Geographical extreme points of Europe

This is a list of geographic extreme points in Europe . Some of these positions are up for discussion because the definition of the scope of Europe is varied.

Boundary points

European mainland

Northernmost point :

Kinnarodden ( 71 ° 7'59 ″ N ) is a crag on the North Chin Peninsula , Finnmark in Norway .

The North Cape ( 71 ° 10'21 ″ N ) on the Norwegian island of Magerøya and about 68 km to the west as the crow flies and was created for tourists, as the point on the high rock looks more spectacular and is cheaper to reach.

Knivskjellodden is 4.18 km further west of the North Cape and with a latitude of 71 ° 11'08 ″ north about 1,400 meters further north than this . The northernmost point of this island and therefore further north than the popular tourist destination. However, it is less spectacular than the North Cape because, in contrast to this, it only protrudes flat into the sea.

Southernmost point :

Punta de Tarifa ( 36 ° 0'24 ″ N ), Andalusia , Spain . A little to the south is the small island of Isla de Tarifa . Morocco is 14 km away via the Strait of Gibraltar , which separates Europe from Africa.

Westernmost point :

Cabo da Roca : ( 9 ° 30′2.9 ″ W ), Colares , Sintra , Portugal .

Easternmost point :
According to the preferred definition:

Taking account of the watershed of the Ural it is the cape front of the peninsula "Mys Ngartissalja" ( 68 ° 15'50 "East , Russian Мыс Нгартисаля ) on the Baidaratabucht ( Russian Байдарацкая губа ) 5 km northeast of the mouth of the Nenjujacha ( Russian Ненюяха ) in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug68.3145 68.2647

From a geopolitical point of view, it is the easternmost point of the Komi Republic on the border with the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug , Russia . It is located at 66 ° 14'36 "East on an unspectacular ridge on the watershed between the watercourses of the Malaya Shchuchya ( Russian Малая Щучья ) and the Ngodjacha ( Russian Нгодяха ) A marker made by Russian geographers was stolen. Only a pile of stones was stolen Point.67.734083 66.2434

Kinnarodden from the seaside
Globe on the North Cape
Marking on the Knivskjellodden
View of Tarifa from Cape Punta Tarifa
Before Tarifa: At the southernmost town in Europe; on the horizon: Morocco
Europe's westernmost point
Cabo da Roca / View of the Atlantic

Europe including islands

Northernmost point :

Cape Fligely ( 81 ° 50′35 ″ N , Russian Мыс Флигели ) on Rudolf Island ( Russian остров Рудольфа ), Franz Josef Land ( Russian Земля Франца-Иосифа ), Russia . The Franz Josef Land lies on the Eurasian Plate near the differently defined border between Europe and Asia .

If you do not count it to Europe, it is the northern tip of the island Røssøya ( 80 ° 49'4 "N ), Spitsbergen , Norway .

Southernmost point :

Cape Trypiti ( 34 ° 48′3 ″ N , Greek Ακροτίρι Τρυπητή ), Gavdos , Greece is the southernmost point of Greece and Europe.

Depending on the definition, there are also other applicants:

The island of Cyprus , although geographically impeccable Asia, has strong cultural ties to Europe and is also a member of the EU . The southernmost point is Cape Gata ( 34 ° 35'26 ″ N , Greek Κάβο Γάτα ) on the British military base Akrotiri .

Punta de los Saltos ( 27 ° 38'16 ″ N ) near La Restinga on the island of El Hierro , part of Africa , part of the Canary Islands is even more southern and belongs politically as the southernmost point of Spain to Europe, but not physiogeographically to the continent.

The political classification would still be worth considering the French overseas territories . They are part of the French national territory and therefore also members of the European Union.

Westernmost point :

Ilhéu do Monchique ( 31 ° 16′30 ″ W ), an imposing rock in front of the island of Flores , Azores , Portugal , if it is seen as a political part of Europe, because it is already on the North American plate .

If not, then it is Capelinhos volcano ( 28 ° 50′W ) on the western tip of Faial Island , Azores, Portugal, the westernmost point on the Eurasian Plate above sea level. The peninsula, which was created by a volcanic eruption in 1957, is slowly sinking back into the sea, so that Europe is getting smaller and smaller here.

Easternmost point :

Cape Flissingski ( 69 ° 5′21 ″ E , Russian Мыс Флиссингский ) on the North Island ( Russian Северный остров ), Novaya Zemlya ( Russian Но́вая Земля́ ), Russia.

In the far north: Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island
Rossøya 1898
Southernmost European point on the island of Gavdos
There is a military base at Cape Gata
Punta de los Saltos on El Hierro
Ilhéu do Monchique belongs to the Azores
The Capelinhos volcano as a western point
Easternmost end: Cape Flissingski (Novaya Zemlya)

Remarks

ups and downs

Highest point . The highest point depends on the definition of Europe:

The Caucasus divides Europe from Asia with its watershed. This is currently the most common definition for the limit. Thus is Elbrus ( , Russian Эльбрус , Karachay-Balkar Минги тау ), Kabardino-Balkaria , Russia with 5642 meters the highest mountain in Europe.43.355 42.439167

According to the conventional view, since Strahlberg's publication in 1730, the Kuma-Manytsch lowland is the border between Europe and Asia. According to this, the Elbrus lies in Asia and the Mont Blanc on the border between France and Italy is the highest European peak at 4810 m.46.37 42.72 45.832704 6.864797

Lowest point (of course, in the open air) : The Caspian Sea is 28 m below the level of the world's oceans.

The lowest point (of course, under water) : The Calypso depth ( , Greek Φρέαρ των Οινουσσών ) in Ionic pool m before the Greek west coast to a depth of 5267 under the sea level.36.566667 21.133333

Lowest point (of course, underground) . Depending on the definition of Europe it is either

the Voronja Cave ( , Georgian კრუბერის გამოქვაბული ), Abkhazia , Georgia with 2197 m below the surface (also the deepest cave in the world)43.409722 40.362222

or the Lamprechtsofen cave , Leoganger Steinberge , Salzburg , Austria: 1632 below the surface.47.526111 12.739167

Lowest point (artificial, under the open sky) : Hambach opencast mine , Düren district , Rhein-Erft district , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany with the greatest depth of 400 m, 299 m below sea level .50.910833 6.502778

The lowest point (artificial underground) : Kola bore ( Russian Кольская сверхглубокая скважина ) , Murmansk oblast , Federal District Northwestern Russia , Russia: 12,262 m below the surface. It is also the deepest man-made point in the world. This well is closed.69.396111 30.608611

Is Elbrus the highest European?
... or the Mont Blanc?
Mood at the Caspian Sea
Comparison of highs and lows
Lamprechtshöhle
Hambach opencast mine
Legacy of the Kola borehole

Other spectacular extremes

Waters

The Mardalsfossen , More og Romsdal , Norway is the highest waterfall in Europe. The complete fall height is 655 m, with 297 m free, vertical fall on the upper landing.62.474444 8.121667

The Sarpsfossen ( , "The swallowing fall") near Sarpsborg , Østfold in Norway overcomes just 23 m, but is the largest waterfall in Europe in terms of the maximum amount of water . With an annual average of 577 m³ / s it can reach a flow rate of up to 2000 m³ / s during floods.59.275833 11.130556

The Laksforsen (of the river Vefsna ("salmon fall")) in Nordland has a drop height of only 17 m, but the largest average water volume of around 700 m³ / s. In addition, the Laksforsen is considered more beautiful because it is not built in that way.

Ventas rumba ( old German name: "Windauer Rummel") in Kuldīga ( German Goldingen ), Latvia , is the widest waterfall in Europe at 240 meters . The height of fall is only 1.80 to 2.20 meters, depending on the water level. The Ventas rumba is almost twice as wide as the much better known Rhine Falls . Coincidentally, 300 m to the northwest in the Alekšupīte brook lies the highest waterfall in Latvia ( ) with a total height of 4.15 m and a width of 8 m. The brick bridge from the 19th century is 164 m long and is the longest brick bridge in Europe that can be driven on by car and is within sight of both waterfalls56.968194 21.979222 56.96986 21.9752

The Ladoga ( , Russian озеро Ладожское , Finnish Laatokka ), Northwestern Federal District , with 17,700 cubic kilometers of surface and 908 cubic kilometers of water volume of the largest lake in Europe. The sum of the land areas of its well over 500 islands alone exceeds the water area of Lake Constance with 687 km² .60.816111 31.528611

The Caspian Sea , an inland lake that borders on Europe, is larger, however.

The Kuibyshev reservoir ( Russian: Куйбышевское водохранилище ) on the Volga is the largest reservoir in Europe with around 6450 km² .55.271293 49.558868

The deepest lake in Europe is the Hornindalsvatnet in Sogn and Fjordane, Norway , at 514 meters . It is a separate part of the Nordfjord . The lake level is 53 meters above sea level, so the deepest point is 461 meters below sea level.61.912778 6.172222

The Lac d'Allos is the highest natural lake in Europe. It is located at an altitude of 2230 m above sea level in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , France.44.233333 6.708333

The longest river in Europe is the Volga . It is 3530 km from the source near the village of Volgowerchowje on the Valdai Heights to the estuary delta in the Caspian Sea near Astrakhan . The difference in altitude between the source and the mouth is 256 m. With an average discharge rate of 8064 m³ / s, it is also the most water-rich river in Europe.57.251306 32.468083

Northwest of Lake Balaton in Hungary is the Hévíz Lake ( , Hungarian Hévízi Tófürdő) , the 4.5 hectares of Europe 's largest natural thermal lake is.46.783333 17.183333

The water-richest source of Europe is the karst spring Vrelo Bune ( , German Bunaquelle ) in Bosnia and Herzegovina . The water gushes out from under a 200 m high cliff. Depending on the season and weather conditions, up to 123 m³ / s come out of the spring grotto.43.25721 17.903571

The Tara Gorge ( Тара , Serbian - Cyrillic ) in Montenegro has a length of 78 kilometers and a depth of over 1,300 meters. This makes it the longest and deepest gorge in Europe.43.330448 18.951453

The narrowest strait in the world, Euripos ( Greek Εύριπος , Évripos ) near Chalkida is only 40 meters wide. It separates the Greek island of Evia from the mainland and is connected by a bascule bridge.38.462696 23.589363

The shallowest sea on earth with a maximum depth of 14 m and average depth at 8 m is the Sea of Azov .

Mardalsfossen, Norway
Sarpsfossen, Norway
Laksforsen, Norway
Ventas rumba, Latvia - widest waterfall
Lake Ladoga in Karelia
Kuibyshev reservoir, the largest reservoir in Europe
Hornindalsvatn, Norway, deepest lake
Highest lake in Europe: Lac d'Allos
Volga spring, Valdai heights
Hévíz thermal lake, Hungary
The richest Buna spring in Blagaj , Herzegovina
Narrowest strait: Euripos Canal

traffic

The highest cable car continues through a tunnel and with a passenger elevator to the Klein Matterhorn , Switzerland ( 3883 m )45.938333 7.729722

The highest funicular is the " Metro Alpin " (highest underground railway in the world) on the " Mittelallalin " ( 3456 m ) on the north slope of the 4027 m high Allalinhorn , Switzerland.46.057672 7.904966

The highest cog railway is the " Jungfrau Railway " to the Jungfraujoch , Switzerland ( 3454 m )46.5485 7.983

The highest paved road leads to Pico del Veleta , Sierra Nevada (Spain) ( 3396 msnm )37.056028 -3.365689

The Ötztaler Gletscherstrasse , Tyrol , Austria (2830 meters) with the highest tunnel in Europe ( Rosi-Mittermaier-Tunnel , 1.729 km long, south portal: 2829 m above sea level )46.92375 10.945861

The Col de l'Iseran , Graian Alps , Savoy , France is the highest passable mountain pass in the Alps with a height of 2764 m .45.416944 7.030833

The Bernina Railway leads over the Bernina Pass , Switzerland 2253 m high.46.415178 10.010334

The deepest public tunnel is the Eiksund tunnel in Möre and Romsdal , Norway. At 287 m below sea level, it is currently the deepest road tunnel or underwater tunnel in the world. It is 7765 m from the east portal to the west portal . Deeper submarine tunnels are already under construction in Norway.62.215348 5.98732862.245243 5.895912

Rotterdam has the largest seaport in Europe, including Europoort . Almost 450 million tons of goods are handled annually.

London Heathrow Airport is Europe 's largest airport with 75.72 million passengers annually . In a first stage, the new Istanbul Airport ( Turkish İstanbul Yeni Havalimanı ) will have a capacity of 90 million passengers a year, later 200 million. In the first six months since the official opening, however, there were barely 100,000 passengers.51.4775 -0.461389
41.268032 28.735806

The largest train station in Europe is Munich Central Station with 34 tracks (including the underground) and over 450,000 travelers daily.

The Lærdals tunnel of the E 16 in the province of Sogn and Fjordane , Norway is the longest road tunnel in Europe and the world at 24.51 km .60.993763 7.422225

The Eurotunnel is a 50 km long railway tunnel between Folkestone in Kent (United Kingdom) and Coquelles near Calais (France). With a stretch of 37 km under the Dover Strait , it is the longest underwater tunnel in the world.

At 57 km, the Gotthard Base Tunnel is currently the longest railway tunnel in the world.

The Fjærland tunnel is the only tunnel in the world that runs under a glacier ( Bøyabreen ).61.495556 6.764444

Ponte Vasco da Gama ( Vasco da Gama Bridge), which spans the Tejo in Lisbon as a cable-stayed bridge, is the longest bridge in Europe at 17,185 m (without access roads: 12,345 m). Russia has been claiming the title for the Crimean Bridge since 2018 . It is a total of 19 km long, the two bridges over the water only measure 7.5 km together. It also connects the Asian part of Russia with the European Crimea (Ukraine).38.758987 -9.038713

In December 2012, on the Titlis , Central Switzerland at 3,041 m above sea level. M. the 98 m long and almost 1 m wide “Titlis Cliff Walk” opened. The “ highest suspension bridge in Europe” leads over a 500 m dropping slope.46.770695 8.426336

The Hardangerbrua ( , German Hardanger Bridge ) is 1310 m arch span, the longest suspension bridge in Europe. It spans the Hardangerfjord in western Norway. The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge , which connects Europe with Asia across the Bosporus, has a slightly larger span between the pillars (1408 m) . Storebæltsbroen has even more span (1,624 meters) across the Great Belt .60.479444 6.831389
41.202778 29.111389

The Mala Rijeka Viaduct over the Morača Gorge is a 498.8 m long bridge on the Belgrade – Bar railway line in Montenegro . At 198 m above the valley floor and 137.5 m high pillars, it is the highest railway bridge in Europe42.553113 19.387409

The world's longest cable-stayed bridge is the Millau Viaduct on the A75 Autoroute in southern France . With a pillar height of 343 m it is the highest bridge in Europe44.085113 3.021452

The highest lift bridge led over the Rethe in Hamburg . In 2017 it was replaced by the Rethe bascule bridge, which is now the largest of its kind in the world.

The narrowest street in Europe and the world can be found in Reutlingen . The Spreuerhofstraße is about 40 cm, at the narrowest point only 31 cm wide.

At just 2.06 meters, Ebenezer Place in Wick , Scotland , to which only the narrowest side of the Mackays Hotel building belongs, is the shortest street in the world. It has been in the Guinness Book of Records since 2006.58.441167 -3.094139

Thusnelda-Allee in Berlin-Moabit is 50 meters and is the shortest avenue in Europe. It connects the Alt-Moabit street with the Turmstrasse. The only building is the Heilandskirche .52.526118 13.339156

The Vatican State Railways operate the shortest railway network in Europe with 860 m of tracks 41.901014 12.451181

In the Latvian town of Kuldīga ( German Goldingen ), the longest brick bridge in Europe that is accessible by car from the 19th century with a length of 164 m leads over the Venta ( German Windau ). The widest waterfall in Europe ( Ventas rumba ) and the highest waterfall in Latvia are in the immediate vicinity .56.97007 21.97759

Cable car to the Klein Matterhorn
«Metro Alpin» on the «Mittelallalin»
«Jungfrau Railway» to the Jungfraujoch
Highest paved road to Pico del Veleta
Ötztaler Gletscherstrasse, to the Rettenbach Glacier
Highest pass road Col de l'Iseran
With the Bernina Railway over the pass
Opening ceremony of the Eiksund Tunnel at the Eiksund Bridge on February 23, 2008
Europoort is part of the largest seaport in Europe
Largest airport, Heathrow
Erdoğan's giant airport, Istanbul
Munich central station
Lærdalstunnelen - entrance to the longest road tunnel
Eurotunnel southern approach
Gotthard Base Tunnel Sedrun multifunctional station
Ponte Vasco da Gama, longest bridge in Europe
Hardanger Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in Europe
Mala Rijeka Viaduct, the highest railway bridge in Europe
Longest cable-stayed bridge in the world
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge
Titlis Cliff Walk, highest suspension bridge
Access to the Vatican train station
Hochmosel Bridge 2018
Kuldīgas tilts, the longest navigable brick bridge

landscape

The largest inland island in Europe is located in Lake Ladoga , Karelia, northwestern Russia: Valaam ( Russian Валаам , Finnish Valamo ). The main island measures 27.8 km².61.377646 30.948473

Probably the smallest offshore island rules Iceland: Kolbeinsøy . It is only a 0.009 hectare rock in the sea, but Iceland also defends it from the forces of nature to protect its territory , e.g. B. because of the fishing rights .

Cape Enniberg is the cape at the northernmost point of the Faroe Islands on the island of Viðoy , in Denmark. At 754 meters, it is the highest , almost vertical sea cliff in a place that politically belongs to Europe. Only the steep slope of the Hornelen mountain on the island of Bremangerlandet in Norway is even higher at 860 m.

The Trollveggen ( German Troll Wall ) at is Europe's highest steep face and rises about 1700 meters above the valley floor. The vertical part of the wall is up to 1000 m high and overhangs up to 50 meters.62.485876 7.717642

With its height of 380 meters and an incline of up to 68 °, the Bremmer Calmont is considered the steepest vineyard in Europe. In a sheltered location on a slate slope in Bremm on the Moselle , excellent Riesling thrives.50.105497 7.116476

The Dune du Pilat on the Atlantic coast near Arcachon (France) is the largest shifting dune in Europe. It is up to 110 meters high, 500 meters wide, about 2.7 kilometers long (and has an estimated volume of 60 million cubic meters)44.59 -1.211667

The Etna near Catania and Messina , Sicily m high (varies) around 3323 and in Europe the highest still active volcano .37.751111 14.995833

Valaam archipelago in Lake Ladoga
Kolbeinsøy: Smallest island in Iceland
Sea cliff at Cape Enniberg
Hornelen as the highest cliff
Trollberg, highest steep face
Bremm and the steepest vineyard Calmont
Largest dune in Europe
Highest volcano: Etna

Miscellaneous and curiosities

Bad Wildungen has an area of 50 hectares as the largest spa park in Europe.

The smallest city in Europe and the world: Hum in Croatia with 30 inhabitants (2011)

Europe's highest toilet is located at 4260 meters above sea level on Mont Blanc .

The tallest structure in Europe is the Ostankino television tower ( Russian Останкинская телебашня ) in Moscow . The viewing platform is at 340 m and is surpassed by that of Oko Tower 1 , also in Moscow, with 353.6 m.55.819722 37.611667 55.7498 37.53462

The longest building is the former KdF holiday complex Prora in Binz on Rügen . The "Colossus of Prora" originally consisted of eight identical blocks lined up over a length of 4.5 kilometers along the Prorer Wiek . After the war, five contiguous blocks remained over a length of about 2.5 kilometers.54.448347 13.571001

The longest block of flats is in Lutsk , Volyn , Ukraine . 3.265 km were built continuously. The building complex measures 1.75 km from the outermost points50.759334 25.368013

The largest stadium in Europe is the Camp Nou in Barcelona , Spain. It has space for almost 100,000 spectators and is to be enlarged.41.380922 2.122811

The tallest church tower in the world adorns the Ulm Minster at 161.53 meters .

The smallest state in Europe is the Vatican (0.44 km², approx. 1000 inhabitants). The largest state that is completely in Europe is the Ukraine (603,700 km²). The European part of Russia (3,952,550 km²), which only makes up 23 percent of the land area but houses around 75 percent of the population, is larger, however.

The world's largest building (usable area) is the “ Palace of the People ” , which the Romanian dictator Ceausescu had built in Bucharest . More than 6000 lavishly to ostentatiously furnished rooms are spread over 360,000 square meters.44.427573 26.087334

The deepest amusement park in the world can be found in the Turda Salt Mine in Turda ( German Thorenburg ), Transylvania , Romania - 120 meters underground.46.587702 23.787251

The penal institutions Silivri ( Turkish: Silivri Ceza İnfaz Kurumları ) are by far the largest prison in Europe with over 11,000 places . She also became known for having many prominent inmates. There are currently plans to build another 100,000 places in prisons with up to 20,000 places. For comparison: In Germany the largest prisons are the JVA Bielefeld-Senne with 1,676 inmates and the JVA Munich (“Stadelheim”) with up to 2,100 inmates.41.090287 28.152751

With an average of 30 meters, the Netherlands is the deepest place to live in Europe.

Norway has the longest coastline in Europe with 25,148 km

The most dangerous island in Germany is Riems , and is located in the Greifswalder Bodden. In the oldest virological research facility in the world, dangerous pathogens ( viruses and bacteria ) are grown. The island is completely closed to the public.54.1837 13.3627

The year-round inhabited permanent settlement Juf , a fraction of the Swiss valley community of Avers in the canton of Graubünden, is located at 2126 m above sea level. M. and thus above the tree line. Juf is considered to be the highest permanent settlement in Europe that is inhabited all year round . If, according to the geographical definition, the main Caucasus ridge is seen as the border between Europe and Asia, Kurush in Dagestan is considered the highest village in Europe. It is at 2560 m above sea level. M. and is also the southernmost populated place in Russia.46.44556 9.57981 41.2822 47.8335

At the lowest continental point in a European residential area with 7.1 the monument "De Plek Vergeten" m below sea level is (the forgotten place) in the municipality Waddinxveen / South Holland . It marks the lowest polder water table in the Netherlands.52.034602 4.633194

The most complicated border between two countries can be seen in Baarle-Nassau / Baarle-Hertog . Parts of Belgium lie in the Netherlands and fragment the place. But you don't see any fixed borders. The border line is so complicated that the state border also leads through a few houses. There was a time when, according to Dutch law, restaurants had to close earlier than the Belgian ones. For some restaurants on the border, this meant that the customers only had to change tables and the celebration could go on.Netherlands Belgium 51.441667 4.931944

The world's smallest island (22,566 ha) with a state border is located in the Baltic Sea and is called Märket .FinlandSweden

The only European place with an exclamation mark in the place name is the seaside resort “ Westward Ho! “On the Devon Coast / South West England.

Å has one of the shortest place names in Europe in Lofoten. However, it is not just the shortest place name in the world. There are other places called Å in Denmark and Sweden. Denmark has another one-letter place name, Ø ("island"). In France, you find the place Y .67.8806 12.982549.8033 2.99195

The longest place name is found in Wales. The village is called "Mary's Church in a hollow of white hazel near the rapid vertebra and Thysiliokirche in the red cave" or simply Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch , AngleseyAnglesey 53.2234 -4.1999