The Western World Daily Readings on Geography Chapter 97 Russian Domain Physical Geography III

CHAPTER 97 Russian Domain Physical Geography III Bering Strait By geographic definition , a a narrow passage of water that separates two large landmasses . The Bering Strait meets this definition , for it is a stretch of water about 58 miles across , separating Cape Prince of Wales , the westernmost point of Alaska ( USA ) from Cape , the easternmost point of the Far East region of Russia . The features of the broader region near the Bering Strait can be remembered with the acronym CRIPPLE , perhaps appropriate given the difficulties of life there . Caribou Few people chose to live in this extreme location of the Russian Far East . Historical patterns of of Russians into Siberian locations have made Russians the majority population . However , the ethnic natives in the region , among the numerically small peoples of , remain the few who practice habits in the Bering Strait region . The most numerous here are the , whose name is derived from the term for rich in reindeer . Indeed , caribou herding remains a way of life , sometimes supplemented by fish from the cold coastal waters . Resources As is true with Siberia and the Far East in general , the Bering Strait region possesses a variety of resources , such as tin , lead , zinc , gold , and coal in the Peninsula . The challenging climate and landscape causes great difficulties in extracting and transporting these resources , prompting high wages for those willing to work with these resources . I Isolation In terms of different measures of isolation , the Russian shores along the Bering Strait may be the world most isolated continental location . Accessibility right at the Bering Strait is limited to tiny coastal locations of and . Farther down the coast is the town of ( about people ) which provides port and airport service . Bering Strait . NASA . Public Domain . 475

476 JOEL QUAM AND SCOTT CAMPBELL Population density in the region is exceedingly sparse , fewer than one person per square mile for rural areas . Distance to large cities measures in the hundreds and even thousands of miles . Prison Camps In Tsarist and more so in Soviet times , Siberia was a notorious location for the exiling of criminals and political prisoners . Soviet prison camps went almost to the waters of the Bering Strait itself . Of course , isolation often is considered desirable for prisons . In addition , prison labor here contributed to resource extraction and transportation construction , without regard for the miserable conditions . Permafrost Nearly half of the Russian landmass is permafrost , permanently frozen soil . Far northern locations like the Bering Strait region uniformly have permafrost . Even the warming effects of the sea do little to reduce the frigid conditions of the region . Short summers and winters reaching chill this tundra region . Wind chill in nearby has reached . Land Bridge Anthropologists tell us that during the world last ice age , which peaked at about , native peoples from Siberia and the Far East crossed the Bering Strait into Alaska . Within this time frame lower water levels in the Bering Strait likely would have exposed the continental shelf , so that people could have crossed on land or ice bridges . These peoples became the ancestors of the native peoples of North and South America . There has long been interest in recreating this bridge , but now in terms of a transportation link between America and Russia . In . 1890 , William , the Governor of Colorado , suggested a grand , plan to connect all the great cities of the world by means of ' railroads . Thus , the idea was tossed around in the early days of the ( however , disinterest and opposition from American President Theodore Roosevelt and from the Russian ruling elite slowed enthusiasm greatly . A railroad bridge ?

A rail tunnel ?

Both ?

With conduits for oil and natural gas ?

These ideas popped up now and then throughout the . Currently , some experts continue to devise Railway group has a plan that would cost over 100 billion . It would include a tunnel beneath the Bering Strait , reaching more than 160 feet deep . With this long tunnel , railroad tracks would be added to reach from , Russia , to Fort Nelson , Canada . These rail sites already connect to tracks throughout Russia and all across Canada and the United , Public Domain . States . See map and plan at Exploration Russian settlement reached in 1649 , with the exploration of Russian navigator . In 1725 Tsar Peter the Great sent Bering to captain a navel expedition to chart Siberia northern shores . Though it took Bering 3000 miles and three years of sailing to reach the region , he did found no land bridge to Alaska , but did chart Russian coastline and did discover that Siberia extended farther eastward than previously understood .

RUSSIAN DOMAIN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY III 477 Did You Know ?

The International Dateline runs through the Bering Strait . Bering was a Dane who was recruited as a young man in 1704 the new Russian Navy . In 1741 on another expedition to the strait now bearing his name , he was shipwrecked by stormy weather and died on the small island that also bears his name , Bering Island , just east of the Peninsula . Bering Strait was the name of a popular music group , consisting of several young classically trained Russian musicians who grew enamored with American bluegrass music and emigrated to the United States to find a few years of success with their country , bluegrass , and pop tunes . However , these Russian musicians are not from the Bering Strait region , but are from , near Moscow . For a quick look at how far a rail line across the Bering Strait could go , look at CITED AND ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY , 2019 . Is the World Ready for a Bering Strait Rail Link between Alaska and Russia ?

April , and Bradley Cook . 2007 . Longest Tunnel to Connect Russia and Alaska . Red Orbit , April . A . Superhighway Proposed by the Former President of Russian Railways . 2020 . Reddit . June 20 , Shirk , Adrian . 2015 . What If You Could Drive From Paris to New York ?

The Atlantic . July ,