THE ASIAN RUSSIA.                      

    The territory of the Asian part of Russia extends for 6000 km from the 
west to the east and for 4000 km from the north to the south, occupying an 
area of 13,300,000 square kilometres. The main watershed of the ranges of 
Ural is considered as its western boundary, the coasts of the Arctic and 
Pacific oceans and their seas are, respectively, its northern and eastern 
boundaries, the southern boundary coincides with the Russian frontier with 
Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and North Korea. 
     This territory lies within the temperate and subarctic climatic zones. 
The average temperatures of January are below zero throughout: from -4 
degrees Centigrade on the Kurile islands to -44 degrees in the headwaters of 
the Yana River in NE. Siberia; those of July vary from + 2 degrees 
Centigrade on the northern Taymyr Peninsula to + 23 degrees at the town 
Kyakhta in South Zabaikalye*. As to humidity, the territory can be subdivided 
into the regions of continental (Ural, W. Siberia, the mountains of S. 
Siberia), sharply continental (Tuva, Zabaikalye, East and, partly, Middle 
Siberia), maritime (Kamchatka, the coastal regions of the northern Far 
East), and monsoon (the southern Far East, except for the upper Amur basin) 
climates. The precipitation varies from 100 mm in the intermontane hollows 
of Tuva to 2000 mm in some mountain regions of Central Altai and the Far 
East. 
     About 65% of the territory of the Asian Russia is covered wit forests, 
mostly larch forests, while dark-needle, pine, small-leaved (birch and asp), 
broad-leaved, and mixed coniferous/broad-leaved forest types occupy smaller 
areas. Tundras form a wide belt in the north of the territory and, in 
combination with stone screes, are common in highlands at lower latitudes. 
The northern part of the forest-steppe zone, and forest-steppen landscapes 
on piedmonts are used mostly as pastures or for haying and so are still 
little affected by human activity. The southern forest-steppes and 
steppes*** are mostly ploughed up, the settlements and other man-affected 
landscapes occupying a considerable area in their zones. Native steppen 
flora and fauna, however, still can be found in shelters at the edges and 
glades of birch groves, pine woods, raised bogs [locally called "ryams"], 
lake banks, and in the regions with rough relief. 

     URAL is a mountain country situated between the Russian and West 
Siberian Lowlands, extending from Kazakhstan in the south to the Arctic 
Ocean in the north. Subpolar Ural is its most elevated section (with the 
maximum altitude being 1895 m), many of its ranges are crowned with sharp 
crests and are deeply and densely incised with river valleys. The relief of 
Polar and North Ural is characterized by smooth plateau-like elevations of 
900-1200 m altitudes. Middle Ural is relatively low, while South Ural is 
composed of numerous short ranges, mostly meridionally directed, of various 
height (up to 1640 m). Altitudinal zonality of the mountains of Polar Ural 
forms on the background of zonal tundra and forest-tundra of the adjacent 
lowlands, that of Subpolar, North, and Middle Ural - of different taiga 
subzones, that of South Ural - of forest- steppe and steppe. In the forest 
belt of Middle Ural and northwards the dark-needle trees, namely, the 
spruce, fir, and Siberian stone pine predominate, which are replaced by the 
birch in felled and burnt-over areas. The western slope of Polar Ural is 
covered with larch forests, the western slopes of the ranges of South Ural - 
by broad-leaved (mostly lime) and mixed coniferous/broad-leaved forests. The 
tree line is formed: on South and Middle Ural - by the spruce at 1000-12000 
m, on North Ural - mostly by birch elfin wood at 200-600 m, on Polar Ural - 
by larch forests, with the understorey of the alder and dwarf birch, at 200-
600 m. In the tree line vicinity, especially on the western principal slope, 
the long- forb meadows of a subalpine type are common; the smooth highlands 
are covered with fruticose, fruticulose, and sedge- lichen tundras 
alternating with large-stoned trees ["kurumy"]. 

     WEST SIBERIA, here considered without ALtai and the Kuznetskoe Nagorye 
upland, coincides with one of the largest lowlands in the world - the West 
Siberian Lowland, which embraces the basins of the Ob' and, in part, the 
Yenisey Rivers and occupies an area of more than two million square 
kilometres. The altitudes of its northern and central parts do not exceed 
50-150 m above sea level, slight elevations (up to 200-300 m) appearing only 
on its western, southern, and eastern margins. These vast lowland 
territories exhibit a classical example of latitudinal zonality, which is, 
however, much influenced by bogging. Raised peat-moss bogs, with the dwarf 
birch and the Ericaceae shrubs, often cover great areas of watershed plains 
which are comparable with the areas of European countries. The fruticose, 
fruticulose, and moss tundras are developed on the Yamal, Tazovskiy and 
Gydan Peninsulas. All the three subzones of taiga (northern, middle, and 
southern) are expressed between 56 degrees 50 minutes and 65 degrees 50 
minutes of northern latitude. While the watersheds are mostly bogged up, 
spruce/Siberian stone pine and Siberian stone pine/fur forests predominate 
along river valleys, dry pine woods with the lichen ground layer are 
developed on sandy banks, the bog margins are covered with open pine/birch 
forests with the peat-moss in the ground layer, locally called "sogra". 
Southwards of the 56 degrees 50 minutes of northern latitude the forests are 
replaced by a forest-steppen lanscape, or the grove belt, characterized by 
birch or birch/asp groves [throughout Siberia called "kolki" or "okolki"] 
situated in very slight relief depressions or, less frequently, pine woods 
[Russ. "bory"] on sandy soils, the open space between which, formerly 
occupied by meadows and meadowy steppe, are to a great extent ploughed up. 
Instead of bogs, which became smaller and sparse as we proceed southwards, 
this area is set with numerous very shallow lakes of different size, which 
sometime are saltish. At the very south of West Siberia the groves become 
very sparse manifesting transition to the steppe, numerous salty lakes and 
solonchaks [salinas] being a peculiar feature of the landscapes. 


     MIDDLE SIBERIA extends from the Yenisey River in the west to the Lena 
River in the east. It is much more heterogeneous as to its relief than West 
Siberia. 

     The North Siberian Lowland occupies the polar margins of Middle 
Siberia, including the large Taymyr peninsula. Its relief is characterized 
by smooth and flat ridges of 100-200 m altitude extended to north-east 
direction through vast bogged up depressions with numerous lakes. The north 
of the Taymyr Peninsula is occupied by two massifs of the Byrranga mountains 
(up to 1146 m). In the northern half of the lowland a lichen-fruticulose 
tundra predominates, in the southern half it is mostly replaced by a bush 
tundra, on the southern margin of the lowland there are found larch forest-
tundras. 

     The Srednesibirskoe [Middle Siberian] Plateau occupies the largest part 
of Middle Siberia, extending southwards to the East Sayan. Two conspicuous 
elevations of its southern part should be mentioned: Yeniseyskiy Kryazh [the 
Yenisey ridge] (up to 1104 m) at the Yenisey right bank and the Angarskiy 
Kryazh [the Angara ridge] (up to 946 m) crossed by the Angara River in its 
middle flow. The plateaux is characterized by smooth relief with peculiar 
table mountains with flat tops of 700-900 m altitudes. It is situated in the 
larch forest zone; the pine forests are common in the Angara basin; the 
dark-needle taiga - at the Yenisey right bank. The "islands" of forest-
steppes are found in the Kansk and Irkutsk-Cheremukhovsk depressions and in 
the basin of the Kuda River. The highlands in the northern half of the 
plateaux are mostly occupied by screes and "stone fields." 

    The Putorana Plateau is the most elevated (up to 1664 m) north-western 
part of the Srednesibirskoe Plateau. Its is a tableland deeply (to 500-900 
m) cut through by rivers and chains of lakes. The spruce/birch/larch forests 
of its western part eastwards are replaced by bushy larch parklands. With 
altitude, the belt of the dwarf birch/willow bushes is replaced by large-
stoned screes with small patches of fruticose, fruticulose, and lichen 
tundras. 


     EAST SIBERIA (considered as including the western Ochot coast) is 
situated north of Pribaicalye and Zabaikalye and east of the Lena River. 

    The Prilenskoe [Russ. "at the Lena"] Plateau consists of flattened areas 
in the middle Lena basin. At the low flow of the Aldan and Vilyuy Rivers it 
is lowered to 50-150 m above sea level, the altitudes growing southwards to 
400-500 m in the main part of the plateau. The Lena River, crossing the 
plateau, incises a precipitous valley about 300 m deep. The plateau is 
covered throughout with larch forests which are bogged up in relief 
lowerings. The "islands" of steppes or steppefied meadows occur on southern 
slopes of river terraces, the steppe-like vegetation is also found at the 
edges of bogged up depressions, called "alasy". 

     The Yano-Indigiro-Kolymskaya Lowland [the lowland of the Yana, 
Indigirka, and the Kolyma Rivers] occupies the northern margin of East 
Siberia. It is a boggy lowland with numerous lakes and solitary rocky hills. 
Open and bogged up larch woods predominate in the southern part, tussock 
sedge and fruticulose tundras - in the northern one. 

     The mountains of the north of East Siberia include the complicated 
systems of the Verkhoyanskiy (up to 2389 m), Suntar-Khayata (up to 2959 m), 
Cherskogo (up to 3147 m), and Kolymskiy (up to 2389 m) mountain ranges. The 
watershed ridges of these ranges are characterized by steep slopes, sharp 
crests, and deeply incised rocky valleys. In the headwaters of the Yana, 
Indigirka, and the Kolyma Rivers the gentle Yuano-Oymyakonskoe and 
Verkhnekolymskoe uplands with altitudes of 500-700 m are situated, they 
embrace numerous short and flattened ranges and solitary dome-like massifs. 
Three altitudinal belts can be isolated: that of open larch taiga, with the 
understorey of the dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) at the tree line (at 600-100 m 
above sea level), that of detritous/lichen and fruticulose tundras, and that 
of montane rocky deserts. Within the Yano-Oymyakon upland the extreme 
northern on the continent islands of steppen communities are scattered on 
southern slopes, dry saddles, and piedmont plateaux. Riparian poplar woods 
are found in some river valleys. 

     The Stanovoe Nagorye upland extends from the northern extreme of Lake 
Baikal eastwards. It is composed of rocky ranges of 1500-200 m altitudes 
(with the maximum of 2999 m) alternating with intermontane hollows lying at 
the altitudes of 500-1000 m. Montane larch forests and parklands predominate 
in the forest belt, but the west of Severbaikal'skoe Nagorye [the North 
Baikal upland] and Patomskoe Nagorye [the Patom upland] are covered mostly 
with dark-needle spruce/fir taiga. A belt of the Siberian dwarf pine elfin 
wood is well expressed at the tree-line at 1400-1600 m, higher altitudes are 
the kingdom of screes, with patches of meadows of subalpine types in the 
bottom of upper parts of river valleys. 

      The Aldanskoe Nagorye upland is situated between the Aldan River and 
the Stanovoy (up to 2412 m) and Dzhugdzhur (up to 1906 m) mountain ranges, 
which form the watershed of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Flat and bogged 
up interfluves with the average altitudes of 800-100 m are common for this 
upland, with isolated mountain massifs with smooth outlines and short 
mountain ranges of 1400-200 m altitudes (with the maximum of 2306 m) 
elevating over the main surface. The larch taiga predominates all over the 
upland, but on dry places the pine appears. The intermontane hollows are 
covered with larch parklands with the ground layer formed by the peat-moss 
and sedges. The dwarf pine/larch parklands are developed from altitudes of 
1000-1300, on higher elevations they undergo transition to impermeable pure 
dwarf pine elfin woods which, in turn, are replaced by vast screes with 
small patches of moss and lichen tundras. 


     THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTH SIBERIA reside as a contiguous latitudinal belt 
mostly along the Mongolian frontier. 

     Altai is a complicated mountain system shared by the territories of 
Russia (North and Central Altai), Kazakhstan (West Altai), West China, and 
Mongolia (South or Mongolian Altai). It consists of many ranges forming the 
watersheds of various tributaries of the Ob', Irtysh, and the basins of 
Central Asia without outflow. The ranges of Central Altai are mostly 
latitudinally directed and elevated at 2500-4000 m (with the maximum of the 
Belukha mountain, 4506 m), they are characterized by the relief of an alpine 
type, with precipitous slopes and sharp crests. Meridionally and 
submeridionally directed elevations of 1500-2500 m, with smooth surfaces but 
steep slopes, are common in North Altai. Piedmonts, low mountain slopes, and 
wide intermontane hollows of Altai are predominantly occupied by meadow 
steppes and steppefied meadows, those situated on rather flat surfaces being 
mostly ploughed up. The forest belt is represented by montane larch forests 
on the main territory or by dark-needle taiga in the regions with high 
humidity. The south-exposed slopes are often barren and steppefied even 
within the forest belt. On the south-east of Central Altai** the forest belt 
is fragmentarily expressed so that above 2300 m the montane steppes undergo 
smooth transition to the highland tundras (at 2500-3000 m altitudes). The 
tree line rises from 1900 in the west to 2500 m in the east and is formed by 
larch woods, with the dwarf birch in the understorey, or by Siberian stone 
pine woods alternating with long-forb subalpine meadows. At 200-2300 m above 
sea level, mostly in cirques giving rise to brooks, there appear alpine 
meadows with a great variety of luxuriantly flowering plants. Bushy (Betula 
rotundifolia), Dryas oxyodonta, lichen, moss, and detritous tundras occupy 
flattened places at the altitudes above 2300 m. Locally the meadowy Festuca 
tundras are developed, and in the basins of the Chuya and Argut there are 
common the arid tundra-steppe associations with the dominance of Kobresia. 
Above 2600 m the short forb alpine meadows and sparse specific scree 
vegetation are scattered among large-stoned screes ["kurumy"] and rocks. 

     The Kuznetskoe Nagorye upland is represented by a meridionally oriented 
mountain range called the Kuznetskiy Alatau, situated north of Altai, 
between the Kuznetskaya and Minusinskaya Hollows, and, south-west of the 
former, a mountain massif Gornaya Shoriya. These mountains have smooth 
outline, rather steep western and gentle eastern slopes. Their average 
altitude of ridges is 100-1200 m with the maximum of 2178 m. The fir 
overwhelmingly predominates in the forest belt except for its upper part 
where, at the tree line (1300-1900 m), the stone pine becomes a dominant. 
The highlands are occupied mostly by vast large-stoned screes, and also by 
patches of subalpine meadows and, on some southern mountain massifs, of 
bushy, lichen and moss tundras. The basin of the Kondoma River in Gornaya 
Shoriya is remarkable for the lime-tree woods which are thought to be the 
relics of a pre-Pleistocene nemoral vegetation of Siberia. All over the 
upland the forest openings are occupied by long forb forest meadows. 

    The West Sayan is a mountain system bordered by the Minusinskaya Hollow 
in the north and the Tuvinskaya and Todzhinskaya Hollows in the south. At 
the junction with Altai it is characterized by an alpine mesorelief with the 
altitudes of peaks of 2800-300 m (with the maximum of 3121 m). Eastwards of 
the gorge of the Yenisey, which breaks through the range, the watershed 
ranges are lowered to 2000-2200 m and the relief become more mild. On the 
northern piedmonts the pine/larch forests predominate, with admixture of the 
birch, asp, bird cherry and openings with long forb forest meadows. At 800-
900 m above sea level the dark-needle taiga appears, being replaced by the 
stone pine and larch parklands above 1600 m. Further upwards there are 
screes with patches of alpine meadows and montane tundras. The valley 
bottoms in highland are covered with subalpine meadows. In the lower parts 
of slopes facing Tuva a steppen belt is expressed, with altitude it is 
subsequently replaced by larch forests at 1000-1800 m, the stone pine/larch 
subalpine parklands, and, again, screes and rocks with spots of fruticulose 
and lichen montane tundras. 

     The East Sayan is a mountain system extending for more than 1000 km 
from the Yenisey almost to the southern bank of Lake Baikal. The ranges of 
its western parts are moderately elevated, but after junction with the West 
Sayan the ranges reach the altitude of 2600-2800 m (with the maximum of 3491 
m). Alpine forms of relief alternate here with plateau-like elevations. 
Steppes and larch forest-steppes on southern slopes rise up to 1400-1600 m. 
The stone pine/larch taiga covers the ranges to altitudes of 1500-1700 m. 
The belt of subalpine parklands goes up to 2100 m above sea level, 
alternating with the dwarf birch thickets; the highlands, as usual, are 
covered with bushy-moss-lichen tundras and screes, alpine meadow patches 
being found in brook headwaters. 

     The mountains of Tuva are situated eastwards of Altai and southwards of 
the West Sayan. They are a complicated system of woody ranges and plateaux 
separated by steppen and semidesert hollows. In the south they are 
represented by the latitudinally oriented joint ranges of West and East 
Tannu-Ola (up to 3970 m), in the eastern half of Tuva - by 
Vostochnotuvinskoe Nagorye [the East-Tuvinian upland] (up to 3351 m) and the 
Sangilen upland (up to 3276 m). The relief of wide valleys and plateau-like 
top surfaces is smooth, but the slopes are often very precipitous. The 
hollows and southern slopes are covered with steppe or larch forest-steppe. 
The belt of larch parklands reaches there the maximum elevation on the 
territory of Asian Russia - 2500-2700 m, on the southern slopes of Tannu-Ola 
it is missing in many places, in this cases the steppe transits immediately 
into the tundra. On northern slopes the upper half of the forest belt is 
represented by fir/stone pine forests. The highlands of the Mongun-Taiga 
massif are covered predominantly with steppefied short-forb alpine meadows, 
on the more eastern mountains - mostly by dwarf birch or fruticulose 
tundras. 

     The mountains of Pribaikalye (up to 2841 m) margin Lake Baikal and the 
neighbouring intermontane hollows. Alpine relief, represented by cirques, 
steep ridges and peaks, is met only on the highest parts of the ranges which 
are in average moderately elevated. The hollows are occupied by steppes, 
forest-steppes, or bogged up meadows. The mountain slopes are covered with 
dense dark-needle/larch taiga replaced by pine forests on southern slopes. 
The tree line (at 1200-1400 m) is accompanied with the thickets of the 
Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) and the Rhododendron species, the 
watersheds bear tundras and screes. On the Baikal-facing high slopes of the 
Khamar-Daban and Barguzinskiy mountain ranges there appear alpine meadows. 

     Zabaikalye [Transbaikalia, Transbaikalien] is situated between the 
ranges of Pribaikalye in the west and the meridian of the junction of the 
Shilka and Argun' Rivers in the east. There predominate wide and flat 
elevations with the average altitudes of 1200-1500 m with slightly expressed 
dome-like mountains (up to 2519 m). In the south of the area the relief is 
of a "Gobi-type", characterized by steppen hollows with temporary lakes and 
a sophisticated network of dry valleys. The hills of the southern 
Selenginskaya Dauria [Dahuria], Priargunye [the Argun' basin], and the 
Aginsko-Ononskiy region are covered with forb steppes, mostly with 
domination of Tanacetum. Except for the extreme southern areas, northern 
slopes, just from the hollow bottoms, are covered with larch taiga with 
Betula middendorffii and Rhododendron in the understorey. Southern slopes 
are, as a rule, occupied by steppes and only in the north and west by open 
grassy pine woods or small-leaved forests with the legume-forb ground layer. 
At the tree-line the belt of larch parklands with the understorey of dwarf 
birch and dwarf pine can be isolated. Pure dwarf pine elfin woods and screes 
are found above 2000 m. 


     THE FAR EAST OF RUSSIA is considered here as containing of two regions 
at the extreme east of the continent, the northern and southern. The 
northern one embraces Chukotka and Kamchatka: 

     Chukotka is considered here as the territory east of the Omolon, Oloy, 
and Penzhina Rivers, including the Chukotka Peninsula. Its relief is 
mountainous, containing three uplands: the Anadyrskoe Plateau (with the 
maximum altitude of 1853 m), the Chukotskoe Nagorye (up to 1843 m), and 
Koryakskoe Nagorye (up to 2562 m), which are separated by boggy plains in 
the valleys of the Anadyr', Mayna, and Penzhina Rivers. The mountains of the 
Chukotka Peninsula are mostly solitary dome-shaped elevations of 500-1000 m 
above sea level, while Koryakskoe Nagorye is characterized by sharp crests, 
deep gorges, and precipitous slopes which locally are entirely covered with 
moving "stone rivers". Dry montane tundras are developed on the elevations, 
the lowlands are covered by lichen, moss, and sedge tussock tundras with 
sparse vegetation. On the sandy and shingle banks of the Anadyr' River there 
are riparian stripe woods of Populus suaveolens, Chosenia arbutifolia, and 
bushy willows. On southern slopes and brook banks one finds the thickets of 
Rhododendron, Pentaphylloides fruticosa, Spirea, and, sometimes, herb 
meadows. 

     The Kamchatka Peninsula is separated from the continent by a narrow 
(about 100 km) neck at the southern end of Koryakskoe Nagorye. The Sredinnyy 
[Medial] and Vostochnyy [Eastern] mountain ranges extend along the 
peninsula, with average altitudes of 1200-1400 m, an alpine mesorelief, and 
numerous extinct and active volcanos and volcanic plateaux. Many volcanos 
(especially in the southern part) form massifs independent of the ranges, 
such as the volcano group including one of the highest active volcanos in 
the world and the highest summit in the Asian Russia - Klyuchevskaya Sopka 
(4750 m). These elevations border the Central Kamchatic Lowland. The western 
regions of the peninsula are low and flat. The coastal regions are covered 
with fruticose, fruticulose and moss tundras and, on the western coasts, 
vast marshes. In the mountains two altitudinal belts are well expressed: 
parklands of the stone birch (Betula ermani), with a peculiar tall herbage, 
and dense thickets of the dwarf alder (Dusheckia fruticosa) or the dwarf 
pine (Pinus pumila). At the altitudes above 1000 m there appear the tundral 
belt. In the central regions of the peninsula on lower parts of slopes and 
in interfluves there are distributed the woods of the Ayan spruce (Picea 
ajanensis) and larch. Poplar stripe woods usually border river banks. 

     The southern Far East is situated within a vast basin of the Amur 
River. 

     Bureinskie Gory [the Mountains of Bureya, within the Bureya River 
basin] occupy a considerable area of the Russian part of the Amur basin. It 
includes the mountains of Bureya proper (up 10 2374 m) and the Dzhagdy 
mountain range, lying eastwards of it. The ranges are characterized by flat 
top surfaces, which are 400-800 m higher than the adjacent valleys, and 
steep slopes. Wide intermontane hollows and gentle lower parts of slopes are 
covered with peat-moss bogs with larch forests "islands" called "mary". The 
dark-needle taiga goes as low as only to 500-800 m in the lower Amur basin, 
but in western regions it rises to 1100 m. The subalpine parklands of the 
Ayan spruce or stone birch have a dense understorey of the dwarf pine, dwarf 
alder, Rhododendron. In highlands (usually called "goltsy" in Siberia and 
the Far East) the dwarf pine thickets alternate with screes. The lower part 
of the taiga belt, at 200-600 m, is enriched with broad-leaved trees. Open 
oak woods and maple/lime-tree woods are found locally on dry slopes. 

     Priamurye [Amurland] is considered here as the Amur valley and the 
adjacent plains. The Upper Priamurye, from the junction of the Shilka and 
Argun' Rivers to the Zeya River, is rather plateau-like and includes the 
Amursko-Zeyskoe Plateau [the Plateau of the Amur and Zeya] in the east. The 
Zeysko-Bureinskaya Plain [The Plain of the Zeya and Bureya] and a part of 
the Amur Lowland, separated with spurs of the Malyy [Minor] Khingan Mts, are 
attributed to Middle Priamurye. Lower Priamurye, from the city Khabarovsk to 
the Amur mouth, includes the eastern, most bogged up, part of the Amur 
Lowland. Downstream of the city Komsomol'sk-na-Amure [Komsomol'sk-upon-Amur] 
the Amur flows in rather a narrow valley between separate mountainous 
elevations. The Amusko-Zeyskoe Plateau is mostly covered by larch, pine, and 
birch forests. On the Zeysko-Bureinskaya Plain the peculiar landscapes of a 
damp forest-steppe are widespread, where groups of the oak, elm, or the 
Dahurian birch are scattered over reach forb meadows. Oak woods are 
connected with smooth ridges and watersheds, they mostly replace the burnt 
out pine or larch woods. The Amur Lowland is covered with larch forests with 
peat-moss and grassy bogs. 

     Primorye [Primorie] includes the system of moderately elevated 
mountains of the Sikhote-Alin' (with the maximum altitude of 2078 m), and, 
in the west, the valley of the Ussuri River and the Prikhankayskaya Lowland 
[The Lowland of Hanka]. The vegetation here is extremely diverse. Dark-
needle and larch forests concentrate in the northern part, the southern part 
is occupied by multi-layer forests of the Manchurian type with domination of 
broad-leaved trees and abundance of lianes. The landscapes of a damp forest-
steppe, with separate oak forests, are distributed in the Prikhankayskaya 
Lowland. The full spectrum of altitudinal zonation is displayed by some 
areas in the southern Sikhote-Alin'. The broad-leaved forests form an 
independent layer beneath 600 m altitude, on burnt-over areas they are 
replaced by oak woods. The altitudes between  600 m and 1200 m are occupied 
by fir/spruce forests. Above 1000 m the stone birch woods appear, usually 
with the dwarf pine in the understorey, the latter forming an independent 
belt above 1200 m. Montane tundras and stone fields are found on summits 
exceeding 1400 m. 

     The Sakhalin is an island situated east of Primorye, which is extended 
meridionally for almost 1000 km. Its northern one-third is low, the central 
and southern parts are mountainous (up to 1609 m). A sparse larch taiga 
occupies the northern part, southwards of the latitude of 52 degrees 50 
minutes it is mostly replaced by the Ayan spruce forests, in the south-west 
the role of broad-leaved trees becoming substantial. The upper montane belt 
is characterized by the stone birch woods with the bush layer of the dwarf 
birch. The Kurile bamboo (Sasa kurilense), a peculiar element of local 
vegetation, grows abundantly under the forest canopy and on the glades, the 
famous tall herbage is another remarkable vegetation type widely represented 
in the southern Sakhalin. 

     The Kurile Islands form an even arch from the southern extreme of 
Kamchatka to the eastern coast of the Japanese island Hokkaido. By two most 
wide straights they are divided into the northern, central, and southern 
groups. As being of a volcanic origin, the relief of islands is mountainous, 
with average altitudes of 500-1000 m, only some islands of the northern 
group are lowlands. Larger islands are dissected by numerous rivers and bear 
many lakes. The vegetation of North and Central Kuriles resembles that of 
Kamchatka by the presence of dwarf alder/ (Sorbus sambucifolia) or stone 
birch elfin woods, the thickets of the dwarf pine, coastal Empetrum tundras. 
The spruce/fir forests appear on the South Kuriles, and the broad-leaved 
forests with lianes, floristically similar to forests of Hokkaido, are found 
locally on the Kunashir island. In open tree stands and on glades the Kurile 
bamboo forms impermeable thickets, while the river valleys are grown up tall 
herbage (up to 3 m and higher). 


___________________________________________________________

* A Translator's note: there is a considerable difficulty with Siberian 
toponyms. In western literature some of the places acquired the traditional 
names which deviate from the Russian names (for instance, "Yablonoy Mts." or 
"Apfelbergen" instead of the Yablonovyy mountain range). Others can be more 
easily translated than transliterated (e.g. Srednesibirskoe Ploskogorye, 
that means the Middle Siberian Plateau). The third problem is varying 
transliteration, such as the use of the letters "y", "j", or "i" for 
replacing the Russian letter q or, with the letters "a" and "u" for 
replacing, respectively, "z" and ".". I tried to use transliteration rather 
than translation or western names where possible, but add them in square 
brackets if necessary. In the above example of varying spelling I used the 
letter "y", except for the widely accepted other variants of spelling, such 
as Lake Baikal rather than Baykal. 

** A Translator's note: besides, in Russian tradition the Chuya basin and 
the Ukok plateau are called SouhtEast Altai, although orographically this 
region is perfectly central with respect to the entire mountain system, not 
only its Russian part. 

*** A Translator's note: in Russian ecological and geobotanical tradition, 
the term "steppe" (more precise spelling would be "step'") is used not only 
in its primary colloquial meaning of a vast arid grassland but also for any 
arid vegetation, more or less with domination of grasses. Therefore, in 
Russian special literature one can found "steppefied meadows", "meadowy 
steppe", and "steppefied slopes", the latter can be rather steep and small, 
despite of the initial meaning of the word "steppe". A similar situation 
concerns the word "tundra", some types of tundras, such as fruticulose 
tundras with the dominance of the Ericaceae plants (but not Erica!) in 
English tradition would be called "heaths" rather than "tundras". However, 
while translation the text it seemed better to retain the terminology which 
is accepted on the territory described.