CHAPTER 23

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CHAPTER 23 INTRODUCING EUROPE
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• A. Europe Can Be Divided Into 4 Major
• Landforms
• 1. The Northwestern Highlands
• includes the hills of Ireland and
• England, the Scottish Highlands,
• Brittany in northwestern France,
• most of the Iberian Peninsula, and
• the Kjolen Mountains in Norway.

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• 2. The Northern European Plain, the
• largest landform region, extends
• from the Atlantic coast of France
• into Russia and borders the North
• Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea,
• and the Baltic Sea.

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• 3. The Alps, western and central
• Europes highest mountain range,
• extend from the Mediterranean
• coast of France through
• Switzerland, Austria, and northern
• Italy to the Balkan Peninsula.

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• 4. The Central Uplands includes the
• Massif Central of France and the
• Jura Mountains on the French-
• Swiss border. It also includes the
• Black Forest and Bavarian Plateau
• of Germany, the Bohemian
• Highlands of Germany and the
• Czech Republic, and the
• Ardennes in the Benelux
• countries.

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• B. Climate Regions
• 1. Most of Europe has mild
• conditions throughout the year.
• 2. Europe has three major climate
• types.
• a. Marine-west-coast climate
• throughout most of Northern
• and West Central Europe.
• b. Humid-continental climate to
• the east and inland of the
• marine-west-coast climate.

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• c. Mediterranean climate in the
• countries of Portugal, Spain,
• Italy, Albania, Macedonia,
• Greece, and parts of France,
• Croatia, and Bulgaria
• 3. Pockets of minor climate types
• cover part of Southern and
• Northern Europe.

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• YOU WILL NOW BE DIVIDED INTO 4 GROUPS. YOUR TASK
  IS TO RESEARCH ONE OF THE LANDFORMS OF EUROPEAN
  AND TEACH OR GIVE MORE INFORMATION TO THE CLASS.
  USE IN FORM YOU WOULD LIKE BUT EVERYONE MUST BE
  INCLUDED IN THE PRESENTATION. YOUR GROUPS WILL
  BE GRADED ON THE FOLLOWING CLEARNESS, EVERYONE
  INVOLVED, KNOWLEDGE. (30 PTS.)

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NATURAL RESOURCES

• A. Water
• 1. Europes long, irregular coastline
• has hundreds of natural harbors,
• generally located near the
• mouths of navigable rivers,
• making Europe ideally situated
• for world trade. (Coastline is
• about 37,877 miles Half the
• distance around the equator.

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• 2. The Mediterranean Sea is the
• largest sea bordering Europe.
• Other major European Seas
• include the North Sea and the
• Baltic Sea.
• 3. The Rhine and Danube rivers are
• Europes most developed rivers,
• each providing important access to
• the sea.

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• B. Forest and Agriculture
• 1. Most of Europes original forests
• were cut for timber or cleared for
• farming centuries ago. Recently,
• many of the remaining trees have
• been destroyed by acid rain and
• pollution.
• 2. Only Finland and Sweden have
• large areas of timber-producing
• forest.

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• 3. Intensive farming techniques and
• modern technology have made
• Europes crop yields among the
• highest in the world. Much of
• Eastern Europe, however, lags in
• agricultural production.
• C. Minerals and Energy
• 1. Europe relies heavily on imports
• to meet its current industrial and
• energy needs.

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• 2. The United Kingdom, Germany, the
• Benelux countries, and the Czech
• Republic have deposits of iron and
• coal.
• 3. Sweden and France also have
• large iron deposits.
• 4. Oil reserves and natural-gas
• deposits below the North Sea
• waters and the natural-gas
• deposits in the Netherlands do not
• satisfy Europes industrial demands.

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• 5. Hydroelectricity is plentiful in the
• mountainous nations such as
• Norway and Switzerland.
• 6. France has been successful in
• producing ocean tidal power and
• in using solar energy.

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HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY

• A. Rise of Nations
• 1. From 900 B.C. to 300 B.C. most
• of Europe was controlled by
• warring tribes.
• 2. Most of central and western
• Europe was part of the Roman
• Empire.

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• 3. After the fall of the Roman Empire,
• around 500, various Germanic
• groups established a number of
• new kingdoms, the most important
• being the Frankish kingdom.
• 4. Around 1000, Europeans
• increasingly ventured out onto the
• oceans, dominating world trade for
• centuries.
• 5. By 1500, France, Spain, Portugal,
• and England had become nations.

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• 6. France was Europes strongest
• power until the British defeated
• Napoleons French army at
• Waterloo in 1815, after which
• Britain was Europes leading
• political and economic power.

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• B. Imperialism
• 1. By the second half of the
• nineteenth century, Spain,
• Portugal, Britain, France, the
• Netherlands, and Belgium had
• established colonies in the
• Americas, Africa, Asia, and the
• Pacific.
• IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS WHY THESE COUNTRIES
  WERE ESTABLISHING COLONIES (4 MIN.)

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• 2. Britain's colonial empire became
• the largest in the world. At its
• height, the British Empire included
• 1/4 of the worlds population and
• 1/5 of the worlds land area.
• C. The World Wars
• 1. World War I
• a. After its unification in 1871,
• Germany became one of the
• strongest military and
• industrial powers in Europe.

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• b. This frightened many other
• European nations into forming
• alliances.
• c. Germany lost World War I.
• 2. World War II
• a. 21 years later

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• b. Germany and its ally, Italy,
• conquered much of Europe
• before being defeated by the
• allied forces of Britain, the
• U.S., the former Soviet Union,
• and several other nations.
• D. Post-World War II
• 1. Germany was divided into two
• nations, East Germany and West
• Germany.

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• 2. The countries of Eastern Europe
• came under Communist rule and
• the control of the Soviet Union.
• The end of World War II marked
• the beginning of a period known as
• the Cold War.
• 3. In 1949, the military alliance of the
• North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• (NATO) formed to provide for the
• common defense of Western
• Europe.

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• 4. During the early 1990s, Europe
• again experienced historic
• changes.
• a. Soviet Union began to break up.
• b. The reunification of East and
• West Germany took place.
• c. Czechoslovakia peacefully split
• into two nations.
• d. The new nations of former
• Yugoslavia engaged in a civil
• war.

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• e. The Warsaw Pact/Treaty of
• Friendship-dissolved

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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY

• A. Population Changes
• 1. Throughout history, Europe
• experienced changes in its
• population.
• a. Rapid growth occurred
• between 1000 and 1300.
• b. Major declines occurred due to
• diseases, famines, and wars
• between 1300 and 1450.

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• c. As the Industrial Revolution took
• hold during the seventeenth and
• eighteenth centuries, trade
• increased and living standards
• rose. London, Paris, Milan,
• Amsterdam, and Berlin all grew
• dramatically during the 1800s

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• 2. Over the past several centuries,
• millions of Europeans have
• immigrated to the United States,
• Canada, Australia, and South
• America seeking new
• opportunities, or escaping
• religious persecution, wars,
• famine, and poverty.

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• 3. Today, Western Europe is attracting
• immigrants from Eastern and
• Southern European countries, and
• from Turkey, North Africa, and Asia.
• 4. Even with immigration, European
• population growth rates are the
• lowest in the world.
• B. Language
• 1. English is the most widely spoken
• language in Europe.

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• 2. Most of the languages spoken in
• Europe are of the Indo-European
• family, including the Germanic,
• Celtic, Romance, Slavic, and
• Greek language groups.
• 3. 90 of all Europeans between
• the ages of 15 and 24 speak a
• second language. Some countries
• are considered multilingual.
• (speak 3 or more languages.)

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• C. Religion
• 1. Roman Catholicism dominates
• Southern Europe. Catholics are
• also in the majority in Poland,
• France, Austria, Ireland, and
• Belgium.
• 2. Northern and Central Europe is
• mainly Protestant.
• 3. Small numbers of Jews live in
• many parts of Western Europe.

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• 4. Significant numbers of Muslims
• are found in south-eastern Europe.
• D. Economic Cooperation
• 1. World War II put severe stress on
• the economics of the European
• nations. Moreover, several
• European colonies gained their
• independence.
• 2. To strengthen their economies, the
• nations of Western Europe formed
• economic associations.

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• a. European Union, or EU, was
• formed in 1957.
• - Combines the natural
• resources and industries of its
• members.
• - The worlds largest exporter
• - Seeking a common European
• currency and passport-free
• borders.
• - Has eliminated most tariffs on
• goods traded among members.

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• ASSIGNMENT FOR TOM. LIST THE COUNTRIES THAT MAKE
  UP THE EU.
• b. The European Free Trade
• Association (EFTA), made up of
• Switzerland, Norway,
• Liechtenstein, and Iceland, holds
• trade agreements with the EU.

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• E. European Ways of Life
• 1. Europe is a society of consumers.
• 2. Advanced transportation and
• communication networks
• crisscross much of Europe. In
• some Eastern and Southern
• European nations, transportation is
• not as well developed.

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• 3. Social programs often provide for
• the health care, education, and
• welfare of citizens throughout their
• lives. These programs are
• supported by high taxes.
• IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS WHETHER OR NOT YOU
  WOULD BE WILLING TO PAY HIGHER TAXES FOR
  BETTER/MORE SOCIAL PROGRAMS OR SHOULD THE
  GOVERNMENT TAX LESS? (4 MIN.)

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• F. Issues
• 1. Unemployment, crime, traffic
• congestion, limited energy
• resources, and environmental
• pollution are all growing concerns.
• 2. Some minority groups in Europe
• are seeking independence. In
• some instances, these
• movements have led to violence.

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• 3. Many cities now have large foreign
• populations. Violence toward these
• immigrants has broken out,
• especially in former East Germany.
• 4. Terrorists groups have carried out
• bombings , assassinations,
• hijackings, and kidnappings.
• 5. Europe is seeking to strengthen
• economic and political unity among
• its many countries.

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• IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS WAYS IN WHICH YOU
  COULD HELP EUROPEANS WITH THE ISSUES WE HAVE JUST
  TALKED ABOUT. (4 MIN)

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• POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS
• 1. Map of Europe
• 2. Chapter 23 quiz
• 3. Learning About Your Geography
• (pg. 271)
• 4. Using the Five Themes of
• Geography (pg. 271)
• 5. Graphic Organizer and Critical
• Thinking (Unit 6 pg. 1 3)
• 6. Reteaching (Unit 6 pg. 5 6)
• 7. Section Review (pg. 263, 264, 266,
• 270
• 8. Building a Voc, Recall and Review
• (pg. 271)