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LEFT EUBOPE 62 EUBOPE eluding windings 2,400 miles. Into the Mediterranean flow the Ebro, the Rhone, and the Po; into the Black Sea, the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, and Don (through the Sea of Azov) ; into the Atlantic, the Guadalquivir, the Guadi- ana, the Tagus, and Loire ; into the Eng- lish Channel, the Seine; into the North Sea, the Rhine, Elbe; into the Baltic, the Oder, the Vistula, and the Duna; into the Arctic Ocean, the Dwina. The lakes of Europe may be divided into two groups, the southern and northern. The former run along both sides of the Alps, and among them, on the N. side, are the lakes of Geneva, Neuchatel, Thun, Lucerne, Zxirich, and Constance; on the S. side, Lago Maggiore, and the lakes of Como, Lugano, Iseo, and Garda. The northern lakes extend across Sweden from W. to E., and on the E. side of the Baltic a number of lakes, stretching in the same direction across Finland on the borders of Russia, mark the continu- ation of the line of depression. It is in Russia that the largest European lakes are found — Lakes Ladoga and Onega. Geology. — The geological features of Europe are exceedingly varied. The older formations prevail in the northern part as compared with the southern half and the middle region. N. of the lati- tude of Edinburgh and Moscow there is very little of the surface of more re- cent origin than the strata of the Upper Jura belonging to the Mesozoic period, and there are vast tracts occupied either by eruptive rocks or one or other of the older sedimentary formations. Den- mark and the portions of Germany ad- joining belong to the Cretaceous period, as does also a large part of Russia between the Volga and the basin of the Dnieper. Middle and eastern Germany with Poland and the valley of the Dnieper present on the surface Eocene formations of the Tertiary period. Eu- rope possesses abundant stores of those minerals which are of most importance to man, such as coal and iron, Great Britain being particularly favored in this respect. Coal and iron are aLo obtained in France, Belgium and Ger- many. The richest silver ores are in Norway, Spain, the Erzgebirge, and the Harz Mountains. Spain is also rich in quicksilver. Copper ores are abundant in the Ural Mountains, Thuringia, Corn- wall, and Spain. Tin ores are found in Cornwall, the Erzgebirge, and Brittany. Climate. — Several circumstances con- cur to give Europe a climate peculiarly genial, such as its position almost wholly within the temperate zone, and the great extent of its maritime boundaries. Much benefit is also derived from the fact that its shores are exposed to the warm marine currents and warm "winds from the S. W., which prevent the formation of ice on most of its northern shores. The eastern portion has a less favorable climate than the western. The extremes of temperature are greater, the summer being hotter and the winter colder, while the lines of equal mean temperature de- cline S. as we go E. Vegetable Productions^ — With respect to the vegetable kingdom" Europe may be divided into four zones. The first, or most northern, is that of fir and birch. The birch reaches almost to North Cape ; the fir ceases a degree farther S. The cultivation of grain extends farther N. than might be supposed. Barley ripens even under the 70th parallel of N. latitude; wheat ceases at 64° in Norway, 62° in Sweden. V/ithin this zone, the southern limit of which extends from lat. 64° in Norway to lat. 62° in Russia, agriculture has little importance, its in- habitants being chiefly occupied with the care of reindeer or cattle, and in fishing. The next zone, which may be called that of the oak and beech, and cereal produce, extends from the limit above mentioned to the 48th parallel. The Alps, though beyond the limit, by reason of their ele- vation belong to this zone, in the moister parts of which cattle husbandry has been brought to perfection. Next we find the zone of the chestnut and vine, occupying the space between the 48th parallel and the mountain chains of southern Eu- rope. Here the oak still flourishes, but the pine species become rarer. Rye, which characterizes the preceding zone on the Continent, gives way to wheat, and in the southern portion of it to maize also. The fourth zone, comprehending the southern peninsula, is that of the olive and _ evergreen woods. The orange flourishes in the southern portion of it, and rice is cultivated in a few spots in Italy and Spain. Animals. — As regards animals the reindeer and polar bears are peculiar to the N. Bears and wolves still inhabit the forests and mountains; but, in gen- eral, cultivation and population have ex- pelled wild animals. Inhabitants. — Europe is occupied by several different peoples or races, in many parts now greatly intermingled. The Celts once possessed the W. of Europe from the Alps to the British Islands, But the Celtic nationalities w ere broken by the wave of Roman conquest, and the succeeding invasions of the Ger- manic tribes completed their political ruin. At the present day the Celtic language is spoken only in the Scotch Highlands (Gaelic), in some '"arts of Ireland (Irish), in Wales (Cymric), and in Brittany (Armorican). Next to the