1 00:00:01,580 --> 00:00:09,560 Europe is the second smallest of the Earth's continents, 2 00:00:09,560 --> 00:00:14,560 occupying a little less than 7% of its total land area. 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,559 Europe is a land where forests and farm fields abound. 4 00:00:18,559 --> 00:00:22,559 It's home to around 745 million people, 5 00:00:22,559 --> 00:00:27,559 or roughly 11% of the Earth's total population. 6 00:00:27,559 --> 00:00:31,559 The European continent consists of the westernmost portion 7 00:00:31,559 --> 00:00:34,200 of the huge landmass known as Eurasia, 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,759 which it shares with the continent of Asia. 9 00:00:39,079 --> 00:00:41,520 The mainland of Europe is bordered to the south 10 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:43,100 by the Mediterranean Sea, 11 00:00:44,060 --> 00:00:45,000 the Black Sea, 12 00:00:46,039 --> 00:00:47,380 and the Caspian Sea. 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,719 It's bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north 14 00:00:50,719 --> 00:00:54,100 and by the Atlantic Ocean to the west. 15 00:00:55,119 --> 00:00:56,979 Europe's long boundary with Asia 16 00:00:56,979 --> 00:00:59,899 traditionally is said to be made up of the Ural Mountains, 17 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:01,820 the Caucasus Mountains, 18 00:01:01,820 --> 00:01:06,480 and the Turkish Straits that link the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. 19 00:01:07,819 --> 00:01:11,840 Several large islands, such as Great Britain, Ireland, and Iceland, 20 00:01:12,260 --> 00:01:14,459 are considered to be part of Europe as well. 21 00:01:15,019 --> 00:01:19,420 Even far-distant Greenland is linked culturally and politically to Europe. 22 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:25,359 Historically, Europe's cultural influence worldwide has been quite great. 23 00:01:25,359 --> 00:01:28,379 This is due to the fact that hundreds of years ago, 24 00:01:28,379 --> 00:01:33,819 certain powerful European nations carried out intensive programs of world exploration 25 00:01:33,819 --> 00:01:37,439 that led to their colonization of far distant lands. 26 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:42,099 Because of their colonies, many aspects of European culture, 27 00:01:42,379 --> 00:01:47,579 including legal systems, languages, religions, art, architecture, 28 00:01:48,019 --> 00:01:52,340 and even ways of dress were introduced to countries all around the world. 29 00:01:52,340 --> 00:01:58,980 Today, the territory of the European continent is divided up into 50 independent nations, 30 00:01:59,379 --> 00:02:02,420 in which more than 100 native languages are spoken. 31 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:09,719 In Europe, almost all of its governments are democratic republics or constitutional monarchies. 32 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,139 Christianity is by far the predominant faith in Europe 33 00:02:14,139 --> 00:02:19,580 and has profoundly influenced its thought and culture for well over a thousand years. 34 00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:29,599 Most of the countries in the southwestern parts of Europe have deep roots in the Roman Catholic Church, which is headquartered in Rome, in the Vatican City. 35 00:02:30,740 --> 00:02:34,800 While in northern Europe, a large number of people are Protestants. 36 00:02:35,879 --> 00:02:41,580 In the more eastern parts of the continent, many belong to the Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church. 37 00:02:41,580 --> 00:02:49,879 A few of Europe's Balkan peninsular nations, such as Albania, seen here, have Muslim-majority populations. 38 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:58,400 Geographically, Europe's western and southern regions abound with mountainous and hilly terrain, 39 00:02:59,159 --> 00:03:01,800 and most of these lands are heavily forested. 40 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,960 The Alps, which stretch across eight different countries, 41 00:03:07,319 --> 00:03:10,979 are the continent's most extensive and tallest range of mountains. 42 00:03:10,979 --> 00:03:19,060 With the exception of the lower elevation mountain ranges of Scandinavia, Poland and Slovakia, 43 00:03:19,379 --> 00:03:25,900 the majority of northern and eastern Europe consists of fairly flat plains, most of which are used for farming. 44 00:03:27,979 --> 00:03:32,060 Climatically, Europe receives a fairly significant amount of precipitation, 45 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,500 and that's why the continent has so many large navigable rivers, 46 00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:40,500 and why it lacks any real deserts. 47 00:03:42,300 --> 00:03:49,120 A small percentage of Europe extends above the Arctic Circle, but most of its territory lies in the temperate zone. 48 00:03:49,719 --> 00:03:54,039 As a result, for the most part, the European climate is relatively mild. 49 00:03:55,400 --> 00:04:00,039 Nearer the Mediterranean Sea, the European climate is much warmer than in the north. 50 00:04:00,139 --> 00:04:08,360 However, further away from its coasts, in the continent's interior regions, more extreme temperature variations can occur, 51 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:15,180 most notably during the winter months when icy continental air masses move down from the north.