Caucasus and Eastern Europe Russia

Key Terms Due Thursday at beginning of class RUSSIA – CHAPTER 16 Cyrillic czar Bolsheviks gulags

Physical Geography Eurasia is the large landmass consisting of Europe and Asia Ural Mountains allows you to stand in two continents at once and is the dividing line between Europe and Asia. Russia is the largest country in the world and takes up the largest chunk of Eurasia. The Northern European Plains stretches across European Russia. The Northern European Plains makes up the fertile ground that is Russia’s heartland. This is where most Russians live. The Bering Sea separates the U.S. from the western most point of Russia or the Kamchatka Peninsula. Ural Mountains

Physical Geography The Arctic Ocean borders Russia to the north and the Pacific Ocean borders Russia to the east. The Volga River is the longest river in Europe and one of the most important rivers in Russia. The Volga forms the core of Russia’s river network. The world’s deepest lake lies in the Siberian Region and is called Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal is also known as the Jewel of Siberia. The lake is so deep that it could hold all the water in the five Great Lakes. Lake Baikal

Physical Geography Both the Black and Caspian Sea border Russia and the Caucasus countries. The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland sea. The Black Sea connects to the Mediterranean Sea and is important for trade. Siberia lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Ural Mountains. It consists of the West Siberian Plain, Central Siberian Plateau, and Eastern Siberia. Eastern Siberia is also known as Russia Far East. The taiga is a vast forest of evergreen trees that covers half of Russia. The Steppe is Russia’s most important farming areas because of its rich, black soil and warmer climate. It lies just south of the taiga. Taiga Woods

Natural Resources Russia has short summers and long, snowy winters. The Northern European Plain and the Steppe provide the fertile soil for farming. Taiga provides wood for building and paper products. Metals such as gold, copper, along with precious gems such as diamonds are some of the natural resources found in Russia. Pictures of Russia