European Physical/Cultural NotesMr. Broughman

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Review of Physical Geography• Unlike the other continents, Europe and Asia share a

landmass called Eurasia.• Most of Europe lies no further than 300 miles from either a

major sea or an ocean.– (1) Water has proven to be a luxury for many countries, but

has also proven to be a problem for others. About 25% of the Netherlands lies below sea-level. Some of this land has been reclaimed by building dikes or levees, or walls to keep out the sea.

– (2) Polders have been built to reclaim land from the sea, while Dutch windmills have pumped water from low-lying areas.

• Sparkling glacial lakes and fjords dot the landscape of Norway, Sweden, and the rest of Scandinavia.

• The Strait of Gibraltar on the Iberian Peninsula at the tip of Spain has been an important waterway for trading purposes for centuries.

Review of Physical Geography

• Factors that determine Europe’s climate:– (1) Latitude (distance north of the equator)– (2) Mountains and elevation– (3) Ocean currents (both cool currents from the

Arctic and warm currents from the Equator)– (4) Distance from bodies of water– (5) Wind directions

• Europe’s climates vary from tundra conditions in Iceland and Scandinavia to warm, temperate climates along the coasts of the Mediterranean.

• What is the annual climate like in Mediterranean regions?– Warm and dry summers; cooler and wet winters

Review of Physical Geography

• The Atlantic Ocean’s North Atlantic Drift brings warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico and Equator and deposits them along the western coast of Europe.– (1) Prevailing western winds (westerlies)

blow warm, moist air across much Europe, depositing plenty of rainfall along the way.

Ethnic Diversity

• Being home to more than 40 countries, Europe is one of the most diverse places on earth. Europeans today are a mix of people from all over the world, particularly Native European, Asia, and Africa.

• Ethnicity is…– The way a person defines him/herself based on

his/her heritage• Ethnic groups are…

– Groups of people who share a common characteristic such as religion, language, heritage, race, etc.

• What has caused Europe’s widespread ethnic diversity?– Centuries of trade and immigration.

Ethnic Diversity

• How has European culture spread abroad?– Exploration Britain, France, Spain,

Portugal part of the Age of Exploration beginning in the 1400s

– Colonization Colonized all of the Americas, Africa, and most of Asia

– Imperialism Maintain dominance over much of the world

Cultural Characteristics

• More than 50 languages and 100 dialects are spoken in Europe today. – Ex. of Dialects:

• (2) Orkney English = “We hid a quey caff yistreen.”

• (1) Standard English = “We had a female calf last night.”

Cultural Characteristics• Most people in Europe practice Christianity with Roman

Catholicism being the most popular religious denomination.– (A) Catholicism with ~300,000,000 followers– (B) Eastern Orthodox Christianity with ~150,000,000

followers – (C) Protestantism with ~100,000,000 followers

• Westernized culture around the world today can be traced to Europe, specifically Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.– (A) What has Ancient Greece contributed to the western

world?• Democracy, city-states, early-globalization,

philosophy, drama, art, literature, math, medicine – B) What has Ancient Rome contributed to the western

world?• Centralized army, science, architecture,

engineering, law