© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

Aral Sea

Bering SeaBering Sea

Sea ofOkhotsk

Dnieper R

.

Black Sea

Baltic Sea

Don R. Volga R.

Casp

ian

Sea

Lake Ladoga Lake Onega

White Sea

Barents Sea

Kara SeaLaptev Sea

East Siberi

an Se

a

Syr Darya R.

Amu D

arya R.

Ob R.

Ob R.

Irtysh R.

Yenisey R.

Lena R.

LakeBaikal

Kolyma R.

EASTERNEUROPEAN

PLAIN W E S T E R N

S I B E R I A N

L O W L A N D

Ural

Mou

nta

ins

Caucasus

Pamirs Pamirs

Tien ShanTien Shan

Altay MtsAltay Mts

Sayan MtsSayan Mts

KolaPen.

N

ovaya Zemlya

Wrangel I.

C E N T R A L

S I B E R I A N

P L A T E A U

Sea ofJapanSea ofJapan

Lake Balkhash

Bering Strait

Sea ofAzov

Issyk-Kul Issyk-Kul

LakeKhanka

CrimeanPen.

Yam

al P

en.

Franz Joseph Land

Severnaya Zemlya

Ta

ymyr P

eninsula.

LakeLake

NovosibirskiyeOstrova

Chuk

chi P.

Kamchatka Pen.

Sakhalin I.

Kuril

Isla

nds

Kuril

Isla

nds

CommodoreCommodore

IslandsIslands

Amur R.

Kara Kum

Kyzyl Kum

Ural R.

Pech

ora

R.

FIGURE 2.1. Main physical features of Northern Eurasia.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

TABLE 2.1. Main Physical Features to Know in Northern Eurasia

Seas and straits (from west to east)

Baltic Sea••Barents Sea••White Sea••Kara Sea••Laptev Sea••East Siberian Sea••Bering Sea••Sea of Okhotsk••Sea of Japan••Bering Strait••Tatarsky Strait••Black Sea••Sea of Azov••

Lakes

Ladoga••Onega••Aral Sea (Kazakhstan, ••Uzbekistan)Caspian Sea••Balkhash (Kazakhstan)••Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan)••Baikal••Khanka••

Islands and peninsulas

Kola Peninsula••Crimean Peninsula••Novaya Zemlya••Yamal Peninsula••Franz Joseph Land••Severnaya Zemlya••Taymyr Peninsula••Novosibirskiy Islands••Wrangel Island••Chukchi Peninsula••Commodore Islands••Kamchatka Peninsula••Sakhalin Island••Kuril Islands••

Mountain ranges, plateaus, and lowlands

Carpathians (Western ••Ukraine)Khibiny (on Kola ••Peninsula)The Caucasus••The Urals••Eastern European Plain••Western Siberian ••LowlandCentral Siberian Plateau••The Pamirs (Tajikistan)••Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan)••Kara Kum Desert ••(Turkmenistan)Kyzyl Kum Desert ••(Uzbekistan)The Altay••The Sayans••Yablonovy range••Stanovoy range••Sikhote-Alin range••Verkhoyansk range••Chersky range••

Rivers

Dnieper••Don••Volga (+ Oka and Kama)••Northern Dvina••Pechora••Syr Darya••Amu Darya••Ili••Irtysh and Ob••Angara and Yenisey••Lena••Yana••Indigirka••Kolyma••Amur••

Note. Locate these geographical features on Figure 2.1 and additional atlas maps, and then label them on a blank map of the region from memory.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.2. The Caucasus Mountains have some of the youngest and tallest peaks in Northern Eurasia, formed just a few million years ago, as evidenced by the dramatic relief. More recently, glaciers carved deep U-shaped valleys. Photo: V. Onipchenko.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.3. Mt. Elbrus (in the background) is an extinct volcano in the Kabardino- Balkaria Republic of Russia and is the tallest peak in Europe at 5,642 m. Photo: V. Onipchenko.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.4. The Tien Shan Mountains in Kyrgyzstan. Photo: L. Swanson.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.5. The Valaam Islands in Lake Ladoga. Scoured granite bedrock is exposed in low ridges. Thin, sandy soils develop in some areas. Photo: S. Blinnikov.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

TABLE 2.2. Biggest 11 Rivers of Northern Eurasia Ranked by Runoff Compared to Other Biggest Rivers of the World

River Annual runoff (km3) Length (km) Basin size (× 1,000 km2)

Northern EurasiaYenisei– Angara 623 5,940 2,619Lena 515 4,270 2,478Ob– Irtysh 397 5,570 2,770Amur 392 4,060 2,050Volga 253 3,690 1,380Pechora 130 1,790 327Kolyma 123 2,600 665Khatanga 121 1,510 422Northern Dvina 110 1,310 360Pyasina 84 680 178Neva 82 74 281

WorldAmazon 5,509 6,400 6,915Congo 1,229 4,700 3,820Yangtze 687 6,300 1,826Mississippi– Missouri 570 6,019 3,220Nile 98 6,671 2,870Danube 202 2,858 817

Note. The runoff shows how much water comes from the river in an average year. Northern Eurasia data from The Physical Geography of Northern Eurasia (Shahgedanova, 2002). World data recalculated from the Rand McNally Atlas of World Geogra-phy (2003).

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.6. The Volga River near its source north of Moscow. The statue represents the Volga’s motherly aspect. Photo: S. Blinnikov.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.7. Lake Baikal in winter. Photo: A. Osipenko.

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.8. The Kuril Islands in the Pacific. Photo: I. Smolyar, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Oceanographic Data Center (commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Kuril_Island.jpg—public domain).

© 2011 by The Guilford Press. All rights reserved.

FIGURE 2.9. Flat, gently undulating glacial relief covers much of central and northern European Russia, allowing easy travel and settlement. The area shown is in Tver Oblast, about 150 km north of Moscow. Photo: S. Blinnikov.