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Similar Ural Mountains, Iberian Peninsula, Alps | ||
Europe Physical and Climate (1)
The North European Plain (German: Norddeutsches Tiefland or German: Norddeutsche Tiefebene), or Middle European Plain (Polish: Nizina Środkowoeuropejska) is a geomorphological region in Europe, mostly in Poland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands (Low Countries), and a small part of northern France.
Contents
- Europe Physical and Climate 1
- UsesEdit
- GeographyEdit
- LocationEdit
- RiversEdit
- Low CountriesEdit
- Polish PlainsEdit
- English flatlandsEdit
- References
It consists of the low plains between the Hercynian Europe (Central European Highlands) to the south and coastlines of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north. These two seas are separated by the Jutland Peninsula (Denmark). The North European Plain is connected to East European Plain, together forming the European Plain.
UsesEdit
The Northern European Plain's main use is commercial farming, with little natural vegetation remaining.
GeographyEdit
Elevations vary between 0 and 200 m (about 0 to 650 ft). While mostly used as farmland, the region also contains bogs, heath and lakes. On the North Sea coast one finds the Wadden Sea, a large tidal area.
On the Baltic Sea coast one finds the Szczecin Lagoon, the Vistula Lagoon and the Curonian Lagoon, a number of large freshwater lagoons.
LocationEdit
The North European Plain covers the territories of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Poland; it touches the Czech Republic and southwestern part of Sweden as well. Parts of eastern England can also be considered part of the same plain; as they share its low-lying character and were connected by land to the continent during the last ice age. The Northern European Plains are located also under the Baltic Sea.
RiversEdit
Major river-drainage basins include, from west to east: the Rhine, Ems, Weser, Elbe, Oder and Vistula.
The bases of these rivers are heavy with thin soil, making it hard for the farming industry to thrive in the located rivers.
Low CountriesEdit
Historically, especially in the Middle Ages and Early modern period, the western section has been known as the Low Countries.
Polish PlainsEdit
The part in modern-day Poland is called the "Polish Plain" (Polish: Niż Polski or Nizina Polska) and stretches from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathians
English flatlandsEdit
The extension of the plain into England consists mainly of the flatlands of East Anglia, the Fens and Lincolnshire, where the landscape is in parts strikingly similar to that of the Netherlands.