Climate Regions of E.E. and Russia• What influences Russian climates?

– Lack of mountains near lowlands• Leads to significant wind gusts

– Most of country is located far from open sea water• Open water tends to moderate temperatures

– Northern location• 75% of region is located north of U.S.

– More than ½ of land is covered with snow for 6 months a year– ½ of land is permafrost

» Permanent frozen layer of soil beneath ground

• Most common climates– Humid continental

• Wide range of temperatures– Short but warm summers

» 65 degrees F in July– Long and extremely cold winters

» 21 degrees F in January• Common in North European Plain

• Subarctic– Severe cold for much of year

• 10 degrees F in February• 55 degrees F in July• Little variety of plant life

– Taiga» Needle-leaved evergreens» Very common in Siberia

• Tundra– Most northern areas of Russia– Extremely cold temperatures in winter

• Winter temperatures average between -20 to -30 degrees F– Limited sunlight in winter

• Temperatures rarely get above 50 degrees F• Summer brings constant light

– Topsoil is very thin above permafrost• Little vegetation

– Mosses, bushes, short grassesX%^$@!!!!

It’s cold here in the tundra

region of Russia!!

• Drier regions of E.E. and Central Asia– Very southern region of Russia into “Stans”

• Steppe (10 to 20 inches of rain a year)– Thick clumps of trees with vast areas of opens spaces and grasslands

• Desert (Less than 10 inches of rain a year)– South of steppe– Bare rock and sandy dunes with little vegetation

I wish I had a bottle of water right now!

• Temperatures of the steppe and desert– Astana, Kazakhstan

» Averages 81 degrees F in July» Averages 10 degrees F in January