Geomorphology

 For one reason or another Russia and the United States seem to be in the news a lot these days.  It is almost, as if, the two countries have become somewhat paired together.  Political squabbles aside, how similar or different are these two nations?  To begin with, Russia is over 6,600,000 square miles, consists of roughly 90% land and the remainder is water.  This large land mass resides in the Northern Hemisphere and borders 14 other countries.  Its highest point is Mount Elbrus, at 18,510 feet – and it’s lowest point is the Caspian Sea at -92 feet.  Overall Russia is the largest single country in the world.

The United States is similar in that it is a very large landmass – ranking as the third largest single country in the world.  However, it is only a little more than half the size of Russia – just shy of 3,800,000 square miles.  Similarly, though, it is mostly land – with about 93% of the country being land and the rest being water (about 7%).  The highest point in the United States is Denali at 20,310 feet – and its lowest point is the Badwater Basin at -279 feet.  See the image below of Denali.

Both countries have large bodies of fresh water – the Great Lakes in the US account for about 21 percent of the world’s fresh water, and Lake Baikal in Russia holds about 20 percent of the world’s fresh water. 

Russia’s climate is mostly continental – relatively dry with very hot summers and cold winters.  It is like this throughout the country, because although it is very large it is spread from east to west more than north to south.  Because it is largely land locked most areas receive low to moderate amounts of rain, with the areas along the Pacific Coast receiving more.

The United States, on the other hand, covers a large range of climates due to its sprawling nature.  The Southern United States receives tropical weather, Alaska receives polar weather, the Great Plains are semi-arid, and the West Coast receives more Mediterranean climate.  The country also receives varying levels of precipitation – this is caused mostly by the Jet Stream – bringing low pressure weather systems from the Pacific Ocean to the Pacific Northwest.  This leads to a general lack of precipitation in a large portion of the country (this part is also a portion that is not as heavily populated).  See the following precipitation map for reference.

Russia is located across Northern Asia and extends in to Eastern Europe.  The population of the country is about 146.9 million.  This leads to a population density of about 22 people per square mile.   Moscow has a population of about 12.3 million, Saint Petersburg is roughly 5.2 million and Novosibirsk is about 1.6 million.  Although these numbers are high, it should be noted that in the 2010 Russian Census the rural population accounted for 26% of the total population – that’s over 38 million people.  Because of the climate most of the population is on the western part of the country, with the highest concentration in and around Moscow.  See the map below for reference.

The United States, while being a much smaller country, has almost double the population of Russia, coming it at roughly 327.9 million.  In contrast with Russia, the population density of the United States is about 86.16 people per square mile.  This makes a lot of sense due to a smaller land mass of the country but a much larger population.  In comparison to Russia, cities in the United States have many more people – for example, New York Metro Area has a population of 20.3 million, Los Angeles Metro Area has a population of about 13.3 million, and Chicago Metro Area has a population of about 9.5 million people.  The distribution of the United States population is a bit more varied than Russia.  While there are large concentrations on both the east and west coast, the middle portions have high populations as well.  See the map below for reference.