The vast expanses of snowy Siberia have been boggling the human imagination for millennia. Untamed, mighty rivers, thick forests, ancient mountains towering over the landscape – all these astonishingly beautiful landmarks can be found in Siberia. To think that humans have been living there since God knows when, and there are still places where no man has ever set foot yet. But I guess it is for the better since everything we touch transforms into an industrial wasteland.
Time to learn a few curious facts about the magical Siberia!
1 The Siberian territory is so vast, you could place any of the European countries many times over.
2 Siberia accounts for 77% of Russia`s land area.
3 Siberian forests and the South American rain forest are the two biggest oxygen suppliers in the world.
4 Siberia lies entirely in Asia since the border between Europe, and Asia is usually marked along the Ural Mountains.
5 Only about 25% of Russia’s population lives in Siberia.
6 The population density here is incredibly low due to the climate – 2.7 people per square kilometer.
7 Typically, Siberia is divided into Western and Eastern, but there is another classification that splits it three-ways: Middle, Southern, and North-Eastern.
8 According to scientists, 300 years ago, only about 200,000 people lived throughout Siberia. Now there are about 40 million of them.
9 Until the beginning of the 20th century, there was a special fur tax for the indigenous population of Siberia.
10 From the 16th century until the middle of the 20th century, Siberia has infamously served as a place of exile.
11 The Siberian city of Bratsk is famous for getting the biggest snowflakes in the world. One time, the diameter of individual flakes reached over 30 centimeters, which is like 12 inches.
12 The famous Tunguska meteorite in Siberia was one of the most mysterious events in recent history. There is no crater, and not a single piece of the space rock was found. Not officially, at least.
13 Speaking of weird things, vampire moths live in Siberia. Butterflies that drink blood. Thanks, Russia.
14 The largest swamp in the world is located in Siberia. It’s called Vasyugan and takes up around 53,000 square kilometers.
15 The highest ever recorded atmospheric pressure was recorded in 1968, in the village of Agapa, Siberia.
16 Thanks to permafrost reaching deep inside the ground, mining diamonds is made much easier, since the frost does not allow the walls of quarries to collapse.
17 There are almost no cedars in Siberia. Cedar pines grow there, and real cedars can only be found in the Himalayas and in the Mediterranean.
18 One of the most famous dog breeds originated in Siberia, and you already know which one it is – the Siberian husky.
19 Baikal, the largest freshwater reservoir on our planet, is also located in Siberia.
20 The oldest fossils discovered in this region are nearly 350 million years old.
