huge nuclear arsenals, with many missiles aimed at targets throughout Europe. It borders nine neighbors, more than any other European country. The name Europe may also come from combining the Greek roots eur- (wide) and -op (seeing) to form the phrase wide-gazing.Europe is often described as a peninsula of peninsulas. A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. 12. From the smallest town in the world to the biggest church on earth, and from a knighted penguin to a country free of mosquitoes, there are hundreds of random and fun facts about Europe. National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. The only primate native to Europe, the Barbary macaque (Macaca sylvanus), inhabits this Mediterranean basin. Another important physical feature is the southeast-northwest zone of windblown loess deposits that have accumulated from eastern Britain to Ukraine. The European Union has established the Schengen Areaa zone where Europeans can travel from country to country without having to show their passports. These regional labels are used more for identification than for regional analysis. The financial and diplomatic success of the EU has led to its rapid growth across the continent.The euro is one of the strongest currencies in the world. Another widely endorsed scheme puts the western portion of the Caucasus region in Europe and the eastern partthat is, the bulk of Azerbaijan and small portions of Armenia, Georgia, and Russias Caspian Sea coastin Asia. Editor of, Professor of Geography, Birkbeck College, University of London, 194770. Desert climates are found in the European portion of Kazakhstan and South Eastern Spain. The Sami culture of Scandinavia, for example, was deeply connected to the indigenous reindeer herds of the Arctic. In the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada of Spain, the highest of the peaks exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 metres). National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. Topographic maps (often called topo maps for short) are large scale maps, often greater than 1:50,000, which means that one inch on the map equals 50,000 inches on the ground. Omissions? The western part of the continent clearly has a high proportion of coastline with good maritime access and often with . Nearly 100% of Ukraine's adult population is literate. Many of Europe's fjords are located in Iceland and Scandinavia.North European PlainThe North European Plain extends from the southern United Kingdom east to Russia. Only Oceania has less landmass. The city is home to the headquarters of luxury brands such as Valentino, Gucci, Versace, and Prada. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. Lets take a short tour around some of the most notable geographical facts about Europe. To read all future answers to your comment, please bookmark this page. The North European Plain, common to much of Poland, northern Germany, and Denmark, broadens in western France and continues, across the narrow seas, in southeastern Great Britain and Ireland. Read More: 25 Unbelievable Facts about North Korea that you must know. The study also showed that only 8 percent of respondents considered language-learning unimportant.The European Union has adopted a multilingual language policy with the goal that everyone should be able to speak at least two languages in addition to their own. Among the continents, Europe is an anomaly. The Iron Curtain took on the physical shape of border defenses, walls, and limited diplomacy. Roma are a people and culture native to central and eastern Europe. CORDIS website requires JavaScript enabled in order to work properly. Ireland is an island nation on the westernmost edge of Europe. Among the struggling economies that may suffer from carbon emission limits are Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova.Thus, it seems that Europes historic disparities between north and south, west and east, will continue to widen in the future. Establishing fishing limits, protecting threatened habitats, and encouraging sustainable consumption habits are some efforts supported by European conservationists. Europe's shape is in a constant change: The Mediterranean basin is shrinking, the Alps are rising and pushing North, and Scandinavia is still rebounding after having been crushed by the weight of a thick and huge ice sheet in the ice ages. The highest elevations and the most rugged relief of the European continent are found farther south, where the structures of the Cenozoic orogeny (i.e., from the past 66 million years) provide mountain scenery. A convenient division is made by a line linking the base of the peninsula of Jutland with the head of the Adriatic Sea. 2. That broad territory reveals no simple unity of geologic structure, landform, relief, or climate. [citation needed] These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps/Carpathians. These features typically include natural formations such as mountains, rivers, lakes, and valleys. [3] [4] It is bordered to the north and northeast by Russia, to the . Italian fashion is also an important cultural export. Europe Facts | Religion: Most of the European people are Christians (76%) and there are smaller numbers of Muslims (6%) and Jews and other beliefs. 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