THE EUROPEAN CONTINENT AND THE EUROPEAN UNION. Europe is located in the warm zone in the northern hemisphere. To the North we find the Arctic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and Africa to the South. Asia to the East, and the Atlantic Ocean to the West. Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area (The rest of continent are Asia, America, Africa and Australia-Oceania). Apart from Antarctica. THE EUROPEAN RELIEF.
PLAINS AND MOUNTAINS: .- Plains: The most important plain is the North European Plain, which expands from Belgium to the Urals. .- Old mountains: (not too high) like Massif Central (in France) and the Black Forest (in Germany) .- Young mountains: (very high) like the Alps, Pyrenees, Apennine mountains, Caucasus, the Urals, the Carpathians, the Balkans mountains‌ THE COASTS: .- Northern coasts (in the Arctic Ocean): in Iceland, and the Scandinavian Peninsula and Jutland Peninsula. .- Western Coasts (in the Atlantic Ocean): British Islands (in the Black Sea). .- Southern Coasts (in the Mediterranean Sea): There are seas: Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, Ionian Sea and Aegean Sea. And there are peninsulas: Iberian Peninsula, Italian Peninsula, Balkan Peninsula, and many islands. .- Eastern Coasts: with some interior seas like the Black Sea and Caspian Sea.
THE RIVERS: .- Arctic basin: has got rivers like Daugava river, Vistula river and Oder river. .- Atlantic basin: Elba River, Rhine, Seine and the Tagus river. .- Mediterranean basin: Ebro, Rhone and the Po river. .- Black Sea basin: Danube, Don river, and Dnieper river. .- Caspian Sea basin: the Volga river.
If we speak about the climate, we can say that there are different climates: Atlantic, Mediterranean, Continental and Polar climates (Steppe, Tundra, Subarctic‌)
EUROPEAN POPULATION: The European population is about 730 million inhabitants, with a very irregular distribution. The population density is about 72 inhabitants/km2, although some areas in Central Europe it can be more than 300 inhab/km22, and in the northern countries only 20 inhab/km2. Europe is one of the most developed areas in the world. European people produce own one of the fourth wealth on the planet, and as a result, the European continent is a receptor of immigrants from other continents like Asia or Africa.
COUNTRIES AND CAPITALS IN EUROPE: There are 54 countries in Europe. These are the most important countries. Albania ----Tirane
Austria ----Vienna
Belarus ----Minsk
Belgium ----Brussels
Bulgaria ----Sofia
Bosnia and Herzegovina --Sarajevo
Croatia ----Zagreb
Czech Republic ----Prague
Denmark ----Copenhagen
Estonia ----Tallinn
Finland ----Helsinki
France ----Paris
Germany ----Berlin
Greece ----Athens
Hungary ----Budapest
Iceland ----Reykjavik
Ireland ----Dublin
Italy ----Rome
Latvia ----Riga
Liechtenstein ----Liechtenstein
Lithuania ----Vilnius
Luxembourg ----Luxembourg
Macedonia ----Skopie
Malta ----Valleta
Moldova ----Chisnau
Monaco ----Monaco
Serbia and Montenegro --Belgrade
Netherlands ----The Hague, Amsterdam
Norway ----Oslo
Poland ----Warsaw
Portugal ----Lisbon
Romania ----Bucharest
Russia ----Moscow
Slovakia ----Bratslava
Slovenia ----Lujbljana
Spain ----Madrid
Sweden ----Stockholm
Switzerland ----Bern
Turkey ----Ankara
Ukraine ----Kiev
United Kingdom ----London
Vatican City ----Vatican City
EUROPEAN COUNTRIES GAME: http://www.educa.jcyl.es/educacyl/cm/gallery/Recursos%20Infinity/ingles/geography/geography_europe.ht ml EUROPEAN UNION INSTITUTIONS: There are five institutions that govern the European Union. 1.- European Parliament: There are 700 members of Parliament, elected by the citizens from the countries which form the European Union. They control the European Comission and every year’s budget. Its seat is in Strasbourg (France).
2.- European Commission: It’s formed by 20 members. It’s the executive power. It has to prepare laws, and to ensure that the law is upheld by every Euroean state. It also prepares the budgets to send to the Parliament every year. Its seat is in Brussels (Belgium). 3.- The Council of the European Union: It’s formed by ministers from every country. The Presidency of the Council rotates every six months among the governments of EU member states. 4.- The Court of Justice: Its mission is to ensure that "the law is observed" and it ensures that the Member States comply with obligations under the Treaties. It is composed of one judge per member state. 5.- The Court of Auditors: It was established in Luxembourg to audit (to control) the accounts of EU institutions. The Court is composed of one member from each EU member state. There are other institutions like the European Central Bank. The flag is composed of a circle formed by 12 yellow stars against a blue background. The European anthem is The Symphony No. 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The European currency is the Euro, since 1999.
GLOSSARY- VOCABULARY: Is located: está localizado
massif: macizo
second-smallest: el Segundo más pequeño
Northern coasts: costas del norte
basin: cuenca o vertiente
interior sea: mar interior
Althouhg: aunque
developed: desarrollada
fourth part: cuarta parte
Richness: riqueza
member: miembro
a result of this: como consecuencia
Designateded by: designados por
Budget: presupuesto
Citizen: ciudadanos
its seat is in…: su sede está en …
executive power: poder ejecutivo.
European Parliament: Parlamento Europeo.
Laws: leyes
European Comission: Comisión Europea.
To ensure that the law is upheld by everybody.
The Council…: El Consejo….
Asegurarse de que las leyes se cumplen por todos.
Court of Justice: Tribunal de Justicia
Presidency rotates: la presidencia rota
Court of Auditors: Tribunal de Cuentas.
To ensure: asegurarse
Law is observed: se cumpla la ley
Treaty: Tratado, acuerdo.
To stablish: establecerse, asentarse
blue background: fondo azul
Currency: moneda
Judge: juez
anthem: himno