Everything about Steppes totally explained
In physical
geography, a
steppe (-, - /stɛp/, - tal, - /dɑlɑ/), pronounced in English as /stɛp/, is a
plain without
trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it's similar to a
prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are normal in the steppe. It may be semi-
desert, or covered with
grass or
shrubs or both, depending on the
season and
latitude. 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. 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. 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.
Two types of steppe
Around the world, two types of steppe can be recorded:
- 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.
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. To the east of the Caspian Sea, the steppes extend through
Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan to the
Altai,
Koppet Dag and
Tian Shan ranges. The vast
Eurasian Steppe, as it's called, incorporates all of these steppes. 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.
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.
Another large steppe area is located in the central
United States and western
Canada. The
High Plains steppe is the westernmost part of the
Great Plains region. A significant steppe, noteworthy for not grading into desert, is the
Sertão of northeastern Brazil.
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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Steppes'.
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