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…
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.
Country | Land Area (km2) | Land (mi2) | Eur. Rank | World Rank | Water Area (km2) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Europe only Russia | (3,992,500) | (1542512) | |||
![]() | Turkey | 769,632 | 297,157 | 2 | 37 | 18,170 |
![]() | Ukraine | 579,330 | 223,680 | 4 | 46 | 24,200 |
![]() | Isle of Man | 572 | 221 | 43 | 0 | |
![]() | France | 549,970 | 212,344 | 3 | 43 | 1,530 |
![]() | Spain | 498,980 | 192,657 | 5 | 52 | 6,390 |
![]() | Andorra | 468 | 181 | 44 | 196 | 0 |
![]() | Sweden | 410,335 | 158,431 | 6 | 56 | 39,960 |
![]() | Jan Mayen | 377 | 146 | 45 | 0 | |
![]() | Germany | 348,672 | 134,623 | 7 | 63 | 8,350 |
![]() | Malta | 316 | 122 | 46 | 208 | 0 |
![]() | Norway | 304,282 | 117,483 | 9 | 68 | 19,520 |
![]() | Poland | 304,255 | 117,473 | 10 | 70 | 8,430 |
![]() | Finland | 303,815 | 117,303 | 8 | 65 | 34,330 |
![]() | Italy | 294,140 | 113,568 | 11 | 72 | 7,200 |
![]() | United Kingdom | 241,930 | 93,409 | 12 | 80 | 1,680 |
![]() | Romania | 238,391 | 92,043 | 13 | 83 | 8,500 |
![]() | Belarus | 207,600 | 80,154 | 14 | 86 | 4,700 |
![]() | Liechtenstein | 160 | 62 | 47 | 219 | 0 |
![]() | Greece | 131,957 | 50,948 | 15 | 97 | 1,310 |
![]() | Jersey | 116 | 45 | 48 | 0 | |
![]() | Bulgaria | 110,879 | 42,810 | 16 | 105 | 2,390 |
![]() | Iceland | 103,000 | 39,768 | 17 | 108 | 2,750 |
![]() | Hungary | 93,028 | 35,918 | 18 | 110 | 3,420 |
![]() | Portugal | 92,090 | 35,556 | 19 | 111 | 620 |
![]() | Austria | 83,871 | 32,382 | 20 | 114 | 1,426 |
![]() | Czechia | 78,876 | 30,454 | 21 | 116 | 1,620 |
![]() | Guernsey | 78 | 30 | 49 | 0 | |
![]() | Serbia | 77,474 | 29,912 | 22 | 117 | 0 |
![]() | Ireland | 70,273 | 27,132 | 23 | 120 | 1,390 |
![]() | Lithuania | 65,300 | 25,212 | 24 | 123 | 2,620 |
![]() | Latvia | 64,589 | 24,937 | 25 | 124 | 2,340 |
![]() | Svalbard | 61,022 | 23,561 | 26 | ||
![]() | San Marino | 61 | 24 | 50 | 229 | 0 |
![]() | Croatia | 56,594 | 21,851 | 26 | 127 | 620 |
![]() | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 51,197 | 19,767 | 27 | 129 | 10 |
![]() | Slovakia | 49,035 | 18,932 | 28 | 131 | 930 |
![]() | Estonia | 45,228 | 17,462 | 29 | 133 | 2,840 |
![]() | Denmark | 43,094 | 16,638 | 30 | 134 | 660 |
![]() | Netherlands | 41,543 | 16,039 | 31 | 135 | 7,650 |
![]() | Switzerland | 41,227 | 15,917 | 32 | 136 | 1,280 |
![]() | Moldova | 33,851 | 13,069 | 33 | 140 | 960 |
![]() | Belgium | 30,528 | 11,786 | 34 | 141 | 250 |
![]() | Albania | 28,748 | 11,099 | 35 | 145 | 1,350 |
![]() | North Macedonia | 25,713 | 9,927 | 36 | 150 | 280 |
![]() | Slovenia | 20,273 | 7,827 | 37 | 155 | 122 |
![]() | Russia | 16,377,742 | 6,323,481 | 1 | 1 | 750,500 |
![]() | Montenegro | 13,812 | 5,332 | 38 | 162 | 360 |
![]() | Kosovo | 10,877 | 4,199 | 39 | 169 | 0 |
![]() | Cyprus | 9,251 | 3,571 | 40 | 171 | 10 |
![]() | Gibraltar | 6.8 | 2.6 | 51 | 0 | |
![]() | Luxembourg | 2,586 | 998 | 41 | 179 | 0 |
![]() | Monaco | 1.98 | 0.76 | 52 | 254 | 0 |
![]() | Faroe Islands | 1,393 | 538 | 42 | 0 | |
![]() | Holy See – Vatican | 0.44 | 0.169 | 53 | 257 | 0 |
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