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Regions and Landscapes Information Russia’s Land Size HUGE • ~5000 miles across • 6.5 million miles2 (U.S. = 3.6) – 1/9 Earth’s land • 10 time zones • 150 million people (U.S. = 300 million) • Only 50 miles from U.S. Regional Landforms • Plains are dominant – Northern European Plain • Eastern Europe and western Russia • Large farming area; fertile soil, 75% of region’s population – Western Siberian Lowland (Plain) = marshes, wet – Central Siberian Plateau = mineral deposits – Steppe plains and deserts in Central Asia – Below sea level around Caspian Sea • Mountains: divide and border the region – Ural Mountains divide Europe and Asia – Caucasus Mountains are very rugged; isolate people – Central Asian mountains (Tian Shan and Paimirs) are pretty rugged as well – Pacific coast = lots of large mountains • Rivers – Volga: 2,293 miles = Europe’s longest – Most Russian rivers run S N • Problem: mouths frozen most of the year – Creates floods as water backs up – Use icebreakers to free up channels • Only western ice-free Russian ports are St. Petersburg, Murmansk and the little part between Poland and Lithuania (Kaliningrad) – Central Asia’s rivers flow from mountains to interior • Into the Caspian and Aral Seas • Bering Strait – About 58 miles across – Freezes in winter US Coast Guard icebreaker Russian icebreaker Regional Climates • Weather similar to Canada and Alaska – Summers can be mild – Winters = long, cold • Shorter days the further north you are – Siberia is harshest • - 40° F; Winter = habitation fogs (pollution) • Subarctic and Tundra in northern Siberia – Permafrost (up to 300 feet deep) • • • • Humid continental in European part (NYC, Chicago) Steppe along Russia’s southern border Steppe and desert in Central Asia Mediterranean / Highland in Caucasus