Chapter 18, Section

World Geography

Chapter 18Regional Atlas:

Central Europe and Northern Eurasia

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

Chapter 18, Section

World Geography

Copyright © 2003 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.

Section 1: Historic Overview

Section 2: Physical Characteristics

Section 3: Climates

Section 4: Ecosystems

Chapter 18: Regional Atlas: Central Europe and Northern Eurasia

Section 5: People and Cultures

Section 6: Economics, Technology, and Environment

Section 7: Database

Chapter 18, Section

By 4000 B.C., people living on the steppes of present-day Russia and Ukraine first domesticated horses.

Historical Overview

• Many peoples invaded and settled in the region, and missionaries won converts to Christianity and Islam.

• The region came to be dominated by Poland and Lithuania, the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian Empire, and Russia.

• The Russian Empire was overthrown in 1918 and replaced with the Soviet Union, which adopted communism and dominated Eastern Europe until it broke up in 1991.

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Chapter 18, Section

Physical Characteristics2

Chapter 18, Section

Physical Characteristics

• Some geographers contend the Ural mountains in Russia mark

the boundary between Europe and Asia, while others suggest that

Europe and Asia should be considered a single continent called

Eurasia.

• The region is flat in the west and rises toward the east and south.

Central Europe and Northern Eurasia form a huge region with many nations.

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Climate3

Chapter 18, Section

Climate

• Subarctic and Tundra stretch across much of Russia.

• Humid Continental covers much of the south and west.

• Semiarid lies along the Black and Caspian seas.

• Several climate zones extend over the Balkans and

along the western border of the region.

Much of the region lies in cooler climate regions.

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Ecosystems4

Chapter 18, Section

Ecosystems

• Tundra and coniferous forest extend across northern Russia.

• Mixed forest covers much of the western parts of the region.

• Temperate grassland stretches from the Black Sea coast east

along much of the southern border of Russia.

Tundra, taiga, and steppe are the most extensive ecosystems.

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Chapter 18, Section

With few natural barriers, easy migration has led to most nations of the region being multiethnic.

People and Cultures

• Orthodox Christianity has been important in Central Europe for centuries.

• Central Europe and Northern Eurasia are home to dozens of ethnic groups, groups of people who share such things as culture, language, and religion.

• Many cities in the region show a mixture of traditional architecture and modern businesses.

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Economies, Technology, and Environment6

Chapter 18, Section

Economies, Technology, and Environment

• Women make up more than 50 percent of the workforce in Russia.

• Manufacturing and trade are based in the western parts of the

region, where industry has contributed to acid rain.

• Commercial farming is important to the southern and western

parts of the region.

Since the late 1980s, economies of the region have moved from communism to some form of capitalism.

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Chapter 18, Section

Database

• In Poland, high-quality medical care is free for most people, and life expectancy is fairly high.

• Romania has a relatively weak health care system, and high pollution contributes to health problems and a low life expectancy.

• The health care system in Russia is underfunded and in crisis, with medicine and medical equipment in short supply.

• The nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986 continues to pose serious health threats to many Ukrainians.

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