1. Physical Geography of Russia & the Republics: A Land of Extremes
Chapter 15 Notes
Physical Geography of Russia & the Republics: A Land of Extremes

2. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
Region is 3x’s the size of U.S.
Crosses 11 time zones & 2 continents
1/6 of all land area

3. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
Northern European plain
Contains 75% of regions population
Moscow
St. Petersburg
Kiev
Chernozem- black earth

4. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
Ural Mts.- dividing line between Europe & Asia
Eurasia- name given for the single landmass of Europe & Asia

5. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
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Transcaucasia- region that consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, & Georgia
Transcaucasia
Central Asia

6. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
Lake Baikal-
Deepest lake in the world
Holds 20% of worlds freshwater supplies

7. Section 1- Landforms & Resources
Siberia- the part of Russia that lies on the continent of Asia
Very inaccessible
1/5 of world’s timber resources
Very cold winters

8. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation
Continentality- the effects of being so far away from large bodies of water
Hotter summers
& colder winters
Kansas?

9. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation
Taiga- largest forest on earth

10. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation
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Reindeer

11. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
Aral Sea- once 4th largest freshwater lake in world
Water from its 2 main rivers has been diverted to cotton fields
No native fish left of 24 species

12. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
Runoff- rainfall not absorbed by the soil that runs into streams & rivers
This has severely damaged the Aral Sea

13. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
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Some areas of Siberia get to -95° F in the winter
Cracks steel
Tires Explode
“Whispering of the Stars”
When you exhale, your breath freezes into crystals that fall to the ground & make a noise

14. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
Don’t Write
Warm weather melts the ice & snow causing flooding
Brings enormous clouds of insects
Permafrost in the region also means buildings have to be built up off of the ground

15. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
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Russian winters stopped Napoleon & Hitler
Napoleon left Russia with 100,000 troops at the beginning of winter, by the time he got back to France he had lost 90,000 troops

16. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction
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Trans-Siberian Railroad- links Moscow and Vladivostok
5700 miles long
Crosses 7 time zones