The Continental Region covers over a quarter of the European Union and extends in a broad band from west to east, starting in central France and continuing to the eastern edge of Poland in the north and Romania in the south. Outside the EU it stretches to the Ural mountains, on the border with Asia. In the south, the region is almost split in two by the high mountain ranges of the Alpine zone and the steppic plains of the Pannonian Region. Parts of the Adriatic and Baltic coastlines are also included.

The landscape of the Continental Region is generally flat in the north and hillier in the south, with the exception of the extensive floodplains in the Po and Danube basins. The Great North European Plain covers much of northern Germany, Denmark, Poland and Russia. Formed by advancing and retreating glaciers, this vast area was once covered in lowland deciduous beech forests, interspersed with extensive floodplains, marshland and bogs. However, much of this forest has since been cleared for fuel and timber and replaced by large scale agricultural production. 

Some of Europe’s most important rivers flow through the Continental Region like the Danube, Loire, Rhine, Po, Elbe, Oder, Vistula. These rivers have played a major economic role over the years connecting the north and the south through internal waterways. As a result, most have been canalised and regulated, leading to a dramatic loss of extensive areas of floodplain habitats and species.

Despite these transformations, the Continental Region is still relatively rich in biodiversity. Being at the crossroads between so many different biogeographical zones, it shares many species with other regions.