cooper, catherine w. modern world nations. ukraine. 2007

[...]... cows that eat grass grown on contaminated soil may produce milk that can make the people who drink it sick As Ukraine builds a modern industry and economy, its people are also addressing these environmental issues Fortunately, the soil found throughout much of Ukraine is among the world s most fertile Thus, Ukraine has long been known for the abundance and variety of its agricultural products Under uncultivated... many other elements Introducing Ukraine Establishing a healthy economy and stable political institutions present major challenges to Ukrainians today Ukraine and its people suffered greatly in the two World Wars of the twentieth century and during the period of Soviet control The legacy of Soviet-controlled industry includes outdated power plants that continue to pollute the air and create other environmental... landscapes These elements of unity and diversity, of stability and challenge, will guide the way to what lies ahead for this nation of nearly 50 million people in a rich, yet vulnerable part of today’s world Is Ukraine a borderland or heartland? While the word Ukraine in fact means “borderland,” the country has, during the course of its history, been both on the fringe and in the heart of regional political... west longitude, is five hours behind GMT (0° longitude) and seven hours behind Kiev time (30° east longitude) When it is 2:00 P.M in Kiev and noon in London, it is 7:00 A.M in Philadelphia 15 Ukraine Ukraine.ai 7/24/06 2:43:33 PM 16 Much of Ukraine is flat; its terrain is primarily made up of fertile plains (steppes) and plateaus Its highest peak, Hora Hoverla (6,762 feet, 2,061 meters), is located... and deposited it when the streams reached the flat lowlands These deposits of alluvium (water-deposited silt), in combination with rich grassland sod, have created some of the most fertile soils in the world In addition, the waterways served as easy transportation corridors from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea This route attracted the Vikings from the north to Ukraine, where they settled in the ninth... wetland marsh area The Danube plays a very important economic role for Ukraine With the opening of the RhineMein-Danube Canal in 1992, Ukraine became linked to western Europe by water without plying the world s seas There are other areas of wetlands in the country Particularly notable are those located along much of the course of the Dnieper River and the famous Pripet Marshes in the north This huge wetland... geographically strategic location Its importance has been recognized by many who, over the centuries, have attempted to control the peninsula Natural harbors of this kind are rare in this part of the world Through time, they have attracted Greek colonies, Tatar settlements, and Soviet naval bases CLIMATE The climate of Ukraine is generally described as being temperate mid-latitude Actually, the country’s... dominance of particular air masses, Ukraine’s weather can vary greatly This reality was something that came as a harsh surprise to the armies of Napoleon and Hitler when they invaded this part of the world Northern and northeastern Ukraine, lying closer to Russia, experience a continental climate with cooler summers and rather long, harsh winters Winter temperatures in December, January, and February... area and the southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula, the southern part of Ukraine receives less precipitation than the northern area SOIL As has already been mentioned, Ukraine is blessed with some of the world s most fertile soils—rich black“Chernozems.” This thick soil, noted for its high content of humus (organic material), occupies almost two-thirds of the country It is the foundation of Ukraine’s reputation... reputation as the “breadbasket of Europe.” Agricultural production has been an important part of Ukraine’s economy for many centuries Chernozem soils are a type of “mollisol,” which underlies many of the world s great grassland regions In addition to the steppes of Ukraine and Russia, other areas of mollisols include the prairies of North America and the pampas of Argentina Physical Landscapes Mollisols . AFRICA SOUTH KOREA SPAIN SWEDEN TAIWAN TURKEY UKRAINE UZBEKISTAN VENEZUELA VIETNAM