RELIEF OF EUROPE: CHARACTERISTICS AND FORMS - GEOGRAPHY - 2025

The relief of Europe presents one of the most varied topographies in the world, the product of thousands of years of geological evolution. In geographical terms, Europe is really the northern peninsula of the continental mass called Eurasia. In fact, Asia occupies the entire southern part of this landmass, as well as the same continental plate as Europe.

The border part located in Eastern Europe is delimited by one of its main geographical features: the Ural Mountains of Russia. In terms of shape, Europe is a combination of peninsulas and contiguous islands, which have definite geographical features and a relatively flat relief.

However, the relief varies considerably within small areas. The southern regions are mountainous, while a little further north it is possible to see plains that extend to the east. It is common in Europe the presence of wide mountainous terrain accompanied by large areas of flat land.

characteristics

European geography allows a great variety of shapes to exist in the continent's topography. This causes various mountain formations to appear throughout the entire continent.

In turn, the characteristics of the continent can be divided into three different geographic regions, to properly define each type of relief.

Southern mountains

Swiss Alps

Southern Europe is made up of various mountains and plains. These mountains were formed relatively recently; that is, they were created long after Europe was formed as a continent. This region includes all the Pyrenees, the Apennines and the Alps that extend throughout the southern countries of Europe.

In this region is Mount Elbrús, considered the highest peak in the entire European continent.

Northwest Highlands

The highlands stretch across all of Northern Europe: from Sweden and Norway to the British Isles. The elevated characteristics of this region shape the entire territory of Scandinavia. Almost all the European fjords are in this region; particularly in Iceland and Scandinavia.

Newfoundland Fjord

Great European field

This great plain, although it has some scattered mountain formations along its entire length, is the largest area without significant elevations in Europe.

It extends from the end of the Pyrenees mountains to the Bay of Biscay in France. The east of this region is also bounded by the Ural Mountains of Russia.

Part of the Bay of Biscay

This region is so large that it is usually divided into two additional parts: the Northern European Plain and the Eastern European Plain. However, this division is usually done for historical purposes (country divisions) and not for geographic purposes.

Shapes

The European continent presents a great variety of forms in all its relief: from plains to high mountains. European geography is one of the richest in the world. It should be noted that there are a large number of geographic forms in Europe, but some iconic formations stand out from the rest.

These formations are located throughout the continent and in many cases are part of the history of various countries. Among the most prominent topographic formations are the following:

The Alps

The Alps are in the northern part of Europe. They are made up of the Central Alps (located in Switzerland), the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps.

However, the Swiss part of the European Alps represents the most important and extensive part of this geographical formation.

Throughout history, the relief of this region has played a fundamental role in the political and military development of European countries. In fact, the Swiss Confederation was established in the core of the Alps during the 14th century.

Apennine Mountains

The Apennines are a series of interconnected mountains that stretch the entire length of the Italian peninsula. This mountainous formation creates an arc shape that groups the Ligurian Sea with the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The mountains get their name from the Apennine Peninsula of Italy. They are quite irregular in relief, like any mountain formation of such magnitude. However, they present green pastures and even glaciers that vary depending on the location of each mountain.

It has three main divisions, each located in northern, central, and southern Italy, respectively. These formations make up a large part of all the Italian relief.

Balkan Mountains

This mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. They stretch for more than 500 kilometers and their highest peak is in Bulgaria.

In fact, the mountains are so representative of the relief of this region that the name of the Balkan Peninsula was given in their honor.

It has a unique relief on the continent, and presents a great variety of caves and rock formations throughout its entire extension that make it a particularly unique mountain range in the world. Also, the relief style forms the basins located near the Aegean Sea and the Black Sea.

Mountains played an important role in the development of life in Bulgaria, not only in its culture, but in the creation of the nation itself.

The pyrenees

The mountain range of the Pyrenees is one of the most important in Europe. It stretches along the border between France and Spain; it is used to delimit the border between the two nations of western Europe. However, the nation of Andorra is located between both borders.

These mountains do not have a large number of large lakes, such as those found throughout the Alps.

In addition, it has a particular relief created by the amount of water that flows in these mountains and that creates waterfalls. It has a large number of mountain passes, which are among the highest in Europe.

Great hungarian plain

This plain, which forms the flattest area in Europe, covers almost the entire territory of Hungary. In addition, it is part of the Panoiana Basin, the geography of the Alps and that of the Himalayas.

This plain plays a fundamental role in the Hungarian economy. It makes room for a fairly pronounced development of agriculture thanks to the few elevations on the land.

Central plateau

This plateau, located in Spain, has elevations that go from half a kilometer in height to 710 meters. It has a large number of small elevations and mountains around it, as well as several rivers located on the border with Portugal.

In turn, this plateau is divided into two regions because of the so-called Central System. The northern region has a high elevation, while the southern divide is closer to sea level.

The mountains of the Central System extend from Spain to the territory of Portugal and present relief characteristics typical of frozen areas. In fact, in many cases these mountains have glaciers.

This plateau is a fundamental part of the Spanish geography. Many of its mountainous passes connect other topographical regions of Spain, such as the Andalusian plain.

Ural mountains

The Ural Mountains are located in Russia. They spread from the north to the south of the country, crossing the entire western region of the nation. In addition, part of these mountains occupy territory of Kazakhstan.

They are found mainly in the Ural region of Russia, forming mainly part of the same federal district. Its caves and rock formations have a great presence of valuable minerals. In fact, they are a source of jewelry and also of metals and coal.

The region varies its shape depending on the part of the Russian territory it occupies. The polar part has characteristics of cold climate with a relief of affiliated rocks. However, it is also possible to find flat mountain tops.

Other polar and quasi-polar regions get a rather peculiar shape as a product of glaciers that occupied the region hundreds of years ago. They are mainly alpine regions.

On the other hand, the northern region of the Urals has quite a few mountains with parallel peaks and stones eroded due to climatic changes that have occurred over time.

The middle region of the Urals has a much more uniform relief. The various mountains that occupy this region have similar characteristics, denoted mainly by the flat mountain tops.

The southern region is a bit more complex, as it has valleys and cuts in the relief caused by various rivers that cross its geography.

Po Valley

This iconic plain is located in northern Italy, just north of the Apennines. Geographically, it is formed mainly by a large basin, which belongs to the Po River. The presence of this river is what gives the valley its name.

Its relief is one of the lowest in Europe in terms of its height with sea level. Its triangular shape occupies almost the entire north of the Italian territory: from the western Alpine region to the shores of the Adriatic Sea.

References

1. Europe: Physical Geography, National Geographic Society, (nd). Taken from nationalgeographic.org
2. Overview of European Geography, D. Wood, (nd). Taken from study.com
3. Europe - Continent, Encyclopaedia Britannica, (nd). Taken from Britannica.com
4. Europe Geography, World Atlas, 2018. Taken from worldatlas.com
5. Europe - Land, Encyclopaedia Britannica, (nd). Taken from Britannica.com
6. Geography of Europe - Various Links, Wikipedia in English, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org