How Europe is Favored by its Location.—In Europe the con ditions are almost the reverse of those in Asia. In the old days when men traveled only on land or close to it, Europe was completely cut off from both North and South America by the Atlantic Ocean, and could reach even Africa only with difficulty. Now in the days of water transportation Europe is the most centrally located of all the continents. It lies in the very center of the hemisphere which includes the greatest possible amount of land, as appears in Fig. 27. From Europe every one of the other continents except Australia can be reached by a sail of less than 3000 miles. If all the world were to agree upon a place where they could meet with the greatest conven ience, western Europe would be chosen, as it has been for the central offices of the League of Nations. The continent's position is also better than that of any of its rivals in still another way. No part lies near enough to the equator to be seriously hindered by heat, while poleward the continent grows narrower so that only a small portion lies in the cold latitudes north of Even that part, as we have seen, is somewhat warmed by winds from the warm Atlantic.
The Great Advantage of Europe's Size and Relief.—In size and relief, as well as in position, Europe is highly fortunate. Unlike Asia, it is small enough so that except in Russia, no part is over 400 miles from the sea. The central feature of the relief is the plain that begins in England and after the interruption of the English Channel and North Sea stretches eastward across France, Belgium, Holland, and Northern Germany to Russia. This is the most important of the world's plains, agriculturally, industrially, commercially, and politically. Its fertile soil raises unusually heavy crops. Large supplies of coal and iron on its borders as well as within it encourage all sorts of manufacturing, while its level surface, navigable rivers, and good harbors stimulate commerce. The crowning advantage of the plain is the excellent climate which makes its people healthy and capable of hard work. South of the plain lie mountain ranges, some of them clad with snow even in summer, but all of small size com pared with those of Asia. In France, Austria, and Turkey they are more or less completely broken through so that communication from one side to the other is easy.
Europe's Fortunate Shape and Relation to the Sea.—The shape of Europe joins with the size in making its relation to the sea ex traordinarily favorable. The continent is really a large peninsula of Asia, from which project many smaller peninsulas separated by exten sive bays or seas. Thus the sea reaches far into the continent, per mitting almost every country to have its own seacoast. Moreover,
recent submergence of a large part of the coast has drowned nu merous valleys, converting them into small bays that form excellent harbors like that of Liverpool. Hence nearly all the European countries have easy communication with one another by water as well as by land (Fig. 28.) Importance of Europe.—In view of Europe's position, relief, and shape, together with the relation to the sea and the advantages afforded by climate and mineral resources, it is not strange that five of the seven "Great Powers" are located there. Only two, the United States and Japan, are in other continents. Nor is it strange that throughout the world the word European is almost synonymous with "civilized." Why North America almost Rivals Europe in Location.—Our own continent stands next to Europe in the favorableness of its con ditions. In location North America is better off than Asia, but less favored than Europe. We cannot reach Australia and the east side of Africa so easily as the Asiatics, but South America and west Africa are more accessible to us than to them. On the other hand, North America is not far from the more progressive part of Europe, while Asia borders on the less progressive part. The distance from North America to Europe became a decisive factor in the Great War. Had it been much more than 3000 miles it might have prevented the United States from putting across two million soldiers in time to help in ending the German onslaughts. Moreover, we can reach Japan, China, and other important parts of Asia much more easily than can the people of Europe. Thus the fact that one coast of America faces the Atlantic and Europe, while the other faces the Pacific and Asia, is beginning to make our location almost as favor able as that of Europe.
How North America is Hampered by its Size and Relief .—One of the chief disadvantages of North America is that, like Asia, it is so large that oceanic influences cannot easily reach the interior. This disadvantage is increased by the relief, for a great cordillera on the western side of the continent prevents the highly favorable influences of the western ocean from penetrating far inland. Hence large areas are too dry for a dense population except when irrigated. This disadvantage is partly offset by a vast plain extending north and south through the center, in striking contrast with Asia's severe handicap of a central zone containing the Himalayas and the huge plateau of Tibet. Since the Appalachian Mountains can be easily crossed in several places communication from east to west as far as the Rocky Mountains is only a little harder than in Europe.