Saint Petersburg is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and a
federal subject
The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (russian: субъекты Российской Федерации, subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (russian ...
located in the
Northwestern Federal District
Northwestern Federal District,, ''Severo-Zapadny federalny okrug'' is one of the federal districts of Russia, eight federal districts of Russia. It covers most of Northwest Russia. Its population was 13.6 million, of which 83.5% was urban, livi ...
of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. It stands at the mouth of the
Neva River
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it i ...
at the east end of the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
(part of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
).
The area of the city of
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
proper is . As a federal subject Saint Petersburg contains, besides Saint Petersburg proper, a number of towns (
Kolpino
Kolpino (russian: Ко́лпино; fi, Kolpina, ') is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia, loc ...
,
Krasnoye Selo
Krasnoye Selo (russian: Кра́сное Село́, lit. ''Red village''). Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-Пресс", 2002 is a munic ...
,
Kronstadt
Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
,
Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; russian: Михаил (Михайло) Васильевич Ломоносов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ , a=Ru-Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov.ogg; – ) was a Russian Empire, Russian polymath, s ...
,
Pavlovsk,
Petergof
Petergof (russian: Петерго́ф), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland.
The town hosts ...
,
Pushkin
Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
,
Sestroretsk
Sestroretsk (russian: Сестроре́цк; fi, Siestarjoki; sv, Systerbäck) is a municipal town in Kurortny District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the shores of the Gulf of Finland, the Sestra River ...
and
Zelenogorsk Zelenogorsk (russian: Зеленогорск) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia.
;Urban localities
*Zelenogorsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, a closed town in Krasnoyarsk Krai
*Zelenogorsk, Saint Petersburg, a municipal town in Kurortny ...
), 21 municipal settlements, as well as rural localities. The total territory of the federal subject comprises 1439 km².
The federal subject and city of Saint Petersburg is situated on the middle
taiga
Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruce ...
lowlands along the shores of the
Neva Bay
The Neva Bay (Russian: Не́вская губа́, ''Névskaya Gubá''), also known as the Gulf of Kronstadt, is the easternmost part of the Gulf of Finland between Kotlin Island and the Neva River estuary where Saint Petersburg city centre is ...
of the Gulf of Finland, along the shores of the lower reaches of the River Neva itself and on the numerous islands of the
river delta
A river delta is a landform shaped like a triangle, created by deposition (geology), deposition of sediment that is carried by a river and enters slower-moving or stagnant water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, res ...
.
To the north of the city lies the
Karelian Isthmus
The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern ...
, a popular summer-resort area for citizens, while in the south Saint Petersburg crosses the
Baltic-Ladoga Klint and meets the
Izhora Plateau The Izhora Plateau (russian: Ижорская возвышенность) is an elevated landform on Ordovician limestone bedrock in the southwestern part of Leningrad Oblast, between the Gulf of Finland in the north and the Luga River in the so ...
.
The elevation of Saint Petersburg ranges from the sea level to its highest point of at the Orekhovaya hill in the
Duderhof Heights
Duderhof Heights or Duderhof Hills (russian: Дудергофские высоты; german: Duderhofer Höhen) is a small highland area in the southwestern part of Saint Petersburg (Krasnoselsky District).
The nearest railway station, Mozhayskaya ...
in the south. However, the historical city center (except the area between
Liteyny Prospekt and Smolnaya Embankment) is situated lower than above sea level and has suffered from flooding about 300 times in its history.
Floods in Saint Petersburg
Floods in Saint Petersburg refer to a rise of water on the territory of St. Petersburg, a major city in Russia and its former capital. They are usually caused by the overflow of the delta of Neva River and surging water in the eastern part of Neva ...
are triggered by long waves in the Baltic Sea, developing regularly under some meteorological conditions and amplified by favorable winds and by the shallowness of the Neva Bay. The most disastrous floods occurred in 1824 ( above sea level), 1924 (), 1777 (), 1955 () and 1975 (). The
Saint Petersburg Dam
The Saint Petersburg Flood Prevention Facility Complex ( rus, Ко́мплекс защи́тных сооруже́ний Санкт-Петербу́рга от наводне́ний, kómpleks zashchítnykh sooruzhéniy Sankt-Peterbúrga ot ...
, built to prevent floods, was completed in August 2011 after a lengthy period of construction beginning in 1979.
Since the 18th century the terrain in the city centre has been steadily raised artificially, at some places by more than . The hydrology of the city center and the number of islands have also changed dramatically.
Besides the Neva and its distributaries, other important rivers of the federal subject of Saint Petersburg include:
* the
Sestra
* the
Okhta
The Okhta () is a river in Vsevolozhsky District of Leningrad Oblast and the eastern part of the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest right tributary of the river Neva. It joins the Neva upstream of the Neva's mouth, within the c ...
* the
Izhora
The Izhora (, ), also known as the Inger, is a left tributary of the Neva on its run through Ingria in northwestern Russia from Lake Ladoga to Gulf of Finland. The Izhora flows through Gatchinsky District, Gatchinsky and Tosnensky Districts of Len ...
The largest lake is Sestroretsky Razliv in the north, outside of the limits of Saint Petersburg proper.
Lakhtinsky Razliv and Suzdal Lakes are smaller lakes within the northern limits of the city.
St. Petersburg's position on a latitude of about 60° N, less than seven degrees to the south of the
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
, leads to a huge variation in
day length
Daytime as observed on Earth is the period of the day during which a given location experiences natural illumination from direct sunlight. Daytime occurs when the Sun appears above the local horizon, that is, anywhere on the globe's hem ...
across seasons, ranging from 5 h 53 min to 18 h 50 min, and causes twilight to last all night in early summer, from June to mid-July — the celebrated phenomenon known as the
white nights
White night, White Night, or White Nights may refer to:
* White night (astronomy), a night in which it never gets completely dark, at high latitudes outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles
* White Night festivals, all-night arts festivals held in ...
.
Islands
Vasilyevsky Island
Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south a ...
is the largest island (not counting the unnamed artificial island formed by
Obvodny Canal
Obvodny Canal (russian: Обводный канал, lit. Bypass Canal) is the longest canal in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which in the 19th century served as the southern limit of the city. It is long and flows from the Neva River near Al ...
and
Fontanka
The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River for ...
and
Kotlin Island
Kotlin (russian: Ко́тлин) ( sv, Reitskär) is a Russian island, located near the head of the Gulf of Finland, west of Saint Petersburg in the Baltic Sea. Kotlin separates the Neva Bay from the rest of the gulf. The fortified city of Kronst ...
(the site of Kronstadt) in the Neva Bay), followed by
Petrogradsky,
Dekabristov and
Krestovsky Islands. The latter, together with
Yelagin and
Kamenny Island
Kamenny Islands (russian: Каменные острова, ''Kamenny Ostrova'', meaning 'Stony Islands') are a group of three islands in the Neva delta, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Geography
The three islands are flat. They are divided by chann ...
, forms the so-called Kirovskiye islands, covered mostly by parks.
Other islands include:
*
Aptekarsky Island
Aptekarsky Island (russian: Апте́карский о́стров, , "Apothecary Island", fi, Korpisaari, "Deep Forest Island") is a relatively small island situated in the northern part of the Neva delta. It is separated from Petrogradsky Isl ...
* Artillery Island
* Kanonersky Island
*
New Holland Island
New Holland Island (russian: Но́вая Голла́ндия) is a historic triangular artificial island in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, dating from the 18th century. It is also known as Admiralty Island.
Construction
The island was ...
* Spassky Island, between the
Fontanka
The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River for ...
,
Moika
The Moyka (russian: Мо́йка /MOY-ka/, also latinised as Moika) is a secondary, in comparison with the Neva River in Saint Petersburg that encircles the central portion of the city, effectively making it an island or a group of islands ...
,
Griboyedov Griboyedov may refer to:
* Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), Russian playwright and diplomat
* Griboyedov Canal
The Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova () is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 along the existing ''Krivusha'' r ...
and
Kryukov canal
Kryukov Canal (russian: link=no, Крюков канал) is one of the Canals in central Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Name
In 1738, the canal was named after the contractor Semyon Kryukov.
History
The Kryukov Canal runs from the Admiralteysk ...
s
*
Zayachy Island
Zayachy Island (Russian Заячий остров, literally ''Hare Island'') is an island in the Neva River in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is separated by the Kronverksky Strait from Petrogradsky Island to the north, to which it is connected ...
(Hare Island), the site of the
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...
Climate
Saint Petersburg experiences a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
of the cool summer subtype (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: Dfb), due to the distinct moderating influence of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
cyclones
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
. Summers are typically cool, humid and quite short, while winters are long and cold but with frequent
warm spell
Warm Spell (1988–1994) was an American Eclipse Award winning thoroughbred racehorse, a Kentucky-bred son of Northern Baby, owned and trained by John K. Griggs and bred by Robert Kluener. He was ridden primarily by the owner/trainer's son, ...
s. The average winter minimum is about , and the record low temperature is , recorded in 1883. Solid frozen ground is a normal part of winter there. The Neva River within the city limits usually freezes up in November–December (in 2007 and 2020 it did in late January only), while break-up occurs in April. On average there are 123 days with snow cover (stable from December to March), which reaches the average of by February. The frost-free period in the city lasts on average for about 135 days. There is some temperature variation within the city limits, and the city itself experiences a climate slightly warmer than its suburbs. Weather conditions are, however, quite variable all over the year.
[See ]
Historical weather records for Saint Petersburg (since 1932)
' and
Historical weather in Saint Petersburg
' for further information.
The highest temperatures of July and August were reached in 2010.
Average annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
varies across the city, being about 600–750 mm per year on average and reaching maximum in late summer and in the north. Though this number is not high by itself, soil moisture is almost always excessive because of low
evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...
due to the cool climate.
Relative humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
of air is also high (78% on average), and
overcast
Overcast or overcast weather, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization, is the meteorological condition of clouds obscuring at least 95% of the sky. However, the total cloud cover must not be entirely due to obscuring phenomena near t ...
is common throughout the year (165 days a year on average).
See also
*
Administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg
The federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, is divided into eighteen ''rayony'' ("districts", russian: районы, singular: ''rayon''), which are in turn subdivided into municipal okrugs, municipal towns, and municipal settlements.
Admiralte ...
References
Further reading
*Jones, P. D. & D. H. Lister (2002)
The Daily Temperature Record for St. Petersburg (1743–1996) ''Climatic Change'' 53 (1-3), 253-267.
Sunset and Sunrise in St. Petersburg during the months of May, June, July, August, September
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography Of Saint Petersburg