Geology of Europe

There may actually be a lot to be said for such a project. I have a geology degree, yet know almost nothing about European geology. Hence, I may be able to look it over without biases and summarize the "big picture" without getting tangled up in details or even disputes that I am blissfully unaware of.

Some questions that I am curious about up front are:

• Why are there active volcanoes in Italy?
• Are the shield rocks in Scandinavia identical to those in Canada?
• Is Scandinavia entirely underlain by precambrian rocks?
• How were the Alps formed?

I am not going to fret over a definition of "Europe". Everything west of the Ural Mountains is a good enough definition for my purposes, and I am even curious about the Ural Mountains themselves.

• Interesting quotes
• Words (sort of a glossary)
• Geosynclines