Physical Characteristics of Russia and Central Asia Francisci WG.4

Russia: The Facts Largest nation in the world (2x size of U.S.) Russia is larger than Pluto 25% of Russia is located in Europe and 75% is located in Asia (Eurasia) 77% of Russia is located in Siberia Russia covers 11 different time zones (9 hours from east to west)

The Climate Climate in Russia and Central Asia varies greatly due to the mountain ranges, oceans and the enormous size of the area. Earth’s coldest temperature was recorded in Russia (-90⁰F). Climate regions include: – Tundra: treeless Arctic region with permafrost (frozen soil); extreme northern regions. – Taiga: Frozen forest of coniferous trees – mostly in Siberia. – Steppe: Semi-arid and found in Central Asia.

Mountain Areas The Ural Mountains are sometimes referred to as the boundary between Europe and Asia. The mountains act as a natural barrier to stop the wind from the Atlantic Ocean from going eastward. The area west of the Ural Mountains has rich soil called chernozem: very black and rich soil filled with nutrients that is good for agricultural crops. Because of this black soil, this region is commonly referred to as the black earth belt.

Sleeping Land Siberia: A vast Russian province encompassing most of Northern Russia found east of the Ural Mountains. Siberia is cold and dry because of the Ural Mountains blocking the moisture on one side. Siberia extends from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in the east. This region is rich in natural gas, mineral resources and oil.

Lakes and Rivers Lake Baikal in Southern Siberia is the world’s deepest freshwater lake. – Contains as much water as all of the Great Lakes combined. Many of the rivers in this region flow northward and empty into the Arctic Ocean. – Example: Ob River