[1] The climate is generally hot in summer and cold in winter, with less variation of temperature in the west, where the Atlantic has a moderating influence.

The lands is generally flat in the north and hillier further south, apart from the wide floodplains of the Danube and Po rivers.

The region was covered by wetlands and deciduous beech forests after the glaciers of the last ice age retreated.

The forests have mostly been cleared to make way for farming and the rivers have been canalized, greatly reducing wetland habitats.

Pomerania in Poland and eastern Germany is still thinly populated and holds many lakes, fens and mires.