Europe is really a huge peninsula on the west end of Asia, with smaller peninsulas sticking out of it. You met the world's ranges in Mountains of the World; Europe's mountains, plains and rivers explain where its cities and farms are.
Key idea
Mountains: the Alps, the Pyrenees (France and Spain), the Carpathians and, in the east, the Urals, the usual border between Europe and Asia. The North European Plain stretches from France to Russia. Rivers: the Danube flows east to the Black Sea; the Rhine flows north to the North Sea. Peninsulas: Iberian, Italian, Balkan and Scandinavian.
Why it works
Much of Europe is as far north as Canada, yet its west coast has mild winters. The North Atlantic Current, which continues the warm Gulf Stream, carries warm water northeast toward Europe, and the usual westerly winds bring that mild ocean air over the land. Away from the ocean, in eastern Europe, winters are much colder.
Worked example: Comparing latitudes
London is at about 51.5° N. Name a Canadian city at about the same latitude.
- Calgary, in Alberta, is at about 51° N.
- Calgary has much colder winters than London, because London gets mild air from the Atlantic.
Answer: Calgary.
Worked example: Where do the rivers go?
A boat sails down the Danube from Germany. Which sea does it reach?
- The Danube rises in Germany's Black Forest.
- It flows east through ten countries.
- It ends in a delta on the Black Sea, in Romania and Ukraine.
Answer: The Black Sea.
Common mistake
People think Europe should be cold because it is far north. Latitude is only one control of climate (see What Controls Climate). Warm ocean water and westerly winds make western Europe much milder than places as far north in Canada or Russia.