EUROPE

Europe Physical Divisions

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WESTERN
UPLANDS /
NORTHERN
HIGHLAND
S
Europe Physical Divisions
COUNTRIES
The Western Uplands, also known as the
Northern Highlands, curve up the western
edge of Europe and define the physical
landscape of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark), Finland, Iceland, Scotland,
Ireland, the Brittany region of France, Spain,
and Portugal.
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CLIMATE

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Winters—much colder and longer, with greater snow cover, than in
western Europe—are coldest in the northeast, and summers are
hottest in the southeast; the January to July mean temperatures range
approximately from 50 to 70 °F (10 to 21 °C). Summer is the period
of maximum rain, which is less abundant than in the west; in both
the north and northwest of the uplands , precipitation reaches only
between 10 and 20 inches (250 and 500 mm) annually. In parts of the
south, the unreliability of rainfall combines with its relative scarcity
to raise a serious aridity problem.

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WILDLIFE
Richness of animal and bird
life, which had persisted
throughout much of historical
times, now has been greatly
reduced. Among large
surviving mammals are elks
(moose), reindeer, roe deer,
and brown bears.

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Lynx have been exterminated, but not wolves, foxes, martens, badgers,
polecats, and white weasels. Sables, which are much hunted for their valuable
fur, only just survive in the northeastern forests of European Russia. Rodents
in the forests include squirrels, white Arctic hares, and (in the mixed forests)
gray hares and beavers. Among birds are black grouse, snipes, hazel hens,
white partridge, woodpeckers, and crossbills, all of which assume protective
colouring and are specially adapted to be able to find their food in a woodland
environment. Owls, blackbirds, tomtits, and bullfinches may be seen in the
forests and geese, ducks, and lapwings in meadow areas.

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 AGRICULTURE IS USUALLY LIMITED TO GRAZING LIVESTOCK OR FARMING IN THE VALLEYS AND MEADOWS. THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS ARE
NOTED FOR THEIR WOOL PRODUCTS AND HIGHLAND CATTLE. IN ENGLAND, THE CENTRAL CHAIN OF HIGHLANDS CALLED THE PENNINES
PROVED VALUABLE DURING THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION BECAUSE THEY ENABLED HYDROPOWER AND, LATER, COAL MINING. COAL MINING
WAS PROMINENT IN THE HIGHLAND REGIONS OF WALES. IN THE FAR NORTHERN REGIONS OF SCANDINAVIA, TUNDRA ENVIRONMENTS PREVAIL.
IN THIS COLDEST AND DRIEST BIOME, PERMAFROST DOMINATES THE LANDSCAPE, AND THE LAND BECOMES SOGGY FOR BRIEF PERIODS DURING
THE FEW WEEKS OF SUMMER. THE FLORA CONSISTS PRIMARILY OF LICHENS, MOSSES, LOW SHRUBS, AND WILDFLOWERS.

ALPINE SKI HOUSE 8

References
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/
NORTH
EUROPEAN
PLAINS
Europe Physical Divisions
COUNTRIES
The North European Plain covers Flanders
(northern Belgium), the Netherlands,
Northern Germany, Denmark, and most of
central-western Poland; it touches the Czech
Republic and southwestern part of Sweden as
well.

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CLIMATE

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Summers are warm but not hot, and winters are cold but not
freezing. As one moves eastward, the ameliorating maritime
influence diminishes, and the character of the climate becomes
more continental: rainfall is concentrated in the warmer months,
summers are hotter, and winters become extremely cold. Spring
and fall nearly disappear as separate seasons, and the greenness
of the summer gives way abruptly each year to the gray
drabness of a frozen winter. Agriculture in eastern Europe tends
to be more difficult and less productive than in the west.

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WILDLIFE
The wild animals of the plain
are those characteristic of the
whole of Europe, but their
numbers have been
considerably reduced and their
habitats modified by intense
human settlement of most areas
of the plain.

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• Bison
Strong and majestic plains bison once numbered 30 million to 60 million in North America, but their
population plummeted during westward expansion in the 1880s.
•  Black-footed ferrets
About 300 of these masked bandits still live in the wild in the Great Plains—once thought to be extinct.
Habitat loss and disease still threaten the species
• Pronghorn
Pronghorn are the fastest terrestrial animals in North America and can clip across the plains at 60 miles per
hour. But they’re running into trouble migrating; many of the corridors they use year after year are now
fragmented by roads, fences and energy development.
• Greater sage grouse
These dignified prairie birds perform elaborate mating dances on areas they have used for hundreds of years.
Habitat degradation associated with energy development, such as wells, roads, power lines, and buildings
decrease, sage-grouse nesting success.
•   Mountain plover
Birders who try to find Mountain Plovers refer to them as ‘Prairie Ghosts’ as they disappear into their
surroundings with their coloration. The Mountain Plover is just larger than an American Robin and is one of
nine grassland bird species that breed nowhere else other than the Great Plains.

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Deciduous
DC and coniferous forests diversify the landscape of the North
European Plain, although present forests are no more than remnants of a thick
mixed forest of oak, elm, ash, linden, and maple, which, since the Middle
Ages, has given way to villages and fields in most places. The East European
Plain, despite its great uniformity in terrain, exhibits strong regional contrasts
in vegetation. Climatic differences produce great belts of characteristic plant
life extending approximately east to west across the country. The southern part
of the plain is an area of semiarid grasslands, which grade toward the north
into more humid lands with taller grasses and rich, fertile soils. North of the
grasslands lies a belt of hardwood forests; in the severely cold north lies a belt
of coniferous forests and, bordering the Arctic Ocean, a belt of tundra.

ALPINE SKI HOUSE 16

References
https://www.britannica.com/place/European-Plain
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/animals-of-the-
northern-great-plains
CENTRAL
UPLANDS
Europe Physical Divisions
COUNTRIES
The Central Uplands extend east-west
across central Europe and include
western France and Belgium, southern
Germany, the Czech Republic, and parts
of northern Switzerland and Austria.
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CLIMATE

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The climate of the upland is the most continental and the winters are the coldest. The average
annual temperature is 6°C in the north and 8.5°C in the south; the average January temperature is
-7°C in the southwest and -9.5°C in the northeast; and the average July temperature is 19°C in the
northwest and 22°C in the southeast. The average difference in temperature between the coldest
and warmest month increases from 26°C in the northwest to 29°C in the southeast. The average
annual precipitation varies from 500 mm in the northwest to 400 mm in the southeast. Seventy-
five percent of the precipitation comes in the summer months, when downpours are common. The
winters are remarkably stable, and the summers are dry with frequent dry winds.

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WILDLIFE

Numerous rodents,
including marmots,
jerboas, hamsters, and
field mice, have increased
in numbers to become
pests, now that nearly all
the steppes are under
cultivation.
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 Equally plentiful birds include bustards—which can
fly as well as run—quail, gray partridge, and larks.
Many take on yellowish gray or brown protective
colouring to match the dried-up grass. Eagles,
falcons, hawks, and kites are the birds of prey; water
and marsh birds—especially cranes, bitterns, and
herons—also make their homes in the steppes.
Different kinds of grasshoppers and beetles are insect
pests
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VEGETATION

• The soils and vegetation change from the north-northwest to the south-
southeast. Podzolized soils, podzolized chernozems, and dark gray,
gray, and light gray podzolized soils are prevalent north of the Seim
River. In the forest belt soddy podzolic sandy soils are also found. In
the rest of the forest-steppe the deep, low-humus chernozems are
common. In the steppes the ordinary low- humus chernozems prevail.
Meadow chernozems, sandy soils, and swampy soils are found in the
river valleys.

ALPINE SKI HOUSE 24

References
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/
http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com
https://www.britannica.com/
ALPINE
MOUNTAIN
S
Europe Physical Divisions
 COUNTRIES
Located in Central Europe, the Alps stretch
across the countries of France, Italy,
Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland,
and Liechtenstein
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CLIMATE
Alps are affected by four main climatic
influences: from the west flows the
relatively mild, moist air of the Atlantic;
cool or cold polar air descends from
northern Europe; continental air masses,
cold and dry in winter and hot in summer,
dominate in the east; and, to the south,
warm Mediterranean air flows northward.

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 WILDLIFE
Several species of animals have
adapted well to the Alpine region. The
ibex, a wild goat, and the goatlike
chamois both are endowed with an
extraordinary nimbleness suited to the
craggy landscape. Marmots hibernate
in underground galleries. The
mountain hare and the ptarmigan, a
grouse, assume white coats for winter.
Several national parks amid the ranges protect
the native fauna. Although increasing population
pressure in the Alpine regions has led to the
disappearance of a number of species, some
prized animals, including the lynx, the brown
bear, and the bearded vulture (lammergeier),
have been successfully reintroduced.

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VEGETATIO
N
On the valley floors and lower slopes grow a variety of species of
deciduous trees; these include linden, oak, beech, poplar, elm,
chestnut, mountain ash, birch, and Norway maple. At higher
elevations, the largest extent of forest is coniferous; spruce, larch,
and a variety of pine are the main species. Better able to resist
conditions of cold, lack of moisture, and high winds, larch can grow
as high as 8,200 feet and are found interspersed with spruce at lower
elevations. At the upper limits of the forests are hardy species such as
the Arolla pine . 

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LARGE IMAGE SLIDE

References
https://www.worldwildlife.org
https://www.britannica.com/place/Alps
https://www.worldatlas.com/
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