Settlement FAQs

how well suited is european geography for human settlement

by Dr. Madelynn Bartell Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Land Fertile lands suitable for agriculture are places of human settlement like villages in rolling countryside in Europe avoiding swampy areas, low lying river valleys and coastal plains suited for wet rice cultivation in South-East Asia. Upland Dry points like uplands, terraces, leaves that are not prone to flooding are places of settlements.

Full Answer

Why is the study of human settlement important in geography?

You may call it a village, a city or a town; all are patterns of human settlements. The study of human settlements is essential to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects a human relationship with the environment. A human settlement is defined as a region populated more or less permanently.

What is the definition of human settlement?

A human settlement is defined as a region populated more or less permanently. The houses may be planned or redesigned, buildings may be remodelled, functions may change, but settlement continues in space and time. There may be some settlements which are unstable and are occupied for short periods, even a season.

What is the importance of cultural geography in Europe?

Cultural Geography. Europe has a long history of human development and is considered the birthplace of Western Civilization. Today, this cultural wealth is used to solidify the European Community and is exported to the rest of the world as one of the continent’s greatest global assets.

What is the highest permanent settlement in the world?

Located at 5,000 meters (3 miles) above sea level, La Rinconada in southeastern Peru is the highest permanent settlement in the world. Erbil Citadel, located in the center of Erbil, Iraq, is the oldest continuously occupied human settlement.

What is the human geography of Europe?

Europe is often described as a “peninsula of peninsulas.” A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides. Europe is a peninsula of the Eurasian supercontinent and is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian seas to the south.

What are the advantages of Europe's physical geography?

It is home to many navigable rivers, including the Rhine, Weser, Elbe, Oder, and Vistula. The climate supports a wide variety of seasonal crops. These physical features allowed for early communication, travel, and agricultural development.

What are the advantages of Europe's natural environment for human habitation and economic development?

Europe's moderate climates and favorable relative location are supported by its access to the many rivers and seas. These advantageous developmental factors supported the development of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, which gave rise to highly technical and urban societies.

What is the most important geographical aspect of Europe?

Europe's most significant geological feature is the dichotomy between the highlands and mountains of Southern Europe and a vast, partially underwater, northern plain ranging from Great Britain in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east.

What makes Europe different from other continents?

Europe's physical geography, environment and resources, and human geography can be considered separately. Europe's rich agricultural and industrial diversity has made the continent a center of trade and commerce for centuries. It is centrally located between the two other “Old World” continents, Africa and Asia.

What special advantage has Europe enjoyed due to its location?

Answer: It is because most of Europe has advantage of warm ocean currents coming north from tropics. There is little interaction with colder air masses and colder ocean currents so overall. Europe remains warmer than Alaska and Northern Canada.

How have the people of Western Europe improved their land to make it more useful?

How have the peoples of Western Europe improved their land? They drained marshlands and opened up rich new lands for farming. the Dutch reclaime marshlands and land from the sea by building dikes and sea walls and by using windmills to pump water out of reclaimed land that lay below sea level.

How did Europe's physical geography encourage interaction with other regions?

How did Europe's physical geography encourage interaction with other regions? They interacted with other regions because they all traded goods by river and sea. The Western Uplands made up of uplands, or hills, mountains, and plateaus, that stretch from the Scandinavian Peninsula to Spain and Portugal.

What are the characteristics of European culture?

European culture tends to be relatively laid-back, with greater emphasis on time with family. Europeans also have a greater sense of historical time. A building that's 100 years old is old in the United States but new in Europe.

Why is Europe's relative location important?

This relative location provided efficient travel times between Europe and the rest of the world, which contributed to Europe's historical dominance. When we consider globalization, the scale of the world is shrinking as the world's people are becoming more interconnected.

How the physical features of Europe have supported its development?

Europe's moderate climates and favorable relative location are supported by its access to the many rivers and seas. These advantageous developmental factors supported the development of the Industrial Revolution in Europe, which gave rise to highly technical and urban societies.

Why is Europe called a developed continent?

Europe was the first of the major world regions to develop a modern economy based on commercial agriculture, industrial development, and the provision of specialized services.

How did Europe's physical geography encourage interaction with other regions?

How did Europe's physical geography encourage interaction with other regions? They interacted with other regions because they all traded goods by river and sea. The Western Uplands made up of uplands, or hills, mountains, and plateaus, that stretch from the Scandinavian Peninsula to Spain and Portugal.

Which physical features are found in Europe quizlet?

Terms in this set (10)Danube River. the 2nd longest European river.Rhine River. a major European river carrying more traffic than any other river in the world.Ural Mountains. ... The Pyrenees. ... Mediterranian sea. ... The Alps. ... English Channel. ... Iberian Peninsula.More items...

What are the physical features of Asia Europe?

Asia makes up the eastern portion of the Eurasian supercontinent; Europe occupies the western portion. The border between the two continents is debated. However, most geographers define Asia's western border as an indirect line that follows the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, and the Caspian and Black Seas.

How did geography affect the development of Eastern Europe?

How did geography affect Russian settlement and growth? The Eurasian plain was easily accessible; southern steppes encouraged migration from Asia into Europe; a network of rivers supported transportation and trade; northern forests supplied food and fuel; a southern band of fertile land attracted farmers.

When did humans first settle in the area?

The history of human settlement began some 10 000 years ago, when Finno-Ugric (Saami/Lapp) hunters and fishermen settled in the area. In the early Iron Age (2500–1900 BP), the southern Finno-Ugric tribes (Karelians, Izhorians) inhabited forested areas.

How did human settlements affect sand dunes?

Human settlements along the coast have affected sand dune environments, primarily through the establishment of coconut plantations in the Caribbean and the use of fire to manage vegetation. Other areas have been cut for wood or for conversion to grasslands. There is not much original vegetation left, especially in stabilized areas.

How did infectious diseases affect the world?

Historically, the spread of infectious diseases often followed periods of social upheaval and transitions. 14 In some cases, infectious diseases may have played a role in the course of history. 13 An epidemic decimated the population of ancient Greece, and the ‘Plague of Athens’, possibly caused by typhus, 2 may have determined the outcome of the Peloponnesian war and the future of the state of Athens. Similarly, the ‘Justinian Plague’, believed to have been caused by Yersinia pestis, 15 greatly affected the Byzantine Empire and devastated Constantinople. 14 Centuries later the plague spread to Europe via trade routes and resulted in an extraordinarily high mortality rate. The resulting dramatic decrease in population in Europe helped increase social mobility and may have helped lead to changes in political and economic structure. 16

How did agriculture help spread infectious diseases?

Human settlement and the corresponding development of agriculture provided ideal conditions for the emergence and spread of infectious diseases. Agriculture allowed people to stay in one place, and increased food production caused the population density to expand far beyond levels that could be sustained by hunting and gathering alone. This growth in population density provided a critical mass of people to sustain and spread contagious infectious diseases. 2,12 Also, some agricultural practices, specifically the domestication of animals, increased human and animal interactions, as well as interactions between different animal species. This cross-species mixing provided the ideal conditions for the evolution of new infectious diseases. 2,12 Subsequent historical developments involving trade, war and migration created a means for spreading disease outbreaks to new populations around the world. 13

Who was the first person to settle on Floreana Island?

The long history of human settlement on Floreana Island, beginning with Patrick Watkins, an Irish sailor abandoned there from 1807 to 1809, resulted in the loss of wild species and ecosystem degradation at a level not seen on other islands in Galapagos.

Can infectious diseases be measured in geographic distance?

Thus, the closeness between populations and infectious diseases can no longer be measured in terms of geographic distance, and the factors that drive emerging infectious diseases in one part of the world can affect other parts of the world very quickly.

Why is the study of human settlements important?

The study of human settlements is essential to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects a human relationship with the environment. A human settlement is defined as a region populated more or less permanently. The houses may be planned or redesigned, buildings may be remodelled, functions may change, ...

Where do people settle?

Usually, rural settlements are settled near water bodies such as rivers, springs, and lakes where water can be readily obtained . Sometimes the requirement of water drives people to settle in otherwise disadvantaged places such as islands encompassed by swamps or low lying river banks. Most water-based ‘wet point’ settlements have many benefits such as water for cooking, washing and drinking. Rivers and lakes can be used to water farmland. Water bodies also have aquatic living beings like fish which can be grabbed for diet, and traversable rivers and lakes can be used for shipping.

What are some examples of planned settlements?

Sites that are not instinctively chosen by villagers themselves, planned settlements are established by governments by giving shelter, water and other infrastructural facilities on acquired lands. The plan of villagisation in Ethiopia and the canal communities in Indira Gandhi canal command area in India are some examples.

What factors influence the location of rural settlements?

3.1 Some factors influencing the location of rural settlements are: 3.2 Rural Settlement Patterns. We all live in clumps of houses. You may call it a village, a city or a town; all are patterns of human settlements. The study of human settlements is essential to human geography because the form of settlement in any particular region reflects ...

What are the benefits of a wet point settlement?

Most water-based ‘wet point’ settlements have many benefits such as water for cooking, washing and drinking. Rivers and lakes can be used to water farmland. Water bodies also have aquatic living beings like fish which can be grabbed for diet, and traversable rivers and lakes can be used for shipping.

What is compact settlement?

Compact or Nucleated settlements: These settlements are those in which a large number of houses are constructed very close to each other. Such settlements grow along river valleys and in fertile plains. Communities are closely knit and share common professions.

What is the pattern of a circular village?

Circular pattern: Circular villages grow around lakes, tanks and sometimes the village is organised in such a way that the central part remains accessible and is used for keeping the animals to guard them against wild animals.

Where are circular settlements found?

Such kind of settlements is found in plain areas or/and in wide inter-montane valley. The settlements in which houses are constructed in a circular shape is known as Circular Pattern. Such kind of settlements is found around lakes, tanks, or a planned village.

What is the settlement in which houses are constructed along the straight going road, which further bifurcates into two roads?

The settlement in which houses are constructed along the straight going road, which further bifurcates into two roads (similar to Y shape) is known as Y-Shape pattern .

What is compact settlement?

Compact or Nucleated Settlements − Under such type of settlements, the houses are built very close to each other. Normally, plain fertile land regions have such compact or nucleated settlements.

What is the term for the settlements that are built along a road, railway line, river, canal edge of?

The settlement in which houses are constructed along a road, railway line, river, canal edge of a valley, or along a levee is known as Linear Pattern .

What were the problems of rural settlements?

Major problems of rural settlements are the lack of basic amenities (such as toilet facility, sanitation facility, health facilities, education facilities, etc.) and other infrastructure such as rail, road, tele-communications, etc. The first urban settlement that crossed one million mark was the city of London (around AD 1810) ...

What is the settlement in which houses are constructed in a star shape?

The settlements in which houses are constructed in a star shape is known as Star like Pattern. Such kind of settlements is found around the points where several roads cross each other (making star shape).

What is the term for the process of people moving away from congested urban areas to cleaner areas outside the city?

The process of people moving away from congested urban areas to cleaner areas outside the city in search of a better quality of living is known as sub-urbanization. 1991 census of India defines urban settlements as “All places which have municipality, corporation, ...

12.3 INTRODUCTION

Rural areas cover a multitude of natural and cultural landscapes, activities, and functions, including not only villages and agricultural areas, ranging from traditional to intensive monoculture systems, forests, various parks, and wilderness, but also services and commercial sites, as well as educational and research centers.

12.4 RURAL SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

There are many types of rural settlements. Using as classification criteria the shape, internal structure, and streets texture, settlements can be classified into two broad categories: clustered and dispersed.

12.6 URBAN PATTERNS

The contemporary North American scene dramatically displays how its population has refashioned the settlement landscape to meet the needs of a modern postindustrial society. In North American cities, a city’s center, commonly called downtown, has historically been the nucleus of commercial and services land use.

12.7 CONCLUSION

In summary, definitions of the terms rural and/or rurality and delineation of rural from urban areas have been long debated topics in many academic works. Rural space comes into existence in certain areas, typified by a series of factors such as land use (especially for agriculture), population density, agricultural employment, and built areas.

12.8 KEY TERMS DEFINED

Blue Banana – a discontinuous corridor of urbanization in Western Europe, from North West England to Northern Italy

12.9 WORKS CONSULTED AND FURTHER READING

Berkovitz, P. and Schulz-Greve, W. 2001. Defining the concept of rural development: A European perspective. In The challenge of rural development in the EU accession countries. Third World Bank/FAO EU Accession Workshop, Sofia, Bulgaria, June 17-20, 2000, ed. C. Csaki and Z. Lerman, 3-9. Washington, D. C.: The World Bank

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