A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring
In physical
geography,
steppe (from
Slavic step') is a
plain without
trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a
prairie, although a prairie is generally reckoned as being dominated by tall grasses, while short grasses are said to be the norm in the steppe. It may be semi-
desert, or covered with
grass or
shrubs, or both depending on the
season. The term is also used to denote the
climate encountered in such regions, too dry to support a
forest but not so dry as to make it a desert.
The world's largest zone of steppes are found in central
Russia and neighbouring republics of
Central Asia. The steppes begin east
of the Volga river and extend through desert or semi-desert south of the
Ural Mountains and to the north and east of the
Caspian Sea. To the east of the Caspian Sea they extend through
Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and
Kazakhstan to the mountain
ranges of
Mongolia,
China,
Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and
Afghanistan. To the north on the eastern side of the
Urals is the
forested
West Siberian Plain which extends nearly to the
Arctic Ocean.
Category:Climate
de:Steppe
es:Estepa
fr:Steppe
io:Stepi
it:Steppa
ja:ステップ (地形)
pl:Step
fi:Aro
sv:Stäpp