Most of Europe is located in. Which countries are included in Europe? Sign on the gas pipeline "Shining of the North"

Europe is the name of the part of the world lying in the western part of the continent of Eurasia in the Northern Hemisphere, and together with Asia forming a single continent. Its area is 10 million km 2, about 20% of the total population of the Earth (743 million people) live here. Europe is the largest economic, historical and political center of great importance throughout the world.

Geographical position

Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, its coastline is distinguished by significant indentedness, the area of \u200b\u200bits islands is 730 thousand km 2, ¼ part of the entire area is occupied by peninsulas: Kola, Apennine, Balkan, Iberian, Scandinavian, etc. The border between Europe and Asia conditionally passes along the eastern coast of the Ural Mountains, the Emba River, the Caspian Sea. Kumo-Manych depression and the mouth of the Don.

Main geographic characteristics

The average surface height is 300 meters, the highest point is Mount Elbrus (5642 m, Caucasus Mountains in Russia), the lowest is -27 m (Caspian Sea). Most of the territory is occupied by plains (East European, Lower and Middle Danube, Central European), 17% of the surface is mountains and plateaus (Ural, Carpathians, Pyrenees, Alps, Scandinavian mountains, Crimean mountains, mountains of the Balkan Peninsula), Iceland and the Mediterranean islands are in the zone of seismic activity.

The climate of most of the territory is temperate (the western part is temperate oceanic, the eastern part is temperate continental), the northern islands lie in the arctic and subarctic climatic zones, southern Europe is a Mediterranean climate, the Caspian lowland is semi-desert.

The amount of water runoff in Europe is about 295 mm, it is the second largest in the world after South America, however, due to the much smaller area of \u200b\u200bthe territory, the volume of water runoff (2850 km 3) exceeds the readings of Africa and Antarctica. Water resources are distributed unevenly across Europe; the flow of inland waters decreases from north to south and from west to east. Most of the rivers belong to the basin of the seas of the Atlantic Ocean, a smaller part - to the basin of the Arctic Ocean and the basin of the internal flow of the Caspian Sea. The largest rivers in Europe are located mainly in Russia and Eastern Europe, there are also large rivers in Western Europe. The largest rivers: Volga, Kama, Oka, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Rhine, Elbe, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman. The lakes of Europe are of tectonic origin, which determines their considerable depth, elongated shape and highly indented coastline; these are the lowland lakes Ladoga, Onega, Vettern, Imandra, Balaton, mountain lakes - Geneva, Como, Garda.

In accordance with the laws of latitudinal zoning, the entire territory of Europe is located in various natural zones: the extreme north is the zone of arctic deserts, then there is tundra and forest-tundra, a zone of deciduous and mixed forests, forest-steppe, steppe, subtropical Mediterranean forest vegetation and shrubs, the extreme south is a zone of semi-deserts ...

European countries

The territory of Europe is divided between 43 independent states officially recognized by the UN, there are also 6 officially unrecognized republics (Kosovo, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, LPR, DPR) and 7 dependent territories (in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans). Due to their very small size, 6 states are referred to as the so-called microstates: Vatican, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, San Marino. Partially in Europe are the territories of such states as Russia - 22%, Kazakhstan - 14%, Azerbaijan - 10%, Georgia - 5%, Turkey - 4%. 28 European states are united in the national union of the European Union (EU), have a common euro, common economic and political views. According to cultural, geographical and political characteristics, the entire territory of Europe is conventionally divided into Western, Eastern, Northern, Southern and Central.

List of European countries

Major European countries:

(with a detailed description)

Nature

Nature, plants and animals of Europe

The presence on the territory of Europe of several natural and climatic zones determines a rich and diverse flora and fauna, which under the influence of human economic activity have undergone a number of changes, which led to a decrease in their biodiversity and even to the complete disappearance of some species ...

In the Far North, in an arctic climate, mosses, lichens, polar buttercups, and poppies grow. Dwarf birch, willow and alder appear in the tundra. To the south of the tundra there are vast expanses of taiga, which is characterized by the growth of such typical coniferous trees as cedar, spruce, fir, and larch. Due to the dominant temperate climate zone in most of Europe, significant areas are occupied by huge forests of deciduous and mixed species (aspen, birch, maple, oak, fir, hornbeam). In the steppe and forest-steppe zone there are oak forests, steppe grasses, grasses, shrubs: feather grass, irises, steppe hyacinths, blackthorns, steppe cherries, and dereza. The Black Sea subtropics are characterized by the predominance of forests of fluffy oak, juniper, boxwood, black alder. Southern Europe is characterized by subtropical vegetation, there are palms and lianas, olives, grapes, citrus fruits, magnolias, cypresses grow.

The foothills of the mountains (Alps, Caucasian, Crimean) are characterized by the growth of coniferous trees, for example, such as relict Caucasian plants: boxwood, chestnut, Eldar and Pitsunda pines. In the Alps, pines and spruces are replaced by subalpine tall-grass meadows, on the peaks there are alpine meadows, striking with the beauty of their emerald greenery.

In the northern latitudes (subarctic, tundra, taiga), where the influence of man on the surrounding nature is manifested to a lesser extent, there are more predators: polar bears, wolves, polar foxes. Reindeer, polar hares, walruses and seals live there. In the Russian taiga, red deer, brown bears, lynxes and wolverines, sables and ermines are still found, wood grouses, hazel grouses, black grouses, woodpeckers, nutcrackers live here.

Europe is a highly urbanized and industrially developed region, so large mammals are practically absent here, the largest inhabitants of European forests are deer and fallow deer, wild boars and chamois still live in the Alps, Carpathians and the Iberian Peninsula, mouflons are still found on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, Poland and Belarus are famous for their relic animals from the genus of bison bison, which are listed in the Red Book and live exclusively in reserves. The lower tiers of deciduous and mixed forests are inhabited by foxes, hares, badgers, ferrets, weasels, and squirrels. Beavers, otters, muskrats and nutria live on the banks of rivers and water bodies. Typical inhabitants of the semi-desert zone: gazelles, jackals, a large number of small rodents, snakes.

Climatic conditions

Seasons, weather and climate of European countries

Europe is located in four climatic zones: arctic (low temperatures, in summer not higher than +5 C 0, precipitation - 400 mm / year), subarctic (mild maritime climate, t January - +1, -3 °, July - + 10 °, the prevalence of cloudy days with fogs, precipitation - 1000 mm / year), moderate (marine - cool summers, mild winters, and continental - long winters, cool summers) and subtropical (hot summers, mild winters) ...

The climate of most of Europe belongs to the temperate climatic zone, the west is influenced by the Atlantic oceanic air masses, the east is continental, the south is the Mediterranean air masses from the tropics, the north is invaded by the arctic air. The territory of Europe has sufficient moisture, precipitation (mainly in the form of rain) is unevenly distributed, their maximum (1000-2000 mm) falls on Scandinavia, the British Isles, the slopes of the Alps and the Apennines, at least 400 mm in the east of the Balkan Peninsula and the southeast of the Pyrenees ...

Peoples of Europe: culture and traditions

The population living in Europe (770 million people) is diverse and variegated ethnic composition. In total, 87 nationalities are read, of which 33 are the national majority in some separate independent state, 54 are a minority (105 million or 14% of the total population of Europe) ...

In Europe, there are 8 groups of peoples, whose number exceeds 30 million, together they represent 460 million people, which is 63% of the total European population:

Russians of the European part (90 million);
Germans (82 million)
French (65 million)
British (55-61 million)
Italians (59 million)
Spanish (46 million)
Ukrainians (46 million);
Poles (38 million).

About 25 million European inhabitants (3%) are members of the non-European diaspora, the population of the EU (approximately 500 million people) is 2/3 of the total population of Europe.

Where did the name "Europe" come from, and why Asia, which is widely represented on ancient maps, was artificially divided into 2 parts of the world - Europe and Asia? It turned out, and here it was not without the machinations of the churchmen ...

Has the reader ever wondered:

“How could Peter I“ cut a window to Europe ”being almost in its geographical center, and not on the border? ... After all, as we are being convinced, the Europe-Asia border supposedly always passed through the Ural Mountains.

Or another question: ”Why are all continents of the earth named on "A" except for Europe? What's so special about her? "

Or third question: "By what logic did it take to divide the continent" Eurasia "into two parts, if this logic was not used to divide the rest of the continents of our planet?"

It is not so easy to answer, because the events are hidden by layers of centuries, but nevertheless, such attempts were made repeatedly, and today we cite an article by one of the authors, who also suspected that EUROPE is a grandiose political scam, not related to geography, serving as a base for the strategy of the annexation of a certain territory in the interests of certain forces.

TRACES OF A THOUSAND YEARS WAR

This is how it happens in life. It seems that everything is already clear in the surrounding world. No surprises, and suddenly ... An inquisitive child asks: What is Europe? This is not a country or a continent, but what then?

Since in geography I have never been below the four, I immediately give out the answer: - Europe is part of the world; continent Eurasia is divided into Europe and Asia. And then a worm of doubt begins to swarm inside. A on what basis Is a geographically unseparated territory of a single continent designated by a part of the world ?! So, of course, we already know what Asia is. But there must be a plausibly cobbled together official version. It can't be that we were bred so cheap!

When trying to clarify where that came from, a clear system of geographical representations begins to treacherously blur. Just some kind of magic. Wrath... Parts of the world from school were presented to us as a "geographical concept". This is the largest division of land, including even the continents (both Americas are one part of the world). But, it turns out, no! Although they don't tell us about this at school, according to the Great Soviet Encyclopedia:

Parts of the world, historically the established subdivision of the Earth's land mass into regions ...

Wikipedia is even weirder:

The division into continents is carried out on the basis of separation by water space from other continents, and the part of the world is the concept of SOON(here she has gone dregs - author) historical and cultural.

Unlike the mainland, a part of the world also includes islands close to the mainland, and the proximity is in sight according to historical tradition, and the distance can be great ...

So why are parts of the world studied in the course geography, but not stories?

Therefore, apparently, according to the initial concept, it was about geography, and only most recently the wind has changed. Judge for yourself. There are six parts of the world - America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia and Oceania, Europe, Asia. Much of this division is geographically very logical. Part of the world America is in fact a single continent with adjacent island territories. The Panama Canal artificially divided North and South America only in 1913. Before that, both Americas were completely one continent. With Africa, Antarctica, Australia with the adjacent archipelagos of Oceania, everything also fits into geographical logic.

But with Europe and Asia all geographic logic completely disappears... They fall out of this series. In turn, Antarctica falls out of the historical and cultural definition. Who is the bearer of the historical and cultural tradition there? Maybe penguins. So it turns out that this definition was given a shade in recent times... Not until the end of the 19th century. This can be seen from the work of researchers of that time.

It turns out that even then there were people who were struck by the absurdity of dividing our continent into two parts of the world. Publicist, naturalist and geopolitician Nikolay Yakovlevich Danilevsky in 1869 he wrote the work “Russia and Europe. A look at the cultural and political relations of the Slavic world to the German-Romanesque. " Here is what is there on the question of interest to us:

“… America is an island; Australia is an island; Africa is almost an island; Asia together with Europe will also be almost an island. Why on earth should this whole body, this huge piece of land, like all other pieces, surrounded by water on all or almost all sides, be divided into two parts on the basis of a completely different principle? Does nature set any boundary here? The Ural ridge occupies about half of this border. But what special qualities does he have in order to confer the honor of serving as the border between two parts of the world, out of all the ridges of the globe, an honor that in all other cases is recognized only over the oceans and rarely over the seas? This ridge, at its height, is one of the most insignificant, in terms of transition - one of the most convenient; in its middle part, near Yekaterinburg, they cross it, as through the famous Alaunskaya flat upland and Valdai mountains, asking the driver: where, brother, are the mountains? .. But the Ural ridge is, at least, something; further, the honor of serving as the border of two worlds falls on the Ural River, which is already perfect nothing. A narrow river, at the mouth of a quarter of the Neva, with absolutely identical banks on either side ... "

And here it is difficult to disagree with Danilevsky. It is also obvious that in his time no historical and cultural definitions part of the world was not at all. It was then only about geography. At the end of his work, Nikolai Yakovlevich despaired of finding a rational explanation for this and attributed this incident to mistakes and old habits. But we know more today. I think everyone will agree with me that the fact of forgery is obvious... But to clear up this centuries-old heap of lies, you need to plunge into the origins of the issue. All the most ancient and secret is in words and titles... Let's start with them.

Europe - what is this word?

Wikipedia: Europe named after the heroine of the ancient Greek mythology of Europe, the Phoenician princess, kidnapped by Zeus and taken to Crete (while the epithet of Europe could also be associated with Hero and Demeter).

Heap is small. Although this is the most common version, it is extremely implausible. Who was interested in France, Germany, etc. in the 9th ... 14th centuries. the lustful adventures of a locally revered Greek god to call his land that way? Let's take a look at the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (hereinafter TSB):

Europe (Greek Europe, from Assyrian. erebus - west (in other sources - presumably west, - author)); in ancient Greece, this was the name of the territory, lying to the west of the Aegean Sea) ...

Let's say "presumably west", although get from erebus Europe not easy. But to the west of the Aegean Sea we have only Italy and Spain. And after a millennium, on the maps of the 15th century, Europe already flaunts almost in its modern borders. In fact, it doesn't matter what the Greeks or even the Romans called this or that. Europeans are not Greeks. Different place and different eras. It should be someone else, which assigned a single name to the western territories by the 15th century. And he is in no hurry to gain fame. Therefore, they run tales of lustful bulls and girls.

Obviously, some united political force by the 15th century, it spread its influence over the western territories of Eurasia so much that it united them with a single name - Europe. And despite the fact that there were many different states, they all found themselves in a dependent position. This power could only be catholic Churchand she remains silent. However, everyone knows that the official language of the Catholic Church was originally Latin. If she appropriated a name, it was in Latin.

What do you think it means in Latin euro?Get ready for a tight turn - in Latin it means EAST! It's easy to check:

eurus, i m (greek. ; lat. vulturnus)

1) eur, southeast wind L, Sen etc.;

2) poet. Eastern wind, tzh. storm H, V, St; wind ( at all): primo sub euro Lcn at the first gust of wind;

3) poet. East VF, Cld.

euro-aquilo,onis m - north-east wind Vlg.

eurocircias, ae m (greek) - east-southeast wind Vtr

euronotus, i m (greek) - south-south-east wind Col, PM.

eurous, a, um - eastern (fluctus V).

For those who are not sure that Europe is directly related to the Latin East, I will give the spelling of this word in Latin:

Europa, ae and Europe, es (acc. en) f - Europe.

Euro -pa(pars - part. Lat.) - Eastern part.

This is much closer than erebus, both in place and in time. And most importantly, not just similar - identical. It remains to understand what for Catholics call the western lands the east.

Very simple. This is for us - they are Western. But the spread of the influence of Catholics in the countries of Europe took place from west to east... And since the process of etching is not a quick business and is still unfinished, the new lands seized by Catholics were called for a long time east (in their latin jargon). These are the very vast spaces that today are called Europe (France, Germany, Poland, the Baltic countries, etc.).

It is important to note here that the name Europe is clearly of political origin.

Asia - what a word. TSB states:

Asia (Greek Asía, probably from the Assyrian asu - east), the most extensive part of the world (about 30% of the total land area), part of the Eurasian continent.

Again, this is unscientific - "probably." Both incredible and unlikely. And in general, in the Greek language the word East - Ανατολή (trnskrp. Anatoli) is. Why do you need to introduce someone else's designation for the side of the World?

Wikipedia reports:

... In the Hittite era, the kingdom of Assuva was located in the northwestern part of Asia Minor ... In the Greek epic, this kingdom is personified in the image of King Assiya, an ally of the Trojans ... By the time of Herodotus, the designation of the whole part of the world as Asia (Asia) was generally accepted by the Greeks.

Assuva and Assiya, as it is generally written in all European languages, are not very similar words. Yes, and it is not clear why King Asia was so distinguished to call a whole part of the world by his name?

So nothing would have cleared up, but the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus described some Asov-Alanov... And these Asses dwelt in that very Asia. Despite the unhealthy addiction of the scientific elite to distorted Assyrian words, it should be admitted that there is simply no more obvious hypothesis today. Again, it is clear that geography is far from the main thing here. Asia, this is a political entity - country of Ases... Its borders are outlined not by seas and mountain ranges, but by wars and treaties. Hence, the name of the part of the world Asia, like Europe, has a clearly political origin.

Now at least something is clear. But one big question arose: How did the political division of our continent turn into such an absurd geographical, and then for some reason into a historical and cultural one?

It was so by all indications. A thousand years ago, with the onset of]]\u003e Nights of Svarog]]\u003e, in the western territories there was a process of seizure and unification of territories and peoples. When the peoples could not be brought into conformity, they were completely destroyed. Thus, the multimillion-dollar tribal unions of Lyutichi and Venedi, inhabiting all western lands, were destroyed. In Europe, mostly broken peoples remained. It was by all definitions. A real massacre. A certain political force, the manifestation of which we observe in the actions of the Catholic Church, divided peoples into pieces, pitted against each other, weakened in civil strife. Then this same force gathered all the peoples under its control into a single fist, and threw it into the destruction of the rest. Everything was accompanied.

After the same power was established in the ashes, it took Renaissance... But the revival of their own, and not Greek or Roman culture, as historians usually explain. Greek or Roman culture, Europe could accept, implement, anything, only not revive.

It is inherently not a self-sufficient civilization. She always needed more sacrifices to keep her alive. When they finished eating their slaves, they went to seize neighboring peoples. And there was abundance - free Asia.

Asia - the house of peoples, bearers of the original, Vedic civilization, where there has never been slavery and poverty, where everything was created by one's own labor, where will and skill were valued above gold. This is our civilization, Aesir or Asian, as they are now trying to alter and reverse the meaning. Not Chinese, not Mongolian and not Japanese, and ours.

This is where the dog is buried... Asia has always actively resisted European expansion. In the 13th century, the Moscow principality and others (allegedly) were cleared of the slave infection. Then it was stopped « Drang nach osten» - the onslaught to the east. The strike forces of Europe went under the ice of Lake Peipsi.

But already in the 17th century, territories long weakened by Christianization did not hold out. The principality of Moscow and its subjects began to be indicated on maps as European Tartary, or simply Europe. The front in the war of civilizations crept to the east. In 1720 Tatishchevallegedly offered to draw the border between Europe and Asia along the Ural Mountains. At that time it was exactly political border of two WORLDS.

The pressure to the east continued. In 1775, as a result of the defeat of the liberation army of Asia (Great Tartary), which we know as "Pugachev uprising"The European civilization of slavery and profit overcame the remnants of organized resistance. Having hastily staked out the occupied territories, the newly-made "Russian Empire" began to clean up the traces of the great confrontation. Inside, it was technically easy. For example, the captured papers of the Pugachev headquarters (decrees, orders, letters) were reliably hidden from prying eyes. Propaganda did the rest.

A.S. Pushkin, after only 50 years, through great pull, gained access to these papers. And this is another question - what was shown to him? At least those texts that are published by modern researchers (I don't know where they get them from) are full of the words “my loyal slaves”. But could a person write such a thing, who brought freedom to people, and communicated with them on an equal footing? At least, I have not yet been able to find the originals of even these supposedly Pugachev decrees.

Cleaned up so thoroughly that already in the 18th century the elite of new generations by puppy fawn before "enlightened Europe", and despised the dirty, dark Asian garbage dump, in the form of which they imagined undeveloped Russia. But the traces of the great confrontation too firmly entered the circulation all over the world, were preserved in names, in different languages, laid down on the maps. How to hide it?

This is where geography came to the rescue. The then European geographers were very practical and involved in big politics people. They hardly resembled the Paganels. therefore lied easily and competently... Everything that used to separate two civilizations (armies, states, treaties) has gone into oblivion. Great generals became bearded robbers, empires turned into a gathering of warring princelings, big cities - into recently felled guard fortresses. A 2 new parts of the world appeared in geography.

According to the authors of the forgery, not only the political background of the issue should be hidden from the Russians, but also from the whole world, and first of all - from the Europeans. They should not know that many supposedly independent European states, only signboard... You can't show that all Europe is ruled by one power and revive forgotten Vedic traditions. After all, the conquest of Europe is not over to this day.

And where two civilizations opposed each other, only a geographical border remained. She does not have patrols and guard regiments. There are silent mountains, rivers flow, and they don't care. You can look at the border between Europe and Asia from this side, then run across and look from the other. No one will say a word. That's how they left it for the time being.

Passes all century, and Danilevsky is sincerely surprised at the geographic absurdity. It never occurs to him to ponder the political interpretation of the name Eurasia. But the years passed, and there were more and more such Danilevskys. General education, be it wrong. Fursenko will not allow this in the future. Geographers have degenerated into armchair conditions. Politicians have almost wiped them off from the "fresh meat". They lost their wolf grip. Ordinary mortals began to argue with them and ask uncomfortable questions. So there was an urgent need to patch up the official version. And highly qualified liars began to lay a new layer of lies to the geographical crypt of Asia-Tartaria, which gave numerous cracks.

It was necessary to come up with anything, but not a political confrontation between two civilizations. So they started spinning around some kind of historical, well-established traditions. Then they realized that the whole history is inseparable from politics, and turned into a cultural channel. With this "Historical and cultural" now they cover it up.

While writing this article, I encountered an interesting phenomenon. The authorities of the regions along which the border of Europe and Asia passes do not know what to do with this attraction. They are trying to find commercial use: excursions, etc. But something, apparently, the business is not working out. Not very interesting for people. It would probably be exciting and informative if you tell them the truth, but making money on the blood and valor of your ancestors will still not work.

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Not every person is able to say without hesitation which mountains separate Europe and Asia. In order to correctly answer this question, it is necessary to first note that Eurasia is the largest continent on the planet. It is customary to divide it into two continents - Europe and Asia. From an economic point of view, from ancient times to the present day, the border between them plays a very important role in moving from East to West and in the opposite direction. According to the ancient Greeks, it passed through the center of the Mediterranean Sea. Since the fifth century BC, the Don River was considered it, and Ptolemy adhered to this opinion, therefore this doctrine was quite firmly established and lasted until the eighteenth century. This article will focus on what separates Europe and Asia in the modern sense.

First official split

In the scientific literature, the mainland was officially divided into two continents for the first time by the famous Swedish scientist Philip Johann von Stralenberg in 1730. Answering in his writings the question of which mountains separate Europe and Asia, he clearly noted that this is the Ural Range. At the same time, the scientist focused on the fact that, besides him, the border passes through the river of the same name, the Caucasus, the Yugorsky Shar Strait, the Caspian, Black and Azov seas. Many reputable researchers of that time supported this idea, which they wrote about in their works. There is an opinion that VN Tatishchev, the founder of many local cities and settlements, proposed such an idea to Stralenberg. Now in more detail about which mountains separate Europe and Asia.

Formation of the Ural Mountains

The Urals not only represent a naturally formed border between adjacent continents, but also serve as a watershed between the eastern and western basins. The formation of mountains began about 350 million years ago, in other words, in the Paleozoic era, and lasted for about 150 million years. The total length of the ridge exceeds the mark of two thousand kilometers. As for its width, it varies in different parts from forty kilometers to one hundred and fifty. The very name "Ural" in translation from the Bashkir language means "elevation" or "height". Speaking about which mountains separate Europe and Asia, one cannot fail to note the interesting historical fact that on the very first Russian map they were called the "Big Stone" and were depicted as a large belt, from where a significant number of rivers began. Due to the fact that the ridge is rather old, its peaks are not very high. The first official documentary memory of him is in the "Tale of Bygone Years" and dates back to the eleventh century. The Urals are geographically divided into the Polar, Subpolar, Northern, Central and Southern parts.

Natural resources

Now on the territory of the Urals you can find a large number of various minerals and minerals. There are copper and iron ores, cobalt, nickel, zinc, oil, coal and even precious stones with gold. In this regard, since the days of the Soviet Union, the mountains between Europe and Asia have been considered the largest metallurgical and mining base of the state. This is not surprising, because 48 out of 55 types of minerals that were mined at that time throughout the country were found here. Many of them, including precious and semi-precious ones, are located in close proximity to the earth's surface. There are also several minerals that are exclusively found here. A striking example of them is the dark emerald uvarovite. This should also include rich forest resources. It should be noted that excellent conditions for agriculture have been created in the middle and southern parts of the mountains.

Climate

The Urals are characterized by a typical mountain climate, in which precipitation is unevenly distributed. Natural conditions here can be very different, even within the same zone. The explanation for this is quite simple. The fact is that the mountains separating Europe and Asia play the role of a kind of climatic barrier. Due to the fact that a large amount of precipitation falls in the western part, the climate is milder and more humid. As for the eastern region of the ridge, the opposite is true - it is dry due to lack of precipitation.

Obelisks

Local obelisks located on the border between Asia and Europe deserve separate words. They began to be installed here in the nineteenth century. The first monuments were those in the form of steles, made of wood and having a rectangular shape. On them in mandatory markers were applied, which were called "Asia" and "Europe". In order to ensure the safety of the obelisks, guard huts of small sizes were erected next to them, in which, as a rule, forest walkers lived. Some of the monuments boast their own unique history. For example, a monument located near Berezovaya Mountain appeared in 1807. Thirty years later, in connection with a visit by the imperial delegation, the wooden structure was replaced by a marble one with the emblem of the king.

Ural river border

The river separating Europe and Asia is the Ural. Its total length is about two and a half thousand kilometers. It should be noted that there are about eight thousand rivers of different sizes in its basin. In the source of the Urals there are five large springs located at an altitude of 637 meters above sea level. Uniting in a swampy valley, they form a rather powerful stream. The idea of \u200b\u200busing the river as a border between two continents was proposed by the above-mentioned Russian scientist V. N. Tatishchev.

Istanbul

The only city on the planet that is located simultaneously on two continents is Turkish Istanbul. The history of this metropolis is more than two and a half thousand years old. All these years it has been of great commercial importance due to its geographical location. The Mediterranean Sea separating Europe and Asia separates them from Africa as well. It is here, through the Bosphorus Strait, that the Sea of \u200b\u200bMarmara is connected to the Black Sea. The continents are divided in the same way. The very location of the modern city of Istanbul was often called the gateway connecting the Silk Road with the Old World.

Expedition 2010

In April 2010, the Russian Geographical Society initiated and conducted an expedition, the main task of which was to determine the true origin of the border between Asia and Europe. In the course of the work, scientists found that the axis of the Ural ridge is lost in the area of \u200b\u200bZlatoust and is scattered into several lines. These are some parallel arrays. In this regard, they suggested that it is not entirely reasonable to consider the Ural River as the boundary. In their opinion, it should be laid along the Caspian lowland, or rather, along its eastern edge. However, the studies of Russian scientists to this day remain not considered by the relevant body - the Geographical International Union.

conclusions

From all of the above, we can safely conclude that the Ural Mountains are the main border between Asia and Europe. One of the proofs of this is even the fact that fauna and flora differ markedly on different sides. In addition, a big difference arises even in the directions and nature of the rivers.

First official split

Formation of the Ural Mountains

Natural resources

Climate

Obelisks

Separate words are deserved by the local obelisks. They began to be installed here in the nineteenth century. The first monuments were those in the form of steles, made of wood and having a rectangular shape. They were necessarily marked with signs that were called "Asia" and "Europe". In order to ensure the safety of the obelisks, guard huts of small sizes were erected next to them, in which, as a rule, forest walkers lived. Some of the monuments boast their own unique history. For example, a monument located near Berezovaya Mountain appeared in 1807. Thirty years later, in connection with a visit by the imperial delegation, the wooden structure was replaced by a marble one with the emblem of the king.

Ural river border

Istanbul

The only city on the planet that is located simultaneously on two continents is Turkish Istanbul. The history of this metropolis is more than two and a half thousand years old. All these years it has been of great commercial importance due to its geographical location. The Mediterranean Sea separating Europe and Asia separates them from Africa as well. It is here, through the Bosphorus Strait, that it is connected to the Black Sea. The continents are divided in the same way. The very location of the modern city of Istanbul was often called the gateway connecting the Silk Road with the Old World.

Expedition 2010

In April 2010, the Russian Geographical Society initiated and conducted an expedition, the main task of which was to determine the true origin of the border between Asia and Europe. In the course of the work, scientists found that the axis of the Ural ridge is lost in the area of \u200b\u200bZlatoust and is scattered into several lines. These are some parallel arrays. In this regard, they suggested that it is not entirely reasonable to consider the border. In their opinion, it should be laid along the Caspian lowland, or rather, along its eastern edge. However, the studies of Russian scientists to this day remain not considered by the relevant body - the Geographical International Union.

conclusions

Europe is a part of the world with an area of \u200b\u200babout 10 million km² and a population of 740 million people (about 10% of the world's population). Together with Asia, it forms the continent of Eurasia.

Etymology

Europe is named after the heroine of the ancient Greek mythology of Europe, the Phoenician princess, kidnapped by Zeus and taken to Crete (while the epithet of Europe could also be associated with Hero and Demeter). The origin of this name itself, as the French linguist P. Chantrain concludes, is unknown. The most popular etymological hypotheses in modern literature were proposed in antiquity (along with many others), but are controversial:

One etymology interprets it from the Greek roots of Hebrew and Ops as "wide-eyed."

According to the lexicographer Hesychius, the name Europia means "the country of sunset, or dark", which was compared by later linguists with the West-Sem. 'Rb' sunset 'or akkad. erebu with the same meaning. M. West assesses this etymology as very weak.

Borders

The name Europe for a part of the world is absent in ancient Greek literature (in the Homeric hymn to Apollo the Pythian only Northern Greece is named Europe) and was first recorded in the "Description of the Earth" by Hecateus of Miletus (end of the 6th century BC), whose first book is devoted to Europe.

The ancient Greeks initially considered Europe as a separate continent, separated from Asia by the Aegean and Black seas, and from Africa by the Mediterranean Sea. Convinced that Europe is only a small part of the vast continent, which is now called Eurasia, the ancient authors began to draw the eastern border of Europe along the Don River (such ideas are already found in Polybius and Strabo). This tradition has dominated for nearly two millennia. In particular, at Mercator, the border of Europe runs along the Don, and from its source - strictly northward to the White Sea.

In the 15th century, when Muslims were ousted from almost all of Spain, and the Byzantines from Asia (by the Turks), Europe for a short time became almost synonymous with the Christian world, but today most Christians live outside its territory. In the 19th century, almost all of the world's industry was in Europe; today, most of the products are produced outside of it.

VN Tatishchev in 1720 proposed to draw the eastern border of Europe along the ridge of the Ural Mountains, and further along the Yaik River (modern Ural) up to the mouth, which flows into the Caspian Sea. Gradually, the new border became generally accepted, first in Russia, and then beyond its borders. At present, the border of Europe is drawn: in the north - along the Arctic Ocean; in the west - across the Atlantic Ocean; in the south - along the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara, Black seas; in the east - along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, the Mugodzharam mountains, along the Embe River to the Caspian Sea, from it along the Kume and Manychu rivers (Kumo-Manych depression) to the mouth of the Don (in particular, according to the encyclopedias: Great Soviet Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica) or , less often, along the Caucasian ridge to the Black Sea). Further passage of the border between Europe and Asia along the Black Sea and the Black Sea straits is supported by all sources.

Due to these circumstances, the inclusion of Azerbaijan and Georgia in the list of European countries is primarily based on partial geographic location, as well as political, economic and cultural considerations and is not unambiguous. Cyprus is part of the European Union, but geographically located in Asia. A number of Greek islands located near the coast of Turkish Anatolia can also be attributed to Asia.

Despite the fact that geographically Armenia is located in Asia, it has close political and cultural ties with Europe.

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev wrote in 1906:

"The separation of Europe from Asia in all respects is artificial and in the course of time will certainly smooth out and, probably, even disappear."

Bernard-Henri Levy

"Europe is not a place, but an idea."

Geography

Europe is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and their seas.

The area of \u200b\u200bthe islands is about 730 thousand km². The peninsula accounts for about 1/4 of the territory of Europe (Kola, Scandinavian, Iberian, Apennine, Balkan, etc.).

The average height is about 300 m, the maximum (if you draw the European border along the Kumo-Manych depression) - 4808 m, Mont Blanc, or (when you draw the European border along the Caucasian ridge) - 5642 m, Elbrus, the minimum is currently approx ... −27 meters (Caspian Sea) and changes along with fluctuations in the level of this sea.

Plains predominate (large - East European, Central European, Middle and Lower Danube, Parisian basin), mountains occupy about 17% of the territory (the main ones are the Alps, Caucasus, Carpathians, Crimean, Pyrenees, Apennines, Ural, Scandinavian mountains, mountains of the Balkan Peninsula) ... There are active volcanoes in Iceland and the Mediterranean.

In most of the territory, the climate is temperate (in the west - oceanic, in the east - continental, with snowy and frosty winters), on the northern islands - subarctic and arctic, in southern Europe - Mediterranean, in the Caspian lowland - semi-desert. On the islands of the Arctic, Iceland, the Scandinavian mountains, the Alps - glaciation (an area of \u200b\u200bover 116 thousand km²).

Major rivers: Volga, Danube, Ural, Dnieper, Western Dvina, Don, Pechora, Kama, Oka, Belaya, Dniester, Rhine, Elba, Vistula, Tahoe, Loire, Oder, Neman.

Large lakes: Ladoga, Onega, Peipsi, Venern, Balaton, Geneva.

On the islands of the Arctic and along the coast of the Arctic Ocean there are arctic deserts and tundra, to the south - forest-tundra, taiga, mixed and deciduous forests, forest-steppe, steppe, subtropical Mediterranean forests and shrubs; in the southeast there are semi-deserts.

The largest sandy desert in Europe, Ryn-Peski (40,000 km²) is located between the Volga and the Urals (on the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia); in Western Europe, the Tabernas massif in Spain is sometimes referred to as a semi-desert type of communities. In addition, there has been extensive desertification in Kalmykia, Russia, as a result of human activities for the industrial abstraction of water from natural sources and the irrational use of land. In the zone of dry steppes in eastern Europe, there are a number of sandy massifs in Russia on the lower Don (Archedinsko-Don sands, Tsimlyansk sands, etc.), the borderlands of Kalmykia, Dagestan and Chechnya (Nogai steppe), as well as on the territory of Ukraine (Alyoshkovsky sands).

History of Europe

Europe remained uninhabited by people for a long time. Where a man came to Europe from is debatable. It is only known that Europe was not the birthplace of humanity. There are versions that the first hominids came to Europe from India. Genetic studies are consistent with this. But the most developed is the hypothesis of the arrival of hominids to Europe from Africa through Western Asia. There is speculation that this happened in the middle of Villafranchian time. Before Homo Sapiens, Europe and Western Asia were inhabited by Neanderthals.

The Heidelberg man and his probable direct descendant, the Neanderthal, really populated Europe, the latter being a specialized form adapted to the European climate.

The earliest appearance of humans of the modern physical type (Homo sapiens) in Europe, known at the moment, dates back 35 thousand years ago, and 28 thousand years ago, the Neanderthal probably finally disappeared.

European countries

43 states have the recognition of the majority of UN members, 2 states (territories) have limited recognition.

Western Europe

Austria
Belgium
Great Britain
Germany
Ireland
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Monaco
Netherlands
France
Switzerland

Eastern Europe

Byelorussia
Bulgaria
Hungary
Moldavia
Poland
Russia
Romania
Estonia
Ukraine
Czech

Northern Europe

Denmark
Iceland
Latvia
Lithuania
Norway
Finland
Sweden
Macedonia

Southern Europe

Albania
Andorra
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Vatican
Greece
Spain
Italy
Malta
Portugal
San marino
Serbia
Slovenia
Croatia
Montenegro

Partially in Europe

Azerbaijan (from 0% to approx. 10% of the territory)
Georgia (from 0% to approx. 5% of the territory)
Kazakhstan (up to 14% of the territory)
Russia (from 22% to 23% of the territory)
Turkey (3% of the territory)

Unrecognized or partially recognized

Republic of Kosovo
Transnistrian Moldavian Republic

States and territories maintaining close political and cultural ties with Europe

Armenia (member of the Council of Europe)
Greenland (part of Denmark)
Cyprus (member of the European Union)
South Ossetia (partially recognized state)
Abkhazia (partially recognized state)
Azerbaijan [(member of the Council of Europe)
Georgia (member of the Council of Europe)

European dependent territories

Åland Islands
Guernsey
Gibraltar
Jersey
Isle Of Man
Faroe islands
Spitsbergen
Jan Mayen

Partially recognized religious order

Order of Malta

Division of Europe

Europe is usually divided into North and South, West and East, and Central. This division is rather arbitrary, especially since not only purely geographical, but also political factors come into play here. Some countries, depending on the point of view, can be assigned to different groups of states.

In Soviet times, the division of Europe into East and West often had a political connotation - Eastern Europe included the GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia and the USSR - socialist countries, or, as they were also called, “the countries of people's democracy ". All other states belonged to Western Europe. At the same time, Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey were also called Southern Europe, and Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland - Northern Europe.

At present, after the collapse of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, Central Europe includes Austria, Switzerland and Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the countries of the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, and sometimes the Baltic countries, which were previously included in Eastern Europe (the latter are more often included in Northern Europe) ... To Eastern Europe - physico-geographically Russia (in Europe only a part), Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan (in Europe only a part), Georgia (in Europe only a part), Kazakhstan (in Europe only a part), Moldova, including the unrecognized Transnistria. To Western Europe - Great Britain, Ireland, France and other countries, including physico-geographically Central European Germany. Some sources retain the old division.

Political situation

In the period after World War II until 1989-1991, Europe was the central arena of the Cold War between the Western (capitalist) and Eastern (socialist) blocs. Most of the countries of Western Europe at this time in the military-political plan united within the framework of NATO. Social and legal integration was ensured by the Council of Europe, economic - by the European Economic Community. In the east of the continent, the Warsaw Pact Organization was the military integration structure, the economic - the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance; in both, the USSR played a dominant role.

After the collapse of the socialist regimes, the situation has changed markedly. Most of the countries of the former "socialist camp" reoriented to Western structures. Currently, more than half of European states are members of the European Union and NATO, almost all the rest declare their desire to join these organizations. On the one hand, this created the preconditions for the EU to become a political player of a truly global scale. On the other hand, the heterogeneity of the Union's composition negatively affects its ability to develop common positions on certain issues.

The leaders of political processes in Europe are Germany, France, Great Britain and Italy. Small countries of Western Europe (Benelux countries, Scandinavian states, Ireland), which have largely benefited from the development of the EU, play a significant role in the integration processes. A special place is occupied by former socialist countries, hoping to improve their economic position through participation in the European Union. The Balkan Peninsula remains a hotbed of instability, where the conflict situations that arose during the collapse of Yugoslavia have not yet been resolved. The political and economic future of the former Soviet republics, including the Caucasus, remains unclear. The attitude in Europe to the striving of a predominantly Muslim Turkey for greater participation in European affairs is ambiguous.

Major international associations in Europe

The countries of Europe are members of various international organizations, most of which are economic and political organizations. The main international associations in Europe are listed below.

The Council of Europe is the only pan-European organization with almost all European countries as members. Currently, 47 states are members of the Council of Europe. The objectives of the Council of Europe are programs to smooth out the contradictions between the legal frameworks of European countries in such areas as human rights, citizenship, private international law, protection environment and cultural heritage, protection of the rights of national minorities, etc.

European Union

The European Union, the abbreviated name of the EU, is a supranational union of 27 European states. Many programs are supervised within the Union. Within the EU, there is a single market that includes a customs union, a monetary union (the single European currency, the euro, operates on the territory of 17 out of 27 EU members), a common policy in the field of agriculture and fisheries. The European Union is also taking steps to coordinate policy action among member countries. There are also tendencies towards coordination of actions in the field of defense and common foreign policy. The union is gradually evolving from an economic organization to a supranational one. Currently, the joint GDP of the European Union is the largest in the world at 15.849 trillion US dollars.

Also within Europe there are the following associations:

Eurozone
Schengen Area
Customs Union
European Economic Area
European Free Trade Association

Commonwealth of Independent States

The Commonwealth of Independent States is an organization consisting of 11 former republics of the Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic countries and Georgia). The CIS does not have supranational powers and is, to a greater extent, a symbolic organization acting in the field of coordinating interaction between the member states of the Commonwealth. The main goals of the CIS are the implementation of cooperation in the political, economic, environmental, humanitarian, cultural and other fields; peaceful settlement of disputes; interstate cooperation and integration; protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens of the member states. The main topics of discussion remain plans to create a single market like the EU, as well as the fight against cross-border crime.

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a military alliance whose members are mainly European countries, as well as the United States and Canada. NATO was created as an organization for rallying Western European countries under the command of the United States against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its allies. The organization is based on a collective defense treaty in the event of an attack on any of the member states.

OSCE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is the largest regional security organization, which includes 56 states in Europe, Central Asia and North America.

The organization is aimed at preventing the emergence of conflicts in the region, resolving crisis situations, eliminating the consequences of conflicts.

The Nordic Council (founded in 1952) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (founded in 1971) are organizations for coordinating cooperation between the parliaments and governments of the Nordic countries. Member countries: Denmark, Finland (since 1956), Iceland, Norway, Sweden. The governing bodies are located in Copenhagen.

CEAST

The Central European Free Trade Association is an international organization that is the successor of the Visegrad Agreement between non-EU countries signed on December 21, 1992. At the moment, the members of this organization are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, the Republic of Kosovo. Before joining the EU, the members of the organization were: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

Benelux

Benelux is a political, economic and customs union of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, created on February 3, 1958. Has its own parliament and court, which includes representatives of three states.

GUAM

The organization was founded in 1997 by four countries: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova (GUAM) The headquarters is located in the capital of Ukraine - Kiev. From April 1999 to 2006, the organization also included Uzbekistan and it was called GUUAM.

EurAsEC

The Eurasian Economic Community is an international economic organization of a number of post-Soviet states engaged in the formation of common external customs borders, the development of a single foreign economic policy, tariffs, prices and other components of the functioning of the common market.

CSTO

Collective Security Treaty Organization - the organization includes Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan.

Joint military exercises are being held within the framework of the CSTO. The purpose of the organization is to jointly repel aggression in an attack on any state party to the treaty.

The Arctic Council is an international organization created in 1989 at the initiative of Finland to protect the unique nature of the northern polar zone. The Arctic Council includes eight sub-Arctic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the USA. Observer countries: Great Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain.

Baltic Assembly

The Baltic Assembly is an advisory body for cooperation between the parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, founded in 1991. The Assembly coordinates actions, advises the parliaments of the three countries and declares agreed positions in the form of resolutions, decisions and recommendations.

Council of the Baltic Sea States - was established on 5-6 March 1992 in Copenhagen at the conference of the ministers of foreign affairs of the Baltic Sea countries. It includes Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, as well as the Commission of the European Communities.

Regional Cooperation Forum. The Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) was established in 1993. It includes Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland and Sweden as permanent members, as well as the Commission of the European Communities (CES). Nine states - Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, France, USA, Japan - have observer status.

Union State of Russia and Belarus

Confederal Union of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus with a step-by-step unified political, economic, military, customs, currency, legal, humanitarian, cultural space.

EurAsEC Customs Union

The Customs Union of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation is an interstate agreement on the creation of a single customs space signed by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Later, Kyrgyzstan joined the union.

Geographic center

The location of the center depends on the definition of the borders of Europe and is mainly determined by the method of counting chosen, as well as whether the outlying islands are included in the list of extreme points of Europe or not. Thus, several places claim to be the geographical center of Europe.

A variant of the calculation of the Belarusian scientists Aleksey Solomonov and Valery Anoshko: 55 degrees 30 minutes north, 28 degrees 48 minutes east.

Ukraine, Lithuania, Slovakia, Germany and Poland also claim the title of the geographical center of Europe.

The Guinness Book of Records recognizes the village of Purnuškiai, 26 km north of Vilnius, as the “official” geographic center of Europe.

The name "Europa" is also given to an island located in the strait between the coast of Africa and Madagascar, named after the British ship "Europa", which on Christmas Eve 1774 for the first time correctly determined the coordinates of the island.
Both world wars began in Europe.
One of the moons of Jupiter also bears the name "Europa", named after a character in ancient mythology.

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