Great Russian Regions Explained

The Great Russian Regions are eight geomorphological regions of the Russian Federation displaying characteristic forms of relief. Seven of them are parts of Siberia, located east of the Ural Mountains.^[1]

Geography

See main article: Geography of Russia.

• Central Siberian Plateau, a large elevated zone between the Yenisei and Lena rivers composed of various plateaus (Putorana Plateau, Anabar Plateau, Vilyuy Plateau, and Lena Plateau among others) deeply dissected by river valleys. Area 3500000km2.^[2]
• Central Yakutian Lowland, the alluvial plain of the middle Lena River separating the Central Siberian Plateau to the west and the East Siberian Mountains to the east. Area 300000km2.^[3]
• East European Plain, a very large area that comprises the plains and depressions west and southwest of the Urals crossed by numerous large rivers, such as the Volga, Dnieper, Don and Pechora. Area approximately 4000000km2.^[2]
• East Siberian Lowland, a vast alluvial plain, swampy and dotted with thousands of lakes. The region includes the Yana-Indigirka, Kolyma and Aby lowlands, as well as the New Siberian Islands. Area about 1100000km2.^[4]
• East Siberian Mountains, a large mountainous area located in northeastern Siberia. It includes two large mountain systems, the Verkhoyansk Range and the Chersky Range, as well as other minor ones. To the east it reaches Cape Dezhnyov in the Bering Strait. Area approximately 2000000km2.^[5]
• North Siberian Lowland, a plain with a relatively flat relief separating the Byrranga Mountains of the Taymyr Peninsula in the north from the Central Siberian Plateau in the south. Area approximately 400000km2.^[6]
• South Siberian Mountains, stretching roughly from east to west in the Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts of Russia, as well as partly in Mongolia. Area approximately 1500000km2.^[7]
• West Siberian Plain, large alluvial plain between the Urals to the west and the Yenisei River to the east, beyond which rises the Central Siberian Plateau. The lowland is bound by the coast of the Kara Sea to the north and by the foothills of the Altai Mountains to the southeast. The southern end extends into Kazakhstan. Area 2600000km2.^[8]

Landscapes

See also

• Federal districts of Russia
• Outline of Russia
• Siberia§Geography

Notes and References

1. А.Г. Исаченко. Ландшафтоведение и физико-географическое районирование. — Москва: Высшая школа, 1991. — (A.G. Isachenko, Landscape Science and Physiogeographical Zoning.)
2. А. Д. Некипелов и др. Новая Российская Энциклопедия, т. 1. (A. D. Nekipelov et al. New Russian Encyclopedia, vol. 1) — М.: Энциклопедия, 2003. — 969 с. — .
3. http://bse.sci-lib.com/article120587.html Central Yakutian Lowland
4. Oleg Leonidovič Kryžanovskij, A Checklist of the Ground-beetles of Russia and Adjacent Lands. p. 16
5. Gvozdetsky N. A. & Mikhailov N. I. Physical geography of the USSR. M., Thought, 1978
6. John Kimble (ed.), Cryosols: Permafrost-Affected Soils
7. Mountains of South Siberia in the book: Gvozdetsky N. A., Mikhailov N. I. Physical geography of the USSR. M., Thought, 1978.
8. http://ecoclub.nsu.ru/nature/sib.htm Западная Сибирь: краткий физико-географический обзор