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The Peninsula of Peninsulas

Physical Geography and Climate

of Europe

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What is a peninsula?

• A portion of land

surrounded by water

and connected to a

larger body by an

isthmus.

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Europe is a large

peninsula stretching

from the Atlantic

Ocean to the Ural

Mountains.

I. Peninsulas and Islands A. Scandinavian Peninsula

i. Occupied by Norway,

Sweden and surrounded by

the Norwegian Sea, North

Sea, and Baltic Sea.

ii. Glaciers scoured away rich

topsoil and left thin, rocky

soil instead.

iii. Glaciers carved out fjords,

steep U-shaped valleys that

connect to the sea.

• Fjords make good

harbors due to their

great depths.

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B. Jutland Peninsula

i. Forms the largest

part of Denmark

ii. Areas is mainly

swampy due to it’s

low-lying location

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C. Iberian Peninsula

i. Occupied by Spain

and Portugal

ii. The Pyrenees

Mountains block off

the peninsula from

the rest of Europe

D. Italian Peninsula

i. Occupied by Italy

ii. Extends into the

Mediterranean and has

4,700 miles of coastline

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E. Balkan Peninsula

i. Bordered by the

Adriatic,

Mediterranean, and

Aegean Seas

ii. Many mountains make

transportation difficult

F. Islands

i. North Atlantic:

Great Britain,

Ireland, Iceland,

and Greenland

ii. Mediterranean

Sea: Corsica,

Sardinia, Sicily and

Crete

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How many mountain chains cut

across Europe?

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II. Mountains and Uplands

A. The Alps i. Fan across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria

and the northern Balkan Peninsula

B. The Pyrenees i. Block Spain and Portugal from the rest of Europe

C. The Apennines i. Divide the Italian peninsula east from west

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France

Mediterranean

Sea

Pyrenees

Mts.

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D. The Balkan Mountains

i. Block off the Balkan Peninsula from the rest of

Europe

ii. Have isolated ethnic groups from each other

• What have been the effects of this isolation?

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E. Uplands

i. are hills or very low

mountains

ii. Meseta- central

plateau of Spain

iii. Massif Central-

uplands in France

http://s446.photobucket.com/albums/qq189/spainfootball/?action=view&current=Spain-Topography.jpg

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What do rivers do?

• Connect regions

• Bring people and goods together

• Transport goods between coastal harbors and the inland

region.

III. Rivers

A. The Rhine i. Flows 820 miles from the

interior of Europe to the

North Sea

B. The Danube i. Traverses 9 countries

ii. Over 1,771 miles long,

linking Europe to the

Black Sea

• Why is this river

important?

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IV. Fertile Plains

A. Northern European

Plains

i. Begins in France and

spans eastward into

Russia

ii. The soil and climate

make this area suitable

for agriculture

• 33% of the land in Europe is

suitable for agriculture

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V. Resources

A. Energy

– Oil and natural gas are

found beneath the

North Sea floor

– Norway, the

Netherlands, the

United Kingdom and

Denmark pump oil

from rigs as far as 400

miles away from the

coast

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B. Distributions

i. Ireland lacks energy resources, so people rely on

peat for fire fuel.

ii. Peat is cut into blocks, dried and sold for use in

fireplaces and stoves.

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VI. Climate and Vegetation

a. Western Europe

i. Most of western Europe has a marine west coast

climate-warm summers, and cool winters

ii. The North Atlantic Drift pushes warm water from the

Atlantic Ocean, which warms the air flowing

westward into Europe

iii. The prevailing westerlies are warm winds coming

from the low latitudes (i.e. 23N), which moderate

climate, so winters are not too cold, or summers too

warm.

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b. Eastern Europe

i. Sweden, Finland, with eastern parts of Poland,

Slovakia, and Hungary have a humid continental

climate- cold, snowy winters, with warm or hot

summers.

ii. Since Eastern Europe is farther away from the

prevailing westerly winds, the region experiences

extremely cold winters and hot summers.

• This phenomena is called continentality.

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c. Southern Europe

i. Mediterranean climate extends through southern

Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the lower parts of

the Balkan Peninsula

ii. Climate creates hot, dry summers, with clear skies,

and moderate, rainy winters

iii. The Mediterranean coast of France receives the

Mistral-cold, dry wind from the Arctic

iv. The rest of the Mediterranean receives the sirocco-

hot, steady wind that blows from Africa.

– The sirocco winds bring dust from the Sahara or moisture

from the Mediterranean Sea

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Mistral winds

from the north

Sirocco winds

from Africa

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Sirocco_wind1.jpg

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d. Land of the Midnight Sun

i. Far north Scandinavia lies along the Arctic Circle

ii. Soil remains in a state of permafrost, only allowing

small shrubs, mosses or lichen to grow

iii. Winter nights are extremely long-some days the sun

never rises

iv. Some summer days are also long- the sun never

sets

Subarctic Climate

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Summer in far

north

Scandinavia