Geography of Europe


is traditionally defined as one of seven continents. Physiographically, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia ; Asia occupies the centre and east of this continuous landmass. Europe's eastern frontier is usually delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia, which is the largest country by land area in the continent. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally the Ural River or, less commonly, the Emba River. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains, and on to the Black Sea. The Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland is usually included in Europe because it is over twice as close to mainland Europe as mainland North America. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe falls.
File:Western to Eastern Europe.ogv|thumb|left|400px|This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the ISS on a pass over Europe. The two videos were shot simultaneously using different cameras: one pointing toward the northeast, and one pointing toward the east.

Overview

Some geographical texts refer to a Eurasian continent given that Europe is not surrounded by sea and its southeastern border has always been variously defined for centuries.
In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas and nearby islands. The two largest peninsulas are Europe itself and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia, Italy, and the Balkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland. The Balkan peninsula is separated from Asia by the Black and Aegean Seas. Italy is separated from the Balkans by the Adriatic Sea, and from Iberia by the Mediterranean Sea, which also separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains and Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains.
Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are mountainous while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees, and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in southwestern Ireland, continuing across through western and northern Great Britain, and up along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway.
This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys, and basins that complicate the general trend. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is of North Atlantic volcanic formation, while the latter consist of upland areas once joined to the mainland until cut off by rising sea levels.
Partial list of European peninsulas
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. These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps/Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the Scandinavian Mountains and the mountainous parts of the British Isles. The major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the Celtic Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea complex, and the Barents Sea.
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.
The geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.

Population

Throughout history, the population of Europe has been affected by migration into and out of the continent, disease and conflict. Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 701 million in 2005 according to the United Nations. In 2000 the population was 857 million, using a definition which includes the whole of the transcontinental countries of Russia and Turkey. Population growth is comparatively slow, and median age comparatively high in relation to the world's other continents.

Rivers

The most important rivers in Europe are Danube, Volga, Rhine, Elbe, Oder and Dnieper, among others. Europe's largest waterfall are the Rhine Falls.

European rivers by length

The longest rivers in Europe, directly flowing into the World Ocean or Endorheic basins, with their approximate lengths:
  1. Volga
  2. Danube
  3. Ural
  4. Dnieper
  5. Don
  6. Pechora
  7. Dniester
  8. Rhine
  9. Elbe
  10. Vistula
  11. Tagus
  12. Daugava
  13. Loire
  14. Ebro
  15. Prut
  16. Neman
  17. Meuse
  18. Douro
  19. Kuban River
  20. Mezen
  21. Oder
  22. Guadiana
  23. Rhône
  24. Southern Bug
  25. Kuma
  26. Seine
  27. Mureș
  28. Northern Dvina
  29. Po
  30. Guadalquivir
  31. Bolshoy Uzen
  32. Siret
  33. Terek
  34. Glomma
  35. Garonne
  36. Kemijoki
  37. Main
  38. Torne
  39. Dalälven
  40. Maritsa
  41. Marne
  42. Neris
  43. Júcar
  44. Dordogne
  45. Ume
  46. Ångerman
  47. Lule
  48. Gauja
  49. Weser
  50. Kalix

    European rivers by discharge

The 15 rivers of Europe by average discharge, including only rivers directly flowing into the World Ocean or Endorheic basins:
  1. Volga8,087 m3/s
  2. Danube6,450 m3/s
  3. Pechora4,380m³/s
  4. Northern Dvina3,330m³/s
  5. Neva2,490 m3/s
  6. Rhine2,315 m3/s
  7. Rhône1,900 m3/s
  8. Dnieper1,700 m3/s
  9. Po1,460 m3/s
  10. Vistula1,080 m3/s
  11. Don890 m3/s
  12. Mezen890 m3/s
  13. Loire889 m3/s
  14. Elbe860 m3/s
  15. Glomma709 m3/s

    Lakes and inland seas

Major islands

, Åland, Balearic Islands, British Isles, Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Fyn, Faroe Islands, Gotland, Hinnøya, Iceland, Ionian Islands, Malta, North Jutlandic Island, Saaremaa, Sardinia, Senja, Sicily, Svalbard and Zealand.

Plains and lowlands

Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are:
File:Musala.JPG|thumb|Musala, highest peak of the Balkans seen from Yastrebets. The chalet Musala and the Everest shelter can be seen as well.
File:Liqeni i Madh i Buni Jezerce.png|right|thumb|Maja Jezercë in Albania at 2,694 m high is the highest peak of the Dinaric Alps.
  • Dinaric Alps, a mountain range in the Balkans
  • Pindus Mountains, Albania and Greece
  • Pyrenees, the natural border between France and Spain
  • Rila-Rhodope mountain system composed by massifs, including Pirin Mountain and Osogovo-Belasitsa mountain chain, mainly Bulgaria
  • Šar-Korab-Jakupica-Baba-Kajmakčalan-Olympus, Albania, North Macedonia and Greece
  • Scandinavian Mountains, a mountain range which runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula, includes the Kjølen mountains
  • Scottish Highlands in the United Kingdom.
  • Sierra Morena, Spain
  • Sistema Ibérico, Spain
  • Sistema Central, Spain
  • Ural Mountains, which form the boundary between Europe and Asia
'''Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain'''

Temperature and precipitation

The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. Europe has less precipitation in the east than in central and western Europe. The temperature difference between summer and winter gradually increases from coastal northwest Europe to southeast inland Europe, ranging from Ireland, with a temperature difference of only 10 °C from the warmest to the coldest month, to the area north of the Caspian Sea, with a temperature difference of 40 °C. January average range from 13 °C in southern Spain and southern Greek islands to -20 °C in the northeastern part of European Russia. Desert climates are found in the European portion of Kazakhstan and South Eastern Spain.
Western Europe and parts of Central Europe generally fall into the temperate maritime climate, the southern part is mostly a Mediterranean climate, the north-central part and east into central Russia is mostly a humid continental climate and the northern part of the continent is a subarctic climate. In the extreme northern part, bordering the Arctic Ocean, is tundra climate. Mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, have a highland climate with large variations according to altitude and latitude.