Western and Northern Europe Test
1. Germany has had a long history but has emerged as the locomotive of Europe, being the most
populous nation in Europe. With Germany’s strategic location on the Ruhr and Rhine it has made the
development of industry easy, allowing for an easy access to the sea to move products and people. With
the access of the Adriatic Sea it makes it easy for Germany to move through the rivers and use the sea
for ports. The resource base of Germany has also played a huge role in the impact they have had on
Europe with their main resources being high tech training that result in products like automobiles, great
engineering, and chemicals. There is also a great source of food to export, after feeding themselves, with
the vast area of the North European Plain and other areas near the river valleys. Near the Southern end
of the Rhine Germany has a vast amount of vineyards and castles, a high tourism base finds itself here
and throughout Germany, considering the wild and interesting history this country has had. Not only are
there lots of vineyards but Germany has always had a huge market for beer, the infamous Bavaria and
Oktoberfest which brings in thousands of people. Beer has been a huge industry and a famous one for
Germany. The biggest resource for Germany has been its mineral base in East Germany where tons of
Lignite, a soft coal, can be found. Germany also has a huge port in Elbe, the busiest port in Germany and
most of Europe. Crops commonly grown in Germany include potatoes, wheat, barley, and fruits.
Germany also has some great poultry and pig products. Other industries include electronics, iron, steel,
cement, machinery, machine tools, textiles, and shipbuilding. Germany has been the most technological
economy in Europe and has a great landscape allowing for various resources and potential, which has
caused Germany to be a powerful and successful nation and the locomotive of Europe.
3. The Netherlands is below sea level and they have had to build massive dikes to block and pump out
water. In the way of resources, the Netherlands have never been so successful; with no resources they
have moved to creating various Dutch colonies throughout history in order to import their own
resources from other colonies. Also with a lack of resources, the Netherlands have moved to an
intelligent society producing various scientific tools and other high tech industries, they have specialized
in whatever product sells the most at various times in history. With no resources they have had to
adapt. They have huge billion dollar corporations, lots of trading origins, oil fields in other countries.
They have one container ship port in Rotterdam. They have specialized in diamond cutting and have the
largest production of tulip bulbs in the world. The Netherlands has also been known as one of the most
accepting countries in the world, allowing for people to live their own lives. This has brought a lot of the
billion dollar corporations. Some coal can be found in the Netherlands, very little farming but some
grains and cattle, not even enough to feed themselves; some steel and iron mills, importing of minerals.
They have also been known for specializing in electronics, chemicals, and textiles. They have been
known for producing some of the most scholastic people and that is one of their main assets, since very
little exists in the way of resources. In Belgium there is a vast area of forests and in the highlands there is
some farming of grains, root crops, dairy, flax, and bulbs but these farms are the most productive farms
in Europe. There are some good coal deposits, fishing and forestry. They are heavy into manufacturing
of iron, steel, appliances, food, glass, cement. They have a huge port at Antwerp and a great waterway
system; very few resources but a very intelligent society. Belgium is also a very accepting society and as
a result there are various economic and political organization headquarters such as the European Union.
Luxembourg has a huge amount of castle tourism and iron is a big industry. They have a very small
amount of hydropower, gas oil, and coal. They have specialized in hardware with a huge metal industry,
beer chemicals, cloth, fertilizers and tobacco products. They do live by exports and depend on a lot of
tourism with little resources. With few resources, all of these countries have managed to develop vast
arrays of industry.
