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Chapter 15

Chapter 15. The Former Soviet Union has wide extremes of climate types. The heartland of this region is affected by continentality , or continental effects The further land is from the ocean, the greater the range of temperatures and the drier a region will tend to be

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Chapter 15

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  1. Chapter 15

  2. The Former Soviet Union has wide extremes of climate types • The heartland of this region is affected by continentality, or continental effects • The further land is from the ocean, the greater the range of temperatures and the drier a region will tend to be • Air coming from the Atlantic loses most of its moisture as it moves further and further inland • Weather systems coming from the south have little rainfall after they climb over the Himalayas and other mountains south of the region

  3. Siberia is a good example of continentality • Temps seldom reach upwards of 50° and sometimes as low as -90° F • People use frozen rivers and lakes as roads during the winter • Permafrost can reach depths of 1,500 ft.

  4. Pattern of climates • Humid continental and subarctic climates dominate the north and east of the region • The south east is semi arid and desert • In Transcaucasia, moist air from the Mediterranean and Black Seas contributes to a subtropical climate zone

  5. Vegetation Regions • 4 major regions • Tundra • In the arctic climates zone: mosses, lichens, small herbs and shrubs adapted to cold, harsh conditions • Forest • The Russian taiga is the largest forest region in the world • Mostly coniferous trees • Many fur bearing animals such as sable, fox and ermine • South of the taiga, the forest transitions into deciduous forests

  6. More vegetation • Steppe • The temperate grassland that extends from southern Ukraine through northern Kazakhstan • Chernozemmakes this region primo agricultural land • Desert • In the western and central parts of Central Asia • Kara Kum in Turkmenistan • KyzylKum in western Uzbekistan

  7. The shrinking Aral Sea • The Aral sea is filled from two main rivers-the Amu Darya and Syr Darya • In the 1950s, the water was diverted for cotton irrigation

  8. Effects of agriculture • Pesticides and fertilizers were picked up by runoff-rainfall not absorbed by the soil and deposited in the Aral Sea • None of the original 24 native species of fish are left today • Retreating waters of the sea exposed these fertilizers and pesticides as well as salt; wind storms dump these pollutants on neighboring populations • Sharp increases in disease • Saving the Aral Sea would mean taking half of the land out of cultivation • Terrible hardship for farmers who depend on the field for their livelihood

  9. It’s cold in Russia; so what? • Verkoyansk in Siberia has recorded temperatures from -90° F to 94° F within the same year from winter to summer • When the snow and ice melt, pools of water and swampy conditions are breeding ground for mosquitoes and black flies • In order to keep buildings from melting the permafrost and sinking into the soil, builders build them on stilts. • “General Winter” has helped Russians • In 1812, Napolean invaded Russia with over 100, 000 soldiers • Caught by the winter, 90,000 soldiers lost their lives and Napolean’s effort was defeated • A similar fate met the Germans during World War II

  10. Taming the “Wild East” • Siberia mirrors the history of our American “West” • In order to improve travel into the region, the emperor order the building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad to link Moscow with Vladivostok • Covered more than 5,700 miles and 7 time zones • Built between 1891 and 1904 • Within years, settlers poured into the region and resources poured out • 5 million settlers • Coal and Iron ore poured out • The railroad also aided the political unity and economic development of the country

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