Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Russia

Geography

Siberia spans an area of 13.1 million square kilometres (5,100,000 mi2), covering most of Russia's total territory and almost 9% of Earth's land surface (148,940,000 km2, 57,510,000 sq mi). It geographically falls in Asia but is culturally and politically considered European, since it is a part of Russia. Major geographical zones include the West Siberian Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau.

Eastern and central Sakha comprises numerous north–south mountain ranges of various ages. These mountains rise to almost 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), but above a few hundred metres they are almost completely devoid of vegetation. The Verkhoyansk Range was extensively glaciated in the Pleistocene, but the climate was too dry for glaciation to extend to low elevations.

History

Siberia in Paleozoic times formed the continent of Siberia/Angaraland, which fused to Euramerica during the Late Carboniferous, as part of the formation of Pangea. The Siberian Traps were formed by one of the largest-known volcanic events of the last 251 million years of Earth's geological history. Their activity continued for a million years, and some scientists consider it a possible cause of the "Great Dying" about 250 million years ago, estimated to have killed 90% of species existing at the time.

The region has paleontological significance, as it contains bodies of prehistoric animals from the Pleistocene Epoch, preserved in ice or permafrost.

Economy

Novosibirsk is the most important city for the Siberian economy; with an extra boost since 2000 when it was designated a regional center for the executive bureaucracy (Siberian Federal District). Russia's largest oil refinery is the Omsk Refinery.

Siberia is extraordinarily rich in minerals, containing ores of almost all economically valuable metals. It has some of the world's largest deposits of nickel, gold, lead, coal, molybdenum, gypsum, diamonds, diopside, silver and zinc, as well as extensive unexploited resources of oil and natural gas. Around 70% of Russia's developed oil fields are in the Khanty-Mansiysk region. Russia contains about 40% of the world's known resources of nickel at the Norilsk deposit in Siberia. Norilsk Nickel is the world's largest nickel and palladium producer.

Geography

The plateau occupies a great part of central Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It is located in the Siberian Platform and extends over an area of 3,500,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi), between the Yenisei in the west and the Central Yakutian Lowland in the east. To the south, it is bound by the Altai Mountains, Salair Ridge, Kuznetsk Alatau, Eastern and Western Sayan Mountains and other mountains of Tuva, as well as the North Baikal Highlands and Baikal Mountains. To the north of the plateau lies the North Siberian Lowland, and to the east the plateau gives way to the Central Yakutian Lowland and the Lena Plateau.

The surface of the Central Siberian Plateau is characterized by the alternation of wide plateaus and ridges, some of the latter sharply jagged.

Climate

The climate is continental with short warm summers and long and severely cold winters. Most of the territory is covered with conifer forests (larch is especially abundant). The plateau's major river is the Lower Tunguska. Known geologically as the Siberian Traps, mineral resources here are very rich and include coal, iron ore, gold, platinum, diamonds and natural gas.

Geography

The Altai Mountains are a system of remote mountains in central Asia that cover an area of 845,000 km2 (326,000 sq mi). The mountains stretch for 2,525 km (1,569 mi) from northwest to southeast.

In the north of the region is the Sailughem Mountains, also known as Kolyvan Altai, which stretch northeast from 49° N and 86° E towards the western extremity of the Sayan Mountains in 51° 60' N and 89° E. Their mean elevation is 1,500–1,750 m (4,920–5,740 ft). The snow-line runs at 2,000 m (6,600 ft) on the northern side and at 2,400 m (7,900 ft) on the southern, and above it the peaks rise some 1,000 m (3,300 ft) higher.

Geology

The Siberian Altai represents the northernmost region affected by the tectonic collision of India into Asia. Extensive fault systems run through the area, including the Kurai fault zone and the recently identified Tashanta fault zone. These fault systems are typically thrusts or right lateral strike-slip faults, some of which are tectonically active. Rock types in the mountains are typically granites and metamorphic schists, and some are highly sheared near to fault zones.

Geologist Victor R. Baker "has discovered past cataclysmic floods in the Altai Mountains of Siberia" from "an even larger glacial lake" than Lake Missoula, which was once thought to have been "the largest ice-dammed lake in the world".

History

The Altai mountains have retained a remarkably stable climate, changing little since the last ice age. In addition the mix of mammals has remained largely the same, with a few exceptions such as extinct mammoths, making it one of the few places on Earth to retain an ice age fauna. Genetic analysis in 2026 also determined that the Altai region served as a likely primary refugium for the woolly rhinoceros, which had originated during the Penultimate Glacial Period, during the warmer period of the Last Interglacial.

The Altai mountains were home to the Denisovan branch of hominids who were contemporaries of Neanderthals and of Homo sapiens (modern humans), descended from Hominids who reached Asia earlier than modern humans.

Geography

Politically, the peninsula forms part of Kamchatka Krai. The southern tip is called Cape Lopatka. (Lopatka is Russian for spade.) The circular bay to the north of this on the Pacific side is Avacha Bay, home to the capital, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Northward up the Pacific side, the four peninsulas are called Shipunsky Point, Kronotsky Point, Kamchatsky Point, and Ozernoy Point. North of Ozernoy Point is the large Karaginsky Bay, which features Karaginsky Island. Northeast of this (off the displayed map) lies Korfa Bay with the town of Tilichiki. On the opposite side is the Shelikhov Gulf.

The Kamchatka or Central (Sredinny) Range forms the spine of the peninsula. Along the southeast coast runs the Eastern Range (Vostochny). Between these lies the central valley.

Geology

The Kamchatka River and the surrounding central side valley are flanked by large volcanic belts containing around 160 volcanoes, 29 of them still active. The peninsula has a high density of volcanoes and associated volcanic phenomena, with 19 active volcanoes included in the six UNESCO World Heritage List sites in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka group, most of them on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the most volcanic area of the Eurasian continent, with many active cones. The Kamchatka Peninsula is also known as the "land of fire and ice".

The highest volcano is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4,750 m or 15,584 ft), the largest active volcano in the Northern Hemisphere.

History and exploration

Prior to Russian exploration, the peninsula was inhabited by various Chukotko-Kamchatkan peoples (specifically the Itelmen, Koryak, and Alyutor). The southern tip of the peninsula was also the northernmost extent of Ainu settlement.

When the Russian explorer Ivan Moskvitin reached the Sea of Okhotsk in 1639, further exploration was impeded by the lack of skills and equipment to build seagoing ships and by the harsh land to the northeast inhabited by the warlike Koryak people. Consequently, Russians entered Kamchatka from the north. In 1651, after having assisted in the foundation of the Anadyrsk ostrog, the explorer Mikhail Stadukhin went south and followed the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk from Penzhina Bay to Okhotsk. From about 1667 there were reports of a Kamchatka River to the south.

Tourism

Points of interest on the Kamchatka Peninsula include thermal and mineral springs, volcanoes, glaciers, a diversity of plants and animals, and other natural features largely untouched by civilization. Activities include sport fishing, alpine tourism, heliskiing, snowboarding, dog sledding, and surfing.

Geography

The average elevation of the Mongolian Plateau ranges from 915 to 1,525 meters (3,002 to 5,003 ft) above sea level. The highest point in the plateau is found in Tavan Bogd at 4,374 meters (14,350 ft) above sea level.

Ecology

The ecology of Mongolia is complex, having varying regions of highland and lowland areas. Grazing species such as yaks, Przewalski's horses, domesticated sheep, saiga antelope, Siberian ibex and Argali are common. Predator species include the Eurasian lynx, snow leopards, Corsac foxes as well as carnivorous birds such as the bearded vulture, saker falcon, and the cinereous vulture. Marmots are common throughout the region including the Tarbagan marmot with large parts of its range located in the Mongolian plateau.

History

The plateau was inhabited and conquered by various groups, including (chronologically) the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Göktürks, Tang dynasty, Liao dynasty, Mongol Empire, Yuan dynasty, Northern Yuan dynasty, and Qing dynasty.

Geography

Karelia stretches from the White Sea coast to the Gulf of Finland. It contains the two largest lakes in Europe, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. The Karelian Isthmus is located between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. The highest point of Karelia, the 576-metre-high (1,890 ft) Nuorunen, is located on the Russian side of the Maanselkä hill region.

The border between Karelia and Ingria, the land of the closely related Ingrian people, had originally been the Neva River itself but later on it was moved northward into the Karelian isthmus to follow the Sestra River (Russian: Сестра), today in the Saint Petersburg metropolitan area, but in 1812–1940 the Russo-Finnish border.

History

During the Early Middle Ages, settlers from western Finland mixed with the local population to form the Karelian ethnic group. Possible migration from elsewhere may also have contributed to the Karelian ethnic composition.

Archeological evidence indicates that Karelian inhabitation was highest along the western shore of Lake Ladoga and the Karelian Isthmus, with multiple cemeteries and other archeological discoveries dating from AD 600 to AD 800. In South Karelia, the number of archeological discoveries from this time period is lower, though permanent inhabitation was nonetheless present. Lappee, South Karelia has been continuously inhabited for approximately 2,000 years. In North Karelia, only one archeological discovery from this time period has been found, dating to the eighth century.

Tourism

Russian Karelia is a regular destination for international tourism due to its unique architectural, cultural and historical sites such as Kizhi and Valaam. The region is visited by tourists in both summer and winter when possible activities include riding in a sled behind a dog team and running from the banya to an ice hole and back. Summer hikers can visit the Kivach waterfall or the Demon's Chair plateau.

In South Karelia, Lappeenranta is a popular destination for Russian tourists, with 1.5 million visiting annually. Imatrankoski in Imatra has been a tourist attraction since the late 18th century, when the Empress of Russia Catherine the Great visited the site in 1772.

Koli National Park in North Karelia began receiving tourists when Karelianism became a major trend.

Geography

Rising from the shores of the Buor-Khaya Gulf in the north, it runs southwards spanning roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) across Yakutia, east of the Central Yakutian Lowland, and west of the Chersky Range, reaching the Lena Plateau to the south and the Yudoma-Maya Highlands to the southeast. It forms a vast arc between the Lena and Aldan rivers to the west and the Yana River to the east.

The Verkhoyansk Range has a higher southeastern prolongation than the Suntar-Khayata Range, which is occasionally considered as a separate range system. Thus the highest point of the range in a restricted geographical sense is an unnamed 2,409-metre-high (7,904 ft) peak in the Orulgan Range.

Climate and flora

The world's lowest temperatures for inhabited places have been recorded in this region at Verkhoyansk (−67.8 °C; −90.0 °F) and Oymyakon (−67.7 °C; −89.9 °F), and there is quite deep snow cover for most of the year.

The mountain range is home to an alpine tundra, supporting various species of mosses and lichens. Some sparsely-wooded forests of mainly larch and dwarf Siberian pine are found on smooth slopes.

History

The Kostroma river and the city of the same name suggest that the area in Central Russia is an important reference point for the original home of the Slavic tribes. The river and city bear the same name as the Slavic goddess Kostroma.

Location

It spans approximately 180,000 miles² (480,000 km2) in central and southern European Russia northeast of Ukraine, extending from the Oka river to the Donets river. The upland stretches across a number of regions in Ukraine and the European portion of the Russian Federation. Its north and northwest borders are considered to be the Oka River and an imaginary line Kaluga-Ryazan. To the southeast towards the Donets River, the upland changes into the Donets Lowland. To the east its natural border is defined by the Oka–Don Lowland and to the west there is the Dnieper Lowland. Most of the upland lies within the borders of Russia, hence its name.

Geography

The Taymyr Peninsula lies between the Yenisei Gulf of the Kara Sea and the Khatanga Gulf of the Laptev Sea.

Lake Taymyr and the Byrranga Mountains are located within the vast Taymyr Peninsula.

Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of the Eurasian continent, is located at the northern end of the Taymyr Peninsula.

Climate

The coasts of the Taymyr Peninsula are frozen most of the year, between September and June on average. The summer season is short, especially on the shores of the Laptev Sea in the northeast. The climate in the north and exterior of the peninsula is Tundra Climate (ET), while some areas further-south have a very cold but somewhat more continental subarctic climate, with winters even slightly colder than the tundra directly to the north, but with somewhat warmer summers that can support some tree growth. Winters are harsh, with frequent blizzards and extremely low temperatures. The following data for Cape Chelyuskin provides an indication of the weather experienced in the northern part of the peninsula.

Ecology

The peninsula is the site of the last known naturally occurring muskox outside of North America, which died out about 2,000 years ago. They were successfully reintroduced in 1975. The population grew to 2,500 in 2002, increasing to 6,500 in 2010.

A study in 2021 found that, based on eDNA, woolly mammoths survived on the Taymyr Peninsula until 3,900 to 4,100 years ago, roughly concurrent with another population on Wrangel Island. The Taymyr Peninsula, with its drier habitat, may have served as a refugium for the mammoth steppe, supporting mammoths and other widespread Ice Age mammals, such as wild horses (Equus sp.).

Economy

MMC Norilsk Nickel conducts mining operations in the area. The company conducts smelting operations in the area of the city of Norilsk, near the peninsula. The nickel ore concentrate and other products of the company are transported over a short railroad to the port city of Dudinka on the Yenisei River, and from there by boat to Murmansk and other ports.

Geography

The peninsula consists mostly of permafrost ground and there are numerous lakes of thermokarst origin, the biggest of which are Neito and Yambuto in the central part.

Many hydrocarbon fields have been discovered on the Yamal Peninsula, including large gas fields. The main hydrocarbon resources are concentrated in the permeable Aptian-Cenomanian complex.

Climate research

In the summer of 2007 reindeer herder Yuri Khudi found the well-preserved remains of a 37,000-year-old mammoth calf, dubbed "Lyuba", on the peninsula. The female calf was determined to be one month old at the time of death.

The Yamal Peninsula is important for the study of climatic history. Dendrochronology is one method used to see how environment has changed.

Economy

According to anthropologist Sven Haakanson, the Yamal peninsula is the place within the Russian Federation where traditional large-scale nomadic reindeer husbandry is best preserved. Nenets and Khanty reindeer herders hold about half a million domestic reindeer.

The area is largely undeveloped, but work is ongoing with several large infrastructure projects, including a gas pipeline and several bridges. Yamal holds Russia's biggest natural gas reserves. The 572 km Obskaya–Bovanenkovo railway, completed in 2011, is the northernmost railway in the world. Russian gas monopolist Gazprom had planned to develop the Yurkharovskoye gas field by 2011–2012. The peninsula's gas reserves are estimated to be 55 trillion cubic meters (tcm).

Geography

The Kolyma Lowland stretches for 750 kilometers (470 mi) along the Kolyma River from the East Siberian Sea to the Chersky Range, between the Alazeya and Yukagir plateaus. Besides the Kolyma, other rivers in the lowland include the Alazeya, its tributary Rossokha, and the Chukochya. The average elevation of the Kolyma lowland is 100 meters (330 ft) with occasional heights, such as the 512 meters (1,680 ft) high Suor Uyata.

The Kolyma Lowland is part of the wider Yana-Kolyma system of lowlands, which include the Aby to the south of the Polousny Range and the Yana-Indigirka on the northern and western sides.

Geography and ecology

The steppe covers an area of 994,000 km2 (384,000 sq mi) of Central and Eastern Europe, that extends from northeastern Bulgaria and southeastern Romania, through Moldova, and southern and eastern Ukraine, through the Northern Caucasus of southern Russia, and into the Lower Volga region of western Kazakhstan, to the east of the Ural Mountains. It is bounded by the East European forest steppe to the north, a transitional zone of mixed grasslands and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. To the south, the steppe extends to the Black Sea, except the Crimean and western Caucasus mountains' border with the sea, where the Crimean Submediterranean forest complex defines the southern edge of the steppes.

Geography

The West Siberian Plain is located east of the Ural Mountains mostly in the territory of Russia. It is one of the Great Russian Regions and has been described as the world's largest unbroken lowland – more than 50 percent is less than 100 m (328 ft) above sea level—and covers an area of about 2.6–2.7 million square kilometres (1.0 million square miles) which is about one third of Siberia. It extends from north to south for 2,500 kilometres (1,600 miles), reaching its maximum width of 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) in its southern part. from the Arctic Ocean to the foothills of the Altai Mountains, and from east to west for 1,900 km (1,181 mi) from the Yenisei River to the Ural Mountains.

Geology

The West Siberian Plain consists mostly of Cenozoic alluvial deposits and is extraordinarily flat. A rise of fifty metres in sea level would cause all land between the Arctic Ocean and the Ob-Irtysh confluence near Khanty-Mansiysk to be inundated (see also Turgai Straits, West Siberian Glacial Lake). It is a region of the Earth's crust that has undergone prolonged subsidence and is composed of horizontal deposits from as much as 65 million years ago. Many of the deposits on this plain result from ice dams that reversed the flow of the Ob and Yenisei rivers, redirecting them into the Caspian Sea, and perhaps the Aral Sea as well.

Geography

The peninsula is located in the far northwest of Russia, almost completely inside the Arctic Circle, and is bordered by the Barents Sea in the north and the White Sea in the east and southeast. Geologically, the peninsula occupies the northeastern edge of the Baltic Shield. The western border of the peninsula stretches along the meridian from the Kola Bay through the valley of the Kola River, Lake Imandra, and the Niva River to the Kandalaksha Gulf, although some sources push it all the way west to Russia's border with Finland.

Under a more restrictive definition, the peninsula covers an area of about 100,000 square kilometers (39,000 sq mi). The northern coast is steep and high, while the southern coast is flat.

History

The Rybachy Peninsula in the north of the Kola Peninsula was already settled in the 7th–5th millennium BCE. In the 3rd–2nd millennium BCE, the peninsula was settled by the peoples who arrived there from the south (the territory of modern Karelia). Bolshoy Oleny Island in the Kola Bay of the Barents Sea is the location of an important Bronze Age archaeological site where ancient DNA has been recovered.

By the end of the 1st millennium CE, the peninsula was settled only by the Sámi people, who did not have their own state, lived in clans ruled by elders, and were engaged mostly in reindeer herding and fishing. In the 12th century, Russian Pomors from the shores of the Onega Bay and in the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina discovered the peninsula and its game and fish riches.

Economy

During the 15th–16th centuries, the main occupations of the Tersky Coast population were Atlantic salmon fishing, seal hunting, and the extraction of salt from the sea water. The salt extraction in Kandalaksha and Kola was mostly carried out by the monasteries in Pechenga and Solovki, and for a long time remained the only "industry" on the peninsula.

By the mid-16th century, Atlantic cod fishing developed on the Murman Coast in the north. The 1560s saw a rapid growth of international trade, with the Russian merchants from different regions of the country arriving to the peninsula to trade with the merchants from Western Europe. In 1585 the trade was moved to Archangel, although the settlement of Kola was still permitted to trade locally produced goods.

Geography

The Putorana Plateau is a high-lying plateau crossed by mountain ranges at the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau. It is located east of the Yenisei River valley, between 67° and 70° N of latitude, southwest of the Anabar Plateau, north of the Syverma and Tunguska plateaus and south of the North Siberian Lowland. The main subranges of the Putorana are the Keta Range, Lontokoisky Kamen, Kharayelakh Range, Chaya-Ayan, Brus Kamen, and Lama Range, among others. The highest mountain in the range system is Mount Kamen which stands 1,678 m (5,505 ft) above sea level and is also the highest point of the Central Siberian Plateau. Talnikovy Waterfall is reputedly one of the highest waterfalls in Asia.

Climate

The Putorana region is located above the Arctic Circle. The climate is a harsh subarctic, sharply continental, with long, severely cold winters, and short, cool summers. However, in certain lake valleys, such as Lake Lama, there is a somewhat milder microclimate owing to the protection afforded by neighboring ranges from the northern winds. The higher elevations within the plateau transition to a tundra climate.

Spring, summer and autumn fall respectively in the months of June, July, and August, the remaining months are winter with temperatures between −32 °C (−26 °F) and −40 °C (−40 °F). In July, the warmest month, average air temperatures stay around 8 °C (46 °F) and may reach a maximum of 16 °C (61 °F).

Geography

In China, the Khingan mountains are divided into the Greater Khingan and Lesser Khingan. The Lesser Khingan range runs roughly from the northwest to the southeast and separates the valley of the Amur (Heilongjiang) River from that of the Nenjiang River. The mountain range then turns toward the east and north-east, entering Russia. The Amur/Heilongjiang, which is a border river, forms a gorge when crossing the mountain range.

Climate

The Chersky mountains, along with the neighboring Verkhoyansk Range, have a moderating effect on the climate of Siberia. The ridges obstruct west-moving air flows, decreasing the amount of snowfall in the plains to the west.

History

At some time between 1633 and 1642, Poznik Ivanov ascended a tributary of the lower Lena, crossed the Verkhoyansk Range to the upper Yana, and then crossed the Chersky Range to the Indigirka. The range was sighted in 1926 by Sergei Obruchev (Vladimir Obruchev's son) and named by the Russian Geographical Society after the Polish explorer and geographer Ivan Chersky (or Jan Czerski).

Geography

The Kolyma Mountains stretch 1,300 kilometers (810 mi) on a NW-SW alignment and consists of a series of plateaus and ridges punctuated by granite peaks that typically range between 1,500 to 1,800 meters (4,900 to 5,900 ft).

To the west and southwest the Upper Kolyma Highlands are bound by the Seymchan-Buyunda Depression to the north and the Ola river basin to the south. The Yukaghir Highlands, highest point Mount Chubukulakh, rise to the northwest, the Anadyr Highlands to the north and northeast and the Koryak Highlands to the east.

Geography

The Gyda Peninsula is mostly flat, with numerous lakes and rivers. Tanama has its sources in the peninsula. Its ground consists of permafrost and is covered by tundra.

This peninsula has a few arms or subpeninsulas extending northwards into the Kara Sea, where there are some large islands off its shores, including Oleniy, Shokalsky and Vilkitsky Islands. There are two bays in its northern coast, narrow and deep Gydan Bay and smaller Yuratski Bay.

Geography

The Suntar-Khayata is approximately 450–550 km long and 60 km wide. 2,959 metres (9,708 ft) high Mus-Khaya Mountain, located in the Sakha Republic, is the highest point of the range. Berill Mountain, at 2,933 metres (9,623 ft) is the highest summit in Khabarovsk Krai. Mount Khakandya (Гора Хакандя) is an ultra-prominent peak that is 2,615 metres (8,579 ft) high.

The Suntar-Khayata Range is geographically a southeastern prolongation of the Verkhoyansk Range. Until mid 20th century it was treated as a separate range, together with the Skalisty Range, highest point 2,017 metres (6,617 ft), and the Sette Daban, highest point 2,017 metres (6,617 ft), to the southwest. The Yudoma-Maya Highlands are located to the south of the range and the Upper Kolyma Highlands to the northeast.

Geography

Covering an area of 27,000 km2 (10,425 sq mi), Crimea is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea and on the western coast of the Sea of Azov; the only land border is shared with Ukraine's Kherson Oblast on the north. Crimea is almost an island and only connected to the continent by the Isthmus of Perekop, a strip of land about 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide.

Much of the natural border between the Crimean Peninsula and the Ukrainian mainland comprises the Syvash or "Rotten Sea", a large system of shallow lagoons stretching along the western shore of the Sea of Azov. Besides the isthmus of Perekop, the peninsula is connected to the Kherson Oblast's Henichesk Raion by bridges over the narrow Chonhar and Henichesk straits and over Kerch Strait to the Krasnodar Krai.

History

The recorded history of Crimea begins around 5th century BCE when several Greek colonies were established on its south coast, the most important of which was Chersonesos near modern-day Sevastopol, with Scythians and Tauri in the hinterland to the north. The Tauri gave the name the Tauric Peninsula, which Crimea was called into the early modern period. The southern coast gradually consolidated into the Bosporan Kingdom which was annexed by Pontus in Asia Minor and later became a client kingdom of Rome from 63 BCE to 341 CE.

The south coast remained Greek in culture for almost two thousand years including under Roman successor states, the Byzantine Empire (341–1204 CE), the Empire of Trebizond (1204–1461 CE), and the independent Principality of Theodoro (ended 1475 CE).

Economy

In 2016 Crimea had Nominal GDP of US$7 billion and US$3,000 per capita.

The main branches of the modern Crimean economy are agriculture and fishing oysters pearls, industry and manufacturing, tourism, and ports. Industrial plants are situated for the most part in the southern coast (Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Feodosia, Kerch) regions of the republic, few northern (Armiansk, Krasnoperekopsk, Dzhankoi), aside from the central area, mainly Simferopol okrug and eastern region in Nizhnegorsk (few plants, same for Dzhankoj) city. Important industrial cities include Dzhankoi, housing a major railway connection, Krasnoperekopsk and Armiansk, among others.

History

It is commonly believed that the Lena derives its name from the original Even-Evenk name Elyu-Ene, which means "the Large River".

According to folktales related a century later, in the years 1620–1623 a party of Russian fur hunters under the leadership of Demid Pyanda sailed up Nizhnyaya Tunguska, discovered the Lena, and either carried their boats there or built new ones. In 1623 Pyanda explored some 2,400 kilometres (1,500 mi) of the river from its upper reaches to the central Yakutia. In 1628 Vasily Bugor and 10 men reached the Lena, collected 'yasak' (tribute) from the 'natives' and then founded Kirinsk in 1632. In 1631 the voyevoda of Yeniseysk sent Pyotr Beketov and 20 men to construct a fortress at Yakutsk (founded in 1632).

Geography

The Bureya Range consists of a number of separate ridges with a total length of about 400 km and with a maximum height of 2,167 metres (7,110 ft). To the northeast it connects with the Badzhal Range. The range forms the drainage divide of the Bureya, Amgun and Urmi rivers. The sources of the Selemdzha River are located at the northern end, where other three ranges meet the Bureya mountain chain, the Dusse-Alin from the south, the Ezop Range from the west and the Yam-Alin from the north. The Dusse-Alin and Yam-Alin are a northern prolongation of the Bureya Range.

Mount Studencheskaya is located in the southern part of the Bureya Range. At 1,421 metres (4,662 ft), it is the highest point of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast.

Geography

The uplands run for approximately 800 kilometres (500 mi) in a southwest-northeasterly direction from Volgograd to Kazan. The Tsimlyansk Reservoir lies at the southwestern end of the Volga Upland, with the Kuybyshev Reservoir at the northeastern end.

The landscape on the Volga Uplands is hilly, and several rivers have cut into it, such as the Khopyor, Medveditsa and the Sura. The Volga–Don Canal cuts through the lowlands between the Volga Uplands to the north and the adjacent Yergeni Hills to the south.

The Volga Uplands themselves are rather sparsely populated, but along their edges and in particular along the banks of the Volga there are several large cities, such as (from north to south) Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Saransk, Penza, Syzran, Saratov and Volgograd.

Geography

The depression is in the southeastern part of the East European Plain and covers parts of Kazakhstan and Russia. In Kazakhstan it covers parts of Atyrau Region, West Kazakhstan Region, and Mangystau Region. In Russia it covers parts of Dagestan, Kalmykia, Saratov Oblast, Volgograd Oblast, Astrakhan Oblast, and Stavropol Krai. In the north it is bounded by Obshchy Syrt highland; in the west by Volga Upland, Yergeni, and Stavropol Upland; in the east by Ustyurt Plateau and Sub-Ural Plateau (a.k.a. Cis-Ural Plateau, Pre-Ural Plateau, Poduralskoe Plateau) It significantly overlaps with the Ryn Desert.

The Volga River and the Ural River flow into the Caspian Sea through this region. The deltas of the Ural and Volga Rivers are extensive wetlands.

Geography

The northern slopes are part of the watershed of the Yenisei River, facing the western Sayan Mountains. The eastern end touches the large watershed of the Selenge River in Mongolia.

The foothills of the southern slopes cross into Mongolian territory. They form the northern limits of a large basin of steppes that extends south to the Mongolian Altay Mountains and includes the salt lake Uvs Nuur. The western end is located near the northern Altay Mountains in the Russian Altai Republic.

Geography

The Academy of Sciences Glacier is roughly circular in shape with a diameter of about 80 km (50 mi) and an area of 5,570 km2 (2,150 sq mi). It covers almost two thirds of Komsomolets island, except for an unglaciated area at the northern end. Its average height is 692 m (2,270 ft) with a maximum elevation of 749 m (2,457 ft).

This vast ice cap is located on the southern side of the island, stretching from coast to coast, with the Laptev Sea on its eastern side at Krenkel Bay, the Red Army Strait in the south, and the Kara Sea on the west at Zhuravlev Bay.

History

This glacier was named after the Soviet Academy of Sciences by the 1930–1932 expedition to the archipelago led by Georgy Ushakov and Nikolay Urvantsev.

A 724-metre-long (2,375 ft) long ice core was drilled between 1999 and 2001 from a drilling site located near the summit of the Academy of Sciences Glacier.

Geography

This ice cap has a surface of 2,800 km2 and is the largest of the seven ice caps on October Revolution Island. Its maximum height is 963 m and it is also the highest point in Severnaya Zemlya.

The Karpinsky Ice Cap is located on the eastern side of the island with the Laptev Sea and the Shokalsky Strait on its eastern side. To the north it feeds the Matusevich Fjord, the largest fjord in the archipelago, beyond which lies the Rusanov Glacier; to the southeast, it feeds the head of the smaller Marat Fjord.

To the south of the Karpinsky Glacier lies the University Glacier, which reaches a height of 806 m.

Geography

Cape Zhelaniya is located at the northern end of Severny Island, the northern island of Novaya Zemlya. This headland is a geographic point of reference to mark the separation between the northern ends of the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea.

It belongs administratively to the Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation.

History

The cape was named by Dutch explorer William Barents in 1595 as Den Hoeck der Begeerte, which means "Cape Desire".

There was a Soviet Arctic station in Cape Zhelaniya in World War II which was shelled by the Kriegsmarine during Operation Wunderland.

It became a secret experimental station during the Cold War while a multitude of nuclear tests, including 88 atmospheric ones, were conducted in Novaya Zemlya. It functioned as a weather station until 1994, and since 2005 there has been an automatic meteorological station located here.

Geography

The North Siberian Lowland lies between the lower reaches of the Yenisey and Olenyok rivers in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Yakutia.

It is 1,400 km long and up to 600 km wide. This lowland plain features flat-topped ridges approximately 200-300 m high, which rise over broad and heavily swamped degradations with a large number of thermokarst lakes.

Rivers Pyasina, Taymyra, Kheta and Kotuy flow over the North Siberian Lowland, as well as further east the Khatanga, Popigay, Kuoyka, Beyenchime, Bur, Buolkalakh, as well as the Anabar with its tributaries the Suolama and Udya, and the Uele. There are many lakes in the North Siberian Lowland, the biggest one is Lake Taymyr.

The North Siberian Lowland has deposits of oil, natural gas and coal (Taymyr Basin).

Climate and flora

The climate is subarctic continental with long (7–8 months) cold winters and short cool summers. Average temperature in January is −30 °C (−22 °F) in the West and down to −35 to −37 °C (−31 to −35 °F) in the East. Temperature in July is around 6–10 °C (43–50 °F). Snow cover stays for approximately 265 days. Precipitation is 250–300 millimetres (9.8–11.8 in) per year.

Sparse forest in the west consists mainly of Siberian larch. Eastern parts of the lowland are covered with Dahurian larch. Lichen tundra dominates northern parts of the lowland, while southern parts are full of shrubbery vegetation.

Geography and topography

By topography and other natural features, the Urals are divided, from north to south, into the Polar (or Arctic), Nether-Polar (or Sub-Arctic), Northern, Central and Southern parts.

The Polar Urals extend for about 385 kilometers (239 mi) from Mount Konstantinov Kamen in the north to the river Khulga in the south; they have an area of about 25,000 km2 (9,700 sq mi) and a strongly dissected relief. The maximum height is 1,499 m (4,918 ft) at Mount Payer and the average height is 1,000 to 1,100 m (3,300 to 3,600 ft).

The mountains of the Polar Ural have exposed rock with sharp ridges, though flattened or rounded tops are also found.

The Nether-Polar Ural are higher, and up to 150 km (93 mi) wider than the Polar Urals.

Geology

The Urals are among the world's oldest extant mountain ranges. Some have estimated the age to be 250 to 300 million years. Despite this, the elevation of the mountains is unusually high. They formed during the Uralian orogeny due to the collision of the eastern edge of the supercontinent Laurasia with the young and rheologically weak continent of Kazakhstania, which now underlies much of Kazakhstan and West Siberia west of the Irtysh, and intervening island arcs. The collision lasted nearly 90 million years in the late Carboniferous – early Triassic.

Climate

The climate of the Urals is continental. The mountain ridges, elongated from north to south, effectively absorb sunlight thereby increasing the temperature. The areas west of the Ural Mountains are 1–2 °C (1.8–3.6 °F) warmer in winter than the eastern regions because the former are warmed by Atlantic winds whereas the eastern slopes are chilled by Siberian air masses. The average January temperatures increase in the western areas from −20 °C (−4 °F) in the Polar to −15 °C (5 °F) in the Southern Urals and the corresponding temperatures in July are 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F). The western areas also receive more rainfall than the eastern ones by 150–300 mm (5.9–11.8 in) per year. This is because the mountains trap clouds from the Atlantic Ocean.

Ecology

The continuous and intensive economic development of the last centuries has affected the fauna, and wildlife is much diminished around all industrial centers. During World War II, hundreds of factories were evacuated from Western Russia before the German occupation, flooding the Urals with industry. The conservation measures include establishing national wildlife parks. There are nine strict nature reserves in the Urals: the Ilmen, the oldest one, mineralogical reserve founded in 1920 in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Pechora-Ilych in the Komi Republic, Bashkir and its former branch Shulgan-Tash in Bashkortostan, Visim in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Southern Ural in Bashkortostan, Basegi in Perm Krai, Vishera in Perm Krai and Denezhkin Kamen in Sverdlovsk Oblast.

Climate

Cape Chelyuskin has a tundra climate (Köppen climate classification ET), with no month having a low above freezing. Winters last year round, but may be broken up during the meteorological summer months by short spells of above average temperatures. Snowfall is usual year round, with every year experiencing snow during every month including summer months. Sunshine hours peak during April, and begin to sharply drop off during the end of July or early August.

History

The cape was first reached in May 1742 by an expedition on land party led by Semion Chelyuskin, and was initially called Cape East-Northern. It was renamed in honour of Chelyuskin by the Russian Geographical Society in 1842, on the 100th anniversary of the discovery.

It was passed on 18 August 1878 by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld during the first sea voyage through the Northeast Passage.

In 1919 Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen's ship Maud left behind two men, Peter Tessem and Paul Knutsen, at Cape Chelyuskin after having made winter quarters there. The Maud continued eastwards into the Laptev Sea and the men were instructed to wait for the freeze-up of the Kara Sea and then sledge southwestwards towards Dikson carrying Amundsen's mail. However, these two men disappeared mysteriously.

Geography

The east range is bound by the northwest coast of the Sea of Okhotsk. To the northwest the range limits with the Yudoma-Maya Highlands, to the southwest with the Stanovoy Range, to the south with the Dzhagdy Range, and to the northeast with the Kolyma Mountains. The Maya, the Maymakan, and the Mati are among the rivers having their source in the range.

Geology

The range was formed by an asymmetrical fold. The southwestern half of the mountains is composed of gneiss and granite from the Precambrian, while the northeast contains Mesozoic shale and limestone as well as Cretaceous and Paleocene igneous rock.

Ecology and climate

The coastal stretch of the range is populated by Japanese stone pine and Dahurian larch. Parts of the range occupied by the Okhotsk-Manchurian taiga ecoregion contain swathes of Jezo spruce up to elevations of 1,300 m.

The climate is wet and cold, with wet rainy summers and severe winters.