GEOG 401 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Yakuts, Landform, Ural Mountains
Document Summary
South of tundra is taiga (swampy coniferous forest areas) The midlatitude steppe is warmer and agriculturally the best. The worst problems stem from the soviet legacy. Air pollution, water pollution, nuclear contamination masks the area. However, conditions are said to be improving. Although rising sea levels thaws permafrost which can pose threats as thawing soils release carbon dioxide. Russia is sparsely populated throughout the land as a whole. Most people live in the european core in the east. The largest cities and government centers are located there, as is the concentration in manufacturing areas. Besides the east, the south is the most densely populated. Specifically in areas near railroads and minerals. There is a low total fertility rate (tfr) and lower life expectancy. Policies and economy are helping solve this. Prominent in mineral heavy and industrialized areas. Relocation of dissidents (people who oppose official government policy) Soviets transformed the region from rural to chiefly urban.
