Russia's Geography: Size, Borders, Oceans, Mountains, Rivers, and Lakes

Russia spans 17.1 million km² (6.6 million mi²)—11% of Earth's land—across Eastern Europe and Northern Asia.

Borders (14 Countries)

Europe: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kaliningrad), Poland (Kaliningrad), Belarus, Ukraine
Asia: Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, North Korea

Maritime Access

• Arctic Ocean: 24,000 km coastline (Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi Seas)
• Pacific Ocean: Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, Sea of Japan
• Atlantic (via Baltic): St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad
• Inland seas: Caspian (lake), Black Sea (via Bosporus)

Major Mountain Ranges

• Urals: 2,500 km, Europe/Asia divide, modest elevation (Mt. Narodnaya 1,895 m)
• Caucasus: Europe's highest (Mt. Elbrus 5,642 m), southern border
• Altai: Siberia/Mongolia border, UNESCO sites
• Verkhoyansk/Chersky: Northeast Siberia, extreme cold (Oymyakon -67.7°C)
• Kamchatka volcanoes: 29 active, Pacific Ring of Fire

Great Rivers (by length in Russia)

1. Lena (4,400 km) — longest entirely in Russia; Arctic drainage
2. Yenisey (3,487 km to Kara Sea; 5,539 km with Angara) — largest Arctic discharge
3. Ob (3,650 km with Irtysh) — Western Siberia, vast basin
4. Volga (3,530 km) — Europe's longest; Caspian drainage; 11 of 20 largest Russian cities
5. Amur (2,824 km; 4,444 km with Argun) — China border

Major Lakes

• Baikal: Deepest (1,642 m), largest freshwater by volume (23,600 km³), UNESCO, 20M years old
• Ladoga: Europe's largest (17,700 km²), near St. Petersburg
• Onega: Europe's second (9,700 km²)
• Taymyr: Largest entirely in Arctic Circle (4,560 km²)