Europe: Location, Area, Political and Physical Features
ICSE Class 7 · Geography · Chapter 12
What this chapter covers
- Europe: an introduction
- Location of Europe
- Boundaries of Europe
- Area of Europe
- Political divisions: countries and capitals
- Physical divisions of Europe
- The Alps and the other mountains
- Plains, plateaus and peninsulas
- Major rivers of Europe
- Locating Europe on the map
Key points
- Europe is the western part of the great landmass of Eurasia and lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere, between about 36° N and 71° N.
- The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich in London, and the Arctic Circle crosses northern Scandinavia and Russia.
- Europe is bounded by the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and in the east by the Urals, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus.
- Europe covers about 10.2 million km² and is the second smallest continent, about three times the size of India.
- Europe has more than forty countries; Russia is the largest and Vatican City the smallest.
- Many capitals stand on rivers: London on the Thames, Paris on the Seine, Vienna and Budapest on the Danube.
- The four physical regions are the North-Western Highlands, the Great European Plain, the Central Uplands and the Alpine Mountain System.
- The Alps are young fold mountains; Mont Blanc is their highest peak, while Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus is higher still.
- The main peninsulas are the Scandinavian, Iberian, Italian, Balkan and Jutland peninsulas.
- The Volga is Europe's longest river; the Danube, Rhine, Rhone, Dnieper, Elbe, Po, Seine and Thames are other major rivers.
Questions answered
Between which latitudes does mainland Europe lie, and in which hemisphere is it entirely found?
Mainland Europe lies between about 36° N and 71° N, so it lies entirely in the Northern Hemisphere.
Name the water bodies that form the northern, western and southern boundaries of Europe.
The Arctic Ocean in the north, the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Mediterranean Sea in the south.
Which features mark the eastern boundary of Europe with Asia?
The Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains.
What is a strait? Name the strait that separates Europe from Africa.
A strait is a narrow stretch of water that joins two larger bodies of water. The Strait of Gibraltar separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa.
Explain why Russia and Turkey are called transcontinental countries.
Their land lies in two continents. Western Russia and a small part of Turkey are in Europe, while the rest of each country is in Asia.
Europe covers about 10.2 million km² and Australia about 7.7 million km². How much larger is Europe?
10.2 - 7.7 = 2.5, so Europe is about 2.5 million km² larger.
Give the capitals of France, Germany, Italy, Norway and Spain.
Paris, Berlin, Rome, Oslo and Madrid.
What is a landlocked country? Name two in Europe.
A landlocked country has no coastline of its own. Switzerland and Austria are two examples.