Russia is a state that is simultaneously located in two parts of the world: in Europe and Asia. The vast territory leads to a variety of its relief and climatic conditions. It is interesting to consider the question of which parallel crosses Russia, and what are the features of the geographical position of our country.
Huge sizes
When talking about the territory of Russia, one can often hear the adjective "the most." Indeed, the area of our country is 17.1 million km 2 . It is the largest state in the world, which is only slightly smaller than the continent of South America. For comparison, we note that the size of the second largest country on the planet, Canada, is only 60% of Russia's area.
Since the shores of our homeland are washed by two oceans (the Arctic and Pacific), as well as the Black, Caspian, Azov and other seas, we can talk about the longest coastline (about 37.7 thousand km). The last figure is only slightly less than the circumference of the equator (40 thousand km).
Given the enormous size of the state, it seems strange that sometimes the question is asked which parallel crosses Russia. Is this parallel one and only?
Geographic limits of the country
To have an idea of the meridians and parallels of Russia, it is necessary to give the limiting values of its geographical coordinates. Below is the corresponding list:
- The northernmost point is Cape Fliegeli (81 ° 51 'north latitude, or abbreviated north latitude). It is located on one of the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. If we talk about the mainland, then it should be called Cape Chelyuskin (77 ° 43 'N), located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
- The extreme southern point is located in Dagestan (on its border with Azerbaijan), its latitude is 41 ° 11 's. w.
- The westernmost point of the country is located on the Baltic Spit in the Kaliningrad Region, its geographical coordinate is 19 ° 38 'East (longitude)
- Finally, further east than Ratmanova Island (169 ° 0 'west longitude there is no territory belonging to Russia) is Cape Dezhneva (169 ° 39' west).
Analysis of extreme geographic points
What follows from the above data?
First, our entire country lies in the northern hemisphere.
Secondly, taking into account the parallel along the southern border of Russia, as well as where its extreme point is located in the north, if you draw lines through each degree of latitude, Russia will cross at least 40 times.
Thirdly, if the same is done with the meridians, then about 170 of them will pass through our state. Also note that almost the entire territory of the country lies in the eastern hemisphere. To describe only a small part of the eastern outskirts of our homeland, it is necessary to use degrees of west longitude.
Where did the question come about, which parallel crosses Russia?
As shown above using simple calculations, the number of parallels spaced 1 o from each other and crossing our homeland is four dozen. Despite this, the question of which parallel crosses Russia is quite reasonable for a person who has some knowledge of geography.
The fact is that, based on the characteristics of the angles of incidence of sunlight on the surface of the planet Earth, it is customary to distinguish 3 climatic zones (polar, temperate and tropical). They are separated from each other by parallels that have a specific name:
- Between the tropical and temperate zones in both hemispheres parallel the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Their latitudes are about 23 o north and south latitude.
- Between the temperate and the polar zones in both hemispheres lie parallels, which are called the "polar circle". Their latitude in the north and south is 66 o .
These "nominal" lines mean when they ask what parallel crosses Russia. Given that our state lies between the 42nd and 81st degrees with. N, it is safe to say that it is crossed by the Arctic Circle (66 o N).
Feature of the 55th parallel for Russia
The climatic conditions of our planet have one interesting feature, which is that the most suitable climate for humans are latitudes from 30 o to 60 o , that is, most of the temperate zone. It’s cold to live higher, and hot and stuffy below.
For Russia, the 55th parallel of the northern latitude is characterized by the fact that almost all the major cities of our country are concentrated near it. Just look at the list below:
- Moscow: 55 o 75 's. w.
- St. Petersburg: 59 o 94 's. w.
- Novosibirsk: 55 o 04 ' s. w.
- Yekaterinburg: 56 o 85 's. w.
- Nizhny Novgorod: 56 o 33 's. w.
- Samara: 53 o 2 's. w.
- Omsk: 54 o 99 's. w.
- Kazan: 55 o 79 's. w.
- Rostov-on-Don: 47 o 23 's. w.
- Chelyabinsk: 55 o 15 's. w.
Of the ten largest cities in the country, 8 lie within 2 o from the 55th parallel. Only St. Petersburg and Rostov-on-Don are located at 5 o and 8 o from it, respectively. In the construction of these cities, the main role was no longer played by climatic conditions, but by the economic factor (profitable trade routes).
The situation in Russia: advantages and disadvantages
To complete the disclosure of the topic of the enormous size of our state, we briefly present the main features of its territory. Namely, the advantages and disadvantages of the geographical position of Russia.
Advantages:
- direct access to the two oceans, as well as the Atlantic through the Black Sea;
- climate diversity;
- many deposits of various minerals;
- most of the country is in the temperate zone, as well as in the middle of the tectonic plate, which ensures the absence of earthquakes in almost the entire territory.
If we talk about the shortcomings, then it is one, but serious: because of the long extent of borders with other countries, difficulties arise in protecting them. It is also difficult to manage a huge state and monitor the quality of infrastructure in all its parts.