Cultural

Geography
Thursday, November 30th
 Warm Up
The Answer is

RUSSIA
 Southern European
Russia
The Don River Basin
Rostov Vital port at the mouth of
the Don River.
Volga-Don Canal links the Don with
the Volga River.
 Southern European
Russia
Caucasus Mountains
Mountain range that divides Europe from
Asia.
Catherine the Great, a czarina in the 18 th
century, conquered the area.
The northern half of the region is part of
the Great European Plain.
The people are Kalmys and are Buddhists.
The southern half is mountainous.
Contains the highest mountains in Europe.
 Southern European
Russia
Caucasus Mountains
There are 8 republics in the area.
Chechnya is one region that has been
fighting for independence.
Declared independence in 1991.
In 1994, Russian leader Yeltsin sent in the
Russian army, who started bombing
civilians.
In 1999, Chechyn terrorists started
carrying out attacks on Russia.
 Southern European
Russia
Caucasus Mountains
Dagestan is another Caucasus
republic that has 30 different people
groups and important oil reserves.
Primarily Muslim.
 Asian Russia
Russia has the greatest supply of
mineral and fuel deposits in the world.
Many of these are in remote areas of
the east.
Very few people live in this part of the
country.
 Asian Russia
Ural Mountains
Mountain range that forms a
geographic border between Europe
and Asia.
The mountains are low and allow
people to pass through easily.
The mountains are known for having
mineral deposits.
 Asian Russia
Ural Mountains
The cities of Yekaterinburg and
Chelyabinsk are industrial cities
that help produce manufactured
goods.
Yekaterinburg is where Czar Nicholas
II and his family were executed in
1918.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
All of Russia east of the Ural Mountains is
called Siberia.
The area in the north is cold and has
permafrost, seals, walrus, and reindeer.
Farther south is coniferous forests,
wolves and the taiga.
A great coniferous forest of spruce, fir and
larch.
Important wood source.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
Trans-Siberian Railway
Runs 5,778 miles from Moscow to
Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean.
It crosses 8 time zones and take 8 days
to travel.
It was built to help transport Russias
mineral wealth from remote areas.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
Western Siberian Plain
Covers over 1 million square miles.
Is 1/7th of Russias land area.
The north is frozen while the south is
marshy and the area drained by the Ob
River.
Novosibirsk is the largest city in Siberia
and has many natural resources nearby.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
Central Siberian Plateau
Covers 1/3 of Siberia
Rich mineral deposits include nickel,
cobalt, platinum and diamonds.
Two main ethnic groups: Altaya and
Tuva.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
East Siberian Upland
A mountain wilderness that covers 1.2
million square miles.
The republic of Sakha (Yakutia) has the
harshest climate of any inhabited area.
Home to the Yakuts, a nomadic
people who herd cattle and reindeer.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
East Siberian Upland
The Far East more moderate
climate with some farm land.
The ports freeze in winter but
icebreakers get through.
Russian territory is close to many other
countries: North Korea, China, Japan
and the United States.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
East Siberian Upland
The Far East
Sakhalin Island has both coal and petroleum
resources.
Kuril Islands extend towards Japan (pg. 180).
Chukchi Peninsula almost touches Alaska in
the U.S.
The Kamchatka Peninsula has 29 active
volcanoes
 Asian Russia
Siberia
East Siberian Upland
The Far East
Vladivostok is Russias main port on the
Pacific Ocean, which is linked to Western
European Russia by the Trans-Siberian
Railway.
The Russian empire once included Alaska and
areas along the West Coast of North America.
The U.S. bought Alaska in 1867.
 Asian Russia
Siberia
Lake Baykal
The deepest lake in the world at over 1
mile deep, 395 miles long and 50 miles
wide.
330 rivers flow into the lake, but only 1
river flows out.
There are 900 animal species that
arent found anywhere else in the world.
 Activity
7.4