Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Moutains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Moutains to the southeast.[Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the black Sea and the waterways connecting it to the Mediterranean. Yet the borders for Europe - a concept dating back to classical antiquity - are somewhat arbitrary, as the term continent can refer to a ciltural and political distinction or a physiographic one.
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 3 930 000 sq. mi or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population, while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population or about 11% of the world's population.
There are 49 countries in Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan*, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic or Czechia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Georgia*, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan*,
Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, FYR of Macedonia (Republic of Macedonia), Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia*, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey*, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City.
* - countries, located in Europe just partially.
Europe has a variety of climates, but most of the continent has mild weather.
Europe generally has milder weather than parts of Asia and North America at the same latitude. For example, Berlin, Germany; Calgary, Canada; and Irkutsk, in the Asian part of Russia, lie at about the same latitude. But January temperatures in Berlin average about 15º F higher than those in Calgary, and they are almost 40º F higher than the average temperatures in Irkutsk.
Europe's mild climate is caused by winds that blow across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean. The winds are warmed by the Gulf Stream, a powerful ocean current that carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the western coast of Europe. The winds affect most of the continent because no mountain barrier is large enough to block them and because much of Europe is located within 300 miles of the Atlantic Ocean.
The most spectacular effect of the Gulf Stream and the strong westerly winds on Europe occurs along the Norwegian coast. Much of Norway's coast lies in the Arctic region, most of which is covered with ice and snow in winter. But almost all of Norway's coast--even that part in the Arctic--remains free of ice and snow throughout the winter.
In general, northern Europe has longer, colder winters and shorter, cooler summers than southern Europe. In addition, winters are longer and colder, and summers shorter and hotter, in the east than in the west. Glasgow, Scotland, for example, has an average temperature of 38º F in January. But Moscow, which lies at the same latitude, has an average January temperature of 14º F.
Most of Europe receives from 20 to 60" of precipitation each year. The greatest annual precipitation - usually more than 80" - occurs in areas just west of mountains. Such regions include parts of western Britain and western Norway. The continent's lightest annual precipitation - usually less than 20" - occurs in three general areas: east of high mountains, far inland from the Atlantic Ocean, and along the Arctic coast. Such regions include central and southeastern Spain, northern Scandinavia, northern and southeastern parts of European Russia, and western Kazakhstan.