The Far East is the most remote territory of Russia. Its nature is rather harsh, since the mainland in the northeast and north is connected to the waters of the Arctic basin.
Plants of the Far East
The formation of a good soil layer is prevented by permafrost. The soil cover even in the forest belt is about 40-50 cm. The slopes of high mountains, as a rule, do not have any vegetation, they are often covered with stones. Sod-meadow soils are observed only in the valleys of large rivers. But they are not particularly fertile either.
In the northeast of the Far East, you can find two natural zones: taiga and tundra. They are quite unusually combined with each other. Birch-larch and larch forests grow at the bottom of the mountains. Slightly higher there is a section of dwarf pine. Mountain lichen tundras grow even higher.
The highest forest boundary on the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk runs at an altitude of 400-600 m. Higher forest thickets can be found in the upper reaches of the Kolyma. The vegetation here rises to a level of up to 1200 m.
In the Kuril Islands and southern Sakhalin there are certain undergrowths, which consist mainly of birch and spruce forests combined with bamboo. On the Kuril Islands, you can find herbaceous plants, which are more typical for meadows, stone birch, as well as larch and dwarf pine. In Primorye, coniferous-deciduous and coniferous forests grow more.
Far East animals
Animals that live in the taiga or tundra freely change their location. In the tundra, you can often find reindeer, polar bears, Arctic foxes. In the taiga, brown bears, wolverines, lynxes and squirrels are more common.
In the warm season, migratory birds often come to the tundra: partridges, geese, ducks and swans. In the taiga you can find blackbirds, nuthatches, nutcrackers, woodpeckers, wood grouses and hazel grouses. It should be noted that the mountainous area has a large number of animals. First of all, these are musk deer and leopards living in the mountain tundra and areas that are devoid of woody vegetation.
River and marine fauna is diverse in the Far East. In some periods sockeye salmon, coho salmon and pink salmon are found in the rivers. In small streams and rivers there is grayling. Seals, walruses, fur seals and canals live on the coasts and seas. Quite often in the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk one can meet “herring sharks”. They go into these waters after catching fish shoals.
It should be noted that there are severe restrictions on hunting and fishing. On the territory of Wrangel Island there is a conservation area. Arctic fox and polar bears live here. Quite often “bird colonies” are formed here. Of the marine life on Wrangel Island, bearded seals and seals are found. These representatives of the animal world are very strictly protected.
