The Trans-Siberian railroad;A massive geographic feat.

From the European plain of Russia to the Pacific coast, crossing many time zones, going across 17 rivers, traveling through 2 continents, and many different land forms. That is only a small part of what the Trans-Siberian Railroad is.

The line starts in Moscow, and ends at Vladivostok, in Russia's far east. There is the Trans-Mongolian Railway and the Trans-Manchurian Line. You start from Moscow, but rather than go all the way to Vladivostok, you stop at Ulan Ude and follow the railroad to Beijing via Mongolia. This is the Trans-Mongolian Railway. To travel the Trans-Manchurian Railway, one stops at Chita, and takes that railroad spur to Beijing via the Jilin province of China(formerly known as Manchuria).

In many ways, the Trans-Siberian Railroad is a major geographic feat. The distance of this railroad is quite telling. It is the world's longest railway line.There is literally no other railway line to cross TWO(2) continents. It is one reason it is such a geographic feat. However, this is not the biggest reason why.

In order to get the whole idea of this railroad, one has to know the work that it took to get this railroad built.

Millions of people moved to Siberia from the western portion of Russia. between the 19th and early 20th century.  Many were settlers. Many were also prisoners exiled there. For a long time, Siberia had issues with transportation. Before the building of the railroad, rivers served as the main transportation source, when the rivers were not frozen. When the rivers froze over, the rivers were used for transporting goods via carriage or any other form of transportation not involving water. The Great Siberian Route was a major road of transportation.

Previous railway projects for Siberia had been proposed before, but were basically ignored. It was thought to be impossible to build a railway across all of Russia, all the way to the far eastern reaches of Siberia. However, in 1890, the building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad would commence in 1891.It was constructed between 1891 and 1916. Like the American railroad, the Trans-Siberian started building at two different ends. One part started in western Russia, and the other part started in the far eastern part of Russia, around Vladivostok.

Building across long distances was going to be hard enough. However, there were many geographical challenges along the way. Permafrost was one major factor. Digging through permafrost in the 1890s would have been a very difficult task, going through frozen soil. When the soil thaws, its muddy and not stable. There were also strong rivers, many lakes, and swamps. Mountains had to be crossed as well. The Siberian winters are quite harsh as well. Animals were a factor as well. With bears and tigers around, there was an added danger of being killed via being attacked. Building around Lake Baikal was difficult. Because of the lack of flat coastline, tunnels had to be built out of the hills or platforms had to be made.

Another thing to consider was the onset of the Russo-Japanese War during the early 1900s. With Japan across the water from Russia(on the Pacific side), there was a rush to connect both the western and eastern spurs to get soldiers and weapons to Japan via Vladivostok.

The railway line is also of importance economically. It is a major supply line for Siberia's large cities and populated areas in Siberia. It has helped the development of industry and agriculture in Siberia, and cities along the line have developed, such as Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Omsk, and other Siberian cities. Siberia's population has grown along the rail line. The rail line has helped in transporting resources such as coal, timber, and iron.


The Trans-Siberian Railroad is a major geographic feat because of the distances spanned, the economic benefits it provided, and furthermore, the battle of many geographic challenges, such as the weather, and geological problems. This railway was built against all odds, and still runs today.

Vladivostok Station.

Sources:
http://www.coolfamily.com/Siberia.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=mDJjgJWT34AC&pg=PA60&lpg=PA60&dq=trans+siberian+railway;swamps;mountains,permafrost&source=bl&ots=sM5Adc6BWH&sig=9-fU4ztIzwOA8LK7YjVg8xaI7Jk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=9E3TUeneO4OQ9gT5h4DYDA&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=trans%20siberian%20railway%3Bswamps%3Bmountains%2Cpermafrost&f=false

http://www.irkutsk.org/fed/transsib.html
http://www.frontiersoftravel.com/journey_summary.php?name=Trans-Siberian_Railway
http://rbth.ru/articles/2010/12/08/transsiberian_to_expand_as_russia_turns_east05189.html
http://www.russianlessons.net/articles/transsiberianrailway.php?lang=english
http://torussia.org/trans-siberian_railway
http://www.hyperhistory.net/apwh/essays/comp/cw24transrailroads32101525.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/journeysbyrail/9666654/Trans-Siberian-Great-Train-Journeys.html

The Chelyabinsk meteor.

Trail left from meteorite.

In the past week, on 15 February 2013, there was a meteorite that hit Russia. It was the largest meteor to hit since the Tunguska meteorite in 1908. It has been long thought of that this could happen again. And in 2013, it did happen again. To truly have an understanding of the impact of the Chelyabinsk meteorite, it is important to look at the Tunguska event.

First question is this. Where is Tunguska? Well, it is actually the Podkamennaya Tunguska river. It is a tributary that leads into the Yenisei river, located in the federal subject of the Krasnoyarsk Krai, in central Siberia. The Yenisei river starts in Mongolia, is fed by the Angara, Kan, Podkamennaya Tunguska, and Nizhnyaya Tunguska rivers, and flows into the Arctic Ocean. The largest city along the Yenisei river is Krasnoyarsk.

The first peoples to inhabit this region were the Evenk people. Later on, Russians came from the western part of Russia.

Location of Tunguska in relation to Siberia(top), and the Yenisei river region(bottom)

Now, the event can be discussed. It is widely believed that a meteorite his this spot, causing an explosion on 30 June 1908. It was the largest impact event to ever happen on the earth at that time. It has been thought of that the meteorite might have exploded in the air rather than hitting the ground. Either way, the impact was immense. This blast was 1,000 times more powerful than the atomic bombed that was dropped on Hiroshima,Japan.

The effect of this blast was felt throughout Eurasia. It caused shock waves that registered 5.0 on the Richter scale. The blast also caused changes in the atmospheric pressure that could be found as far away as Great Britain. The forest areas where the blast took place were blown down. One person was killed.

A forest after the Tunguska event. This picture was taken by Leonid Kulik in 1930, 22 years after the explosion.

Now for the Chelyabinsk event. To get an idea of this event, it is important to know where Chelyabinsk is. This is a major city in Siberia, near the Ural Mountains. It is a major center for metallurgy and military machinery.

The Chelyabinsk meteorite event is known as the largest impact event since the Tunguska event. It, however, was not as powerful as the Tunguska event. This being said, the impact cannot be measured so much in how explosive it was, but who it affected. In Tunguska, there was one death, and atmospheric changes occurred, as well as seismic changes. In the Chelyabinsk event, this happened in a populated area, where people were living. At least 1,200 people were injured from the blast. There wasn't an actually meteorite that hit the city of Chelyabinsk. However, the effect of it caused damage in Chelyabinsk. Thousands of buildings were damaged and at least 1,200 people were injured. Schools were closed because of the damage. To understand why schools were closed, it is important to assess the climate of Siberia. This is Siberia in February. The average daytime temperature is 17.8 degrees Fahrenheit(-7.9 degrees Centigrade) and at night, the average is -2 degrees Fahrenheit(-18.9 degrees Centigrade). With broken windows, this would be harmful for children in the schools, as temperatures would become almost as cold indoors as outdoors. A zinc factory was damaged. Considering that metallurgy is an important part of Chelyabinsk's economy, this could have an effect on the economy. The damage might cost people for a reason. More time would be needed to rebuild the factory, which takes away time from producing zinc.

One thing to consider with the Chelyabinsk meteor event vis-a-vis Tunguska is its over all effect. Both are events in their own way, but different ways. In the Tunguska event, this caused an affect on atmospheric pressure and was even detected on the Richter scale. In the Chelyabinsk event, this effect a major city. The events of Chelyabinsk can tell alot about how an urban area can be effected by events such as a meteorite vs rural areas being hit by a meteorite.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324162304578305163574597722.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories
http://russian.rt.com/Russia/4400
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/30jun_tunguska/