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Siberia, vast geographical region with no precise boundaries, c.2.9 million sq mi (7.5 million sq km), mostly in Russia. As generally delineated, it extends east across N Asia from the
Urals to the Pacific coast region known as the Russian Far East, and south from the
Tundra regions along the Arctic Ocean margins, through the great
Taiga forest zone, to the
Steppes of Central Asia and Mongolia. Most of Siberia is sparsely populated, with Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Novokuznetsk, and Irkutsk the principal cities. Russians and Ukrainians, migrating east from European Russia since the 13th cent., are now more numerous than indigenous ethnic groups. Transportation facilities are limited, the Lena, Ob, and Yenisei rivers (and their tributaries) serving as the principal north-south routes and
the Trans-Siberian Railway (completed 1905) as the chief east-west route. Extreme cold in the north and scanty, irregular precipitation in the south limit the region's agricultural potential, and most development is based on Siberia's rich oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, gold, timber, and other resources. Russia's conquest of Siberia was completed in 1598. >From the early 17th cent. it has been notorious as the site of penal colonies and as a place of exile for political prisoners.
- The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
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Taiga, northern coniferous-forest belt of Eurasia, bordered on the north by the treeless tundra and on the south by the steppe, comprising about one third of the world's forestland. The climate is characterized by long, severe winters and short summers. The principal species of trees are cedar, pine, spruce, larch, birch, and aspen.
- The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
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Tundra, treeless plains to the north of the coniferous forest belt in N North America and N Eurasia. For most of the year the mean monthly temperature is below the freezing point. Winters are long and severe, and mean monthly summer temperatures rarely exceed 50 °F (10 °C). Precipitation is slight and evenly distributed throughout the year. The underlying subsoil
(Permafrost) is always frozen. Mosses, lichen, and some flowering plants grow during the brief summer, and the few large animal species include the caribou, arctic fox, and snowshoe rabbit. The tundra is a fragile, easily disturbed ecosystem.
- The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
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Steppes, temperate grassland of Eurasia, consisting of level, generally treeless plains. There are three vegetation zones: the wooded steppe (having deciduous trees and the highest rainfall), the tillable steppe (consisting of productive agricultural lands), and the nontillable steppe (a semidesert).
- The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
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Urals or Ural Mountains, mountain system extending north-south c.1,500 mi (2,400 km) across W Russia into N Kazakstan, part of the traditional border between Europe and Asia. Naroda (6,212 ft/1,893 m), in the north, is the highest point. Except in the polar and northern sections, the mountains are densely forested, with lumbering an important industry. They are also enormously rich in minerals, including coal, iron ore, aluminum, copper, manganese, potash, and oil. Huge industrial centers, part of the Urals industrial area (c.290,000 sq mi/751,500 sq km), are located at Yekaterinburg (Sverdlovsk), Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhni Tagil, and Perm. During World War II entire industries were transferred to the Urals from the W USSR.
- The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia
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