10 Facts of Siberia and Russia

For some Siberia is icy wasteland, a desolate, but for some it is the beautiful place, the strangeness, glum locals are all worth it all. Siberia is spread across northern Kazakhstan of Russia covering all of northern Asia. Siberia today has become a tourist destination because of it natural beauty. The name for the place comes from the word Sibir meaning calm land. Now get ready to know some amazing facts about Siberia

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1. Size of Siberia:

Siberia covers 57% of Russia, the size is 9734 thousand sq kms, because of its size Siberia can be compared only to Canada, it is the 2nd largest country in the world.

2. Lake Baikal:

Lake Baikal is equal to sq area of Netherlands and it is one of its kinds. The lake is the only fresh water, clean and oldest lake in the world. Angara river flows from the lake and it is only one river that flows from the lake. Every year more than 2000 earthquakes take place. Throughout the year mostly it has sunny weather.

3. Great Vasyugan Swamp:

In the Northern hemisphere of the planet Great Vasyugan Swamp is the largest swamp system. The swamp stretches from west to east for 550km and 270 km from north to south. The square area of Great Vasyugan is 55,000 sq km, where as Switzerland is 41,000 sq km. it also has largest reserves of peat.

4. Tunguska Meteorite:
A meteorite called Tunguska fell in Siberia, no craters were found at the site of the meteorite. Also no sight of fragments of meteorite, till today no reports what exactly was Tunguska Meteorite.

5. Permafrost:
Permafrost meaning the land is never soft or defrosted, most of the Russian territory is occupied by permafrost about 65% and it is in Siberia. In the northern part of western and eastern Siberia you will find permafrost. Negative temperatures go deep into the earth’s crust of upto 1300-1500m reaching minimal values to 15-16 degrees C.

6. Methane bomb in the permafrost of Siberia:
There is the strongest greenhouse gas –methane is inside permafrost, climate warning reduces the size of permafrost in Siberia. Defrosting of permafrost will ooze out the gas and increase warming. From this disaster 3rd to half of all mankind may perish.

7. Rivers in Siberia are the largest rivers in the world:
Ob, Amur, lena and Yenisei are the four largest rivers in the list of top 10 rivers in the world.

8. Siberian Husky:

Siberian Husky is one of the popular dog breeds, this breed belongs to the natives of Russian North.

9. Siberia was home to ancestors of modern humans A site of ancient people from Paleolithic Karama was found in Siberia. In the period of 1,000,000-800,000 years ago they lived in this place. Siberia had a favorable climate those days.

10. In Siberia was discovered a new kind of human Scientists in 2008 found a phalanx in Denisova cave in Siberia, through this it was possible to detach a DNA. DNA analysis proved that it was the finger of a girl and the girl belongs to a new species of humans known as Denisov humans. Denisov humans are different from Neanderthals and modern humans.