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Europe is one of the traditional seven political continents, and a peninsular sub-continent of the geographic continent Eurasia. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea and the waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. To the east, Europe is generally divided from Asia by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, and by the Caspian Sea. Europe is sometimes referred to as a "peninsula of peninsulas".
Europe covers approximately 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of the planet's total land area. It hosts around fifty sovereign states, the precise number depending on the underlying definition of Europe's border, as well as on the inclusion or exclusion of states which are not fully recognized internationally. Europe contains both a part of Russia, the world's largest country by area and Europe's largest by population, and the Vatican, the smallest on both counts (not counting the non-sovereign Pitcairn Islands in the Pacific). Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa with a population of 731,000,000 or about 11% of the world's population. According to UN population projection (medium variant), Europe's share will fall to 7% in 2050, numbering 653 million. However, Europe's borders and population are in dispute, as the term continent can refer to a cultural and political distinction or a physiographic one.
Europe is the birthplace of Western culture. European nations played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonization. By the 17th and 18th centuries European nations controlled most of Africa, the Americas, and large portions of Asia. World War I and World War II led to a decline in European dominance in world affairs as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. The Cold War between those two superpowers divided Europe along the Iron Curtain. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Selected panorama
The Tagus River, seen here passing through the World Heritage listed city of Toledo, Spain. It is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula at 1,038 kilometres (645 mi). It begins its journey in the Albarracín mountains in Spain, and follows a very constricted course for much of its length before reaching the Atlantic Ocean in Portugal.
Selected article
Belton House is a country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. Coordinates: 52°56′38″N 0°37′22″W / 52.944°N 0.6228°W The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of pigs leading to follies within a greater wooded park. Belton has been described as a compilation of all that is finest of Carolean architecture, the only truly vernacular style of architecture that England had produced since the time of the Tudors. The house has also been described as the most complete example of a typical English country house; the claim has even been made that Belton's principal facade was the inspiration for the modern British motorway signs which give directions to stately homes. Only Brympton d'Evercy has been similarly lauded as the perfect English country house. For three hundred years, Belton House was the seat of the Brownlow and Cust family, who had first acquired land in the area in the late 16th century. Between 1685 and 1688 the young Sir John Brownlow and his wife had the present mansion built. Despite great wealth they chose to build a modest country house rather than a grand contemporary Baroque palace. The contemporary, if provincial, Carolean style was the selected choice of design. However, the new house was fitted with the latest innovations such as sash windows for the principal rooms, and more importantly completely separate areas for the staff.
Did you know...
- ... that the origins of chromatography can be traced to the work of Russian botanist Mikhail Tsvet, but his work saw little use until the 1930s?
- ... that Laila Goody has been called "Norway's most awarded young actress"?
- ... that Samuel Johnson bragged he could recite an entire chapter of Niels Horrebow's Natural History of Iceland?
Selected picture
The Rathaus or City Hall of Graz, the second-largest city in Austria after Vienna, at dusk. Graz was the 2003 European Capital of Culture and its "Old Town" is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Occupying a strategic location, Graz began as Roman fort and survived numerous assaults over the centuries.
In the news
Wikinews Europe portal
- November 23: England's elderly face human rights breaches in home care system
- November 22: Historic Scottish island castle wins the lottery
- November 20: Three-car accident in Birmingham, England leaves eight injured
- November 19: EU increases 2012 budget by two per cent
- November 12: Scottish police force apologises for double-murder by sex offender
- November 11: Knight Foundation and Mozilla send geeks into newsrooms
- November 10: Right-to-die activists reveal euthanasia for Dutch patient with severe dementia
- November 5: Greek PM survives confidence vote
- October 28: Swedish journalists hit by hacking scandal
- October 25: Football: FA charges Chelsea for player misconduct; John Terry investigated over alleged racial abuse
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