Tours in Russia: Geography and Climate
Geography
Russia is the largest country in the world; its total area is 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). There are 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia, 40 UNESCO biosphere reserves,41 national parks and 101 nature reserves. It lies between latitudes 41°and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W.
Russia’s territorial expansion was achieved largely in the late 16th century under the Cossack, Yermak Timofeyevich, during the reign ofIvan the Terrible, at a time when competing city-states in the western regions of Russia had banded together to form one country. Yermak mustered an army and pushed eastward, where he conquered nearly all the lands once belonging to the Mongols, defeating their ruler,Khan Kuchum.
Russia has a wide natural resource base, including major deposits of timber, petroleum, natural gas, coal, ores and other mineral resources.
Climate
The enormous size of Russia and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate, which is prevalent in all parts of the country except for the tundra and the extreme southeast. Mountains in the south obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean, while the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences.
Most of Northern European Russia and Siberia has a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of Northeast Siberia (mostly the Sakha Republic, where the Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of −71.2 °C or −96.2 °F), and more moderate elsewhere. The strip of land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Russian Arctic islands, have a polar climate.
The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet winters. Winter is dry compared to summer in many regions of East Siberia and the Far East, while other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some areas of southernmost Siberia, possesses a semi-arid climate.
Climate data for Russia (records) |
||||||
Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Record high °C (°F) |
22.2 |
23.8 |
30.3 |
34.0 |
37.7 |
43.2 |
Record low °C (°F) |
−71.2 |
−64.4 |
−60.6 |
−46.4 |
−28.9 |
−9.7 |
Month |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Record high °C (°F) |
45.4 |
43.5 |
41.5 |
33.7 |
29.1 |
25.0 |
Record low °C (°F) |
−9.3 |
−17.1 |
−25.3 |
−47.6 |
−58.5 |
−62.8 |
Climate data for Russia (records) |
|
Month |
Year |
Record high °C (°F) |
45.4 |
Record low °C (°F) |
−71.2 |
Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons—winter and summer—as spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high. The coldest month is January (February on the coastline the warmest usually is July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot, even in Siberia. The continental interiors are the driest areas.