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Europe, Africa and Australia: Physical

and Cultural Perspectives
COUNTRIES AND REGIONS, POPULATION CONTRAST, ECONOMY AND RESOURCES,
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY AND CULTURAL LIFE

Bachelor of Science Major in Social Studies Class 2-B

Group 5

Nim, Rowela A.
Reynalda, Audrey Rose
Quivis, Shaira Mae E.
Oberio, Kristina A.
 Abstract
This paper aimed to provide the summary of the topic, Europe, Africa and Australia: Physical and
Cultural Perspectives to the students of Bachelor of Science major in Social Studies class two section B of Bago
City College of Education.

Introduction

Political geography investigates both the regionally unequal consequences of political processes and the
manner in which political processes are influenced by spatial structures. Geopolitics is a field of geography
concerned with human governments, the boundaries and subdivisions of political entities (such as nations or
states), and the conditions of cities.

Definition of Terms
 Peninsula
 Archipelago
 Watersheds
 Economy
 Political Geography
 Physical Perspectives
 Cultural Perspectives
 Supercontinent
 Coniferous
 Deciduous

Subtopic I: Countries and Regions

Presented By: Nim, Rowela A.

Europe: Physical Geography

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Europe can be divided into four major physical regions, running from north to south:

1. Western Uplands
2. North European Plain
3. Central Uplands
4. Alpine Mountains

Western Uplands
The Western Uplands, also known as the Northern Highlands, curve up the western edge of Europe.
 Scandinavia The Western Uplands is defined by
 (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark) hard, ancient rock that was shaped
 Finland by glaciation. Glaciation is the process of land
 Iceland being transformed by glaciers or ice sheets. As
Scotland glaciers receded from the area, they left a
 Ireland number of distinct physical features,
The Brittany region of France including abundant marshlands, lakes,
Spain and fjords. A fjord is a long and
Portugal narrow inlet of the sea that is surrounded by
high, rugged cliffs. Many of Europes fjords are
located in Iceland and Scandinavia.

Northern European Plain

The North European Plain extends from the southern United Kingdom east to Russia.
 France Most of the Great European Plain lies below
Belgium 152 meters (500 feet) in elevation. It is home
Netherlands to many navigable rivers, including the
Germany Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, and Vistula.
Denmark The climate supports a wide variety
Poland of seasonal crops. These physical features
 Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) allowed for early communication, travel,
Belarus and agricultural development. The North
European Plain remains the most densely
populated region of Europe.

Central Uplands
The Central Uplands extend east-west across central Europe
Western France and Belgium The Central Uplands are lower in altitude and
Southern Germany less rugged than the Alpine region and are
Czech Republic heavily wooded. Important highlands in this
Northern Switzerland and Austria region include the Massif Central and the
Vosges in France, the Ardennes of Belgium,
the Black Forest and the Taunus in Germany,
and the Ore and Sudeten in the Czech
Republic. This region is sparsely populated

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 except in the Rhine, Rhne, Elbe, and Danube
river valleys.

Alpine Mountains
The Alpine Mountains include ranges in the Italian and Balkan peninsulas, northern Spain,
and southern France.
Alps High elevations, rugged plateaus, and steeply
Pyrenees sloping land define the region. Europes
Apennines highest peak, Mount Elbrus (5,642
 Dinaric Alps meters/18,510 feet), is in the Caucasus
Balkans mountains of Russia. The Alpine region also
Carpathians includes active volcanoes, such as Mount
Etna and Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

Flora & Fauna

 Tundra- found in Iceland and the northern reaches of Scandinavia and Russia, is a treeless region
where small mosses, lichens, and ferns grow. 
 Taiga- stretches across northern Europe just south of the tundra, is composed of coniferous
forests, with trees such as pine, spruce, and fir. Moose, bear, and elk are native to the European
taiga.

Just south of the taiga is a Intense trade introduced many

mixture of coniferous species, which often overtook
and deciduous trees, including native plants. The forests and
beech, ash, poplar, and willow. grasslands of western and central
Although this area remains Europe have been almost
heavily forested, the completely domesticated, with
continents forests were crops and livestock dominant.
drastically reduced as a result of
intense urbanization throughout
human history.

The only primate native to Europe, Finally, small, drought-resistant

the Barbary macaque, inhabits this plants border the Mediterranean Sea,
Mediterranean basin. A small troop Europes southern edge. Trees also
of Barbary macaques lives on the grow in that southernmost region,
tiny island of Gibraltar, between including the Aleppo pine, cypress,
Spain and the African country of and cork oak.
Morocco.

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  The waters surrounding Europe are home to a number of organisms, including fish, seaweeds, marine
mammals, and crustaceans. 
 Today, around 15 percent of Europes animal species are threatened or endangered, mainly by habitat
loss, pollution, overexploitation, and competition from invasive species.
 Beginning in the 20th century, many governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have
worked to restore some of Europes rich biodiversity.

Topic Title:EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AUSTRALIA: PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

Sub Topic: ECONOMY AND RESOURCES OF EUROPE, AFRICA AND OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA

By: Audrey Rose Reynalda BSED SS-2B

:Economy of Europe

*The most important sector of Europe’s economy is the service industry, especially banking. Services account for
73% of the EU’s economy, for example. The second biggest sector is manufacturing, which is responsible for 25%.
Much of the remaining portion of GDP is taken up by agriculture.

: Europe’s resources

*There are many different natural resources found in Europe. These include wood, soil, water, fish, natural gas,
coal, and iron. The resource of fish and water can be found in the Mediterranean Sea. Water is an abundant
resource in Europe because there are so many bodies of water in/near Europe.

•What are the 3 most common resources in Europe?:

Timber, peat and potash are also important to the European economy, as are its well- developed fishing industry.
Zinc and copper are the primary resources shared by almost all European countries.

:Economy of Africa

*The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, agriculture, and human resources of the continent. As of
2019, approximately 1.3 billion people were living in 54 countries in Africa. Africa is a resource-rich continent.
Recent growth has been due to growth in sales in commodities, services, and manufacturing.

:Africa's resources

*Africa is rich in natural resources ranging from arable land, water, oil, natural gas, minerals, forests and wildlife.
The continent holds a huge proportion of the world’s natural resources, both renewables and non-renewables.

:Economy of Australia

*Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the
Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. It is the largest country by area in
Oceania and the world’s sixth-largest country.

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:Australia's main economy

*The Australian economy is dominated by its service sector, which in 2017 comprised 62.7% of the GDP and
employed 78.8% of the labour force. Australia has the tenth-highest total estimated value of natural resources,
valued at US$19.9 trillion in 2019.

:Australia's resources

*Resource commodities make up six of Australia’s top ten goods: iron ore, coal, natural gas, gold, aluminium and
petroleum. Since 2005, the resources sector has invested around $720 billion in Australia, accounting for more
than 40 per cent of total investment over this period.

EUROPE, AFRICA, AND AUSTRALIA: PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES

SUBTOPIC: POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY OF EUROPE, AFRICA AND OCEANIA/AUSTRALIA
BY: QUIVIS, SHAIRA MAE E., BSED SS2B

POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
- A branch of geography that deals with human governments, the boundaries and subdivisions
of political units (as nations or states), and the situation of cities.

 EUROPE
- It is the second smallest continent and often described as the “Peninsula of Peninsulas”.
- It is also known as the Peninsula of the supercontinent “Eurasia”.
- The Europe is bordered by Arctic Ocean to the North, Atlantic Ocean on the west, and
Mediterranean, Black and Caspian Seas on the South.
- Because of Ural Rivers, Caspian and Black Seas, the Europe was divided from Asia and formed
another continent.
 Europe’s Main Peninsulas
- Iberian, Italian, and Balkan in South
- Scandinavian and Jutland in North

o Links between the Peninsulas made the economic, social, and cultural forces of Europe to be
dominant.

 AFRICA

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 - It is sometimes considered as the “ Mother Continent” due to being the oldest lived
continent on Earth (5 million years ago).
- It is the second largest continent; divided almost equally half by the Equator.
- It is bounded by Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar on North, Atlantic Ocean on west, Indian
Ocean on South and East, and Red Sea together with Gulf of Eden on the north Eastern Coast.
- It includes the South Africa which is known to be the Epicenter of Africa’s well known reserves
as well as the South Africa’s Cape Region, one of the richest areas of plant in the world.

 OCEANIA AND AUSTRALIA

- Oceania is a region made up of thousands of islands around Central and Pacific Ocean.
- It includes Australia, the smallest continent in terms of land area.
- It was dominated by Australia and composes by two major landmasses: the micro continent of
Zealandia (New Zealand and the western half of New Guinea). It also includes the 3 island
regions: Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.
- It is bordered by Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, Tasman Sea and Coral Sea.

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 CONTIGUOUS TRANSCONTINENTAL COUNTRIES
- Sharing common borders
 RUSSIA – Largest contiguous transcontinental country in the world (Europe and Asia).
 KAZAKHSTAN – has contiguous territory of Europe and Asia specifically because of Ural
River.
 TURKEY - become transcontinental due it was divided into parts: the larger part is known as
Anatolia or Asia Minor and the smaller part is Thrace, which shares with Greece.
 EGYPT- it is contiguous because the Egyptian Territory West of Suez is in Africa while the
Sinai’s Egyptian territory is part of Asia.

NON- CONTIGUOUS TRANSCONTINENTAL COUNTRIES

- Owning a possession or property by a country but located on other land
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) – has overseas possession that not part of North
America such as Hawaii which includes to Oceania.
 UNITED KINGDOM (UK)- owned Caribbean which belongs to North America
 FRANCE- owned French Polynesia and New Caledonia in Oceania, Reunion in Africa, and
French Guiana in Northern Mainland of South America.
 SPAIN- Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa.
 PORTUGAL – Azores in Africa
 DENMARK – controls Greenland that belongs to North America.
SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

EUROPE AFRICA AUSTRALIA/ OCEANIA

- Europe and Africa were bordered by Mediterranean

Sea and Atlantic Ocean.
- Africa and Australia/ Oceania were both bordered by
Indian Ocean.

SIMILARITIES

DIFFERENCES

Europe is known to Africa is considered Oceania and

be “PENINSULA OF as the “MOTHER Australia is uniquely
PENINSULAS” due to the CONTINENT” among all different because it is a
landform that composes continents due to it is the continent composed of
the continent. oldest inhabited continent. many islands.

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TOPIC TITLE :EUROPE, AFRICA AND

 AUSTRALIA :PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES 

SUBTOPIC : CULTURAL LIFE 

 EUROPE, AFRICA AND AUSTRALIA 

REPORTER : OBERIO, MA. KRISTINA ANTIPATIA 

CULTURAL LIFE OF EUROPE 

-The culture of Europe is rooted in its art, architecture, film, different types of music, economics, literature, and
philosophy. European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred to as its "common cultural heritage".

-Cultural heritage is the legacy of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited
from past generations. Not all legacies of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection
by society. 

CULTURAL LIFE OF AFRICA 

-The Culture of Africa is varied and manifold, consisting of a mixture of countries with various tribes that each
have their own unique characteristic from the continent of Africa. ... For example, social values, religion, morals,
political values, economics and aesthetic values all contribute to African Culture.

CULTURAL LIFE OF AUSTRALIA 

-Australia’s isolation as an island continent has done much to shape—and inhibit—its culture. The Aboriginal
peoples developed their accommodation with the environment over a period of at least 40,000 years, during
which time they had little contact with the outside world. When Britain settled New South Wales as a penal
colony in 1788, it did so partly because of the continent’s remoteness.

-Daily life and social customs

Australians are proud of their heritage and progress—proud of the fact that a nation of convicts and working-
class folks could build a modern egalitarian society in a rough and inhospitable land. 

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