1. Physical Geography
Eastern European Geography

2. The Big Picture

3. Regions
Europe
Eurasia

4. So how do WE define these regions?
Cold
War

5. But what about the regions?
Q: If you were living in “Eastern Europe,” would you rather be identified as living in “Europe” or “Eurasia?”
Whose job is it do decide?
And what does this label imply?

6. Implications? Stereotypes?
Europe vs. Eurasia
What about just within Europe:
N vs. S vs. E vs. W?
Northern Europe:
Southern Europe:
Eastern Europe:
Western Europe:

7. Western
Northern
Southern
Eastern

8. So, if you’re not in Western Europe, but you don’t want to be part of Eastern Europe, then what?
Central Europe!

9. ?
Eastern Europe
Northern Europe
Central Europe
Southeastern Europe

10. Central Europe: Never officially part of USSR
Austria, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland
Mediterranean (Southeastern) Europe:
Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Turkey
Eastern Europe and Eurasia: Formerly part of USSR
USSR: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Former “SSR’s” include:
- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan

11. Russian “Heartland” European Russia Southern Russia
Central Russia (Siberia)
Belarus
Ukraine
Moldova

12. Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia… Yet, not connected “exclave”
Former resort for czars and other elites

13. Caucasus and Central Asia
Transcaucasia:
- Georgia
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
Central Asia:
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Uzbekistan
- Turkmenistan
- Tajikistan

14. Transcaucasia
Georgia
Armenia
Azerbaijan

15. The Baltic States Baltic Sea Estonia Latvia Lithuania Central?
Eastern?

16. Mediterranean Europe (Southeastern Europe)
Greece
Cyprus
Turkey

17. Caucasus Mountains

19. Major Rivers • Moscow Volga River - Longest river in Europe (2,300 mi)
- Begins near Moscow
- Empties into the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea

20. River Don Second longest river in Russia 1,200 mi Almost meets Volga
Ends in Sea of Azov (by Black Sea)

21. Dnieper River Heart of Ukraine
Major industrial cities along Dnieper (Kiev, Chernobyl, Dnipropetrovsk others)
Empties into Black Sea

22. Vistula (Wisla) Longest River in Poland (675 mi)
Cuts through major Polish cities (Krakow, Warsaw)
Huge industrial usage
Ends near port city of Gdansk

23. Oder River “Oder-Neisse” line Forms border between Germany and Poland
Starts in Czech
Flows north to Baltic Sea
Oder River
“Oder-Neisse” line

24. Danube (Duna, Donau) 1,800 miles long (#2)
Flows through many major Eastern European cities
Begins in Alps
Drains into Black Sea

25. Sava Connects much of former Yugoslavia ~600 miles in length
Begins in foothills of Alps in Slovenia
Flows into Danube at Belgrade, Serbia
Forms border between Bosnia and Serbia

26. Lake Baikal
Worlds oldest and deepest lake at 30 million years old with an average depth of 2,440 feet.
Most voluminous freshwater lake in the world. 20% of world’s surface fresh water that is unfrozen.

27. Climate Types Tropical Savannah Humid Subtropical Mediterranean Marine
Humid Continental
Steppe
Desert
Taiga
Tundra
Alpine
Polar / Arctic

28. Climate
Humid Continental
Marine West Coast
Steppe
Mediterranean.

29. Population Density

30. Steppe Grasslands or mixed “Breadbasket” (like Kansas, Iowa)
Rich black earth good for farming: fertile soils!
Drought-vulnerable
Ukraine / S. Russia, SW Siberia, N. Kazakhstan

31. Russia

32. Semi-arid / Desert S. Kazakhstan, rest of Central Asia
Less fertile, poor soils
Less rainfall
But fertile river valleys, oases, mountain flanks
Like Southern Utah

33. Taiga Deforestation Northern Russia / Siberia
Poor farming soils, short seasons, scrubby trees
Conifers (pines)
Half of former USSR (all in Russia)
Deforestation

34. Tundra (treeless) zone
Permafrost
(frozen subsoil)
Indigenous herders

35. Polar
(Arctic)

36. Highland Regions In the high mountains (Caucasus)
Heavy precipitation (snowfall)
Above treeline (little O2)
Similar to Tundra or Polar climate

37.  Why Russia is cold Northern location (Moscow N of Edmonton)
Oceans far away (“continentality”)
Low relief: open to Arctic cold winds
Ranges block any warm air that could get through 

38. • Mpls Sound familiar Northern location
Oceans far away (“continentality”)
Low relief: open to Arctic cold winds
Ranges block any warm air that could get through
Mpls •

39. Russia

40. Russia

41. Less productive toward the East
Russia
Less productive toward the East

42. more densely populated
85% of Soviet
population lived on
25% of land
POPULATION
Agricultural lands
more densely populated
( >10 persons km2 )
LAND

43. Russia