Lesson video

Hello, my name's Miss Gilyeat and I'm going to be your geography teacher for today.

In today's lesson, we are going to be learning about the physical landscapes and landforms across Russia.

Our lesson outcome for today is that you can describe the physical landscapes and landforms across Russia, including rivers, seas, mountain ranges, planes, and plateaus.

We've got three keywords.

So our first keyword is landform, which is a natural feature created by a process such as erosion or deposition.

A plateau is a large area of high ground with a flat top, and a peninsula is a piece of land that is almost surrounded by water except for a small part that is connected to a larger landmass.

So it's basically a bit of land sticking out into the sea.

We've got two learning cycles.

So first of all, we're gonna look at the landscapes of Russia and then we're gonna look at the waterways of Russia.

Now, Russia is the largest country in the world, over 17 million square kilometres.

The landscapes found across the country are therefore very diverse.

So there are many coastlines and peninsulas.

So here we've got a picture, which has been taken of the Arctic coastline.

So it's quite a rare feature to be able to see snow on a beach, which I think is pretty cool.

There are many rivers and mountains, and there's also grasslands and planes.

The geographical location of some of Russia's key physical features are, so you've got the Ural Mountains, which are kind of the natural separation point between Europe and Asia, a very long mountain range.

There's the Volga River, which is the longest river in Europe.

The Caspian Sea, which has got many different countries bordering it.

The Kamchatka Peninsula and the Siberian Plateau.

Russia has diverse land forms, including highlands in the south and flat plains in the north.

Okay, so we can see here the map of Russia.

Now, the different colours that Russia has been shaded in represent how high that land is, okay? So in the North there tends to be flat plains, okay? So these are wide, low lying areas that have been shaded in green.

And the more yellow and orange colours are highlands, okay? So mountains and elevated terrains.

And we can see that the majority of highland in Russia tends to be in the east and in the south.

So you can see the names of some of the mountain ranges there.

This variety affects climate, vegetation and where people live.

Now, the Ural mountains stretch for approximately 2,500 kilometres north to south through Russia.

They begin in the north near the Kara sea, and continue through the country to the border with Kazakhstan in the south, okay? So you can see the strip of mountains there that have been highlighted in yellow.

There's the Kara sea and there's the Kazakhstan border.

Now the highest peak of the Urals is Mount Narodnaya, and that's at 1,894 metres.

The Ural mountain range is regarded as a physical border indicating the separation of the continents Europe and Asia.

So you've got Europe in the west and Asia in the east.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

Which two continents are separated by the Ural Mountain Range? Asia and Europe.

Well done if you got that correct.

The Siberian Plateau is a vast expanse of land situated to the east of the Ural Mountains.

It's a huge land mass of approximately 3.

5 million square kilometres, okay? So you can see on the map here the area that's in the middle, just above where it says Russia is the central Siberian plateau.

So this is a flat area of land, but it's quite high elevation, okay? So some of the key features of this plateau.

That it has very cold win winters, so temperatures can drop to minus 40 degrees C, and there are short warm summers as well.

Now, the reason it is so cold there is because the actual land is at relatively high latitude, okay? So it's quite north of the equator, but it's also got quite a high altitude as well, so it's quite a few metres above sea level.

It's sparsely populated, which means that not many people live there.

It is dominated by taiga forests.

Taiga forests are trees which are coniferous, so they are evergreen.

They don't lose their leaves in the winter.

So a bit like Christmas trees are a type of coniferous tree.

Home to animals such as bears, wolves, and reindeer.

Much of the area is covered in permafrost, which is frozen soil, and it's rich in minerals, coal, oil, natural gas, and timber.

So a lot of the land has got a lot of valuable resources in it.

Okay, so we'll have a look at some pictures of the Siberian Plateau.

Now there's the Putorana Plateau.

Nice image of it there in summer.

The Khakassia mountains.

And there's a picture of Siberia in winter.

So that's one of the cities that the majority of people within Siberia live in.

So we can see there that it's very, very cold winters.

Now, the Kamchatka Peninsula is located in Eastern Russia, and the coastline of this peninsula, so there's the peninsula located.

So you've got the Sea of Okhotsk, you've got the Bering sea, and you've also got the North Pacific Ocean.

So that whole peninsula is surrounded by different seas and oceans there.

Now, the Kamchatka Peninsula is a volcanic region.

There are around 160 volcanoes on the peninsula.

29 of them are classed as active.

Amongst these is the highest volcano in the Northern Hemisphere.

I'm gonna have a go at pronouncing this name 'cause it's quite tricky, the Klyuchevskaya Sopka.

Okay, so that's one of the highest volcanoes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Some of the volcanoes in this region are protected as they are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and we can see an image on the slide here of that volcano.

Looks very pretty.

Okay, let's check what we've just learnt.

Can you name the three landscapes that I have got images or maps of here? So here we've got the Siberian Plateau, here we've got the Kamchatka peninsula, and there we've got the Ural Mountains.

Well done if you've got those right.

Okay, we're onto our first task for this lesson.

So what you are going to do is use an atlas to mark these physical features onto the map of Russia, okay? So I've put the main five that I'd like you to get at the top of that box.

If you do those super quickly, you can use the atlas to find those extra features as well.

So pause the video and have a go at this first task.

Okay, let's have a check of our answers.

Okay, so you've got the Ural Mountains, the Volga River, the Caucasus mountains, Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Kamchatka Peninsula, the Pacific Coastline, Siberian Plateau, and the Arctic Coastline.

Well done if you marked those in the correct area of your map.

Okay, we're moving on to our second learning cycle, which is looking at the waterways of Russia.

The course of the longest River in Europe, the Volga, flows through Russia and it is over 3,500 kilometres long.

The source of the Volga is in the Valdai Hills in the northwest of Moscow, and the course of the Volga flows southwards through the west of the country and flows into the Caspian Sea.

So you can see the source there and the mouth of the river into the Caspian Sea.

Now, the Volga River is not only the longest river in Europe, it also has the largest discharge of volume and drainage basin, so that's the area that it drains.

Many major towns and cities are located within the drainage basin of the Volga river, including the capital city of Moscow.

The river provided a water source around which sediments developed.

So you can see here an image of Moscow with the river running through it.

Now, settlements tend to be located near water sources because they can use that resource for drinking water, for growing crops and many other things.

Okay, so we're gonna look at some of the uses of the Volga River.

So it can be used, or it has been used, for hydroelectric power.

So there are dams along the river provide electricity and also water storage.

It's important for transport.

So it's used for shipping, trade and tourism.

It supports agriculture.

So the Volga River Valley has fertile soil and supports farming alongside it.

Now, often the flat areas surrounding a river are quite fertile, or the soil is quite fertile because when the river floods, the nutrients from the the river sediment goes into the surrounding soil.

So it's often very important agricultural land.

And also biodiversity.

So the Volga river is home to many species of fish and birds, though pollution there is quite a big concern.

Okay, let's check what we've just learnt.

How do people use the river Volga? Can you name three examples? And I've put some images there to help you with this answer.

Okay, so we've got hydroelectric power, transport, and agriculture.

Well done if you've got those.

Now, the Caspian Sea is located in southwest Russia, and although it is called a sea, it's actually classified as a lake because it's inland, okay? With a surface area of almost 400,000 square kilometres, which is bigger than Germany, the Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the entire world.

These countries that we can see here also border the Caspian Sea, okay? So we've got Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, okay? And these different countries all use the Caspian sea.

So the Caspian Sea is important to the countries surrounding it because deep sea drilling for oil and gas can take place there, okay? And sometimes because people want to use these resources, it can create tension between these countries.

Now, the Caspian Sea holds some of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas.

These are key energy sources for nearby countries, especially Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.

Oil and gas helps boost the economies of Caspian countries by providing jobs, exports, and electricity.

Oil and gas are especially valuable for Russia's economy, which relies heavily on energy exports.

Russia has large oil companies like LukOil operating in the area, okay? So not only for their own energy demands, but they often, well Russia especially, really relies on exporting energy to other countries of the world for it to make money.

So it's economically quite dependent on the Caspian Sea.

However, oil spills, gas leaks, and industrial pollution can harm the Caspian Sea's ecosystem.

Okay, let's have a go at answering this question.

So how do the surrounding countries of the Caspian Sea rely on it? Okay, we've got an answer from Sam here.

"The Caspian Sea holds some of the world's largest reserves of oil and natural gas.

It's a key energy source for nearby countries, especially Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran, and oil and gas help boost the economies of the Caspian countries by providing jobs, exports, and electricity." Fantastic answer from Sam there.

Okay, run to our final tasks for this lesson.

What I'd like you to do is first of all, label the countries surrounding the Caspian Sea, and I've put 'em on the right there to help you out.

Okay, so you can use a atlas if you can't remember these off by heart.

Then what I'd like you to do is highlight the statements in the table into social and economic uses of the Caspian Sea and environmental challenges.

So I've done one of the environmental challenges one for you.

I've used green for that, but you can just use whatever colours you have available in your pencil case.

So pause the video and have a go at highlighting the statements in the table.

Okay, let's go through the answers.

So I have put the countries in the correct place there, so it might be worth you pausing the video and double checking your answers.

Okay, and here we've got the answers to the table task.

Now, you'll notice for the top left statement, I've put that as a social and economic statement, okay? And often these two things do go together because what affects people can affect money and vice versa.

Okay? So pause the video and double check you've got your answers right.

Okay, we've got a summary for today's lesson.

So Russia's physical geography includes the Ural Mountains, the Siberian Plateau, and vast plains.

Russia has diverse landforms, including highlands in the south and flat plains in the north.

The Volga River is the longest river in Europe and flows through central Russia.

The Kamchatka Peninsula is a volcanic landscape with many active volcanoes.

And the Caspian Sea located in Southern Russia is the world's largest inland body of water.

Now, that's it from me today.

So fantastic job in today's lesson, and I'll see you next time.

Bye.