unit 5: russia and the republics physical geography

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Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

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Page 1: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Unit 5: Russia and the Republics

Physical Geography

Page 2: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Landforms and Resources

Page 3: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Northern Landforms• This region can be broken down into 4 areas:– Northern European Plain– West Siberian Plain– Central Siberian Plateau– Russian Far East

Page 4: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Northern Landforms• Northern European Plain

– Lowland area– 1,000 miles from western

border to Ural Mountains– Chernozem-“black earth”,

very fertile soil– Lots of agriculture in this

area– 290 million people inhabit

this land– Big Cities: Moscow, St.

Petersburg, Kiev (Ukraine)

Page 5: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography
Page 6: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Northern Landforms

• West Siberian Plain– Ural Mountains

and Yenisey River– Because this area

is tilted northward, rivers flow toward Arctic Ocean

• Eurasia??

Page 7: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Northern Landforms

• Central Siberian Plateau and Russian Far East– Central Siberian:• Plateaus: 1,000-2,000

feet are common• Yenisey and Lena Rivers

– Russian Far East• Volcanic ranges• Kamchatka Peninsula

(120 volcanoes, 20 actives)• Sakhalin and Kuril islands

Page 8: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Southern Landforms

• Caucasus and Other Mountains– Black and Caspian seas– Border between Russia and

Transcaucasia• Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

– Tian Shan is part of a huge mountainous region farther east

– Central Asia-Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan• Ranges in this area are so high,

stops moist air from reaching the areas beyond the mountains

Page 9: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Southern Landforms

• Turan Plain– lowland– Caspian Sea to mountains

and uplands of Central Asia– Syr Darya and Amu Darya are

the 2 major rivers of the area– Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum

plains

Page 10: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Rivers and Lakes

• Drainage Basins and Rivers– Drainage Basins-area drained by a major river and

tributaries• Arctic Ocean, Caspian Sea, Pacific Ocean, Baltic Sea,

Black Sea, Aral Sea basins

– Arctic basin is the larges• Rivers: Ob, Yenisey, Lena drain 3 million sq. mi.

Page 11: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Rivers and Lakes

• Lakes– Caspian and Aral Seas

• Both are saltwater lakes• Caspian is largest inland sea in the world• Aral has lost about 80% of its water

volume since the 1960s due to irrigation

– Lake Baikal• Deepest lake in the world• Mile depth, 400 miles long• 20% of Earth’s freshwater• Thousands of plants and animals live in

the lake – Only species of freshwater seal lives here

Page 12: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography
Page 13: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Regional Resources

• Issues with managing the many resources of this region– Corruption– Environmental issues

• Coal, iron ore, other metals

• Oil and natural gas• Timber• Hydroelectric power

Page 14: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Regional Resources

• Harsh climates, difficult terrain, and large distances make management unstable

• Many resources are located in Siberia

• Mining, oil, natural gas production has caused severe damage to the environment

• Dams and thermal pollution have damaged plant and animal habitats

Page 15: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Climate and Vegetation

Page 16: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Varying Climates

• Major Climate Regions– Humid continental and subarctic dominate the

area– High latitude and impact of mountains– Because the land is so large, sea/ocean influence

doesn’t impact the majority of the region• Continentality

Page 17: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Varying Climates

• Distance from sea can impact precipitation and temperature

• Siberia: highs of 50 degrees, lows of -90 degrees– Weather impacts

life

Page 18: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Varying Climates

• Warmer climates do exist: southeastern areas – Semiarid and desert

• Transcaucasia: moist air from Mediterranean Sea created a subtropical climate zone. – Before ethnic cleansing

issues, resorts here were a popular tourist destination

Page 19: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Vegetation Regions

• Tundra– Mosses– Lichens – Low shrubs

• Forest– Taiga-largest

forest on earth, contains mostly coniferous trees

– Animals: fox, vermin, bear, elk, wolves

Page 20: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Vegetation Regions

• Steppe– Grassland– Southern Ukraine through

northern Kazakhstan– Fertile soil: grain

• Desert– Plains of west and central

areas of Central Asia– Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum

Page 21: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Human-Environment Interaction

Page 22: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

Shrinking Aral Sea

• Gets most of its water from Amu Darya and Syr Darya• Irrigation projects took water out of these rivers and

towards agriculture– Sea is beginning to evaporate

• Effects of Agriculture– Pesticides and fertilizers on cotton farms were picked up

by runoff and brought into streams/rivers– Killing much plant and animal life in the area– Diseases for people: cancer, respiratory issues, dysentery,

typhoid, hepatitis

Page 23: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography
Page 24: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

“Wild East”• Traveling through Siberia was dangerous and

slow during the 19th century• Trans-Siberian RR-linked Moscow to Pacific

port of Vladivostok

Page 25: Unit 5: Russia and the Republics Physical Geography

“Wild East”

• Trans-Siberian RR– 5,700 mi long– 7 time zones– 1891-1903– 70,000 workers– 77 million cubic feet of

land, 100,000 acres of forest cleared