1. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter 4 Lecture
World Regional
Geography
A Developmental Approach
11th Edition
Europe

2. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Chapter Learning Outcomes
• Describe the physical geography of the European region, and explain its
effects on the climate of the region.
• List factors defining Europe as a cultural and physical region.
• Discuss the region’s major environmental problems and identify strategies
to address these challenges.
• Chart Europe’s transition from an agricultural to an industrial and
postindustrial region.
• Explain the political-territorial order of Europe, including the origins of the
nation-state and sovereignty.
• Discuss the role of language and religion in shaping European geography.
• Locate the key nodes in the European integration project.
• Understand the role of cities in the development of Europe and their
distinctive geographic features.
• Describe the factors shaping Europe’s role in the global economy and its
geopolitical neighborhood.

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The European Map

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Europe’s Environment / Landforms
• Rivers
– Used for transportation
– Communication arteries
– Source of drinking water

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Europe’s Environment / Landforms
• Four peninsulas of Europe
– Scandinavian
– Iberian
– Italian
– Balkan
• Fertile valleys, basins, and tablelands
– Hungarian Basin
– Po River valley
– Meseta

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Europe’s Environment / Landforms
• Great European Plain
– Lowland that dominates northern Europe
– Atlantic coast of France to the top of Russia and
into Eurasia
– Highly fertile soils
– Sizeable agriculture
• Hill lands
– Celtic refuge
– Two basic locations
1.Atlantic coasts of Portugal, Spain, France,
Ireland, and Britain
2.Central European zone

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Europe’s Environment / Landforms
• Mountains
– Pyrenees
– Alps
– Cantabrian of Spain
– Carpathian in Balkans
• Northern Europe dominated by old, highly
eroded mountains

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Europe’s Environment / Climate

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Europe’s Environment / Climate
• Marine west coast
– Westerlies
• Prevailing winds from Atlantic Ocean via
North Atlantic Drift
• Provides a very moist and cloudy climate
– Extends eastward halfway across Europe
– Cool summers
– Rare heat waves

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Europe’s Environment / Climate
• Humid continental climate
– Eastern Europe
– Moist climate
– Bitter cold winters
– Summers similar to marine west coast

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Europe’s Environment / Climate
• Mediterranean climate
– Southern peninsulas–Iberian, Italian, and
Balkan
– Winter precipitation
– Exceptionally dry summers

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Europe’s Environmental Challenge
• Humans use natural resources
• Natural climate cycles have an effect on where
humans live
• Industrial Revolution began in England
– Continuing effects of pollution and greenhouse gases

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Europe’s Environmental Challenge
• Modifications
– Forest clearance
– Terrain and weather modifications
• Terracing—Stair-stepped hillsides
• Urban heat islands
– Urban temperatures higher than in neighboring rural areas
– Air pollution is a significant problem.
• The problem of acid rain
– Release of substances, such as sulfur and carbon, into the air
– Comes back with rainfall
– Creates death of forests
– Result of industrial production and heavy use of fossil fuels
• European Union has sought to coordinate standardized policies.

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European Politics
• Europe was dominated by outside forces such
as the Greeks and Romans
• Forces of nationalism later caused World War II
and the Holocaust
• Disputes within nations by ethnic groups who
desire autonomy
• Cultural borders are rarely easy to navigate.
• The European Union (EU)

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The European Union (EU)
• Economic union
– European Economic Community
– Common Market
– Six states originally
• Renamed EU in 1993
– Governmental structure
• European Commission
• Council of Ministers
• European Parliament
• European Court of Justice
– Euro is the currency.

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Challenges to the EU
• Resistance
– Some countries have rejected the EU Constitution.
– Euro and EU dictates are seen by some as intrusions
against local culture and identity.
• EU membership now “by invitation only”
– New states have to prove their worth.
– Some criticism of cultural imperialism
– Turkey an especially controversial decision
• No EU military
– NATO is de facto.
– Trends toward separatism in EU states

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Germany
• Current government
– Federal Republic
– Provincial-based politics
• Unitary government has dominated history.
– Second Reich
– Third Reich

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United Kingdom
• Expansion brings challenges.
– Hilly lands on North and West conquered and
annexed.
– Celts never fully, culturally absorbed.
– Scots and Welsh seek “home rule”.
• Further western conquering into the island of
Ireland.
– Began Protestant–Catholic tension that
remains to this day.
– British rule Northern Ireland.
– Republic of Ireland (1920s)

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France
• Two challenges involving cultural regionalism
1. Unite North with the Mediterranean South.
2. Annexation of lands inhabited by ethnic
minorities has caused conflict.
• Result has been an historic unitary state.

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Spain
• Origins date to merger of Castile and Aragon in 1569.
– Greater part of Iberian Peninsula
– Excluding Portugal
• Castilians built and ruled Spain—Dominated ethnic
minorities.
– Basques
– Catalans
– Galicians
– Strong separatist movements remain with Basques
and Catalans.
• Cultural tensions in 1930s lead to fascist dictatorship
(Franco).

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Italy
• North
– Location of the Renaissance
– More prosperous
• South
– Mezzogiorno
– Feudalistic, poor, traditional, corrupt, and provincial
• Long-time political fragmentation until 19th century
• Unification originated in the North.
– Unifying factors
• Italian language (fragmented into many dialects)
• Natural framework

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Switzerland and Belgium
• Switzerland
– Success in joining linguistic and religious groups
– Multinational country
• 73% speak German.
• 21% speak French.
• 4.3% speak Italian.
– Alps divide the state.
– Originally a confederation
• Belgium
– Dates from 1830
• Predominantly Catholic
• Broke away from Protestant Netherlands
– Tension between French Walloons and Dutch Flemings

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The Balkans
• Yugoslavia formed during World War I.
• Remnants of former empires
• Roman
• Byzantium
• Turkish
• Austrian
• Hungarian
• Three mutually antagonistic faiths
1. Catholicism
2. Orthodoxy
3. Islam

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The Balkans
• Major economic disparities
– Prosperous
• Slovenia
• Croatia
– Not so prosperous
• Macedonia
• Parts of Serbia

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The Balkans / Yugoslavia breaks up
• 1991
– Four provinces seceded.
– 1992—Remaining parts renamed Serbia and
Montenegro.
– Many people on the “wrong” side of borders
– Ethnic cleansing
– 2006—Montenegro declares independence.

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Religions of Europe
• Roman Catholicism
• Eastern Orthodox
• Protestant reformation
(1519–1559)
– North Europe
predominantly
Protestant
– Southern Europe
predominantly Roman
Catholic

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Languages of Europe
• East—Western and southern Slavic languages
• South—Romance languages
• North—Germanic languages
• Some smaller language groups
– Celts
– Greeks
– Latvians
– Lithuanians
• Two major alphabet traditions
1. Latin/English
2. Cyrillic in the eastern sections of Europe.

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European Agriculture
• Traditional Northern agriculture based on winter survival
• Mediterranean Diet is similar to North American diets
• Agricultural mechanization has effected Europe’s diet
– Rural Eastern Bloc dominated areas may still use
older methods of harvest.

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European Population

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European Population
• 535 million people within the continent
• Four countries with populations of over 50 million
• Twelve basic traits
1. 80% Christian
2. 80%+ Indo-European speech
3. 90%+ Caucasian
4. Low infant mortality
5. Educated population
6. Highly urbanized
7. Dense population
8. Wealthy population
9. Stabilized or declining population growth
10. Densely built public transit and road network
11. Less than 10% in agriculture
12. Well-established tradition of democratic governance

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Economic and Industrial Development of
Europe
• One of the most powerful economies in the world
– 41.7% of world exports in 2006
– Leading SE Asia and United States in 9 of 20 different
product categories
– Second in six of the remaining eleven
• Two parallel trends—Europeanization and globalization
• Free labor mobility within the EU
• Controversial issue—“Guest workers”

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European Cities
• More than 70% of Europe’s population live
in cities.
• When cities have grown dramatically, the
distinction between urban and rural life
has blurred.
• Europe is home to some of the most
widely recognized cultural cities.

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Scarcity of Resources in Europe
• During the past few decades Europe has
experienced a scarcity of natural
resources.
• Except for the North Sea region, Europe is
low in fossil fuels.
• More than half of Europe’s energy needs
are imported.
• Germany has been a frontrunner in using
renewable and recycled resources.

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European Immigration
• Contentious issue in some countries
• Several major migration flows
– Associated with colonial legacies
• Common patterns
• Britain—Asian Indians, Pakistanis, and
West Indians
• Germany—Turks
• France—North Africa and the Caribbean

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Europe as a World Power
• Europeans were the early global power.
• The Euro used as a currency of standard
• When the EU “speaks” as a single voice,
they have overwhelming power.
• European countries have healthy trade
surpluses.

36. © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Summary of Chapter
• Europe is a very old and developed region with a
good amount of wealth.
• Recent political crises have caused conflict in
European integration.
• The European Union has raised standards of
economy.
• Immigration has changed Europe in terms of
religion, new cultural items, and xenophobia.
• Europe is a resilient area that handles change well.