Northern Europe is a name for the northern part of the European continent. At different times this region has been defined differently but today it is generally seen to include:
In earlier eras, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region, everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including Germany, much of France, the Low Countries, and Austria. This meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance.
The Baltic States were during the Cold War and before that during the height of the Russian Empire typically considered to be part of Eastern Europe, although the peoples are not Slavonics. This is especially the case with Estonia that has stronger ties with Finland than with Continental Europe. Also, the Baltic States share much history and many common traits with Northern Europe.
Scandinavia is a somewhat ambiguous concept covering some or all of the Nordic countries.
Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia.
It is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, and to the east by the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea (for more detailed description see Geography of Europe).
Having lived side-by-side with agricultural and industrial civilisations for millennia, Europe's animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks.
North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean.
Both North and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a previously undiscovered New World.
North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere, the Americas, or simply America.
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