RIVERS AND LAKES

EUROPEAN RIVERS

Caracterist ics:• Relatively long• Average volume of flow (corriente media)• Many are navigable by boat• Many are used as travel routes

EUROPEAN RIVERSClassif ication:• By WATERSHED = area of land where surface water from rain, melting snow, or ice converges to a single point at a lower elevation, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, sea, ocean…

EUROPEAN RIVERSClassif ication of European rivers:• According to the ocean they flow into.• Rivers flows down these watersheds into the ocean or sea.• In Europe, there are 5 watersheds (or river bassins).

1. The Arctic watershed:• Rivers that empty into the Arctic Ocean.• Large volume of flow. • They freeze in winter.

Pechora

Northern Dvina

2. The Atlantic watershed:• Rivers with greatest volume in Europe.• Because they flow accross zones with abundant rainfall.

Western Dvina

Vistula

OderElbe

Rhine

3. The Mediterranean watershed:• Low, irregular volume of flow. • Because of droughts in the summer.

Ebro

Po

Rhone

4. The Black Sea watershed:• Very long rivers.• Greater volume.

Danube

Dniester

5. The Caspian Sea watershed:• Long rivers with a large volume of flow.• The longest river in Europe: the Volga.

Volga

EUROPEAN LAKES

A lake:• Body of water surrounded by land.• In Europe, lakes are grouped by location.

Northern lakesLarger and deeper(Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia…)

Southern lakesSmaller and not

very deep(Lake Albufera in

Spain)

Alpine lakesFound in the mountains(the Alps in

Switzerland, Italy…)