Meshchera Lowlands

Meshchera Lowlands (Meshchyora Lowlands) (Russian: Мещёрская низменность), also referred to as simply Meshchera/Meshchyora, is a spacious lowland in the middle of the European Russia. It is named after the Finnic Meshchera people, which used to live there (later mixing with neighbouring Baltic and Slavic tribes). It occupies parts of Moscow Oblast, Vladimir Oblast and Ryazan Oblast, as well as eastern districts of Moscow proper; respectively, it is called the Moscow, Vladimir and Ryazan Meshcheras.^[1]

Vladimir Meshchera

M. Presnyakov. Autumn in the Meshchera land. 2003–2005

Lake Smerdyachye, Moscow Oblast

Geography

Meshchera is a plain of roughly triangular shape bounded by rivers Oka from the South, Moskva River from the Southwest, Klyazma from the North and Sudogda and Kolp/Kolpna (Колпь, Колпна) from the East. Elevation: 80–130 metres.

Climate of Meshchera is humid continental with long, cold and snowy winters, and short, warm and rainy summers. Annual average temperature is +4.3 °C (39.7 °F). The coldest month is February with average temperature of −11.6 °C (11.1 °F). During severe winters, temperatures can go as low as −47 °C (−53 °F). Summers are warm, sometimes hot, with average July temperature of +19.8 °C (67.6 °F), and in extremely hot summers temperature can rise up to +40 °C (104 °F).

It is covered by mixed forests, pine forests in sandy areas, with many wetlands and lakes.