Latvia landforms

13.1 Summary and Q’s
1, 3, 4, 5
In Eastern Europe, the physical geography presents a diverse tapestry of landforms, water systems, climates, biomes, and resources, shaping the region's identity and socioeconomic dynamics. Eastern Europe features a varied topography, ranging from expansive plains to rugged mountain ranges. The Carpathian Mountains traverse several countries, including Romania, Ukraine, and Slovakia, while the Sudetes dominate parts of Poland and the Czech Republic. These mountain ranges not only provide picturesque landscapes but also influence weather patterns and ecosystems.
The region is blessed with abundant water resources, including major rivers and seas. The Danube River, flowing through countries like Romania, Serbia, and Hungary, serves as a vital transportation artery and supports agriculture. The Baltic Sea, bordered by countries such as Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, is a significant body of water with important fisheries and maritime trade routes. Eastern Europe experiences a range of climatic conditions, from continental to maritime influences. Winters can be harsh, especially in the northern reaches, while summers are generally warm. Coastal areas along the Baltic Sea benefit from milder climates, while inland regions are subject to greater temperature variations. Precipitation patterns vary, with some areas experiencing ample rainfall and others facing aridity.
The region encompasses diverse ecosystems, including temperate forests, grasslands, and coastal habitats. Forests cover substantial areas, particularly in countries like Belarus, Russia, and Poland, supporting a rich array of flora and fauna. Grasslands, found in the steppes of Ukraine and southern Russia, are important for agriculture and grazing. Eastern Europe is endowed with significant natural resources, contributing to its economic development. Countries like Russia and Ukraine possess vast reserves of minerals, including coal, iron ore, and manganese. Russia is also a major producer of oil and natural gas, exerting influence in global energy markets. Agricultural richness is evident in Ukraine's fertile black soil, known as Chernozem, which supports extensive grain cultivation.
In summary, the physical geography of Eastern Europe showcases a blend of natural features and resources that have shaped the region's history, economy, and culture. Understanding these geographic attributes is crucial for addressing environmental challenges, managing sustainable development, and fostering regional cooperation.
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Q’s

1. Karst is terrain dominated by limestone bedrock and characterized by rocky ground caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and the absence of surface streams and lakes.
   
2. Three major mountain ranges are found in the south of the region, which give it a very rugged landscape, interrupted only briefly by small plains and deltas. These mountains influence human geography by acting as land and climate barriers. As the Northern European Plain runs through the north part of the region, this part is characterized by broad expanses of plains that have many rivers and good land for agriculture.
   
3. The Danube benefits many countries by serving as a major international highway for trade. Many industrial centers developed along the banks of the Vistula River because it empties into the Baltic Sea and can be used to transport goods to ports there.
   
4. Most of the region has a humid continental climate, which means cold, snowy winters and hot summers, with temperature variations between the two seasons being greater inland than on the coasts.
   

This is something which I've noticed ever since the colours update late last year - there's bizarre, mismatched patches of tundra all over Europe. Not actual tundra, mind, this is in the map view - satellite shows nothing.
I first noticed it in Edinburgh, in the UK - there's a weird splodge here. It doesn't correspond to any actual landforms and I can find no information about it online. Zooming out a bit, I found similar colouring across the Scottish highlands. Now, fair enough, they can be quite bleak but I'm not sure I'd call them tundra! Anyway, those at least do seem to geographically make sense and I thought it was just a small issue.
Then I found the Solway Firth. What's odd here isn't just that there's a bizarre streak of this tundra across a peninsula in the estuary - it's that this peninsula doesn't exist! In fact, the entire shoreline of the map view bears virtually no resemblance to the satellite view - and it's not sand flats either - a quick hop into Google Earth to look at historical footage (ie when the tide was out) shows zero evidence of landforms resembling those on the satellite view. None of the rivers line up either.
Back to the tundra, this blob appears to continue south and rears up again by RSPB Mersehead for no reason. It's then absent for a while until we find ourselves in Creetown/Wigtown, where there's more tundra and more broken coastline. A large lump of tundra appears by Kircowan nearby and may roughly correspond with some forest borders but doesn't actually match.
Anyway, that's remote Scotland, maybe nobody checked? You wouldn't expect it in, say, built-up-North-East-England, just south of Newcastle, would you? Or covering the site of the former Redcar Steelworks? Following the coast of England south you'll find dozens of these - all coastal (I've not found any far in-land as of yet). Even the resort town of Scarborough is apparently an icy wastland (I can confirm the sea's cold, but it's definitely not tundra).
Then, suddenly, south of Wainfleet Sand on the Wash, it stops. There's none in East Anglia (that I could find), not in town, marsh or beach. All seems fine, until you follow the River Thames into London to find that Beckton Gasworks in East London is apparently a snowy plain. This is where Kubrick filmed the second half of Full Metal Jacket. But it's not just Beckton - in fact the tundra continues up the Thames, around the O2 arena, stopping 160m short of Tower Bridge. Now, I can confirm from my office window that is not tundra.
At this point I set out to explore more of the UK, and it's all over the bloody place. Here's some stretching from Weston into Wales, here's a small patch around the UK's newest nuclear reactor, some by Bournemouth, some covering Liverpool Docks, Blackpool Airport, Grimsby... this list is not exhaustive!
I thought this might just be an issue with the UK (God knows we have enough), but then today I was exploring Germany from the air and oh god it's here too - check out this spot by the village of Blowatz, some more at Rostock, the German-Polish border and more. I've also found it in Poland itself, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway (a big patch!), Ukraine, Turkey (absolutely covered with it), Greece (same), Italy, Libya, Cyprus, Canada and more. Boy, it'd be really embarassing if there were some of this weird stuff say, 18 miles away from Google's HQ, right?
Anyway, enough examples, it's everywhere is my point. But what the heck is it? I've been through so many ideas but nothing adds up. It's clearly not tundra (except in far-north Canada or Siberia). It's not degraded land (its placement seems arbitrary). It's not sand or gravel (it's often in towns or even hills). It's not related to climate (it's visible from Edinburgh to Athens). It's not elevation, the sites range from literally underwater to several tens of meters above their surroundings. It's not flood risk (see - elevation). It's not airfields or military bases (they're a lighter grey).
So what the actual heck is this stuff?!

 Kokorin Kerzhakov Samedov Shirokov Fayzulin Denisov Kombarov Ignashevich Berezutskiy Eschenko Akinfeev