Climate and Elevation

West of the Urals, the climate regions are generally less extreme, Tundra and taiga still cover the northern half of European Russia, but in Europe, the taiga has a longer growing season, more consistent rainfall, and a more balanced mix of trees. Needleleaf fir, spruce, and pine in the north give way to a transitional zone of broadleaf deciduous oak, ash, willow, alder, and birch. With so much leaf litter, mature brownish-colored soils have developed on this middle tier of European Russia. The climate of the Volga basin and the Russian Plain is reminiscent of Montana, Wyoming, or the Dakotas, and farmers grow barley, oats, rye, and pasture grasses.