A. Four Physiographic Regions of Europe. History Essay.

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A. Four Physiographic Regions of Europe
With an area of 10.2 million km², Europe is the second-smallest continent of Earth. Containing numerous bays and inland seas, peninsulas, high mountain ranges and large rivers, this continent is said to be the most dissected. According to National Geographic, Europe can be geographically separated into four main areas, the Northern Highlands, North European Plain, Central Uplands, and Alpine Mountain System (Dunn 1989)
The Northern Highlands, also known as the Western Uplands, is located on the western margin of the continent. The Western Uplands are geologically old, low rounded mountains known as "Highlands" stretch from the Iberian Peninsula to France, to the British Isles, and across northern Scandinavia, Finland, and northwestern Russia.
The Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea in the West borders the North European Plain. Most parts of this region are in elevation below 500 feet, and is an area of river valleys, plains, as well as low hills. This area also contains following rivers: the Rhine,Oder, Vistula, Weser and Elbe. Northern Lowlands stretch from southern France across northern Europe, north through Germany, and then across Russia's Ural Mountains. This covers portions of Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus.France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Poland,
As its name suggests, the Central Uplands runs through Central Europe and is characterized by low mountains and high plateaus that stretches to western France and Belgium, southern Germany, the Czech Republic, and portions of northern Switzerland and Austria. Elevations range from about 1000 to 6000 feet. The major features of this region are the Central Massif of France, Meseta of Portugal and Spain, and the plateaus and low mountains of central Germany and Czech Republic.
The Alpine Mountain System features several mountain chains that run from Spain to the Caspian Sea through southern Europe. It is the geologically youngest region and is made of jagged and steep tall mountains. Alpine Range includes the Pyrenees, which divides France and Spain, the Apennines, which runs through the length of Italy, the Carpathians, which loops from Slovakia then around Romania from and the Dinaric Alps.
B. Russian empire – 15th century and 1904
From 1462 to 1505, Ivan III, also known as Ivan the Great, achieved the unification of Russia. During his reign as the grand Prince of Russia, he ended the 200 year rule of Mongol Tartars in which the Russian state gained independence. His rule marked the advent of Muscovite Russia, where Muscovy territories tripled in number. The Muscovy territories helped to build a wider and more united nation (Bourgoin and Byers 1997).
The grandson of Ivan the Great, Ivan IV, became the first tsar of all Russia in in 1547. Moscow became the capital of the Holy Russian Empire during his reign. He also extended the territory of the Muscovites to Serbia, and at the same time instituted a reign of terror against the nobility under military rule.
After the death of Ivan IV, the House of Romanov came into power and was the second major royal dynasty in Russia. It was founded in 1613 with the coronation of Michael I. Mikhail Romanov ended a long period of instability during his reign, allowing the Russian industry to enter an era of prosperity. During his rule, the first manufacturing companies and the Russian market emerged. In addition, diplomatic and trade relations with neighboring countries significantly improved. He also laid the foundation for the restructuring of Russian’s military. This paved the way for the establishment of an organized national armed forces (Yudina 2005). The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia for three centuries. It ended in 1917 with the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
Another notable leader from the Tsar from the Romanov Dynasty is Peter the Great. It has been said that Peter the Great, also known as Peter I, is the Tsar who lead Russia into modern age. His reign ...