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. Located on the 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 represented by the tundra lowland. A significant role in the formation of the relief is played by the mountains of Transbaikalia.
Despite the harsh climatic conditions, there are quite a lot of big cities in Eastern Siberia. The most attractive from an economic point of view are Norilsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Achinsk, Yakutsk, Ulan-Ude, etc. The Zabaykalsky and Krasnoyarsk Territories, the republics of Yakutia, Buryatia, Tuva and other administrative regions are located within the zone.
The main type of vegetation is taiga. It extends from Mongolia to the borders of the forest-tundra. It occupies more than 5 million square meters. km Most of the taiga is represented by coniferous forests, which make up 70% of the local vegetation. Soils develop unevenly relative to natural zones. In the taiga zone, the soil is favorable, stable, in the tundra zone - rocky, frozen.
Within the interfluve and lowlands, minor swamps are observed. However, they are much smaller than in the same Western Siberia. But in the eastern region there are often arctic deserts and deciduous plantings.
Terrain features
Eastern Siberia of Russia is at a high level above the sea. The whole fault is the plateau, which is located 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 Lena interfluve and the Vilyui plateau - up to 1700 meters.
The base of the Siberian platform is represented by a crystalline folded basement, on which huge sedimentary strata with a thickness of up to 12 kilometers are located. The north of the zone is determined by the Aldan shield and the Anabar massif. The average power of the soil is about 30 kilometers.
To date, the Siberian platform contains several main types of rocks. This is marble, and crystalline slate, and charnockite, etc. The oldest deposits date back to 4 billion years. Igneous rocks were formed as a result of eruptions. Most of these deposits are in the
Central Siberian plateau, as well as in the Tunguska Depression.
The modern relief is a combination of lowlands and elevations. In the valleys, rivers flow, swamps form, coniferous trees grow better on higher elevations.
Features of the water area
It is generally accepted that the Far East faces the Arctic Ocean with its “facade”. The eastern region borders on such seas as the Kara, Siberian and Laptev. Of the largest lakes, it is worth highlighting Baikal, Lama, Taimyr, Pyasino and Khantayskoye.
Rivers flow in deep valleys. 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 waters include such rivers as Ingoda, Argun, Shilka and Onon.
The main source of food for the inner basin of Eastern Siberia is snow cover, which melts in large volumes under the influence of sunlight from the beginning of summer. The next most important role in the formation of the continental water area is played by rains and groundwater. The highest level of pool flow is observed in the summer.
The largest and most important river in the region is Kolyma. Its water area occupies more than 640 thousand square meters. km The length is about 2.1 thousand km. The river originates in the Verkhnekolymsk Highlands. In a year, water consumption exceeds 120 cubic meters. km
Eastern Siberia: 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. Significant seasonal fluctuations in cloud cover, temperature, and precipitation levels are observed. Asian anticyclone forms vast areas of high pressure in the region, especially this phenomenon occurs in winter. On the other hand, severe frost makes the air circulation changeable. Because of this, temperature fluctuations at different times of the day are more significant than in the west.
The climate of Northeast Siberia is represented by volatile air masses. It is characterized by increased rainfall and dense snow cover. In this region, continental flows predominate, which are rapidly cooled in the ground layer. That is why in January the temperature drops to a minimum. At this time of the year arctic winds prevail. Often in winter, you can observe the air temperature up to -60 degrees. Basically, such minima are inherent in basins and valleys. On the plateau, indicators do not drop below -38 degrees.
Warming is noted with the arrival of airflows from China and Central Asia to the region.
Climate in the winter
It is not without reason that it is believed that Eastern Siberia has the most severe and harsh natural conditions . A table of temperature indicators in winter is proof of this (see below). These indicators are averaged over the past 5 years.
| Average temperature, C | Minimum indicators, C |
| 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 indicators are easier to tolerate than in humid climates. One of the defining meteorological characteristics of winter in Eastern Siberia is the lack of wind. Most of the season there is moderate calm, so there is practically no blizzard and blizzards.
It is interesting that in the middle part of Russia the frost of -15 degrees is felt much stronger than in Siberia -35 C. Nevertheless, such low temperatures significantly worsen the living conditions and activities of local residents. All living quarters have thickened walls. To heat the buildings use expensive fuel boilers. The weather begins to improve only with the onset of March.
Warm seasons
In fact, spring in this region is short, as it is getting late. Eastern Siberia, whose climate changes only with the arrival of warm Asian air currents, begins to wake up only in mid-April. It is then that stability of positive temperatures in the daytime is noted. In March, warming sets in, but it is not significant. By the end of April, the weather begins to change for the better. In May, the snow cover completely melts, the vegetation blooms.
In summer, the weather in the south of the region becomes relatively hot. This is especially true of the steppe zone of Tuva, Khakassia and Transbaikalia. In July, the temperature here rises to +25 degrees. The highest rates are observed on flat terrain. The valleys and highlands are still cool. If we take all of Eastern Siberia, the average temperature in the summer here is from +12 to +18 degrees.
Climate features in autumn
Already in late August, the Far East began to envelop the first frost. They are observed mainly in the northern part of the region at night. During the day, the bright sun shines, rains with wet snow appear, sometimes an increase in wind. 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 rain coming from the west. Most often, moist Pacific winds blow from the east.
Rainfall
The relief is responsible for the circulation of the atmosphere in Eastern Siberia. Pressure and the speed of air mass flows depend on it. About 700 mm of precipitation falls in the region annually. The maximum indicator for the reporting period is 1000 mm, the minimum is 130 mm. The level of precipitation is not clear.
On a plateau in the middle lane, it rains more often. Due to this, the amount of precipitation sometimes exceeds the mark of 1000 mm. The most arid region is considered to be Yakutsk. Here the amount of precipitation varies within 200 mm. The least rains occur between February and March - up to 20 mm. The optimal zones for vegetation relative to precipitation are considered to be the western regions of Transbaikalia.
Eternal Frost
Today in the world there is no place that could compete with respect to continentality and meteorological anomalies with a region called East Siberia. The climate in some bands is striking in its severity. In the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle lies the permafrost zone.
This area is characterized by low snow cover and low temperatures throughout the year. Because of this, mountain weather and soil lose a huge amount of heat, freezing for whole meters in depth. The soils here are mostly rocky. Groundwater is underdeveloped, often freezing for decades.
Region vegetation
The nature of Eastern Siberia is mostly represented by taiga. Such vegetation extends hundreds of kilometers from the Lena River to Kolyma. In the south, the taiga borders on the Sea of Okhotsk. The local possessions are untouched by man. Nevertheless, because of the arid climate, the threat of large-scale fires always hangs over them. In winter, the temperature in the taiga drops to -40 degrees, but in the summer, indicators often rise to +20. Rainfall is moderate.
The nature of Eastern Siberia is also represented by the tundra zone. This zone is adjacent to the Arctic Ocean. The soils here are bare, the temperature is low, and the humidity is excessive. In mountainous areas, flowers such as cotton grass, gravilate, poppy, and saxifrage grow. From the trees of the region, spruce, willow, poplar, birch, and pine can be distinguished.
Animal world
Almost all regions of Eastern Siberia are not rich in fauna. The reasons for this are frozen ground, lack of food and underdeveloped deciduous flora.
The largest animals are brown bear, lynx, elk and wolverine. Sometimes you can find foxes, ferrets, ermines, badgers and weasels. Musk deer, sables, deer and bighorn sheep live in the central strip.
Because of the permanently frozen soil, only a few species of rodents are found here: squirrels, chipmunks, flying squirrels, beavers, marmots, etc. But the feathered world is extremely diverse: capercaillie, crossbill, hazel grouse, goose, crow, woodpecker, duck, cedar, sandpiper, etc. .