Falkland Islands
These Islands’s coastal water is home to many whales and seals. Surrounding territory consist of several small islands.
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Greece
Information of Greenland
Dead Sea
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Istanbul
Information of Jordon
Information of Italy – Places - Italian country
The Colosseum was built by the Romans in the 1st century A.D.
Europe is a small densely populated continent and most countries must export manufactured goods in order to pay for imported food. Its ports are among the busiest in the world, handling a vast amount of trade.
People still occasionally dress up in their country's traditional costume. Europe has long been renowned as a center of learning. Many of its towns, such as Heidelberg, Germany, are famed for their ancient universities.
Europe
Europe is the smallest of the continents with the exception of Australia, but it is second to Asia in population. One fifth of the world's population lives in Europe, the birthplace of western civilization. Its art, political ideas, and scientific discoveries have spread all over the world. Among the 34 countries that make up Europe are part of the world's largest (Russia), and the smallest (Vatican City).
The continent of Europe forms the western peninsula of the great Europe/ Asia land mass. Its-eastern limits are the Ural Mountains, and its south-eastern boundary is the frontier between Russia and Turkey and Iran. A small part of Turkey, north-west of the Sea of Marmara, is in Europe. Everywhere else Europe is surrounded by sea. The continent has an area of 4,063,000 square miles. Its greatest length is 4,000 miles, and its greatest width 3,000 miles. It has a population of 621,000,000.
There are four main land regions. The Alpine Mountain System runs across southern Europe and includes the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Carpathians, the Apennines, the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada. The highest peak is Mt Elbrus (18,481 ft) in southern Russia. The Central Uplands are densely forested, but they also contain some of Europe's most productive coalfields. The uplands run from Czechoslovakia, through southern Germany, central France, central Spain and Portugal. The Central Plains rarely rise more than 500 feet above sea level. They extend from the foothills of the Ural Mountains in Russia, through Poland, northern Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, northern France and south-eastern England. Farming is the chief occupation of this broad, fertile area. The North-West Highlands are craggy and steep. The soil is too poor for large-scale farming. The highlands extend from northern Finland, through Sweden, Norway, northern and western Britain, Ireland and western France.
Europe is well served with rivers. Most of the main ones are used as major transport routes. The longest river in Europe is the Volga which flows through Russia for 2,290 miles before emptying into the Caspian Sea. Other important rivers are the Rhine, which flows through West Germany and The Netherlands into the North Sea “the Danube” that flows eastwards from West Germany through Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Rumania to the Black Sea “the Seine”, on which Paris stands and the Thames.
Lakes are plentiful in Europe. Finland alone has some 60,000. The largest lake in the world, the salt-water Caspian Sea, lies between Asia and Europe. Most of Europe has a mild climate. In winter, large areas of the continent are warmed by westerly winds blowing off the Atlantic Ocean. Warm ocean currents keep most of Norway's coasts ice-free all the year round, although a third of the country lies within the Arctic Circle. In the summer, the same westerly winds keep the continent cool.
Farther south, the Mediterranean countries have mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Eastern Europe has colder winters and short, hot summers. The average rainfall for Europe is between 20 and 40 inches a year.
A large proportion of Europe's wild animals have been wiped out by the increasing human population and the spread of built-up areas. Survivors include wolves, bears, wild boars, beavers, elk, foxes, hares and rabbits. The chamois (a species of antelope) makes its home in the Alps. Reindeer live in large herds in the northern forests. In the colder regions a number of valuable fur-bearing animals such as lynx, marten and ermine still survive. Birds are numerous, and include eagles, falcons, storks and owls.
Although vast forests have been cut down to make way for cities and other man-made developments, there are still thickly forested areas in parts of Europe. Notable among these are Germany's Black Forest, and the plantations of olive and cork trees in the Mediterranean regions. Huge grassy plains are found in Russia (steppes), and in parts of Hungary, Rumania and Spain.
Most European farms are small but well run. Farm workers make up about a third of Europe's people. Western European farmers use advanced methods and are able to produce a very high yield of crops per acre. Important crops are barley, oats, beet sugar, beans, peas, and tobacco. Wheat is the chief grain crop. Dates, figs, grapes, and olives flourish in the Mediterranean countries.
Dairy farming is an important part of European agriculture. Denmark, Britain and The Netherlands specialize in the production of butter, cheese, and milk. Half the exports of Denmark, Greece, Spain and Ireland consist of foodstuffs. Europe possesses enormous centers of mining and manufacturing. The greatest of these is the Ruhr Valley, in West Germany, where vast amounts of coke, chemicals, heavy machinery and iron and steel are produced. Switzerland specializes in the production of watches, and Belgium turns out quantities of fine lace. France's wines and perfumes are renowned throughout the world. The automobile industry accounts for a large proportion of the exports of West Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Sweden.
Three-fifths of the world's coal is mined in Europe. The richest coalfields lie in Britain, Russia, West Germany and Poland. The leading iron ore producers are Britain, France, Russia, West Germany and Sweden. Half of the world's iron ore is produced in Europe. Bauxite (aluminum ore) is mined in France, Greece, Hungary and Russia.
