The steppe is a plain from horizon to horizon, without natural elevations. One of its main features is the almost complete absence of tall trees, not counting artificial plantings along roads or ponds. The vegetation in the steppe is always low - grass or undersized shrubs.
The geographical position of the steppes
Steppe landscapes are common on all continents, excluding Antarctica. However, their distribution zone is within the temperate and subtropical climatic zones.
Meanwhile, the Russian term is not the only one to define this kind of ecosystem. For the American steppes, the term "prairie" is often used, while in South Africa the steppe is indicated by the word "veld", which is translated from Dutch as "field".
Thus, the geographical location of the steppes is extremely diverse. Depending on latitude and season, they can have a different look: from semi-desert to fields with sparse bushes.
Summing up the preliminary result, we can confidently say that the steppe landscape appears in the regions too arid for forests to grow in them, but at the same time not enough dry for a desert to form in their place.
Cold steppes of Eurasia and America
However, the lack of sufficient rainfall does not always mean too hot a climate. For example, in Mongolia, which is characterized by sharp seasonal temperature drops, in the summer months the temperature can rise to + 35 ° C, and in the winter months it can drop to -35 ° C.
Such a situation with temperature differences is characteristic of the entire region, referred to in the scientific literature as the Great Steppe. This belt of arid lands with a pronounced continental climate stretches from the eastern regions of Ukraine to the foothills of the Tien Shan, covering the southern regions of Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Another, with a predominance of steppes, extends from central Anatolia to Iran and includes some regions of Armenia. Here, despite the arid summer, winters are extremely cold and windy.
The geographical position of the steppes on the North American continent roughly repeats its Eurasian version - the steppes are concentrated in a part of the continent remote from the sea with a dry and cold climate. Thus, they cover the entire center of the USA, the west of Canada and the north of Mexico. In America, however, the steppe belt is known as the prairie.
The geographical position of the steppe in Russia
Steppes in the history, economy and culture of Russia are of great importance. Nomads came from the steppes, ravaging the fields and cities, but from there came a new culture, which greatly influenced the formation of the Great Russian ethnos, which subsequently formed a huge state from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean.
In the modern borders of Russia, the steppes stretched from the Black Sea and the North Caucasus to the Ob and Transbaikalia. Large areas of the steppe occupy the Caspian region and along the foothills of the Southern Urals.
Climate and flora of the Russian steppes
Most Russians are familiar with the steppe landscape - huge spaces overgrown with rare bunches of cereals, between which gaped weathered soil gapes. The precipitation rate that falls in the Russian steppes does not allow large plants to gain a foothold and continue to grow, so low-growing cereals, such as feather grass, are common here. Beans can sometimes be found.
The geographical position of the steppes makes their fauna extremely similar to the desert. The main inhabitants of this area are rodents - ground squirrels, groundhogs, mole rats. It is not difficult for these animals to find food in the steppe, because there are enough cereals and beans in it. In turn, small rodents can serve as easy prey for birds of prey, which include the steppe eagle, kestrel and harrier.