Europe: Climate, Natural Vegetation, Wildlife; Forest, Minerals and Power Resources
ICSE Class 7 · Geography · Chapter 13
What this chapter covers
- What controls the climate of Europe
- Climatic regions of Europe
- Natural vegetation of Europe
- Wildlife of Europe
- Forest resources
- Mineral resources
- Power resources
- Case study: tourism in Switzerland
Key points
- Climate is the average weather of a place over many years; latitude, the North Atlantic Drift, the Westerlies, distance from the sea and relief control Europe's climate.
- Western Europe has a mild maritime climate, eastern Europe a continental climate, the south a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and wet winters, and the far north a cold sub-Arctic and tundra climate.
- Natural vegetation changes from tundra in the far north to taiga, mixed and deciduous forest, steppe grassland and Mediterranean vegetation in the south.
- Reindeer, Arctic foxes, brown bears, wolves, lynx, elk, ibex, chamois and white storks are typical wildlife; national parks protect them.
- Scandinavia and Russia supply softwood, pulp and paper; Portugal and Spain supply cork.
- Important minerals are iron ore (Sweden, Ukraine, Russia), coal (Germany, Poland, Ukraine), petroleum and natural gas (North Sea, Russia) and bauxite (Greece).
- Europe's power comes from thermal, hydroelectric (Norway, Switzerland), nuclear (France), wind (Denmark, Germany), solar (Spain) and geothermal (Iceland) sources.
- Switzerland's mountains, glaciers, lakes, snow and mountain railways make tourism a year-round industry, but it must be managed to protect the Alps.
Questions answered
Why is the west coast of Norway free of ice in winter, though it lies north of the Arctic Circle?
The warm North Atlantic Drift flows along that coast, and the Westerlies carry its warmth onto the land, so the sea does not freeze.
Name the winds that bring rain to western Europe throughout the year.
The Westerlies, which blow from the Atlantic Ocean towards the land.
Give two differences between a maritime climate and a continental climate.
A maritime climate has mild winters and cool summers with a small range of temperature; a continental climate has very cold winters and warm summers with a large range. A maritime climate has rain all year, while a continental climate gets less rain, mostly in summer.
In which season does the Mediterranean region get most of its rain? How is this different from India?
In winter. India gets most of its rain in summer from the south-west monsoon.
A town has a January average of -6°C and a July average of 20°C. Find its annual range of temperature.
20 - (-6) = 26°C.
Name the main trees of the taiga. Why are they suited to a cold climate?
Pine, spruce and fir. Their cone shape lets snow slide off, and their needle-like leaves lose little water.
What are the steppes, and why are they important for farming?
The steppes are the treeless grasslands of Ukraine and southern Russia. Their rich black soil makes them a great wheat-growing area.
Name one animal each from the tundra, the coniferous forest and the Alps.
Reindeer (tundra), brown bear or lynx (coniferous forest), ibex or chamois (Alps).