“Information for Your Destination”

Geography

Matterhorn

Europe is one of seven continents. It is the second smallest continent in size with only Oceania being smaller. Europe is a large peninsula that extends westerly out from the Eurasia super-continent land mass. Through the centuries the boundaries have shifted, that define Europe from Asia. Unlike other continents, mountains and rivers have been used to define the European-Asia boarders and Europe can be described as a sub-continent. Today it is excepted that the Ural Mountains and Ural river to the Caspian Sea define the border on the east. On the south the watershed of the Caucasus mountains from the Caspian to the Black Sea and through the Bosporus Strait to the Aegean Sea. On the south the Mediterranean Sea defines it from Africa west to the Atlantic Ocean. On the west the Atlantic Ocean forms a natural boundary as the Arctic Ocean does on the the north.

Geographical Features…

Europe is actually a collection of peninsulas with the two primary ones being the Fennoscandia in the north separated from the main European peninsula by the Baltic Sea in the south. The Fennoscandia has two major peninsulas, the Scandinavian and Kola. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by the White sea, gulf of Finland and Russia. 

The primary European peninsula is bounded on the north by the Baltic Sea, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by the Ural mountains and in the south the Mediterranean Sea separates it from Africa. The European peninsula has three major peninsulas extending for it, Iberia, Italy and the Balkan. Even these peninsulas have smaller ones that form the geographical shape of Europe.

Some part of Europe’s natural geography should be on everyone’s list to see when visiting. The majestic Alps, with their towering peaks and alpine valleys. Serene coastlines with villages hugging the cliffs and the surf of a sea smashing against the rocks. The wandering rivers with its slopes of vineyards and castles. Islands know for their beauty and many know for beaches to bask in the sun. View more information about these natural destinations at our Natural Sights pages for Mountains-Glaciers-Valleys, Rivers- Lakes – Waterfalls and Seas – Coasts – Islands pages.

Peninsulas of Europe and the Countries…

Anatolian

  Turkey

Balkan

Albania
🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Montenegro  
North Macedonia
 Croatia
Greece
Romania 
Serbia
Slovenia

Chalkidiki

 Greece

Cotentin

 France

Crimea

 Ukraine

Fennoscandia

Russia

Gallipoli

 Turkey

Iberian

🇦🇩 Andorra
🇬🇮 Gibraltar
Portugal 
Spain

Italian

Holy See
Italy
San Marino

Istria

 Croatia
 Slovenia

Jutland

Denmark
Germany

Kanin

Russia

Kola

Russia

Peloponnese

 Greece

Scandinavian

Norway
Sweden

This extraordinary shape of seas and land allowed early civilizations easy navigation between one settlement and others, allowing for easier communication and trade which spurred growth over the continent between its peoples. It isn’t surprising that over the centuries, ethnic peoples from the east in Asia, migrated west to the European continent.

Continents by Size

The total size of the land mass of earth is 148,429,00 Sq. Km (75,308,738 sq. miles). Europe is one of the smallest continents in size, only making up 6.7 % of earth’s total land mass.

Continent

Asia w/Middle East
Africa
North America
South America
Antarctica
Europe
Australia/Oceania

area sq. km

44,579,000
30,221,532
24,709,000
17,840,000
13,209,000
10,180,000
8.525,989

area sq. mi

17,212,000
11,608,599
9,540,000
6,890,000
5,400,000
3,930,000
3,291,903

% of earth

30.0 %
20.3 %
16.3 %
12.0 %
8.9 %
6.7 %
5.2 %

Listed below is the total land area for European countries and dependents . You may sort the table below by alpha country name, size or rank. Source: Central Intelligence Agency 2017.

 CountryLand Area (km2)Land (mi2)Eur. Rank World RankWater Area (km2)
Europe only Russia(3,992,500)(1542512)
Turkey769,632297,15723718,170
Ukraine579,330223,68044624,200
Isle of Man572221430
France549,970212,3443431,530
Spain498,980192,6575526,390
Andorra468181441960
Sweden410,335158,43165639,960
Jan Mayen377146450
Germany348,672134,6237638,350
Malta316122462080
Norway304,282117,48396819,520
Poland304,255117,47310708,430
Finland303,815117,30386534,330
Italy294,140113,56811727,200
United Kingdom241,93093,40912801,680
Romania238,39192,04313838,500
Belarus207,60080,15414864,700
Liechtenstein16062472190
Greece131,95750,94815971,310
Jersey11645480
Bulgaria110,87942,810161052,390
Iceland103,000 39,768171082,750
Hungary93,02835,918181103,420
Portugal92,09035,55619111620
Austria83,87132,382201141,426
Czechia78,876 30,454211161,620
Guernsey7830490
Serbia77,47429,912221170
Ireland70,27327,132231201,390
Lithuania65,300 25,212241232,620
Latvia64,58924,937251242,340
Svalbard61,02223,56126
San Marino6124502290
Croatia56,59421,85126127620
Bosnia & Herzegovina51,19719,7672712910
Slovakia49,03518,93228131930
Estonia45,22817,462291332,840
Denmark43,09416,63830134660
Netherlands41,54316,039311357,650
Switzerland41,22715,917321361,280
Moldova33,85113,06933140960
Belgium30,52811,78634141250
Albania28,74811,099351451,350
North Macedonia25,7139,92736150280
Slovenia20,2737,82737155122
Russia16,377,742 6,323,481
11750,500
Montenegro13,8125,33238162360
Kosovo10,8774,199391690
Cyprus9,2513,5714017110
Gibraltar6.82.6510
Luxembourg2,586998411790
Monaco1.980.76522540

Faroe Islands1,393538420
Holy See – Vatican0.440.169532570

In relation to cities in the United States, one of our northernmost cities, Seattle lies at 47° latitude north, compared to London at 51°and Paris 48° north. One of continental Europe’s northernmost major cities is Helsinki at 59°north.

In the south Austin at 30° north lies parallel with Cairo, Egypt and Miami below that at 25° north. View the map and table to compare the equivalent latitudes of European cities to that of the United States. 

The following table is the comparative latitude of major European cities to major cities in the U.S. starting with the northernmost location and heading south.

Europe Location

Cape Fligely, Norway [1]

North Cape, Norway [2]
Reykjavik, Iceland

Oslo, Norway
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Stockholm, Sweden
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Moscow, Russia
Copenhagen, Denmark
Dublin, Ireland
Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Warsaw, Poland
London, England, UK
Brussels, Belgium
Prague, Czechia
Kraków, Poland
Paris, France
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Zürich, Switzerland

Budapest, Hungary

Milan, Italy
Venice, Italy

Florence, Italy
Dubrovnik, Croatia

Rome, Italy

Barcelona, Spain
Istanbul, Turkey

Madrid, Spain


Lisbon, Portugal
Athens, Greece

Punta de Tarifa, Spain [4]


Gavdos, Greece [5]









Latitude

81° 50′ N
71° 23′ N
71° 10′ N
64° 04′ N
61° 13′ N
59° 57′ N
59° 56′ N
59° 20′ N
55° 55′ N
55° 45′ N
55° 40′ N
53° 20′ N
52° 30′ N
52° 22′ N
52° 14′ N
51° 32′ N
50° 52′ N
50° 05′ N
50° 04′ N
48° 48′ N
48° 08′ N
48° 14′ N
47° 21′ N
47° 37′ N
47° 30′ N
45° 31′ N
45° 27′ N
45° 26′ N
44° 58′ N
43° 47 N
42° 38′ N
42° 21′ N
41° 54′ N
41° 50′ N
41° 23′ N
41° 00′ N
40° 47′ N
41° 23′ N
39° 44′ N
38° 43′ N
38° 43′ N
37° 59′ N
37° 47′ N
36 00′ N
36° 10′ N
34° 03′ N
34° 50′ N
33° 45′ N
33° 27′ N
32° 46′ N
29° 57′ N
29° 45′ N
29° 45′ N
21° 18′ N
18° 55′ N

U.S. Location


Pt. Barrow, Alaska [3]


Anchorage, Alaska


















Seattle, Washington

Portland, Oregon


Minneapolis, Minneapolis


Boston, Massachusettes

Chicago, Illinois
_

New York, New York

Denver, Colorado
Washington, D.C.


San Francisco, California

Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles, California

Atlanta, Georgia
Phoenix, Arizona
Dallas, Texas
New Orleans, Louisiana
Houston, Texas
Miami, Florida
Honolulu, Hawaii
Ka Lee, Hawaii [6]

[1] Northernmost extreme point of Europe
[2] Northernmost mainland point of Europe
[3] Northernmost extreme point of U.S.

[4] Southernmost mainland point of Europe
[5] Southernmost extreme point of Europe
[6] Southernmost extreme point of U.S.

Tri-Points…

Tri-points are where the borders of three countries meet at one point. Some of these locations are very remote while others very accessible. The easy to get locations have monuments or markers where one can have a little fun by standing in three countries at one time.

ALGRMK

Marker: No
Location: In Lake Prespa , boat accessible only
Country Boarders: Albania, Greece, North Macedonia

ALMERS

Marker: No
Location: Considerable drive and difficult hike from Plav, ME or Junik, RS
Country Boarders: Albania, 🇲🇪Montenegro, Serbia

Arnoldstein-ATITSI

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy drive or hike from Arnoldstein, AT
Country Boarders: Austria, Italy, Slovenia

North -ATCHLIN

Marker: Yes
Location: Short drive or hike from Ruggell, LI
Country Boarders: Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

South-ATCHLIS

Marker: Yes
Location: No easy access, difficult climb located at 7739 ft on top of Mt. Naafkopf
Country Boarders: Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

ATCZDE

Marker: Yes
Location: Remote drive and hike from Neureichenau, Germany or Oberschwarzberg, AT
Country Boarders: Austria, Czechia, Germany

ATCZSK

Marker: No
Location: Drive from Hohenau an der March, AT and short hike to confluence of Dyje & Moravy rivers
Country Boarders: Austria, Czechia, Slovakia

ATHUSK

Marker: Yes
Location: Short drive Bratislava, SK
Country Boarders: Austria, Hungary, Slovakia

BAHRRS

Marker: No
Location: In the middle of Sava river downstream from Brčko, BA. Boat accessible only
Country Boarders: Bosnia & Hercegovina, Croatia, Serbia

BAMERS

Marker: No
Location: Drive from Cajniče, BA, long hike from border crossing to Pejka
Country Boarders: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia

BGGRMK

Marker: Yes
Location: Drive from Platanakia, GR & long hike & climb to site.
Country Boarders: Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia

BGGRTK

Marker: Yes
Location: Short walk from Bugarian/Turkish border crossing at Kaptian Andreeevo, BG
Country Boarders: Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey

BYLTLV

Marker: Yes
Location:Drive from Turmantas, LT
Country Boarders: Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania

BYLTPL

Marker: Yes
Location: Drive from Zelwa,PL
Country Boarders: Belarus, Lithuania, Poland

BYLVRU

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy access from Latvia side- south of Zilupe, LV
Country Boarders: Belarus, Latvia, Russia

BYPLUA

Marker: No
Location: Boundry in the Bug River short drive from Wlodawa, PL
Country Boarders: Belarus, Poland, Ukraine

CZPLSK

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy drive & short walk from Hrčava, CZ
Country Boarders: Czechia, Poland, Slovakia

Dreiländereck-CHDEFR

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy walk access in Klybeck, CH, actual border in Rhine River
Country Boarders: France, Germany, Switzerland

Europadenkmal-BEDELU

Marker: Yes
Location:Easy drive from Ouren, LU, actual border in Our River on footbridge.
Country Boarders: Belgium, Germany, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg

EELVRU

Marker: No
Location: Drive from Aluksne, LT and a short walk
Country Boarders: Estonia, Latvia, Russia

HRHURS

Marker: No
Location: Short drive & from Hercegzántó, HU or Backi Breg, RS and hike to river.
Country Boarders: Croatia, Hungary, Serbia

HRHUSI

Marker: No
Location: Drive & Hike from Novakovec, HR. Boundry in Spust River
Country Boarders: Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia

HURORS

Marker: Yes
Location: Short drive from Beba Veche, Romania
Country Boarders: Hungary, Romania, Serbia

Krzemieniec-PLSKUA

Marker: Yes
Location: Drive from Nová Sedlica, SK & long hike to site
Country Boarders: Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine

Lake Constance-ATCHDE

Marker: No
Location: Lake has easy access, actual border is in the lake, boat accessible only
Country Boarders: Austria, German, Switzerland

LTPLRU

Marker: No
Location: Drive from Zytkiejmy, PL & short walk
Country Boarders: Lithuania, Poland, Russia

Muotkavaara-FINORU

Marker: No
Location: 5km hike access from Grensefoss, NO
Country Boarders: Finland, Norway, Russia

Mt. Dolent-CHFRIT

Marker: No
Location: In-accssible, lies at 3,749 metres, nw of the summit of Mont Dolent
Country Boarders: 🇫🇷 France, Italy, Switzerland

Schengen-DEFRLU

Marker: Yes
Location:Easy walk access in Schengen, LU, actual border in Moselle, River.
Country Boarders: France, Germany, 🇱🇺 Luxembourg

Three-Country Cairn-FINOSE

Marker: Yes
Location: Accessible drive from Skibotn, NO or Kilpisjärvi, FI
Country Boarders: Finland, Norway, Sweden

Vaalserberg-BEDENL

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy drive from Vaalserquartier, NL or Gemmenich, BE
Country Boarders: Belgium, Germany, Netherlands

Zittau-CZDEPL

Marker: Yes
Location: Easy drive or hike from Zittau, DE, actual border in Lausiter Neisse River
Country Boarders: Czechia, Germany, Poland