Geography

Russia is the largest country in the world; covering a total area of 17,075,200 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). It is a transcontinental country spanning much of the landmass of Eurasia; in both Europe and Asia. Its European part of roughly 4,000,000 km2, is around 40% of the total landmass of Europe, making Russia the largest country in Europe; and its Asian part, which covers all of Northern Asia, is around 13,100,000 km2, making Russia the largest country in Asia. It has the fourth-longest coastline in the world, at 37,653 km (23,396 mi).[e] It is larger, by size, than the continents of Oceania, Europe, and Antarctica; and lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W.

The two most widely separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (4,971 mi) apart along a geodesic line.[f] Mountain ranges are found along the southern regions, which shares a portion of the Caucasus Mountains (containing Mount Elbrus; which at 5,642 m (18,510 ft) is the highest and most prominent peak in both Russia and Europe), the Altai Mountains in Siberia, and in the Russian Far East, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes of Kamchatka Peninsula. The Ural Mountains, rich in mineral resources, form a north–south range that divides Europe and Asia.

The Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Azov, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan are linked to Russia via the Arctic, Pacific, and the Atlantic. Russia’s major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz Josef Land, the Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin. The Diomede Islands are just 3 km (1.9 mi) apart, and Kunashir Island is about 20 km (12.4 mi) from Hokkaido, Japan.

Mount Elbrus, a dormant volcano in Southern Russia, is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe.
Russia has one of the world’s largest surface water resources; with its lakes containing approximately one-quarter of the world’s liquid fresh water. The largest and most prominent of Russia’s bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake; which alone contains over one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. Other major lakes include Ladoga and Onega, two of the largest lakes in Europe. Russia is second only to Brazil in volume of the total renewable water resources. Out of the country’s 100,000 rivers, the Volga is the most famous—it is the longest river in Europe. The Siberian rivers of Ob, Yenisey, Lena and Amur are among the world’s longest rivers.