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Eastern Siberia: climate, nature
Eastern Siberia is part of the Asian territory of the Russian Federation. It is located from the borders of the Pacific Ocean to the Yenisei River. This zone is characterized by an extremely harsh climate and limited fauna and flora.
Geographical description
Eastern and Western Siberia occupy almost two thirds of the territory of Russia. Are located on a plateau. The eastern zone covers an area of about 7.2 million square meters. Km. Her possessions extend right up to the Sayan mountain ranges. Most of the territory is tundra lowland. The Transbaikal mountains play a significant role in the formation of the relief.
Despite severe climatic conditions, there are quite a few large cities in Eastern Siberia. The most attractive from the economic point of view are Norilsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Achinsk, Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude, etc. Within the zone are the Transbaikal and Krasnoyarsk Territories, the Republics of Yakutia, Buryatia, Tuva and other administrative areas.
Insignificant bogs are observed within the interfluve and lowlands. However, they are much smaller than in the same Western Siberia. But in the eastern region there are often arctic deserts and deciduous plantations.
Characteristics of the relief
Eastern Siberia of Russia is at a high level over the sea. The whole fault is the plateau, which is in the middle of the zone. Here, the height of the platform varies from 500 to 700 meters above sea level. The relative averaging of the region is noted. The highest points are the interfluvial Lena and the Vilyui plateau - up to 1700 meters.
The base of the Siberian platform is represented by a crystalline folded foundation, on which there are huge sedimentary layers with a thickness of up to 12 kilometers. The north of the zone is determined by the Aldan Shield and the Anabar Massif. The average thickness of the soil is about 30 kilometers.
The modern relief is a combination of lowlands and hills. In the valleys, rivers flow, swamps are formed, on the hills are better growing coniferous trees.
Features of the water area
It is generally accepted that the Far East is facing the Arctic Ocean with its "facade". The eastern region borders on such seas as Kara, Siberian and Laptev. Of the largest lakes it is necessary to distinguish Baikal, Lamu, Taimyr, Pyasino and Khantayskoe.
In deep valleys, rivers flow. The most significant of them are the Yenisei, Vilyui, Lena, Angara, Selenga, Kolyma, Olekma, Indigirka, Aldan, Lower Tunguska, Vitim, Yana and Khatanga. The total length of the rivers is about 1 million km. Most of the region's inland basin belongs to the Arctic Ocean. Other external water areas include such rivers as Ingoda, Argun, Shilka and Onon.
Kolyma is considered the largest and most important river in the region. Its water area occupies more than 640 thousand square meters. Km. The length is about 2.1 thousand km. The river takes its beginning in the Upper Kolyma Highlands. In a year the water discharge exceeds 120 cubic meters. Km.
Eastern Siberia: the climate
The formation of meteorological features of the region is determined by its territorial location. The climate of Eastern Siberia can be briefly described as continental, stably harsh. There are significant seasonal fluctuations in cloudiness, temperature, and precipitation. The Asian anticyclone forms in the region extensive areas of increased pressure, especially this phenomenon occurs in the winter. On the other hand, a strong frost makes the air circulation changeable. Because of this, the temperature fluctuations at different times of the day are more significant than in the west.
Warming is observed with the arrival of air flows from China and Central Asia to the region.
Climate in winter
It is not for nothing that it is believed that Eastern Siberia is the most severe and harsh natural conditions . The table of temperature indicators in winter time is proof of this (see below). These indicators are averaged over the past 5 years.
Average temperature, С | Minimum indicators, С | |
December | - 27 | - 38 |
January | - 42 | - 60 |
February | - 25 | - 45 |
Due to the increased dryness of the air, the constancy of the weather and the abundance of sunny days, such low values are transported more easily than in a humid climate. One of the defining meteorological characteristics of winter in Eastern Siberia is the absence of wind. Most of the season there is a moderate calm, so there is almost no blizzard and blizzards.
It is interesting that in the central part of Russia the frost of -15 degrees is felt much stronger than in Siberia -35 C. Still, such low temperatures significantly worsen the living conditions and activities of local residents. All living quarters have thickened walls. For heating buildings use expensive fuel boilers. The weather begins to improve only with the onset of March.
Warm seasons
In fact, the spring in this region is short, as it comes late. Eastern Siberia, whose climate changes only with the arrival of warm Asian air currents, begins to wake up only by mid-April. It is then that the stability of positive temperatures during the day is noted. In March there is a warming, but it is insignificant. By the end of April the weather is beginning to change for the better. In May, the snow cover completely melts, vegetation blossoms.
Features of climate in autumn
Already at the end of August the Far East begins to envelop the first frosts. They are observed mainly in the northern part of the region at night. During the day, a bright sun shines, rains with wet snow, sometimes winds increase. It is worth noting that the transition to winter is much faster than from spring to summer. In the taiga, this period takes about 50 days, and in the steppe area - up to 2.5 months. All these are characteristic features that differ from other northern zones of Eastern Siberia.
The climate in autumn is also represented by an abundance of rains coming from the west. From the east, the Pacific winds are most often blowing the wind.
Precipitation level
Relief is responsible for the circulation of the atmosphere in Eastern Siberia. Both the pressure and the velocity of the air mass flows depend on it. About 700 mm of precipitation a year in the region. The maximum indicator for the reporting period is 1000 mm, the minimum index is 130 mm. The level of precipitation is not clearly defined.
Eternal Frost
To date, there is no place in the world that could compete with respect to continentality and meteorological anomalies with a region called Eastern Siberia. The climate in some bands is striking in its severity. In the immediate vicinity of the polar circle lies the permafrost zone.
This area is characterized by a slight snow cover and low temperatures throughout the year. Because of this, mountain weather and soil lose a huge amount of heat, freezing to the whole meter deep. The soils here are mostly stony. Groundwater is poorly developed, often freezing for dozens of years.
Vegetation of the region
The nature of Eastern Siberia is mostly represented by the taiga. Such vegetation extends hundreds of kilometers from the river Lena to Kolyma. In the south, the taiga borders on the Sea of Okhotsk. The local possessions are untouched people. Nevertheless, because of the arid climate, there is always a threat of large-scale fires. In winter, the temperature in the taiga falls to -40 degrees, but in the summer the indicators often rise to +20. Precipitation is moderate.
Animal world
Almost all areas of Eastern Siberia are not rich in fauna. The reasons for this are the permafrost, lack of food and the underdevelopment of the deciduous flora.
The largest animals are the brown bear, lynx, moose and wolverine. Sometimes you can find foxes, ferrets, ermines, badgers and weasels. Musk deer, sable, deer and snow sheep live in the central belt.
Because of the eternally frozen soil, there are only a few species of rodents: squirrels, chipmunks, flying moths, beavers, marmots, etc. But the feathered world is extremely diverse: wood grouse, cropl, hazel grouse, goose, crow, woodpecker, duck, nutcracker, sandpiper, etc. .
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