EuropeEurope

SS6G8 The student will locate selected features of Europe.

b. Locate on a world and regional political-physical map: the countries of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and

United Kingdom

http://www.mapsofworld.com/images/europe-map.jpg

BelgiuBelgiumm

• Belgium is located in Western Europe• Bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg,

France, and the North Sea. • Terrain is generally flat and becomes more hilly and

forested in the southeast region.• Climate is cool, mild, and rainy• Belgium is one of Europe's true melting pots with Celtic,

Roman, Germanic, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Austrian cultures.

• Languages: Dutch, German, French

FranceFranceLargest country in Western EuropeLargest country in Western EuropeBorders Germany & Belgium in the north, Atlantic Ocean in the west, and Pyrenees Mountains. And Spain in the south, Med. Sea in the SE, and the Alps, Switzerland, and Italy in the eastEurope’s tallest mountain (Mont Blanc – 15,781 ft.) in French AlpsOne of the oldest nations on EarthFamous for cuisine (food), art, music, fashion, politics, film, and literature

GermanyGermany• Germany’s (Deutschland’s) location at the heart

of Europe has helped shape its history (for both the good & bad)

• Borders 9 neighbors…more than any other European country

• Its largest wooded area, (the Black Forest,) is in the southwest near the Swiss border

• The Black Forest is the source of the Danube River• Famous for WWII history, classical music

(Beethoven, Bach, Brahms)• Has been called the “Land of Poets and Thinkers”

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places

ItalyItaly• Boot-shaped peninsula Boot-shaped peninsula that sticks out into the

Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Tyrrhenian Sea.

• The Alps cut across the northern end of the country

• Italian art, architecture, and culture…huge influence around the world

• Famous painters: Leonard da Vinci and Michelangelo

• Italy is the heart of the CatholicCatholic Church…Vatican City (a city-state) is surrounded by Rome, Italy.

PolandPoland

• Located at the heart of the continentLocated at the heart of the continent• Currently has 7 neighbors, but over the

centuries, its borders have changed many times• Because of wars and pollution, many of Poland’s

wild animals have decreased in population…the current government is trying to reverse the damage

RussiaRussia

• Largest country in the WORLDLargest country in the WORLD!!• Spans 11 time zones across 2 continents (Europe &

Asia)• Famous for Siberian Tiger (largest cat in the world…

up to 10 ft. long and weigh up to 600 lbs.), writers (Leo Tolstoy), & ballet dancers (Rudolf Nureyev & Mikhail Baryshnikov)

SpainSpain• Occupies most of the Iberian

Peninsula• Famous for their love of life, regional

dances and music, and soccer• Pyrenees Mountains form the border Pyrenees Mountains form the border

between France and Spainbetween France and Spain

UkraineUkraine

• Ukraine suffered from radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear accident which occurred in Ukraine (USSR) in 1986.

• Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991.

• Some of the oldest known dwellings in the world are found in Mezhirich, Ukraine (found in 1965)…these homes are made from mammoth bones!

United KingdomUnited Kingdom• United Kingdom (also called the U.K.)

consists of four nations…England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

• England, Scotland, and Wales make up Great Britain.

• Famous for literature (William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and J.K. Rowling) and sports (soccer, rugby, cricket, boxing, and golf were all invented in Britain).