European countries. General characteristic

General characteristic

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea

Leading countries according to GDP (ВВП):

ü Switzerland

ü Luxembourg

ü Sweden

Leading countries according to Land Size:

ü Ukraine

ü France

ü Spain

Leading countries according to population

ü Germany

ü United Kingdom

ü Italy

ü France

Topography

PHYSICAL CHARATERISTICS

ü Part of a large landmass called EURASIA

ü Europe includes five peninsulas – Iberian Peninsula, Scandinavian Peninsula, Jutland Peninsula, Italian Peninsula and Balkan Peninsula

A PENINSULA is a body of land surrounded by water on three sides.

Europe also has many ISLANDS. An island is a body of land completely surrounded by water. Europe’s main islands are Great Britain, Iceland and Ireland.

Europe is also home to many FJORDS. A fjord is a narrow valley or inlet from the sea--originally carved out by glaciers.

Mountain ranges are the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Balkan Mts, the Caucasus Mountains, the Carpathian Mountains.

The largest physical characteristic in Europe is the North European Plain. The North European Plain is a large flat fertile stretch of land important for agriculture, especially in Western Europe

Rivers also play an important role in Europe. They are or were used for transportation, power, and trade. The most important are the Volga, the Danube, the Dnieper and others.

Seas of Europe are the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, the Black Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea and others.

Landmarks

Strait of Gibraltar- separates Europe from Africa at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea