The European space
● The surface of Europe: 10,170,000 km2;
7.05% of the Earth's dry land (it is the penultimate continent in terms of surface area).
● Population: over 700 million people; 12.5% of the Earth's population, it is in 3rd place after Asia and America)
Geographical position, limits:
- is located entirely in the N hemisphere, between Cape North (710 lat. N.) and Cape Marroqui (at 360 lat. N.) and takes place
on 4,000 km N→S in W = Capul Roca (90 long. W), and in E the Ural Mountains (670
long E)→takes place on 7,000 km V→
E.
- forms a continental mass with Asia; Europe appears as an extension of Asia, as a large peninsula (both belong to
the Eurasian tectonic plate).
Europe - limits:
- N: Arctic Ocean;
- S: Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea;
- V: Atlantic Ocean;
- E: Ural Mountains, Ural River, Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains.
The Shores
The shores are very indented (they are 80,000 km long) and are genetically varied;
● the main joints:
- peninsulas: Scandinavia, Jutland, Kola (in the North), Iberian, Italian, Balkan, Peloponnese, Crimea (in the South),
Brittany (in the West)
- islands: Iceland, the British Archipelago (with the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland),
Azores Archipelago in Oc. Atlantic (belongs to Portugal). Canary Archipelago in Oc. Atlantic along the coast of Africa,
with the main island Tenerife (belongs to Spain), the Balearic Islands (Spain), Corsica (France), Sicily and Sardinia (Italy) Crete and
The Cyclades and Sporades archipelagos (belonging to Greece), Cyprus and Malta.
- bays: Biscay (Oc. Atlantic), Bothnic, Finic (at the Baltic Sea), Odessa (at M. Neagră), Genoa and Lyon (at
M. Mediterranean);
Type of shores
- straits: Calais (between Europe and M. Great Britain), Gibraltar (between M. Mediterranean and Oc. Atlantic), Bosphorus and
Dardanelles (between M. Black, M. Marmara, M. Mediterranean), Kerchi (between M. Azov and M. Black)
- with fjords: specific to high coastal regions that were shaped by glaciers. Fjords are old valleys
glaciers invaded by the waters of the sea and have the appearance of narrow bays with high and steep walls. The ones on are known
the coast of Norway in Pen. Scandinavia.
- with riass: they were formed in areas with mountains and slightly raised plateaus. It is characterized by branched bays
they penetrate deep, along the course of the valleys, on land. They meet in NW Spain.
- with channels or Dalmatian type. They are found in hilly or mountainous regions with a folded structure, and the folds
are oriented parallel to the shore. By advancing the coastline, the valleys and depressions became canals, between which they remained
the peaks like islands. They meet on the eastern shore of M. Adriatice (Dalmatia);
- with lagoons: specific to low coastal plains. They are lakes formed by damming old bays with alluvium.
They are found on the Romanian shore of M. Negre (Razim-Sinoe lagoon complex), of the Baltic Sea, in N. Poland;
- with estuaries: they are formed by blocking the mouths of flowing waters that flow into the seas (they meet on
the shore of the Black Sea in Romania and Ukraine)
- with deltas: at the mouths of some rivers, where the coastal platform is extended. Delta formation is
determined by several factors: the existence of a large amount of alluvium brought by the river, the lack of tides; reduced slope a
the river; sea currents cause the formation of hail. Examples: deltas of the rivers Volga, Rhon, Rhine, Tiber, Danube;
- with estuaries: at wide open mouths in areas with strong tides; tidal currents erode
the banks, and at low tide it recedes, washing away the alluvium and widening the mouth. Example: the estuaries of the Thames, the Seine, the Elbe.
