SIBERIA- The SIBERIAN ARCTIC, TAIGA, And TUNDRA. (Along with All Else). I've so far made some occassional comparative Mention of Siberia, -Now Let's get to Talking Front Burner on Siberia Itself!

This may come as a Surprise, but Actually Siberia is the *Third* Coldest Place on Earth! But it's Rightly Quite Firstmost, in many of our Minds. It Runs Up with the Top Two, namely Antarctica and the North Polar Arctic Ocean, -Pretty Good.

The Coldest Temperature ever Recorded in Siberia, is of Minus 89.9 Degrees Fahrenheit at Oimekon in Yakutia / NE of Central Siberia, on Feb. 6, 1933, and of Negative 89.7 Degrees Fahrenheit, on Feb 5 and 7, 1892 at Verkhoyansk, also in Yakutia. This Area is Known as the Siberian Cold Pole.

(My Source, -"The Weather Almanac",-2nd Edition, Ruffner and Bair, Avon Books, 1977 Copyright, March 79 Printing. Page 266, 2nd Paragraph.)

I know Not whether an even Colder Record Low may have Since Occurred in Siberia since 1977. But whether or not, -This still communicates the General, Prevailing, Siberian Temps Reality, Spirit, and Idea here.

These Records Stood as the Lowest ever Recorded on our Planet, -Until much More Recent Antarctic Exploration Records, Took That Away. The Latest such one as of 1977 was of -126.9 F, at Vostok, Antarctica, which is also in *It's* Cold Pole. The Date was August 24, 1960. (Same Source and Page, but the First Paragraph) I know This Varies Slightly from a More Recent Figure I've given under "Antarctica and It's Icesheet", in Temperatures. And More So in Dates, 1960 vs. 1983. It's a Different and More Recent Record / Measurement. The Entire and Typical Spirit-Reality-and Idea, is also Given here. It comes as No Surprise that Antarctica would Beat even Siberia Out.

But in that Pre-Antarctic Records would Show Siberia to be On Top, This says something for it's Role as the NON Polar Cold Pole, of our Planet!

(The World's # 2, -The Arctic Ocean, -had No Weather Stations in it's Midst, -being an Ocean, -in which to Record such Second Coldest World Temperatures. This is how Siberia comes in as Actually the World's Third Coldest. But Don't let "Third" there, -Fool you!, in regard to Siberia!)

Where I live, here in the Northeastern U.S., Most of our Cold Blasts of course Come Down from the Polar Arctic, by way of Canada. But we on Occassion get one which Originates in Siberia and It's Cold Pole. And When we Do, -You can just Feel the Dryness of it!, on your Face and in your Nose! Beyond just it's Bitter Cold. This is the Difference between a Continental Land, vs. a Polar but Oceanic, Origin. Of course Siberia gets Arctic Blasts coming Down it's way too! But I think it's Vast Land Mass is enuf to do much Cold Generation of it's Own. Plus Arctic Originating Air, could be Further Dried there, Before getting here. Especially if it Comes via Alaska, without Crossing the North Pacific. Also let's Not Forget, that even Arctic Ocean Air, is Pretty Dry as it is!

OK, -We All Along know that Siberia is Cold. But now we have a Better Idea of just *How* Cold.

Siberia of course encompasses pretty much of the Entire Northern Half, of the Vast Eurasian Continent. With Rusha's Ural Mountains typically being given as the Dividing Line, between it's European and Asian Subparts,- -Siberia encompasses everything East of those Urals, North and Northeast of Kazahkstan and the entire former Soviet Central Asian Republics, North of China with it's Sinkiang and Manchuria, North also of Mongolia, North and Northwest of Northern Japan's Hokkaido Island, West of the Northwest Pacific Ocean on a line between Hokkaido and our Own Alaska, Directly West of Alaska Itself, and South of Siberia's Vast Arctic Ocean Stretch. This Leads you Back to where the Urals meet the Arctic, at the Two Large Novaya Zemyla Islands. They are an Extension of the Urals, and are considered a Part of Siberia. Along with most Other Large, Offshore, Arctic Ocean Islands. These are Discussed under the Arctic Subportion, -of Earth's Wildest Places,-COLD. The Urals themselves, can probably be considered to be a Part of Siberia as well! Their entire Persona is Far More Siberian, than European Russian.

Also, the Vast, Bleak, and Empty Areas of Northern European Rusha, Karelia, the Kola, the entire Syktyvkar Centered Area of NW Euro. Russia, -Shud be considered "Siberia in Spirit"! Though in European Rusha, and West of the Urals, and Not Technically a Part of Siberia, -it for all Practical Intents and Purposes, is as if it Were a Part of Siberia!

Anything within this Vast, Squareish Rectangle, is Siberia! This covers an Awful Lot of Square Mileage and Territory! We're Talking 4 Million, and 235,000 Square Miles! Our own United States, even with Alaska and Hawaii in Inclusion, -is Only some 3 1/2 Million Square Miles. This Gives you an Idea of Siberia's Size and Scale. Most of us already have a pretty Good General Idea of Such anyway, but This serves to "Refreshingly Sharpen" Such! Virtually All of this Vast Siberian Area, is North of the Latitude of Mosta the U.S.-Canadian Border. And perhaps something like a Sixth or Seventh of All Siberia, -is North of the Arctic Circle,-some of that Well North.

South of the Treeless Tundra spreading across it's North, are Vast Stretches of the Taiga and Other Northern Boreal Forests. -From Europe to the Pacific! This has been Described as the Earth's Other Great Forest Lung!, -Alongside the Much More Familiar Amazon. (The Alaskan and Canadian Boreal can be Included in This as well.)

Permafrost pervades Siberia, and Well South of the Arctic Circle, in Many Areas.

Siberia is Otherwise a Land of Vast Plateaus with Respectfully High Mountains, a Vast, Bleak, Swampy Plain in it's West, Large Raging Rivers with many Rocky Tributaries Thruout, the World's Largest and Deepest Rift Lake, -Lake Baikal, -in it's South, Just Above Mongolia.

Siberia is a Land of Pioneering Frontiersmanship!, From the Urals to the Kamchatka and the Pacific Chuckchi!, From Kazahkstan and Lake Baikal to the Top of the Taimyr! From the Kola or Novaya Zemyla, to Vladivostok Bay in the Siberian Far East, Almost on the North Korean Border. They are so with their Rushan East, in the Same Way as we are and have been, with our Own Great American West. It's a Land of Gold, Diamonds, Oil, Fish, Game, Furs, Primitive Nomadic Peoples, Reindeer, Rivers, and Very Few People overall. Frozen Mammoths are being Found in the Taimyr Permafrost. It is More than just it's Hallmark of Cold.

As with the Trans-Canadian, -It has a Continent Spanning Railroad in it's Extreme South. -The Trans Siberian Railroad. But that is Atypically only in it's Very South. It certainly offers some Travel Options, if one would ever want to either Tour there, or Survive there.

Siberia Stretches over some 8 or 9 Time Zones!

Siberia includes some of the World's Greatest, Longest Rivers!, which go by such Names as the Ob, the Irtysh, the Yenesei, the Tunguska, the Angara, the Lena, the Kolmya, and the Amur! Along with Many Others.

Most of these however, Flow Uselessly North into the Arctic Ocean, with their Vast Collective / Individual, Discharges of Water. How the Arid Lands of Kazakhstan, Sinkiang, and the Gobi can Really Use It!, -just to Siberia's South.

Finally, Siberia Incudes already mentioned Kamchatka and the Kuriles, along with Sakhalin Island,-It's Eastward, Pacific, Extensions. See that Subpart, for Info on Those.

Survival in Siberia now?, -This would entail Cold Survival, Forest Survival, Swamp Survival, and Mountain Survival. Along with at least some Significant Appearance of Beach and Coast Survival, and even Arid and Desert Survival.

You of course have the Long and Bitter Cold, and Winds, to Contend with! But you also have the Months of 24 Hour Darkness to Deal With!, in at least Much of Siberia.

You have the Great Disadvantages of a Very Short Growing Season, Coupled with the Advantages, of 24 Hour Daylight!, in such Growing Season, in Much of Siberia. Greenhousing would be a Very Great Growing Technique! There are more than a few such Greenhouse Operations in Siberia Today.

There are even some Sutropical Plants!, Growing in Siberia's Far Southeastern Amur River Area. Think of That!, -Such Growing *Within* Siberia! Albeit in it's Far Southeast. They Cannot and Do Not Grow within the Vast Majority of Siberia. this Points Up some Desirability of Making for the Amur Area. But Don't be Too Fooled! It gets Mighty Cold there too! This is North of North Korea, and it's Well Known how Cold that Place has got!, During the Korean War!

The Strengths of Siberia to a Survival Situation?, in Addition to the Above? These are Water, Food, Fish, Game, Firewood and Shelter Materials, Wide Open Spaces with Very Few People, and River Transportation, -Among what I'm Sure must also be some Others.

You may also have Comparatively Easy Access to Siberia, Across the rather Narrow Bering Strait. Though such Crossing is By No Means Neccessarily Easy! But for Survival Travel or Bug Out considerations, -This is one of the Better, More Appealing, Ones. If you can Make It so, Across that Relatively Narrow Stretch, -You've Got yourself a Gateway to Siberia and a Whole Nother Continent!

Some Disadvantages and Weak Points? -The Long and Bitter Cold!, of course! Along with many Months of Far More Darkness than Light, the Very Short Growing Season, the Howling Windchill, Disorientation Amidst the Forest without a Compass, (At Least the North Magnetic Pole is on the Opposite, Canadian, Side of the Arctic,-and Thus there shud be Less High Latitude Compass Distortion.), and the Language Barrier, with What Locals there that you Do happen to occassionally Meet.

Russian is spoken here, but you may more commonly Run Across one of the many Indigenous, Native, *Non*-Russian Languages. Boning Up on a Few Words and Phrases in at Least Russian, -Might be a Good Idea. Even something as Normally "Non-Survival" as this!, -Can End Up being a Major Layer of our All Round Survival Onion!, on the Real Life Scene here! Oh!, -The Areas of Life you Find Being Relevant So!, -When yur Out There in the Field! Of course we're to Get Fire and Many Things Else Down Pat, -Before we go worrying about More Ancillary things, -such as Language! But if in Siberia, -Try fo at least a Few Important Words of Rushan, Ahead of Time. Additionally, Locals are More Willing to Help you with Information and Materials, and Often for Less or No Cost!, -if you Show yourself to Have Cared and Bothered with at least a Few Words of their Own Language! So This can be More than just some Nice Little Thing to Do!

Forest Fires also Do Occur here in Siberia, Thruout it's Vast Stretches of Forest. The Brief Summers here, Do get very Hot, Dusty, and Dry! At First Glance, One might Not Expect that of Siberia, -But it's So! You'd Want to be at least Basically Familiar with Forest Fires, -and Matters concerning their Safety, Prevention, Fighting, and Forest Fire Survival. You Have at least the Same Chance of Running Directly Into This in the Siberian Forest and Dry Season, as you Do in our American South and West! National Geographic has Done a Very Good Article on Siberian Forest Fires and Fighting, a Few Years Back. I'm Sorry that I do Not Know just what Issue this is from, -But It Is from one of the Late 90's - Early 2000's Issues.

For Siberian Survival, -You're gonna have to Hunker yourself Down In Real Good, perhaps Deep within it's Forest or Other Areas, -and Make Sure you're Well Covered!, -on Everything from Food to Fuel to Shelter!, and Many just as Important Things in Between.

You might also Want to Dig some, towards getting somewhat Underground! As regards Far Warmer Temperatures, as well as All Round General Protection. Caves, while Cool, typically are Plenty Warmer than Frigid Surface Surroundings! I Recall learning this on one of my Visits to my Home Area's Laurel Caverns. It's Not all that Deep Underground, yet it Remains somewhere around a Steady 57 Degrees F All Year Round. This by the way, is At or Near the Average Temperature of our Entire Earth. And this is an Appalachian Mountain*top* Cave! Cool Upper 50s Sure Beats Siberian Surface Winter Temps in my Book, -Any Day! Now you'd have to get X Far Down, to Derive this Benefit. But it's still Not Terribly Far Down. Even if Short of that, -You Still can Build a Fine Conventional Shelter.

You'd also Want some "Moment's Notice Mobility" too! Camouflage, Concealment, and Cacheing can be Important. As can Trailing and Tracking. And "Trail Throwing", and Escape and Evasion Techniques, shud you Find yourself Having to Deal with Underworld Cons, Remaining Soviet PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., or Other Seedy, Shady, Types. Even without such extra concerns, I would Want to Have More than just One, Central Abode, to which I could Go To! You'd Want to have "One Placeing" Well Established. But you'd also Want to have a Good "Multi Place Mobility" Capability, Down Pat!

Beyond just Hunting, Trapping, and Fishing, -Make Sure you Know How to Dry, Cure, Smoke, Salt, and Otherwise Preserve!, Meat, Fish, and Other Foodstuffs! Additionally, Use the Frigid Temps to such Advantage here!

If you Want to Extricate yourself from Siberia, or Otherwise Reach Civilization or Rescue,-Then Usually Head South! To or Beyond the Trans Siberian Railroad, (Which you Can also Make Use Of, -or at least Sooner or Later Hail Somebody.), To at least somewhat Warmer Places such as China, Manchuria, Mongolia and the Gobi, Sinkiang, or Kazahkstan and the Former Soviet Central Asia. Beware of course, that Red China is Still PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., along with All that entails regarding your Chances, Survival and Otherwise. Plus at least in Siberia, You're Often a Fellow Caucasian, -While in China,-You're Gonna Really Stand Out!

If in either Eastern or Western Siberia, -You can perhaps also Make for the East or the West. The Pacific or the Urals. In somewhere like Sakhalin or the Vladivostok Area, You can perhaps Try to Reach reasonably Near Japan. And like Very Empty Canada, -What Cities as there are in Siberia, Tend to be in it's Far South. If you're Trying to Reach Civilization,-You may well Want to Try to Reach one of These.

Whatever you Do, -Usually Do NOT Try to Exit Siberia by Going Downstream on it's Many Rivers! They Usually Lead Nowhere but the Northern Arctic! Which is somewhere you Definitely DON'T Want to Go!, -Especially in the Siberian Fall and Winter! Many Tributaries True Enuf do Not Flow North!. But Usually they Soon Enuf, -Lead to a Major River that Does! Proceed Alongside or On Stream, -AGAINST the Flow! Thats by Far the General Rule, if Outward from Siberia is where you Want to Go.

There are some Notable Exceptions, of course. Primarily in Siberia's Very Southeast! Where on that Major Amur River with it's Many Tributaries,-You Definitely Want to Flow Downward and Predominantly Southeastward on! Towards Japan and Vicinity. Know where it's "Jumpoff" Point is however, so you Don't Suddenly start Going way Northeastward, -Towards Northern Sakhalin!

Likewise in the Chuckchi, for example, Try Striking Across the Bering Strait, to Nome and Alaska.

Finally, whether Staying or Trying to Depart, -Avail Yourself of All the Many Blessings that the Short Siberian Spring and Summer, -Will Provide you! While also being Conscious of and Prepared for it's Pitfalls, such as Soggy Ground, and Clouds of Blackflies and Mosquitoes! I'd also be Working my Way Southward in such Time!, -Before the Siberian Fall and Winter Soon Enuf Comes Back Around!

These are some of the Foremost Siberian Survival Imperatives. It's Quite an Advantageous Survival Place! -So Long as you're Fully Prepared, and "Bundle-Hunkered Up", for the Cold!, -It's Long and Very Bitter, Windy, Dry, COLD!

Many of you have Read or Heard of "The Longest Walk", by Slamovir Rawicz. As Have I. (I've Read This in a Long Length Reader's Digest Book Condensation, if Not the Entire Book.) For those of you Not Familiar, It's an Inspiring, even Riveting, True Life Story of a Number of People Escaping from one of Stalin's Siberian Gulag Camps, On or About WW 2. Southward Across Much of Siberia they Went, -Forests and Rivers. Then the Crossing of the Trans Siberian Railroad, and the Mongolian Border. Then Mongolia and it's Mountains, the Searing Gobi. As though that weren't Enough, -They then had the Ascent Up onto and Across the Tibetan Plateau, then Over and Down the Himalayas, All the Way to British India! Utter Hardships Thruout went with the Territory. Not All Made It. But a Good Portion of Them eventually Did. This Story can count for at least some Pre-Siberia, Preparation and Familiarization. As a True Life Survival Tale, -It is of course Most Highly Recommended!

"Siberia" Means something along the Lines of "The Sleeping Land", in one of it's Native Languages. In It's Long Winter's Sleep! Make Sure that if Ever you shud Find Yourself There!, -That you are Bundled up in the Equivalent of your Best Survival Winter Wear and Sleeping Bags!

Now for some Lighter "Comic Relief", -"Siberia" is "Iberia"!, if you just Take the "S" Off. A Quite Different Place!, to say the Least!

Sorry again about the Length. Try as I Might, I wasn't able to Keep this one to around 3 1/2 Viewing Frames, as I WAS Able to Do in the One Before This. This one here came in at a Not Too Bad, "Slightly Above Five" Until in my Previewing, -I had to Break a Paragraph or Two Down. This Brot the Final Viewing Frame Result up to 6. Once again my Regrets, and I Hope to Regularly Have More 3 1/2 ers at General Max, as my Last One was! With some Further Late Nite Editing, this has Expanded some More.[color:"black"] [/color] [email]ScottRezaLogan[/email]


Edited by ScottRezaLogan (02/23/04 08:50 AM)
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"No Substitute for Victory!"and"You Can't be a Beacon if your Light Don't Shine!"-Gen. Douglass MacArthur and Donna Fargo.