World > Europe
PhotoDietach, a village in Upper Austria
Dietach, a village in Upper Austria. By Mediocrity

The Geography of
Europe

Why visit Europe?

All of our pages about Europe.

PhotoRelief map of Europe
This map is free to use!

Europe is the second-smallest continent, occupying 8% of the Earth’s surface. It lies entirely in the northern hemisphere between 36°N and the Arctic Ocean. About two-thirds of the continent is a great plain which covers the whole of European Russia and spreads westwards through Poland to the Low Countries. To the north lie the Scandinavian highlands. To the south, a series of mountain ranges stretch east-to-west (Caucasus, Carpathians, Alps, and Pyrenees).