Europe, satellite image. North is at top. Green area are vegetated. Yellow areas are desert. White areas are ice. The British Isles are in the west. To the northwest of Britain is Iceland and the Greenland ice cap (white). Northeast of Britain across the North Sea is Scandinavia and east of Scandinavia is Asia. Southeast of Britain is mainland Europe. The Mediterranean Sea divides Europe from Africa to the south. North Africa is dominated by the Sahara Desert. The west coast of Europe and the British Isles is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean.