UNIT 3. GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE (SOCIAL SCIENCE)

UNIT 3. GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THEIR CAPITALS

Europe has about 50 countries and its population is about 730 million people.

·         Distribution of population

Most people live in Central and Western Europe. About 75% of the population kive in urbana reas. Norway, Sweden and Finland are the least populated countries. The most populated countries are Rusia, UK, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy and France.

THE PHYSCAL GEOGRPHY OF EUROPE

·         Mountains and plains

Most of the mountains are in the South. In the north and the east have more areas of plains and lowlands. The three main areas are:

-          The European Plain: it goes from the west (Atlantic ocean) to the east (the Ural Mountains).

-          Old mountains: they are in the north and in the centre and they are usually less than 1000 metres high. Pyrenees and Scandinavian Mountains are higher.

-          Young mountains: they are in the south and they are more then 3000 metres high, for example, the Apennines, the Alps, the Carpathians, the Balkan Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains.

RIVERS

Europe has many rivers and their characteristics depend on the sea or ocean they flow into.

-          Rivers that flows inot the Artic Ocean are long with a regular course. In Winter they are usually frozen.

-          Rivers that flow into the Mediterranean Sea are short with an irregular flow.

-          Rivers that flow into the Caspian Sea and Black Sea are long and regular.

There are many lakes in  Central Europe, for example, Lake Geneva and Lake Constance.

CLIMATE IN EUROPE

CLIMATE	CHARACTERISTICS	FLORA	FAUNA
ALPINE	Very cold winters and cool summers. It rains a lot and usually it is snow.	Forests full of coniferous trees and pine trees.
CONTINENTAL	Eestern Europe has this climate. Cold winters and hot summers. Low rainfall with some storms in summer.	Steppes and taiga.
MEDITERRANEAN	In the Mediterranean coast and part ofSouthern Europe. High temperatures in summer and cooler in Winter. Low precipitation although in autumn it can be higher.	Mediterranean forests with evergreen trees.
OCEANIC	In Central and Western Europe. Mild summer temperatures with high precipitation all year. It has 4 clear seasons.	Broadleaf forests.
POLAR	It is the coldest climate with temperatures of -50 degrees in Winter.  For example, in the North of Scandinavia.	Flora is limited by low temperatures	Polar bears and pacific salmon