Europe and Russia

1. Europe and Russia Europe and Russia occupy part of a huge landmass called Eurasia. Europe + Asia= Eurasia

2. Europe is the world’s second smallest continent. Oceans and seas border Europe to the north, south and west. Asia borders Europe on the east. Asia North Sea Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea Black Sea Mediterranean Sea

3. Western Russia Eastern Russia Ural Mountains Russia is the world’s largest country. It spreads across two continents. Western Russia lies in Europe. Eastern Russia is in Asia. The Ural Mountains divides Europe and Asia.

4. Europe looks like a giant peninsula. What is a peninsula? Who can name a peninsula in Europe? Scandinavia Balkan Peninsula Italy Iberian Peninsula

5. Northern European Plains from east to west is 2,500 miles. The Alps Mountains is a major barrier between central and Southern Europe. The Pyreneesrange separates France and Spain. The Apenninesruns through Italy.

6. The Danube River located in Europe forms a part of the borders of ten countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and the Ukraine. Danube River

7. Russia lies on broad plains. The Northern European Plains are in the west. South of the Northern Plains are the Caucasus Mountains. The Ural Mountains are to the east separating west Russia from east Russia. Siberia spreads the full width of Asia. Siberia has two plains :The Western Siberian Plains and the Central Siberian Plains.

8. Russia has thousands of lakes. The largest, is Lake Baikal, which is the oldest and deepest lake in the world. It holds 1/5th of the Earth’s fresh water. At the eastern edge of Russia, the Kamchatka Peninsula reaches out to the Pacific Ocean. More than 100 volcanoes rise from this land. No roads or railroads connect this peninsula to Siberia. Everything must arrive by airplane or boat.

9. Two major factors shape the climate of Europe. Latitude and relative location. What is latitude and how can it affect Europe’s climate? What is relative location and how can it affect climate? Cold Long hot summers Short mild winters

10. VERY COLD!! Hot summers cool winters Russia is known for its long harsh winters. The Arctic Ocean on the northern border is frozen most of the year having a very cold influence on most of Russia creating a tundra and subarctic climate. In fact, winter tempertures can drop as low as -90°F. Much of northern Russia is influenced by Europe’s climate, humid continental and semiarid.