Omaha daily bee., 1919-07-12
Siberia and Its Resources
From the Daily Commerce Reports.

From the Daily commerce Reports.
A portion of the report of the subcommittee
on markets and supplies of the Canadian
economic commission. in Siberit is here pre-
scented:
Siberia proper, exclusive Of Russian Cen
trail Asia and the Steppes, covers area Of
100000 square miles. This territory stretches
for distance of approximately 5000 miles
from the Ural mountains to the Pacific ocean
and is bordered on the north by the Actic
ocean and on the south by the outposts Of the
Chinese empire, along the Monaghan and Man
churan frontiers Within the borders of ST.
IBERIA are found fertile plains, of black earth
grazing prairie lands, rolling downs, rugged
plateaus, extensive forests, and frozen Arctic
wastes. The territory is rich in agricultural
resources, furs, minerals and forest wealth
Geographically and economically Siberia
may be divided into three main divisions: West
ern Siberia. which comprises practically the
up of the provinces of Tobolsk and Tomask and
the districts of Akmolinsk and Semipalatinck.
From north to south, western Siberia is COM
prised of several zones-in the far north the
barren Arctic wastes, south OF which is wide
extent of forest belt. About the 56th degree Of
latitude the forest belt merges imperceptibly
into the arabic zone, which is a continuation
of the black-earth region of southern Russia.
The bulk of the population of Siberia is settled
in this arabic zone which economically is the
most important part of the country. 1t was
here that the stream of Slavonic immigration
from European Russia was first directed, and
it is here that European commercial influence
is most widely spread and deeply rooted. South
of the black-earth belt, commencing at about
the SD latitude. are the dry steppes, suitable
only for grazing but Supporting large hocks of
horses. cattle and sheep. The southern boun
Diary of western Siberia is formed by the Alta
mountain chain. which crosses the continent
in northeasterly direction. The foothills of
the mountains provide some of the most fertile
lands in Siberia. while the higher slopes afford
excellent pastures.
Central Siberia stretches from west of the
Yenisei river to Lake Baikal and comprises the
provinces of Yenisei and Irkutsk. Most of this
section of Siberia consists of forest lands. In
the south there are rolling downs and semi
mountainous country, covered for the most part
with forests In the valleys there are patches
of arabic land. The development of central ST.
IBERIA has been hindered by its distance from
export markets. the rail haul to either the Pa
cihc or the Baltic seaboard being too long to
permit, in normal times, the shipping abroad
of the products Of this region.
The third district into which Siberia may
be divided economically is that known as the
Russian Far East and stretches east from Lake
Bakal to the Pacific ocean. This section COM
prises the provinces of Transatlantic, Amur,
Maritime, Yakutsk. Sakhalin and Kamtchatka |
Commercial eastern Siberia has always been
distinct from the rest of the country The
trade has been controlled for the most part
from Vladivostok, foreign goods being i'm
ported by sea, while western and cen5.al ST. |
IBERIA received supplies of foreign merchandise
by rail through European Russia.
The climate of the Russian Far East is
largely influenced by the Yablovny mountain
chain, which runs northeasterly from the noun
tains of Transatlantic. This mountain chain
protects the Amur river valley from the cold
north winds. The slopes of the mountains are
we'll wooded, and the forest resources of east
ern Siberia are important in connection with
the future development of industry. This ter
ritory is also rich in minerals while the fish
cries of the Amur river and coast are an inn
portant potential source of wealth.
Eastern Siberia may be said to be the least
developed portion of the country. but on the
other hand this district is rich in resources
which should be utilized to greater extent in
the future. This will be reflected in a rapid
growth of trade with the Pacific ports of Rus
STA.
In addition to serving eastern Siberia,
Vladivostok is also. to a certain extent, port
for northern Manchuria. The trade center of
northern Manchuria is Harbin which is con-
nected with Vladivostok by railway The total
population of this district is approximately
100000 most of whom are Chinese engaged
in agriculture.
(To Be Concluded Monday