Climate and Natural Resources of Russia and the Eurasian Republi

​Climate and Natural Resources of Russia and the Eurasian Republics

​Objectives/Goals

​Vocabulary

• Identify  the climate zones present in the region

• Explain how the climate and natural resources impact the people in this region

• Evaluate how climate change will impact geography

• Boreal Forest

• Chernozem

• Continentality

• Hydroelectric Power

• Permafrost

• Pipeline

• Steppe

• Taiga

• Tundra

​Essential Question: How do the climate and natural resources of Russia and the Eurasian Republics impact their population?

Open Ended

Where in the World is Comet?

(Specific Location, Country)

Clue 1: This country is a lanlocked country in Central Asia.

Clue 2: This location is located near the village of Shetpe.

Clue 3: This location has many different theories of how it was made, including erosion and aliens

Clue 4: One folklore about this place is that these 'balls' rained down from Heaven killing all enemies.

Clue 5: This location has a nickname of "The Valley of Balls".

Where is Comet?

​Diversity of Temperature

• Region of Extremes

  • The Eurasian republics and western Russia experience moderate temperatures due to the Atlantic Ocean. 

  • Eastern Russia = winter temps of -33 degrees and summer temps of 64 degrees

    • Siberia - coldest temperature recorded -90 degrees

  • Continentality: a region's interior has more extreme variations in temperature and precipitation; distance from major bodies of water cause fluctuation

  • Western Russia = 14 degrees and summer 75 degrees

    • Yashkul - hottest temperature recorded at 112 degrees

  • Eurasian Republics - moderate temperatures due to the warm air and water from the Atlantic Ocean

• Climate Zones

  • Polar Climate Zone/Continental Climate Zone/Arid Climate Zone

​What is the summer temperature in Moscow?

Convert from Celcius to Farenheit

​What is the winter temperature in Moscow?

Convert from Celcius to Farenheit

​Climate Zones of Russia: Tundra

• Tundra: a large, treeless plain

  • Located north of the Arctic Circle

    • Tundra can stay dark for weeks in winter

    • Tundra sun doesn't set for weeks in summer

  • Arctic Tundra: cold, desert-like conditions with few shrubs and animals such as arctic foxes, polar bears, and wolves

  • Shrub Tundra: a warmer area that includes Moses and dwarf trees

  • Wooded Tundra: slightly warmer area with small birch and spruce trees

  • Permafrost: permanently frozen ground which makes it difficult to grow crops

    • Due to Global Warming, permafrost is thawing and releasing high amounts of carbon and methane into the air

    • Rise in Global Temperature due to dead and decaying plants and animals, which release methane and carbon dioxide

    • Indigenous people are often Reindeer herders

​Climate Zones of Russia: Taiga

• Taiga: a forest in the sub-arctic region; that covers 40% of western Russia and into Siberia

  • Largest climate zone in Russia

  • swampy and boggy due to a lack of natural drainage

  • Timber is the main natural resource in the taiga

  • Poor farming conditions

​Continental and Dry Climate Zone

• Most of the population of Russia and the Eurasian Republics live in the Continental and Dry Climate Zones. 

• Continental Climate

  • Extreme climate changes

  • dry summer and long, cold winters

  • Good Farming soil; beets and wheat

  • Trees: Oak, spruce, ash, birch, elm, pine and maple

• Dry Climate Zone/Steppes

  • Located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea

  • Dry Summers, long, cold, dry winters

  • Chernozem soil: very fertile, black soil; crops: mint, beans, sunflowers, grains

  • The Black Earth Belt is the area of this region that has fertile land, named for the Chernozem soil. 

  • The region of the Eurasian Republics near the Caucasus Mountains allows for commercial farming. 

  • Some parts of the continental climate zone located in the steppe region get very little rain and must be careful not to allow their animals to overgraze. 

  • The Sakha Republic has some of the coldest winters in the Northern Hemisphere and is part of the

​Mineral Resources of Russia and
the Eurasian Republics

• Regions major resources

  • coal

  • Precious stones; semi-precious stones

  • Oil and Natural gas

• Metals: iron ore and aluminum

  • iron - construction material, rails, automobiles, ship hulls

  • Aluminum - building materials, window frames, drink cans, kitchen foil

• Precious metals: gold, copper, platinum, uranium, cobalt, nickel, and chromium

  • Uranium - nuclear power plants, nuclear power weapons (radiation from the uranium)

    • historically used in yellow glass, pottery glaze, and photography

  • Nickel - batteries, cell phones, medical equipment, coins, jewelry

Energy Resources in Russia and
the Eurasian Republics

• This region is rich in energy resources

• These resources can be found in regions like Siberia

  • Permafrost makes it hard to drill and harvest the resource.

• The world’s largest natural gas and oil reserves

• The Caspian Sea is rich in oil transported through pipelines (a series of connected pipes used to transport liquids or gases

​Pros of Pipelines

• Environmentally friendly

• Economical

• Reliable

• Resistant to theft

​Cons of Pipelines

• Expensive

• No to Low Mobility

• Require Maintenance

• Hard to install because of climate

​Agriculture and Timber in Russia and the Eurasian Republics

• Caucasus Mountian Climate allows for Commercial Farming

  • Frost-free for 6 months of the year

• Dry environment

  • better for herding livestock: cattle, sheep, goats and camels

• Black Earth Belt: 10% of Russia's land used to support the population with agriculture

• Agriculture in the regions

  • Uzbekistan - grapes (30 different types)

  • Western Russia - Barley

  • Drier Eurasian Republics - pomegranates

  • Russia - potatoes (brought to Russia by Peter the Great)

  • Eurasian Republics - tea (black tea, green tea, and brick tea

• One-fifth of the world’s forests lie in Russia and Eurasian Republics; boreal forests supply huge amounts of timber, especially pine, fir, spruce and cedar.

​Fishing and Water of Russia and the Eurasian Republic

• Fish as an Economic Resource: Salmon, Cod, Herring, and Halibut

  • Concerns about Fishing: no government control, and illegal fishing are risking the fishing population

• Hydroelectric Power: power plants that regulate the flow of water with dams to produce electricity

  • plants are located at key points along rivers

  • Yenisey River: one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plant

​Climate Change in Russia and the Eurasian Republics

• Impacts of Climate Change

  • Temperature Rising faster in Russia than in other parts of the world

  • Changing weather events (Flash floods, fires, landslides, sinkholes)

• Melting Permafrost

  • Soil thaws and releases gases (methane and carbon dioxide) from dead and decaying animals

  • Bacteria and microbes that are ancient will be released making animals and humans sick (no immunity)

• Melting Polar Ice

  • 2035 - no more summer polar ice

  • More resources and people will be more accessible

  • Higher Ocean levels with differences in temperature of air and ocean water

  • Change in weather patterns

Open Ended

What is one way, form today's lesson, that humans are having to adapt to living in Russia and the Eurasian Republics?