Regions of Europe
The countries of the European continent are distributed in regions established according to spatial and economic criteria. This division is due to the fact that Europe does not have homogeneous characteristics throughout its territory. Thus, the regions group territories with similar characteristics to facilitate the study of these areas. One of the classifications divides Europe into four regions:
- Northern Europe: it is the region located at the northern tip of the continent and corresponds to the area with the lowest temperatures among European countries. Basically, it corresponds to the territory of Scandinavia and the Nordic countries such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.
- Central-Eastern Europe: this is the region that corresponds to the countries of the former Soviet Union that have become independent, such as Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Moldova, etc. See Countryaah for more countries.
- Western Europe: it is the region that covers the area of countries bathed by the Atlantic Ocean such as the United Kingdom and France. It also comprises the area of countries such as Belgium and Germany and also countries that are not limited to the ocean, however it maintains relations with the West.
- Southern Europe: It is the region that covers the area of countries bathed by the Mediterranean Sea, which are located in the Iberian Peninsula, such as Portugal, Spain, Vatican and Greece.
Climate
Europe’s climate is predominantly temperate with maritime character in the west and increasingly continental in the east. In the southeast, a small area has a steep climate. Areas in high mountains and furthest north have tundra climates. Subtropical climate is found along the Mediterranean coast, in most of the Iberian Peninsula and in Crimea.
The annual rainfall is 500–1000 millimeters, except in the Mediterranean, where summer drought prevails. Geographical conditions provide more favorable temperature and precipitation conditions than in corresponding latitude zones in other continents.
The climate is dominated by the west wind belt and by an annual shift to the north in summer and to the south in winter. The North Atlantic current brings hot water to the shores of northwestern Europe. Here, a branch occurs where the most important continuation is the Norwegian Atlantic current, which carries large amounts of Atlantic water northwards all the way to the Arctic Ocean.
Almost interconnected mountain areas from the Pyrenees to Asia Minor close for exchange of air north-south. Air currents from the west are hindered by smaller rock formations.
| Country | Average rainfall / month |
| Albania | 157 mm (Oct), 28 mm (July) |
| Andorra | – |
| Armenia | Yerevan 43 mm (May), 7 mm (Aug) |
| Azerbaijan | Baku 30 mm (Nov), 2 mm (July) |
| Belgium | Brussels 94 mm (July), 53 mm (March) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo 43 mm (Jan), 103 mm (Sept) |
| Bulgaria | Sofia 28 mm (Feb), 81 mm (Jun) |
| Cyprus | 80 mm (Dec), 0 mm (July – Sept) |
| Denmark | 38 mm (Jun), 79 mm (Nov) |
| Estonia | – |
| Finland | Helsinki 60 mm (July), 33 mm (Jan) |
| France | Paris 61 mm (Aug), 40 mm (March) |
| Georgia | Tbilisi 78 mm (May), 19 mm (Jan) |
| Greece | – |
| Ireland | Dublin 79 mm (Dec), 47 mm (April) |
| Iceland | Reykjavík 97 mm (Oct), 41 mm (June) |
| Italy | Room 150 mm (Nov), 15 mm (July) |
| Kosovo | Prishtina 28 mm (June), 54 mm (Nov) |
| Croatia | Zagreb 30 mm (Feb), 95 mm (Jun) |
| Latvia | – |
| Liechtenstein | – |
| Lithuania | – |
| Luxembourg | – |
| Northern Macedonia | – |
| Malta | 124 mm (Oct), 1 mm (July) |
| Moldova | – |
| Monaco | – |
| Montenegro | Podgorica 18 mm (July), 147 mm (Nov) |
| Netherlands | 80 mm (July), 73 mm (Jan) |
| Norway | Oslo 90 mm (sept), 36 mm (feb) |
| Poland | Warsaw 75 mm (July – Aug), 28 mm (Feb) |
| Portugal | Lisbon 109 mm (Jan), 2 mm (July) |
| Romania | Bucharest 89 mm (June), 33 mm (Feb) |
| Russia | Moscow 74 mm (July-Aug), 28 mm (Feb) |
| San Marino | – |
| Switzerland | – |
| Serbia | Belgrade 79 mm (June), 28 mm (February) |
| Slovakia | Bratislava 75 mm (September), 30 mm (February) |
| Slovenia | – |
| Spain | Madrid 48 mm (Dec), 11 mm (July) |
| UK | London 64 mm (Nov), 37 mm (April) |
| Sweden | Stockholm 27 mm (Feb), 72 mm (July) |
| Czech Republic | Prague 86 mm (July), 27 mm (February) |
| Turkey | Anchor 55 mm (May), 12 mm (Aug) |
| Germany | Berlin 74 mm (July), 33 mm (April) |
| Ukraine | Kiev 33 mm (Jan), 90 mm (June) |
| Hungary | Budapest 85 mm (Sep), 23 mm (Feb) |
| Vatican City State | – |
| Belarus | Minsk 33 mm (February), 89 mm (July) |
| Austria | Vienna 38 mm (Jan), 63 mm (July) |
Plant life
Europe’s vegetation is relatively poor in nature, partly because the large masses of ice in prehistoric times caused many species to die out and partly because of extensive intervention in most countries in the form of cultivation of soil, grazing and harvesting.
Europe can be divided into four vegetation zones: the Arctic zone, the Subarctic zone, the Central European zone and the Mediterranean zone.
The Arctic zone in the far north is characterized by sparse low and moss vegetation as well as a few vascular plants. To the south of this tundra, a broad subarctic pine forest belt, mainly spruce and pine, extends from Norway, Sweden and Finland, the Baltic countries through Russia to Northeast Asia. The Central European zone is dominated by deciduous forests with species such as beech and oak ; deciduous forest extends from the British Isles and east to Russia, where due to low rainfall it is sometimes replaced by steppe in Hungary, Romania and parts of southern Russia and Ukraine. The Mediterranean zone consists partly of small areas of deciduous forest, especially of oak, chestnut and beech, and partly of scrub and shrub vegetation (garrigue, maquis).
Wildlife
The European fauna is not species rich compared to other continents and includes species characteristic of the Palarctic animal region. Settlement, agriculture and industrialization have restricted the habitats of animals, and several large mammals such as giant deer, turkey and tarpan (European wild horse) have become extinct. Visent (European bison) was almost extinct, while other species, such as wolves, brown bears and wolverines, have been forced into more peripheral areas.
In Arctic regions, for example, polar bears, reindeer, polar reefs (mountain reefs), lemons, snowflakes and grouse live.
In a bar – and mixed forests further south are including brown bear, red fox, marten, moose, beavers, squirrels and wolves, and in mixed forest deer, roe deer, badger, boar and many species of rodents. Raccoon, beaver rat, muskrat, raccoon dog and several deer species found growing wild. Characteristic birds are woodpeckers, forest chickens and owls.
In mountainous areas of the continent, among other things, live muflon (wild sheep), gem, capricorn and alpine marmot. In the Mediterranean area live deer and rabbit. Due to the warm climate here, there are several species of amphibians, snakes, lizards and land turtles.
On the Atlantic coast there are several whale species and of seal species including oats and cobwebs, and in the eastern parts of the Mediterranean the rare monk seal.
On the steppes of the Balkans and the Black Sea, mammals such as golden jackal, sisal (ground grain), hamsters and bird species such as stairs and fallow deer live.
In cultural landscapes and in cities, mammals such as red fox, badger and hedgehogs live, as well as birds such as gray- tailed sparrow, crows, cuttings and several species of pigeons.
The bird species are largely common to Scandinavia and Northern Europe for the rest and Central Europe, such as mountain ridge and wooden toe woodpecker. Many ducks, waders and gulls are both resident birds and migratory birds. Typical Central European mountain birds are masonry creeper, alpine sparrow and mountain sparrow. In southern Europe there are several species of herons, vultures and singers.
