Understanding Russia’s Climate

Introduction: Understanding Russia’s climate is important in understanding the geography of this part of the world. Much of Russia has poor soils and cold temperatures. Most of the country has below freezing temperatures for over six months of the year. Many of Russia’s ports are ice-bound during the winter and permafrost has a great impact on much of the country. For this reason over 70% of the population lives in urban areas which are situated in the less extreme environments.

Objective: Students will understand:

· how latitude influences climate in Russia

· how landforms influence Russia’s climate

· the distribution of precipitation in Russia

· why Russia’s climate is known as continental

Grade Level: 5-8

Materials Needed: A map of Russia (provided), Key Facts (provided), a precipitation map of Russia (provided)

Key Facts

1. Russia is the most northerly of the large, heavily populated countries.

2. Due to latitude location, Russia never experiences intense solar energy.

3. The influences of cold, polar air masses are often felt in Russia.

4. Most of Russia is surrounded on the east, west, and south by mountains that block warm, moist air masses.

5. There are no barriers to the north that keep out the frigid Arctic air masses.

6. Cold air holds very little water; therefore, Russia has relatively low precipitation.

7. Most of Russia receives 20 inches (500mm) or less of precipitation per year!

8. Continentality is a characteristic of places located far from large bodies of water. It is dry. Winters are very cold and summers can be very warm causing the annual range of temperature to be quite great.

9. Russia has a well-developed continental climate because it sits on the Earth’s largest landmass.

Procedure:

1. Provide students with a copy the map of Russia and locate the latitude lines that encompass Russia. Discuss the location and relate the latitude to solar radiation and temperature.

2. Have students label the Ural Mountains, Caucasian Mountains along the southwestern border, Altay Mountains (south of Novosibirsk and Irkutsk), and the Kamchatka Mountains along the Pacific Coast.

3. Make note of the location of large bodies of water.

4. Read and discuss the key facts.

5. Provide students with a copy of the precipitation map.

6. Discuss the map calling attention to the fact that most of Russia receives less than 20 inches (500mm) annually.

7. Conclude with a review of the definition of continentality and evaluate why most of Russia has a continental climate.

Extension:

· Have students locate a population density map of Russia and make inferences as to why the people reside in those areas of Russia.

· Compare US and Russian annual precipitation maps.

*This lesson adapted from: http://geog.pdx.edu/pop/Unit3/climate/landwater.html