The Physical Geography of Europe and Russia Landforms

The Physical Geography of Europe and Russia

Landforms (4 major regions): 1. Northwest Highlands: rugged hills & low mountains, Iberian Peninsula is part of this (fjords) 2. Northern European Plain: broad coastal plain (from coast of France to Urals) 3. Central Uplands: hills, small plateaus & fertile valleys 4. Alpine Mountains System: includes a series of ranges that stretch across Europe

Mountain Ranges: § Alpine Mountain System – across southern Europe to the Balkan Peninsula § Ranges such as the Alps, Apennines, Pyrenees, and Carpathians make-up this system (cover most of Switzerland Austria – parts of Italy and France).

Mountain Ranges: § Ural Mountains § Divide the region § Areas west are part of Europe, to the east, Asia

Peninsulas: § The Northern Peninsulas: § Scandinavian Peninsula = Norway and Sweden § Fjords: long, steep-sided glacial valley now filled by seawater § Jutland = Denmark

Peninsulas (cont. ): § The Southern Peninsulas: § Iberian Peninsula = Spain and Portugal (semi-arid plateau) § Apennine Peninsula = Italy (mountainous) § Balkan Peninsula = former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey - very mountainous

Scandinavian Peninsula

§ Iberian Peninsula § Apennine Peninsula

Major Water Features: § Mediterranean Sea: lies to the south of Europe (connected to the Black Sea and Bosporus) § North Sea: along the shores of northern Europe (south of the Scandinavian Peninsula & northeast of the British Isles) – key for trading and fishing § Atlantic Ocean: lies to the west of the European continent

Water Features:

Rivers: § Rhine – most important river in western Europe – flows from Switzerland to the North Sea § Danube – flows 1, 776 miles from Germany to the Black Sea § Thames – allows oceangoing ships to reach the port of London § Rhone – runs through Switzerland France towards Lake Geneva

Rivers of the Region: The Rhone The Danube near the Romanian – Siberian border The River Thames

The Volga River: § Located in the southwestern part of Russia near Volgograd § South flowing river § Plays a major role in the shipping industry as well as a source of hydroelectric power

Siberia: § is a vast region on the eastern and North. Eastern part of Russia § It extends eastward from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the national borders of both Mongolia and China

Siberia: