Editing Steppe (section)

== Classification ==
Steppe can be classified by climate:<ref name= ecoregions>{{cite web|url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/land/pubs/ecoregions/ecoregions.html|title=Ecoregions of the United States-Ecological Subregions of the United States|publisher= [[U.S. Forest Service]], [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]|website= fs.usda.gov| access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> 
* Temperate steppe: the ''true'' steppe, found in [[Humid continental climate#Vegetation|continental climate]]s{{fv|date=October 2023}} can be further subdivided, as in the [[Rocky Mountains]] Steppes<ref name="ecoregions"/>
* Subtropical steppe: a similar association of plants occurring in the driest areas with a [[Mediterranean climate]];{{fv|date=October 2023}} it usually has a short wet period

It can also be classified by vegetation type, e.g. [[shrub-steppe]] and [[alpine-steppe]].

===Cold steppe===

The world's largest steppe region, often referred to as "the [[Eurasian Steppe|Great Steppe]]", is found in [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Central Asia]], and neighbouring countries stretching from [[Ukraine]] in the west through [[Russia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Turkmenistan]] and [[Uzbekistan]] to the [[Altay Mountains|Altai]], [[Koppet Dag]] and [[Tian Shan]] ranges in [[China]]. The Eurasian Steppe had a significant role in the spread of the horse, the wheel and [[Indo-European languages]].<ref>{{cite book
 |last1                = Anthony
 |first1               = David W.
 |author-link1         = David W. Anthony
 |orig-date            = 2007
 |title                = The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World
 |date = 15 August 2010
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=nLIufwC4szwC
 |edition              = reprint
 |location             = Princeton
 |publisher            = Princeton University Press
 |publication-date     = 2010
 |isbn                 = 978-0-691-14818-2
 |access-date          = 12 June 2022
 |page                 = 240
 |quote                = [...] the critical era when innovative Proto-Indo-European dialects began to spread across the steppes.
}} </ref> In the Eurasian steppe, [[soil]]s often consist of [[chernozem]].

The inner parts of [[Anatolia]] in [[Turkey]], [[Central Anatolia]] and [[East Anatolia]] in particular and also some parts of [[Southeast Anatolia]], as well as much of [[Armenia]] and [[Iran]] are largely dominated by cold steppe.

The [[Pannonian Plain]] is another steppe region in [[Central Europe]], centered in [[Hungary]] but also including portions of [[Slovakia]], [[Poland]], [[Ukraine]], [[Romania]], [[Serbia]], [[Croatia]], [[Slovenia]], and [[Austria]]. Another large steppe area ([[prairie]]) is located in the central [[United States]], [[western Canada]] and the northern part of [[Mexico]]. The [[shortgrass prairie]] steppe is the westernmost part of the [[Great Plains]] region. The [[Columbia Plateau (ecoregion)|Columbia Plateau]] in southern [[British Columbia]], [[Oregon]], [[Idaho]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington state]], is an example of a steppe region in [[North America]] outside of the Great Plains.

In [[South America]], cold steppe can be found in [[Patagonia]] and much of the high elevation regions east of the southern [[Andes]].

Relatively small steppe areas can be found in the interior of the [[South Island]] of [[New Zealand]].

In [[Australia]], a moderately sized temperate steppe region exists in the northern and northwest regions of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], extending to the southern and mid regions of [[New South Wales]]. This area borders the semi-arid and arid Australian [[Outback]] which is found farther inland on the continent.

===Subtropical steppe===
In [[Europe]], some [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] areas have a steppe-like vegetation, such as central [[Sicily]] in [[Italy]], southern [[Portugal]], parts of [[Greece]] in the southern [[Athens]] area,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Hellenic National Meteorological Service |location=Greece |url=http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/english/climatology/climatology_region_diagrams_html?dr_city=Athens_Hellinikon&dr_region=ClimAttiki |title=Hellinikon |website=HNMS.gr |access-date=2013-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312064300/http://www.hnms.gr/hnms/english/climatology/climatology_region_diagrams_html?dr_city=Athens_Hellinikon&dr_region=ClimAttiki |archive-date=2007-03-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and central-eastern [[Spain]], especially the southeastern coast (around [[Murcia]]), and places cut off from adequate moisture due to [[rain shadow]] effects such as [[Zaragoza]].

In northern [[Africa]], the [[Mediterranean climate|Mediterranean]] area also hosts the same steppe-like vegetation, such as the Algerian-Moroccan [[Hautes Plaines]] and by extension the [[North Saharan steppe and woodlands]].

In [[Asia]], a subtropical steppe can be found in semi-arid lands that fringe the [[Thar Desert]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]] as well as much of the [[Deccan Plateau]]  in the rain shadow of the [[Western Ghats]], and the [[Badia (region)|Badia]] of the [[Levant]].

In [[Australia]], subtropical steppe can be found in a belt surrounding the most severe deserts of the continent and around the [[Musgrave Ranges]].

In [[North America]] this environment is typical of transition areas between zones with a Mediterranean climate and true deserts, such as [[Reno, Nevada]], the inner part of [[California]], and much of [[West Texas|western Texas]] and adjacent areas in Mexico.