Frank Carlson Library

A country that occupies the western part of the Iberian peninsula in southwest Europe, Portugal borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south, and Spain to the east and north. It also includes two Atlantic archipelagos, the Azores and Madeira that occupy strategic points along the approaches to the Strait of Gibraltar. The overseas territory of Macao (Macau) was returned to China in 1999. Portugal has developed a diverse and increasingly service-oriented...

A country of southern Europe, Italy borders France to the west, Switzerland and Austria to the north, and Slovenia to the northeast. Italy has always been the driving force behind the cultural and social life of the Mediterranean, having been home to some of its most important civilizations. Italy has its problems, however; namely, the gap between the prosperous, industrial north and the poorer, agricultural south. There have also been the activities...

A country in Central Europe, with a coastline on the Baltic Sea in the north, Poland is bounded to the west by Germany, to the south by the Czech and Slovak Republics, to the east by Ukraine and Belarus, and by Lithuania and the Russian oblast of Kaliningrad to the north. For the most part undulating, Poland is part of the great Northern European Plain, though it rises toward the south through hills that culminate in the Sudeten and Carpathian mountains...

The European Union (EU) consists of 28 countries, spanning the European continent from Ireland in the west to the border of Russia in the east. Any European country with a democratic government, a functioning market economy, respect for fundamental rights, and a government capable of implementing EU laws and policies may apply for membership. The EU is neither a nation, nor an international organization, nor is it intended to replace existing nations....

A European country in the southern Balkans, Greece is a complicated series of mountain ridges and enclosed valleys, forming a deeply indented peninsula that extends down into the Mediterranean Sea. Greece is famous for the clarity of its light, and no place is very far from the sea. Scores of islands, some of them forming named groups, make up a fifth or so of the country, and are mostly uninhabited. The largest island, Crete, was acquired by Greece...

Denmark is a kingdom of northwest Europe bordering the North and Baltic Seas. It occupies the northern two-thirds of the Jutland Peninsula, together with the islands lying between the peninsula and Sweden. During World War II, Denmark was invaded by Germany, but offered strong resistance throughout the occupation. Denmark joined NATO in 1949 and in 1973, together with Britain, entered the EU. Today, Denmark is a prosperous, progressive, and thoroughly...

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK), is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It is an island nation in northwestern Europe. England is an important tourist destination and home to the site of Neolithic Stonehenge, Bath's Roman spa, and centuries-old universities at Oxford and Cambridge. The UK's economy is one of the strongest in Europe, with many important industries,...

On January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia was divided into two entities: the Czech Republic and the Republic of Slovakia. The Czech Republic now occupies about two-thirds of the area that once was Czechoslovakia, and consists of the Bohemian plateau in the east and the Moravian lowlands to the west. Mountains form most of the republic's northern border with Germany and Poland. Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany during World War II, but the Communists...