Documents for "CIS and Baltic Physical Geography":

• Ösel see Saaremaa , island, Estonia.

• Alagez, Mount see Aragats, Mount , Armenia.

• Alai see Alay , mountains, Kyrgyzstan.

• Alania see Ossetia.

• Alay or Alai , mountain range, SW Kyrgyzstan. A western branch of the Tian Shan system, it extends c.200 mi (320 km) W from the Chinese border and rises to c.19,280 ft (5,880 m) in its western portion. The Alay...

• Aldan river, c.1,400 mi (2,250 km) long, rising in the Stanovoy Range, Sakha Republic, SE Siberian Russia. It flows north and east, past Tommot and around the Aldan Plateau, before flowing generally...

• Amu Darya or Amudarya , river, c.1,600 mi (2,580 km) long, formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Pandj rivers, which rise in the Pamir Mts. of central Asia. It flows generally northwest, marking much of the northern...

• Anadyr river, c.695 mi (1,120 km) long, rising on the Anadyr Plateau, NE Russian Far East, and flowing S then E into Anadyr Bay, an inlet of the Bering Sea. The Anadyr basin, a lowland between the Anadyr...

• Angara river, c.1,150 mi (1,850 km) long, SE Siberian Russia, the outlet of Lake Baykal. After leaving the southwestern end of Lake Baykal, it flows north past Irkutsk and Bratsk, then turns west after...

• Angara Shield Asia: see Siberian Platform.

• Apsheron peninsula, c.40 mi (60 km) long, extending into the Caspian Sea, E Azerbaijan. It is a dry, hilly area at the eastern end of the Greater Caucasus Mts. and is underlain by rich oil-bearing rock...

• Aragats, Mount or Mount Alagez , extinct volcano, 13,435 ft (4,095 m) high, N Armenia, in the Lesser Caucasus. It is the highest peak in Armenia.

• Araks river, Armenia: see Aras.

• Aral Kara Kum desert, Kazakhstan: see Kara Kum.

• Aral Sea salt lake, SW Kazakhstan and NW Uzbekistan, E of the Caspian Sea in an area of interior drainage. To the north and west are the edges of the arid Ustyurt Plateau; the Kyzyl Kum desert stretches to...

• Araxes river, Turkey and Azerbaijan: see Aras.

• Avacha or Avachinskaya Sopka , active volcano, 8,965 ft (2,733 m) high, Russian Far East, on S Kamchatka peninsula. It has a permanent snow cap.

• Azov, Sea of Gr. Maiotis, Lat. Palus Maeotis, ancient Rus. Surozhskoye, northern arm of the Black Sea, c.14,000 sq mi (36,300 sq km), shared by S European Russia and E Ukraine. The shallow sea (maximum depth 45 ft/13 m) is connected with the Black Sea by the Kerch...

• Baikal see Baykal.

• Balkash lake, 6,562 sq mi (16,996 sq km), c.350 mi (560 km) long, maximum width c.45 mi (70 km), in E Kazakhstan. The lake, which has an average depth of 20 ft (6 m), stretches from the Kazakh Hills in the...

• Baraba Steppe agricultural district, SW Siberian Russia, between the Ob and the Irtysh rivers. Barabinsk, on the Trans-Siberian RR, is the region's chief town. It was founded in the 19th cent.

• Barabinsk see Baraba Steppe.

• Baykal or Baikal , lake, 12,160 sq mi (31,494 sq km), SE Siberian Russia. It is the largest freshwater lake of Eurasia, with a width up to 50 mi (80 km) and a length of c.395 mi (640 km). Its maximum depth is 5,714...

• Baykal-Amur Mainline (BAM), railroad line linking central Siberian Russia with the Pacific. The BAM parallels the Trans-Siberian RR but passes north rather than south of Lake Baykal. It is 1,928 mi (3,102 km) long, with 1,987 bridges. Its eastern terminus is Sovetskaya Gavan on the Tatar Strait. It was begun in 1938 but was...

• Belaya [Rus.,=white], river, c.880 mi (1,420 km) long, Bashkortostan, E European Russia. It rises in the Ural Mts. and winds generally NW past Beloretsk, Sterlitamak (where it becomes navigable), and Ufa...

• Berezina river, c.380 mi (610 km) long, rising in Belarus. It flows generally S past Borisov and Bobruysk into the Dnieper River. It is navigable for most of its length. The heroic retreat across the...

• Borysthenes Ukraine: see Dnieper.

• Bug or Southern Bug, river, Ukraine: see Buh.

• Buh or Southern Buh , Ukr. Pivdynnyy Buh, river, c.490 mi (790 km) long, rising in the Volhynian-Podolian hills, W Ukraine. The Buh, flowing generally SE into the Black Sea, is navigable for c.100 mi (160 km) from Voznesensk to its mouth...

• Buh or Western Buh, river, Eastern Europe: see Bug.

• Bureya mountain range, Khabarovsk Territory, SE Russian Far East, extending into NE China as the Xiao Hinggan (Lesser Khingan) range. The site of the Bureya coal basin, it rises to c.7,150 ft (2,180 m)...

• Cape Dezhnev or East Cape, northeasternmost point of Asia, Russian Far East, on Chukchi Peninsula and on the Bering Strait. It is named after Semyon Dezhnev, the Russian navigator who explored it in 1648.

• Caspian Kara Kum see Kara Kum , Turkmenistan.

• Caspian Sea Lat. Mare Caspium or Mare Hyrcanium, salt lake, c.144,000 sq mi (373,000 sq km), between Europe and Asia; the largest lake in the world. It is bordered on the northeast by Kazakhstan, on the southeast by Turkmenistan, on the south by...

• Caucasia see Caucasus.

• Caucasian Gates see Daryal.

• Caucasus Rus. Kavkaz, region and mountain system, SE European Russia. The mountain system extends c.750 mi (1,210 km) from the mouth of the Kuban River on the Black Sea SE to the Apsheron peninsula on the...

• Central Asiatic Railroad see Trans-Caspian Railroad.

• Chany saltwater lake, 1,280 sq mi (3,315 sq km), S Siberian Russia, in the Baraba Steppe, centered among the towns of Bulgar, Barabinsk, and Kupino.

• Chelyuskin, Cape northernmost point (lat. 77°43′N) of Asia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, N central Siberian Russia. It is named after the Russian navigator who discovered it in 1742.

• Chishima see Kuril Islands.

• Chudskoye, Lake see Peipus, Lake.

• Chukchi Peninsula northeastern extremity of Asia, terminating in Cape Dezhnev, Russian Far East. Washed by the E Siberian and Chukchi seas in the northeast, the peninsula is the eastern extension of the Anadyr...

• Chukotsk see Chukchi Peninsula , Russia.

• Chulym river, c.1,075 mi (1,730 km) long, Krasnoyarsk Territory, S central Siberian Russia. It rises in the eastern slopes of the Kuznetsk Alatau and flows N and W through Krasnoyarsk Territory and Tomsk...

• Chusovaya river, c.460 mi (740 km) long, E European Russia. It rises in the central Urals and flows northwest through a major industrial region to join the Kama Reservoir near Perm, site of the Kama...

• Communism Peak see Ismoili Somoni Peak.

• Courland or Kurland , Latvian Kurzeme, historic region and former duchy, in Latvia, between the Baltic Sea and the Western Dvina River. It is an agricultural and wooded lowland. Jelgava (Ger. Mitau ), the historic capital, and Liepaja (Ger. Libau ) and Ventspils (Ger. Windau ), the Baltic seaports, are the chief cities. The early Baltic tribes—Letts and Kurs—who inhabited the region were subjected in the 13th cent. by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. In 1561 the order disbanded and its grand master became the first duke of Courland, under Polish suzerainty. In the Northern War (1700-1721), it was taken (1701) by Charles XII of Sweden. Empress...

• Courland Lagoon see Kursky Zaliv.

• Düna see Dvina (Western Dvina), river.

• Dariel pass, Georgia: see Daryal.

• Daryal or Dariel , pass, c.3,950 ft (1,204 m) high, N Georgia, in the central Greater Caucasus Mts. below Mt. Kazbek. Situated above the Terek River, it is noted for its wild grandeur. The Georgian Military...

• Dashava a natural gas producing region of Ukraine, mainly in Lviv region, in the Carpathian foothills. It is linked by pipeline to many centers of Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia, including Lviv, Kiev,...

• Daugava see Dvina (Western Dvina), river.

• Desna river, c.740 mi (1,190 km) long, Russia and Ukraine. It is a main tributary of the Dnieper. Rising SE of Smolensk, the Desna flows S and SW past Bryansk and Chernihiv, joining the Dnieper above...

• Dnepr see Dneiper , river.

• Dneproges see Dniprohes , hydroelectric station.

• Dneprostroi see Dniprohes , hydroelectric station.

• Dnestr see Dniester , river.

• Dnieper Rus. Dnepr, Ukr. Dnipro, river, c.1,430 mi (2,300 km) long, in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. One of the longest rivers in Europe, it rises in the Valdai Hills, W of Moscow. It flows generally S past Smolensk, through...

• Dniester Ukr. Dnister, Moldovan Nistru, Rus. Dnestr, Rom. Nistrul, Turk. Turla, river, c.850 mi (1,370 km) long, forming part of the border between Ukraine and Moldova. It rises in the Carpathian Mts., flows generally SE through SW Ukraine past Halych, Khotin, and...

• Dniprohes [Ukr. abbr.,=Dnieper hydroelectric station], Rus. Dneproges, a hydroelectric station, central Ukraine, on the Dnieper River near Zaporizhzhya. The hydroelectric station supplies power for the industrial centers of Dnipropetrovsk, Kryvyy Rih, and...

• Dniprostroy hydroelectric station: see Dniprohes.

• Don river, SW European Russia. It rises SE of Tula and flows c.1,200 mi (1,930 km), first SE past Voronezh, then SW into the Sea of Azov. At its eastern bend the Don is linked by a canal (c.65 mi/105...

• Don Cossacks Cossack settlers (see Cossacks ) who in the 16th cent. founded the virtually independent republic of the Don Cossacks on the fertile steppes along the lower course of the Don River. Novocherkassk was their chief town. The host of the Don Cossacks was governed by a popular council, the Rada, and by an elected chief, called ataman. Their daring raids and exploits attained legendary...

• Donbas industrial region, Ukraine and Russia: see Donets Basin.

• Donets river, c.650 mi (1,050 km) long, in Ukraine and SW European Russia. A tributary of the Don, it is also called the North Donets (Rus. Severny Donets ). It rises NE of Belgorod, which it passes, and...

• Donets Basin denyĕts´ , abbreviated as Donbas , industrial region (c.10,000 sq mi/25,900 sq km), E Ukraine and SW European Russia, N of the Sea of Azov and W of the Donets River. It is located mainly in Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine...

• Dvina or Northern Dvina, Rus. Severnaya Dvina, river, c.465 mi (750 km) long, N European Russia. It is formed near Veliki Ustyug by the union of the Sukhona and Yug rivers, flows N past Kotlas, then turns northeast, and empties into Dvina Bay,...

• Dvina or Western Dvina, Ger. Düna, Latvian Daugava, Rus. Zapadnaya Dvina, river, c.635 mi (1,020 km) long, in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia. Rising in the Valdai Hills, it flows S and then generally W past Velizh and through Belarus, past Vitebsk and Polotsk, and through...

• Dykh-Tau peak, c.17,000 ft (5,180 m) high, SE European Russia, in the central Greater Caucasus.

• East Cape see Cape Dezhnev , Russia.

• Elbrus, Mount highest mountain of the Caucasus, SE European Russia, in Georgia, formed by two extinct volcanic cones, respectively 18,481 ft (5,633 m) and 18,356 ft (5,595 m) high. Its glaciers give rise to...

• Emba river, c.400 mi (640 km) long, W Kazakhstan. It rises in the Mugodzhar Mts. and flows SW into the Caspian Sea. The lower course traverses an area of salt domes and the petroleum-rich Emba fields.

• Enisei see Yenisei , river, Russia.

• Ezel see Saaremaa , Estonia.

• Garabogazkol or Kara-Bogaz-Gol , shallow bay,, in Turkmenistan. An arm of the Caspian Sea, it acts as a natural evaporation basin, drawing off the water of the Caspian and depositing salts along its shores. The drop in the...

• Garmo Peak see Ismoili Somoni Peak.

• Georgian Military Road highway, SE European Russia and Georgia. It is c.135 mi (220 km) long and crosses the Greater Caucasus Mts. Starting from its northern terminus at Vladikavkaz , the road winds upward through the Daryal gorge. Skirting Mt. Kazbek, it crosses the Caucasus at an altitude of 7,815 ft (2,382 m), descends through the Krestovy Pass, and cuts through forests and...

• Gokcha lake: see Sevan , lake, Armenia.

• Goryn Pol. Horyń, river, W European Russia. It rises 65 mi (105 km) E of Lviv and flows 410 mi (660 km) N into the Pripyat River.

• Ilmen shallow lake, varying in size from c.300 to c.800 sq mi (780-2,070 sq km), NW European Russia. It empties through the Volkhov River into Lake Ladoga. Novgorod and Staraya Russa are nearby.

• Imandra lake, 340 sq mi (881 sq km), NW European Russia, on the Kola Peninsula S of Murmansk. Deeply indented, it contains some 140 islands and receives about 20 large rivers. It empties into the...

• Indigirka river, NE Siberian Russia, in the Sakha Republic. It rises in the Oymyakon plateau and flows c.1,100 mi (1,770 km) N into the Arctic Ocean. It is navigable (June-September) from its confluence...

• Inhul Rus. Ingul, river, in Ukraine. Rising N of Kirovohrad, it flows south c.210 mi (340 km) to empty into the Buh estuary, an inlet of the Black Sea, at Mykolayiv.

• Inhulets Rus. Ingulets, river, c.340 mi (550 km) long, in Ukraine. Rising in the Kirovohrad region, it flows through the Kryvyy Rih iron district and then south to join the Dnieper River above Kherson.

• Irtysh river, c.2,650 mi (4,260 km) long, W Siberian Russia and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob and one of the two major rivers of W Siberia. As the Ertix, it rises in Xinjiang, China, in...

• Ishim river, c.1,130 mi (1,819 km) long, W Siberian Russia and Kazakhstan. It rises N of Qaraghandy in Kazakhstan (where it is known as the Esil), flows W past Atbasar, N past Petropavl, and then joins...

• Ismoili Somoni Peak 24,590 ft (7,495 m) high, NW Tajikistan, in the Pamir ; the highest point in Tajikistan. Originally called Garmo Peak, it was determined (1932-33) the highest peak in the USSR and was renamed Stalin Peak. In 1962 the peak was renamed Communism Peak...

• Issyk-Kol or Ysyk Köl , lake, E Kyrgyzstan, in the Alatau Mts. At an altitude of c.5,300 ft (1,620 m) and with an area of c.2,400 sq mi (6,220 sq km), it is one of the largest mountain lakes in the world. It reaches a...

• Jaxartes see Syr Darya , river.

• Kama river, c.1,260 mi (2,030 km) long, E European Russia, the chief left tributary of the Volga. It rises in the foothills of the central Urals and flows N, then E, and then SW past Perm, Sarapul, and...

• Kanin peninsula, N European Russia, projecting into the Barents Sea between the White Sea (in the west) and Chesha (Cheshskaya) Bay (in the east). Its northernmost cape is called Kanin Nos. The native...

• Kara river, c.140 mi (230 km) long, NE European and NW Siberian Russia. It flows N from the N Urals into the Kara Sea, forming part of the traditional border between European and Asian Russia. It is...

• Kara Irtysh see Irtysh , river.

• Kara Kum two deserts, one in Kazakhstan and one in Turkmenistan. The Caspian Kara Kum or Garagum, the larger desert (c.115,000 sq mi/297,900 sq km), is W of the Amu Darya River and includes most of...

• Kara-Bogaz-Gol see Garabogazkol , Turkmenistan.

• Kara-Kul mountain lake, c.140 sq mi (360 sq km), Badakhshan, E Tajikistan, in the Pamir, near the Chinese border. It is c.12,840 ft (3,900 m) above sea level, and its greatest depth is 780 ft (240 m).

• Karelian Isthmus land bridge, NW European Russia, connecting Russia and Finland. Situated between the Gulf of Finland in the west and Lake Ladoga in the east, it is 25 to 70 mi (40-113 km) wide and 90 mi (145 km)...

• Kasbek, Mount see Kazbek, Mount , Georgia.

• Kashka-Darya river, c.200 mi (320 km) long, Uzbekistan. It is the basis of a wide network of irrigation canals near the towns of Kitab and Kanshi.

• Katun river, c.415 mi (670 km) long, Altai Territory, S Siberian Russia. It rises in the Katun Alps and flows generally north to join the Biya, with which it forms the Ob River. The Katun is partly...

• Kaufmann Peak see Lenin Peak , Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

• Kazan city (1989 est. pop. 1,094,000), capital of Tatarstan , E European Russia, on the Volga. It is a major historic, cultural, industrial, and commercial center. Manufactures include chemicals, explosives, electrical equipment, building materials, consumer...

• Kazbek, Mount peak, 16,541 ft (5,042 m) high, N Georgia, in the Greater Caucasus. An extinct volcano, it rises above the Daryal gorge and the Georgian Military Road. Its glaciers give rise to the Terek River...

• Kem river, c.240 mi (390 km) long, Karelia, NW European Russia. It rises SE of Kuusamo, Finland, and flows E into the White Sea.

• Ket river, c.845 mi (1,360 km) long, W central Siberian Russia. It rises in central Siberia, just N of Krasnoyarsk, and flows NW and W into the Ob. The Ket is navigable c.410 mi (660 km). It is...

• Khatanga river, Krasnoyarsk Territory, N central Siberian Russia, formed by the union of the Kotui and the Kheta rivers. From the Kotui it is c.715 mi (1,150 km) long and flows north through the central...

• Khoper river, c.625 mi (1,010 km) long, S European Russia. It rises SW of Penza and flows SW, then S into the Don. It is partly navigable.

• Kizil Kum desert: see Kyzyl Kum.

• Kola Peninsula peninsula, c.50,000 sq mi (129,500 sq km), NW European Russia, in Murmansk region. Forming an eastern extension of the Scandinavian peninsula, it lies between the Barents Sea to the north and the...

• Kolguyev island, 1,350 sq mi (3,497 sq km), off NE European Russia, in the Barents Sea, E of the Kanin peninsula and 50 mi (80 km) from the mainland. It is a part of the Nenets Autonomous Area , Arkhangelsk region, and is inhabited mainly by Nenets (Samoyedes). It is a tundra region, and the Nenets engage in fishing, seal hunting, reindeer raising, and trapping. Burgino is the major...

• Kolyma river, c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) long, rising in several headstreams in the Kolyma and Cherskogo ranges, Russian Far East. It flows generally N to the Arctic Ocean at Nizhniye Kresty. It is navigable...

• Koshtan-Tau peak, c.16,880 ft (5,150 m) high, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, S European Russia, in the central Greater Caucasus.

• Kuban river, c.570 mi (920 km) long, rising in the Greater Caucasus on the western slopes of Mt. Elbrus, S European Russia, and flowing north in a wide arc past Karachayevsk, Cherkessk, and Armavir,...

• Kura ancient Cyrus, Georg. Mhtvari, river, c.950 mi (1,530 km) long, the chief river of Georgia and Azerbaijan. It rises in NE Turkey, NW of Kars, and flows NE into Georgia, then SE, parallel to the Caucasus Mts., to the Caspian Sea...

• Kuril Islands or Kuriles , Jap. Chishima-Retto, Rus. Kurilskiye Ostrova, island chain, c.6,020 sq mi (15,590 sq km), Sakhalin region, E Russia. They stretch c.775 mi (1,250 km) between S Kamchatka Peninsula and NE Hokkaido, Japan, and separate the Sea of Okhotsk from...

• Kursky Zaliv or Courland Lagoon , lagoon, 56 mi (90 km) long and 28 mi (45 km) wide, in Lithuania and Russia. It is separated from the Baltic Sea by Courland Spit, a sandspit c.60 mi (100 km) long and 1 to 2 mi (1.6-3.2 km) wide,...

• Kuzbas Russia: see Kuznetsk Basin.

• Kuznetsk Alatau mountain range, S Siberian Russia, E of Novokuznetsk, rising to about 6,900 ft (2,100 m). Part of the great mountain system of central Asia, the range is composed mainly of metamorphic rocks and...

• Kuznetsk Basin coal basin, c.10,000 sq mi (25,900 sq km), W Siberian Russia, between the Kuznetsk Alatau and the Salair Ridge. Its abbreviated name is Kuzbas. With extensive coal deposits, particularly of...

• Kyzyl Kum or Kizil Kum [Turk.,=red sand], desert, c.115,000 sq mi (297,900 sq km), in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This vast region SE of the Aral Sea between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers consists mainly of rocky...

• Ladoga, Lake Finnish Laatokka, Rus. Ladozhskoye Ozero, c.7,000 sq mi (18,100 sq km), NW European Russia, in Karelia, NE of St. Petersburg. The largest lake in Europe, it is c.130 mi (210 km) long and c.80 mi (130 km) wide and has a maximum depth of 738...

• Lena river, easternmost of the great rivers of Siberia, c.2,670 mi (4,300 km) long, rising near Lake Baykal, SE Siberian Russia. It flows northeast, then north along the east side of the central...

• Lenin Peak formerly Kaufmann Peak , 23,405 ft (7,134 m) high, on the border of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is the highest point in the Trans-Alai range, and in the USSR its height was exceeded only by Communism...

• Maeotis, Palus see Azov, Sea of.

• Mamison or Mamisson , pass, 9,550 ft (2,911 m) high, in the central Greater Caucasus, on the border between Georgia and Russia. Crossed by the Ossetian Military Road, it links the cities of Kutaisi and Alagir, and the...

• Mangyshlak Peninsula W Kazakhstan, extending into the NE Caspian Sea. Except for the Kara-Tau range, the peninsula is below sea level; Batyr Sink is c.430 ft (130 m) below sea level. Oil, manganese, and coal are found...

• Manich see Manych , rivers.

• Manych two rivers, SE European Russia. The Western Manych, c.200 mi (320 km) long, rises near Stavropol in the N Caucasus and flows NW through Lake Manych-Gudilo into the lower Don River. The Eastern...

• Mariinsk System see Volga-Baltic Waterway.

• Medveditsa river, c.430 mi (690 km) long, SE European Russia. It rises NW of Volsk, flows roughly parallel to the Volga past Petrovsk, and empties into the Don River near Serafimovich.

• Memel see Neman , river.

• Mezen river, c.565 mi (910 km) long, rising in the Timan Hills, Komi Republic, NE European Russia, and flowing NW into the Mezen Bay of the White Sea. Its lower course is navigable from May to November...

• Miass river (c.390 mi/630 km long), W Siberian Russia. It rises in the eastern slopes of the S Urals and flows N and NE past Chelyabinsk into the Iset, a tributary of the Ob River. The city of Miass (1989...

• Mingrelia lowland region, W Georgia, bordering the Black Sea. Tea and grapes are the chief products. Poti is the main port. The Colchis of the ancients, Mingrelia was a vassal principality (with Zugdidi as capital) under the Ottoman Empire. It was annexed to Russia in 1803. The Mingrelians (also called Megrelians) are closely...

• Moksha river, c.375 mi (600 km) long, rising NW of Penza, central European Russia, and flowing generally NW into the Oka River. Its lower course is navigable.

• Moscow Basin lignite basin, c.200 mi (320 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide, central European Russia, S of Moscow. Tula is the chief city of the region. Low-grade bituminous and lignite coals, suitable for the...

• Moskva river, c.310 mi (500 km) long, rising in the hills W of Moscow, in central European Russia, and meandering generally E past Mozhaisk and Moscow to join the Oka River near Kolomna. It is connected...

• Msta river, c.280 mi (450 km) long, rising N of Vyshne Volochek, NW European Russia, and flowing generally NW into Lake Ilmen near Novgorod. Navigable in its lower course, it is included in the...

• Mugodzhar Hills range, c.275 mi (440 km) long, E Kazakhstan. The southern spur of the Urals, it forms the divide between the Caspian and the Aral basins. Its highest point is c.2,150 ft (660 m). There are coal,...

• Naroda or Narodnaya Gora [Rus.,=people's mountain], peak, c.6,180 ft (1,880 m) high, NE European Russia, in the N Urals. It is the highest peak of the Urals.

• Narva river, c.50 mi (80 km) long, rising in Lake Peipus (Chudskoye), E Estonia, and flowing northeast past the city of Narva into the Gulf of Finland. It forms the border between Estonia and Russia. The falls of the river supply power to the fibers industry of Narva. After Estonia was forcibly incorporated into the USSR...

• Naryn river, c.450 mi (720 km) long, rising in several branches in the Tian Shan mountain system, SW Kyrgyzstan and SE Uzbekistan. The longest river in Kyrgyzstan, it flows generally W through the...

• Neman Ger. Memel, Lithuanian Nemanos, Pol. Niemen, river, c.580 mi (930 km) long, rising in central Belarus, SW of Minsk. It flows generally W to Grodno, then N and W through S Lithuania to form part of the Lithuania-Kaliningrad Region border...

• Nemunas see Neman , river.

• Neva river, 46 mi (74 km) long, NW European Russia, connecting Lake Ladoga with the Gulf of Finland, an inlet of the Baltic Sea. St. Petersburg is situated in its delta. The Neva is connected by canal...

• New Siberian Islands Rus. Novosibirskiye Ostrova, archipelago, c.10,900 sq mi (28,200 sq km), N Siberian Russia, in the Arctic Ocean between the Laptev and East Siberian seas, part of the Sakha Republic. The archipelago is separated into two...

• Nicholas II Land see Severnaya Zemlya , Russia.

• Niemen see Neman , river.

• North Ossetia-Alania see Ossetia.

• Northern Dvina river: see Dvina (Northern Dvina).

• Northern Land see Severnaya Zemlya , Russia.

• Novosibirskiye Ostrova Russia: see New Siberian Islands.

• Ob river, c.2,300 mi (3,700 km) long, W Siberian Russia. With the Irtysh River, its chief tributary, it is c.3,460 mi (5,600 km) long and is the world's fourth longest river. Formed by the junction...

• Oka river, c.925 mi (1,490 km) long, rising S of Orel, central European Russia. It flows N past Orel and Kaluga, E past Serpukhov, Kolomna, and Ryazan, and then NE past Murom to join the Volga River...

• Oka river, c.600 mi (970 km) long, rising in the Sayan Mts., Buryat Republic, S central Siberian Russia. It flows N through Irkutsk oblast to join the Angara River below Bratsk. The lower Oka valley is...

• Olekma river, c.820 mi (1,320 km) long, rising in the Yablonovy range, SE Siberian Russia. It flows N through Amursk region and the Sakha Republic to the Lena River below Olekminsk.

• Olenek river, c.1,350 mi (2,200 km) long, rising in the central Siberian plateau, Krasnoyarsk Territory, E Siberian Russia. It winds E then N through NW Sakha Republic to the Laptev Sea. It is navigable...

• Onega river, c.260 mi (420 km) long, rising in Lake Lacha, NW European Russia, and flowing N into the Onega Gulf of the White Sea, SW of Arkhangelsk. It is navigable (May-November) except for the rapids...

• Onega, Lake Finnish Aäninen, Rus. Onezhskoye Ozero, lake, c.3,800 sq mi (9,800 sq km), NW European Russia, in Karelia, between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea. The second largest lake in Europe, it is c.150 mi (240 km) long with a maximum width of...

• Ossetia or Alania , region of the central Caucasus, divided between the Republic of Georgia and the Russian Federation. On the northern slope is North Ossetia-Alania (1990 est. pop. 641,000), 3,100 sq mi (8,029 sq km), a constituent republic of Russia; Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordzhonikidze) is the capital. This region extends north beyond the Terek River. On the...

• Ossetian Military Road highway, c.170 mi (270 km) long, across the Caucasus, S European Russia and Georgia, linking Kutaisi with Alagir. One of the two main routes over the N Caucusus, it crosses the Caucasian crest...

• Oxus river: see Amu Darya.

• Palus Maeotis see Azov, Sea of.

• Pechora river, c.1,120 mi (1,800 km) long, rising in the N Urals, N European Russia. It flows generally north through the forest and tundra regions of the Komi Republic and the Nenets Autonomous Area into...

• Peipus, Lake Estonian Peipsi Järv, Rus. Chudskoye Ozero, c.1,390 sq mi (3,600 sq km), dividing Estonia from the W Pskov region, Russia. Its southern section is known as Lake Pskov. Lake Peipus, which is navigable, empties through the Narva River into the...

• Perekop, Isthmus of c.19 mi (30 km) long and from 5 to 14 mi (8-23 km) wide, S Ukraine, connecting the Crimea with the Ukrainian mainland. It separates the Gulf of Perekop (an arm of the Black Sea) in the west from...

• Pinsk Marshes see Pripyat.

• Pleshcheyevo, Lake Russia: see Pereslavl-Zalesski.

• Polesye lowland: see Pripyat.

• Pripet see Pripyat.

• Pripyat or Pripet , Pol. Prypeć, river, c.440 mi (710 km) long, rising NW of Kovel, NW Ukraine, near the Polish border, and flowing generally E through the Pripyat Marshes, S Belarus, into the Dnieper River in NE Ukraine...

• Prypeć see Pripyat.

• Putrid Sea see Sivash Sea , Ukraine.

• Rion ancient Phasis, river, c.195 mi (310 km) long, rising in the Caucasus near the Mamison Pass, W Georgia, and flowing S and W past Kutaisi into the Black Sea at Poti. Its upper course is used to produce...

• Rybinsk Reservoir artificial lake, c.2,000 sq mi (5,200 sq km), NW European Russia. It was formed in 1941 between the upper Volga River and its tributaries, the Mologa and Sheksna rivers, with the completion of the...

• Saare see Saaremaa , island, Estonia.

• Saaremaa or Sarema , Swed. Ösel, Rus. Ezel, 1,048 sq mi (2,714 sq km), island off the mainland of Estonia, in the Baltic Sea, across the mouth of the Gulf of Riga. It is irregular in shape and has a level terrain. Dairy farming, stock...

• Salair Ridge range, c.200 mi (320 km) long, E Siberian Russia. Extending along the northern border of the Altai Territory, it rises to more than 2,000 ft (610 m) and forms the western edge of the Kuznetsk...

• Samara river, c.360 mi (580 km) long, rising in the foothills of the S Urals, European Russia. It flows generally northwest, and joins the Volga River at Samara.

• Sarema see Saaremaa , Estonia.

• Sarez, Lake 37 mi (60 km) long, on the Murgab River, E central Tajikistan, in the Pamir 80 mi (129 km) NE of Khorugh. Sarez was formed (1911) when an earthquake caused a landslide that destroyed Usoi village...

• Sayan Mountains central Asia, chiefly in S Siberia. The Eastern Sayan Mts. extend c.680 mi (1,090 km) from the lower Yenisei River to the southwest end of Lake Baykal and rise to 11,686 ft (3,562 m) in the...

• Sevan lake, c.540 sq mi (1,400 sq km), NE Armenia, at an altitude of 6,280 ft (1,914 m); it is 324 ft (99 m) deep. The largest lake of the Caucasus, it is fed by some 30 streams, but the Razdan River is...

• Severnaya Zemlya [Rus.,=northern land], archipelago, c.14,300 sq mi (37,010 sq km), between the Kara and Laptev seas, Krasnoyarsk Territory, N Siberian Russia, off the Taymyr Peninsula. Extending N of lat. 80°N, it...

• Shantar Islands archipelago, c.980 sq mi (2,540 sq km), Khabarovsk Territory, Russian Far East, in the Sea of Okhotsk. Discovered in 1645, the islands are used as a fishing base and for fur trapping and lumbering....

• Sheksna river, c.100 mi (160 km) long flowing S between Lake Beloye and the Rybinsk Reservoir, NW European Russia. Cherepovets is on the river. The Sheksna forms a link in the Volga-Baltic Waterway.

• Shkhara peak, c.17,064 ft (5,201 m) high, in the Greater Caucasus, SW of Nalchik and on the border between Georgia and Russia.

• Siberian Platform or Angara Shield, large, geologically stable area of Precambrian rocks, N Asia, comprising much of Siberia, Russia. It is bounded, in general, on the west by the Yenisei River, on the east by the Lena River, on the...

• Sihun see Syr Darya , river.

• Sikhote-Alin mountain range, c.625 mi (990 km) long, S Russian Far East. It is composed of a series of ridges lying between the Sea of Japan and the Ussuri and Amur rivers. Its forests are a source of lumber,...

• Sivash Sea or Putrid Sea, Rus. Gniloye More, salt lagoon, c.1,000 sq mi (2,590 sq km), S Ukraine, extending along the northeastern coast of the Crimea. It is separated—except at the Genichesk Strait—from the Sea of Azov by the Arabat Tongue,...

• Solovetski Islands archipelago, c.150 sq mi (390 sq km), N European Russia, in the White Sea at the entrance of Onega Bay. A monastery, built in the first half of the 15th cent., is on the largest island. It was...

• South Ossetia see Ossetia.

• Stanovoy Range mountain range, c.450 mi (720 km) long, Russian Far East, extending E from the Olekma River; it rises to c.8,150 ft (2,480 m) at Golets Skalisty. It forms part of the border between the Sakha...

• steppe temperate grassland of Eurasia, consisting of level, generally treeless plains. It extends over the lower regions of the Danube and in a broad belt over S and SE European and Central Asian Russia,...

• Sukhona river, c.350 mi (560 km) long, N European Russia. It flows from Kubeno Lake NE into the Yug River at Veliki Ustyug to form the Northern Dvina River.

• Sura river, c.540 mi (870 km) long, rising E of Penza, S central European Russia. It flows generally north to empty into the Volga River. It is navigable for about 100 mi (160 km) upstream.

• Svanetia mountainous region, in Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. It is very difficult to access, and its inhabitants, the Svans, have retained many of their traditions. They speak a...