1. Physical geography of russia
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2. FEATURES OF RUSSIA 3 times size of u.s. 11 time zones
Nearly 1/6 of earth’s land surface
8.5 million square miles

3. Northern russia physical geography
Northern 2/3 of region broken into 4 distinct regions
Northern european plain
West Siberian plain
Central Siberian plateau
Russian far east

4. Northern European plain
1,000 miles of lowland
Western border of russia to the Ural mountains
Chernozem – black earth; most fertile soils
Many agricultural regions here
75% of population here
3 largest cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, kiev

5. West Siberian plain
Ural Mountains separate Northern European & west Siberian plains
Eurasia – single continent of europe & asia
Ural mtns divide the two
Lies between Ural and yenisey river & between shores of Arctic Ocean and foothills of altay mountains
Rivers flow north to Arctic Ocean
Plain tilts northward

6. Central Siberian plateau and Russian far east
Plains, uplands & mountains
High plateaus make up central Siberian plateau
Lies between yenisey & Lena rivers
Russian Far East = volcanic ranges

7. Southern russia geography
Mountains, barren uplands & Semiarid grasslands

8. Mountains Caucasus mountains – separate black & Caspian seas
Form border between russia & Transcaucasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, georgia)
Mountains form southeastern border of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)
High mountains prevent moist air from entering the region from south

9. Turan plain Extensive lowland
Lies between Caspian Sea & mountains of Central Asia
Two major rivers cross here, but is very dry
Two large deserts located here

10. Rivers
Major drainage basins – Arctic Ocean, Caspian Sea, Pacific Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, aral sea
Arctic basin = largest = Ob, yenisey & Lena rivers
Caspian basin – Volga river = longest river on continent
Begins near Moscow, flows 2,300 miles to Caspian
Carries about 60% of Russia’s river traffic

11. Lakes Caspian & Aral Sea – two of the largest lakes in world
Caspian Sea = 750 miles long, saltwater
Aral sea – east of Caspian, saltwater
Since 1960s, lost 87% of water volume due to irrigation projects diverting water away from rivers that feed lake
Lake baikal – deepest lake in world, 400 miles long, 20% of worlds freshwater

12. Natural resources

13. Natural resources Challenges
How to manage them
How to transport them from harsh, distant regions
How to use them without damaging environment
Huge reserves of coal, iron ore, other metals, oil, natural gas, petroleum (Caspian sea)
1/5 worlds timber
Powerful rivers = hydroelectric energy

14. Resource management
Harsh climate, rugged terrain, vast distances = difficult to remove resources from ground & transport them
Many resources located in Siberia – frigid, arctic subregion
Difficult to attract workers to region
Political & economic changes

15. Climate
Humid continental & subarctic climates = north & eastern areas of region
Semiarid & desert = central asia
Subtropical, moist Mediterranean air = Transcaucasia
High latitudes & wall of mountains in southeast
Vast size = much of region inland, no moderating influence of sea
Continentality – effect of distance on climates
Inland = less rain & extreme temperatures

16. Vegetation 4 major vegetation regions running east to west
Tundra = arctic; mosses, lichens, small herbs, low shrubs
Forest = Taiga = largest forest on earth with coniferous trees, foxes, elk, bear, wolves
Steppe = temperate grassland extending from southern Ukraine through northern Kazakhstan; chernozem grows grain
Desert = west & central areas of Central Asia