Commonwealth of
Independent States
Russia and the CIS
Physical Geography
Russia is about twice the size
of the continental U.S.
Agricultural Zone- most of Russia’s
farming is here
 Chernozem = black earth
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called the “Black Earth Belt”
75% of population lives in plains & 3
largest cities- Moscow, St. Petersburg &
Kiev
 Ukraine= “The Bread Basket” of the
region
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World’s largest flat area-Covers an area of about 1.2 million
square miles
Formed by glacial deposits after the last Ice Age.
 Desert
Region
Kara Kum (black sand)
 Kyzyl Kum (red sand
desert)
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high plateaus
highlands & mountains are the dominate landform.
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Divides Europe and Asia
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Between the Black &
Caspian Seas and forms
border between Russia
and Transcaucasia
(Armenia, Azerbaijan
and Georgia)
Mount Elbrus
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(extinct volcano that is
Russia’s highest point)
Mt. Elbrus
18,510 ft
Only warm water sea found in Russia
 Outlet to the MediterraneanIMPORTANT in Russian’s History!
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World’s largest inland
sea (actually a lake)
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Rivers run into the lake but no
outlet to the Ocean
It is a saltwater lake
Lake is shrinking
from evaporation
How does this effect
the salt content?
This picture is taken in March- notice
there is still ICE covering part of the
Caspian Sea, lake divide equally, sea
depends on length of coastline.
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Rivers that drain into Aral Sea are being used
for irrigation for cotton fields which causes Aral
to shrink
Aral Sea Video
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World’s oldest & deepest freshwater lake
Holds 1/5 of earth’s fresh water (as much as all the
Great Lakes combined)
Houston to Dallas =
226 miles
 Long
& navigable
 Frozen most of the year= Makes trade
difficult
 Rivers used for irrigation, transportation
routes or hydroelectric power for densely
populated urban areas
 Called
“Mother Volga”- provides the
needs for the people
 longest river in Europe / 4th longest in
Russia
 provides essential trade,
communication, energy & water
 Carries about 60% of Russia’s river
traffic
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gold – world’s 2nd largest producer
oil – soon to rival Saudi Arabia in
production
natural gas – world’s leading exporter
hydroelectric power
1/5th of the world’s timber supply
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Coal and Iron
Many natural resources are found here
 Difficult to remove resources because of its
harsh climate & rugged terrain (landscape)
 Most of Russia’s longest rivers—which
supply 84% of the country’s water—are
located in Siberia (only 25% of the
population lives)
 Temperature fluctuates from about 50F to
-90F
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SIBERIA
Trans Siberian Rail Road
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Climates are effected by high
latitude and the mountains to the
southeast
Continentality: Distance from the
sea which effects climate and
precipitation
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Humid Continental & Subarctic
climates dominate the northern &
eastern region
Semiarid & Desert climate around
Transcaucasia region
steppe – wide, temperate
grasslands in central Russia
 taiga – vast woodland of evergreen
forests
 tundra – flat, treeless plains near
Arctic Ocean
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