1. The Geography of Russia and Central Asia
By Eleanor Joyce
City of Salem Schools

2. taiga
Taiga refers to a nearly continuous belt of evergreen coniferous forests across the Northern Hemisphere, including Russia. This is the largest forest in the world.
WildLife photography in Siberia and Central Asia by Oleg Kosterin used with permission

3. steppe
Steppe is the term used for the temperate grassland regions in the Northern Hemisphere.
WildLife photography in Siberia and Central Asia by Oleg Kosterin used with permission
pisum.bionet.nsc.ru/kosterin/landscap/ altai/chuiskaya2.htm

4. chernozem
Chernozem is black topsoil, one of the world’s most fertile soils.
Chernozem is found in the north European plain in Ukraine and Russia.
Used with permission

5. tundra
Tundra is the term for the flat, treeless lands forming a ring around the Arctic Ocean. In the tundra, the climate is extremely cold.
Used with permission. Photo is the property of Lyn Gualtieri, University of Washington
Permission requested

6. permafrost
Permafrost is permanently frozen soil found where the ground temperature remains below 0°C. It exists where summer heating fails to reach the base of the layer of frozen ground.
No copyright

7. permafrost or permanently frozen ground
This NASA image of the Northern Hemisphere shows the areas of permafrost — the tundra regions of Asia, Europe, and North America.

8. http://henkbinnendijk. tripod
Used with permission
Buildings built on permafrost may collapse when the heat generated by the building thaws the ground. The photo above is an example of what can happen to a building built on ground that is permanently frozen. Houses in Siberia are often built on stilts so this will not happen.

9. The Aral Sea is becoming a desert because water is being diverted from rivers that feed it. The diverted water is being used to irrigate the cotton fields in Uzbekistan.
The wind blows the sand, which is contaminated with fertilizers and pesticides, into the nearby villages, where it causes serious illnesses.
The Sea is so polluted from run-off that the fish have died.

10. - located between Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan
The Aral Sea is :
- located between Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan
- shrinking quickly - due to irrigation for cotton farming in Central Asia and is heavily polluted due to agricultural run off
Aral Sea

11. irrigation
To irrigate is to supply (dry land) with water by means of ditches, pipes, or tubes.
No copyright

12. divert (To divert is to turn aside from a course or direction.)
Water is diverted from streams to irrigation canals in order to irrigate the cotton fields in the Aral Sea drainage basin.
Irrigation Channel
Used with permission

13. Other factors that influence the geography of Russia and Central Asia
Many rivers flow northward into the Arctic Ocean. They are frozen most of the year.
Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. It contains 20 percent of the Earth’s fresh water supply.
St. Petersburg is the “window to the West” and gives the Russians a port on the Baltic Sea.