EXPLORE RUSSIA 12 KEY FACTS by Alicia Klepeis STORY LIBRARY
1 Russia Is the Biggest Country in the World Russia is the world’s largest country It covers about one-tenth of all land on Earth Europe The eastern part lies in Asia The Ural Mountains form the border between Europe and Asia It is more than 6 6 million square miles 17 1 million sq km in size And almost twice the size of the United States Russia is so big it spans two continents The western part is in Russia has coasts on three of the world’s major oceans The Atlantic is to the west The Arctic Ocean is to the north The Pacific is to the east It shares borders with 14 countries These include China Mongolia Norway and Finland The Ural Mountains run north to south through western Russia 4
Two-thirds of all waterway traffic in Russia is on the Because Russia is so large its landscape is varied It has deserts icy coastlines and tall mountains Mt Elbrus in the south is the highest peak It reaches 18,510 feet 5,642 m into the air Russia’s giant lakes include Lake Baikal and Volga River Lake Ladoga Russia has around 100,000 rivers Much of the land consists of vast treeless plains called steppes 11 Time zones in Russia Russia is the world’s largest country Russia stretches across Europe and Asia The landscape includes mountains deserts and lakes Plains cover a large amount of Russia THE VOLGA RIVER The Volga is Russia’s most important river It’s the longest river in Europe The Volga begins northwest of Moscow It flows for about 2,300 miles 3,700 km to the Caspian Sea Most of Russia’s people live within the Volga region The river is used for transportation It is a source of irrigation It also provides hydroelectric power 5
