Editing Siberia (section)

==Geography==
{{further|Geography of Russia}}
{{Physical map of Siberia|width=166}}
[[File:Хайыракандан барыын талаже көрүш.jpg |thumb|View from [[:ru:Хайыракан (гора)|Haiyrakan mountain]], [[Tuva]]]]
[[File:Волшебное Кучерлинское озеро.jpg |thumb|Altai, Lake Kutsherla in the [[Altai Mountains]]]]
[[File:Республика Бурятия, Баргузинский залив.jpg |thumb|The peninsula of Svyatoy Nos, [[Lake Baikal]]]]
[[File:Vasyugan.jpg |thumb|The river [[Vasyugan]] in the southern [[West Siberian Plain]]]]
[[File:Kamchatka Volcano Koryaksky (24231533812).jpg |thumb|[[Koryaksky]] volcano towering over [[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky]] on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]]]

Siberia spans an area of {{Convert|13.1|e6km2|mi2}}, covering the vast majority of Russia's total territory, and almost 9% of Earth's land surface ({{Convert|148940000|km2|abbr= on|disp= comma}}). It geographically falls in Asia, but is culturally and politically considered European, since it is a part of Russia.<ref name="culture"/> Major geographical zones within Siberia include the [[West Siberian Plain]] and the [[Central Siberian Plateau]].

Eastern and central [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]] comprises numerous north–south mountain ranges of various ages. These mountains extend up to almost {{convert|3000|m|ft}}, but above a few hundred metres they are almost completely devoid of vegetation. The [[Verkhoyansk Range]] was extensively glaciated in the Pleistocene, but the climate was too dry for glaciation to extend to low elevations. At these low elevations are numerous valleys, many of them deep and covered with [[larch]] forest, except in the extreme north where the [[tundra]] dominates. Soils are mainly turbels (a type of [[gelisol]]). The active layer tends to be less than one metre deep, except near rivers.

The highest point in Siberia is the active [[volcano]] [[Klyuchevskaya Sopka]], on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]]. Its peak reaches {{convert|4750|m}}.

===Mountain ranges===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Altai Mountains]]
* [[Anadyr Highlands]]
* [[Baikal Mountains]]
* [[Khamar-Daban]]
* [[Chersky Range]]
* [[Chukotka Mountains]]
* [[Dzhugdzhur Mountains]]
* [[Kolyma Mountains]]
* [[Koryak Mountains]]
* [[Sayan Mountains]]
* [[Tannu-Ola Mountains]]
* [[Ural Mountains]]
* [[Verkhoyansk Mountains]]
* [[Yablonoi Mountains]]
{{div col end}}

===Geomorphological regions===
{{see also|Great Russian Regions}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Central Siberian Plateau]]
* [[Central Yakutian Lowland]]
* [[East Siberian Lowland]]
* [[East Siberian Mountains]]
* [[North Siberian Lowland]]
* [[South Siberian Mountains]]
* [[West Siberian Lowland]]
{{div col end}}

===Lakes and rivers===
{{Main|Rivers in Russia}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Alazeya]]
* [[Anabar (river)|Anabar]]
* [[Angara]]
* [[Indigirka]]
* [[Irtysh]]
* [[Kolyma (river)|Kolyma]]
* [[Lake Baikal]]
* [[Lena (river)|Lena]]
* [[Nizhnyaya Tunguska]]
* [[Novosibirsk Reservoir]]
* [[Ob (river)|Ob]]
* [[Podkamennaya Tunguska]]
* [[Popigay (river)|Popigay]]
* [[Upper Angara]]
* [[Uvs Nuur]]
* [[Yana (river)|Yana]]
* [[Yenisey]]
{{div col end}}

===Grasslands===
* [[Ukok Plateau]]—part of a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pacificenvironment.org/article.php?list=type&type=83 |title=Altai: Saving the Pearl of Siberia |website=[[Pacific Environment]] |access-date=30 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070322160629/http://www.pacificenvironment.org/article.php?list=type&type=83 |archive-date=22 March 2007}}</ref>

===Geology===
The West Siberian Plain, consisting mostly of [[Cenozoic]] alluvial deposits, is somewhat flat. In the mid-Pleistocene, many deposits on this plain resulted from [[Proglacial lake|ice dam]]s which produced a large [[glacial lake]]. This mid- to late-[[Pleistocene]] lake blocked the northward flow of the [[Ob (river)|Ob]] and [[Yenisey]] rivers, resulting in a redirection southwest into the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] and [[Aral Sea|Aral]] seas via the [[Turgai Valley]].<ref>[http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/lake.html Lioubimtseva E.U., Gorshkov S.P. & Adams J.M.; ''A Giant Siberian Lake During the Last Glacial: Evidence and Implications''; Oak Ridge National laboratory] {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061213101647/http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/lake.html |date= 13 December 2006 }}</ref> The area is very swampy, and soils are mostly peaty [[histosol]]s and, in the treeless northern part, [[histels]]. In the south of the plain, where [[permafrost]] is largely absent, rich grasslands that are an extension of the [[Kazakh Steppe]] formed the original vegetation, most of which is no longer visible.{{why?|date= April 2015}}
[[File:2006-07 altaj belucha.jpg|thumb|[[Belukha Mountain]]]]
[[File:Yakutia - DSC 6164.jpg|thumb|[[Verkhoyansk Range]]]]
The Central Siberian Plateau is an ancient [[craton]] (sometimes named ''Angaraland'') that formed an independent [[continent]] before the [[Permian]] (see the [[Siberia (continent)|Siberian continent]]). It is exceptionally rich in minerals, containing large deposits of [[gold]], [[diamond]]s, and ores of [[manganese]], [[lead]], [[zinc]], [[nickel]], [[cobalt]], and [[molybdenum]]. Much of the area includes the [[Siberian Traps]]—a [[large igneous province]]. A massive eruptive period approximately coincided with the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event]]. The volcanic event is one of the largest known [[volcanic eruptions]] in [[History of the Earth|Earth's history]]. Only the extreme northwest was [[glaciated]] during the [[Quaternary]], but almost all is under exceptionally deep permafrost, and the only [[tree]] that can thrive, despite the warm summers, is the deciduous [[Siberian Larch]] (''Larix sibirica'') with its very shallow roots. Outside the extreme northwest, the [[taiga]] is dominant, covering a significant fraction of the entirety of Siberia.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2011. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Taiga?topic=58071 ''Taiga''. eds. M.McGinley & C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC]</ref> Soils here are mainly [[Gelisol|turbels]], giving way to [[spodosols]] where the active layer becomes thicker and the ice-content lower.

The ''Lena-Tunguska petroleum province'' includes the Central Siberian platform (some authors refer to it as the "Eastern Siberian platform"), bounded on the northeast and east by the [[Late Carboniferous]] through [[Jurassic]] Verkhoyansk [[foldbelt]], on the northwest by the [[Paleozoic]] Taymr foldbelt, and on the southeast, south and southwest by the Middle [[Silurian]] to [[Middle Devonian]] Baykalian foldbelt.<ref name=Meyerhof>Meyerhof, A. A., 1980, "Geology and Petroleum Fields in Proterozoic and Lower Cambrian Strata, Lena-Tunguska Petroleum Province, Eastern Siberia, USSR", in ''Giant Oil and Gas Fields of the Decade: 1968–1978'', AAPG Memoir 30, Halbouty, M. T., editor, Tulsa: American Association of Petroleum Geologists, {{ISBN|0891813063}}</ref>{{rp|228}} A regional geologic reconnaissance study begun in 1932 and followed by surface and subsurface mapping revealed the Markova-Angara Arch ([[anticline]]). This led to the discovery of the Markovo Oil Field in 1962 with the Markovo—1 well, which produced from the [[Early Cambrian]] Osa Horizon [[Shoal|bar]]-[[sandstone]] at a depth of {{convert|2156|m|ft}}.<ref name=Meyerhof/>{{rp|243}} The ''Sredne-Botuobin Gas Field'' was discovered in 1970, producing from the Osa and the [[Proterozoic]] Parfenovo Horizon.<ref name=Meyerhof/>{{rp|244}} The Yaraktin Oil Field was discovered in 1971, producing from the [[Vendian]] Yaraktin Horizon at depths of up to {{convert|1750|m|ft}}, which lies below [[Permian]] to [[Lower Jurassic]] [[Flood basalt|basalt traps]].<ref name=Meyerhof/>{{rp|244}}

===Climate===
{{main|Climate of Russia}}
[[File:Kuysumy mountains and Torgashinsky range. View from viewing platform on Kashtakovskaya path (Stolby reserve, Krasnoyarsk city) 4Y1A8757 (28363120875).jpg |thumb|Siberian [[taiga]]]]

[[File:Russia vegetation.png|thumb|533px|{{legend0|#c0c0c0|[[polar desert]]}} {{legend0|#9fd6c9|[[tundra]]}} {{legend0|#a7bddb|[[alpine tundra]]}} {{legend0|#006d64|[[taiga]]}} {{legend0|#3c9798|[[montane forest]]}} {{legend0|#a4e05d|[[temperate broadleaf forest]]}} {{legend0|#f7ec6f|[[temperate steppe]]}} {{legend0|#9b8447|[[dry steppe]]}}<br />[[Biome|Vegetation]] in Siberia mostly consists of [[taiga]], with a [[tundra]] belt on the northern fringe, and a [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest|temperate forest]] zone in the south.]]

The climate of Siberia varies dramatically, but it typically has warm but short summers and long, brutally cold winters. On the north coast, north of the [[Arctic Circle]], there is a very short (about one month long) summer.

Almost all the population lives in the south, along the route of the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. The climate in this southernmost part is [[humid continental climate]] (Köppen ''Dfa/Dfb'' or ''Dwa/Dwb'') with cold winters but fairly warm summers lasting at least four months. The annual average temperature is about {{convert|0.5|C|F|1}}. January averages about {{convert|−20|C}} and July about {{convert|+19|C}}, while daytime temperatures in summer typically exceed {{Convert|20|C}}.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N55E082+1102+29634W |title= Novosibirsk climate |publisher= Worldclimate.com |date= 4 February 2007 |access-date= 15 May 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N54E073+1202+0004115G2 |title= Omsk climate |publisher= Worldclimate.com |date= 4 February 2007 |access-date= 15 May 2010}}</ref> With a reliable growing season, an abundance of sunshine and exceedingly fertile [[chernozem]] soils, southern Siberia is good enough for profitable [[agriculture]], as was demonstrated in the early 20th century.

By far the most commonly occurring climate in Siberia is continental [[subarctic climate|subarctic]] (Koppen ''Dfc'', ''Dwc'', or ''Dsc''), with the annual average temperature about {{convert|−5|°C|°F}} and an average for January of {{convert|−25|C}} and an average for July of {{convert|+17|C}},<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N56E107+1102+30337W |title= Kazachengoye climate |publisher= Worldclimate.com |date= 4 February 2007 |access-date= 15 May 2010}}</ref> although this varies considerably, with a July average about {{Convert|10|C}} in the taiga–tundra [[ecotone]]. The [[commerce|business]]-oriented website and blog ''Business Insider'' lists [[Verkhoyansk]] and [[Oymyakon]], in Siberia's [[Sakha Republic]], as being in competition for the title of the Northern Hemisphere's ''[[Pole of Cold]]''. [[Oymyakon]] is a village which recorded a temperature of {{convert|−67.7|°C|F}} on 6 February 1933. [[Verkhoyansk]], a town further north and further inland, recorded a temperature of {{convert|−69.8|°C|F}} for three consecutive nights: 5, 6 and 7 February 1933. Each town is alternately considered the Northern Hemisphere's Pole of Cold – the coldest inhabited point in the Northern hemisphere. Each town also frequently reaches {{convert|30|C}} in the summer, giving them, and much of the rest of Russian Siberia, the world's greatest temperature variation between summer's highs and winter's lows, often well over {{Convert|94|-|100|C-change|disp=preunit|6=+}} between the seasons.<ref>{{cite web |work=Business Insider |date=6 February 2014 |title=This Tiny Town In Russia Is The Most Miserable Place In The World |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/verkhoyansk-russia-most-miserable-place-2014-2 |last=Badkar |first=Mamta |access-date=28 August 2021 }}</ref>{{failed verification|date= December 2016}}

Southwesterly winds bring warm air from Central Asia and the Middle East. The climate in West Siberia (Omsk, or Novosibirsk) is several degrees warmer than in the East ([[Irkutsk]], or [[Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai|Chita]]) where in the north an extreme winter subarctic climate (Köppen ''Dfd'', ''Dwd'', or ''Dsd'') prevails. But summer temperatures in other regions can reach {{convert|+38|C}}. In general, [[Sakha Republic|Sakha]] is the coldest Siberian region, and the basin of the [[Yana (river)|Yana]] has the lowest temperatures of all, with permafrost reaching {{convert|1493|m|ft}}. Nevertheless, Imperial Russian plans of settlement never viewed cold as an impediment. In the winter, southern Siberia sits near the center of the semi-permanent [[Siberian High]], so winds are usually light in the winter.

[[Precipitation (meteorology)|Precipitation]] in Siberia is generally low, exceeding {{convert|500|mm}} only in [[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]], where moist winds flow from the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] onto high mountains&nbsp;– producing the region's only major [[glacier]]s, though volcanic eruptions and low summer temperatures allow only limited forests to grow. Precipitation is high also in most of [[Primorsky Krai|Primorye]] in the extreme south, where monsoonal influences can produce quite heavy summer rainfall.

{{Weather box
| location=[[Novosibirsk]], Siberia's largest city
| metric first=yes
| single line=yes
| Jan high C = −12.2
| Feb high C = −10.3
| Mar high C = −2.6
| Apr high C = 8.1
| May high C = 17.5
| Jun high C = 24.0
| Jul high C = 25.7
| Aug high C = 22.2
| Sep high C = 16.6
| Oct high C = 6.8
| Nov high C = −2.9
| Dec high C = −8.9
| year high C = 7.0
| Jan mean C = −16.2
| Feb mean C = −14.7
| Mar mean C = −7.2
| Apr mean C = 3.2
| May mean C = 11.6
| Jun mean C = 18.2
| Jul mean C = 20.2
| Aug mean C = 17.0
| Sep mean C = 11.5
| Oct mean C = 3.4
| Nov mean C = −6.0
| Dec mean C = −12.7
| year mean C = 2.4
| Jan low C = −20.1
| Feb low C = −19.1
| Mar low C = −11.8
| Apr low C = −1.7
| May low C = 5.6
| Jun low C = 12.3
| Jul low C = 14.7
| Aug low C = 11.7
| Sep low C = 6.4
| Oct low C = 0.0
| Nov low C = −9.1
| Dec low C = −16.4
| year low C = −2.3
| precipitation colour=green
| Jan precipitation mm = 19
| Feb precipitation mm = 14
| Mar precipitation mm = 15
| Apr precipitation mm = 24
| May precipitation mm = 36
| Jun precipitation mm = 58
| Jul precipitation mm = 72
| Aug precipitation mm = 66
| Sep precipitation mm = 44
| Oct precipitation mm = 38
| Nov precipitation mm = 32
| Dec precipitation mm = 24
| year precipitation mm = 442
| source 1 =<ref name="Гидрометцентр России">{{cite web |url=http://meteoinfo.ru/NovosibirskClimat |script-title=ru:Гидрометцентр России |access-date=8 January 2009 |language=ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080627063054/http://meteoinfo.ru/NovosibirskClimat |archive-date=27 June 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| date=August 2010
}}

====Global warming====
Researchers, including Sergei Kirpotin at [[Tomsk State University]] and Judith Marquand at [[Oxford University]], warn that [[West Siberian Plain|Western Siberia]] has begun to thaw as a result of [[global warming]]. The frozen [[peat bog]]s in this region may hold billions of tons of [[methane gas]], which may be released into the atmosphere. Methane is a [[greenhouse gas]] [[Global warming potential|22 times more powerful]] than [[carbon dioxide]].<ref>Ian Sample, "[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2005/aug/11/science.climatechange1 Warming hits 'tipping point']". ''[[The Guardian]]'', 11 August 2005.</ref> In 2008 a research expedition for the [[American Geophysical Union]] detected levels of methane up to 100 times above normal in the atmosphere above the Siberian [[Arctic]], likely the result of [[methane clathrate]]s being released through holes in a frozen "lid" of seabed [[permafrost]] around the outfall of the [[Lena (river)|Lena]] and the area between the [[Laptev Sea]] and [[East Siberian Sea]].<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/exclusive-the-methane-time-bomb-938932.html | title= Exclusive: The methane time bomb |last= Connor |first= Steve |date= 23 September 2008 |newspaper= [[The Independent]] |access-date= 3 October 2008}}</ref><ref>N. Shakhova, I. Semiletov, A. Salyuk, D. Kosmach, and N. Bel'cheva (2007), [http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/01071/EGU2007-J-01071.pdf?PHPSESSID=e Methane release on the Arctic East Siberian shelf], ''Geophysical Research Abstracts'', '''9''', 01071.</ref>

Since 1988, experimentation at [[Pleistocene Park]] has proposed to restore the grasslands of prehistoric times by conducting research on the effects of large herbivores on permafrost, suggesting that animals, rather than climate, maintained the past ecosystem. The nature reserve park also conducts climatic research on the changes expected from the reintroduction of grazing animals or large herbivores, hypothesizing that a transition from [[tundra]] to grassland would lead to a net change in energy emission to absorption ratios.<ref name="Zimov 2005: Pleistocene Park: Return of the Mammoth's Ecosystem. Science Mag.">Sergey A. Zimov (6 May 2005): [https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1113442 "Pleistocene Park: Return of the mammoths' ecosystem"] In: ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'', pages 796–798. Article also to be found in [http://www.pleistocenepark.ru/en/materials/ www.pleistocenepark.ru/en/ – Materials.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103172534/http://www.pleistocenepark.ru/en/materials/ |date=3 November 2016 }} Retrieved 5 May 2013.</ref>

According to Vasily Kryuchkov, approximately 31,000 square kilometers of the Russian Arctic has been subjected to severe environmental disturbance.