Occupying much of Eastern Europe and all of Northern Asia, Russia's geography is defined by its sheer scale. It borders the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Black, and Caspian Seas. The landscape is broadly divided by the Ural Mountains, which traditionally separate European Russia—where the vast majority of the population lives—from the immense expanse of Siberia and the Russian Far East.
The physical geography is extraordinarily diverse, ranging from the flat, fertile steppes of the south and the sprawling plains of the west, to the dense taiga (coniferous forest) that blankets much of Siberia, and the treeless tundra in the polar north. Russia is threaded by thousands of rivers, including the Volga (Europe's longest river), the Ob, the Yenisey, the Lena, and the Amur.
Russia's geology bestows it with unparalleled natural resources. It holds the world's largest proven reserves of natural gas, vast deposits of oil and coal, and enormous quantities of strategic minerals, including iron ore, manganese, nickel, and gold. The Siberian taiga constitutes the largest continuous forest expanse on Earth, acting as a crucial "lung" for the planet alongside the Amazon.
