EUROPE 



21 UK; 



EUROPE 



is strikingly evidenced in this region. There 

 are no great plains where large nations might 

 develop, but in every valley or small plain 

 a little state grew up, quite distinct in most 

 instances from the next little state just over the 

 mountains. Especially in the histories of 

 Greece and Italy was this tendency apparent. 

 Only in very modern times, when mountains 

 were no longer effective barriers, was the old 

 tendency towards isolation overruled, and thus 

 engineers deserve their share of credit, along 

 with the patriots, in the formation of a united 

 Italy. 



The other highland region, in the northwest, 

 is less extensive, but includes much of Fin- 

 land, Norway and Sweden, Scotland and Ire- 

 land. The actual mountain region is very un- 

 productive, because the best soil was carried 

 away ages ago by the glaciers, but the sea is 

 close at hand and fishing is profitable enough 

 to make up for the lack of agricultural possi- 

 bilities. 



The most important part of Europe, how- 

 ever, is the great lowland province, extending 

 from the Atlantic to the eastern boundary of 

 the continent. Most of Russia, Austria-Hun- 

 gary, Germany, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, 

 France and England lie in it, so that it is with- 

 out doubt one of the most important plains in 

 all the world. In most places the soil is fertile, 

 and this, together with its navigable rivers and 

 the absence of high mountains which prohibit 

 easy intercourse, accounts in large measure for 

 the wonderful development of the nations 

 which make their homes upon it. 



Waters. There is no well-marked Great 

 Divide in Europe, but the main watershed 

 has a winding direction from southwest to 

 northeast (see DIVIDE). From the Alps de- 

 scend the Rhine, the Rhone and the Po, while 

 the Danube, greater than any of these, rises 

 in the Black Forest, north of the Alps. The 

 longest river of Europe is the Volga (which 

 see), which after a course of almost 2,400 miles 

 empties into the Caspian Sea. Other rivers 

 are the Meuse, the Scheldt, the Loire, the 

 Maine, the Seine, the Elbe, the Main, the 

 Vistula, the Diester and the Don, and these, 

 with many more, are given separate treatment 

 in these volumes. Of lakes the continent has 

 many. There are, most famous of all, the 

 wonderfully beautiful lakes of the Alpine re- 

 gion; those of the celebrated Lake Region of 

 England; the Scandinavian basins; and the 

 largest of European fresh-water bodies, lakes 

 Onega and Ladoga in Russia. Between Eu- 



rope and Asia lies the greatest salt-water lake 

 in the world the Caspian Sea. 



Climate and Vegetation. No other conti- 

 nent lies so largely within the temperate zone 

 as does Europe. It is crossed in the extreme 

 north by the Arctic Circle, but it alone of 

 all the continents nowhere extends into the 

 torrid zone. Owing to the closeness of most 

 parts of the continent to the sea, the climate 

 is remarkably mild and genial, considering the 

 latitude. Russia, however, is removed from 

 the equalizing influence of the sea breezes, 

 and has what is known as a "continental cli- 

 mate," with extremes of heat and cold. The 

 southern peninsulas, cut off by the mountains 

 from the northern winds and open to the in- 

 fluences of the Mediterranean, have a climate 

 far more mild and uniform than that of cor- 

 responding latitudes in North America. Na- 

 ples, for instance, is in about the same latitude 

 as Pittsburgh, but has an almost subtropical 

 climate, while the American city is subject to 

 bitter winter temperatures and sweeping bliz- 

 zards. See CLIMATE, and the map in the arti- 

 cle RIVIERA. 



Europe has no desert areas, and almost 

 everywhere there is enough rainfall for agri- 

 culture, though in Russia, near the shores of 

 the Caspian Sea, there is a very dry stretch. 

 In some places, as in Spain, irrigation is neces- 

 sary, for while there is plenty of rain, it falls 

 after the growing season and is of no use for 

 crops. 



Vegetation. Because of the generally mild 

 climate and plentiful rainfall, there is vegeta- 

 tion everywhere in Europe. In the near-desert 

 region of Russia, referred to above, only grass 

 will grow, while in the Arctic region the pecu- 

 liar tundra conditions prevail (see TUNDRA), 

 but almost everywhere else trees and flowering 

 plants are abundant. Farthest north is the 

 zone of the cone-bearers, the pines, firs and 

 spruces, and next come the oak and the beech 

 woods. Well down through the Middle Ages 

 the north-central plains of Europe were but 

 a great forest, in the clearings of which settle- 

 ments had sprung up. In the southern part 

 of the continent the olive is characteristic, but 

 almost any tree will grow which has thick, 

 leathery leaves that allow but slow evapora- 

 tion of the tree's moisture. The details of the 

 agricultural production of Europe are given in 

 the articles on the various countries, but it is 

 interesting, and to a dweller in North Amer- 

 ica astonishing, to learn that Europe, in nor- 

 mal times, produces more wheat, more oats, 



