RUSSIA AND THE REPUBLICS:LANDFORMS AND RESOURCES

Chapter 15 – Section 1

Pages 344- 349

TEKS: 3B, 4A, 4B, 4C, 5A, 6A, 7B, 8A, 8D, 11B, 21A, 21C, 22A, 22B, 22C

RUSSIA BY LAND MASS RUSSIA BY POPULATION

NORTHERN EUROPEAN PLAIN: MAJORITY OF POPULATION

One of the world’s most abundant soils, chernozem, is on this plain.

Nearly 75 percent of the region’s people live on this plain.

Three of the region’s largest cities are here.

LARGE PORTIONS OF COLD FOREST Large amount of

forest known as taiga.

Area gets low rainfall throughout the year

Extremely cold temperatures.

MOUNTAINS LEAD TO CERTAIN CLIMATES Mountain ranges like

the Caucasus Mountains block moist air from getting to the area from the South.

Several areas in Central Asia are semiarid or desert.

TAJIKISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

RIVERS AND LAKES IN AREA

Caspian/Aral Seas – once two large saltwater lakes.

Massive irrigation has taken away most of the water of the Aral Sea.

RIVERS AND LAKES IN AREA (CONT.) Lake Baikal is the

deepest lake in the world – holds 20% of world’s freshwater.

In one spot, it is more than a mile from the surface to the bottom.

The river’s regions flow through a several drainage basins, like the Arctic Sea, Caspian Sea, Baltic Sea and Pacific Ocean.

RUSSIA’S RESOURCE CHALLENGE The region has

large amounts of coal, iron ore, oil and timber.

Harsh climates and landforms make it difficult to transport the goods.

It’s hard to entice workers to these regions.