Natural conditions and general characteristics of foreign Europe

European territory, which is outside the countries of the former CIS, is usually called "foreign Europe". It consists of four dozen countries, connected with each other with a whole bouquet of historical and political relations. The territory of foreign Europe is about 5.4 million square kilometers, and the population - more than 500 million people. This region, of course, is one of the centers of world civilization and occupies an important place in world politics. Today we will talk with you on such a topic as a general characteristic of a foreign Europe. The 11th grade of the school curriculum presupposes the consideration of this topic. Let's remember what we were taught in school, and learn something new for ourselves!

States

The territory that we are considering today extends for 5000 km from north to south and 3000 km from west to east. Among the European countries there are large and medium-sized, but in their majority they are still small. For example, there is a joke that having entered Belgium, you need to have time to press the brake, otherwise you can call in another state. A fast train passes through this country in 140 minutes. There are a majority of such states in Europe. That is why in many of them there is no such thing as a sleeping car.

As the general characteristic of the countries of foreign Europe shows, they, from the point of view of the economic and geographical situation, have two main features. The first of these is the neighboring position of countries. At small (relatively, of course) the size of the territory and its small "depth", the states have a well-established system of transport links. The second feature is the coastal position of the main number of European countries. Many of them are located near the busiest waterways. The life of such states as England, the Netherlands, Denmark, Iceland, Portugal, Norway, Italy and Greece, since ancient times is closely connected with the sea.

Throughout the twentieth century, the political map of Europe three times underwent significant changes: after the First and Second World Wars, as well as in the late 90's. For today in a foreign Europe it is possible to meet republics, monarchies, and also the unitary and federal states.

Nature and resources

The industry of foreign Europe was created under the influence of natural prerequisites, namely the composition of minerals. In the northern (platform) and southern (folded) parts of the region it is different. The northern part is rich in ore and fuel minerals. The main coal-coal basins are the Ruhr (Germany) and the Upper Silesian (Poland). Among the oil and gas basins should be highlighted Severomorskiy. And among the iron ore - Kiruna basin (Sweden) and Lorraine (France).

The southern part of the region is rich in ore deposits of magmatic and sedimentary origin. As for the reserves of fuel resources, here they are not so great as in the north of Europe.

The general characteristic of the foreign Europe in terms of energy shows that its resources here are very voluminous, but they mainly fall on the mountainous areas, namely Alpine, Scandinavian and Dinarsky. In a large number of countries, resources have almost dried up. The nature of the region allows for active agriculture. The only problem is the lack of land. Small coastal states are struggling with it, expanding towards the seas. For example, a third of the territory of the Netherlands was "conquered" by the sea with the help of dams and dams. Local people in this regard say: "God created the Earth, and the Netherlands - the Netherlands". This is unlikely to be written in the section of the book "Geography" (11 class). General characteristics of foreign Europe, however, can not leave this fact without attention.

The region is located in the temperate and subtropical (in the south) belts. In the Mediterranean region, stable farming is impossible without artificial irrigation. This mainly affects Italy and Spain. The best conditions for forestry can boast Finland and Sweden. No wonder there is a saying: "Finland without a forest, like a bear without wool." Natural and recreational resources are also represented here quite widely.

Now it's time to consider the next item on the topic "General characteristics of foreign Europe".

Population of foreign Europe

The national composition is fairly homogeneous. Most of the peoples belong to the Indo-European family. The dominant religion in the region is Christianity. However, the southern part is also inclined to Catholicism, and the northern part to Protestantism. Overseas Europe is considered one of the most densely populated regions of the Earth. The density of the population here is more than 100 people per 1 square kilometer. Accommodation is determined mainly by the geography of peoples. On the level of urbanization, Europe also occupies high positions. In cities, about 78% of the population lives on average. There are countries in which this figure reaches 90%.

Over the past few years, the population of Europe has grown too slowly. In 15 states there is a decrease in population. In addition, its composition is changing - the number of elderly people is growing. This affected the region's share in the global mechanism of external migration. Gradually, foreign Europe is turning into a hotbed of labor emigration. There are about 20 million workers from abroad. 7 million of them live in Germany.

General characteristics of the economy of foreign Europe

The 11th grade of the school curriculum sorts out such questions superficially, we'll touch on them in more detail. As a whole region, foreign Europe has a world superiority in terms of export of goods, the size of industrial production and the development of tourism. First of all, the economic power of the region rests on such countries as France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. Over the past decade, the leader of this four has become Germany, whose economy is developing very dynamically. "Workshop of the World" - Great Britain, began to surrender. Among the remaining countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Sweden have the most weight. They, in contrast to the "main four", focus on individual industries.

Industry

The leading branch of industry of foreign Europe is engineering. It accounts for one third of the region's output and two-thirds of exports. It's no secret that Europe is famous for its cars. First of all, machine building gravitates to large cities, including the capital. In this case, as a rule, each sub-sector is oriented in a certain region of the state.

The second place is occupied by the chemical industry. Germany is a special success in this direction. The chemical industry of the region prior to the Second World War focused mainly on coal (stone and brown), salt (cooked and potassium) and pyrites. Then there was a reorientation of the industry to hydrocarbon raw materials. The largest petrochemical centers are located in the estuaries of the Seine, the Thames, the Elbe, the Rhine and the Rhone. Here, this industry is intertwined with oil production.

Natural gas and oil produced in the North Sea fields are sent to different countries through a huge system of main pipelines. Gas from Algeria is transported in methane tankers. A major role is also played by Russian gas, which is bought by 20 countries in Europe.

The next largest industry is metallurgy. It was formed here before the beginning of the scientific and technological revolution. Ferrous metallurgy is most widely developed in Germany, England, Spain, France, the Czech Republic and Poland. Aluminum and nonferrous metallurgy also have a large share. Aluminum is smelted not only in states that have extensive reserves of bauxite, but also in countries with developed electricity production.

The forest industry is mainly concentrated in Finland and Sweden, and the light industry is concentrated in southern Europe. Italy is the second country in the world to produce shoes, after China. And Portugal is considered the main "seamstress" of the region. In most countries, to this day, national traditions continue to exist in the production of musical instruments, furniture, glassware.

Agriculture

The general characteristic of the economy of foreign Europe was touched upon above, now let's talk more substantively. Most countries in the region fully provide themselves with agricultural products and actively sell them abroad. After the Second World War, the region moved from a small peasant farm to a specialized high-value farm. The main branches - plant growing and cattle breeding, spread throughout Europe and closely intertwined with each other. Natural and historical conditions have caused the formation of such types of agriculture: the North European, Central European and South European.

The Northern European economy is widespread in Finland, Scandinavia and Great Britain. He is characterized by intensive dairy farming, which is served through the cultivation of gray loaves and forage crops. In the Middle European type, the main role is played by meat and dairy cattle breeding, as well as poultry farming.

The South European type is characterized by a predominance of crop production. The crops are mainly for cereals, but the international specialization of southern Europe is the production of grapes, olives, citrus, tobacco, nuts and etheronos. The main "garden" of Europe is the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Usually each state has its specialization in agriculture. For example, Holland is famous for growing flowers, France and Switzerland - the production of cheese, and so on.

Tourism

General characteristics of foreign Europe can not do without tourism. Europe was, is and will be the main region of international tourism. Here it is manifested in all directions. The most popular are France, Italy, Spain, Great Britain and other large countries. And in small states such as Andorra, Monaco and others, tourism is a currency-forming industry. The main types of tourism in foreign Europe are mountain and marine.

Transport connection

Today we give a general description of foreign Europe, and without a transport system it is impossible. Europe is inferior in terms of the range of transportation to America and Russia, but it is the world's leading provider of transport networks. The density of movement is very high. The main role in the transportation of passengers and goods is played by road transport. The railway network in most states is actively decreasing.

The land transport network has a complex configuration. It is formed by highways of the meridian and latitudinal directions, the main number of which is of international importance. River ways are also oriented towards these directions. A special role is played by the River Rhine. It annually carries more than two hundred million tons of cargo. In places where land and waterways intersect, transport hubs have emerged that have evolved over time into real port-industrial complexes. For example, Rotterdam port annually ships about 350 million tons.

Western Europe is an example of how huge natural obstacles cease to be an obstacle to the transport system. Railways and roads, as well as pipelines cross the Alps in all necessary directions. The shores of the Baltic, Mediterranean and North Seas are connected by ferry crossings.

General characteristics of foreign Europe: science and money

In Europe today, there are many technopolises that make it one of the world's centers of science. The largest of them are located in the vicinity of Munich and Cambridge. And in the southern part of France, the Road of High Technology was formed.

In Europe is the lion's share of the world's largest banks. The benchmark of banking was Switzerland. In the safes of its banks, about 50% of securities from around the world are kept.

Environment protection

The general characteristic of foreign Europe shows that in its territories the issue of nature protection is resonant. Because of the high population density and the active development of industry, Europe has long faced a number of environmental problems. Some of them are associated with the extraction and processing of coal. Others - with an abundance of petrochemical and metallurgical plants in large cities. Still others - with an increasing number of cars on the streets. Fourth - with the development of tourism, which leads to the degradation of nature. Well, and so on.

All countries located in the region conduct an active environmental policy. As a result, more and more decisive measures are being taken: propaganda of bicycles and electric vehicles, active restoration of vegetation and so on.

Conclusion

Today, the topic of our conversation was the general description of foreign Europe. 11th grade is the time when a huge load falls on the shoulders of schoolchildren, so many fundamental things they overlook. We reminded ourselves everything that could be forgotten, and learned something new on the topic "General characteristics of foreign Europe." Presentation (11 class) with the help of this article will become a simple task for any schoolboy.