Landforms, rivers and resources of Europe

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Europe's peninsulas and the water around them

   Peninsula	Countries on it	Water around it
   Iberian	Spain and Portugal	Atlantic Ocean on the west and northwest; Mediterranean Sea on the south and east
   Italian	Italy	Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea on the east
   Scandinavian	Norway and Sweden	North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea on the west; Baltic Sea on the east

   A peninsula is land with water on most sides, joined to a larger land on one side.

2. 1.

   A merchant in Spain wants ships that can trade in the Mediterranean and also sail out into the Atlantic. Using card A, why is the Iberian Peninsula well placed, Ari asks?

   • It has coasts on the Baltic Sea and the Adriatic Sea, which link the two oceans
   • It has coasts on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea
   • It lies far inland, away from any coast, which keeps ships safe
   • It has the Atlantic Ocean on three of its sides
3. 2.

   Card A calls Italy a peninsula. What does that tell Bo about Italy's coasts?

   • It has water on one side and mountains on the rest
   • Water surrounds it on its sides, so no land joins it to the rest of Europe
   • Sea lies along most of its edge, and land joins it to Europe on one side
   • It is a mountain range that runs between two countries
4. 3.

   Esme looks for a statement that is true of all three peninsulas on card A. Which one is supported?

   • Each has water along most of its edge and is joined to Europe on one side
   • Each one lies along the Mediterranean Sea
   • Each one is home to exactly one country
   • Each one touches the Atlantic Ocean or one of its seas along part of its coast

5. Mountains and plains of Europe

   Landform	What it is like	Why it matters
   Alps	a high mountain range in south-central Europe, with snow-covered peaks	melting snow feeds streams and rivers that flow down to several seas
   Pyrenees	a mountain range between Spain and France	a high barrier between the two countries
   North European Plain	a broad, flat lowland from western France through Germany and Poland	flat land is easy to farm and to build roads and canals on; rivers there flow slowly

   Water flows downhill from high land to low land.

6. 4.

   Card B calls the Pyrenees "a high barrier" between Spain and France. Jun asks why a mountain range makes a barrier.

   • The peaks are an island in the sea between Spain and France
   • A flat plain lies between the two, which blocks the wind
   • High, steep land is hard to cross, so travel is slower
   • A wide river runs along the peaks, and ships cannot cross it
7. 5.

   Workers plan a long, straight canal and a railway across Europe. Using card B, which landform is easiest to build across, Kira asks?

   • The Alps, since their peaks give a clear, level path
   • The North European Plain, which is a broad, flat lowland
   • Any of the three, since they lie in Europe
   • The Pyrenees, since they already lie between two countries
8. 6.

   Many rivers start in the Alps. Which chain from card B explains why, Luz asks?

   • Snow on high peaks melts, feeds streams, and the streams join rivers
   • The sea water dries out, and the salt sinks into the plain below
   • Melting snow feeds the plain directly, and rivers form from farm fields
   • Rivers climb up from the seas and freeze into snow on the peaks

9. Europe's peninsulas and the water around them

   Peninsula	Countries on it	Water around it
   Iberian	Spain and Portugal	Atlantic Ocean on the west and northwest; Mediterranean Sea on the south and east
   Italian	Italy	Mediterranean Sea, with the Adriatic Sea on the east
   Scandinavian	Norway and Sweden	North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea on the west; Baltic Sea on the east

   A peninsula is land with water on most sides, joined to a larger land on one side.

10. 7.

    Pia's note says, "Italy is an island." Which fix is supported by card A?

    • Italy is a peninsula: sea on most sides, joined to Europe by land
    • Italy is a mountain range, as the Adriatic Sea shows
    • Italy is a sea inside the Mediterranean
    • Italy is an island with water on its sides, as the card A map shows
11. 8.

    Norway and Sweden share a peninsula (card A). Ren asks which statement about the water around it is supported.

    • The Baltic Sea lies on its west side, and the Atlantic lies on its east side
    • The Atlantic and Norwegian Sea lie on its west; the Baltic Sea on its east
    • The Mediterranean Sea lies on its west, and the Adriatic on its east
    • The Baltic Sea lies around it, so the peninsula is an island
12. 9.

    Tala compares peninsulas on card A. Which one has a coast on the Mediterranean Sea and also on the Atlantic Ocean?

    • The Iberian Peninsula
    • The Scandinavian Peninsula
    • The Italian Peninsula
    • Both the Italian and the Scandinavian peninsulas
13. 10.

    Water flows downhill from high land to low land. On the North European Plain rivers flow slowly (card B). Zee asks what flat land does to a river.

    • With little slope, the river stops and dries up
    • With little slope, the river flows uphill toward the sea
    • With little slope to speed it up, the river flows slowly
    • With little slope, the river flows faster than in the mountains