en explore,
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European Union
You can ind this booklet and other short,
clear explanations about the EU online at
ec.europa.eu/comm/publications
European Commission
Directorate-General for Communication
Publications
1049 Brussels
BELGIUM
Manuscript updated in March 2010
Illustrations: Birte Cordes and Ronald Köhler
Luxembourg:
Publications Oice of the European Union, 2010
ISBN 978-92-79-15377-8
doi:10.2775/53524
44pp. [21.0 x 29.7 cm] + pull-out book [10.5 x 14.8 cm]
© European Union, 2010
Reproduction is authorised
Printed in Germany
Printed on white chlorine-free paper
Let’s explore Europe!
Hello! Welcome to Europe!
We come from diferent countries and speak diferent
languages, but this continent is the home we share.
Come with us and let’s explore Europe together! It will be
an adventurous journey through time and space and you’ll
ind out loads of interesting things.
As we go along, test yourself to see how much you’ve
learnt. Go to our website europa.eu/europago/explore
and try the quiz about each chapter.
At school, explore further! Ask your teacher to tell you more
about each of the topics in this book. Then do some deeper
research in the school library or on the Internet.
You could even write your own booklet about what you
have discovered.
Ready? Then let’s begin!
1
What’s in this book?
Page
A continent to discover
3
Getting around
6
Languages in Europe
8
Climate and nature
10
Farming
13
The sea
15
A journey through time
19
Forty famous faces – pull-out book
The story of the European Union
30
What the EU does
34
The EU and its neighbours – map
37
The European Union countries
38
Let’s explore Europe! Quiz
39
How the EU takes decisions
40
Tomorrow…and beyond
42
Useful links for you and your teacher
44
2
A continent
to discover
Europe is one of the world’s seven continents. The others are Africa, North
and South America, Antarctica, Asia and Australia/Oceania.
Europe stretches all the way from the Arctic in the north to the
Mediterranean Sea in the south, and from the Atlantic Ocean in the west
to the Ural mountains (in Russia) in the east. It has many rivers, lakes and
mountain ranges. The map on page 4 tells you the names of some of the
biggest ones.
© Michael/Pixelio
The highest mountain in Europe is Mount Elbrus, in the Caucasus
mountains, on the border between Russia and Georgia. Its highest peak is
5 642 metres above sea level.
Mount Elbrus, the highest
mountain in Europe.
The highest mountain in western Europe is Mont Blanc, in the Alps, on the
border between France and Italy. Its summit is over 4 800 metres above sea
level.
Also in the Alps is Lake Geneva – the largest freshwater lake in western
Europe. It lies between France and Switzerland, goes as deep as 310 metres
and holds about 89 trillion litres of water.
The largest lake in central Europe is Balaton, in Hungary. It is 77 kilometres
(km) long and covers an area of about 600 square kilometres (km
2
).
Northern Europe has even bigger lakes, including Saimaa in Finland
(1 147 km²) and Vänern in Sweden (more than 5 500 km²). The largest lake
in Europe as a whole is Lake Ladoga. It is located in north-western Russia
and it is the 14th largest lake in the world. Its surface covers an area of
17 700 km².
©Pixelio
Lake Geneva, in the Alps.
© Kratos May/Flickr
Lake Saimaa, in Finland.
3
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