Culture, Taiga, and Tundra: A Seminar on the Russian North
 
Flag of Karelia
Mining Tour
Flag of Murmansk
South of Murmansk about 250 kilometers are the Khiniy Mountains. These mountains are surrounded by northern taiga or forest tundra vegetation, but the mountains themselves have tundra vegetation.This city in the photo is part of Kirovsk - a mining center where tons of apatite are mined from which phosphorous is derived. While near Kirovsk, we were taken on a hike up a mountain slope to learn about the vegetation transition from taiga to tundra as we increased in elevation. Here we are beginning to learn about the taiga.
We climbed to the margin between the taiga and the tundra. Across the valley you can see that transition.
     
A beautiful mountain stream flowing through the taiga near the mining city of Kirovsk.