EUROPEAN IDENTITY

IS EUROPE

A

CONTINENT?

AND IF NOT…

WHAT

IS

IT?

A. ABOUT THE PHYSICAL UNITY OF EUROPE…

WHERE DOES IT START?

WHERE DOES IT STOP?

LIMITS - DEMARCATIONS – BORDERS - BOUNDARIES

Continent:

(from Penguin Geography Dictionary)

« a large continuous mass of land on the earth’s surface, and surrounded by maritime areas »

THERE IS NO ACTUAL DEMARCATION OF EUROPE AS A CONTINENT

-THE VAST MASS OF LANDS IS NOT SURROUNDED BY SEAS AND OCEANS

-ITS LIMITS WERE CHANGED THROUGH TIME…

In Ancient and medieval times, the Don River was the limit chosen by cartographers

Under Peter the First, Czar of Russia, the limit was extended to the Urals, as its country wasn’t integrated into the magnificent western Europe he had visited in 1697-1698

Europe’s demarcation line is relatively clear in

-          the South (the Mediterranean sea plays the role of a natural boundary) and the South-West (the Strait of Gibraltar marks an apparent stop of the continent)

- the North (Scandinavian moutain ranges differentiate inhabited areas from the Arctic pole)

Yet, many limits are less obvious:

-          the West: oceanic limits tend to separate Iceland – Greenland – or even the British isles... from Europe.

-          the South-East (Transcaucasia is so far a mountain range, that few Europeans call Azeris, Georgians, Armenians “neighbours”)

- the East: Russian and Turkish lands are both European and Asian; even the riverway demarcation (Don, Volga, Ural rivers) changed according to the political definitions given

B. IS EUROPE’S CLIMATIC IDENTITY BETTER?

OPEN

THEN SEARCH FOR THE CLIMATE ZONES OF EUROPE…

ARE CLIMATES IN EUROPE…

-RATHER COLD? RATHER MILD? RATHER WARM?

-HOMOGENEOUSLY DISTRIBUTED?

-REPRODUCING A VARIETY OF CLIMATIC ZONES? WHICH ONES?

The 6 major climate zones:

polar or sub-arctic (rainy, with severe cold winters and fewer than 4 months over 10 °C);

mountainous (rainy and long winter on high altitudes);

continental (rainy with warmest months circa 21°);

continental gradated (rainy with warmest months circa 28°);

oceanic (rainy with mild winter and summer)

Mediterranean (windy, with mild winter and dry summer).

Climate as a ___________ is rather good to identify / differentiate Europe from the other continents.

Climate is in general __________ to its many countries.

Climate is relatively benign, ________ (doux) : it is cool temperate, with __________ extremes of cold or dry conditions. This is partly due to the fact that Europe’s climate is influenced by the warm ocean __________ and air __________ from the south.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words:

currents - common - criterion - mild - masses - scarce

Climate as a criterion is rather good to identify / differentiate Europe from the other continents.

Climate is in general common to its many countries.

Climate is relatively benign, mild (doux) : it is cool temperate, with scarce extremes of cold or dry conditions. This is partly due to the fact that Europe’s climate is influenced by the warm ocean currents, and air masses from the south.

Western and Eastern limits aren’t decisive natural obstacles

Europe seems to be rather a « territory » than a « continent »

TO RECAP

FILL IN YOUR PHYSICAL MAP-Don river, Ural river

-Great Plains

-…

Prepare for a test: maps + quizzes

Physical Europe in the future?

Source:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skMO4GN1rns

Climatic Europe in the future? Will climate change turn the temperate zone into a spot of disturbances?

http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/maps/v.php?id=3833 2003 Projections

Climate change itself will relativize the unity of Europe…

Projected impacts from climate change in different EU regions

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/climate-change/

Is climate change only a risk of warmer temperatures?

Which of these burning issues do you fear the most?

Propose a radical legislation on a European scale

The European area is ill-defined as a physical place

A cultural and geo-historical definition will help answer the question of European identity