World Geography Europe Unit Learning Targets

Western Europe

most developed part of Europe, stable

Eastern Europe

part of Europe that used to be influenced by communism, instable

Nordic Countries

Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden; Viking history

The United Kingdom(The UK)

Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland

Great Britain

Island containing Wales, England, and Scotland

British Isles

All of the islands that make up the UK and Ireland

Scandinavian Peninsula

Peninsula made up of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark

Iberian Peninsula

Peninsula made up of Spain and Portugal

Italian Peninsula

Peninsula made up of only Italy

Balkan PENINSULA

Peninsula in South East Europe

Fjords

Ocean inlets in Norway

Mountain Chains

divide people, hinder trade, and create natural borders

Alps

mountain range in central/southern Europe; includes the top of Italy, Germany, Austria

Pyrenees

mountain range that separates Spain and France

Balkan MOUNTAINS

mountain range in southeast Europe on the Balkan Peninsula

Trade

Peninsulas, rivers, and bodies of water=_____

Danube River

river in southwest Europe

Rhine Rivers

River in northwest Europe around France

North Sea

sea on the right of Great Britain and the left of Scandinavia

Black Sea

sea below southwest Europe above turkey

Mediterranean Sea

sea in south Europe below Italy above Africa

Strait of Gibraltar

strait between Africa and Spain

English Channel

channel between France and Great Britain

Tectonic Forces

In the north there are divergent boundaries creating some volcanic activity in Iceland, in the south are converging plates creating some earthquake activity

Climate

northwest=marine west coast(lots of rain and clouds);Italy, Spain, South= Mediterranean(warmer and dryer)

Latitude

Farther north you are the colder its going to be(down by Mediterranean Sea is warmer, Scandinavian is cooler)

Altitude

Southern Europe has many mountain ranges with a higher ______ than the rest of Europe, the higher up you go the colder it gets

Prevailing Winds

winds that moves things to the east from the west and blow the moderating climate from the Atlantic onto Europe

Distance From Oceans

most of Europe is close to oceans= moderate climate

Gulf Stream

warm water current from the tropics moves up the USA coast to europe, warm water=warm air

North Atlantic Drift

northern part of the gulf stream

great mountain barriers

Europe has mountains that run parallel to the prevailing winds so there is no orographic effect created, none of these in europe

polders

low laying land closed by barriers with no connection to outside water naturally, man made dam, in the Netherlands(lies below sea level)

canals

human made channels for water, connected to the rivers and are useful for trade and travel

pollution on the rhine/danube river

agriculture, MOSTLY INDUSTRIAL, and human factors cause pollution here(2 main rivers)

acid rain

acid gases carried by wind dissolve into rain killing the plant life and breaks down monuments, pollution=____, most of it comes from europe's factories

oil and the north sea

the north sea has sizable oil reserves (oil and natural gas), mostly shared by Norway and the UK

Venice

city is sinking, rivers deposit silt into waters, gets compacted, buildings placed on soil, soil can not be replaced

importance of northern European plain

highway for invading groups of people, bread basket of europe

influence on patterns of language from roman empire

roman core-romance, Germania-Germanic, closer to asia- slavic

influence on patterns of religion from roman empire

roman core- catholic, Germania- protestant, closer to asia- eastern orthodox

black death/ bubonic plague

disease brought by fleas on rats on trade ships, trade spread it, 25 million died= 1/4 the population of Europe

irish potato famine

everything in Ireland was based on the potato, potatoes become poisonous and kill lots of people from poison or starvation

mountain chains as barriers to cultural diffusion

mountains divide up many different close countries, prevented the easy spread of culture

distribution of islam in europe

Iberian peninsula/Eastern Europe is heavily islam populated

roma

Ancient ethnic group originating from Eastern Europe, stateless nation

Sami

Stateless nation in Scandinavia

basques

Ethnic group in the Pyrenees mountains, wanted full independence, stateless nation

stateless nations

religious/ethnic group that is not the majority of the population in a state

fall of communism in eastern Europe social issues

loss of communist safety net, corruption, organized crime, nationalism

fall of communism in eastern Europe economic issues

unemployment, poor business sense, lack of markets, outdated industries and agriculture

fall of communism in eastern Europe political issues

former communists in government, will there be fast reform?, new governments having to learn democracy and how it works

Satellite Nations

countries heavily influenced or dependent on the USSR/Russia (Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Lithuania)

Berlin Wall

Built by East Germans after WW2 to separate free west Berlin from communist east Berlin, symbolized the tension between communism and democracy

causes of unrest in northern ireland

land given to protestants 100 years ago=northern Ireland, Catholics in the south, violence between catholics and protestants between making northern Ireland part of Ireland

breakup of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was its own country after WW1, Serbs kept Yugoslavia very communist state, after the breakup of the Soviet Union Yugoslavia was left with a void of government lead by also ordain Milosevic

Nationalism

being loyal and proud of your country, united

nation states

state with a common ethnic/religious group

balkanization

separation of the Balkan Peninsula countries and are hostile

Josip broz tito

former president of yugoslavia

Serbs

speak Serbian, Serbian Orthodox Church

Croats

speak Croatian, catholic

Bosnians

speak Bosnian, islam

greater serbia

large areas near Serbia including Croatia bosnia and dalmatia combined to one large country country

kosovo

the least developed country in Europe, disrupted territory in Balkan peninsula

ethnic albanians

ethnic group native to albania

ethnic cleansing

large killing of members of an unwanted ethnic/religious group

genocide

the deliberate mass killing of a large group of people

the European union

unification of 27 member states

why was the EU created

to create political and economic community throughout Europe after WW2

benefits of membership

health care, raises wages, social security, job opportunities, commute between countries

disadvantages

high taxes, value of euro could drop, distrust of Germany, cheap foreign products hurt business, poor countries depend on rich countries

patterns of population

most populated in northern Europe and parts of Italy and spain

coal fields/ industrial revolution

more populated areas from coal and iron ore deposits, more developed areas because of this

physical landforms

______= less people, less connection, harder to travel through

Socialism in Europe

Socialist governments provide many social programs, citizens pay very high taxes to support social programs

Left

What side of the political spectrum does socialist government fall on?

Link to the the Atlantic Ocean

Why are Europe's bodies of water and rivers important?

Subsidence

Sinking of soil in Venice, soil is compacted but not replaced by natural processes