RUSSIA & THE REPUBLICS

“A land of extremes”

--Russia is approximately 3 times the landmass of the United States, and sprawls across two continents Russia & Asia

--crosses 11 times zones

MAJOR LANDFORMS

1. Northern European Plain

--75% of the countries population resides here

--Chernozem- called “black earth” is a dark soil that is one of the most fertile in world.

--Ukraine is called regions “Breadbasket”

--3 of the regions largest cities are located here Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev

2. Ural Mountains

--dividing line between Europe & Asia.

--Eurasia: the combined continent of Europe & Asia

Ural Mountains from airplane

3. Caucasus Mountains

--separates the Black & Caspian Sea

--border between Russia and Transcaucasia (region that consists of the republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.

4. Volga River

--longest river on the European continent.

--flows south from Moscow and drains into Caspian Sea

--carries 60% of Russia’s river traffic

5. Lake Baikal

--deepest lake in the world

--holds 20% of the world’s freshwater

--has world’s only freshwater seal

6. Caspian Sea

--saltwater lake

--largest inland sea

7. Aral Sea

--saltwater lake

--Since 1960’s has lost 80% of it’s volume.

--could vanish in 20-30 years

Climate & Vegetation of Russia

….remember climate is determined by latitude. What else determines Russia’s climate?

--Also the mountains in the southeast portion of Russia

--Russia’s enormous size.

--continentality: the effect of distance on climate.

•Siberia has the longest stretch of cold weather.

•The rivers and roads of Siberia are permanently frozen. Also known as

Permafrost

--Russia has a large subartic climate.

--There are huge temperature variations.