The length of Russia: the diversity of landscapes at one latitude

The length of Russia from west to east (from the extreme western point - the Kaliningrad enclave to Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait) is almost ten thousand kilometers. Our country is rich in geographical records. For example, the length of land borders is 20322 kilometers, the sea borders - 38000. There are 11 time zones on the territory of the country. The deepest and the largest lake in the world (Lake Baikal and the Caspian Sea). True, four more states have access to the Caspian Sea.

The length of Russia from north to south is 4 thousand kilometers. The most extreme northern land point of the country is on the island of Rudolph, which is located in the archipelago called Franz Josef Land. This name was given to the island by the Arctic expedition of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which opened it in 1873. On the island for a long time, the Soviet (then - Russian) Arctic station operated, but in 1995 it was mothballed. The southernmost point is the vicinity of Mount Bazarduzi in Dagestan, on the border with Azerbaijan.

The considerable extent of Russia made possible the existence of a large number of natural and landscape zones on the territory of the country. If the extreme north is dominated by a lifeless arctic desert, where only a short polar summer appears and quickly fades a small number of herbaceous plants, the southern territories lie in the subtropical belt. This is the Black Sea coast to the south of Tuapse. Palm trees grow here, and the average minimum of January temperatures has a positive value.

Due to the peculiarities of the country's landscape, the change of climatic zones is also felt when moving from west to east. The length of Russia affects here. The Ural mountains are not in vain considered the border of Europe and Asia. Moving along the 55th parallel (the latitude of Moscow) along the federal highway M5, one can clearly see the difference in natural and climatic conditions. On the western slopes of the Urals, broad-leaved forests predominate: linden, oak, even conifers (firs) here grow European species. In the mountain rivers there is a European subspecies of grayling. There are many examples!

Crossing the mountains, we find that the forests become mostly birch, and in the mountains - pine. A linden tree and oak almost do not occur. And the isotherms of January and July at the same latitude in the European part of the country and beyond the Urals differ slightly.

The entire vast territory of the country borders on three oceans and internal plains areas of Asia, lying in zones of sharply continental climate. This left an imprint on climate formation in various regions of the country. Since the extent of Russia is very large, the influence of the Pacific Ocean, the largest in the world, on the country's territory is relatively small. It strongly affects only the climate of the Far East.

In the Far East, it would seem incompatible. In the taiga there, next to the traditional Russian bear, is a tropical beast tiger. True, in the struggle for survival in a climate of severe climate, he became significantly larger than his tropical fellow. And on the cold island of Sakhalin grow grapes, and wild, and bamboo, although not high, up to three, a maximum - up to five meters in height. It is interesting that Vladivostok is located half a degree south of Sochi. And the climatic zones of these cities have nothing in common.

The length of Russia in space is such that the country holds within its borders territories with diverse natural conditions. There is no such diversity in any country in the world, with the possible exception of the United States, where there is Alaska (an analog of our Chukotka) and Florida with California - "American Sochi".