World Geography Chapter 12 Vocab- Russia

Central Asia

a region that includes the republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Chernozem

black topsoil, one of the world's most fertile soils

Continentality

a region's distance from the moderating influence of the sea

Eurasia

the combined continent of Europe and Asia

Runoff

rainfall not absorbed by soil, which can carry pesticides and fertilizers from fields into rivers, endangering the food chain

Siberia

a region of central and eastern Russia, stretching from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, known for its mineral resources and for being a place of political exile

Taiga

a nearly continuous belt of evergreen coniferous forests across the Northern Hemisphere, in North America and Eurasia

Trans-Siberian Railroad

a railroad that would eventually link Moscow to the Pacific port of Vladivostok; built between 1891 and 1903

Transcaucasia

a region that consists of the republics of Armenia, Azerbijan, and Georgia; located between the Caucasus Mountains and the borders of Turkey and Iran

Ural Mountains

the mountain ranges that separate the Northern European and West Siberian plains and used as the dividing line between Europe and Asia