Why go
The Urals provide a familiar dividing line between Europe and Asia, but they are only one part of the landscape. Understanding the plains on either side, the southern mountain ranges and the northward course of Siberian rivers makes a national map more useful than a list of distant cities.
The full story
Across much of Russia, plains dominate the landscape. Grassland steppe spreads through the south, forests cover large areas farther north, and tundra follows the Arctic coast. The Ural Mountains run roughly north to south between the European and Asian parts of the country. Other mountain systems lie along the southern margins and in the east. The Caucasus includes Mount Elbrus, while the Altai rises in southern Siberia. Farther east, the Verkhoyansk Range and the volcanoes of Kamchatka form very different landscapes from the western plains. Waterways offer another way to understand this scale. The Volga has a central place in Russian history and European geography. The Ob, Yenisey and Lena cross Siberia towards the Arctic, while the Amur belongs to the Far East. Lake Baikal, deep within Siberia, contrasts with the large European lakes Ladoga and Onega.