Europe is one of the seven countries of the world. It is the world's second smallest continent in area after Australia. It is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, Atlantic Ocean to the west. Mediterranean sea to the south and Caspian Sea to the east. Europe is separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural and the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea, the Ural River and the Black Sea. Europe mostly lies in the northern temperate zone with a small part of it extending beyond the Arctic Circle. Europe mainly lies in the Northern Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere with some part of it reaching to the Western Hemisphere such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland, the Western UK and the Western France.
` ` Europe is surrounded by water bodies on its three sides, i.e., it is a peninsula. This continent is also known as ''Peninsula of Peninsulas'' because the seas have penetrated deep into the land. Except the eastern part, Europe is surrounded by water on its three sides. Europe is separated by the Strait Of Gibraltar in the south-west. This continent possesses some of the major seas and gulf such as the White sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, the North Sea, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea in the north, the Bay of Biscay lying in the west, the Adriatic Sea and the Aegean Sea in the south and there are two large salted water lakes- the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the east.
A large number of islands are found in the continent of Europe. The British Isles, Iceland, Sardinia, Sicily and Crete are the most important ones. The English Channel separates the mainland from the British Isles.
POLITICAL DIVISION Europe has 50 countries with Russia being the largest one and Vatican City being the smallest. Most of these countries are grouped together according to their location, physiography or political affiliation. The political division of Europe is follows:
Scandinavian Countries- These includes Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Denmark. Norway and Sweden form the Scandinavian Peninsula. Sweden is the most industrialized country of Europe. It is also the leading producer of iron in Europe.
Balkan States- These countries are those which lie in the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan Peninsula is surrounded by water on three sides:
1. the Adriatic Sea to the west.
2. the Marmara Sea and Mediterranean Sea to the south.
3. the Black Sea to the east.
The territories of the following countries completely lie in the Balkan Peninsula:
1. Albania
2. Bosnia and Herzegovina
3. Bulgaria
4.Greece
5. Kosovo
6. Macedonia
7. Montenegro
The territories of the following countries lie partially within the Balkan Peninsula:
1. Croatia
2. Slovenia
3. Italy
4. Serbia
5. Romania
6. Turkey
Lapland- This includes the region that lies to the north of the Arctic Circle. These includes the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Republic of Karelia in Russia and Finland.
Lowland Countries- These countries include the countries which are made of lowlands. Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are the lowland countries. These group of countries are also referred to as BENELUX countries in which Be stands for Belgium, Ne for the Netherlands and Lux for Luxembourg. The Netherlands is also called as Holland. Some parts of Northern France and West Germany are also included in this group.
Nordic Countries- These countries includes the countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. These countries are joined by their economic factors.
Iberian Peninsula- This group includes Spain and Portugal. It is the mountainous region.
Central European Countries- Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia Republic and Switzerland are under this group.
Western European Countries- These include the United Kingdom (UK), Ireland, France and the lowland countries.
British Isles- The British Isles is made up of 5,000 islands in which Great Britain and Ireland are the biggest ones. It is made up of two main independent countries- UK and the Republic of Ireland.
