Chapter 15 Notes

1. Chapter 15 Notes Physical Geography of Russia & the Republics: A Land of Extremes

2. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • Region is 3x’s the size of U.S. • Crosses 11 time zones & 2 continents • 1/6 of all land area

3. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • Northern European plain • Contains 75% of regions population • Moscow • St. Petersburg • Kiev • Chernozem- black earth

4. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • Ural Mts.- dividing line between Europe & Asia • Eurasia- name given for the single landmass of Europe & Asia

5. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • DON’T WRITE • Transcaucasia- region that consists of Armenia, Azerbaijan, & Georgia Transcaucasia Central Asia

6. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • Lake Baikal- • Deepest lake in the world • Holds 20% of worlds freshwater supplies

7. Section 1- Landforms & Resources • Siberia- the part of Russia that lies on the continent of Asia • Very inaccessible • 1/5 of world’s timber resources • Very cold winters

8. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation • Continentality- the effects of being so far away from large bodies of water • Hotter summers • & colder winters • Kansas?

9. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation • Taiga- largest forest on earth

10. Section 2- Climate & Vegetation • DON’T WRITE • Reindeer

11. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • Aral Sea-once 4th largest freshwater lake in world • Water from its 2 main rivers has been diverted to cotton fields • No native fish left of 24 species

12. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • Runoff- rainfall not absorbed by the soil that runs into streams & rivers • This has severely damaged the Aral Sea

13. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • Don’t Write • Some areas of Siberia get to -95° F in the winter • Cracks steel • Tires Explode • “Whispering of the Stars” • When you exhale, your breath freezes into crystals that fall to the ground & make a noise

14. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • Don’t Write • Warm weather melts the ice & snow causing flooding • Brings enormous clouds of insects • Permafrost in the region also means buildings have to be built up off of the ground

15. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • Don’t Write • Russian winters stopped Napoleon & Hitler • Napoleon left Russia with 100,000 troops at the beginning of winter, by the time he got back to France he had lost 90,000 troops

16. Section 3- Human-Environment Interaction • DON’T WRITE • Trans-Siberian Railroad-links Moscow and Vladivostok • 5700 miles long • Crosses 7 time zones