The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

190 RUSSIA IX EUEOPE.Black Sea. Still the transition from the glacial to the temperate zone is verygradual and uniform.The climate, compared with that of "Western Europe, is on the whole essentiallycontinental—that is to say, characterized hy extremes—and in its severe wintersand summer heats Russia already helongs to the Asiatic continent. Moscow, itscentral city, is under nearly the same latitude as Copenhagen and Edinburgh ;butthe mean winter temperature, which is 37° Fahr. in the Scottish, and about31-6° in the Danish capital, is 18° below freezing point (14° Fahr.) in Moscow.93. Russian Isothekmals.The lines connect all places having the i i mean temperature, and f(=3-6° Fahr.).1drawn at intervals of 2° CentigradeOn the other hand, the summer temperature, under 59° Fahr. in Edinburgh andover 63° in Copenhagen, rises nearly to 65° in the Russian city. But, strikingan average, the climate of Moscow, as well as of all Russia, is about 8° or 9°colder than that of Western European countries under the same parallels.Whilethe Atlantic regions are mainly within the influence of the warm west and southwestwinds, Russia is more exposed to those of the polar regions. Hence, whenwe speak in ordinary conversation of Russia as a northern land, although forming