Steppe

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Images

Rolling steppe landscape in the Orenburg region of Russia, with grassy hills, patches of shrubs, and exposed reddish-brown soil.

World map highlighting major grassland regions with three color codes: yellow for savanna, green for prairie, and orange for steppe. Savannas are shown in parts of South America, Africa, and Australia; prairies in central North America, South America, and Eurasia; and steppes across Eurasia, North America, Africa, and Australia. A legend at the top lists key examples of each grassland type by region.

Wide steppe grassland in Mongolia with patches of green vegetation, low hills in the distance, and a partly cloudy sky overhead.

Map showing the extent of the Eurasian steppes, highlighted in green, stretching from eastern Europe through Ukraine and southern Russia, across Kazakhstan, and into Mongolia and northern China. The map labels the Western Steppe and Eastern Steppe regions and includes major geographic features, countries, and ancient sites within the steppe zone.

Two Bactrian camels stand in a grassy area.

A golden jackal (Canis aureus) stands alert in a grassy steppe landscape with dry and green vegetation in Azerbaijan.

A steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) stands alert in a grassy field, showing its slender body, dark legs, and pale face with a dark mask.

Male saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) with distinctive curved horns stands in shallow water on a steppe landscape.

Aerial view of a large herd of horses grazing and moving across the green steppe grasslands in Orkhon valley, central Mongolia, with low hills and a river in the distance.

Steppe: Media

grassland

Images

Rolling steppe landscape in the Orenburg region of Russia, with grassy hills, patches of shrubs, and exposed reddish-brown soil.

Orenburg, Russia

Steppe in Orenburg region, Russia.

© Alex Uralsky/Shutterstock.com

World map highlighting major grassland regions with three color codes: yellow for savanna, green for prairie, and orange for steppe. Savannas are shown in parts of South America, Africa, and Australia; prairies in central North America, South America, and Eurasia; and steppes across Eurasia, North America, Africa, and Australia. A legend at the top lists key examples of each grassland type by region.

Grassland regions: savanna, prairie, and steppe

Principal regions where significant areas of natural savanna, prairie, and steppe...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Wide steppe grassland in Mongolia with patches of green vegetation, low hills in the distance, and a partly cloudy sky overhead.

steppe

Mongolian steppe.

© Vitali Hoelzenlichter/Dreamstime.com

Map showing the extent of the Eurasian steppes, highlighted in green, stretching from eastern Europe through Ukraine and southern Russia, across Kazakhstan, and into Mongolia and northern China. The map labels the Western Steppe and Eastern Steppe regions and includes major geographic features, countries, and ancient sites within the steppe zone.

Eurasian steppes

Extent of the Eurasian steppes.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Two Bactrian camels stand in a grassy area.

Bactrian Camels

Two Bactrian camels in Mongolia.

© Petrichuk—iStock/Getty Images

A golden jackal (Canis aureus) stands alert in a grassy steppe landscape with dry and green vegetation in Azerbaijan.

golden jackal

Golden jackal (Canis aureus) in the steppe of Azerbaijan.

© Zlydzen/Dreamstime.com

A steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) stands alert in a grassy field, showing its slender body, dark legs, and pale face with a dark mask.

The steppe polecat (Mustela eversmanii) is found across a wide swath of Eurasia from southeastern Europe to Manchuria

A steppe polecat standing in a field of grass.

© aaltair/Shutterstock.com

Male saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) with distinctive curved horns stands in shallow water on a steppe landscape.

saiga

Male saiga (Saiga tatarica).

© Oskanov/Dreamstime.com

Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Steppe grasslands at Point Kaliakra, Bulgaria, on the northwestern shore of the Black...

Oleg Polunin

Aerial view of a large herd of horses grazing and moving across the green steppe grasslands in Orkhon valley, central Mongolia, with low hills and a river in the distance.

Steppe rangeland

Aerial view of a herd of horses on the steppe in Orkhon valley, central Mongolia.

© Tuul & Bruno Morandi—The Image Bank/Getty Images

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