Physical Geography: Russia
By: Beverly Lo, Anushka Limaye, and Prashan Jeyarajah
Seasons of Russia
Biomes
Caspian Desert
North Russian Deciduous Forest
Siberian Tundra
Russia is the biggest country in the world which means that it must have many different biomes. For example, tundras could be located in the country due to its closeness to the arctic circle. On the other hand, deserts can also be found in Russia because some regions stretch toward the warm and toasty Middle East. Also, because Russia goes through all four seasons, temperate deciduous forests can be found in Russia. The country also has plentiful flat lands with grasses meaning that grasslands are prominent.
Natural Disasters
Earthquakes
The Kamchatka Peninsula located in Russia is found on a fault line. This means that the two tectonic plates that make up earth's surface slide against each other. So, earthquakes have occurred in this area.
Flash Floods
In the regions near the Black Sea, flash floods are fairly common because of the amount of water found in the air.
Tornadoes
There are plains and plateaus (areas with flat land) located in Russia. These regions are highly vulnerable to tornadoes
Climate
Climate in Russia depends on many factors including its latitude, its distance from water, its altitude, and its ocean currents.
Latitude affects temperature and precipitation, both of which are important factors in an area’s climate. The higher the latitude, for example(either north or south), the colder it is. Or, the higher the temperature in an area, the higher the rate of evaporation, and therefore, the higher the amount of precipitation.
Land heats and cools faster than water, and so when the two temperatures are different, conduction occurs and the temperatures of the two landforms are controlled. Also, places that are inland have a large variation of seasons because they do not have access to a large body of water like to coastal places do.
Altitude affects Russia’s climate where the higher the altitude is then the lower the temperature is in that area. This is due to factors, such as air pressure, that make the air colder the higher off the ground you are.
Ocean currents depend on how the temperature of the ocean surface is. If there is a warm ocean surface the water evaporates easier which causes more precipitation in the warmer/wetter regions. In the colder places, the water has a harder time evaporating which causes many of the storms to be condensed.Cool Physical Features in Russia!
Kola Peninsula
Waves started to hit the land and some of the rock eroded more easily than other parts of the rock. Slowly, a peninsula formed as the hard rock refused to erode. Water cut further and further inland until the land was surrounded on three sides by water.
Lena River
When thawed snow runs downhill over a long time, a river is created. SInce Russia is cold and far north, snow exists there, and it runs downhill sometimes. Because of this, Rivers like the Lena River are created.
Kara Sea
When tectonic plates with ocean on them move apart, a new seafloor is created and the area of the water gets bigger. This creates a sea. In the water around Russia, two tectonic plates moved apart and created the Kara Sea.
Central Siberian Plateau
The central Siberian Plateau had magma under its surface, and so when magma pushed up towards the crust but did not break through, a plateau was formed.
Lake Baikal
Because Russia is so far north, there are a lot of glaciers. Sometimes, these glaciers create a carter in the earth when the move down and then stay still. WHen this happens, the glaciers, which are now in warmer temperatures, melt. This is how Lake Baikal was formed.
Shelikhov Gulf
A meteor hit the earth causing a “dent” in the land. This “dent” filled in with water, thus creating a gulf.
Kuril Islands
When a volcano erupted under the sea, a bunch of islands were formed. The magma came up and hardened, making a rock shelf that later grew rich with life. We use the word “island” to describe this small rock shelf.
Ural Mountains
Like all mountains, the Ural Mountains were formed when two land tectonic plates hit each other and kept pushing up until a mountain range was formed.
Kerch Strait
The Kerch Strait resulted from tectonic movement. When tectonic plates with water on them move apart, new seafloor is created and filled in with water. When the movement apart is small and in the sea, a small connection of water is created. When there are two landforms that have sea on either side, the sea fills in and creates a strait.
Pacific Ocean
Oceans were created when the earth’s atmosphere built up so much that it rained for 100 years. Such is the creation of the Pacific Ocean.
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