Geography of Europe

Geographically, Europe is a part of the larger landmass known as Eurasia. The Ural Mountains in Russia form Europe's eastern boundary with Asia. The southeast boundary with Asia is not universally defined, with either the Ural or Emba rivers serving as possible boundaries, continuing with the Caspian Sea, and either the Kuma and Manych rivers or the Caucasus mountains as possibilities, and onto the Black Sea; the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles conclude the Asian boundary. The Mediterranean Sea to the south separates Europe from Africa. The western boundary is the Atlantic Ocean, but Iceland, much farther away than the nearest points of Africa and Asia, is also included in Europe. There is ongoing debate on the true location of the geographical centre of Europe.

The idea of a European "continent" is not universally held. Some non-European geographical texts refer to a Eurasian Continent, or to a European "sub-continent", given that "Europe" is not surrounded by sea and is, in any case, much more a cultural than a geographically definable area.

In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas. The two largest of these are "mainland" Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia, Italy and the Balkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe from Africa. Eastward, mainland Europe widens much like the mouth of a funnel, until the boundary with Asia is reached at the Ural Mountains.

Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions, however, are more mountainous, while moving north the terrain descends from the high Alps, Pyrenees and Carpathians, through hilly uplands, into broad, low northern plains, which are vast in the east. An arc of uplands also exists along the northwestern seaboard, beginning in the western British Isles and continuing along the mountainous, fjord-cut spine of Norway.

This description is simplified. Sub-regions such as Iberia and Italy contain their own complex features, as does mainland Europe itself, where the relief contains many plateaus, river valleys and basins that complicate the general trend. Iceland and the British Isles are special cases. The former is a land unto itself in the northern ocean which is counted as part of Europe, while the latter are upland areas that were once joined to the mainland until rising sea levels cut them off.

The few generalizations that can be made about the relief of Europe make it less than surprising that the continent's many separate regions provided homes for many separate nations throughout history.

Major Rivers

The most important rivers of Europe with approximate length:

1. Volga 3,690 km
2. Danube 2,860 km
3. Ural 2,428 km
4. Dnieper 2,290 km
5. Don 1,950 km
6. Pechora 1,809 km
7. Kama 1,805 km
8. Oka 1,500 km
9. Belaja 1,430 km
10. Dniester 1,352 km
11. Rhine 1,320 km
12. Wisla 1,047 km
13. Sava, 933 km

Major Lakes/inland Seas

Major Islands

Europe has a number of major islands such as Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Ireland, Isle of Man, Rockall, the rest of the British Isles, Gibraltar, Azores, Madeira, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Ionian Islands, Crete, Aegean Islands, Cyprus, Jan Mayen and Svalbard.

Major Mountain Ranges

Some of Europe's main mountain ranges are;

• Ural Mountains, which separate Europe and Asia
• Caucasus Mountains, which also separate Europe and Asia, and is the namesake of the Caucasian race
• Carpathian Mountains, a major mountain range in Central and Southern Europe
• Alps, the famous mountains known for their spectacular slopes
• Apennines, which run through Italy
• Pyrenees, the natural border between France and Spain
• Pennines, which run through central England
• Scandinavian Mountains, a mountain range which runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula

Geography by country

Related articles

• List of Europe-related topics
• Europe
• European Union
• Extreme points of Europe
• Extreme points of the European Union
• Countries bordering the European Union
• Geographic centre of Europe
• Extreme points of Eurasia
• Extreme points of Africa-Eurasia