In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: степь - Russian pronunciation: [sʲtʲepʲ], Ukrainian: степ - /stɛp/, Mongolian: тал - tal, Kazakh: дала - /dɑlɑ/), pronounced in English as /stɛp/, is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are normal in the steppe. Mongolia (mɒŋˈɡoʊliə, literally Mongol country/nation,) is a Landlocked Country in East Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly Geography (from Greek γεωγραφία - geografia) is the study of the Earth and its lands features inhabitants and phenomena Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Ukrainian (in Ukrainian украї́нська мо́ва ukrayins'ka mova,) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. The Mongolian language (mn [[ImageMonggol kelesvg 17px]] Mongɣol kele, Cyrillic: Монгол хэл Mongol khel) is the best-known member of Kazakh (also Qazaq and variants natively kk Qazaq tili, kk Қазақ тілі; pronounced tˈlə is a Turkic language closely related to In Geography, a plain is an area of land with relatively low relief — meaning that it is flat A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically It may be semi-desert, or covered with grass or shrubs or both, depending on the season and latitude. A desert is a Landscape or region that receives very little precipitation. Poaceae or Gramineae is a family in the Class Liliopsida of the flowering plants. A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the The term is also used to denote the climate encountered in regions too dry to support a forest, but not dry enough to be a desert. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria The term steppe originally comes from the Russian word /stɛp/ which means a flat and arid land.
Steppes are summarized by a continental climate or land climate. Continental climate is a Climate that is characterized by Winter Temperatures cold enough to support a fixed period of Snow cover each Year Peaks can be recorded in the summer of up to 40 °C and in winter -40 °C. Besides this huge difference between summer and winter, the differences between day and night are also very great. In the highlands of Mongolia, 30 °C can be reached during the day and sub-zero temperatures at night.
Also, the mid-latitude steppes can be summarized by hot summers and cold winters, averaging 250-500 mm (10-20 inches) of rain or equivalent in snowfall per year. In tropical locations, necessary rainfall to separate steppes from true deserts may be half as much again due to greater evapotranspiration.
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Two types of steppe
Around the world, two types of steppe can be recorded[1]:
- the dry steppe
- the temperate steppe
This division can further be divided in other subdivisions; as can be seen here
Other types of Steppe include Shrub-steppe and Alpine-steppe. Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural Grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses
Locations
The world's largest zone of all steppes, often referred to as "the Great Steppe", is found in southwest Russia and neighbouring countries in Central Asia, stretching from Ukraine in the west to the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea. The Eurasian Steppe (sometimes referred to collectively as The Steppes or The Steppe) is the term often used to describe the vast Steppe Ecoregion Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east and from southern Russia in the north to northern Pakistan in the south Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Riphean redirects here For the time period see Riphean stage The Ural Mountains (Ура́льские го́ры Uralskiye The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea. To the east of the Caspian Sea, the steppes extend through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Altai, Koppet Dag and Tian Shan ranges. Turkmenistan ( Türkmenistan; also known as Turkmenia) is a Turkic country in Central Asia. Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси is a doubly Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan ( Қазақстан, Qazaqstan, qɑzɑqˈstɑn Казахстан, Kazakhstán,) officially the The Altai Mountains (Алтай Altay; Алтай 阿尔泰山脉 are a Mountain range in central Asia, where Russia, The Kopet Dag, Köpet Dag ( Koppeh Dagh) is a Mountain range on the frontier between Turkmenistan and Iran, extending about 650 km The Tian Shan (天山 Pinyin: Tiān Shān "celestial mountains" also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a Mountain range located in Central The vast Eurasian Steppe, as it is called, incorporates all of these steppes. The Eurasian Steppe (sometimes referred to collectively as The Steppes or The Steppe) is the term often used to describe the vast Steppe Ecoregion The area is bordered in the north, on the eastern side of the Urals, by the forested West Siberian Plain taiga, extending nearly as far as the Arctic Ocean. Riphean redirects here For the time period see Riphean stage The Ural Mountains (Ура́льские го́ры Uralskiye The West Siberian Plain (За́падно-Сиби́рская равни́на is a large Plain that occupies the western portion of Siberia and Russia Taiga (ˈtaɪgə from Turkic or Mongolian) is a Biome characterized by Coniferous forests The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major
Other regions of steppes include transition zones between savanna and severe desert such as the Sahel that fringes the true Sahara or similar semi-arid lands that fringe the Thar desert of the Indian subcontinent or the more severe deserts of Australia. A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. See also Sahel Tunisia, a region of eastern Tunisia. The Sahel or Sahel Belt (from Arabic ساحل sāḥil The Sahara (الصحراء الكبرى aṣ-ṣaḥrā´ al-kubra, "The Great Desert" is the world's largest hot Desert and the world's second largest The Thar Desert ( Hindi: थार मरुस्थल also known as the Great Indian Desert, is
Another large steppe area is located in the central United States and western Canada. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The High Plains steppe is the westernmost part of the Great Plains region. This article is about a geographic region in the United States The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada A significant steppe, noteworthy for not grading into desert, is the Sertão of northeastern Brazil. In Brazil, the sertão ( Portuguese term for Backcountry or backlands once referred to the vast hinterland of Brazil away from the Atlantic coastal regions
Some steppes are to be found in transition zones between zones of Mediterranean climate and desert, such as Reno, Nevada, and in places cut off from adequate moisture due to rain shadow effects such as Zaragoza, Spain. A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles the Climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, which includes over half of the area with this climate type world-wide For the Australian television series see Rain Shadow (TV series. Zaragoza, also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza province and of the autonomous community and former
Notes
References
Bota, Gerard (2005). Ecology and conservation of Steppe-Land birds. Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya. ISBN 84-87334-99-7.
See also
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External links
- The Steppes (html). Shrub-steppe is a type of low rainfall natural Grassland. Shrub-steppes are distinguishable from deserts which are too dry to support a noticeable cover of perennial grasses Steppe-tundra is a sparse dry-climate vegetation type which was widespread during Pleistocene times at mid-latitudes of North America and Eurasia, but no A coastal plain is an area of flat low-lying land adjacent to a seacoast and separated from the interior by other features In Agriculture, a field refers generally to an area of Land enclosed or otherwise and used for agricultural purposes such as Cultivating crops Flooded grasslands and savannas are a Biome, generally located at subtropical and tropical latitudes where which are flooded seasonally or year-round A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of Grassland or Pasture beside a River, subject to seasonal Flooding. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody A meadow is a field vegetated primarily by Grass and other non- Woody plants. Pasture is land with Herbaceous vegetation cover used for grazing of Ungulate Livestock as part of a Farm or Ranch. In Geography, a plain is an area of land with relatively low relief — meaning that it is flat Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically A savanna or savannah is a Tropical or Subtropical Grassland or Woodland Ecosystem. In physical Geography, tundra is an area where the Tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of Grassland subject to controlled Irrigation to increase Agricultural productivity A wet meadow is a semi- Wetland Meadow which is saturated with Water throughout much of the year The term Veld, or Veldt, refers primarily (but not exclusively to the wide open rural spaces of South Africa or southern Africa and in particular to certain barramedasoft corporation (1998-2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-04. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I.
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