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Siberia

✨ The ice giant with hidden treasures

Siberia is a vast region of northern Asia, stretching from the Ural Mountains to the Pacific coast and the Russian Far East. It includes Arctic tundra, taiga forests, grasslands, mountains, and river valleys. Its climate is strongly continental: winters are usually long and severe, while summers can be warm in inland areas.

Some of the lowest temperatures outside Antarctica have been recorded in northeastern Siberia. The Ob, Yenisei, Lena, and Kolyma flow toward the Arctic Ocean. In the south lies Lake Baikal, the world's deepest freshwater lake and a major reserve of unfrozen surface fresh water. Siberia is sparsely populated for its size, with cities such as Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, and Yakutsk.

Indigenous peoples, including the Sakha, Evenks, Buryats, and Chukchi, have lived there for centuries and have distinct cultures and languages. The region is rich in petroleum, natural gas, coal, gold, other minerals, and timber, making it economically important to Russia. Resource extraction and infrastructure can nevertheless affect fragile ecosystems.

Large areas have permafrost, ground that stays frozen for at least two consecutive years. As the climate warms, some permafrost is thawing, which can damage buildings and roads and release greenhouse gases. Siberia is therefore both an important natural region and an area facing significant environmental change.

💡 Did you know?

Did you know that Siberia has a 'blue pearl'? It's Lake Baikal. It is so deep (1,642 meters!) that if you wanted to empty it with all the rivers in the whole world, it would take an entire year to do it. In winter, the lake ice becomes so thick and transparent that you can drive on it and see the blue depths as if you were driving on crystal.

There is a legendary train that takes a whole week to cross Siberia: the Trans-Siberian. It is the longest train journey in the world, connecting Moscow to Vladivostok over 9,000 km. During the trip, you cross eight different time zones! Imagine looking out the window for days as the landscape changes from dark forest to snowy mountains without ever getting off the train.

Siberia is like a giant freezer for history. Because of the frozen ground (permafrost), scientists often discover bodies of woolly mammoths dating back 40,000 years, so well preserved that they still have their hair, their skin, and sometimes even food in their stomachs! It is thanks to these discoveries in Siberia that we know almost everything about these ice age giants.