Transcript Chapter 15: Physical Geography of Russia and the Republics

Chapter 15: Physical Geography
of Russia and the Republics
Section 1: Landforms and Resources
Russia by the Numbers
 3 times as big as the United States.
 Both Europe and Asia.
 11 times zones.
 About 300 million people in the entire region.
 1/6 of the Earth.**
 8.5 Million square Miles.**
 Easily divided into 4 main regions.**
Northern European Plain
 Extensive lowland plain stretching for 1000 miles.
 Chernozem: “black earth” – most of the regions
agriculture is farmed here. Some of the best in the
world.
 75% of the people of the region live on the plain.
 Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev located here.
West Siberian Plain
 Ural Mountains: separates the NEP and the WSP.
 Urals are considered the dividing line between Europe
and Asia.
 Eurasia: Single supercontinent of Europe and Asia.
 The plain tilts northward so rivers flow towards the
Arctic.
Last Two…
Central Siberian
plateau
 Middle- Eastern part of
Country.
 High Plateaus
 Average height of 1000 to
2000 feet.
 Between the Yenisey and
Lena Rivers
Russian Far East
 East of Lena River.
 Complex system of volcanic
ranges.
 Kamchatka Peninsula.
 Sakhalin and Suril Islands.
Geographic Regions of Russia
Mountains & Landforms
 The Caucasus – stretch across the land separating the Black
and Caspian Seas.
 Transcaucasia – region consisting of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Georgia.
 Tian Shan – colossal wall of Mountains between China and
Kyrgyzstan.
 Central Asia – region of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
 Turan Plain – lowland between Caspian Sea and mountains of
Central Asia. Home to the Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum deserts.
Rivers & Lakes
 Ob, Yenisey, and Lena Rivers flow into Artic Basin.
 Volga River drains into Caspian Sea Basin.
 Caspian Sea and Aral Sea are actually saltwater lakes.
 Aral Sea is losing volume due to irrigation practices.
 Lake Baikal – deepest lake in the world.
Resources
 Coal, Iron Ore, and other minerals are abundant.
 Oil and natural gas.
 Petroleum deposits.
 Timber – 1/5 of the world’s supply.
 Climate, terrain, and distance make it impossible to
spread these equally.
 Siberia – severe area of Russia that lies solely on Asia.
 Substantial environmental damage.
Chapter 15: Physical Geography
of Russia & the Republics
Section 2: Climate and Vegetation
Climates/Vegetation of
Russia/Republics
Major climate regions
 Humid continental and subarctic dominate.
 Continentality: a region’s distance from the moderating
influences of the sea.
 Distance from the sea results in extreme temperatures.
 Permafrost over much of region.
 Mountains in the south block air from Pacific and Indian
Oceans.
 Semiarid and desert regions in central Asia.
 Transcaucasia humid subtropical.
Driving on Ice!
Vegetation Regions
Tundra
 Small Shrubs able to
survive.
Forest
 Taiga – largest tree forest
on Earth.
 Coniferous trees
 Fur bearing animals.
Vegetation Region
Steppe
Desert
 Southern Ukraine through
northern Kazakhstan.
 Wide plains in west and
central Asia.
 Chernozem located here.
 Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum.
Chapter 15: Physical Geography
of Russia & the Republics
Section 3: HEI
The Aral Sea
 Between 1960 and today Aral Sea has lost 80% of its
water.
 Rivers draining into sea used for irrigation.
 Sea evaporates more quickly.
 Runoff: rainfall not absorbed by the soil that flows into
rivers.
 Pollution has caused certain diseases to spread.
 Pretty much going to be impossible to save the Aral.
The Aral Sea
The Russian Winter
 32 million people live in Siberia.
 Its COLD. It cold to do stuff.
 Construction is hard.
 Napoleon
The “Wild East”
 Trans-Siberian Railroad: railroad linking Moscow to
Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
 5,700 miles. Seven time zones. 70,000 workers. 11
years. 7 river bridges.
 Why was it important to build this besides travel?