According COUNTRYAAH, Western Europe, is a geographical area of Europe which includes the countries France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Monaco. The area includes the Scandinavian Peninsula and the Pyrenees Peninsula (Iberian Peninsula).
Most western European countries have a relatively short distance to the sea. To the south lies the Mediterranean Sea and to the west the North Sea. There are several major inlets such as the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic Sea with the Bothnian Sea. A number of large islands belong to Western Europe, including Iceland, the British Isles, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily.
Geological conditions
The bedrock in the north consists of Precambrian rocks in the Baltic Shield, which in the west is bounded by the Caledonian mountain range. The Hercynic mountain range folding took place in Earth’s younger age and later, especially in tertiary. In the tertiary, the Alpine mountain range folding also took place with the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Monkeys, among others. Above these older bedrock layers and in recesses, deposits of sedimentary rocks lie, among others, beneath the continental shelf, the North Sea and parts of Central Europe, Denmark and England. After the last ice age 10,000 years ago let thick moraine team up large parts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
Western Europe’s highest mountain ranges are the Iberian mountains and the Sierra Nevada in Spain, the Alps, the Scottish Highlands, the Scandinavian mountain range and the Apennines.
Active volcanoes include Eyjafjall and Hekla in Iceland, Beerenberg on Jan Mayen, and Vesuvius, Etna and Stromboli in Italy.
Rivers, fjords and coast
Numerous rivers flow from the mountainous areas. Some of the most important are Ebro, Douro, Guadalquivir and Guadiana in the Iberian Peninsula, Rhône, Loire and Seine in France, Rhine and Elbe in Germany, Po in Italy.
Fjords cut into a number of places, such as in parts of Iceland, Norway, Ireland and the west coast of Scotland. Rows of coastal islands can be found in Lofoten and inland in the North Sea. The Frisian islands.
The northern Mediterranean coast is mostly a rocky coast; the same applies to parts of the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, parts of Iceland and Norway. The coast of the Bay of Biscay, Eastern England, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, northwestern Germany and the Swedish and Finnish Baltic Sea coasts has lowlands with coastal dunes in many places. Almost the whole of the Netherlands is formed by river fillings in the sea.
Northwest Europe
Northwest Europe, geographical area of Europe which includes the countries of Ireland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Northern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Iceland. In North-West Europe, the North Sea is central.
Geological conditions
The bedrock consists of Precambrian rocks in the Caledonids, where the highest mountain areas are the Scottish Highlands and the Scandinavian mountain range. In recesses, younger sedimentary rocks lie beneath, for example, the continental shelf, the North Sea, Denmark and England. After the last ice age 10,000 years ago, thick moraine layers laid out large parts of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. Active volcanoes include Eyjafjall and Hekla in Iceland, Beerenberg on Jan Mayen and the rift in the North Atlantic. Fjords cut into parts of Iceland, Norway, Ireland and the west coast of Scotland. Rows of coastal islands are found in Lofoten.
Northwestern Europe was developed as a geological deposition basin by rift formation. First, the North Sea was formed from the Carboniferous to the Cretaceous period. Thick deposits are found near the center line between the British and Norwegian continental shelves. Here are north-south sediment-filled ditches; Central and Viking digs.
The mid-Atlantic ridge was then formed when the crustal plates America and Europe / Africa began to slide apart 150 million years ago. There is still volcanic activity along this ridge in the Atlantic Ocean.