The Gercia Europa is a natural area, which includes most of the territory of France (without the Alps , the Jura and the Pyrenees ), as well as the areas located between the Alps and the pre-alpine plateaus in the south, the Carpathians and the Vistula in the east.
The natural area is characterized by the predominance of tectonic structures formed mainly by Hercynian folding . The relief is dominated by medium-altitude mountains and hills ( Central French Massif , Armorican Highlands , Vosges Mountains , Black Forest , Rhine Slate Mountains , Czech Massif ), which alternate with stepped cuesta plateaus and plains ( Paris Basin , Franconian Alb , Schwab Alb Alb and mountains.
The climate of Hercynian Europe is temperate maritime; on the closed plains and in the eastern regions moderately continental. In the mountains, 1,000–2,000 mm of precipitation falls annually, on the plains - 500–800 mm. A dense network of deep rivers ( Loire , Seine , Rhine , Elbe ). Broad-leaved ( oak , beech , hornbeam , chestnut ) and coniferous ( spruce , fir , pine ) forests grow in the mountains. Plain areas are mostly plowed.
Sources
- Hercynian Europe // The Great Soviet Encyclopedia : [in 30 t.] / Ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov . - 3rd ed. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1969-1978. .