Steppes are large areas of flat grassy land where there are no trees, especially the area that stretches from Eastern Europe across the south of the former Soviet Union to Siberia.
steppe in British English
(stɛp)
noun
(often plural)
an extensive grassy plain usually without trees
Compare prairie, pampas
Word origin
C17: from Old Russian step lowland
steppe in American English
(stɛp)
noun
1.
any of the great plains of SE Europe and Asia, having few trees