Chapter 15 A Land of Extremes

One of the world’s most fertile soils, chernozem/black earth, is abundant on the Northern European Plain. Nearly 75% of the region’s 290 million people live on this plain.

The Ural Mountains are responsible for separating the Northern European and West Siberian plains. They pretty much divide Europe from Asia. (Eurasia)

The largest lakes in the region are the Caspian and Aral Sea. Lake Baikal is unique because it is the world’s deepest lake and holds 20 percent of the world’s fresh water.

Coal, iron ore, natural gas and timber are resources found throughout Russia. Because many resources are located in climatically severe areas of Siberia it is hard to transport these materials from one place to the next.

Because Russia is so large the climate varies from place to place Because Russia is so large the climate varies from place to place. Much of the region is hundreds of miles from seas. This leads to continentality, which causes low precipitation and extreme temperatures.

Due to the weather being so cold, many Siberians use frozen rivers and lakes as roads for part of the year.

The largest forest on earth is the taiga The largest forest on earth is the taiga. The taiga contains coniferous tress for the most part. Animals such as fox, elk, bear and wolves make their homes in this region.

The Aral Sea The Aral Sea has lost about 80 percent of its water since 1960 because officials have diverted water from the two major rivers that feed the Aral Sea. Pollution from pesticides and fertilizers have killed many fish and caused health problems for many residents in the area.

Trans-Siberian Railroad The rails had to be laid across thousands of miles of a bitter cold, undeveloped region. It was built to speed up travel and populate the region so that its resources could be developed. Millions of settlers came and resources such as coal and iron ore were extracted.

The distance covered was more than 5,700 miles and the tracks crossed seven different time zones. It took 70,000 workers to construct the railroad system.