WORLD GEOGRAPHY TODAY
 Red Flag Questions
Pages 381-385
CHAPTER 17: RUSSIA, UKRAINE, AND BELARUS
SECTION 1: Natural Environments
By the end of this section, you will be able to answer these questions:
1. What landforms and rivers are found in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?
2. What factors influence the region’s climates and vegetation?
3. What natural resources does the region have?
LANDFORMS AND RIVERS

What percent of the world’s land area is covered by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?

Eurasia

Where does Russia rank in the world when it comes to landmass?

What is the highest point in Europe?

What shaped the broad plains that are the region’s major landforms?

What is the largest swamp in Europe?

What is the part of Russia located east of the Ural Mountains known as?

What area has active volcanoes?

What are the three major south flowing rivers?

Why is Lake Baikal known as the Jewel of Siberia?
CLIMATES AND VEGETATION
Climates

What three climate regions are found in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?

What happens when the permafrost’s surface layer melts in summer?

Why are the area’s eastern two-thirds very dry?

What temperature has Verkhoyansk in Siberia reached?

icebreakers

What is Russia’s only large ice-free Arctic port?
Vegetation

What type of vegetation grows in the tundra climate?

taiga

Why is farming limited in the taiga region?

What area has become one of the world’s major grain-producing areas?
CLIMATE
LOCATION
tundra
taiga
mixed deciduous-coniferous forest
steppe
NATURAL RESOURCES

What happened to much of Russia’s forest, energy, and mineral resources?

What are the region’s main energy resources?

Where is Russia’s industrial heartland located?

Where are most of Russia’s oil and gas reserves located?

Where was Russia’s first geothermal power station located?

What other metals are found in Russia and the Ukraine?