West and Central European Lowlands

Abstract

The plains of the western part of the Russian platform (see Chapter 6) merge imperceptibly into the lowlands south of the Baltic and North Seas, and continue west without any important topographical breaks into the lowlands of northern and western France. This region, occupying about 8 percent of the area of Europe west of the Urals, has often been termed the north European plain, but the title adopted in this chapter is intended to emphasize that not all of the region can be described accurately as a plain and that its position in Europe as a whole is west and central rather than northern. The region comprises a complex arrangement of lowlands, extending east-west for 2000 km and interrupted by uplands of older rocks. The English Channel and Straits of Dover sever the lowlands of southern and eastern England from those on the mainland continent. The limits of the region are clearly defined in places, either by the coasts or by the relatively abrupt topographical and geological break at the foot of the Hercynian uplands (see Chapter 9). Elsewhere, however, limits are arbitrary: for example, in the eastward transition to the Russian lowland. The region is crossed by many of the great rivers of Europe, such as the lower Rhine and the lower Elbe, and also includes the greater part of some complete drainage basins such as those of the Seine or the Garonne.