Europe

From Encyclopediak

Europe, forms a part of the Continent of Eurasia, from which it projects to the northwest as a huge peninsula. It is in the Eastern Hemisphere and lies between 71 11' and 36 north latitude and between 9 28' west and 66 20' east longitude. The Strait of Gibraltar and the strait between Sicily and Tunis separate it from Africa on the south.

SIZE. From north to south, from Cape North to Cape Matapan, its greatest extent is 2,400 m. from east to west, from Cape St. Vincent to Ekaterinburg, 3.400 m. The total area of the mainland and adjoining islands, including Iceland, Nova Zembia and Spitzbergen, is about 3,850,000 sq. m. Europe is peninsular in form, surrounded on three sides by the ocean or seathe Arctic on the north, the Atlantic on the west and the Mediterranean Sea on the south. The coast line is very irregular. Its length is estimated at 20,000 m., it only the large indentations are included the entire shore line measures about twice that length. Although the size of Europe as a whole is comparatively small, its historical and political significance is unparalleled among the grand divisions of the globe.

COAST WATERS. On the north is the White Sea on the west. the North Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Finland, Gulf of Riga, English Channel, Strait of Dover and the Bay of Biscay on the south, the Strait of Gibraltar, Gulf of Lyons, Gulf of Genoa, Adriatic Sea, Egean Sea, the Dardanelles, Sea of Marmora, the Bosporus, Black Sea and Sea of Azov on the east, the Caspian Sea. The Ural and Caucasian mountains, together with the Black and Caspian seas, form the boundary between Europe and Asia. Several important peninsulas extend into these waters. The Scandinavian Peninsula in the north is the largest in Europe. Here also is the Peninsula of Jutland. The three large peninsulas in the south are the Iberian, the Italian and the Balkan. The shores washed by the coast waters are widely different, varying from the rock-bound and fiord coasts of Scotland and Norway and the steep coasts of the Mediterranean to the sandy lowlands of Netherlands and Belgium.

ADJACENT ISLANDS. The islands and peninsulas of Europe form about half its continental area. Both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea contain numerous and important islands. In the northern seas are Iceland, Nova Zembia, Zealand, Aland, Gothland, Osel, Dago, Spitzbergen, Franz Josef Land, Bear Island, Jan Mayen, and, more important, the British Isles and the Shetland and Orkney islands. The Mediterranean group includes the Balearic Isles, Sicily, Corsica, Crete, Sardinia, Cyprus and minor groups and isles. Surrounding the islands and between them and the Continent the sea is shallow, not exceeding 700 ft. in depth. Many of the islands are extensions of the mountain ranges of the Continent.

PHYSICAL FEATURES. The topography of Europe is comparatively simple. The lowlands embrace fully two-thirds of the land mass and form a continuation of the great Asiatic plain. Highlands. There is one extensive mountain range in the south, and a secondary system in the north. The smaller one occupies a large portion of Scandinavia, the northwestern part of Scotland, the west of Great Britain and sections of Ireland and France. These mountain ranges are low and comparatively short, often consisting merely of single mountains or plateaus. The Scandinavian system is the highest in Germany and Prance are the Jura, Vosges, Bohemian Forest, Harz, Black Forest, Erzegebirge, Thuringian Forest and Riesengebirge. The Ural mountain range is in the eastern part of Europe. It has no connection with the western elevations, but is the longest mountain range of the Continent. The southern high zone is a continuation of the immense range which traverses the south-central part of Asia. It breaks into Europe through the Caucasian mountain range, and soon forms the Alpine system. The Alps proper constitute the loftiest feature of the mass to them are joined the Carpathian, Balkan and Apennine mountains. To the west of this group, and practically separated from it, are the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada of southern Spain. The Alpine system, due to its frequent passes, forms no great impediment to commerce, despite the fact that it is the highest point in Europe. Vesuvius is the only active volcano of the Continent. The islands contain others, such as Etna in Sicily and Skaptar Jokull and Hekia in Iceland. Lozvlands. Between these two highlands lies the "great plain" of Europe. This area begins at the foot of the Ural Mountains, stretches out widely over Russia, extending to the Arctic and the Baltic seas, and continues along the shores of the North Sea and English Channel, through northern Germany and France to the Pyrenees. There are also fairly extensive lowlands enclosed by the mountains. Such are the plains of Switzerland, between the Jura and the Alps, and the river valleys of the Danube, Po, Saone, Rhone and other streams. Rivers and Lakes. The European watershed extends from southwest to northeast, from the central Ural Mountains through the Carpathians and the Alps to the Iberian Peninsula. The principal rivers descend from the Alps proper. Among the rivers of Russia which flow to the south are the Ural, Volga, Don, Dnieper and Dniester those emptying into the northern seas are the Dvina, Diina and Petchora. In western Europe the continental area, the British Isles, the northern and the three southern peninsulas have their own river systems. The Oder and the Vistula flow into the Baltic Sea the Rhine, the Elbe and the Thames into the North Sea the Seine into the English Channel the Loire, the Guadalquivir, the Tagus and the Guadiana into the Atlantic Ocean the Ebro, the Rhone and the Po into the Mediterranean Sea and the Danube into the Black Sea. There are two principal lake areas of Europe, the southern and the northern. The former, centering around the Alps, embraces sheets of water celebrated for the beauty of their surrounding scenery. Here are found lakes Como. Lugano, Maggiorc, Iseo, Geneva, Zurich, Garda, Constance, Lucerne, Ammer and many others. The largest salt-water lake in existence is the Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia. Russia contains lakes Onega and Ladoga, the most extensive of European fresh-water lakes. In Finland, Sweden, Norway and the British Isles are numerous lakes, many of them formed by ancient glaciers. GEOLOGY. One of the most interesting episodes in the geologic history of Europe was the advance from time to time of ice sheets from the highlands of Scandinavia. Smaller ice sheets also descended from the mountains of the southern part, and settled over the intervening plains. Deposits of moraine, like clay or shingle, remain over vast regions when the ice disappeared. Also numerous lakes were scoured out and the course of streams was greatly modified. The minerals of Europe are varied and abundant. Iron ores are richly distributed, especially in Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium, Norway and Sweden. Italy has iron ores, but no coal. Likewise in Russia the iron is far removed, even by rail, from the main sources of coal. The most advantageous combination of iron and coal deposits belongs to England, and to this reason can be traced in large part her industrial supremacy. South Italy and Sicily supply the bulk of all the sulphur used in the industries Russia, most of the platinum Spain and Portugal among European countries, the greatest amount of copper Spain, the most quicksilver and next to the United States the largest amount of lead. Large tin mines are found in England. In the Scandinavian Peninsula arc found superior steel-making and rich silver ores. Silver and gold are produced in paying quantities throughout different parts of the Continent. Salt, granite, limestone and clay deposits are also found.

CLIMATE. Lying principally within the temperate and wholly outside the tropical zone, Europe enjoys a fairly equable climate. Other influences contribute to producing and maintaining this mild temperature. The prevailing winds from the Atlantic are warm, and they have free access to the greater part of the western half of the Continent. The Gulf Stream affects the temperature to a great extent See GULF STREAM. The average elevation of the land is lower than that of any other grand division, save Australia the result is the absence of extremes of temperature. An extensive coast line represents another influence. The rainfall is well distributed, diminishing, however, as the distance from the Atlantic increases. The eastern part of Europe has a continental, rather than a sea climate, the summer temperature increasing and the rainfall diminishing at a sufficient rate to produce steppes but never deserts. The Alps have an ameliorating influence on the north winds in the southern part of Europe, and the climate becomes very uniform, while the summers are often dry.

PLANT LIFE. Three rather indistinct regions of the flora of Europe can be distinguished. The first, lying in part within the Arctic Circle, consists mainly of the Russian tundras, and grows lichen, moss, poppy, saxifrage, crowfoot and other showy flowers, as well as willows, beeches and junipers that become stunted in their growth because of being buried under winter snows at long intervals. The highest elevations of the mountains of Europe present a flora somewhat similar to that of the high latitudes of the north. In the temperate region forests are numerous in the west, and the plant life is in no wise unique in respect of wealth or type in the eastern part the forest areas yield to the extensive steppes, or treeless plains, scattered with shrubs and covered thinly with long, coarse grass. The Mediterranean region is essentially the fruit and flower area. The flora is rich and attractive the forests contain i large number of species among the fruits the orange, lemon and olive are found of the foliage used for decorative purposes, the laurel and the myrtle are most abundant.

ANIMAL LIFE. The climatic conditions and the luxuriant vegetation have given rise to a richness of European fauna on the other hand, in the densely populated areas, native species have been crowded out, even to the point of becoming wholly extinct. Mammals, peculiar to the region in which they are found, are the chamois and the marmot in the Alpine mountain region, the wolf in large packs in Poland, Hungary and Russia, the lynx, brown bear, beaver, reindeer, elk, Grecian ibex, the civet and the desman. The large herds of cattle formerly seen have practically become extinct. Bird life is abundant, and many of the species migrate from the south of the numerous insects, the butterfly and beetle in particular are distinguished because if their numbers. Few reptiles are found frogs of unique species exist, as well as newts and tree toads. Among the fish, the tunny and sole are the ones which are unknown on the American side of the Atlantic. The northern seas have cod, mackerel, herring, salmon and other varieties.

INHABITANTS. Among the inhabitants of Europe are those belonging to the Celtic, the Teutonic and the Slavonic races and the Greek and Latin peoples. These are all a part of the Aryan, or Indo-European, branch. In addition are immigrants of Mongolian stock, such as Hungarians, Turks, Finns and Lapps. The Celtic language is spoken in the Scotch Highlands, Wales, Ireland and Brittany. The Teutonic race includes the Germanic branch Germans, Dutch and English and the Scandinavian branch Danes, Swedes and Norwegians. The Slavonians are the Russians, Bohemians, Poles, Croatians and Servians. The Basques, living in France and Spain at the western extremity of the Pyrenees, are still of unknown origin. The religions represented are the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Church, the Protestant, the Jewish and the Mohammedan. The total population of Europe is about 449,883,542.

POLITICAL DIVISIONS. The independent states of Europe are either strictly limited constitutional kingdoms or republics of various degrees. The free cities of medieval times are represented, even the shires of tribal days are seen in the still surviving tiny republics.

HISTORY. The history of Europe traces back to prehistoric times and embraces the history of civilization itself. Centuries before the dawn of history, Europe was the home of numberless tribes belonging to different branches of Aryan race though widely scattered ethnic islands of non-Aryan people, Basques and Lapps indicate an earlier time of which we have no certain knowledge. The classical history of Europe is that of Greece and Rome which, facing Egypt and the Euphrates Valley, caught the sunlight of their culture and spread it to lands and people subject to their sway, thus that section of Europe that formed a part of the Roman Empire experienced the blessings of organized government, Christianity, and the culture of Greece and Rome. That period terminated when a tidal wave of invading people still organized in tribal society rolled in on the Western Roman Empire and overthrew it. Not being able to assimilate at once the culture of the classical period they initiated the so-called Dark Age of European History. During the centuries of this era we witness the outlines of the great nations of Medieval and Modern times taking shape. The modern history of Europe covers the time from the passing of the Dark Age to the World War of 1914. This period witnessed the solidification, so to speak, of the greater nations of Europe and the overthrow of the half-fictitious Holy Roman Empire founded by Charlemagne, and finally the union into one really great empire of the many small Germanic states of Central Europe. It was an age of great intellectual and scientific advance, of capitalism, of individualism and growth of race consciousnessthe age of industrialism. But here and there outbreaks such as the French Revolution and the revolutionary uprisings of the 19th century testified to deep seated unrest of the masses of the people, not yet recovered the full measure of primitive liberty. The World War of 1914 was the most momentous occurrence in the history of Europe. Autocratic government has disappeared from Europe. Austria-Hungary has disintegrated into the ethnic elements composing it. There has been a new grouping of Balkan powers and Roumania and Serbia take their place among the potentially great states of Europe. Turkey is no longer a European power. A nation entirely new to history Czecho-Slovakia has made its appearance, other new nations are trembling on the rise. Finland has resumed its independence and Poland, phoenix-like, is once more a nation with territory as great as it possessed before its first partition. France and Italy have gained in territory in Europe but Germany has suffered the loss of one-sixth of her territory in Europe and all her foreign colonies. But Europe now faces possible changes in social life as momentous as those through which the nations of Europe struggled in changing from tribal to political society.