RUSSIA AND
EURASIAN
REPUBLICS:
PHYSICAL
GEOGRAPHY
The Land, Climate and Vegetation
The Land
Classwork:
Geography Book--- Page 295: 1-4
Answers:
1. chernozern—rich, black topsoil; kums—deserts
2. North European Plain, West Siberian Plain, Turan
Lowland
3. Long and navigable
4. Minerals and energy, soils, forests, wildlife and
fish
The Land
Standards:
H.S. 14 – Create and use maps, technology, imagery, and other
geographical representations to extrapolate and interpret geographic
data.
H.S. 63 – Engage in informed and respectful deliberation and
discussion of issues, events and ideas.
Objectives—At the end of this section students will be able to:
1.
Define terms related to the physical geography of Russia.
2.
Use maps of Russia to identify, locate and compare regions,
locations, places, movements, and physical features
3.
Compare and contrast the physical features of Russia and the
Eurasian republics with the U.S.
4.
Research and discuss current issues/events related to physical
features of Russia
The Land: Introduction
The Ural Mountains—Describe where they are
located in relation to Europe and Siberia
Siberia
Urals
iberi
Europe
Plains Areas

The North European Plain
 Center
of economic life
 Rich, black topsoil called chernuzem
 Ukraine, once a former Soviet Republic and now
an independent country, is one of Europe’s best
farming areas
 Label the following places on your map: North
European Plain, Ukraine, Kiev, Moscow, Volga
River, St. Petersburg, Dniester River, Dnieper
River, and the Don River (Use the map on page
293)
Plains Areas

The West Siberian Plain
 East
of the Ural Mountains
 World’s largest area of flat land
 Mostly swamps, marshes, evergreen forests and
tundra
 Label the following places on your map: West
Siberian Plain, Ural Mountains
 Turn to the neighbor on your right and complete
“Focus on Geographic Themes” questions under
the map on page 293
Plains Areas

Answers to map questions:
1. Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan 2. Kiev
3. The Black Sea
4. Kara-Kum

The Turan Lowland



Some areas irrigated for agriculture
Consists mostly of the Kara-Kum, or black sand
desert (Turkmenistan) and the Kyzylkum, or red
sand desert (Uzbekistan)
Locate the following places on your map: KaraKum, Kyzylkum, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Turan
Lowland, Caspian Sea, Tian Shan Mountains
Mountains and Plateaus

Mountains
 The
Carpathian Mountains are extensions of the
Alps
 The Caucasus Mountains are covered with pine
and deciduous forests and form the Russian
frontier with Azerbaijan and Georgia
 Communism Peak in the Pamir Range is the
regions highest peak at 24,590 feet
Mountains
 The
Tian Shan Mountains, or heavenly
mountains, have some of the world’s largest
glaciers
 The
Ural mountains are mineral rich; they divide
European Russia from Asian Russia
Mountains



East Siberian uplands—largest area of Siberia
made up of forests, mountains and plateaus it
runs to the Pacific
The Central Siberian Plateau rises in
elevation as you go north, creating fast
moving rivers that cut large canyons
Label your map: Carpathians, Caucasus,
Communism Peak, East Siberian uplands,
Central Siberian Plateau, Kyrgyz steppe
Other Land Forms

Kyrgyz Steppe
 The
largest steppe, or
savannah, in the world
 Flat, dry grasslands
that connect the end
of the Urals and the
Kara Kum
 Sparsely populated
 Similar to Great Plains
in the US
The Land
The Ural Mountains: Stuff They Don’t Want You
to Know
Fill in the blanks as you watch the film.
Seas and Lakes
On Your Map (Use page 293):
 Locate and label these seas, which are in the
north of Russia and are ice locked in winter:
White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, Ease Siberian,
Chukchi
 In the northeast, the sea of Okhotsk, the
Bering Sea
Seas and Lakes
The Black Sea is a warm-water sea that
connects Russia to the Mediterranean
 Many wars have
been fought to
control the
straits and keep
Russia land-locked
 Locate and label
the Black Sea on
your map

Seas and Lakes
Seas and Lakes

The Caspian Sea
 Largest
inland body of water in the world
 Shrinking due to reduced flow of rivers

The Aral Sea

Shrinking due to so much water being used for
irrigation
Answer the three questions in your notes.
Answer: both are shrinking; Aral is fresh water
Locate the Caspian and Aral Seas on your map
Seas and Lakes

Lake Baikal
 Oldest
and deepest lake in the world
 Holds 1/5 of the world’s fresh water

Locate and label Lake Baikal on your map
Rivers





Long
Navigable
Connected to seas and each other by canals
Important for trade
Volga is called the “Mother Volga”
 Longest
in European Russia
 Frozen 4-6 months of year
 Provides hydroelectric power and water for
cities, industry and irrigation
Rivers


Locate and label these rivers: Volga, Amur,
Ural, Lena, Ob, Yenisey, Dnieper, Don
Indicate with a N, S, W, or E the direction of
flow
Tver, Russia, in winter
Catherine’s Palace
Natural Resources of
the Eurasian Area



Leads the world in production of manganese,
chromium, coal, copper, silver, and natural gas
Second in the world in gold, lead, salt, tin,
tungsten, and zinc
Produces 20% of the world’s coal and lignite
Siberian diamond
Natural Resources of
the Eurasian Area
 Abounds in iron
ore, nickel,
asbestos, bauxite,
antimony, and
precious stones
 Third in the world
in oil production
 Leader in hydroelectric power
Natural Resources of
the Eurasian Area

Ukraine is the
breadbasket of Eurasia
with rich, black
chernozem soil
 Produces
rye, wheat,
barley and sugar beets
 About 1/3 of Eurasia is
forest, mostly pine
Siberian taiga forest
Natural Resources of
the Eurasian Area

Wildlife includes the
Siberian tiger, bear,
reindeer, elk, deer,
wolf and boar
 Fish
are an important
regional resource
including salmon from
the Pacific coast
Russian Life
Russian Fun
And You Thought
American Drivers
Were Bad
Section 1: The Land Assignment
Complete the table and article assignment
located on the Library Web Site, Teacher Pages.
 Select the assignment, open it and save it to
your H drive.
 Use the World Book and your notes to
complete the table.
 Click on the link to the article on the online
document to open it.
 Type the answers in on the Word document
you saved.
Bibliography

Images courtesy of Wikipedia Commons