EUROPE 



2095 



EUROPE 



the Christian Church are the Protestant, the 

 Orthodox, or Greek, and the Roman Catholic, 

 the last having by far the greatest number of 

 adherents. The remaining five per cent of the 

 people are for the most part Mohammedans or 

 Jews. . 



Some Interesting Measurements. The north- 

 ernmost point of the mainland of Europe is 

 North Cape, far up in the polar ice in latitude 

 71 11' north; its southernmost limit is Cape 

 Tarifa, in Spain, at 36 north. In its east and 

 west direction it extends from Cape de Roca 

 in Portugal, 9 27' west, to a spot in the Ural 

 Mountains of Russia at 66 21' east. Its 

 greatest dimension east and west is 3,293 miles; 

 its greatest length from north to south, about 



Of the utmost importance are its coast waters, 

 which include the Arctic Ocean, the White 

 Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Sea 

 of Azov, the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmora, 

 the Dardanelles, the Aegean, the Mediterra- 

 nean and the Adriatic seas, Strait of Gibraltar, 

 the Atlantic Ocean, Bay of Biscay, English 

 Channel, North Sea, Gulf of Bothnia and 

 Baltic Sea. The detailed history of Europe 

 could not be written without a consideration 

 of most of these, nor could the economic 

 progress of its many peoples be understood, 

 for only these numerous coast waters could 

 have made it possible for many nations to de- 

 velop in this comparatively small area. Islands, 

 too, are numerous, and have played a very 



EXTREMES OP CLIMATE 



When the condition exists In Norway which is shown at the left, sunny Italy enjoys almost a 

 tropical clime. 



2,400 miles. The coast line of Europe is of 

 peculiar interest, for it is much longer in pro- 

 portion to area than that of any other conti- 

 nent. The usual method of reckoning, which 

 takes account only of the larger inlets, gives 

 its total length as about 20,000 miles, while 

 another, which includes the small gulfs and 

 bays and river mouths, makes it almost 48,000 

 miles. In its altitude Europe has no such 

 extremes as has Asia or even North America, 

 for its loftiest mountain peak, the famous 

 , Mont Blanc (which see), is but 15,782 feet 

 in height, while its deepest depression, the 

 Caspian Sea, is but eighty-six feet below the 

 level of the sea. 



Main Physical Features. The details of the 

 surface formation of Europe are given in arti- 

 cles treating the separate countries; here it 

 is necessary to consider only such features 

 as exercise a real influence on. the climate, 

 the industries or the history of the continent. 



important part, the British Isles, especially, 

 ranking as one of the main divisions of the 

 continent. 



Highlands and Lowlands. A relief map of 

 Europe shows a certain resemblance to that of 

 North America, in that there are two highland 

 or mountain regions, with a lowland region 

 between. In America the trend of these is 

 north and south; in Europe it is east and west. 

 The great highland region of Europe is in the 

 south and extends across the continent from 

 the coast of Portugal to the Black Sea, while 

 spurs of it jut southward into the various 

 peninsulas. The islands off the southern coast 

 are mere outcroppings of partially submerged 

 mountain ranges, separated from the mainland 

 by shallow seas. This Mediterranean highland 

 district is about 800,000 square miles in area, 

 and includes the Balkans, the Apennines, the 

 Pyrenees and, as its dominating height, the 

 Alps. The influence of geography on history 



