About Albania
- Map is showing Albania, a republic on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea in west, Montenegro in north,
Serbia (Kosovo) in north east, the Republic of Macedonia in east, and Greece in south east.
- Albania shares maritime borders with Croatia and Italy.
- With an area of 28,748 km², Albania is slightly smaller than Maryland, or only half the size of Croatia.
- The country has a population of 2,890,000 people (2015)
- Capital and largest city is Tirana.
- Spoken language is Albanian.
- Albania has three primary topographical areas: a coastal plain, an interior mountainous region, and an interior plain.
- The interior of the country is mostly mountainous and approximately 36% is densely forested.
- The highest mountain in the country is Korab with 2,764 m (9,068 feet), its ridges are forming a section of the border between Albania and the
Republic of Macedonia.
- The Albanian plains are extensively planted with olives, citrus fruits and vineyards.
- There are numerous lakes in the country, the biggest is Shkodra, with 370 km² the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula, it is shared with Montenegro.
- The exceptionally deep lake Ohrid (294 m; 931ft) in the eastern part of the country is shared with Macedonia.
- The Ionian coast, particularly the "Riviera of Flowers," from Vlora to Saranda, is both rugged and beautiful, featuring some of the most picturesque
scenery in the country.
Andorra
about Andorra
- The tiny but sovereign coprincipality of Andorra is situated in south-western Europe, in the eastern Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain.
- With an area of 468 km² it is about 3 times the size of Liechtenstein, or 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C., making it one of the smallest countries
in the world bordered by more than one other country.
- Andorra has a population of 71,700 people (2015).
- Capital and largest town is Andorra la Vella.
- Spoken languages are Catalan (official), Spanish and French.
Austria
About Austria
- Map is showing the Republic of Austria, a landlocked country in East Central Europe that borders the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein,
Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
- With an area of 83,871 km² Austria is compared somewhat smaller than Portugal (92,090 km²), or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Maine.
- The country is mostly dominated in the west and south by mountains (the Alps), the Central Eastern Alps, the Northern Limestone Alps and the Southern Limestone
Alps are all partly in Austria.
- About a quarter of the country along the eastern and northern margins of the Alps can be considered low lying or gently sloping.
- Austria's highest point is Grossglockner mountain with a height of 3,798 m (12,460 ft.).
- The Pasterze glacier, Austria's most extended glacier covers parts of the Grossglockner's eastern slope.
- The major rivers north of the watershed of the Austrian Alps are the Inn, the Salzach, and the Enns, they are tributaries of the Danube.
- The rivers south of the watershed are the Gail and Drau rivers in Carinthia and the Mürz and Mur rivers.
- Austria has a population of 8,593,800 people (2015), capital and largest city is Vienna, with a population of 1.8 million people.
-Spoken language is Austrian German (official), spoken regional languages are Croatian, Hungarian, and Slovene. Largest Cities (pop. 2013) after Vienna are: Graz (300,000), Austria's second-largest city and the capital of Styria (Steiermark),
known as a student city with six universities; Linz (190,000), founded by the Romans, today one of the main economic centers of Austria and the capital of
Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Salzburg (150,000), capital of the federal state of Salzburg, famous for its baroque architecture of the "Old Town" and as
the birthplace of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Innsbruck (117,000), capital of Tyrol (Tirol) and the cultural and economic center of western Austria,
it is an internationally renowned winter sports center; Klagenfurt (90,000), capital of Carinthia (Kärnten), one of the nine Austrian states.
Belgium
About Belgium
- Map is showing the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal monarchy in Western Europe bordered in northwest by the North Sea.
- The country is clockwise bordered by the Netherlands in north, Germany in east, Luxembourg in southeast, and France in south and southwest.
- With an area of 30,528 km² compared, Belgium is a third the size of Portugal (92,090 km²), or about the size of the U.S. state of Maryland.
- The mostly flat country offers three main geographical regions, the flat coastal plain in the north-west, a central plateau, and the Ardennes, a region
with a more rough terrain, with ridges and ranges of hills, covered by thick forests.
- Belgium has a population of 11 million people (2012), capital city is Brussels, with a population of 186,000 people, but more than 1 million people live in
Brussel's greater metropolitan area.
- Spoken languages are Dutch, French, and some German. Largest Cities (pop. 2012/13): Antwerpen (Antwerp; 512,000), most populous city and one of the largest seaports in Europe; Ghent or Gent (235,000),
Charleroi (213,000); Liège (189,000), Brussels (City proper 186,000)
Belarus
About Belarus
- Belarus, a landlocked Eastern European country that borders Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine.
- With an area of 208,000 km² Belarus is the largest landlocked country situated entirely in Europe.
- It is somewhat smaller than the island of Great Britain (229,848 km²), or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Kansas. More about Belarus
- With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic became independent. Population
- Belarus has a population of 9.4 million people (in 2020). The capital and largest city is Minsk.
- Spoken languages are Belarusian (official) 24%, and Russian (official) 70%. Geography
- Belarus lies in the Eastern European Plain and is crossed in the northwest by terminal moraines, chains of low, rolling hills known as the Belarusian Ridge. Rivers
- Many wide, natural rivers characterize the landscape of the country.
- The biggest rivers in Belarus are Dnepr, Bjaresina, Pripyat, and Memel.
- In the south of Belarus are the Pinsk Marshes, a vast natural region of wetlands along the forested basin of the Pripyat River and its tributaries.
- About 40% of the country is forested. Highest Point
- The highest elevation is the Dzyarzhynskaya Hara (345 m) in the Belarusian Ridge. Cities and Towns in Belarus
- The largest cities after Minsk are Gomel, also Homyel, (527,000), an industrial hub and the second-largest city, Mogilev also Mahilyow (375,000),
an industrial and cultural center, Vitebsk (366,000), one of the most ancient cities in Belarus, Hrodna also Grodno (373,000),
a major administrative center; and Brest (350,000).
Bosnia and Herzegovina
About Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, abbreviated BiH, an almost landlocked country on the western Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe, with a 20 km wide
coastline at the Adriatic Sea (Mediterranean Sea).
- BiH is bordered by Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
- Like its border countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina was formerly one of the six constituent republics of Yugoslavia.
- The state consists of two geographical regions; there is Bosnia in the north, which occupies about 80 percent of the national territory,
and the smaller territory of Herzegovina in the south.
- With an area of 51,197 km², the country is somewhat larger than Switzerland, or slightly smaller than the US state of West Virginia.
- Bosnia and Herzegovina has a population of 3.85 million people (estimated 2019); the capital and largest city is Sarajevo.
- Spoken languages are Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian.
- Major religions are Islam (51%) and Christianity (46%).
Bulgaria
About Bulgaria
- Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България), officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a unitary state on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe bordering the Black
Sea in east.
- The country shares international borders with Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey.
- With an area of 110,879 km², compared the country is somewhat larger than Iceland (103,000 km²), or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Tennessee.
- Bulgaria has a population of 7.3 million people (2013); capital and largest city is Sofia with 1.3 million inhabitants.
- Official language is Bulgarian, it is written in Cyrillic. Geography of Bulgaria
- Bulgaria is a quite mountainous country especially in the western and central areas, plains occupy only about one-third of the territory.
- Situated in southwest is the Rila mountain range where Bulgaria's highest mountains are located, with an elevation of 2,925 m the peak of Musala mountain is
the highest point in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula.
- East of Rila are the Rhodope Mountains, a karst landscape with deep river gorges and large caves.
- North of the Rhodope are the Balkan Mountains, the range extends from Serbia south and parralell to the Danube River, with foothills near the Black Sea in east.
- Between the Balkan Mountains and the Danube is a hilly, fertile lowland, known as the Danubian Plain.
- Another lowland is in the southeastern corner of the country, known as the Upper Thracian Plain, a fertile agricultural region, it is the northern part of
the historical region of Thrace.
- Major rivers are the Danube, which defines most of the border with Romania, Maritsa (Evros), the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans,
the Iskar, a tributary of the Danube.
Czech Republic
about Czech Republic
- Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, a landlocked country in Central Europe, it is bordered by Austria, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia.
- The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,867 km², making it somewhat smaller than neighboring Austria, and also slightly smaller than the US state of
South Carolina.
- The country has a population of 10.56 million people (in 2016), capital and largest city is Prague, spoken languages is Czech, a West Slavic language. The Czech Republic is famous for:
- Prague, the historic center of Prague is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Castles, there are several hundreds of castles, chateaus, and mansions in Czechia.
- Beer, the original Budweiser is made in the Czech Republic by the Budweiser Budvar Brewery, and home of Pilsner beer is the Czech city of Pilsen (Plzeň).
- Curd cheese called "syrečky".
- Not so famous for Škoda and Tatra autos and Bata shoes.
- Most famous people from Czechia are Miloš Forman, Oskar Schindler, Sigmund Freud, Antonin Dvorak, Franz Kafka, Václav Havel, and Gregor Mendel.
Cyprus
About Cyprus
- Republic of Cyprus FlagThe map shows the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
- Cyprus is located about 80 km (50 mi) south of the coast of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel, north of the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt)
and east of the island of Crete (Greece.)
- The third largest island in the Mediterranean has a land area of 9,251 km². 5,896 km² (2,276 sq mi) are under the control of the Republic of Cyprus;
3,355 km² (1,295 sq mi) are de facto under the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
- Cyprus has a population of almost 1.2 million people live on the island. 875,900 people live in the Republic of Cyprus (in 2018), 326,000 in Northern
Cyprus (in 2017)
- Spoken languages are Greek and Turkish.
- Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided de facto into the Cyprus government-controlled area in the southern part of the island, officially named the
Republic of Cyprus, and the Turkish Cypriot area in the north.
- A United Nations peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) maintaines a buffer zone between them. UNFICYP was established in 1964 to prevent a recurrence of fighting
between Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots.
- The mandate for UNFICYP was last renewed on 31 January 2019 and extends until 31 July 2019.
- Furthermore, there are two small British Overseas Territories on the island, Akrotiri and Dhekelia; they are administered as Sovereign Base Areas (S.B.A.)
of the United Kingdom.
- They are small remnants of British occupation of the island from 1878 to 1960.
Croatia
About Croatia
- Croatia is a country in southeastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula, formerly one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia.
- The country is bordered in south west by the Adriatic Sea, which is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Slovenia and Hungary are bordering Croatia in north, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia in east, it has a short border with Montenegro, and it shares
maritime borders with Italy.
- With an area of 56,594 km² the country is slightly larger than bordering Bosnia and Herzegovina, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia.
- To the north-west of the country between the Gulf of Trieste and the Kvarner Gulf lies Istria, the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea.
- East of Istria rise the Velika Kapela and the Mala Kapela (the Large and Small Chapel) a mountain range that belongs to the Dinaric Alps which extend
along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
- Within the Dinaric Alps sits Mount Dinara (1,831 m; 6,007 feet) Croatia's highest point.
- The eastern portion of the country is known as Slavonia, one of Croatia's four historical regions.
- The southern part of the country is known as Dalmatia, also a historical region, the narrow coastal strip was for a long time part of the Republic of
Venice (1420-1797).
- Major rivers in Croatia are the Sava and the Danube.
- The country is also well known for its about 1,000 islands in the Adriatic Sea, but only 48 or so are inhabited, their main industries are agriculture,
fishing and of course, tourism.
- The largest islands are Krk, it is the largest island in the Adriatic Sea, second is Korčula, then Brač, Hvar, Rab, Pag, Lošinj, Ugljan, Čiovo, Murter,
Vis, and Cres.
- Especially attractive islands for tourists are Hvar, Vis, Rab, Lastovo, Korčula, the Brijuni archipelago, Brač, Mljet, Cres, Murter, and Dugi Otok.
- Croatia has a population of 4,225,000 people (in 2015).
- Zagreb is the capital and the largest city in the country with about 800,000 residents, more than 1.2 million people live in Zagreb's urban area.
- The city is located at the Sava river, at the southern slopes of Mount Medvednica in the northern central part of the country.
- Spoken language is Croatian.
Denmark
About Denmark
- Denmark is officially the Kingdom of Denmark, a country in northwestern Europe, situated on the Jutland peninsula and its main islands of Zealand and Funen.
- The country is located between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, north of Germany and west of Sweden, across the Kattegat the maritime link between the
North– and the Baltic Sea.
- With an area of 43,094 km² Denmark proper is the smallest of the Scandinavian countries, just somewhat bigger than Switzerland, or slightly less than twice
the size of the U.S. state of Massachusetts.
- Including the Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are self-governing countries under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark, the country shares maritime
borders with Canada,Iceland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
- Denmark has a population of 5.8 million people (in 2019); its capital, largest city, and chief port is Copenhagen.
- The official language is Danish; recognized regional languages are Faroese, Greenlandic, and German.
- Denmark consists of the peninsula of Jutland, the main island of Zealand (Sjaelland), which includes the capital of Copenhagen and nearly half the population.
. Zealand is connected to the island of Funen by the Great Belt Bridge and with Sweden via Amager island by the Öresund (Øresund) Bridge.
- The kingdom has a land border with Germany on Jutland with the German Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein.
- The island of Bornholm lies about 130 km (80 mi) to the east in the Baltic Sea, a relic of a time when Denmark’s kings completely controlled the Baltic region. Cities and Towns in Denmark
- Largest Cities (2011): Copenhagen (pop.: in the metropolitan area 1.6 million in 2018), Århus (250,000), and Odense (168,000).
Estonia
About Estonia
- Estonia is a country in Eastern Europe bounded by the Gulf of Finland in the north and the Baltic Sea in the west.
- It borders Latvia in the south and Russia in the east, and it shares maritime borders with Finland.
- The country is one of the three Baltic states, the independent nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
- With an area of 45,227 km², Estonia is about the size of Denmark, or slightly smaller than the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Vermont combined.
- The country consists of a mainland plus 1,500 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea; the largest islands are Saaremaa and Hiiumaa.
- The landscape of Estonia is flat in the north, and somewhat hilly in the south, its highest point is Suur Munamägi at 318 m.
- It has a maritime climate with wet, moderate winters, and cool summers.
- Estonia has a population of 1.32 million people (in 2019), the capital, largest city, and the country’s cultural hub is Tallinn (pop. 450,000).
. Spoken language is Estonian.
- The map shows Estonia and surrounding countries with international borders, the national capital Tallinn, major cities, main roads, railroads, and major airports.
- Tallinn is the national capital and the capital of Harju county; for centurys the city was known as Reval.
Finland
About Finland
- Finland is the northernmost state in the European Union
- it is located between Sweden and Russia, bordering the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Gulf of Finland, in the north it borders the tip of Norway.
- The country covers an area of 338,145 km², making it almost the size of Germany, or slightly smaller than the US state of Montana.
- From north to south the total length of Finland is 1,157 km.
- The northern third of the country lies within the Arctic Circle, this part is known as Upland Finland, one of the four geographic regions of Finland.
- The other major regions are, the Archipelago Finland (Archipelago Sea), situated in the southwest is an area with a considerable number of islands and islets.
- In the central and the southeastern part is the Finnish lake district, a region with extensive forests interspersed with countless lakes.
- Along its long coast extends Coastal Finland with its urban centers and port cities.
- The Scandinavian Ice Sheet shaped Finland's mostly flat and low-lying landscape during the Pleistocene (the last ice age).
- A continental sized ice sheet scoured and abraded the region's surface, eroded mountains and rendered the whole landscape flat.
- The melting ice has left behind a lot of water, Finland is the proud owner of 188,000 lakes these range in size from small forest ponds to large bodies of water.
- A labyrinth of lakes suffuses the country, especially in the Finnish lake district, lakes cover about 10% of Finland's area.
- The country's territory offers partly hilly lowlands covered with extensive coniferous taiga forests, interspersed by bogs and fens.
- Finland has rarely cultivated land, 78% is forested.
- Major rivers are the Kemijoki and the Torne with its tributary the Muonio.
- Halti Mountain at the border between Norway and Finland is the country's highest point at 1,365 m (4,478 ft).
- Finland is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union with a population of just 5.52 million people (in 2019).
- About half of the country's residents live in the southern coastal region which has a more pleasant temperate continental climate.
France
About France
- France is a country located on the western edge of Europe, bordered by the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic Ocean) in the west, by the English Channel in the
northwest, by the North Sea in the north.
- France borders Belgium and Luxembourg in the northeast, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in the east, the Mediterranean Sea, Monaco, Spain, and Andorra in
the south.
- France also shares maritime borders with the United Kingdom.
- Since 1994 France and the UK are connected by the Channel Tunnel, a 50.5 km (31.4 mi) undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone in Kent, in the UK with Coquelles,
Pas-de-Calais, near Calais in northern France.
- With an area of 551,500 km² Metropolitan France is more than twice the size of the United Kingdom or more than twice the size of the U.S. state Colorado.
- France has a population of 67 million people (est. 2020); 64.8 million people in Metropolitan France and 2.2 million in its overseas regions.
- The largest city and the capital is Paris. Spoken language is French (official). Geography of France
- Metropolitan France has two shorelines, one at the North Atlantic Ocean, the other at the Mediterranean Sea; it sums up to a total of 3,427 km of coastline.
- About two-thirds of the county's interior (in north and west) consists of plains or gently rolling hills, within the plains there are two major basins:
the Paris basin in the northwest, drained by the river Seine, and the Aquitaine basin in the southwest, emptied by the Garonne river.
- The plains are interspersed with highlands here and there.
- To the south of the country are the rugged Pyrenees, two parallel mountain ranges that create a natural border between France and Spain, its highest
mountains rise to more than 3,000 m.
- In the southeast lies the Massif Central, a formerly volcanic highland region.
- Within the Massif, there is a large concentration of extinct volcanoes, like the Chaine des Puys, a chain of cinder cones, lava domes, and maars.
- East of the Massif, separated by a deep north-south cleft created by the Rhone River, are the French Alps, part of the Alps, the great mountain range
system of Europe.
- Within the Alps is the highest mountain of France, the Mont Blanc, at 4,807 m.
- It is also Italy's highest peak because the "White Mountain" sits on the border, which separates both nations. French Rivers
- The longest rivers within France are Loire, Seine, Garonne, and Rhone, the Rhine river in east forms the border with Germany for about 160 km (100 mi).
- The Seine and the Garonne are the main rivers for inland water transportation in France.
Germany
About Germany
The Federal Republic of Germany is a sovereign state in central Europe
- it is bordered in the north by the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and Denmark, in the west by the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, in the south by
Switzerland, and Austria, and in the east by Czechia, and Poland.
- Additionally, the country shares maritime borders with Sweden and the United Kingdom.
- With an area of 357,022 km², Germany is the seventh-largest country by area in Europe, compared it is about two-thirds the size of France, or slightly smaller
than the U.S. state of Montana.
- Germany has a population of 83,2 million people (in 2020); the capital and largest city is Berlin, with almost 3.8 million inhabitants.
- The official language is German (Standard German, German: Hochdeutsch), a variety of German dialects are spoken in specific regions.
- About 50 % of the Germans can speak English as a second language. Germany's Main Geographical Regions
Three major natural areas are making up the topography of Germany. The North German Plain: is a widespread lowland in the northern third of the country.
- Within the North German Plain lies Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony with Bremen and Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, with its many glacier-formed
lakes, and Berlin within Brandenburg, most of Saxony-Anhalt and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony. The Central Uplands: South of the northern lowland, there are the Central Uplands, in Germany known as Mittelgebirge.
- The large, fertile area of low mountains, hill ranges, and ridges covers the better part of Germany.
- These in parts densely wooded range of hills are found in Thuringia, Hesse, the Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Bavaria.
- Those to some extent densely wooded range of hills are found in Thuringia, Hesse, the Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Bavaria.
- The altitudes of these low mountain ranges are between 300 m and 1493 m, which is the height of the Feldberg's central peak, the highest mountain in
Germany outside the Alps, located in the Black Forest in Baden-Wurttemberg. Alpenvorland and the Alps the broad strip of land between the Danube and the northern edge of the Alps in Germany's southern border area is known as the
Alpine Foreland (Ger.: Alpenvorland).
- In the country's southern-most part are the Bavarian Alps, the northern part of the Alps that lie within Bavarian state territory.
- It is also the location of the highest point in Germany, the Zugspitze with 2,962 m, the highest peak of the Wetterstein Mountains. Largest Cities (pop. 2019) after Berlin (pop. 3.8 million) are Hamburg (1.9 million), a primary port, Germany's "Gateway to the World." Munich (München, pop.: 1.48 million),
capital and largest city of Bavaria, founded in the 12th century by Benedictine monks. Cologne / Köln (1.1 million), a major center of art, trade, and carnival,
founded by the Romans in 50 AD. Frankfurt (Main, pop.: 761,500), the largest city in Hesse, known as the leading financial center in continental Europe.
Stuttgart (635,000), the capital of Baden-Württemberg, also known as Schwabenmetropole (Swabian metropolis).
Düsseldorf (622,000), state of the art culture, fashion, and business.
The cities of Dortmund, Bochum, Essen, and Duisburg in the Ruhr region form the fifth-largest urban area in Europe.
Greece
About Greece
- Greece is a country in south eastern Europe on the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in south and the Ionian Sea in west.
- Greece is bordered by Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Republic of Macedonia, and it shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, and Libya.
- The peninsular mainland offers a quite mountainous landscape.
- Then there is the Peloponnese peninsula, it is more an island because it is separated from the mainland by the Gulf of Corinth.
- And then there are the Greek islands, a lot of islands, many, more than 1,000 anyway.
- The ten largest islands by area are Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes, Chios, Cephalonia, Corfu, Lemnos, Samos and Naxos.
- The most populous islands are Crete, Euboea, Rhodes, Corfu, Lesbos, Chios, Kefalonia, and Zakynthos.
- Greece covers an area of 132,000 km², making it slightly larger than half the size of the United Kingdom, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Alabama.
- The country has a population is about 11.5 million people (in 2016).
- Largest city and the national capital is Athens, spoken languages are Greek (official) and Turkish (predominantly spoken by a minority of Turks in Western Thrace).
- The map is showing Greece and the surrounding countries with international borders, the national capital Athens (Athina), administrative capitals, major cities,
main roads, railroads, airports, and the location of Mount Athos (Agion Oros) and Mount Olympus (Oros Olympos, highest peak is Mytikas, 2 917 m (9 570 ft)).
- Cities and towns in Greece: Athens (pop: 3 million), Thessaloniki (pop: 790 000), Patras (pop: 215 000), Heraklion (pop: 173 000), Larissa (pop: 163 000),
Volos (pop: 144 000), Rhodes (pop: 144 000), Ioannina (pop: 112 000), Chania (pop: 112 000), Chalcis (pop: 112 000)
Ireland
About Ireland
- Ireland is the 'Emerald Isle' in the North Atlantic Ocean west of Great Britain.
- The Republic of Ireland occupies approximately four-fifths of the island's area, the remaining one fifth belongs to Northern Ireland, a province of the
United Kingdom.
- Ireland is one of the British Isles.
- The Irish Sea and the North Channel separate Ireland from Great Britain; the body of water in the south between Ireland and the European mainland is known
as the Celtic Sea.
- The nation has one land border, the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border, which separates the Republic of
Ireland from Northern Ireland.
- Ireland shares only maritime borders with the United Kingdom.
- Several mountain ranges surround Ireland's plains in the center.
- Carrauntoohil in the MacGillycuddy's Reeks mountain range in County Kerry is the highest mountain on the island at 1,038 m.
- Ireland's largest river is the Shannon, with a length of about 386 km it is also the longest river in Ireland and the British Isles.
- On its way to the sea the river creates three large lakes: Lough Allen, Lough Ree, and the largest: Lough Derg.
- With an area of 70,273 km², the Republic of Ireland is slightly larger than twice the size of Denmark, or somewhat larger than the U.S. state of West Virginia.
- The Republic of Ireland has a population of nearly 5.0 million people (in 2019).
- The capital and largest city is Dublin.
- The national language is Irish; spoken languages are Irish and English. Cities and towns in Ireland
- Largest cities: Dublin (capital), Cork (Corcaigh), Limerick (Luimneach)
Iceland
About Iceland
- Iceland FlagThe map shows Iceland, a sparsely populated island country in the far northwest of Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean.
- Iceland is situated just south of the Arctic Circle at the northern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- The closest bodies of land are Greenland in the west (290 km (180 mi) from coast to coast) and the Faroe Islands in the southeast (470 km (290 mi)),
an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark north of Scotland, UK.
- With an area of 103,000 km² the island nation is more than twice the size of Denmark, or about the same size as the US state of Kentucky.
- Iceland is the largest volcanic island in the world.
- There are 30 active volcanic systems, of which 13 have erupted since the settlement of the island in 874 CE.
- The western part of the island sits on the North American Plate, which moves west, the eastern part on the Eurasian Plate, which moves east.
- The divergent tectonic activity of both plates causes the seabed to "tear open" and the resulting crack to be filled with magma (so-called seafloor spreading),
which over time creates a submarine mountain range.
- Only about 20 percent of Iceland is habitable; all urban centers and towns are on the coast.
- Iceland has a population of 357,000 (Dec 2018), making it one of the least densely populated countries in Europe.
- The capital and largest city is Reykjavik. Spoken language is Icelandic, one of the North Germanic languages.
- Depicted on the map are cities, towns, and villages (see below), main roads, and Reykjavík-Keflavík Airport (IATA code: KEF), Iceland’s international airport.
- In 2010 Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted twice.
- The eruption in April 2010 caused massive disruption to air traffic across Northern and Western Europe. Administrative Divisions of Iceland
- Iceland is divided into eight regions, six constituencies, 23 counties, and 79 municipalities.
- The eight regions are primarily used for statistical purposes.
Italy
About Italy
- Italy FlagThe map shows Italy, a country in southeastern Europe located for the most part on the Apennine Peninsula.
- Its distinct shape, resembling a kicking boot, makes it easy to recognize it on maps or even from space.
- Italy extends for or about 1,200 km from its borders north of the Po Valley to the tip of the 'boot' into the central Mediterranean Sea.
- In the north where the peninsula is connected to mainland Europe, Italy meets the Alps, the great mountain range system in which as well Switzerland and
Austria are located.
- In northwest Italy is bordered by France, and in the northeast by Slovenia.
- The Italian Peninsula is bounded by the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Sea of Sicily in the south, the Ionian Sea in the southeast, the Ligurian and the
Tyrrhenian Seas in the west; all those seas are part of the Mediterranean Sea.
- Italy shares maritime borders with Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Greece, Libya, Malta, Montenegro, Spain, and Tunisia.
- Two of the largest Mediterranean islands belong to the country, Sardinia in the west and Sicily in the south.
- Inside the Italian peninsula, there are two small political entities, the independent state of the Republic of San Marino, an enclave on the
eastern side of the Apennine Mountains near the Adriatic coast, and Vatican City State, an enclave within the city of Rome and home to the Pope.
- With an area of 301,318 km² (116,340 sq. mi.), Italy is 20% smaller than Japan or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Arizona.
- Italy has a population of more than 60 million people (in 2016), the capital and largest city is Rome (Italian: Roma).
- Other major cities are Florence, Milan, Naples, and Venice.
- Spoken language is Italian. Geography
- Italy has an impressive long coastline of 7,600 km.
- The Alps, the world-famous mountain range in the north is partly situated in Italy.
- Within the Alps located are the country's highest mountains, the Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) with 4,810.45 m (15,782 ft), unfortunately the mountain is sitting on the French-Italian border, leading to discussions if or if not this is Italy's highest mountain; however, it is the highest mountain in the Alps and even in Western Europe.
Gran Paradiso mountain at 4,061 m (13,323 ft) is just 800 m shorter and lies entirely in Italy.
- The limestone mountain range in northern Italy is made predominantly of Dolomite rocks(!) they are since 2009 a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- The Apennine Mountains or the Apennines is a mountain range consisting of smaller mountain chains which extend from the northwest to the southeast for
about 1,200 km (750 mi) along the length of peninsular Italy; they join with the Maritime Alps (the southwestern part of the Alps) in the north.
- The vast, fertile plain in Northern Italy along the Po River is confined by the foothills of the Alps in the west and north, and the Apennines in the south.
- The plain opens to the Adriatic coast in the east.
- The Po Basin is more or less Italy's only real big plain; today, it is also the main industrial area of the country.
- The Po River is the country's longest river with a length of more than 650 km; its principal direction is from west to east, and it flows into the Adriatic Sea. Volcanism in Italy
- All of Italy but particularly Southern Italy is a volcanically active region.
- There are the only active volcanoes in mainland Europe.
- Mount Etna, on the east coast of Sicily near the city of Catania, is Europe's most active volcano; it last erupted on 24 December 2018.
- 117 km to the north rises Stromboli out of the sea, a volcano that created a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a
volcanic archipelago off the coast of Sicily.
- Mount Etna and Stromboli are active volcanoes, the third, Mount Vesuvius, which sits very close to Naples, a city with almost 1 million inhabitants;
the volcano had last erupted in 1944.
- The Phlegraean Fields near the town of Pozzuoli west of Naples is known to the locals as Campi Flegrei, a 13 km (8 mi) wide caldera (a collapsed volcano cone)
which extends partly into the sea.
- There are 24 'new' craters in the area, one of it is Solfatara, a dormant volcano that still emits jets of steam with sulfurous fumes (fumaroles). Lakes in Italy
- The most prominent lakes in the country are all in Northern Italy south of the Alps.
- Lake Garda near Verona is Italy's largest lake.
- Lago Maggiore, the "Great Lake" is only second; furthermore, it lies partly in Switzerland.
- The lakes are all scenic attractions, but the most famous is Lake Como (Italian: Lago di Como) to the north of the city of Como in the foothills of the Alps;
with an area of 146 km², it is the third largest lake in Italy.
Latvia
About Latvia
- Latvia is an independent republic and one of the three Baltic states.
- The country is situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania.
- It borders Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, and Russia, and it shares maritime borders with Sweden.
- Latvia is a flat country situated in the East European Plain, the vast mountain-free part of Europe's north-eastern landscape.
- It is bounded by the Gulf of Riga in the northwest and by the Baltic Sea in the west.
- Latvia is, for the most part, a wooded moraine hill country with numerous lakes and a broad, unindented coastal plain.
- The longest rivers in Latvia are the Düna and the Gauja. Latvia's largest lake is Lake Lubāns with 80 km².
- With an area of 64,589 km², Latvia is somewhat larger than twice the size of Belgium, or slightly larger than the US state of West Virginia.
- The country is sparsely populated, just 1.91 million people (in 2019) live in the country.
- Latvia's principal city, cultural center, and national capital is Riga.
- Spoken languages are Latvian (official) and Russian.
Liechtenstein
- The Principality of Liechtenstein, a small landlocked country in the Upper Rhine Valley between Austria in east and Switzerland in west.
- From north to south, the country is about 24 km (15 mi) long, an area of 160 km² (61.8 sq mi) making the country the sixth-smallest independent nation
in the world.
- Today Liechtenstein has a has a population of 37,600 people (in 2015), the national capital is Vaduz. Spoken language is German (official).
Lithuania
About Lithuania
- Lithuania FlagThe map shows Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, an independent country and one of the three Baltic states*.
- Lithuania lies in the geographical center of Europe and has a short coastline along the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea.
- The state borders Belarus to the east, Latvia to the north, Poland and the Russian Exclave of Kaliningrad to the southeast, and it shares maritime borders
with Sweden.
- With an area of 65,300 km², Lithuania is somewhat larger than twice the size of Belgium, or slightly larger than the US state of West Virginia.
- The country is situated in the East European Plain, the vast mountain-free part of Europe's north-eastern territory.
- Lithuania's landscape consists of lowlands and just a few hilly regions; geographical highlights are some several thousand lakes, remains of melted glaciers
from the last ice age.
- Lithuania has a shrinking population of 2.8 million people (in 2019).
- The largest city and national capital is Vilnius.
- Spoken language is Lithuanian (official).
* The Baltic States are the independent republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Luxemburg
About Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Coat of ArmsThe map is showing the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a landlocked country in Western Europe.
- Luxembourg shares international borders with Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south.
- Luxembourg's geography offers two principal regions: the Oesling, part of the Ardennes massif, a hilly region with large deciduous forests in the north,
and the Gutland ("good country"), the relatively urbanized region in the south.
- With an area of 2586 km² (999 sqm), Luxembourg is more than 10 times smaller than neighboring Belgium, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
- The Grand Duchy has a population of 530.000 inhabitants (in 2015), capital and largest city is Luxembourg-City (Lëtzebuerg), with about 100.000 citizens.
- Spoken language is Luxembourgish, administrative languages are French, German, and Luxembourgish.
- Major towns are Esch-sur-Alzette (pop.: 28,000), Differdange (19,000), Dudelange (17,600), Ettelbruck (7,400), Diekirch (6,200), Wiltz (4,600), Echternach (4,500),
Rumelange (4,500), Grevenmacher (4,000), Remich (3,000), Vianden (1,600), in the south east corner of the country lies Schengen (4200), a small wine-making
village near the tripoint where the borders of Germany, France, and Luxembourg meet.
- It is the town nearest to where the Schengen Agreement was signed on a river-boat in the Moselle River.
- The Schengen Agreement is the European treaty which provided for the abandoning of border controls between the participating countries, signed in 1985.
- The town is also name giver for the Schengen Area, which comprises the 26 European countries that have abolished passport and any other type of border control.
Macedonia
About Macedonia
- Map is showing Republic of Macedonia, a landlocked country in southeastern Europe north of Greece and south of Serbia and the Kosovo.
- Other countries with international borders to the Rep. of Macedonia are Albania in west and Bulgaria in east.
- The country gained independence in 1991, it was formerly a Republic within Yugoslavia.
- Macedonia occupies an area of 25,713 km², compared it is about two-third the size of Switzerland, or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Vermont.
- Macedonia's landscape is mountainous with deep basins and valleys, it is bisected from north west to south east by the Vardar River (Axios river),
the country's major river, and also its longest.
- Highest point is Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) with 2,764 m the highest mountain in both countries, the Republic of Macedonia and Albania.
- The Republic of Macedonia has a population of about 2 million people, capital city is Skopje (Скопје).
Malta
Malta in brief
- Destination Malta, a Nations Online country profile about the small archipelago steeped in history in the Mediterranean and one of the smallest
countries in Europe.
- The island group is situated east of Tunisia and about 100 km (60 mi) south of the island of Sicily (Italy).
- Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, consists of the main island Malta and the smaller islands of Gozo and Comino.
- The country covers an area of 316 km²; compared, it is about twice the size of Washington, DC, and would fit into Luxembourg eight times.
- Malta has a population of 515,000 people (in 2020).
- The island nation is in the Top10 of the most densely populated countries in the world.
- The capital city is Valletta on the island of Malta. Spoken languages are Maltese and English. What is Malta famous for?
- Malta is a popular tourist destination and known for its warm climate and breathtaking landscapes that serve as locations for major film productions.
- The archipelago is home to some of the oldest temples in the world, such as the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
- The medieval capital Valletta is the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Barrakka Gardens.
- Dolphins, sea lions and other marine life populate the famed natural beach of the Blue Lagoon on the West coast of Comino.
Moldova
About Moldova
- Map is showing Moldova, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe in a region formerly known as Bessarabia.
- It is bordered by Romania in west and by Ukraine in north and east.
- The region is situated on the Moldavian Plateau in the south eastern part of the East European Plain.
- Moldova's landscape can be described as rolling steppe with a gradual slope in south towards the Black Sea.
- The highest elevation in the country is a hill named Bălănești with an altitude of 430 m.
- With an area of 33,850 km² Moldova is somewhat larger than Belgium, or slightly larger than the U.S. state of Maryland.
- Moldova has a population of 3,560,000. By far the largest city and capital is Chisinau.
- Spoken languages are Moldovan (Romanian), recognized regional languages are Ukrainian, Russian, and Gagauz (a Turkic language).
- Moldova's major rivers are the Dniester (Nistru) the Răut, a tributary of Dniester, and the Prut rive, which forms Moldova's border with Romania.
- Capital and largest city: Chisinau
- There are five cities with municipality status: Bălţi, Chişinău, Comrat, Bender (Tighina), and Tiraspol
Monaco
about Monaco
- Monaco, a principality on the Mediterranean coast near the border to Italy.
- The city state forms an enclave within France. Official language is French.
- It is the smallest sovereign state in the world apart from the Vatican.
- Monaco was ruled by the Genoese from medieval times and by the Grimaldi family from 1297.
- It became a constitutional monarchy in 1911.
- Today about 38,400 people live in the principality on an area of just 2 km² making it the most densely populated city on earth
(see: Countries with the highest population density).
Montenegro
About Montenegro
- Map is showing Montenegro, a country in Southern Europe where it occupies a small portion of the Balkan peninsula.
- It is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in south west, by Bosnia and Herzegovina in west, by Serbia in north east, by Kosovo in east, and by Albania in
south east and it has a short border with Croatia as well as a maritime border with Italy.
- With an area of 13,812 km² Montenegro is slightly smaller than half the size of Belgium, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Connecticut.
- Montenegro's landscape can be described as a nice collection of rugged high limestone mountains with deep gorges and high plateaus and a narrow coastal plain
towards the Adriatic Sea.
- The highest elevation in the country is a mountain named Zla Kolata with an altitude of 2,534 m, it is a peak in the Albanian Alps known to the locals as
the "Cursed Mountains".
- Montenegro's major rivers are the Tara, Piva and Moraca.
- The country has a population of just 620,000 people.
- The largest city is Podgorica, about 30% of the country's entire population live in Montenegro's capital.
- Spoken languages are Montenegrin (a standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language), recognized regional languages are Serbian, Bosnian,
Albanian, and Croatian.
- Along with the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe, the dissolution of Socialist Yugoslavia followed in 1991-1992.
- Until then the country was a part of Yugoslavia.
- It became a member of a federation called Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), for many better known as Serbia & Montenegro.
- In May 2006 a referendum was held, and 55.5% of the Montenegrin voters voted in favor of independence from Serbia.
Norway
About Norway
- Norway is officially the Kingdom of Norway (Kongeriket Norge).
- The Nordic country is an elongated stretch of land on the western and the northern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, west of Sweden.
- It borders the North Sea in the southwest, the Skagerrak strait in the south, the Norwegian Sea in the west, the Barents Sea (Atlantic Ocean) in the north;
it has borders with Finland and Russia in the northeast, and it shares maritime borders with Denmark, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.
- From the southwest to the northeast the country extends 1,752 km (1,089 mi) and covers an area of 323,802 km² (mainland only), making it somewhat smaller
than Germany, or slightly larger than the US state of New Mexico.
- Norway is among the most sparsely populated countries in Europe with a population of just 5,29 million people (in 2018).
- The southern portion of the country is the most populated part of Norway.
- The northern half of the country lies within the Arctic Circle, this part is known as Northern Norway, one of the five geographic regions of mainland Norway,
the others are, in southwest Western Norway, in south Southern Norway, in southeast Eastern Norway, and in central, you guessed already Central Norway.
- The country is world famous for its rugged coastlines, sculpted by long, narrow, deep inlets between high cliffs known as fjords, and thousands of islands
and islets embellish the country's coast.
- Norway's mostly mountainous landscape was shaped by the Caledonian orogeny, a mountain building era, about 490–390 million years ago.
- The mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula is known as the Scandinavian Mountains.
- The bedrock which Norway occupies is part of the Baltic Shield; it contains the oldest rock formations of the European continent.
- Galdhøpiggen in southern Norway is the highest peak in mainland Northern Europe, at 2,469 meters (8,100 ft).
Netherlands
About the Netherlands
- The Netherlands is a country in western Europe bordered by the North Sea in north and west, it is bordered by Germany in east and Belgium in south.
- The country also shares maritime borders with France and the United Kingdom.
- The Netherlands are a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, actually one of its constituent countries, consisting of the twelve Dutch provinces in North-West
Europe and three islands in the Caribbean: Aruba, Curaçao (and Bonaire), and Sint Maarten.
- European Netherlands occupies an area of 41,543 km² making it just slightly larger than Switzerland (41,285 km²) or half the size of the U.S. state of South
Carolina.
- Much of Netherlands in the west and north are low-lying with about 20% of its area below sea level.
- In east and south there are higher lands with minor hills.
- Located there is Vaalserberg ("Mount Vaals") with 323 m (1,059 ft) is the highest point in the European part of the Netherlands.
- The three main rivers are Rhine, Maas (Meuse), and Scheldt.
- The Netherlands has a population of 16,785,000 (est. May 2013); capital and largest city is Amsterdam; seat of government is in the city of The Hague (Den Haag).
- Spoken language is Dutch (official), recognized regional languages are West Frisian (in Friesland), Papiamento (in Bonaire), and English
(in Sint Eustatius and Saba). Administrative Divisions of The Netherlands
- The European Netherlands is divided into twelve administrative regions, called provinces.
- The Dutch provinces and their capitals (in brackets) are:
1. Drenthe (Assen) 2. Flevoland (Lelystad) 3. Friesland (Leeuwarden) 4. Gelderland (Arnhem) 5. Groningen (Groningen)
6. Limburg (Maastricht) 7. Noord Brabant (s-Hertogenbosch) 8. Noord Holland (Haarlem) 9. Overijssel (Zwolle) 10. Utrecht (Utrecht)
11. Zealand (Middelburg) 12. Zuid Holland (Den Haag)
Poland
About Poland
- Poland is a country in central Europe with a coastline on the Baltic Sea.
- It borders Belarus, the Czechia, Germany, Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast (Russia), Slovakia, and Ukraine.
- Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a member state of the European Union, but does not yet belong to the Eurozone.
- Poland is divided into 16 voivodships (provinces), which essentially correspond to the historical regions of the country.
- With an area of 312,685 km², Poland is slightly smaller than the US state of New Mexico or slightly larger than Italy.
- Poland has a population of 38.3 million people (in 2020); the official language is Polish.
- The capital and largest city of the country is Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa), the largest conurbation is the metropolitan region around Katowice.
Portugal
About Portugal
- The map shows Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), a sovereign state in southwestern Europe.
- It comprises the continental part of Portugal on the western coast of the Iberian peninsula and the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The most western European state is only bordered by one other country, Spain.
- Additionally, Portugal shares a maritime border with Morocco.
- With an area of 92,090 km², compared, Portugal is slightly smaller than Hungary (93,028 km²), or the U.S. state of Indiana.
- Portugal has a population of 10.3 million people (in 2019); the capital and largest city is Lisbon, with about 500,000 inhabitants.
- The official language is Portuguese. Mountains
- The cooler and rainier northern part of the country to the north of the city of Castelo Branco is, apart from the coastal areas, mostly mountainous
with elevations up to almost 2000 m in the Serra da Estrela.
- Torre, a peak within the mountain range at 1,993 m (6,539 ft), is the highest point in Mainland Portugal.
- The southern part of the country, which extends as far as the Algarve, consists mostly of rolling plains and has a climate somewhat warmer and drier
than in the north. Rivers
- Portugal's main rivers are the Douro river with its tributary, the Tamega river.
- The Rio Minho, which forms part of the Spanish/Portuguese border in the northwest. Rio Mondego is the longest river that flows exclusively in Portuguese
territory, and the Tagus (Rio Tejo), the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Coastal areas Algarve The southernmost province of Portugal, on the Atlantic coast with its capital, Faro is a major tourist destination in Europe. Costa Vicentina The Southwestern Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Nature Park in Alentejo and Algarve's regions in southern Portugal features an outstanding
coastal scenery with cliffs and beaches. Islands
- The island of Madeira is located in the Atlantic Ocean, 520 km off the northwest African coast.
- The group of islands constitutes an autonomous region of Portugal.
- 290,000 people live on the Madeira (est. 2019).
- The capital city is Funchal. The island is a popular year-round destination, visited by about one million people every year, contributing 20% of the
region's GDP.
- The Azores are a group of nine volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean, located about 1,500 km west of Portugal, 255,000 people (est. 2019) people live on
the islands.
- The archipelago is in Portuguese possession but partially autonomous.
- The largest city and the capital is Ponta Delgada on the island of São Miguel.
United Kingdom
About the United Kingdom
- The map shows the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as England, or the United Kingdom, often happily abbreviated to UK.
- Great Britain is one of the few remaining kingdoms in Europe; the island nation consists of three countries: England, Wales, and Scotland, plus the province of
Northern Ireland, which occupies the northeastern part of the island of Ireland.
- The United Kingdom is situated on an archipelago known as the British Isles, which consists of the main islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and several
surrounding island groups, such as the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the Orkneys, the Isle of Man, and the Isle of Wight.
- The United Kingdom is located between the North Atlantic Ocean in the west and the North Sea in the east, north of the English Channel, and off France's
northern coast.
- The UK has only one land border, and that is on the island of Ireland.
- Since 1994 the Channel Tunnel beneath the English Channel links the UK with France.
- The United Kingdom shares maritime borders with Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and the Faroe Islands (Denmark).
- With an area of 242,900 km², the United Kingdom is about half the size of Spain, or slightly larger than half the size of the U.S. state of California.
- The kingdom has a population of 66.8 million people (in 2019).
- The capital, largest city, and the country's political and financial center is London.
- The UK's official language is English; recognized regional languages are Scots, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Irish, and Cornish.
- The official religion of the United Kingdom is Christianity, but churches of all denominations can be found throughout the country. More about the United Kingdom
- Highlights of British Geography:
the Royal Greenwich Observatory, in South East London, is the defining point of the Prime Meridian (Longitude 0°)
the highest elevation in Britain is Ben Nevis 1,344 m (4,409 ft); the mountain is located in the Grampian range, one of the three major mountain ranges in
the Scottish Highlands.
the longest river in Great Britain is the Severn with a length of about 354 kilometers (220 mi); the river runs through Wales and England's central region
and empties into the Bristol Channel.
the largest lakes in the United Kingdom are Lough Neagh, the largest body of water in the kingdom is in Northern Ireland, as is Lough Erne, which
consists of two connected lakes in Fermanagh county.
The Uk consists of three countries and one province Scotland is divided into three distinct geographical areas:
1. the mountainous, sparsely populated Highlands at the northern end of Great Britain are one of two main historical regions in Scotland, the Highland Boundary
Fault separates them from the Scottish Lowlands.
2. the relatively low-lying Central plain (Central Belt), the area with the highest populational because most of the major cities of Scotland are situated there.
3. the southernmost part in Scotland, the Southern Uplands, is a mainly agricultural region with nice hills and valleys. Wales (Welsh: Cymru) is situated to the west of central England and bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west and the Bristol Channel to the south.
It is generally a mountainous country, particularly in the northern and central regions.
The highest mountain is Snowdon with 1,085 m (3,560 ft).
England occupies the central and southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain.
The longest river entirely in England is the Thames, with 346 km (215 mi).
The northern part of England is dominated by the Pennines, a low-rising mountain range, considered one of the most scenic areas in the United Kingdom.
South of the Pennine Hills are the rolling hills of the English Lowlands, England's portion of the European Plain. Cities and Towns in the United Kingdom
The largest Cities are London (Greater London: 8.67 million), Birmingham (1.1 million), Leeds (750,000), Glasgow (620,000), Liverpool (534,900),
Sheffield (552,000), Manchester (545,000), Bradford (522,000), Edinburgh (468,000), Bristol (428,000).
Romania
About Romania
- Map is showing Romania, a country in East Central Europe bordering on the Black Sea.
- Romania borders Bulgaria, Hungary, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine, it also shares a maritime border with Turkey.
- With an area of 238,391 km² Romania is compared somewhat smaller than United Kingdom (242,900 km²), or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Oregon.
- Romania has a population of 19.8 million people (2015), capital and largest city is Bucharest, with a population of 2 million people.
- Spoken language is Romanian (official). Geography of Romania
- The country's geography offers roughly equally distributed landscapes of mountainous, hilly and lowland terrains.
- Romania's center is dominated by the Carpathian Mountains, located in this mountain ranges is also the country's highest point with 2,544 m, known as
Moldoveanu Peak.
- Romania is home to the largest surface of virgin forests in Europe, most of them in the Carpathians, in particular the Southern Carpathians constituting
Europe’s largest unfragmented forested area, but those forests are in urgent need of protection.
- According to the Greenpeace study, the deforestation dramatically increased between 2000 and 2011 and is ongoing until today. Major rivers in Romania
- Long parts of Romania's south western border with Serbia and its southern border to Bulgaria is formed by the Danube river.
- Major rivers in Romania are Prut, Olt, and Siret river, they are tributaries to the Danube, also Romania's second longest river Mureș is a tributary
to the Danube, but it flows to the west into Hungary where it meets the Danube.
- Largest Cities with a population of more than 200,000 inhabitants (2012):
- Bucharest (1,880,000), Romania's largest city and the national capital.
- Cluj-Napoca (325,000), second-largest city and the seat of Cluj County, known as capital of the historical province of Transylvania.
- Timișoara (320,000), the main economic and cultural center of Western Romania and the capital of Timiș County.
- Iași (290,000), capital of the Iași County, a university city and one of the leading centers of Romanian academic, cultural, and artistic life.
Russia
About European Russia
- Russia, officially the Russian Federation (Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), is the world's largest country.
- It occupies a significant part of the northern portion of the Eurasian continent.
- Russia is a transcontinental country, a state which is situated on more than one continent.
- Russia spans the northern part of the Eurasian continent, 77% of Russia's area is in Asia, the western 23% of the country is located in Europe,
European Russia occupies almost 40% of Europe's total area.
- By convention, the line of demarcation between Western Asia and the European part of the 'supercontinent' of Eurasia, is along the Ural Mountain range,
the Ural River, the northern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains, and the Turkish Straits.
- European Russia (or Western Russia) is situated in Eastern Europe on the East European Plain, the eastern part of the Great European Plain,
the largest mountain-free landform in Europe, although a number of hills and highlands are interspersed within.
- The country is bordered to the north by the White Sea, the Barents Sea, and the Kara Sea, all arms and bays of the Arctic Ocean.
- In the west, Russia is bordered by Norway, Finland, and a small part of the Baltic Sea (at the Gulf of Finland).
- It borders the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (at Kaliningrad) in the west; in the southwest, it is bordered by Belarus and Ukraine;
there is also a border with Poland (at Kaliningrad Oblast).
- Furthermore it borders Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Western Russia has shorelines also at the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the southwest. More about Russia
- The European part of Russia covers an area of 3,960,000 km², making it somewhat larger than India, or about half the size of the Contiguous United States.
- There are five Federal Districts in Western Russia.
1. Situated in the west is the Central Federal District with Moscow as its administrative core.
2. The district is bordered in the east by the Volga Federal District (predominantly in Europe) with its capital Nizhny Novgorod.
3. Northwest Russia's federal district is the Northwestern Federal District, the district occupies an area of 1,687,000 km²;
this is about three times the size of France. Its administrative center is St. Petersburg.
4. In the southwest, between Ukraine and Kazakhstan lies the Southern Federal District, bounded in the south on one side by the Black Sea on the other side
by the Caspian Sea; its administrative capital is Rostov-on-Don.
5. The North Caucasian Federal District borders Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south, and is bounded by the Caspian Sea in the east;
its administrative center is Pyatigorsk. Landscape
- The northern portion of Russia lies within the Arctic Circle.
- The region includes the Kola Peninsula, parts of the Arkhangelsk Oblast, and the Komi Republic, as well as the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, home to the Nenets people.
- The landscape is dominated by Tundra, the treeless marshy steppe of the north.
- Southward of the Arctic Circle, above 60 degrees north latitude, the landscape is dominated by Taiga, the swampy coniferous forest of high northern
latitudes with a mix of spruces, larches, pines and birch trees in north giving way southward to broad-leaved trees.
- Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains of Russia Mount Elbrus viewed from the south in Russia, it is the highest peak in the Caucasus mountain range,
and Europe's highest mountain at 5,642 m (18,510 ft).
- The center of the East European Plain is covered by temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, the mostly flat plain is here and there disrupted by a number
of hills and highlands, known as the Smolensk-Moscow Upland, the Central Russian Upland, the Volga Hills, and the Northern Hills.
- Since modern times, the plain is extensively developed for agriculture.
- The primary grains are wheat, barley and rye, and 'industrial' crops such as sunflower seeds, sugar beets, and potatoes.
- To the north of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea is the region of the wooded, fertile Western Steppe (Pontic–Caspian Steppe), a portion of the Eurasian
Steppe (East European forest steppe), a broad band of treeless, grassy plains, a region with savannas, and shrublands, giving way to semidesert along the
northern shore of the Caspian Sea.
- The steppe begins near the mouth of the Danube River and extends northeast almost to Kazan and then southeast to the southern tip of the Ural Mountains.
- The Ural Mountain range, the natural boundary between Europe and Asia, extends about 2,100 km (1,300 mi) south from the Arctic Ocean to the northern border of
Kazakhstan.
- Its highest peak is Mount Narodnaya (1,895 m (6,217 ft)).
- Western Russia's largest lakes are Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe, and Lake Onega, Europe's second largest lake.
- The Rybinsk Reservoir or Rybinsk Sea is a human-made reservoir and the northernmost point of the Volga river.
- Other major lakes are Lake Peipus (shared with Estonia), Lake Beloye, Lake Vygozero, Lake Kovdozero, and Lake Segozero. Population
- European Russia has a population of 113 million people (in 2020), making it the most populous country in Europe.
- About 77% of Russia's total population lives west of the Ural Mountains.
- Therefore, almost all of Russia's largest cities are in the western part of the country.
- All these cities are significant social, political, economic, industrial, and cultural centers.
- The most populous city in Russia is Moscow (pop. 12,2 million), the second-largest city is Saint Petersburg (pop. 5.5 million), a major seaport and
former capital of imperial Russia (until the Russian Revolution in 1918).
- Other major cities with more than one million people are Nizhny Novgorod, formerly, until 1990 it was known as Gorky, an important economic hub and a major
center of river tourism in Russia.
- Kazan is a port on the River Volga; it is also the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan.
- Samara, known until 1991 as Kuybyshev, is a port and an industrial city at the Samara Bend of the Volga river opposite the wooded Zhiguli Mountains.
- It is the capital of the Oblast of the same name.
Rep. San Marino
about San Marino
- San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, one of Europe’s five microstates located in Southern Europe, it is a landlocked enclave in north
eastern Italy.
- The country covers an area of 61 km², making it the third smallest country in Europe, about one fifth the size of Malta, or about one-third the size of
Washington, DC. San Marino consists of one small city and smaller settlements clustered around Mount Titano, one of the peaks of the Apennine mountain range.
- The republic has a population of 33,100 (in 2016), capital is the city of San Marino.
- Spoken language is Italian.
Serbia
About Serbia
- Map is showing Serbia, a landlocked country in the center of the Balkan Peninsula in southern Central Europe.
- It is bordered by Albania (by Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Romania.
- With an area of 77,474 km² Serbia is slightly smaller than the Czech Republic, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of South Carolina.
- The northern third of the country is situated in the Pannonian Basin (or Pannonian Plain, a large basin in East-Central Europe), the other two-thirds
are mountainous, with limestone ranges and basins in the east, and ancient mountains and hills in the southeast.
- the highest mountain in Serbia is Đeravica with 2,656 m part of the Prokletije mountain range (Albanian Alps), located in west Kosovo near the border
triangle of Albania and Montenegro.
- Serbia's major rivers are the Sava, the Tisa, and the Drina, all tributaries of the Danube river.
- Serbia has a population of 7.2 million people. Largest city and capital is Belgrade.
- Spoken languages are Serbian (88%) and partially all languages of the surrounding countries.
Slovakia
About Slovakia
- Map is showing Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, a landlocked country in central Europe.
- It is bordered by Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Ukraine.
- With an area of 49,035 km², the country is somewhat larger than half of Portugal or about twice the size of the U.S. state New Hampshire.
- The country's terrain consist of rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south.
- Its highest point is the peak of Gerlachovsky Stit with 2,655 m, the mountain is located near the state border with Poland, in the High Tatras, a
mountain range that forms a natural border between Slovakia and Poland.
- The longest river in Slovakia is the Váh, the Morava river forms part of the Slovak border with the Czech Republic and Austria, the Danube is the
largest river that flows through the country, it actually forms parts of the border with Austria and Hungary.
- The country has a population of 5.4 million people (in 2015), Slovakia's capital is Bratislava.
- Spoken languages are Slovak (official) and Hungarian.
- the capital is Bratislava (413,000)
- other cities: Košice (240,000), Prešov (92,000), Žilina (85,000), Nitra (85,000), Banská Bystrica (80,000)
Slovenia
About Slovenia
- Map is showing Slovenia a country in southeastern Europe.
- It is bordered by Austria, Croatia, Hungary, and Italy.
- The former constituent republic of Yugoslavia is almost landlocked, it has only a short (46 km) coastline at the Adriatic Sea between Italy and Croatia.
- With an area of 20,273 km² Slovenia is about half the size of Switzerland or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey.
- Slovenia landscape offers a small coastal strip in south west, and an alpine mountain region with the Julian Alps, a mountain range that stretch from
northeastern Italy to Slovenia, within the Julian Alps lies the country's highest mountain the Triglav at 2,864 m.
- In the north there are the Karawanks, a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps on the border between Slovenia and Austria.
- Almost 63% of Slovenia is forested area.
- The country has a population of just over 2 million people.
- Largest city and capital is Ljubljana with about 278,000 residents (in 2015).
- Spoken languages are Slovenian (official; 91%) and Serbo-Croatian (4.5%). The major religion is Christianity (about 60%).
Spain
About Spain
- The map shows the Iberian Peninsula with Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain (Span.: Reino de España), a state in southwestern Europe with two
exclaves in North Africa.
- Spain's mainland is bounded by the Pyrenees mountain range in the northeast, the Bay of Biscay, a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean in the north,
the Gulf of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar in the south, and the Mediterranean Sea in the south and east.
- In the west, Spain surrounds Portugal on two sides.
- With an area of 505,992 km², Spain is the third-largest country in Europe if Russia is not counted.
- Compared, the country is somewhat larger than twice the size of the United Kingdom, or slightly more than twice the size of the U.S. state of Oregon.
- The Kingdom of Spain has a population of 47.1 million people (in 2020), the capital and largest city is Madrid with 3.2 million inhabitants.
- Spoken languages are Spanish (official), co-official languages are Catalan, Galician, Basque, and Occitan.
- Spain is bordered by Portugal in the west, by France and Andorra in the northeast.
- It shares borders with Morocco at the Spanish coastal exclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, the two permanently inhabited Spanish autonomous cities in Northern Africa.
- Spain also shares maritime borders with Algeria and Italy. Islands
- The territory of Spain includes two archipelagos, the Balearic Islands (Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, and Formentera) in the Mediterranean Sea, and the
Canary Islands (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro) in the Atlantic Ocean, west off the coast of Morocco. Mountains
- Mount Teide on Tenerife is Spain's highest mountain with an altitude of 3,718 m.
- Mt. Mulhacén on the mainland is the highest mountain on the Iberian Peninsula at 3,478 m. Rivers
- The Tagus (Tajo, Tejo), which flows through Spain and Portugal, is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula.
- The Ebro is the longest river that flows entirely within Spain. Gibraltar
- And there is Gibraltar, the tiny British Overseas Territory, one small jut dangling from the peninsula, is still a disputed area.
- Spain's irredentist claims on Gibraltar escalated when Spain threatened to take control of Gibraltar "the very next day" after a British withdrawal from the EU. Landscape
- Spain's landscape offers a variety of sceneries, from soaring peaks in its mountain ranges to a Mediterranean flair in the south, from dense
forests to wetlands and desert areas, deep canyons with spectacular waterfalls alternate with red-brown or white-colored villages and ancient castles. Climate
- Spain's weather patterns range from temperate Atlantic in the north to a Mediterranean climate in the south.
- The northern regions experience cool summers, mild winters, and year-round rainfall, the interior has hot, dry summers and cold winters, with snow on
the higher elevations.
- The Mediterranean regions enjoy a subtropical climate.
Sweden
About Sweden
- Sweden is officially the Kingdom of Sweden, one of the Scandinavian countries.
- The Nordic country is located in northern Europe, bounded by the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, and the Öresund straits.
- It borders Norway in the west on the Scandinavian Peninsula; the Torne river forms most of Sweden's border with Finland in the east. A portion of the country
lies north of the Arctic Circle.
- The country shares maritime borders with Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
- Sweden covers an area of 450,295 km² making it roughly twice the size of Great Britain (island), or slightly larger than the U.S. state of California.
- The kingdom's landscape is mostly flat with gently rolling lowlands; forests cover more than half of the country.
- In the west the country is getting mountainous, Sweden shares the Scandinavian Mountains, also known as the Kölen Fjällen range, with Norway.
- Within the northern part of the mountain range, near the border to Norway, is the highest mountain of Sweden, the Kebnekaise massif with 2,097 m (6,882 ft) at
its highest point.
- Almost 10 % of Sweden's area are lakes and rivers.
- Its largest lake is Lake Vänern, a surface area of 5,650 km² makes it the largest lake in the European Union.
- The Swedish population of 10.2 million people is mainly concentrated in the southern part of the country. Spoken language is Swedish, a North Germanic
language, similar to Danish and Norwegian; English is taught in school and widely spoken.
- Scandinavia is a historical and cultural-linguistic region; it comprises the three kingdoms of Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
- The term Scandinavia referred originally to Scania (Skåne), a region formerly Danish, now Swedish. More about Sweden
- The Kingdom of Sweden is a parliamentary monarchy.
- The head of state is the monarch, but the king has no political power and does not participate in political life.
- Sweden's territory includes the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula and the islands of Gotland and Öland.
- The country is a member of the Nordic Council and has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Unlike Norway and Denmark, however, it is not a member
of NATO and is militarily non-aligned. Climate
- Sweden's climate is influenced primarily by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean with the warm Gulf Stream and is quite mild for its geographical location. Swedens five largest cities Stockholm: Sweden's capital expands across fourteen islands which are connected by more than 50 bridges.
The seaport and the country's largest city is situated on Sweden's eastern coast of the Baltic Sea at the mouth of Lake Mälaren.
Nearly one million people call the city home. Stockholm is famous for its iconic city hall, the old town Gamla stan with the Royal Palace, the Vasa Museum
maritime museum, and the Skansen, the first open-air museum and zoo in Sweden. Gothenburg: Sweden's second-largest city is the capital of the Västra Götaland County and an important seaport, located on the Kattegat (sea) on the
west coast of Sweden. The university town on the river Göta älv is famous for its Dutch-style canals in the old part of the city.
Gothenburg's economy is based on trade and shipping, manufacturing and industry (Volvo).
The city is also a starting point for excursions into the Gothenburg Archipelago off the coast of Gothenburg. Malmö: the country’s third largest city is the capital of the Scania province and a cultural and economic hub in southern Sweden.
Since the opening of the Øresund Bridge in 2000, which connects Malmö with Denmark's capital Copenhagen, the Malmö metropolitan area became one of the
centers of the Øresund Region, also known as Greater Copenhagen. Malmö is famous for Malmö Castle, the 16th-century fortress built by the Danish King Christian III,
the Turning Torso, a futuristic skyscraper, and Emporia, one of the biggest shopping malls in Scandinavia. Uppsala : the famous university town is the country's fourth largest city. Sweden's oldest university was founded in 1477. The city is one of Sweden's
main tourist attractions, renowned for its Gothic style Uppsala Cathedral, the 16th-century royal castle, the Archbishop's Palace, its central park, and several
botanical gardens and botanical museums. Most of the town attractions are in the Fjärdingen neighborhood.
Switzerland
About Switzerland
- Switzerland is a landlocked mountainous country in western Central Europe.
- It borders Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein.
- With an area of 41,285 km², the country is just slightly smaller than the Netherlands or almost twice the size of the US state of New Jersey.
- Switzerland has a population of 8.6 million people (in 2019), the capital (Bundesstadt) is Bern
- the largest city is Zürich.
- Spoken languages are German, French, Italian and Rumantsch. More about Switzerland
- The landscape of Switzerland is diverse and resulted from tectonic processes, in particular the collision of the African plate with the Eurasian plate.
- This process, also called alpine mountain building or alpine orogeny, formed the country's three major geographic regions, the towering Swiss Alps, the
partly flat but mostly hilly Central Plateau, and the Swiss Jura, a low mountain range in the northwest.
- Switzerland is known for its picturesque landscapes.
- The country has about 1,500 lakes and nearly 50 mountain peaks that are 4,000 meters high or higher.
- The Dufourspitze (4,634 m (15,203 ft)), a peak of the Monte Rosa massif, is the highest mountain peak of Switzerland and the Pennine Alps.
- The country's highest peaks are all in the Pennine Alps, a mountain range in the canton Valais.
- In addition to several peaks of Monte Rosa mountain there are the Dom (4,545 m), the Lyskamm (4,533 m), Weisshorn (4,506 m), the Matterhorn (4,478 m),
and Dent Blanche (4,357 m).
- The most prominent mountains in the country are the Finsteraarhorn and the Piz Bernina; both mountains rise more than 2 km above the surrounding landscape.
- Switzerland's major rivers are the Rhine [Rhein], Aare, Inn, Rhône, Reuss and Ticino.
- Major lakes are Lake Constance (Bodensee; shared with Germany and Austria), Lake Geneva (Lac Léman; shared with France), Lake Neuchâtel,
Lake Maggiore (Lago Maggiore), Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee)
- Switzerland is located in a temperate climate zone that changes dramatically with altitude.
- South of the Alps, the weather quickly becomes Mediterranean.
- The climate is also milder near the great lakes, Lake Geneva and Lake Constance.
Turkey
About Turkey
- The map shows Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, a country on the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia with a small enclave in Thrace in the Balkan
region of southeastern Europe.
- The main portion of the Turkish state is located on the Anatolia peninsula, also known as Asia Minor, the westernmost part of Asia.
- Turkey is a unitary state with a central government.
- Turkey is bounded by the Aegean Sea in the west, by the Mediterranean Sea in the south and by the Black Sea in the north.
- The country is bordered by Armenia, Iran, and Azerbaijan (exclave of Nakhchivan) in the east, by Georgia in the northeast, by Bulgaria and Greece in the
northwest, and by Iraq, and Syria in the southeast.
- Turkey shares maritime borders with Cyprus, Egypt, Northern Cyprus, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.
- There are two narrow straits in northwestern Turkey, the Bosporus, which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, which
connect the Aegean arm of the Mediterranean Sea with the Sea of Marmara.
- The highest mountain in Turkey is Ağrı Dağı or Mount Ararat at 5,137 m (16,854 ft).
- With an area of 783,562 km², the country is more than twice the size of Germany or slightly smaller than the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana combined.
- Turkey has a population of 83 million people (in 2020), largest city is Istanbul, the second-largest city and the national capital is Ankara, spoken
languages are Turkish (official), Kurdish, and Arabic.
- Turkey can be subdivided into seven major geographical regions and is subdivided into 81 provinces and further divided in 957 districts.
1. The Marmara region in the northwestern part of the country is situated on both continents, Europe and Asia.
- It is the most densely populated region in the country.
- Turkey's largest city Istanbul is located within the area.
- The Marmara region was home to the city of Troy.
- The Archaeological Site of Troyofficial website is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
2. The Black Sea region is a long stretched mountainous region along the Black Sea with a predominantly rural population.
- Major cities are Samsun, a Black Sea port, the port city of Zonguldak, and Trabzon, a main port on the historical Silk Road was the capital of the
Empire of Trebizond.
3. The Aegean region shares much of the history of Ancient Greece, home to the city-states of Ephesus, Miletus, and Halicarnassus (today Bodrum).
- The Aegean region is also one of Turkey's prominent tourism centers.
4. The Mediterranean region is a mountainous strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Taurus mountain range in the region separates the Mediterranean coastal area from the Anatolian Plateau.
- Alanya and Antalya are two popular resort towns on the eastern portion of the Turkish Riviera in the country's Mediterranean region.
5. Central Anatolia is the heartland of Turkey.
- The historical region is home to the country's capital Ankara and other major cities like Konya and Kayseri.
6. Also located in central Anatolia is Cappadocia, the ancient region between Lake Tuz and the Euphrates, famous for its "fairy chimneys".
- The landscape where erosion shaped the soft volcanic rock into thousands of strangely shaped towers is now a hangout for hot-air balloons.
7. Mountainous Southeast Anatolia is also known as Turkish Kurdistan.
- It borders Syria in the south, and Iraq in the southeast.
- In ancient times Southeast Anatolia was part of the historical region of northwestern Mesopotamia, the site of the earliest urban civilizations.
- There are two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Southeast Anatolia, Nemrut Dağ (Mount Nemrut); erected on its summit are a number of large statues surrounding
the mausoleum of Antiochus I (69–34 B.C.), who reigned over the Commagene kingdom.
- The archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe presents monumental T-shaped pillars.
- The world’s oldest stone structures were erected by an unknown civilization between 9,600 and 8,200 BCE, a time that predates Stonehenge by 6,000 years.
- The Eastern Anatolia region is the easternmost part of Turkey; it was formerly part of Western Armenia.
- It is Turkey's region with the lowest population density.
- The main economic activity is agriculture and animal husbandry.
- Main urban centers are Agri (Ağrı), a city with an agriculture industry, Van, a major city near the Turkish border with Iran lies on the shores of Lake Van,
the largest lake in Turkey and one of the world's largest lakes with no outlet.
- Erzurum is a university town and a popular winter sports destination in Turkey.
- Major Turkish cities with a population of more than one million people:
Izmir, the largest city in the Aegean Region is a seaport and a naval base on an inlet of the Aegean Sea.
Bursa is the capital of Bursa province situated 30 km south of the southern coast of the Sea of Marmara along the foothills of Mount Uludag;
it was the capital of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire from 1326 to 1402.
Bursa and Cumalıkızık: the Birth of the Ottoman Empireofficial website is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Adana, the largest city in the Mediterranean Region and capital of the Adana province.
Gaziantep, a city with an ancient history is situated about 120 km (75 mi) north of Aleppo, Syria. The city is famous for its gastronomy.
Konya, an industrial city in central Anatolia. Konya is famous for its Whirling Dervishes (Sufi).
The city was the Seljuk capital (Sultanate of Rum) towards the end of the 11th century and became later the capital of the Ottoman province of Karaman Eyalet.
Antalya is located on Anatolia's southwest coast, known as the Turkish Riviera.
Antalya province is the center of Turkey's tourism industry and one of the Mediterranean's leading tourism destinations.
Kayseri is an industrialized city in Central Anatolia, and the trailhead for the tourist attractions in Cappadocia.
Ukraine
About Ukraine
- The map shows Ukraine, a country at the crossroads between Europe and Asia situated in eastern Europe, north of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
- Ukraine's fertile land was known as the breadbasket of the Soviet Union; now it became the breadbasket of Europe.
- With an area of 600,000 km², it is the second-largest country in Europe after European Russia, twice the size of Italy or slightly smaller than the US state
of Texas.
- Ukraine borders Belarus, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia.
- The landscape of Ukraine consists mainly of plains and plateaus, except the Carpathians in the west.
- Mount Hoverla (Hora Hoverla) is at 2.061 m (6.760 ft.), the highest peak in the country.
- Ukraine's major rivers are the Dniester, the Southern Bug (Pivdennyi Buh), the Desna, the Donets, and the Dnieper (Dnipro), a vital waterway and
the longest river in Ukraine with its large water reservoirs the Kremenchuk Reservoir and the Kakhovka Reservoir.
- Ukraine has a population of 42 million people (in 2020), the capital and largest city is Kiev (Kyiv) with a population of 2,8 million, the city is a
major industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center in Eastern Europe.
- Spoken languages are Ukrainian (official), Russian is widely spoken, especially in eastern and southern parts of the country.
- Ukraine's largest cities are (with a population of over 1 million): Kyiv (Kiev), Kharkiv (Kharkov), Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa (Odessa), and Donetsk, the capital
city of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic (not to be confused with the Russian town of Donets'k at the Ukrainian border near Luhansk).
Hungary
About Hungary
- Map is showing Hungary, a landlocked country in Central Europe.
- Border Countries are: Austria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine.
- Hungary occupies an area of 93,028 km², compared it is about the size of Portugal, or smaller than Iceland, or slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Virginia,
or about the same size as Indiana.
- The Hungarian landscape is mostly flat (Pannonian Basin, better known as Puszta), there are some hills in central north near the border with Slovakia,
known as the North Hungarian 'Mountains', within the highest point of Hungary, Kekes (Kékestető) with 1,014 m, located northeast of Gyöngyös in the Mátra
mountain range.
- Largest body of water is Lake Balaton, the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of Hungary's popular tourist destinations.
- Hungary's climate is moderate to cold, with cloudy humid winters and warm summers.
- Hungary has a population of almost 10 million people (in 2015), the national capital and and largest city is Budapest, spoken language is Hungarian,
a Uralic language unrelated to any neighboring language, distantly related to Finnish.
- Largest cities in Hungary are: Budapest (1.6 million), Debrecen (115,000), Miskolc (109,000), Szeged (104,000), Pécs (90,000), Györ (70,000), Nyíregyháza
(56,000), Kecskemét (42,000), and Székesfehérvár (42,000)
Vatican City State
About Vatican City State
- Map is showing the walled enclave of Vatican City within the City of Rome, Italy.
- Vatican City, officially Vatican City State, is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world, with an area of about 44
hectares (0.44 km²; 110 acres), and a population of 850.
- The Papal State is ruled by the Bishop of Rome—the Pope.
- The territory of Vatican City is part of Mons Vaticanus (Vatican Hill), and of the adjacent former Vatican Fields.
- The Vatican Hill lies northwest of the Tiber and is not one of the traditional Seven Hills of Rome.
- In this territory St. Peter's Basilica, the Apostolic Palace, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican Museums were built, along with the rest of other
palaces and gardens which make up Vatican City.
- The most sacred place in Christendom is a UNESCO World Heritage Site official website, it contains a unique collection of artistic and architectural
masterpieces from Bramante, Raphael, Michelangelo, Bernini and Maderno.
- The St. Peter's Basilica, erected over the tomb of St Peter the Apostle, is the largest church building in the world.