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 Several of the oldest cities ofNorthwestern Europe are highlighted in this astronaut's photograph from 00:25GMT on 10 August 2011. .svg) | |
| Area | 10,180,000 km2 (3,930,000 sq mi)[n] (6th) |
|---|---|
| Population | 742,452,000[n] (2013;3rd) |
| Population density | 72.9/km2 (188/sq mi) (2nd) |
| Demonym | European |
| Countries | 50 sovereign states 5 with limited recognition |
| Dependencies | 4 dependencies |
| Languages | ~225 languages[1] |
| Time zones | UTC−1 toUTC+5 |
Europe is traditionally defined as one of sevencontinents.Physiographically, it is the northwesternpeninsula of the larger landmass known asEurasia (or the largerAfro-Eurasia);Asia occupies the centre and east of this continuous landmass. Europe'seastern frontier is usually delineated by theUral Mountains inRussia, which is thelargest country by land area in the continent. The southeastboundary with Asia is not universally defined, but the modern definition is generally theUral River or, less commonly, theEmba River. The boundary continues to theCaspian Sea, the crest of theCaucasus Mountains (or, less commonly, the riverKura in theCaucasus), and on to theBlack Sea. TheBosporus, theSea of Marmara, and theDardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. TheMediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is theAtlantic Ocean.Iceland is usually included in Europe because it is over twice as close to mainland Europe as mainland North America. There is ongoing debate on where thegeographical centre of Europe falls.
Some geographical texts refer to a Eurasian continent given that Europe is not surrounded by sea and its southeastern border has always beenvariously defined for centuries.
In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connectedpeninsulas and nearby islands. The two largest peninsulas are Europe itself andScandinavia to the north, divided from each other by theBaltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia,Italy, and theBalkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland. The Balkan peninsula is separated from Asia by theBlack and Aegean Seas. Italy is separated from the Balkans by the Adriatic Sea, and from Iberia by the Mediterranean Sea, which also separates Europe fromAfrica. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains and Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and the Caucasus Mountains.
Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are mountainous while moving north the terrain descends from the highAlps,Pyrenees, andCarpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in southwesternIreland, continuing across through western and northernGreat Britain, and up along the mountainous,fjord-cut spine ofNorway.
This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys, and basins that complicate the general trend.Iceland and theBritish Isles are special cases. The former is of NorthAtlantic volcanic formation, while the latter consist of upland areas once joined to the mainland until cut off by rising sea levels.
Partial list of European peninsulas
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Europe's most significant geological feature is the dichotomy between the highlands and mountains ofSouthern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from Great Britain in the west to theUral Mountains in the east.[citation needed] These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of thePyrenees and theAlps/Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by theScandinavian Mountains and the mountainous parts of theBritish Isles. The major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are theCeltic Sea, theNorth Sea, theBaltic Sea complex, and theBarents Sea.
The northern plain contains the old geological continent ofBaltica, and so may be regarded as the "main continent", while peripheral highlands and mountainous regions in south and west constitute fragments from various other geological continents.
The geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from theScottish Highlands to the rollingplains ofHungary.
Throughout history, the population of Europe has been affected by migration into and out of the continent, disease and conflict. Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 701 million in 2005 according to the United Nations. In 2000 the population was 857 million, using a definition which includes the whole of the transcontinental countries of Russia and Turkey. Population growth is comparatively slow, and median age comparatively high in relation to the world's other continents.
The most important rivers in Europe areDanube,Volga,Rhine,Elbe,Oder andDnieper, among others.[further explanation needed] Europe's largestwaterfall (byflow rate) are theRhine Falls.
The longest rivers in Europe, directly flowing into theWorld Ocean orEndorheic basins, with their approximate lengths:[2][3]
The 15 rivers of Europe by average discharge, including only rivers directly flowing into theWorld Ocean orEndorheic basins:
Aegean Islands,Åland,Balearic Islands,British Isles,Corsica,Crete,Cyprus (Adjacent toAsia),Fyn,Faroe Islands,Gotland,Hinnøya,Iceland,Ionian Islands,Malta,North Jutlandic Island,Saaremaa,Sardinia,Senja,Sicily,Svalbard andZealand.
Some of Europe's majormountain ranges are:
Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain
| Altitude | Area (km2) | % Area |
|---|---|---|
| ≥4500 m | 1 | 0.00% |
| 3500–4500 m | 225 | 0.00% |
| 2500–3500 m | 497,886 | 4.89% |
| 1500–2500 m & slope ≥2° | 145,838 | 1.43% |
| 1000-1500m & slope ≥5° or local elevation range >300m | 345,255 | 3.39% |
| 300–1000 m and local elevation range >300m | 1,222,104 | 12.00% |
| Mountainous total | 2,211,308 | 21.72% |
| Europe total | 10,180,000 | 100.00% |
| Source:[6] | ||
The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. Europe has less precipitation in the east than in central and western Europe. The temperature difference between summer and winter gradually increases from coastal northwest Europe to southeast inland Europe, ranging from Ireland, with a temperature difference of only 10 °C from the warmest to the coldest month, to the area north of the Caspian Sea, with a temperature difference of 40 °C. January average range from 13 °C in southern Spain and southern Greek islands to -20 °C in the northeastern part of EuropeanRussia. Desert climates are found in the European portion of Kazakhstan and South Eastern Spain.
Western Europe and parts of Central Europe generally fall into the temperate maritime climate (Cfb), the southern part is mostly a Mediterranean climate (mostly Csa, smaller area with Csb), the north-central part and east into central Russia is mostly a humid continental climate (Dfb) and the northern part of the continent is a subarctic climate (Dfc). In the extreme northern part (northernmost Russia; Svalbard), bordering the Arctic Ocean, is tundra climate (Et). Mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, have a highland climate with large variations according to altitude and latitude.
Europe's climate is diverse due to its extensive range from theArctic Ocean in the north to theMediterranean Sea in the south, and from theAtlantic Ocean in the west to theUral Mountains in the east. Severalclimatic zones intersect the continent, influenced by factors such aslatitude, proximity towater bodies,elevation, andprevailing wind patterns.
TheNorth Atlantic Drift, a warm ocean current, significantly moderates temperatures across much of Western Europe, resulting in relatively mild winters for regions at similar latitudes elsewhere. This effect is particularly evident in countries such as theUnited Kingdom,Ireland, and coastalNorway, which experienceoceanic climates characterized by cool summers and mild, wet winters.
Southern Europe enjoys aMediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. This climate predominates in countries such asSpain,Italy, andGreece, where seasonal rainfall supports agriculture and tourism.Eastern Europe and parts of the continent's interior featurecontinental climates with more pronounced seasonal temperature differences, including cold winters and warm summers.Precipitation in these regions is relatively evenly distributed throughout the year.
Northern Europe, includingScandinavia, is characterized bysubarctic andtundra climates, where winters are long and harsh, and summers are short and cool. The Arctic portions of Europe, particularly inRussia and Norway, also experiencepolar climates. Mountainous regions, such as theAlps and theCarpathians, exhibitalpine climates, with temperature and precipitation patterns that vary with altitude. Higher elevations generally experience cooler temperatures and greater precipitation, often in the form of snow.
Europe's climate zones have been further influenced by anthropogenicclimate change, leading to rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and increased frequency of extreme weather events across the continent.
The landlocked countries in Europe are:Andorra,Armenia,Austria,Belarus,Czech Republic,Hungary,Kosovo,Liechtenstein (which isdoubly landlocked),Luxembourg,North Macedonia,Moldova,San Marino,Serbia,Slovakia,Switzerland,Vatican City
Switzerland,Liechtenstein,Austria,Czech Republic,Slovakia,Hungary,Serbia, andNorth Macedonia constitute a contiguous landlocked agglomeration of eight countries in Central Europe and the Balkans, stretching from Geneva all the way to Skopje. The other landlocked countries are "standalone" landlocked, not bordering any other suchEuropean one (the emphasis is necessary, sinceKazakhstan bordersTurkmenistan,Uzbekistan, andKyrgyzstan, thus forming a vast landlocked expanse inCentral Asia).
| Eurasia | Armenia,Azerbaijan,Republic of Cyprus,Georgia,Kazakhstan,Russia,Turkey,Greece (someAegean islands andKastelorizo island in southeastern Mediterranean) |
| Europe-Africa | Malta,Spain (Ceuta,Melilla andCanary Islands),Italy (Lampedusa andLampione),Portugal (Madeira),[7]France (Réunion andMayotte) |
| Europe-South America | France (French Guiana) |
| Europe-North America | France (Guadeloupe,Martinique, andSt. Pierre et Miquelon),Iceland,Denmark (Greenland), theNetherlands (Bonaire,Saba, andSt. Eustatius),Portugal (Corvo Island,Flores Island) |
| Country | Capital | Largest city or municipality |
|---|---|---|
 Liechtenstein | Vaduz | Schaan |
 Malta | Valletta | Birkirkara |
 San Marino | San Marino | Serravalle |
 Switzerland | Bern | Zürich |
 Turkey | Ankara | Istanbul |
Note:Italy's capital,Rome, is the country's largest city if only the municipality (comune) is considered.Greater Milan is the largestmetropolitan area in Italy.
Brussels is considered to be the largest city ofBelgium, according to the population of theBrussels-Capital Region. The population of theCity of Brussels is ~175,000.Antwerp is the biggest city of the country.
| 14 | Russia(IncludingKaliningrad) |
| 11 | France(Includingoverseas departments andterritories) |
| 9 | Germany |
| 8 | Austria,Serbia,Turkey,France(Excluding overseas departments) |
| 7 | Hungary,Poland,Ukraine |
| 6 | Italy |
| 5 | Azerbaijan,Belarus,Bulgaria,Croatia,Kazakhstan,Romania,North Macedonia,Slovakia,Spain(IncludingCeuta andMelilla),Switzerland |
| 4 | Albania,Armenia,Belgium, theCzech Republic,Georgia,Greece,Kosovo,Latvia,Lithuania,Montenegro,Slovenia |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina,Finland, theNetherlands(IncludingSint Maarten),Norway,Luxembourg |
| 2 | Andorra,Estonia,Liechtenstein,Moldova,Sweden |
| 1 | Denmark,Ireland,Monaco,Portugal,San Marino, theUnited Kingdom,Vatican City |
| 0 | Iceland,Cyprus,Malta |
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