Europe is traditionally reckoned as one of seven continents. Physiographically, however, it is the northwestern peninsula of the larger landmass known as Eurasia (or Afro-Eurasia): Asia occupies the eastern bulk of this continuous landmass (save the Suez Canal separating Asia and Africa) and all share a common continental shelf. Europe's eastern frontier is delineated by the Ural Mountains in Russia. The south-east boundary with Asia is not universally defined. Most commonly the Ural or, alternatively, the Emba River serve as possible boundaries. The boundary continues to the Caspian Sea, the crest of the Caucasus Mountains or, alternatively, the Kura River in the Caucasus, and on to 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; Iceland, though on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and nearer to Greenland (North America) than mainland Europe, is generally included in Europe for cultural reasons. There is ongoing debate on where the geographical centre of Europe is.
The idea of a European "continent" is prevalent but not universally held. Some geographical texts refer to a Eurasian Continent, or to a European subcontinent, given that Europe is not surrounded by sea and its Southeastern border has always been vaguely defined, and disputed.
In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas and nearby islands. The two largest peninsulas 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. The Balkan peninsula is separated from Asia by the Black and Aegean Seas. Italy is separated from the Balkans by the Adriatic Sea, and from Iberia by the Mediterranean Sea, which also 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 and Ural River (or, less commonly, the Este River), the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains.
Land relief in Europe shows great variation within relatively small areas. The southern regions are 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[1] 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.
Europe's most significant feature is the dichotomy between highland and mountainous Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from England in the west to Ural Mountains in the east. These two halves are separated by the mountain chains of Pyrenees and Alps/Carpathians. The northern plains are delimited in the west by the Scandinavian Mountains and the mountainous parts of the British Isles. Major shallow water bodies submerging parts of the northern plains are the Celtic Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea complex, and the Barents Sea.
The northern plain contains the old geological continent of Baltica, and so may be regarded as the "main continent", while peripheral highlands and mountainous regions in south and west constitute fragments from various other geological continents.
The Geology of Europe is hugely varied and complex, and gives rise to the wide variety of landscapes found across the continent, from the Scottish Highlands to the rolling plains of Hungary.
Figures for the population of Europe vary according to which definition of European boundaries is used. The population within the standard physical geographical boundaries was 731 million in 2005 according to the United Nations[1]. In 2010 the population is 857 million, using a definition which includes the whole of the transcontinental countries of Russia and Turkey. Population growth is comparatively slow, and median age comparatively high in relation to the world's other continents
The following are the longest rivers in Europe alongside their approximate lengths[2][3]:
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Iceland, Faroe Islands, Great Britain, Ireland, the rest of the British Isles, Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Ionian Islands, Crete, Aegean Islands, Åland Islands, Gotland, Saaremaa, Svalbard, Hinnøya, Senja, Zealand, Fyn and North Jutlandic Island.
See also List of European islands by area and List of European islands by population
Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are:
Land area in different classes of European mountainous terrain (classification from UNEP-WCMC):
| >= 4500m | 3500- 4500m | 2500- 3500m | 1500- 2500m & slope>=2° | 1000- 1500m & slope >=5° or local elevation range >300m |
300-1000m & local elevation range >300m | Mountainous TOTAL | Europe TOTAL |
| 1 km2 | 225 km2 | 497886 km2 | 145838 km2 | 345255 km2 | 1222104 km2 | 2211308 km2 | 10180000 km2 |
| 0.00% | 0.00% | 4.89% | 1.43% | 3.39% | 12.00% | 21.72% | 100.00% |
The high mountainous areas of Europe are colder and have higher precipitation than lower areas, as is true of mountainous areas in general. Europe has less precipitation in the east than in central and Western Europe. The temperature difference between summer and winter gradually increases from coastal northwest Europe to southeast inland Europe, ranging from Ireland, with a temperature difference of only 10 °C from the warmest to the coldest month, to the area north of the Caspian Sea, with a temperature difference of 40 °C. January average range from 13°C in Southern Greece to -20°C in northeastern part of European Russia.
Western Europe and parts of Central Europe generally fall into the temperate maritime climate (Cfb), the southern part is mostly a Mediterranean climate (mostly Csa, smaller area with Csb), the north-central part and east into central Russia is mostly a humid continental climate (Dfb) and the northern part of the continent is a subarctic climate (Dfc). In the extreme northern part (northernmost Russia; Svalbard), bordering the Arctic Ocean, is tundra climate (Et). Mountain ranges, such as the Alps and the Carpathian mountains, have a highland climate with large variations according to altitude and latitude.
Notes:
| Eurasia | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece (some Aegean islands) |
| Europe-Africa | Malta, Spain (Ceuta, Melilla and Canary Islands), Italy (Lampedusa and Lampione), Portugal (Madeira),[4] France (Réunion) |
| Europe-South America | France (French Guiana) |
| Europe-North and Central America | Portugal (Western part of the Azores), France (Guadeloupe and Martinique), Netherlands (Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius) |
| Country | Capital | Largest City |
|---|---|---|
| Liechtenstein | Vaduz | Schaan |
| Malta | Valetta | Birkirkara |
| San Marino | San Marino | Serravalle |
| Switzerland | Bern | Zurich |
| Turkey | Ankara | Istanbul |
Note: Italy's capital, Rome, is the country's largest city if only the municipality (comune) is considered. According to some definitions of urban zone and metropolitan areas, Milan's and Naples' metropolitan areas are larger than Rome's.
| 14 | Russia (Including Kaliningrad) |
| 11 | France (Including overseas departments and territories) |
| 9 | Germany |
| 8 | Austria, Serbia, Turkey |
| 7 | Hungary, Poland, Ukraine |
| 6 | Italy |
| 5 | Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Macedonia, Slovakia, Spain (Including Ceuta and Melilla), Switzerland |
| 4 | Albania, Armenia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Slovenia |
| 3 | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Netherlands (Including Sint Maarten), Norway, Luxembourg |
| 2 | Andorra, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Sweden |
| 1 | Denmark, Ireland, Monaco, Portugal, San Marino, United Kingdom, Vatican City |
| 0 | Iceland, Malta |
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