SOCIAL SCIENCE 5D:

European Realm: (cont)

northwest highlands = oldest
highest northern points:
- Galdhoppigen Mountains Norway (8000 ft)
- Ben Novis Mountains Scotland
- Snowden Wales (3605 ft)
central uplands: younger than N.W. highlands
- Ardennen S
- Uosges
- Black Forest
- Urals
resources; copper, iron, zinc
Alpine Mountains: youngest
- have most activity; tectonically active
- tall mountains and steep slopes
- consists of 3 peninsulas:
Balkan region
Italian peninsula
Iberian peninsula
- Pyranees mountains separate Spain from France
- Dinaric alps and Alpinine mountains of Italy
*industrial activity: Barcelona, Milan, Athens, Turin, Mersalles
*limited agriculture
*sedimentary deposits
Climates:
climes influenced by position windward of moist Atlantic air
large and various raw materials(?)
- consequence of wide range of natural environments
- helped fuel various stages of development
temperature and precipitation
*Europe climate:
- latitude factors: air masses and sea surroundings
influenced by North Atlantic drift
Murmansk in arctic area controlled by Russia
- kept ice free b/c of N. Atlantic drift ( warm temperatures)

 North Atlantic Drift important control of climate

Other controls: orientation of countries
B dry climate
Bs semiarid
Bw arid
C umid temperate climate
Cfa
Cfb
Cfc
Csa
Csb
D Humid cold climate
Dfa
Dfb
Dfc
E cold polar climate
- tundra and ice
H highland climate
- undifferentiated highlands
Geographical Features: Locational Advantages
Relative location situated at the crossroads of the land
hemisphere, or the half of the globe with the greatest land surface
Maximum efficiency for global contact
Dense network of navigable rivers and canals
- aided contact within Europe and beyond
European interaction: close proximities and immense cultural
diversity
Ancient Europe: Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome
Greeces cultural and political foundations:
- city-states: small territories of cities and their hinterlands
ruled by elected governments
Romes political and urban system:
- borrowed from Greeks, but expanded their empire and build a
vast infrastructure network
- First metropolitan scale urban center in Europe

5 Major dimensions of contemporary Europe:

linguistic
demographic
religious
economic

political

Cultural Diversity:
Diversity of ancestries and languages:
- most belong to the Indo-European language family
-- german branch, romanic branch, Slavic branch (mostly
spoken in the East)
- English as lingua franca
Religious strife:
- historically btwn Catholics and Protestants
- Today, w/ the rise of Islam
Contemporary Europe: A dynamic realm: SPATIAL INTERACTION
Europe is unified as an enormous functional region that operates
based on two principles:
- Complementarity: as one area produces a surplus of a
commodity that is required by another area
- Transferability: ease with which a commodity can be
transported by producer to consumer
creates a highly interdependent economic realm
Economic:
highly integrated and developed
if one is deficient in one area, another compensates
A Changing Population:
Negative Natural Population Growth
Shrinking population and below-replacement fertility
- impacts workers whose taxes pay for social services
Immigration
Partially offsetting population decline
Changing once-homogenous nation-states
- growth in Muslims clustered in cities and unassimilated
The Growing Multicultural Challenge

Demographic:
1950: population reduced to 11%
currently/by 2025: will be 7%
population is relatively declining (due to crude birth/death rate)
5th phase of demographic cycle: accrued birth rate < death rate
replacement total fertility rate (TFR) = 2%
(average is usually 1.3% (?))
European Unification:
Forces at work
centrifugal forces contribute to social and political divergence
that may break up a state
centripetal forces help to politically unify as a cohesive and
stable entity
European integration and unification
- Triump of centripetal forces
- Proceeded after WW2
- Effort to maintain stability, prosperity, and security
Political:
Europe about 2/3 area of U.S.
40 countries 40/193 is approx. 40/200 = 1/5 of worlds
country
1) Free Trade Area
- countries come together to remove trade barriers amongst
themselves, but allow each member to pursue other contries
not in the area
2) Customs Union
- FTA + common external tariff policy
- Remove barriers to trade amongst themselves but take
on/develop their own tariff policy
3) Common Market
- Customs Union + Free Movement of Capital and Labor
- Economic community where capital and labor move freely
4) Economic Union
- Common Market + Common Monetary/Fiscal Policy

European unification: background

Primary motive: rapid postwar economic recovery
- led by the united states with interest in:
*reopening European markets for US goods
*securing Europe as a buffer against USSR
- European political considerations:
*Close political cooperation was necessary for peace
- Changing motives: open market to compete globally w/ US and
Asia
The Unification Process
1921 established 1944 but began to operate 1947
agreement of customs union Benelux Belgium, Luxumberg,
and ________________
European Union: ex. Of supernationalism cooperative venture
involving three or more states each giving up some sovereignty
for mutual benefit
Several member state expansions: 6 in 1958, 27 in 2007, 28 in
2013
1951: European coal + steel community established
- 6 countries: Germany, France, Italy, and Benelux ^
- France supplied coal, Belgium Iron, Luxumberg Steel,
Germany coal
1957: treaty of Rome signed
- established European economic community
- established a common market ensured free movement/flow
of capital and labor among the 6 members (inner 6)
- Britain perceived this as a protectionist move and therefore
established European free trade area in 1959 (outer 7)
-norway
-portugal
-sweden
-austria
-switzerland
-UK
-denmark
2013: 28 members of economic union
- EU parliament directly elected by EU citizens; # elected is
based on # of citizens/population
- counsel of EU (similar to US senate) 1 minister of govt from
each EU country assigned to attend foreign affairs

IN SUPPORT OF UNION:
opportunity to overcome divisions
development and prosperity will be more equitable
union is more economically powerful
political unification will aid global competitiveness
IN OPPOSITION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION:
not a true democratic choice was decided by the lite
economic inequity: high prices and cheap immigrant labor
development subsidies are being squandered
no such thing as Europe
- its a concept; varies w/ groups, like an illusion to create
Europe
SUPRANATIONALISM:
Benelux
ECSC
ECM
NAFTA
EU
SCHENGEN
NATO (but includes non European members)
Consequences of Unification:
One Market
free movement of workers and goods
- requires harmonization of member state laws
- reduces legal barriers and remove internal borders
introduction of a single bank and currency: euro
- signals strengthening unity in Europe
A New Economic Geography
reduced effect of national boundaries
some subnational regions have become powerful engines of
growth
* 4 motors of Europe:
1) Rhne Alps 2) Lombardy 3) Catalonia 4) Baden- Wrtemberg

 policies of subsidies:
- development of less prosperous subregions
- common agriculture policy (CAP) and farmers
uneven development:
- major differences still persist between regions and within
member states
Diminished State Power and New Regionalism
devolution: centrifugal forces of regions or people within a state
that demand and gain political strength at the expense of the
state:
- results when absolute sovereignty of the state over its territory
erodes
- states respond in a variety of ways, from suppression to
accommodation
Defining Europe: Difficult Choices
Widening or Deepening?
widening: expand membership of EU
- difficulty including uneven economies, disparate political
systems, and greater cultural diversity
- yet, negotiations w/ potential members continue
deepening: intensify policies and laws of the EU
- difficulty in maintaining and creating uniform laws
- rising Euro-skepticism and public resistance to deepening
The Remaining Outsiders
negotiations w/ prospective members
- Balkans
- Europes
- Turkey
Far East
EU demand for political, economic, and social reform is becoming
more urgent
Cultural distinctions could impede membership
Once Again: In Search for Europes Eastern Border
end of Cold War, divisions btwn W and E Europe
- economic contrast remain
- historical ties btwn W and E also remain
* eastward expansion of EU might define this boundary in the future

EU vs. NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Mutual defense alliance created in postwar, Cold War context
Partial overlaps w/ EU, but includes non-EU, US, Canada, and
Turkey
Eastward expansion of members
Impact of the Global Economic Crisis
Economic woes:
- growth rates are don
- unemployment is up
- skyrocketing national debts
- Eurozone bailouts
social-political consequences:
- polarization of national politics is difficult with EU activities
overall, benefit of Union is widely questioned
- unskilled, unemployed immigrants drive negative economic
indicators and become scapegoats
Future Prospects of the EU
uncertain solvency of economic union and the euro
recurring structural challenges of supranationalism that occur
with each widening and deepening effort
continuing struggles with uneven development and cultural
diversity
addressing the democratic deficit
NORTH AMERICA
North American Hemisphere:
southern-most state: Hawaii
Northern-most state: Alaska
Western-most state: Alaska
Eastern-most state: Alaska
(all three are Alaska because the world is round; Alaska
extends to 178*)

Physiographic Regions:
The realm has diverse physiographic regions that each exhibit
natural landscape homogeneity:
- Some high-relief regions:
Pacific Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian mountains (least tectonically active)
- Some lowland regions:
Great Plains
Interior lowlands
Various coastal plains
Two broad regions:
1) Highland region
- Western upland (the oldest)
** highest point in western upland: Mt. Mitchell
(elevation: 6, 684 feet) in North Carolina
**Mt. McKinley 20,320 ft
**Mt. Whitney 14, 494 ft (Sierra, Nevada)
- Eastern upland
** California region is the most tectonically active
** ^ as opposed to Appalachian region infrequent
earthquakes)
2) Lowland region
- Gulf-atlantic coastal plain (extends up to Cape Cod)
- Interior lowland
- Canadian shield
- Arctic coastal plain
Climate:
Physiographic variety is matched in climatic variety
Considerable Cf and Df climates are suitable for large-scale
farming.
Significant rainshadow effect of the western mountains blocks
moisture to the Great Plains
Humid east experiences weather extremes due to frigid Arctic
and subtropical seasonal air masses

Great Lakes and Great Rivers:

Two great drainage systems between the Rockies and
Appalachians:
1) Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River into the northern
Atlantic
2) Mississippi-Missouri Rivers into a delta on the Gulf of
Mexico
Both have been modified by human engineering
Precambrian Rocks
- existed prior to 570 mil years ago
- ice erosion; climation created lots of lakes (the great
lakes)
Climate:
100*W longitude: ~20 isohyet (line joining places with same
precipitation)
- to the east of this line: no irrigation required; precipitation >
20 per year
climate varies by temperaturedeclines northward
- to the west of this line: requires irrigation; precipitation <
20 per year
varies by distribution of precipitation; precip. Increases
as you move North, declines as you move West
U.S.: 3.6 mil square miles
Population: 313 million
Language: very diverse
Near universality of English
- undergoing change, especially worldwide
facilitates mobility
dominant medium of interaction

Religion:
Christianity dominant (but also diverse w/ minority religions)
Regional denomination diversity
Religious tolerance for most; Islam a contemporary exception
Resources:
water: most fundamental
15% used from businesses (?)
metallic metals: lead, zinc, iron, ore Appalachian mountains
The Distribution of Natural Resources
uneven distribution of natural resources across the realm
water
- relatively well-supplied
- concerns for future supply:
arid Southwest and Great Plains rely on other areas for
water
overuse of ground water aquifers lowers water table
abundant mineral reserves are in 3 zones
Fossil fuels or oil, natural gas, and coal energy sources
- not enough to satisfy demand, so imports are necessary
- alternative energy sources, especially nuclear power, are not
well-developed
Urbanization and the Spatial Economy: Industrial Cities
Industrialization and urbanization in tandem
A new urban system:
- cities specialized in raw materials or manufacturing
- interconnected by growing transportation network
- American Manufacturing Belt emerged as foundation of the
North American Core
Shifting spatial economy
- primary sector in decline due to mechanization
- secondary sector growth and decline
- tertiary sector expansion

 Great Lakes:

120*W: Pacific (marks northern part of eastern boundary of CA)

105*W: Mountains
90*W: Central Standard Line
75* W: Eastern standard line
49* N:
40*N:
42*N:

Mt. McKinley
Mt. Reina (Washington): 14, 410 ft)
Mt. Alba (Rockies, Colorado)
Mt. Whitney:

Megalopolis Today:
Urbanness the dominant theme, but rural areas persist
10 major metropolitan areas of over 1 million people plus
numerous smaller cities
17% of total US population
1.5% of total land area
17% of all US export trade through its six major ports
higher than average proportion of white-collar employment
a region of international significance
Megalopolis: large population agglomeration from Boston to
Washington D.C.
1961: Jean Gottmann
now means any agglomeration of large, coalescing super cities
conurbation:

* primary activities: direct extraction of natural resources

* secondary: refine primary activities manufacturing of resources
* tertiary: transportation of ^
* quaternary: high level technology
* quinary: information-service technology
Site Characteristics
The features of the immediate environment or setting
coastal location
numerous estuaries (drowned river mouths), forming good
harbors
moderate but not exceptionally mild climate
variable soils
relatively flat or gently rolling terrain
Fall Line Cities
cities along the boarder btwn the piedmont and Atlantic coastal
plain physiographic regions
Rapids and fulls as rivers flow from hard rocks of the higher
Piedmont onto the softer rocks of the coastal plain

REGIONALISM AND ETHNICITY IN THE U.S

immigration and shaping of US regional geography
African Americans
- Forced migration as slaves into Southeast plantations
Hispanic Americans
- Legacy of Southwest as Mexican territory
Asian Americans
- Growing & diverse minority that is more territorially
clustered than other groups
- Mostly found along Pacific Rim

THE NORTH AMERICAN CORE

core of both states
- Contains largest cities, each states capital, economic &
media centers, hubs of research & education, and major
transportation systems
- Contains more than 1/3 of each states population
influence extends beyond the realm (global)
growth of the core
- Thriving manufacturing cities grew upward, while urban
peripheries grew outward
- In time, nearby cities coalesced into an expensive
metropolitan area (metropolis)
center of globalization
- Rise of the information economy as the American
Manufacturing Belt goes into decline
CHICAGO (among the realms greatest cities)
Crossroads centrality
Leading manufacturing & industrial technology center
Post-industrial transition
THE SOUTHEAST
uneven geography development
- Sunbelt migration boom hit some cities & agricultural areas,
while missing others
- Wide income gap
environmental disasters
- Hurricanes, gulf oil
internationalization of Florida
- Air condition, air travel and Cubans
- Miami as a world city connecting Northern & Southern
hemispheres
-

THE SOUTHWEST
Regional identity: aridity & ethnic diversity
Diverse economies and challenges
- Growing technopoles
THE PACIFIC HINGE
Entire west coast
Pacific Rim: a discontinuous region along the Pacific experiencing
rapid growth & progress
Pacific Hinge represents the interface b/w the North American
realm & Pacific Rim
LOS ANGELES
Immense urban landscape
- Product of the automobile age and freeway network
North American metropolis
- 2nd largest agglomeration in the realm
- Anchor of CA metropolis
THE WESTERN FRONTIER
regions environment: remote, dry & sparsely populated
fastest growing region
- Pull factors: sunny climates, open spaces, lower cost of
living, growing job opportunities
- Slowed with 2008 economic crisis
ultimate frontier city: Las Vegas
- More than gambling and amusement
- Other attractions : jobs; low cost; sunny weather
THE CONTINENTAL INTERIOR
dominant agriculture
farming and energy
losing population
region has weathered the recession with low unemployment &
strong incomes

THE NORTHERN FRONTIER

territorially large with sparse and isolated settlements
economic bounty
- Vast mineral resources
- Hydropower
- Oil reserves
*Vast tar sands, of oil mixed with sand, in Alberta
economic activity and connections infringes on indigenous lands
AFRICA
-To the west: Atlantic Ocean
-East: Indian Ocean
-Middle east: Red Sea
-

Southern-most point: Cape Agulhas ( ~35*N latitude)

Northern-most point: Ras Ben Sakka (~37*N Lat)
Western-most point: Cape Verde (~18*W longitude)
Eastern-most point: Ras Hafun (~15*E long)

Tropic of Capricorn goes through the bottom portion of Africa

Tropic of Cancer goes through the top portion
~75% of Africa lies between the two tropics
Canary current coast of NW/Western part of Africa; is a cool
current because takes place in the west
Benguela current cool current
(Both are important for understanding the deserts)
Mozambique current warm current
Gulf of Aiden (between the Red Sea and Indian Ocrean) (not sure
why he mentioned this)
Mediterranean Sea; Atlas mountains(?) North
Red Sea and Suez Canal NE
Algeria in the north biggest of the countries
Cape Mountains (?) - South

* Africa is the second largest continent in area (~11.7 million square

miles)
* has 54 nations; and is the 2nd most populousin 2011: ~1.03 billion
people
Africa has:
6.5% world reserve of coal
6.5% world reserve of petroleum
2.2% worlds natural gas
Africas Physiography:
Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics
Continental drift
- All continents once part of super continent, Pangaea
- Plate tectonics split Pangaea apart and continue their work on
Africa today
Africas unique land:
- Escarpments, rifts, river. (he cut off the slide here -_-)
Gondwana:
- subsequent events leading up to the development of Africa
Rifts and Rivers
Geologically unique:
- No mountain backbone
- Tectonic forces:
eastern volcanic mountains
Great Lakes of Rift Valleys (Valleys formed as parallel
faults of sinking or subducting crust)
- Plateau continent
Hydrologically unique:
- River courses, inland deltas and cataracts
* important water ways: R. Benue, Congo Basin, Nile River, Zambizi
River
in northAtlas Mountains
in southCape Mountains(?)

 the divergence of the continents developed great rift value (?)

Africas Historical Geography: African Genesis
Cradle of humankind
- 7 milion years of archeological research
Precolonial period:
- African innovations and exchange
- West Africa was one of the most culturally and economically
productive areas on the continent
- African cultures established in all environmental settings
*Predated Islamic and European contact
Tunis (capital) has same latitude has Richmond, Virginia, and SF,
CA
Africa: only continent w/o pacific coastlines
Has minimum agrigate distance from other continents
Traded btwn N and S, especially in the west
Af, Am climate zones
4 Hearths of Agriculture Innovation
- invention vs innovation
- invention: new addition to something already made
- innovation: an adaption
- 1) Ethiopian plateau
- 2) West African Savanna
- 3) West African Forest
- 4) Forest-Savanna boundary in West-Central Africa
Iron making centers:
- Nok in Benue plateau of Nigeria
- Lake Victoria near equator in Africa
did not experience bronze age only iron and stone

Africas Historical Geography: African Genesis (cont)

Early Trade
Regional complementarity btwn forest and dry land ppl in West
Africa
Growth of exchange markets and rise of urban centers
Early States
Strong and durable states in inland West Africa
Ancient Ghana:
- Oldest and best known
- Large capital complete w/ markets, subrubs, and shrines
- Collected taxes, tributes, and tolls
Oldest kingdom: Ghana kingdom
- Ancient Ghana near Mali
- Known to have existed btwn 9th and 12 century (A.D)
- Based on trade in gold, woven cloth, salt, ivory
- Capital: Kumbi Saleh
- Sustained itself through taxes on goods and collected tributes
Eastward Shift
Politico-territorial focus of the West African culture hearth shifted
to the east:
- Eastward movement may have resulted from the growing
influence of Islam
- Ghanas successors sent pilgrimages to Mecca via corridor
along the savanna
- Many pilgrims remained in the east
kingdom power shifted eastward b/c of balance threat
Mansa Musa (king?) made pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia
(1324 A.D.)
Accompanied by 500 people who held gold staffs
Mali became an intellectual center
- Timbuktu University
Gao Kingdom: iron and gold highly urbanized
Kush Kingdom

Bantu Migration
Migration waves
- from Nigeria and Cameroon
- to Great Lakes area and South Africa
Fragmented African realm:
- rich and varied cultures
- weakness to European intrusion
Bantu language very wide spread in Africa
Bantus were farmers who used iron(?) implements
Africas Historical Geography: The Colonial Transformation
Started with 15th century arrival of Portuguese ships:
- Coastal stations were established en route to the Orient
- Strongest impact on West Africa, especially on the slave trade
Coastward Reorientation
With European incursion, centers of activity were shifted from
inland to the Atlantic coast:
- interior societies declined as coastal societies thrived
- coastal states participated in the slave trade:
*they captured interior peoples and brought them to European
traders on the coast
*later, these powerful coastal states opposed abolition
Horrors of the Slave Trade
Peril of proximity: short maritime intercontinental journey from
Africa to Brazil
Slaves in West African interior and in Arab trading
European slave trade:
- unparalleled in volume and misery
- reoriented trade routes and ravaged interior population
Europeans kept at bay by strong coastal states for nearly 400
years:
- no interior incursion nor colonies until 1800
Trans-Saharan Slave Trade
West and south central Africa Americas

Colonization
competition btwn colonial powers led to the partition of the entire
African continent in 1884
- not until after 1900 (or 1980?) were they able to control all the
areas they acquired
- each governed in different ways with differing political, social,
and cultural impacts

competition for food led to Berlin Conference of 1884

effective occupation:
contiguity:
caprivi strip: boundary separating Nambia and __________

15 landlot(?) territories
1) Mali
2) Chad
3) Niger
4) CAR: __________________________ Republic
5) S. Sudan
6) Ethiopia
7) Ruwanda
8) Burundi
9) Uganda
10) Malawi
11) Lesotho
12) Swaziland
13) Bostwana
14) Zimbabwe
15) Zambia
54 countries in Africa Total
15/54 external trade is high
The Berlin Conference:
1884 conference of mostly European states to settle the political
partitioning of Africa:
At the time, more than 80% of Africa was still under traditional
African rule

 Regardless, boundaries were drawn across known and unknown

areas alike:
- Divided culture groups unified regions ripped apart
- Hinterlands disrupted
- Bounded hostile societies together and closed off migration
routes
Agreement left a legacy of entrenched and intractable political
fragmentation
Regional Issue: The Impact of Colonialism on Subsaharan Africa
COLONIALISM IS THE CULPRIT:
All you have to do is look at the map, as it is a terrible burden
it was Europeans that labeled people into tribal groups to help
them divide and rule
Europeans exploited Africas resources
Ex-colonial powers are doing nothing now to help with the mess
they left behind
COLONIALISM IS A SCAPEGOAT:
there have been at least two generations of independence
poor governance, corruption, and environmental problems are all
current failures
there are real disadvantages not relating to colonialism
models for the future: look to countries with good leadership and
look to the African Union
early 1962: Organization of African Unity was formed
- they accepted/respected the boundaries
2001 2010: fastest growing
Angola (?) ranks 1st w/ GDP growing at 11.1% per year
- (due to gas resources?)
2nd: China, 3rd: ____________, 4th: Nigeria, 5th: Ethiopia,
6th: ______________, 7th: Chad, 8th: Mozambique, 9th: _______________,
10th: Ruwanda

RUSSIAN REALM:
6.6 mil square miles; 10% of Earths land area
11 standard tim zones
- 15* long x 11 = 165*
3 oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
linear distance: 6000 miles
longitude: 42*N 48*N
Murmansk: a portvery cold
People and Culture:
146 million peopleunevenly distributed ~22(mil?) ppl per
square mile?
120+ ethnic groups
100+ languages
- 80% of Russions are Slavic ancestors (1000+ yrs ago)
major groups: Tatas: came w/ Mongols and Ukrainians
1) Earliest human supplements occurred 500 AD when
Scandinavians moved South around Volga River
- built fortresses that eventually become Ukrainian city of Kiev
2) Kiev evolved into an empire that ruled most of European-Russia
for 2+ centuries
- broke up into 3 units: Ukraine, Belarus, Moskovy (Capital:
Moskovsmall trading port until 13th century when Mogol
invasion in south tookover)
3) 1550s: Moskovite ruler: Ivan the IV (4th) Russias 1st czar after
driving Mongols out of Kiev and unified the region
4) 1682: Peter the Great: czar at the age of 10 for 42 years; worked
ot make Russia more modern and European
- 1703: st. petersberg founded
- changed names many times
- 1914: Petrograd
- 1924: Leningrad (in honor of Lenin?)
- 1991: St. Petersberg
5) 1917: Russians were so unhappy w/ their government
overthrew czar and established elected government
6) Few months later, Boscovics tookover Boscovic revolution?
- union of Russia and 11 other countries

7) WW2: Russia fought w/ US (but relationship strained after 1945

led to the Cold War ended 1991)
Physical Geography of Russian Realm: Physiographic Regions
The Russian Plain (1)
continuation of North European lowland
Russias core area
Ural Mountains (2)
- North-south mountains not tall enough to hinder
transportation
- Divides Russia in two vast expanses of low relief:
*Russian Plain to the West
*Siberia to the East
Russian Plain as the Eurasian heartland:
- center of great landmass
- major influence on history
- potential vulnerability
Siberia
West Siberian Plain (3)
Worlds largest unbroken lowland where rivers flow northward,
like the Ob River
Russias plains: span 50% of Russia
core of Russia: N. European lowland
- most productive area
- most acitivity/resources
Russian plain to the West: 75% of Russias population
- contains port city of St. Petersberg and Moscov
1 million square miles
Central Siberian Plateau (4)
east of the Yenisey River
Higher relief
Most sparsely populated area in the habitable world
Yukutsk Basin (5)
moderate topography drained by the Lens River
Eastern Highlands (6)
remote jumble of ranges

Kamchatka and Sakhalin

Pacific Ring of Fire
- Kamchatka Peninsula
- Volatile volcanism
Sakhalin Island
- prevalent earthquakes
- oil and gas reserves
The Southern Perimeter
Central Asian Ranges (7)
high relief location of Lake Baykal
Caucasus Mountains (8)
barrier and zone of conflict for Russia and neighbors
in eastern most part of Russia: large number (100+) of volcanoes
Mt. Elbrus: 18,851 ft above sea level
Continentality: expansiveness of land exerts great influence on
land
- brings down temperature in winter so temperature ranges are
extremely high since areas are far from oceans
chernuzem(?): grows wheat, oats, etc; rich in resources
- mineral resources: natural oils and gases, gold, iron, coal, lead,
zinc
Physical Geography of the Russian Realm: Harsh Environments
Climate context:
Continentality: inland climatic environment remote from
moderating and moistening maritime influence
environmental effect:
- Permafrost: water in the ground permanently frozen
Hiigh latitude ecology:
- Tundra: bare ground & rock with lichen, mosses, and low grass
- Taiga: snowforest of coniferous trees
Climate and Peoples
Climate and weather make farming difficult:
- seasonal temperature extremes
- variable rainfall
- short, undependable growing seasons
Limitations on agriculture explain realms population distribution

Study Guide:
should know difference btwn Absolute (site) and Relative
(situation)
Latitude and Longitude
- latitude runs E-W, labeled N-S
- join points w/ same angular distance from center of earth
- result of intersecting a sphere w/ horizontal plane
thermal zones
7 special latitudes
- special due to relationship w/ the sun
-