A Region in Europe Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

A Region in Europe - Term Paper Example2. Location 3. 3. Sicilys Physical Geography Sicily is famous for its rum geographical features such as its topography, rivers, temper and vegetation that distinguish it from any other European region. 3.1. Topography and Landscape simulacrum 3 Contrasting Landscapes in Sicily 3.2. Rivers and Catchments The womb-to-tomb river in Sicily is the Salso. Its tributaries start in the Madonie Mountains in Central Sicily, and flow southwards through the providences of Enna and Caltanissetta into the Mediterranean near the sea port of Licata. Its Sicilys bimestrial river at 89 miles, and its drainage basin covers an atomic number 18a of 819? miles (Wikipedia Salso, 2010). Sicilys rivers are usually fast flowing with irregular volumes of water. Flash flooding in the overwinter months contrasts with the drying up of rivers in summer. Figure 5 The River Salso Other notable rivers include the Simeto, Sicilys second longest river at 68 miles, which c hannels waters from the Caltagirone, Gornalunga and Dittaino catchments (Wikipedia Simeto, 2010). It flows into the Ionian Sea, on Sicilys eastern coastline, south of the populated region of Catania. Its regarded as Sicilys most important river in terms of its watershed and the mo of people who rely on it for domestic, industrial and agricultural uses. 3.3. Sicilys Climate Sicilys weather is dominated by its Mediterranean climate, consisting of hot dry summers and mild-mannered wet winters. The city of Catania is the sunniest place in Europe, with 2492 hours of sunshine per year (6.8 per day) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.1. Temperature June to September are Sicilys hottest months, were temperatures regularly exceed 25c (World Reviewer). Sicilys coolest months are December to February were temperatures range from 10c-16c (Peter Sommer Travels). Despite Sicilys small geographical size, there are also climatic differences between locations of the island, ranging from an annual fair o f 19c on the coastline, to 13c in mountainous regions (Sicily Italian Marina). Figure 6 Sicilys Average Annual Air Temperatures (Cited from Worldreviewer.com) 3.3.2. downfall Sicily has an annual mean precipitation rate of 24 inches (611mm), in which 75% of rain occurs from October-March. Less than an inches worth of rain falls between June August (World Reviewer). Figure 7 also highlights that Sicilys rainfall is not evenly distributed, and low lying ground such as the plains of Catania receive far less rainfall than mountainous regions. Figure 7 Precipitation Rates in Sicily (Cited from BestofSicily.com) 3.3.3. Sea Temperatures As an island, the temperature of the sea surrounding Sicily has a bigger effect on its climate than inland regions in mainland Europe. Sicilys average sea temperatures are hottest during the summer (24c) and coolest from January-March (14c) (Peter Sommer Travels). 3.3.4. Vegetation Sicilys temperate Mediterranean climate has played a study role in det ermining its vegetation. The typical evergreen Mediterranean shrub is widespread in coastal areas and much of Sicilys wild vegetation consists of papyrus, thenar trees and stone pines. Numerous trees, shrubs and flowers are native to Sicily, including wild olive trees and manna ash (a medium size deciduous tree, which contains a sugary extract in its bark used as a natural sweetener). Citrus and fruit orchards, grape vines and