Notes
Physical geography and climate
- Key features: North European Plain, Alps, Pyrenees, Urals (Europe-Asia boundary), Volga, Danube, Rhine, Mediterranean and Baltic seas, Lake Baikal in Siberia.
- The North Atlantic Drift keeps northwest Europe mild. Southern Europe is Mediterranean; Russia is continental to subarctic with taiga and tundra.
History, people and politics
- Rome spread Latin (Romance languages). The Renaissance, Reformation and Industrial Revolution shaped Europe. The Cold War divided Europe; the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the USSR ended in 1991.
- Capitals: London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Warsaw, Vienna, Athens, Stockholm, Oslo, Moscow, Kyiv. Vatican City is the smallest country.
Economy
- The EU has a single market and the euro (used by many members). The UK left in 2020. NATO is a military alliance.
- Russia is the largest country, spanning 11 time zones, with energy exports and the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
The Rhine carries heavy traffic through industrial regions to Rotterdam.
They have hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
The wall's fall led to German reunification in 1990.
Its enormous east-west extent crosses 11 time zones.
Not all European countries are members, and NATO is the military alliance.
Rome has been Italy's capital since unification.
Free response
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Free-response question
Compare the physical environments of Western Europe and Siberia in Russia.
(a) Describe the typical climate of northwest Europe and name the ocean current that influences it.
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Northwest Europe has a mild, rainy marine west coast climate. The warm North Atlantic Drift warms it.
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(b) Describe the climate and biome across much of Siberia.
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Siberia has a cold subarctic continental climate with long, severe winters. The main biome is taiga, and tundra lies farther north.
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(c) Explain why Siberia is economically valuable even though few people live there.
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Siberia has large reserves of oil, natural gas, coal and minerals, which Russia exports and which are carried by pipelines and the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
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