Europe

France

SpainPortugal

Ireland

England

Belgium

Netherlands

Germany Poland

Norway

Sweden

Finland

Switzerland

EstoniaLatviaLithuania

Belarus

Ukraine

Black Sea

Italy

Iceland

Moldova

Romania

SicilyGreece

Bulgaria

Czech Republic

Macedonia

Albania

MontenegroBosnia

Croatia

Slovenia

Austria

SlovakiaHungary

Serbia

Denmark

Europe’s Geography• Known as the

“Peninsula of Peninsulas”

• Northern Peninsulas– Scandinavian- Norway

& Sweden– Jutland- Denmark

–Southern Peninsulas• Iberian- Spain & Portugal• Apennine- Italy• Balkan- Greece, Albania,

Bulgaria, Romania, ETC.

Scandinavian

Jutland

Iberian

Apennine

Balkan

Europe’s Geography• Atlantic Islands- Iceland, GB, Ireland.• Mediterranean Islands- Corsica, Sicily, & Malta

Atlantic Islands

Europe’s Geography• Mountain Regions• Alpine Mt. System- go

from Spain to the Balkan Penin.

• Covers most of Switzerland & Austria & parts of France & Italy.

Europe’s Rivers• Important for travel & the movement of goods.• 1. Rhine- most important in Western Europe, flows

from Switzerland, to France, then North to Germany & the Netherlands & empties in the North Sea

Europe’s Rivers• 2. Danube-Eastern Europe’s most important river.

Carry goods east to west to the black sea

Europe’s Rivers• 3. Thames- Is an important port for London

Natural Resources• Europe is considered the

birth place of modern industry because of the amounts of Minerals, Iron, & Coal

• Minerals = most important (gold, silver, copper, iron)

• Iron & Coal are considered the traditional necessities of an industrialized society cause used together they make steel.

Energy Sources• Home fuels vary greatly• Peat moss is burned in western Europe• Other fuel sources include natural gas, oil, coal,

nuclear & hydroelectric power.

Climates• Overall, Europe is a mild climate.• Regions– W Europe- West coast climate: extends from arctic

circle to the Alps, Ireland to western parts of Poland, Czech Republic, & Hungary.

– NW Europe- moist climate that are caused by the Prevailing Westerly Winds- wind currents that bring warm air to Europe. North Atlantic Drift- a current of warm water from the tropics that blows warm air W-E

– S Europe= Mediterranean climate- hot dry summers & mild rainy winters. Alps keep it from raining too much by blocking the moist Atlantic winds during the summer

– E & N Europe- humid continental climate- warm summers & cold winters.

Environmental Probs• Pollution= #1• Acid Rain- pollution that condenses into

moisture, creating an acidic drop of water.• Acid rain has damaged millions of acres of

forests, wildlife, & buildings. • Air Pollution- covers the land w/ soot, poisons

the crops, & creates health issues for the people.• Water Pollution- drinking water & wildlife

Acid Rain• When humans burn fossil fuels,

chemical gases react with water, oxygen, & other substances to form mild solutions of sulfuric and nitric acid.

• Has many ecological effects, but none is greater than aquatic environments.

• Also damages forests, especially those at higher elevations. It robs the soil of essential nutrients & makes it hard for trees to take up water.

• Its estimated that Acid Rain does $1billion of damage to the environment each yr.

Air Pollution• Started when

industrial firms in Europe built huge smoke stacks to carry pollution away from their sites.

• Some of the most polluted areas of Europe are Poland, Czech Republic, & Romania.

• Its ruined crops, & has raised many health concerns.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Health_effects_of_pollution.png

Water Pollution• Problem is the dumping of raw or partially

treated sewage & just regular trash into the water systems of Europe.

• The Mediterranean Sea takes about 1 century to completely renew its self.

Cultural Geography

• Many Europeans are Multicultural- having more than 1 culture.

• Europe has 30 countries & there are 50 different languages.

• This is good & bad• Trying to work toward unity but centuries of

conflict & competition have made progress slow.• Biggest challenge is dealing w/ peoples

differences.

Human Characteristics• How did Europe get so multicultural?• Through a history of migrating people.• BIGGEST conflict happens when different

ethnic groups disagree.• You could be in the same country & still try to

kill each other. (EX: Serbs & Croats)• Fought each other in the Balkan Penin, in the

early 90s.

Population Distribution• Europe has the 2nd highest population &

pop density.• They have about 264 people per sq mile.• Pop density is closely related to physical

geo, cause of things like climate, terrain, & resources.

• Some countries are so dense cause they are so small.

Mediterranean Europe• For folks back in the day, what would be

some geographical advantages?– 1. Mild Climate- made survival easier– 2. Med. Sea- encouraged trade w/ other places– 3. Alps- blocked invasions from the North.

Mediterranean Europe• Main civilizations-• 1. Greeks• They moved into

the Balkan Penin around 2000 B.C.

• Geography played an important role in the development of the Greek civilization.

Mediterranean Europe• 80 % of Greece is

made up of mountains or hills, making the country one of the most mountainous in Europe.

• How would this impact human settlement?

• Mountains made people spread out into independent & isolated communities.

Mediterranean Europe

• Because most Greeks were isolated, they had to form City-States- a political unit made up of a city & the surrounding lands.

• Each City-State was independent & had its own economic, political, & cultural system.

• Largest & most important were Athens & Sparta.• Why are the Greeks Important?• They developed the 1st form of Democracy.

( Helped inspire U.S. form of Democracy)• They became very advanced in the areas of math,

science, & philosophy.

Mediterranean Europe• What happened to the Greeks?• Began having many problems w/ outside

countries & w/ each other.• 1st conflict was the Persian War• 2nd conflict was Peloponnesian War

Persian War• Persia was trying to

expand their empire under the leadership of Darius.

• Started in 490 B.C. at the Battle of Marathon, Greeks won

• Darius dies & his son Xerxes takes over & starts the 2nd Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.

Persian War• Xerxes had 200,000 men & the Greeks only

about 60,000.• Athens & Sparta argued the best tactic to

win (water or land).• Sparta led by Leonidas, took 300 Spartans &

forced Xerxes to fight @ the battle of Thermopylae.

• Loss for the Greeks but showed Xerxes Greece was united.

• Naval Battle of Salamis sunk & killed so many Persian ships Xerxes left Greece & the war ended in 479 B.C.

Peloponnesian War• The Spartans weren’t

happy w/ the 30 yr peace they had agreed to w/ Athens & they were weary of the power & wealth of the Athenians.

• Started in 431 B.C.• Spartan Strategy:

– 1. Fight a land war (thought they were better on land)

– 2. Out # Athens so thought they could outlast them.

– 3. Starve Athens into surrender.

Peloponnesian War

• Athenian Strategy:– 1. Fight a naval war.– 2. Take the fight to the

Spartan Allies– 3. Had enough money to

hold out– They fought for 10 yrs w/out

anything being solved so they signed a peace treaty where both City-States got to keep all they had before the war.

– Peace lasted 50 yrs when Athens tried to attack the island of Sicily.

– Athens’ army was captured so the Spartans decided to attack.

– 404 B.C. Athens surrendered to Sparta.

Romans• #2.• Rome was a Republic- a government in

which citizens elect representatives to rule in their name.

Romans

• How did their empire get so big & why did it fall?

• 1. Conquered many territories over seas

• 2. Political Unrest- People became unhappy w/ the republic form of gov & wanted a strong leader. So they chose to have an Emperor.

• 3. A divided nation- Empire became too big for just 1 gov so it split into E & W halves.

Romans• What caused the fall of Rome?• 1. Conquered- cause of the split, each

emperor of each section wanted to rule the whole Empire.

• Because of the fighting btw each other, the Empire was weakened & Rome was overrun by people that didn’t have a strong central gov.

• 2. Dark Ages (A.D. 476-800)- W/ Rome out of pwr the ideas of philosophy, gov, lit, & architecture were gone.

Med. Europe• Renaissance- a time of renewed interest in learning

& art that lasted from the 1300’s-1500’s• Economics of Med Europe:• Agricultural to industrial:• For centuries, the economy of Mediterranean

countries was based on Ag & fishing.• Now w/ growing manufacturing Med. Europe is

slowly industrializing.• Problems w/ Med Europe:• 1. Some regions are more developed than others (N

& S Italy• 2. The whole Mediterranean region is poor in

energy resources & relies on a lot of imported energy resources.

Western European History• 3 main/dominant countries• England, Germany, & France• Why– 1 largest– 2 Access to ports, resources, & trade routes

to help them to build productive economies.• Cultural divisions:•1. Language- Since Rome conquered France, French was a Romanic Language•2. Rome NEVER conquered Germanic tribes so that’s why its still spoken today.

Western European History• Reformation- period when many Christians

broke away from the Catholic Church & started Protestant Churches.

• 3 Main Reformers.• Martin Luther• John Calvin• Henry VIII

Martin Luther• German Priest that started the

P R• He taught that salvation is not

earned by good deeds but received only as a free gift of God through belief in Jesus.

• Before his teachings, the only way to God was through a Roman Catholic Priest & donating $$$$ to the church.

• Best known for his 95 Theses which were 95 ways that he disagreed w/ the teachings of the Catholic Church on the topics of forgiveness, the Pope’s authority, & the usefulness of indulgences.

John Calvin• Began Calvinism which

believed that • 1 Imperfect Man is

predestined to their fate. Some for eternal salvation while the others would fall short of heaven.

• 2. If you were predestined for heaven or hell there was nothing that you could do to change that.

Henry VIII• Known for his role in the

separation of the Church of England & the Roman Catholic Church.

• Famously remembered for having six wives—2 he had beheaded

Nation-State & Nationalism• Nation-State- a independent nation of people

w/ a common culture.• Nationalism- the belief that people should be

loyal to the nation– This often causes groups that want their own

countries so it helped with the rise of nation-states.o Modern Conflicts:oWWI & WWIIoHolocaust- the mass murder of the Jews during WWII.oBerlin Wall- divided Germany into Communist & Democratic sides.

Economy of W Europe

• Ag to High Tech- there has been a shift from farming (dairy, wheat, grapes, & vegetables) to producing high tech equipment ( electronics, scientific instruments, passenger trains, & nuclear energy.)

Economy/Tourism

• W Europe is very popular w/ tourists cause of mild climate, scenery, & historical sites.

• It exports luxury goods like German cars, Swiss Watches, & French clothing & food.

Econ Problems• Eastern Germany’s

factories are outdated & may have been/have to be shut down.

• Because of the availability of jobs, Western Germany has a higher standard of living.

• Its going to take about $80 billion & until the yr 2019 for E Germany to catch up to W Germany’s Economy.

W Europe & the Arts• Each Country has a certain identity, shaped by

language, religion, & culture.• W Europe has a strong artistic legacy.• Music: Known for classical music from composers

like Beethoven, Mozart, & Bach

W Europe & the Arts• Art France & the Netherlands were important

for artists like Rembrandt & Monet

Eastern Europe• 3 issues in E Europe– 1. Conflict– 2. Pollution– 3. European Union

Eastern Europe • Cause of Conflict

•Comes from the fact that many different groups want to control the same land.

•In 1897 Serbia broke away from the Ottoman Empire

•March of 1992 Bosnia declares independence

•Serbia tried to take over Kosovo

• Effect of Conflict• People started forming

their own kingdoms.

• Yugoslavia was formed

• Serbia went to war to stop Bosnia from getting their independence

• Kosovo went to war w/ Serbia to gain its independence.

Pollution• Cause of

Pollution• Mines & factories

create much of Europe’s water pollution

• Sewage, Chemical Fertilizers, & Oil Spills also pollute the water.

• Burning of Fossil fuels, & discharge from factories contributes to the air pollution

• Effect of Pollution• European

Environmental Agency- provides Europe w/ info about the environment & helps set up laws that the factories must go by.

• This creates smog & can cause many breathing diseases like asthma, & can even cause lung cancer.

Toxic Sludge in Hungary

European Union• Cause

• 1. Many differences to settle like; political, economic, & currency.

• 2. The members of the EU use the same currency called the Euro

• 3. If affects politics by supporting certain governments on certain issues

• 4. The EU is wanting to include all countries in Europe

• Effect• 1. The EU was formed to solve

the differences tween countries.

• 2. Some countries believe that switching to the Euro will mean losing control of some economic factors.

• 3. Not all of the EU’s governments agree w/ all of the issues brought up by the EU, creating tension.

• 4.Running a big alliance isn’t easy.

• 5. Not all countries have the experience w/ democracy or a successful economy.