What is Europe and Where is it Exactly?
The Geographic and Cultural Environment of Europe
Teacher Outline
Geography
Conceptual Strand:
Place and Environment - Students learn about how people perceive, represent, interpret, and
interact with places and environments. They come to understand the relationships that exist
between people and the environment.
Achievement Objective(s):
Level 6: Understand that natural and cultural environments have particular characteristics and how
environments are shaped by processes that create spatial patterns.
Level 7: Understand how people’s perceptions of and interactions with natural and cultural
environments differ and have changed over time.
Level 8: Understand how people’s diverse values and perceptions influence the environmental,
social, and economic decisions and responses that they make.
Geographic Concept:
Environment: may be natural and/or cultural. They have particular characteristics and features
which can be the result of natural and/or cultural processes. The particular characteristics of an
environment may be similar to and/or different from another.
Skills:



Geographic resource interpretation skills – calculating distance, using an atlas to locate
places
Geographic resource construction skills – constructing a map of Europe, constructing a graph
of population and area of continents
Communication skills
Useful video clips:
 EU and Italy – comparison, humorous http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzEvX2eXufE
 Stupid quiz show answer humorous – why you should learn about Europe!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6WgB0dCuII
What is Europe and where exactly is it? : The Geographic Environment of Europe
Student Worksheet
Learning Outcome: Students will understand the geographic boundaries of Europe and understand
what the EU is and what it does.
Exactly what comprises the boundary of “Europe” is something which has changed over time and
will vary according to the perspectives of the people and groups involved. This is most clearly seen in
the periphery areas, with the Eastern borders of Europe being particularly hard to fix adequately.
The definition of environment below is taken from the Geography Teaching and Learning guide and
is one that all geography students need to be familiar with and be able to apply.
Environments may be natural and/or cultural. They have particular characteristics and
features which can be the result of natural and/or cultural processes. The particular
characteristics of an environment may be similar to and/or different from another.
The activities on this work sheet look at the environment of Europe from two perspectives:
1. The natural environment of Europe – the climate, bio-geography, geology and landform of
the environment of Europe are very diverse, however, a ‘geographic’ concept of Europe is
possible to come up with based on natural geographic features.
2. The cultural environment of Europe – the religions, languages, traditions and outlook within
Europe are incredibly diverse.
Environments exist on a number of different scales. Although we can talk of Europe as an
Environment it is clear that it is best thought of as a region of the world which contains a
number of distinct natural environments. The concept of a ‘European environment” is perhaps
best thought of in political, social and economic terms. Ideas of Europe have been defined in a
number of ways:





Geographic Europe with established borders in the north, south and west but vague and
shifting borders in the east
Europe with a shared Christian heritage
Europe with shared history of intellectualism (e.g. classical, renaissance, enlightenment)
Some have even seen it as an ethnic rather than geographic region. Adolf Hitler was
perhaps the best know proponent of this line of thought.
At times it was seen in political terms i.e. were the communist countries in the east part
of Europe?
1. Using an atlas or the internet rank the continents from largest to smallest for area and
population
Rank
Continent
Area
population
Antarctica
Africa
Asia
Australasia/Oceania
Europe
North America
South America
2. Write a short paragraph describing how Europe compares to the other continents.
__________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Label the continents and oceans on the map below
The Physical Environment of Europe

Read the article below which describes the Physical boundaries (those that are formed by
natural features such as river sand mountains) of the geographic continent of Europe
“Europe is generally divided from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains,
the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean
Seas. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the
Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet
the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the
primarily physiographic term "continent" can incorporate cultural and political elements”.
4. On your Physical Map of Europe locate and label the features mentioned in the article
above
5. Draw a line which marks the geographic boundary of Europe. Add this to your key.
6. Add the following important natural geographic features to your map:
 Scandinavian Peninsula
 British Isles
 River Danube
 Iberian Peninsula
 Baltic Sea
 Iceland
 Adriatic Sea
 North Sea
 The Pyrenees
 Straits of Gibraltar
 The Alps
 River Volga
 The Arctic Circle
 The Greenwich Meridian
 Gulf of Bothnia
7. Resource two shows just how diverse the physical environment of Europe is. For each of the
photographs write down three words which describe what you can see. These could be
aspects of relief, vegetation or climate.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
8. Chose any one of the photographs from resource two. Make a sketch in the box below of
the natural landscape shown and label all of the natural landforms you can see in the
photograph.
9. Describe the ways that humans might be able to make use of the environment you have
sketched.
10. Resource three shows a number of satellite images taken above Europe. Use an atlas with a
good map of Europe to help you identify the features indicated by the numbers 1 to 24.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
A Varied Climate
11. Europe’s large landmass means that it has a range of different climate types. These
variations come about due to latitude and how far away a place is form the ocean. Match
the place, climate type and description in the chart below by shading each of the matching
climate type boxes a different colour.
Climate Type
Description of Climate
Place
Continental
The main features of this climatic region are mild and
wet winters, hot and dry summers, and clear skies
Tromso
Maritime
The main features of this climatic type are short, mild
summers and long cold winters
Moscow
Mediterranean
The main feature of this climatic region is the huge
annual temperature variation. There are hot and dry
summers and the cold winters
Copenhagen
Mountain/sub-Arctic
The main feature of this climatic type is the relatively
small annual temperature variation. There are mild, wet
winters and the mild and relatively wet summers.
Naples
The Cultural Environment of Europe
12. Refer to Resource Four. Name the famous European landmark and the city in which it is located
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
12. On the blank Political Map of Europe:
o locate and label all of the countries of Europe and their capital cities
o Use the webpage http://europa.eu/about-eu/countries/index_en.htm to identify and
shade in the 27 countries which are members of the EU
13. Refer to resources five and six. Explain how the information on languages shown can add to
our understanding of the environment of Europe.
The European Union (EU) as a geographic Environment of Europe
14. The EU can be viewed as a distinct geographic environment. The Treaty on European Union
states that any European country may apply for membership if it respects the EU's
democratic values and is committed to promoting them. But specifically, a country can only
join if it meets all the membership criteria in the first column of the chart below. Fill in
other two columns of the chart to show what each criteria means to you and give an
example(s)
Criteria
Political – it must have stable
institutions guaranteeing
democracy, the rule of law and
human rights
Economic – it must have a
functioning market economy and
be able to cope with competitive
pressure and market forces
within the EU
Legal – it must accept established
EU law and practice – especially
the major goals of political,
economic and monetary union.
What this actually means
Specific examples

In the chart below are listed some important aspects of the EU and which help make it
distinct as a geographic environment. For each one think of why it would be an advantage
for a country to be a member of the union
Aspect of the EU
The EU is based on the rule of law.
This means that everything that it
does is founded on treaties,
voluntarily and democratically
agreed by all member countries.
Free Movement. Any EU resident
has the right to travel, live, study,
work, become established or
provide a service in another
Member State
17 EU countries are members of
the Eurozone which means that
they have a common currency,
the Euro.
“Unity in Diversity” – the motto of the
EU. It signifies how Europeans have come
together, in the form of the EU, to work
for peace and prosperity, while at the
same time being enriched by the
continents many different cultures,
traditions and languages.
Human dignity, freedom, democracy,
equality, the rule of law and respect for
human rights: are the core values of the
EU. The EU's Charter of Fundamental
Rights brings all these rights together in a
single document which EU institutions
and governments are legally bound to
uphold.
The EU's trade with the rest of the
world accounts for around 20% of
global exports and imports. The EU is
the world’s biggest exporter and the
second-biggest importer.
Benefits a country or individual may get from this aspect
In the 91429 Demonstrate understanding of a given environment(s) through selection and
application of geographic concepts and skills examination paper you will be asked show
understanding of a geographic environment by analysing it through applying geographic concepts.
15. Refer to the resource booklet and your answers to the questions above, to analyse THREE
aspects of the cultural environment of Europe
Resource One: Climate data for selected European locations
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg. Temperature
-10
-12
-6
-1
2
9
12
11
6
1
-6
-10
Avg. Max Temperature
-6
-8
-2
1
6
13
16
15
10
3
-3
-6
Avg. Min Temperature
-14
-17
-11
-6
0
5
8
6
3
-1
-10
-14
Avg. Rain Days
1
0
1
5
11
13
13
13
11
10
3
1
Avg. Snow Days
17
15
14
12
10
1
0
0
0
9
15
17
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg. Temperature
1
3
7
10
15
17
20
20
15
11
5
2
Avg. Max Temperature
4
7
11
15
21
23
25
26
20
16
8
5
Avg. Min Temperature
-1
0
2
4
9
12
13
13
10
7
2
0
Avg. Rain Days
9
9
11
10
9
9
9
8
9
10
10
8
Avg. Snow Days
2
3
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
3
N, 7 63 E, 505 feet (154 meters) above sea level.
PALERMO 38 18 N, 13 10 E, 111 feet (34 meters) above sea level.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg. Temperature
12
12
13
15
19
22
25
26
23
20
16
13
Avg. Max Temperature
15
15
17
18
23
27
29
30
27
23
20
16
Avg. Min Temperature
9
8
10
11
15
18
21
22
20
17
13
11
Avg. Rain Days
8
6
6
6
3
1
0
2
4
5
9
7
Avg. Snow Days
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
LONDON WEA CENTER 51 50 N, 0 11 W, 127 feet (39 meters) above sea level.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg. Temperature
6
6
8
10
13
16
18
18
15
12
8
6
Avg. Max Temperature
8
9
11
13
17
20
23
23
18
15
11
8
Avg. Min Temperature
3
4
5
6
9
12
15
15
12
10
6
3
Avg. Rain Days
14
12
13
12
12
11
10
10
11
12
14
10
Avg. Snow Days
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
CHRISTCHURCH AWS 43 46 S, 172 51 E, 121 feet (37 meters) above sea level.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Avg. Temperature
15
16
14
11
8
5
5
6
8
11
12
15
Avg. Max Temperature
20
22
19
16
13
10
10
11
13
16
17
20
Avg. Min Temperature
11
12
10
7
5
2
1
2
4
7
7
10
Avg. Rain Days
6
6
6
7
7
9
9
8
7
7
7
7
Avg. Snow Days
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
MURM
ANSK
68 96
N, 33 5
E, 167
feet (51
meters)
above
sea
level.
STRASB
OURG
48 55
2. Ukrainian Steppe
3. Siberian Taiga
1 Norwegian Fjord
4. Dutch Lowlands
5. The Central Masif
6. Rhine River Valley
7. Arctic Tundra
10. Deciduous Forest - Poland
9. Croatian Coastline
8. The Alps
Resource Two: Photographs of European Landscapes
Resource Three: Satellite images over Europe
A
B
C
1
3
4
5
2
D
E
F
6
7
9
12
10
8
11
G
H
I
13
16
19
15
14
17
18
J
K
L
22
25
23
20
21
24
Resource Four: Famous European Landmarks
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
Resource Four: Distribution of European Languages
Resource Five: Languages of the EU
Most common Languages of the European Union EU-27 by speakers as percentage of EU population
First language
Additional language
Total
English
Language
13%
38%
51%
German
16%
11%
27%
French
12%
12%
24%
Italian
13%
3%
16%
Spanish
8%
7%
15%
Polish
8%
1%
9%
Russian*
1%
5%
6%
Romanian
5%
0%
5%
Dutch
4%
1%
5%
Hungarian
3%
0%
3%
Portuguese
2%
1%
3%
Czech
2%
1%
3%
Swedish
2%
1%
3%
*Russian is not an official language of the EU but is commonly spoken in the ex-soviet countries of Eastern Europe