Where Is The Eastern Hemisphere?
Where Does the West End and the East Begin?, Comparing Graphs, What Is Culture?
Millions of years ago, the earth's continents were joined together. This one large landmass was called Pangaea (pan-jee-uh). Huge pieces of the earth's surface began to move. These huge pieces are plates that float on the earth's surface. Like ships on water, the continents move apart, or drift. The continents are still drifting today. This movement can cause earthquakes, volcanoes, and huge waves called tsunamis (tsoo-nah-mees).
The largest landmasses of the earth are called continents. A continent is a large landmass that is part of the earth's crust. The earth has seven continents. They are Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North America, South America, and Antarctica. The map above shows the seven continents and the five oceans of the world.
Where Does the West End and the East Begin?
The prime meridian (0° longitude) divides the hemispheres. The land west of the prime meridian is the Western Hemisphere. The land east of the prime meridian is the Eastern Hemisphere. North America and South America are in the Western Hemisphere. Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica are in the Eastern Hemisphere. Antarctica is difficult to see on a flat map because the earth is curved.
Comparing Graphs
What Is Culture?
Do all people eat the same types of food? Do they all share the same beliefs? Do they all live by the same laws? If you answered no, you are right. Culture is a word that describes a group of people who share the same beliefs, customs, laws, and ways of living. What people eat, what they believe, how they live, and how they change their environment is part of their culture.
Cultural regions are land areas, or countries, where people share a similar culture. They speak the same language. They have similar religions. Their history and art is alike. Families prepare the same kind of foods.
There is an advantage to using graphs instead of text. Notice that these two population graphs give you paragraphs of information very quickly and clearly.
The land east of the prime meridian is the Eastern Hemisphere. The Eastern Hemisphere includes the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Antarctica. People who share similar customs, beliefs, art, law, and way of life share a similar culture.
In this unit, you will take a trip across Europe and Russia. You'll explore the geography and the cultures that make up the continent. As you read the chapters, write the heading for each section. Then write one sentence that tells the main idea for that section.
What Is Europe Like?
You are about to take a trip of a lifetime. You may want to ski in fresh snow. Perhaps you want to swim in sparkling blue water. You'll visit castles and ancient ruins. You might hear bagpipes or pick grapes. You'll eat crusty baguettes—long loaves of bread—and feast on some of the best cheeses in the world. You might visit the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen or spend a day at the Eiffel Tower. Have you ever danced the tarantella, a popular folk dance? Perhaps you'd like to see the midnight sun. Or maybe you'd like to herd reindeer.
Where can you do and see all of these things? Explore the continent of Europe. It is filled with countries that have different foods, customs, traditions, governments, and languages. Its history goes back thousands of years. From towering mountains to beautiful coasts—welcome to Europe!
Onion-domed church in Moscow
Bagpipe band in Scotland
Reindeer farms Scandinavia
Promenade des Anglais Nice, France
Political Map of Europe
Europe is a continent made up of many different countries. It has a wide range of cultures, traditions, and customs.
Additional topics
History Reference: Ancient History & World HistoryThe Eastern Hemisphere - Europe and Russia