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[[Image:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumb|300 px|Political map of Europe]]

[[Image:Europe pol 2004.jpg|thumb|300 px|Political map of Europe]]

[[Image:Europe ref04.jpg|thumb|300 px|Shaded relief map of Europe]]

[[Image:Europe ref04.jpg|thumb|300 px|Shaded relief map of Europe]]

'''Europe''' is the [[continent]]al landmass of Eurasia consisting of the general area to the west of the Ural Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean.  With an area of 3,998,000 square miles it ranks as the second-smallest of the continents, but in terms of population (727, 000,000 in 2007) it is the third-largest.

'''Europe''' is the western part of the [[continent]]al landmass of Eurasia, consisting of the general area between the [[Ural Mountains]] and the [[Atlantic Ocean]].  With an area of 3,998,000 square miles it ranks as the second-smallest of the continents, but in terms of population (727,000,000 in 2007) it is the third-largest.

Long a center of culture, art, philosophy, and government, Europe was the birthplace of democracy; the art and architecture of the Renaissance; the springboard of the great age of exploration; and the beginnings of the industrial age.  Several major empires inhabited the continent: Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Ottomans, the Holy Roman, the French, and the German, each producing great achievements for posterity, as well as sparking wars and conflicts which exist to this day.

Long a center of culture, art, philosophy, and government, Europe was the birthplace of democracy; the art and architecture of the Renaissance; the springboard of the great age of exploration; and the beginnings of the industrial age.  Several major empires inhabited the continent: Greece, Rome, Byzantium, the Ottomans, the Holy Roman, the French, and the German, each producing great achievements for posterity, as well as sparking wars and conflicts which exist to this day.