1. Russia & the Eurasian Republics:
Physical Geography

2. North European Plain
Center of economic life for almost 3/4 of the people of Russia & the EAR
Chernozem = rich black topsoil
Makes Ukraine one of Europe’s best farming areas
Cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Kiev
Rivers: Volga, Dniester, Dnieper, and the Don

3. Chernozem

4. West Siberian Plain East of the Ural Mts. World’s largest area of
flat land (1 million square
miles)
Swamps, marshes, and
frozen land
Unsuitable for farming

5. Turan Lowland Dune covered kums (deserts) Kyzylkum = red sand desert
Uzbekistan
Kara kum = black sand desert
Turkmenistan

6. Mountains Carpathian Mts. Border Ukraine Extension of the Alps
Caucasus Mts.
Mt. Elbrus (18,510 ft)
Pamir Mts.
Communism Peak is Region’s highest elevation (24,590 feet)
Tian Shan
“heavenly mountains”
World’s largest glaciers
Ural Mts.
Rich in minerals
Divide European Russia & Siberia
eroded
Mt. Elbrus
Communism Peak

7. Tian Shan

9. Seas Ice-covered seas in the north: Sea of Okhotsk & Bering Sea
White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi
Sea of Okhotsk & Bering Sea
Border northeast Russia
Black Sea
warm
Caspian Sea
largest inland body of water in the world
saltwater
Aral Sea
shrinking

10. The Shrinking Aral Sea

11. Lake Baikal Siberia Oldest and deepest 1/5 of earth’s total
freshwater supply
“glorious and sacred sea”

12. Major Rivers Ural Dnieper, Dniester, Don Volga “mother Volga”
Longest river in European Russia
Frozen months a year
Hydroelectric power, water for industries and irrigation, and major highway for trade and communications.