areas around the world that share climate/flora/fauna counterparts...... (1 Viewer)

ive noticed alot of similarites in some areas of the world that are thousands of miles apart.



the northern great lakes region (northern minnesota/wisconsin/ michigan's upper peninsula & northern lower peninsula) of the US has its counterpart in the russian far east (ussuri/primorye/khabarovski kray/kamchatka). they both share a maritime climate and great flora/faunal similarites and often related species. for example the russian far east and upper great lakes both share moose, wolves, bears, chipmunks, hares & lynx and both areas have closely related species of oaks, pine, birch and maple.




the sagebrush steppe of montana/utah/oregon ect has its counterpart in mongolia, the scottish highlands have their north american counterpart in newfoundland, ect ect.


its really fascinating to see how much these areas are alike.

One of the classic examples of this is the so-called Mediterranean type regions of the world with similar fire resistant plants or plants that need fire for the seeds to germinate.

motacilla oenenthe said:

ive noticed alot of similarites in some areas of the world that are thousands of miles apart.



the northern great lakes region (northern minnesota/wisconsin/ michigan's upper peninsula & northern lower peninsula) of the US has its counterpart in the russian far east (ussuri/primorye/khabarovski kray/kamchatka). they both share a maritime climate and great flora/faunal similarites and often related species. for example the russian far east and upper great lakes both share moose, wolves, bears, chipmunks, hares & lynx and both areas have closely related species of oaks, pine, birch and maple.




the sagebrush steppe of montana/utah/oregon ect has its counterpart in mongolia, the scottish highlands have their north american counterpart in newfoundland, ect ect.


its really fascinating to see how much these areas are alike.

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Eurasia and north America were connected before the atlantic opened and have been connected across the bearing strait at various times since. Also, the prevailing N. hemisphere weather systems tend to spread things around, so in the N. hemisphere areas with a similar climate tend to have similar flora. It's the same in the southern hemsiphere, so if you go to New Zealand or Tasmania you find they are startlingly similar to the extreme south west of South America (western Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego etc). Although things tend to be spread about in similar climatic areas of both hemsipheres, they are mostly very different between the north and the south even where the climate is the same, due to the geological history and the fact each hemisphere has its own air current systems, the equator being a sort of barrier. Coming from Scotland, I found it really weird when I went to the Australian Alps - the landscape high up /looks/ the same from a distance, until you realise that those things that look like Scots Pine are Snow Gums, and the "heather" is really Epacridaceae...

finland and michigan's upper peninsula (where i live) look identical in some places. same peat bogs/tarns, almost identical boreal ecosystems, same kind of clear lakes, ect,

motacilla oenenthe said:

finland and michigan's upper peninsula (where i live) look identical in some places. same peat bogs/tarns, almost identical boreal ecosystems, same kind of clear lakes, ect,

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Another big factor is geology of course, i.e. the underlying rock, and the effect it has on the topography and the soil chemistry. What's the rock like where you are, is it granite?

more limestone/sandstone than granite, but there are granite outcroppings in a few areas.

motacilla oenenthe said:

more limestone/sandstone than granite, but there are granite outcroppings in a few areas.

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Yes, well, sandstone and Granite are both acidic so will have similar vegetation. The limestone may be a bit different.... But if it's all covered with peat it will make less difference!

It was quite exciting for me coming from Scotland to Finland, as I didn't expect the vegetation to be as different as it is. Finland is well in the boreal zone (most of it anyway), so it shares many or even most things with similar areas in northern N. America. I kept seeing things that I had heard about from America but didn't know also occurred in N. Europe. Aspen, for instance, is rare in the UK but is one of the most common trees here. The biggest shock was that the classic Scottish purple heather (Erica) is completely absent here! The common Calluna heather is here, but Erica is an extremely oceanic thing so needs the warm rainy Scottish winters.

motacilla oenenthe said:

ive noticed alot of similarites in some areas of the world that are thousands of miles apart.

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What about the bird life in these 'like' zones - is it, too, similar?

What is the counter part to the bottomland swamps in the the southern USA, where is that in Europe/asia?

timeshadowed said:

What about the bird life in these 'like' zones - is it, too, similar?

What is the counter part to the bottomland swamps in the the southern USA, where is that in Europe/asia?

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What people often forget is how far north Europe is as a whole compared to North America. Boston is about the same latitude as Barcelona in Europe so as all of Europe is further North than the Southern States, it has no counterpart. Prevailing moisture carrying winds also have a lot to do with it as the counterpart latitides in Africa are dry.

Steve.