The Republic of Bashkortostan is located in the Southern Urals and in the adjacent territories of Cis-Urals and partially Trans-Urals. Its area makes 143,6 thousand square metres (0,8% of the total territory of the Russian Federation). In the north, Bashkortostan borders with Perm and Sverdlovsk Regions, in the east – with Chelyabinsk region, in the southeast, south and south-west — with Orenburg Region, in the west – with the Republic of Tatarstan and in the north-west – with Udmurtia Republic. The extension of its territory from the north to the south makes 550 kilometres and from the west to the east – more than 430 kilometres.
The most important peculiarity of Bashkortostan geographical position is that it lies on the border not only between two continents but between two economic regions (Volga and Ural) and connects these regions. Historically Bashkortostan has closer relations with adjacent Ural areas.
The relief is rather various. The territory of Bashkortostan can be subdivided into western, mountainous parts and Bashkir Trans-Urals. The western and nearly all north-eastern parts of Bashkortostan are located in the eastern outlying area of the Eastern-European (Russian) plain (Cis-Urals), the eastern part lies mainly in the mountains of the Southern Urals and the last south-eastern part – within the limits of Trans-Ural. In Cis-Urals, there are several plateaus, uplands and plains. In mountainous Bashkiria there is rather extended Southern Ural tableland along with low- and medium mountain ridges and the plain Trans-Ural is represented by plains and foothills of the Southern Urals eastern slope.
Hilly plains of Bashkir Cis-Urals cover 2/3 of the republican territory, mountainous Bashkir (Southern) Urals – more than 1/4 and small hills of Bashkir Trans-Urals – more than 1/10.
The above sea levels vary from 62 meters to 1638 meters (the peak of YAMANTAU is the highest spot of the Southern Urals).
The climate of Bashkortostan is continental with cold snowy winters and warm (even hot) summers. The transient periods (spring and autumn) are short and the period with average daily air temperature more than 00 C begins in the first half of April and ends in October – the beginning of November.
Average annual air temperature varies from 2,80 C in Cis-Urals and is up to 0,40 C within the Urals limits. Average January air temperature (the coldest month) varies from – 150 C to – 170 C and in July (the warmest month) – from +18 to +200 C. The absolute temperature minimum is – 500 and maximum — +400.
One of the peculiarities of Bashkir climate is the presence of two very different periods of warm with positive temperatures and cold with negative temperatures and stable snow cover. The number of days with positive air temperature makes 194-208 days. Atmospheric precipitation is the main source of moisture and the number of atmospheric precipitation is distributed over the republic not evenly. On the western slopes of Urals annual precipitation sum exceeds 640-700mm, on eastern ones it doesn’t exceed 300-500mm, and in the western plain area it makes 400-500mm. The height of snow cover in wintertime is maximal in the second and the third decade of March and the maximal height can reach 106-125cm sometimes.
The river network belongs to three-river system: Volga (about 75% of the territory), Ural (about 25%) and Ob (less than 1%). There are five independent river basins in the territory of Bashkortostan: Belaya, Ik and Buya in the system of Volga; Tobol in the system of Ob and the water basin of Ural-river. Belaya-river is the main water artery of Bashkortostan, 1430km long. The square of lakes and water reservoirs makes 427 square kilometres. Aslykuhl (23,5 square km) and Kandrykuhl (15,6 square km) are the biggest lakes and Nugushskoe (25,2 square km), Karmanovskoe (25,5 square km) and Pavlovskoe (116 square km) are the biggest water reservoirs. It is worth mentioning that Pavlovskoe water reservoir, put into operation on Ufa-river in 1961, was the first water reservoir in the former USSR, made in the karst territory. At present time Umaguzinskoe water reservoir was put into exploitation on Belaya-river and it is also found in the karst territory.
