Siberia, Russia Homework

1.) What percentage of water has the Aral Sea lost?
about 80%
2.) Why has this water been lost?
Because the soviet union rerouted its main river to flow to irrigate its vast cotton fields. 
3.) What other environmental problems affect the area?
4.) What would have to be done to keep the lake at its present level?
The farmers need to stop irrigating about 9-18 million acres of farmland to help prevent more of the lake's recession.
5.) What did you learn about Lake Biakal from the video?
Lake Biakal is home to many endemic species including the only freshwater seal, and is protected by law to maintain its water and keep it as the jewel of the country.
6.) In the city of Verkhoyansk what extreme temperatures have been recorded?
It can reach to -90 degrees in the winter and 94 degrees in the summer, a change of nearly 184 degrees. 
7.) How did Russia's harsh winter help the country in the 1800s (and during WWII)?
It made it so the unprepared invaders had no choice but to stay and die of hypothermia or retreat. Making Russia one of the hardest countries to control by foreign force.
8.) What made the building of the Trans-Siberian Railroad an enormous undertaking?
The railroad had to cross over 5700 miles of land, go through seven time zones, clear 77 million cupric feet of earth, 100,000 acres of forest, and build bridges over several major rivers.
9.) Research and find a major city in Siberia.  What is its population and major attractions?
Novosbirsk, Siberia, Russia has a population of 1,523,801 people.