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I. OUR MOTHERLAND
GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE
By its total area, Russia is the largest country in the world. It occupies some 17,000 million square kilometers. The immensity of the Russian Federation is hard to imagine. It covers almost twice the territory of either the United States or China.
The country is situated in the Northern Hemisphere on the continent of Eurasia and washed by three oceans and twelve seas.
Russia has both sea and land borders. It borders on 14 countries including the former USSR republics, which are now independent states. Eleven of them formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The territory of Russia is so large that it is situated in 11 time zones. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. The land of Russia varies from thick forests to barren deserts, from high peak mountains to deep valleys. Most of Russia’s territory is in temperate zone, covered with forests and plains. The North of Russia is situated in the arctic and subarctic zones with tundra and taiga, the South is situated in the subtropical zone with steppes and deserts.
The most important rivers in the European part of Russia are the Volga and the Don. The Volga river is of great historic, economic, and cultural importance to Russia. It has become the cradle of such ancient cities as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod. In Siberia the greatest rivers are the Ob, the Yenisey and the Lena. Russia has about 3,000,000 rivers and numerous beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake (1600 metres) is the Baikal.
The Russian Federation is located on two plains, the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. The longest mountain chains are the Urals, separating Europe from Asia, the Caucasus, and the Altai.
About three-fifths of Russian farmland is used to grow crops. The rest of it is given to pasture and meadow. Grain has always been the chief product – mainly wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Russia’s industrial crops are sunflower seeds, sugar beets, and flax.
The development of Russian economy is determined by its natural resources. Russia’s heavy industries are well-developed. Russian chemical industry is well developed too. Light industry centers on the production of textiles.
Russia has the richest deposits of mineral resources in the world. It is one of the world’s biggest producers of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as iron ore, zinc, copper, lead, nickel, aluminum, tin, and gold. Three-quarters of the republic’s mineral wealth is concentrated in Siberia and the Far East.
Russia ranks sixth in the world in the size of its population. There are about 100 nations and nationalities in it. The great majority of the population is Russians. The population of Russia is unequally distributed. The bulk of the people live in the European part of the republic. Siberia is insufficiently populated. The northern part of Russia is practically uninhabitable because of the length and severity of its winters. About three-quarters of Russia’s population is classified as urban.
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