(Sample Material) IAS Online Coaching : India & World Geography - "Europe" | IAS EXAM PORTAL - India's Largest Community for UPSC Exam Aspirants.

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Subject: India & World Geography

Topic: Europe

Latitude : 34051'N to 81047'N
Longitude : 24033'W to 69003'E
Population : 60 crores
Area: 1,04,98,000 sq. km.
Size : Second smallest continent in the world in area, after America.
Situation : Europe is situated between Ural Mountains in the east and the Atlantic Ocean in the west, in the west of Asia, and north of Africa. To the north of Europe lies Arctic Ocean, to the south lies the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains and to the East Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea.
Europe and Asia as one common landmass, is known as ‘Eurasia’.

¨Greatest extent, North-South : 4300 km
▪Greatest extent, East-West : 5600 km

Principal Countries

Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City State, Yugoslavia.

Countries of Scandinavia
Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland are collectively known as Scandinavia.

EUROPE : PHYSICAL

Important Gulfs and Bays

Name	Separates	Part of Sea or Ocean
Gulf of Riga	Estonia and Latvia	Baltic Sea.
Gulf of Finland	Finland and Estonia	Baltic Sea.
Gulf of Bothnia	Sweden and Finland	Baltic Sea.
English Channel	Britain and Spain	Atlantic Ocean.
Bay of Biscay	France and Spain	Atlanic Ocean.
Gulf of Lions	Lies to the south of France	Mediterranean Sea.

Important Seas

Name	LOCATION, (PART OF OCEAN)	RIVERS DRAINING INTO THEM
Mediterranean Sea	Separates Europe from Africa, Strait of Gibraltar connects it to the Atlantic	Tiber (Italy) (France) Ebro (Spain)
White Sea	North of Russia, Arctic Ocean	Mezen, N. Divina, andOnega.
Baltic Sea	Atlantic Ocean	Vistula and Oder.
North Sea • Wide continental shelves of North Sea, called as Dogger Bank is one of the most productive regions for fishing in the world. • North sea is connected to the Baltic Sea through Kiel Canal.	East of the United Kingdom, Atlantic Ocean	Elbe and Weser (Germany) and Rhine (Netherland)
Irish Sea	Lies between Great Britain and Ireland, Atlantic Ocean.
Adriatic Sea	North east of Italy, Mediterranean Sea.	Po (Italy.)
Ionian Sea	Lies between Greece and Italy, Mediterranean Sea.
Balck Sea	Separates Europe from Asia	Dnepr, Dnster, Danube.
Sea of Azov	South east of Ukraine, North of Black Sea	Don.
Sea of Marmara	South westof Black Sea.	Connects Black Sea and Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea	Lies between Greece and Anatolia Peninsula (Turkey), Mediterranean Sea.

Important Straits

Name	Separates	Connects
Strait of Gibraltar (Known as ‘Key to the Mediterranean’).	Europe and Africa	Mediterranean Sea with Atlantic Ocean.
Strait of Bonifacio	Sardina islands. (Italy) and Corsica (France)	Tyrhenian Sea with Mediterranean Sea.
Strait of Messina	Sicily and Peninsular Italy	Tyrhenian Sea with Mediterranean Sea.
Strait of Otranto	Italy and Balkan Peninsula	Adriatic Sea with Ionian Sea.
Bosporus Strait	Istanbul and Anatolia Peninsula (Turkey)	Black Sea with Sea of Marmara.
Strait of Kerch	Kerch (Ukraine) and Russia	Sea of Azov with Black Sea.
Dardanelles Strait	Balkan Peninsula and Antolia Peninsula	Sea of Marmara with Aegean Sea.