Europe Natural framework

Europe: Natural framework

According to countryaah, Europe is a continent that encompasses approximately 50 countries. Of these, the majority are constitutional countries, also presenting some constitutional monarchies, such as: United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands.

Like every continent, Europe has political, economic and ethnic differences. We can then divide Europe into regions according to their distribution in space and their economic characteristics.

WESTERN EUROPE (WEST EUROPE) : covers countries bordering the Atlantic (United Kingdom, Ireland, France), countries that connect to the Atlantic via the North Sea (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany) and others that have no way out. the sea but is part of the region due to its spatial location (Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein). It is the most developed region in Europe.

NORTHERN EUROPE (NORTHERN EUROPE) : includes the Scandinavian peninsula (Norway and Sweden), as well as Finland, Iceland and the Jutland peninsula (Denmark). The Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are also part of this region. It is the coldest region in Europe due to its location on the globe.

EASTERN CENTER EUROPE (EAST EUROPEAN) : includes the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and the republics that constituted the former union of the Soviet socialist republics.

SOUTHERN EUROPE / MADITERRANEAN (SOUTHERN EUROPE) : corresponds to the countries located in southern Europe, and mostly bathed by the Mediterranean Sea. Portugal is the only country in the region that is not bathed by the Mediterranean Sea. It is a region of strong historical influence.

The European continent has great ethnic and cultural diversity. Ethnic and cultural differentiations are one of the main causes of conflicts between countries, not only European, but from all over the world. Obviously, the intensity and placement of these conflicts in society will be tied to the set of ethnic groups that are involved in the conflict and also the region of the conflicts. Currently, economic issues surpass political and cultural issues as the main causes of conflict in the world.

THE NATURAL FRAMEWORK OF EUROPE

Europe is located mainly in the temperate strip of the globe, being located completely in the northern hemisphere and most of it in the east (east). It is cut at the northern end of the Scandinavian peninsula by the Arctic Circle.

It is home to approximately 7% of the land emerging from all over the planet. Europe forms with Asia a great continent: Eurasia, because it is limited with Asia by the Ural mountains (formed by ancient formations).

1. RELIEF:

The relief of Europe is formed mainly by mountains and plains. Predominates areas with less than 200 meters of altitude.

MOUNTAINS:

Old formations : predominantly in the north (Scandinavian peninsula) and east. They are old formations and because of that, they have already suffered a lot of wear due to external factors (rain, wind, snow, etc.), so they present more modest altitudes and are geologically stable, that is, they do not present tectonic movement. They are crystalline formations.

Recent formations : they are also called modern folds. They are geologically unstable, with tectonic activity possible, with volcanism and earthquakes. They are more recent formations and little worn out by erosion, so they have higher altitudes. They are located in the south of the European continent.

EUROPE MOUNTAINS

PLAINS:

It is the most prominent structure on the European continent. They are predominantly formed by river sedimentary basins, that is to say, that have suffered sedimentation from rivers. They facilitate river transportation and are very fertile areas, due to mineral sedimentation. They are favorable to agriculture.

WESTERN REGION:

It is predominantly formed by areas of lower altitudes (0 / 200m), due to its ancient and / or sedimentary formation.

NORTHERN REGION:

It is entirely formed by old formations, with the exception of Iceland. Lower regions predominate, with the exception of the Scandinavian Alps, located in Norway and Sweden. These have fjords, which are valleys invaded by water. Its elevations are accompanied by glacial valleys formed by glacial erosion, as it is a very cold region.

CENTRAL-EASTERN REGION:

It is predominantly formed by areas of lower elevation, formed by sedimentary basins. It is in this region that the Ural Mountains are located, an ancient massif that divides Asia and Europe. To the south there are some recent formations that have higher altitudes.

SOUTHERN REGION:

It is formed mainly by recent mountain ranges, which have a higher elevation. It also has some low-lying areas. However, it is the region of Europe that concentrates the highest areas, practically all of the region is formed by high altitudes.

2. CLIMATE AND VEGETATION:

Several factors influence the climate of a region, such as latitude, continental / maritime altitude, sea currents , air masses. The climate is a major factor for the occurrence of vegetation, because, depending on the climate of a region, this can then create or not favorable conditions for the existence or not of different types of vegetation.

The European climate is predominantly temperate, one of its striking features is the presence of four well-defined seasons.

WESTERN EUROPE:

The predominant climate is temperate oceanic. The coast has a smaller thermal amplitude, because, in the summer, the water takes longer to warm up, and in the winter, it takes longer to lose heat to the environment. The temperate oceanic climate is associated with deciduous forests, or deciduous forests, which lose their leaves in winter, as protection from the cold.

NORTHERN EUROPE:

There is the presence of temperate oceanic and continental climates, subpolar, the northern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula and continental cold. The vegetation types are: cadufolia, tundra (undergrowth and with a very short life cycle, only while the ice covers the soil), it is present in the southern extremes of the Scandinavian peninsula and in Iceland, in these regions, the climate is very cold (subpolar). Taiga (coniferous forest), which has the appearance of a cone, so that the snow, when it falls, drips down. It is a typical vegetation with a cold climate.

CENTRO-EASTERN EUROPE:

In this region, the predominant climate is the continental temperate, in addition to continental cold and subpolar to the far north, it also presents the semi-arid and cold altitudes in the south. The vegetation is well diversified, with: cadufolia (temperate continental region), steppes and semi-arid steppes (in the semi-arid region), high altitude vegetation (in the Caucasus region, in the south, and in the Ural mountains, in the north). In addition to tundra and taiga further north of the region.

SOUTHERN EUROPE:

The climate of this region is the southern one, a subtropical climate, of great annual thermal amplitude. It is influenced by the hot air masses provided by the Sahara. Elevations to the north hinder the presence of air masses coming from the north (arctic). The vegetation is also different from the European ones, as it consists of small trees and shrubs with thorns.

3. HYDROGRAPHY:

The European region is formed by a large number of rivers and lakes that are well distributed throughout the European territory.

WESTERN REGION:

It is a region that has rivers of great importance, such as TÂMISA, SENA, LOIRE, RÓDANO, ELBA and SPREE. The Rhine River is a river that plays a major role in regional integration. It is a large waterway, of great importance for the flow of European production

NORTHERN REGION:

It is a region in which not only the rivers, but also the lakes, which are usually of glacial origin, stand out due to the low temperatures of the region. With greater emphasis on the rivers that are born in the Scandinavian Alps.

CENTRAL-EASTERN REGION:

Two rivers in this region are the most important in Europe, the Danube and the Volga. The Danube River is the second longest in Europe but the most important. It allows the flow of production from the center-east to the Black Sea and then to the Mediterranean. The Volga is the longest river in Europe and the second most important. It flows into the Caspian Sea. It rises on the Russian plateau and cuts through almost all of European Russia. The river is extremely important for Russia, as it is navigable and connects with the Caspian, Black and Mediterranean seas, allowing the flow of Russian production. Its course is hampered in winter due to the freezing of its waters.

SOUTHERN REGION:

In this region there are only rivers of local importance, such as the Tagus River, Douro, Minho, Ebro. It also presents the river Po, which is the axis of Italian hydrography.

Europe Natural framework