The Mediterranean Sea separates Europe from Africa. It stretches more than 4,000 km from east to west. The Mediterranean Sea would be an enormous lake if it were not for strait of Gibraltar, a narrow opening only 13 km wide which joins it to the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean lies over the boundary of two continental plates. The Mediterranean coasts are bordered by several thousand miles of sandy beaches.

Landscape

The area of sea off the coast of Tunisia and also the Adriatic Sea are shallower than the rest of the Mediterranean. The rugged Atlas Mountain runs through the most of Morocco and Algeria.  They form a barrier between the Mediterranean and the Sahara, which lies south to them. Greek Islands has thousands of islands, which lie, both in the Mediterranean and in the smaller Aegean Sea. Some of them are the remains of old volcanoes which has left black sand on the beaches. Suez Canal links the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Before it was built ship had to sail around the whole of Africa to reach Asia.

Tourism

The tourism industry in and around the Mediterranean is one of the most highly developed in the world. More than half of the world’s income from tourism is generated here. Resorts have grown up along the northwest coast of Africa, and in Egypt, in southern Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Turkey, tourism brings huge economic benefit.

Industry

The Mediterranean has a large fishing industry, although most of the fishing is small- scale. Tuna and Sardines are caught throughout the region and mussels are found off the coast of Italy. Fish canning and packing takes place at most of the larger ports. Small oil and gas reserves are extracted off the coast of North Africa and near Greece, Spain and Italy.

Points to Remember

1. Europe is the sixth largest continent with an area of 10,360,000 sq km.
2. The highest point in Europe is Mont Blanc (4807 m) in the Alps and Mt Elbrus (5633 m) in theCaucasus.
3. Belgium and Netherlands are the two small low lands countries very thickly populated.
4. Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are collectively known as Scandinavia.
5. The Seine and Rhine are the important rivers that join the English Channel and the North Sea.
6. The Volga, which is the largest river of Europe, joins a landlocked Sea named the Caspian.
7. Elbrus is the highest mountain peak in Europe, which lies in the Caucasus.
8. Lombardy in Italy and the lowlands of Andalusia in Spain and the plains of Hungry are thelowlands.
9. More than 700 million people live in Europe and its population is highly urbanized.
10. Rotterdam, in the Netherlands is a part of conurbation, a large built up are with several townsand cities.
11. Temperate type of climate is found in Europe.
12. North European plain is the Europe’s agricultural heart.
13. The Alps were formed when after can plate collided with the Eurasian Plate..
14. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are together called ‘Baltic State.’15. Belgium, Luxemberg and Netherlands are called ‘Low countries.’
15. The plain of Flanders in Western Germany has fertile soil.
16. The Burren is a large area of limestone rock in the west of Ireland. Its flat surfaces are known aslimestones pavements.
17. The coast of Normandy is lined with high chalk cliffs.
18. The Duero, Tagus and Guadalquivir rivers flow across the Meseta on their courses to AtlanticOcean.
19. Germany is a leading manufacturer of cars, machinery and transport equipment.
20. Sicily is the largest islands in Mediterranean. It has a famous active volcano called Mount Etna.
21. The Po Valley is a broad flat plain in North of Italy.
22. Sicily has Italy’s highest temperature, due to warm African winds.
23. The Poland’s largest river is Vistula. It flows northwards, passing through the capital Warsaw onits way to the Baltic Sea.
24. TheTatra Mountains are small range at the northern end of the Carpathian Mountains.
25. The Balkan Mountains forms a spur running east to west through Bulgaria and separate the twomain rivers, the Danube and the Maritsa.
26. Carpathian Mountain Range is the largest mountain range in Eastern Europe. They are richsource of timber and minerals.
27. Suez Canal links the Mediterranean to the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea. Before it was built,ship had to sail around the whole of Africa to reach Asia.
28. The Atlas Mountains runs through most of Morocco and Algeria. They form barrier between theMediterranean coast and the Sahara, which lies south of them.
29. The Carpathian Mountains are both the coldest and the wettest parts of central Europe.
30. Tyrrhenian Sea divides the Italian mainland from Sardinia is gradually filling with sediments fromthe rivers, which flow into it.
31. Poland’s largest river is the Vistula. It flows northwards passing through the Capital Warsaw.
32. Central Europe’s main crops are cereals such as maize, wheat and rye, along with sugar beetand potatoes.
33. The worst nuclear incident in history happened at Chernobyl’s nuclear power station in NorthernUkraine.

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