Geography

How has Russia’s harsh climate come to its aid?

Name two reasons for the building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

Why was this project such a massive undertaking?

Region of Russia and the Republics is approximately 3 times the size of the U.S.

Crosses 11 time zonesDivided into 4 different areas

Stretches from western border to Ural Mts.

Chernozem (one of most fertile soils) is abundant here

75% of the region’s population live here

Three of the largest cities here: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev

Ural Mts: dividing line between Europe and Asia

Rivers here flow north toward Arctic Ocean

Uplands and mountains dominate the Central Siberian Plateau

Russian Far East has many active volcanoes

Sakhalin and Kuril islands were seized from Japan after WWII

Caucasus Mts. separate the Black and Caspian Seas and also separate Russia from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

The Tian Shan mountains contribute to the arid climate of Central Asia

The Volga River is the longest river in Europe

Two largest lakes: Caspian Sea and Aral Sea (both are saltwater lakes)

Aral Sea is on the verge of drying upLake Baikal is the deepest lake in

the world (contains the world’s only freshwater seal)

Difficult to manage resources because of transportation issues from harsh and distant regions, and using the resources without damaging the environment

Abundant resources: coal, iron ore, oil, natural gas, timber

Many resources are located in Siberia

Temp. as low as -95 degrees F (approx. -70 C)

These cold temp. can crack steel and cause tires to explode

When you exhale, your breath freezes and falls to the ground in crystals

Siberians call this “the whispering of the stars”

Water from rivers that empty into Aral Sea were used to irrigate land

Pesticides and fertilizers have caused many diseases such as throat cancer

Child mortality among highest in world