Geography, Economics, and Politics of Europe

Europe is half the size of Asia, making it the second smallest continent. There are over 200 different languages spoken throughout the 46 countries in Europe. There is roughly 740 million people living in Europe. Europe is home to the citizens of Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), and Vatican City (National Geographic Society,2012). Europe has a wide variety of geography throughout its continent, growing economy, and evolving politics.

Europe has four main geographical regions divided up by Western Uplands, North European Plain, Central Uplands, and Alpine Mountains. Each region has its own unique physical features and climates which has allowed for Europe to have a wide range of biodiversity. The most consequential difference between the four different geological regions is the highlands and mountains. Western Uplands is defined by hard, ancient rock that was shaped by glaciation (National Geographic Society,2012). Agriculture is usually limited to grazing livestock or farming in the valleys and meadow was the land becomes soggy for brief periods during the few weeks of summer making this the coldest and driest region (Chapter 2 Europe, 2019). The lower elevation level of the North European Plain makes it a great home for rivers and seasonal crops which make it the most populated region throughout Europe. The North European Plain contains bogs, heaths, and lakes along with tallgrasses with temperatures ranging from -40 ֯F to 105 ֯F making it great for farmland. The Central Uplands population is slim as it is a more wooded and lower in altitude region which is great materials for forest products and coal. The Alpine Mountains have high elevations, rugged plateaus, active volcanoes and steeply sloping land throughout the region with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters (National Geographic Society,2012). The warm climate helps with food products such as olives, citrus fruit, figs, apricots, and grapes (Chapter 2 Europe, 2019). Europe’s climate temperature is regulated by the ocean water and the wind patterns which help keep it warmer throughout the entire year. The gulf stream plays an important role in regulating the temperature climate. Europe is defined as a peninsula as it is surrounded by water on three sides; the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas to the south (National Geographic Society,2012). There are five main peninsulas within Europe. There are three peninsulas located in southern Europe; Iberian, Italian, and Balkan, and two located in northern Europe; Scandinavian and Jutland.

Art, religion, music are all important parts in the human geography in Europe. Greco-Roman antiquity, Christianity, Judaism, the Renaissance and its Humanism, the political thinking of the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution, along with socialism were all part of Europe human geography. Art in Europe takes many forms such as rock painting, cave art, carvings in bone or antler of animals, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork. There are also many different art styles throughout Europe’s history and regions; prehistoric art, Celtic art, Minoan art, Ancient Greek art, Roman art, Byzantine art, Migration Period art, Romanesque art, Gothic art, and Renaissance art. Classical, folk, and popular music are important in Europe with most popular music being imported from the United States such as Blues, Jazz, Soul, Pop, Electronic, Hip-Hop, R’n’B or Dance.

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Europe has the largest economy as a continent. Europe’s economy is based on commercial agriculture, industrial development, and the provision of specialized services (Berentsen & Gordon, 2019). The forest industries in Europe play an important role in the development and revenue throughout the regions as 40 percent of the total land is covered by forest. Europe makes use of their abundant amount of forest land throughout by taking advance of using 85 percent of their total forest for resources. The plentiful trees in Europe allow forest industries to grow and produce more than 600 billion dollars each year. The growing industry makes it possible to employ 3.7 million people, producing many products from woodworking, paper products, and construction and furniture products. Other parts of the environment apart from the forest help keep Europe thriving and growing, such as fisheries, aquaculture, mushroom and truffle gathering, fruit and berry collection, cultivation of medicinal plants and mining. Fisheries and aquaculture are also a huge part of Europe’s growing economy. Fisheries and aquaculture in Europe account for around 5 percent of the total global production. Aquaculture accounts for 20 percent of the fishery production, however for the past 20 years Europe’s fisheries and aquaculture have continued to decline with the help of acid rain. The wide variety of minerals that are found and mined in Europe provide energy, ferrous and nonferrous metals and ferroalloys, and other minerals are used to furnish materials for the chemical and building industries (Windley, 2019). The mining industry makes it possible to create more jobs throughout the countries in Europe as mining is needed to obtain coking, anthracite, steam coal, black and brown coal, and lignite which are needed for things such as fuel.

Politics in Europe like any other place continues to evolve.

Bibliography

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