Eastern Europe Geography K12 – Flashcards
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Identify the landform Norway is famous for.
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Fjords
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What is a "drunken forest" and what does it have to do with the topography of Eastern Europe?
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Mainly found in the tundra regions of Eastern and Central Europe, permafrost, a layer of perennially frozen subsoil, lies beneath the surface. Recently, permafrost, which is supposed to be continuously frozen, has been thawing in some places. The photo below is a picture of what is referred to as a "drunken forest." Because the trees roots are shallow, when the permafrost melts, the trees start to tip over. The melting of this permafrost throughout the Northern Hemisphere has been altering ecosystems and damaging roads and buildings across Russia and other countries of Eastern Europe.
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Define Permafrost. Explain why the permafrost is melting and its result.
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Permanently frozen subsoil, occurring in perennially frigid areas. It is melting due to global warming and is altering ecosystems and damaging roads and buildings across Russia.
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What indicates a permafrost free area?
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One is to look at vegetation and geological patterns. For example, black spruce usually indicates hidden permafrost, while birch, aspen, or white spruce indicates permafrost-free areas. Permafrost is more common on north-facing slopes than on south-facing ones.
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Why are there increasing problems with construction in permafrost regions?
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There are increasing problems with construction in permafrost regions due to climate change and the increasing instability of permafrost.
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Define Taiga. Identify the relative location of the Scandinavian Taiga Zone.
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Taiga is a term referring to a subarctic, evergreen coniferous forest of northern Eurasia. Scandinavian Taiga zone is situated in Northern Europe between tundra in the north and temperate mixed forests in the south.
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What two major population centers can be found in the taiga biome?
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The taiga biome is found in the northern hemisphere close to the polar region. Both Moscow and Toronto are major population centers that can be found in this biome, but north of these cities the area is mainly unpopulated.
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Define Tundra.
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Treeless area between the icecap and the tree line of Arctic regions, having permanently frozen subsoil and supporting low-growing vegetation such as lichens, mosses, and stunted shrubs.
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Which of the animals from the arctic tundra are falsely known as "suicidal rodents?"
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Lemmings are falsely known as suicidal rodents because people incorrectly believe that large groups of lemmings migrate together and jump off cliffs to their deaths. This myth has been perpetuated for decades.
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Which mammals were domesticated about 2000 years ago and are currently herded by native people of northern Asia?
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Reindeer
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How many members comprise the Orthodox Christian Church?
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Today the Orthodox Church numbers approximately 300 million Christians.
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Describe the importance of art and music in the Orthodox Church.
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The art and music has a very functional role in the liturgical life and helps even the bodily senses to feel the spiritual grandeur of the Lord's mysteries.
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Compare and contrast Communism and Capitalism.
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Capitalism embraces the notion that equality and full employment are seen as important benefits that offset the restrictions and lack of freedoms. In a democratic system that embraces capitalism, the significant downside is unemployment and increased income inequality. In a communist society, government controls the resources, allocates the resources, and dictates the use of resources and the allocation of the products created from those resources.
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Identify some ways Eastern European countries have tried to develop their economies since the fall of Communism.
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Since the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, many countries have been spending big bucks to develop first-class winter resorts. Two of the best ski resorts in Eastern Europe are Bansko in Bulgaria and Jasna in Slovakia. Slovakia has capitalized on its many thermal springs by building spas, wellness centers and over-the-top water parks.
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Identify of the Eastern European country that claims to have the "most modern resort in Eastern Europe?"
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Bulgaria
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Which of the following is the first rule of the skier's code?
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Ski in control
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Identify who the city of St. Petersburg was named for.
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St.Peter
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St. Petersburg resides near what body of water?
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Baltic Sea
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Why is St. Petersburg referred to as the northern capital of Russia?
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A large number of foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and other businesses are located in Saint Petersburg.
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The Caucasus Mountains separate what two bodies of water?
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separate the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
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Identify the highest point in the Caucasus Mountains.
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Mt. Elbrus
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What has been the effect of erosion in the Ural Mountains?
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Erosion has exposed many valuable minerals such as topaz and beryl.
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What is unusual about the Ural Mountains, in spite of their old age?
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They are quite high
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What is another name for the Russian Plain?
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The Eastern European Plain
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Identify the geographical significance of the Russian Plain?
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The Russian Plain is the largest mountain-free area of Russia.
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Which mountain range is where the countries of Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan come together?
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The Altai Mountains
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In what hemisphere is Russia located?
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Russia is located in both the northern and eastern hemisphere.
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Which mountains divide Russia into a European and an Asian section?
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Ural Mountains
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How many time zones does the country of Russia encompass?
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Eleven 11
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Identify about how far Alaska is from Russia.
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About 50 miles
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Why is there limited agriculture in Eastern Europe?
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Due to a lack of proper soils and favorable climates, there is not as much agriculture in Eastern Europe as there is in Western Europe.
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What is the climate of most of Central and Eastern Europe?
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Mainly humid-continental with cool summers
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How many distinct seasons does Poland experience throughout the year?
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Six 6
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Compare the Southern Appalachian (U.S.A.) and Southwestern Caucasus (Russia) forest regions?
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Southern Appalachian (U.S.A.) and Southwestern Caucasus (Russia) forests are both Northern Hemisphere, warm-temperate Tertiary forests but have developed differently
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Boreal forests in Siberia Russia are most similar to what area in North America?
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region stretching from Alaska to Newfoundland
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How are forest biomes classified?
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Based on latitude
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Why has deforestation been a problem in both Russian and North American deciduous forests?
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Because this biome has fertile soil and a long, 5 to 6 month, growing season, many deciduous forests have been converted into agricultural regions.
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Who was the target audience of Lenin and his revolutionary actions?
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Workers
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What were Stalin's five year plans?
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Plans to modernize the economy of Russia. Each plan set a target which industries had to meet. Each factory was set a target which it had to meet. The targets were completely unrealistic.
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Identify the approximate time period of the Cold War and what is the term "Cold War" referring to?
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The 1940s-1980s. The term meant that relations between the USSR and its World War II allies (primarily the United States, Britain, and France) had deteriorated to the point of war without the occurrence of actual warfare.
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Explain why the Berlin Wall was initially created.
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The Berlin Wall was erected in September 1961 to prevent the outflow of skilled manpower from the German Democratic Republic.
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What were the international implications for the fall of the Berlin Wall?
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When the Wall came down in 1989, it also brought down Communism and the threat of the Cold War, freeing not only Germans from continual fear but the rest of the world as well.
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What countries were allied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War?
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On the Soviet side were many of the countries of Eastern Europe-including Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, East Germany, and Romania-and, during parts of the Cold War, Cuba and China.
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In the 1980s, in response to concern over dependence on foreign oil, France nearly tripled its use of nuclear energy. What reduction in environmental pollution from the electric power system did France experience during this time?
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80-90% reduction
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What is touted as the biggest benefit to nuclear energy?
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It is environmentally clean (no greenhouse gas emissions)
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Approximately what percent of the United States' electricity is provided by nuclear energy?
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20%
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What is the potential danger from an accident at a nuclear power plant?
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exposure to radiation
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Describe the disaster at Chernobyl.
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The worst case of a nuclear disaster was in 1986 at the Chernobyl facility in the Ukraine. A fire ripped apart the casing of the core, releasing radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. Thirty-one people died as an immediate result. And estimated 15,000 more died in the surrounding area after exposure to the radiation.
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Why is waste disposal of nuclear materials a serious problem?
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nuclear waste remains active for thousands of years and therefore must be kept far away from society
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How do students make a choice about which schools to attend in Russia?
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The Russian school system (similar to the Soviet system) has three kinds of educational facilities, with enrollment based on exams: the eleven-year school complex, the specialized technical school (technikum), and the vocational high school (PTU). Some school complexes have devoted grades 8 or 9 through 11 to enriched humanities or natural sciences tracks, preparing students to attend a university or other institution of higher education (VUZ).
