Russian, or East European, plain - the second
largest after the Amazonian plain of the Earth. Most of
this plain is located within Russia. long
the length of the plain from north to south is more than 2500 km, from west to east
current - about 1000 km. The expanses of the Russian Plain are
Karelian and Pechora taiga, and Central Russian oak forests, and neo
visible tundra pastures, forest-steppes and steppes. What
signs unite the plain? First of all relief - polo
go-wavy over vast spaces. Plain rel
efa of such a huge land area of the Earth is due to
stable platform foundation at its base,
occurrence of thick sedimentary strata and long
the impact of the processes of erosion and redeposition of soils,
that is external processes alignment.
The Russian Plain is not only a land rich in resources,
this is the land on which the main events took place for more than
thousand-year history of former Russia and today's Russia.
As some scholars suggest, the name Rus appeared
elk in the first centuries of our era and was originally
only to a small area south of Kiev, where in the Dnieper
its right tributary Ros flows into it. The name Ros (Rus) is related to
rushed to the Slavic tribe itself, and to that territory,
which it occupied.
Relief. At the base of the East European Plain
the ancient Precambrian Russian platform lives, which obus
catches the main feature of the relief - flatness. Warehouse
the foundation rests at various depths and comes out
to the surface within the plain only on the Kola floor
island and in Karelia (Baltic Shield). For the rest of her
territory, the foundation is covered with a sedimentary cover of various
power. South and east of the shield distinguish it "under
terrestrial "slopes and the Moscow depression (more than 4 km deep),
bounded in the east by the Timan Ridge.
Irregularities of the crystalline foundation determine the time
displacement of the largest uplands and lowlands.
The Central Russian
Shennost and Timan Ridge. Downgrades correspond
lowlands - Caspian and Pechora.
Diverse and picturesque relief Russian plains
was under the influence of external forces, and above all, even
vertical glaciation. Over the Russian Plain, glaciers overhang
fled from the Scandinavian Peninsula and from the Urals. Traces of ice
nicknamed Activities manifested themselves everywhere in different ways. initially
the glacier "plowed out" on its way 11-shaped valleys and races
shiryal tectonic depressions; polished the rocks, forming a re
relief of "ram's foreheads". Narrow, winding, long and deep
lateral bays jutting far into the land on the Kola Peninsula
the ditch is the result of the "ploughing" activity of the ice.
At the edge of the glacier, along with rubble and boulders, deposits
clays, loams and sandy loams fell. Therefore, in the northwest
the plains are dominated by hilly-morainic relief, as if
superimposed on the protrusions and depressions of the ancient relief; So,
for example, the Valdai Upland, reaching a height
340 m, has at its base rocks of coal
rioda, on which the glacier deposited moraine material.
During the retreat of the glacier, fires formed in these areas.
rum lakes: Ilmen, Chudskoe, Pskovskoe.
Along the southern border of glaciation, glacial melt waters
set aside a mass sand material. Here arose flat
kie or slightly concave sandy lowlands.
Erosion relief prevails in the southern part of the plain.
Particularly strongly dissected by ravines and gullies
localities: Valdai, Central Russian, Volga.
Minerals. Long geological history
ria of the ancient platform lying at the base of the plain, pre
extended the wealth of the plain with various useful resources
dug. In the crystalline basement and sedimentary
platform cover contains such mineral reserves
received, which are important not only for our country,
but also global importance. First of all, these are rich deposits
iron ore of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA).
Deposits are associated with the sedimentary cover of the platform
stone (Vorkuta) and brown coal - Podmoskovny Basin
and oil - Ural-Vyatka, Timan-Pechora and Caspian
pools.
Oil shale is mined in the Leningrad region and
near the city of Samara on the Volga. In sedimentary rocks are known
and ore minerals: brown iron ore near Lipets
ka, aluminum ores (bauxites) near Tikhvin.
Construction materials: sand, gravel, clay, lime
nyak - distributed almost everywhere.
With outcrops of crystalline Precambrian rocks Bal
tisky shield on the Kola Peninsula and in Karelia
ny deposits of apatite-nepheline ores and beautiful
ny building granites.
In the Volga region, deposits of culinary
salt (Lakes Elton and Baskunchak) and potash salts in the Kama
Cis-Urals.
Relatively recently in the Arkhangelsk region discovered
wife diamonds. In the Volga and Moscow region, valuable
raw materials for the chemical industry - phosphorites.
Climate. Although, with the exception of the extreme
north, the entire territory of the Russian Plain is located in the mind
local climatic zone, the climate here is diverse.
The continentality of the climate increases towards the southeast.
The Russian plain is under the influence of the western
nose of air masses and cyclones coming from the Atlantic,
and gets the most compared to other plains
Russian rainfall. Abundance of precipitation in the northwest
the plains contribute to the widespread distribution of bo
lot, full flow of rivers and lakes.
The absence of any obstacles in the way of the Arctic
air masses leads to the fact that they penetrate far
South. In spring and autumn, with the advent of the Arctic air,
a sharp drop in temperature and frost. As well as
polar masses enter the plains as arctic masses
sy from the northeast and tropical masses from the south (with the latest
droughts and dry winds are associated in the southern and central
districts).
Water resources. A lot of water flows across the Russian Plain
stvo rivers and rivulets. The most abundant and longest river Rus
the plains and all of Europe - the Volga. Large rivers jav
also the Dnieper, Don, Northern Dvina, Pechora, Kama -
the largest tributary of the Volga. On the banks of these rivers settled
our distant ancestors, creating fortresses that later became poison
frames of ancient Russian cities. Looks into the waters of the Great River
ancient Pskov, on the shores of the epic Ilmen Lake, where
According to legend, the gusler Sadko visited the sea kingdom, it is worth Nov
city (earlier it was called "Lord Veliky Novgorod"),
Moscow, the capital of Russia, arose on the Moskva River.
water resources most well endowed north-
western and central regions of the Russian Plain. abundance
lakes, high-water rivers - these are not only fresh water reserves and
hydropower, but also cheap transport routes, and fish
industries, and recreational areas. Dense river network of the plain, races
the position of watersheds on low flat elevated
areas are favorable for the construction of canals, of which there are so many
on the Russian plain. Thanks to the system of modern kan
fishing - Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic and Vol
Go-Donskoy, as well as the Moscow-Volga Canal Moscow, located
on the relatively small river Moscow and compare
far from the seas, has become a port of the five seas.
Of great value are agro-climatic
resources of the plain. Most of the Russian Plain receives
sufficient amount of heat and moisture for the cultivation of many
dry agricultural crops. In the north of the forest zone
they grow fiber flax, a crop that requires cool
cloudy and humid summer, rye and oats. All medium
the strip of the plain and the south have fertile soils:
new podzolic chernozems, gray forest and kas
tanovym. Soil plowing is facilitated by calm conditions
flat relief, which makes it possible to cut fields in the form
large arrays easily accessible for machine processing
ki. In the middle lane, mainly cereals and
fodder crops, to the south - cereals and technical (sugar
beets, including sunflower), horticulture is developed and
melon growing. The famous Astrakhan watermelons know and
the inhabitants of the entire Russian plain are beaten.
The most characteristic feature of the nature of the Russian Plain is
well-defined zonality of its landscapes. to the edge
in the North, in the cold, heavily waterlogged in summer
shores of the Arctic Ocean, there is a tundra zone with
her weak and poor nutrients tun-
wood-gley or humus-peaty soils, with state
under moss-lichen and dwarf shrub plants
communities. To the south, near the Arctic Circle, first in
river valleys, and then along the interfluves appear le
sotundra.
The middle zone of the Russian Plain is dominated by forest
landscapes. In the north it is a dark coniferous taiga for podzolic
tykh, often marshy soils, in the south - mixed, and beyond
themes and broad-leaved forests of oak, linden and maple.
Even further south they are replaced by forest-steppes and steppes with fertile
mi, mainly chernozem soils and grassy grow
consistency.
In the extreme southeast, in the Caspian lowland,
under the influence of a dry climate, semi-deserts were formed with
chestnut soils and even deserts with serozems, saline
kami and salt licks. The vegetation of these places is pronounced
nye features of aridity.
Diverse, but not yet very well mastered recreational
ion resources of the plain. Its picturesque landscapes
good resting places. Rivers and lakes of Karelia, its White Nights,
Kizhi Museum of Wooden Architecture; powerful Solovetsky mo
bump; thoughtful Valaam attract tourists. Ladoga and
Lake Onega, Valdai and Seliger, the legendary Ilmen,
Volga with Zhiguli and Astrakhan Delta, Old Russian
cities included in Golden ring Russia", - that's far from
a complete list of areas developed for tourism and recreation
Russian plain.
Problems rational use natural re
resources. The Russian Plain is distinguished by its diverse nature
resources, favorable conditions for life lu
dey, so here is the highest population density in Russia
nia, the largest number of large cities with a highly developed
industry, developed agriculture.
Currently, more and more active work is being done on recultivation.
tivation of lands, that is, upon the return to the territories of their use
walking shape, bringing the devastated landscape into
productive state. Depressions at the site of former development
peat current, quarries remaining after excavation of sand, build
solid stone, coal and iron ore mining from the surface
are to be cultivated. They artificially bring
soils, their turfing and even afforestation is carried out. Thor
fyanye recesses are turned into ponds in which fish are bred.
Positive experience of land reclamation has been accumulated in Mos
kovskaya, Tula and Kursk regions. in the Tula region
heaps and dumps are successfully planted with forest.
Pain is held near the major cities of the Russian Plain
our work to improve the cultural landscape. Create
green belts and forest parks, suburban water basins
we are picturesque reservoirs that are used as
recreation areas.
In large industrial cities, attention is paid to
measures to purify water and air from industrial
emissions, dust control, noise control. Reinforced and toughened eco-friendly
logical control of vehicles, including
le and for private cars, which is becoming a pain
she and more.
Hazardous natural phenomena: tornadoes, droughts (southeast, south),
ice floes, hailstorms, floods.
Ecological problems: pollution of rivers, lakes, soils, at
atmospheres - industrial waste; radioactive zara
life after the Chernobyl disaster.
Moscow - one of the ten most environmentally unfriendly
received cities of the world.
NORTH CAUCASUS
Geographical position. On a huge isthmus between
to the Black and Caspian seas, from the Taman ro Apsheron-
the majestic mountains of Bol are located on the peninsula
of the Caucasus.
The North Caucasus is the southernmost part of the Russian territory
rhetoric. Along the ridges of the Main, or Watershed, Caucasus
ridge passes the border of the Russian Federation from the country
us Transcaucasia.
The Caucasus is separated from the Russian Plain by the Kumo-Manych
depression, on the site of which in the Middle Quaternary time there
there was a sea strait.
The North Caucasus is an area located on the border
temperate and subtropical zones.
The epithet "sa" is often applied to the nature of this territory.
my, the most." The latitudinal zonality is replaced here by the vertical
zoning. For a resident of the plains of the Caucasus Mountains - bright
an example of the "multi-story" nature.
Relief, geological structure and minerals.
The Caucasus is a young mountain structure, formed in the peri
od alpine folding. The Caucasus includes: Before
Caucasus, Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Russia includes
only Ciscaucasia and the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus.
Often the Greater Caucasus is presented as a single ridge.
In fact, it is a system of mountain ranges.
From Black Sea coast to Mount Elbrus is located
Western Caucasus, from Elbrus to Kazbek - Central Caucasus
kaz, east of Kazbek to the Caspian Sea - East Kav
kaz. In the longitudinal direction, an axial zone is distinguished, occupied
Dividing (Main) and Lateral Ranges (see Fig. 14).
The northern slopes of the Caucasus form the Skalisty ridges,
Pasture and Black Mountains. They have a cuesto structure -
these are ridges in which one slope is gentle, and the other is steep
breaking. The reason for the formation of the quest is interlayering
layers composed of rocks of different hardness.
The chains of the Western Caucasus begin near the Taman
luostrov. At first, these are not even mountains, but hills with soft
outlines. They rise as you move east. The mountains
Fisht (2867 m) and Oshten (2808 m) are the highest parts of Za
Western Caucasus - covered with snowfields and glaciers.
The highest and grandest part of the entire mountain system
we are the Central Caucasus. Here even the passes reach
height of 3000 m, only one pass - Cross on the Military
Georgian road - lies at an altitude of 2379 m.
The highest peaks are located in the Central Caucasus
we are the two-headed Elbrus, an extinct volcano, the highest
peak of Russia (5642 m), and Kazbek (5033 m).
The eastern part of the Greater Caucasus is mainly
numerous ranges of the mountainous Dagestan (in translation - Country
In the structure of the North Caucasus, various
nye tectonic structures. Warehouse to the south
chato-blocky mountains and foothills of the Greater Caucasus. This is the part
Alpine geosynclinal zone.
fluctuations earth's crust accompanied by the bends of the earth
layers, their stretching, faults, ruptures. By image
cracked cracks from great depths to the surface of the
magma flowed, which led to the formation of numerous
ore deposits.
Uplifts in recent geological periods - Neogene
high and quaternary - turned the Greater Caucasus into a highly
mountain country. Rise in the axial part of the Greater Caucasus from
was carried out by intensive subsidence of earth layers along
edges of the emerging mountain range. This led to the formation
foothill troughs: in the west of the Indal-Kuban and
in the east of the Terek-Caspian.
Complicated story geological development region - at
rank of the wealth of the bowels of the Caucasus with various useful art
shareable. The main wealth of Ciscaucasia is the deposit
oil and gas. In the central part of the Greater Caucasus, mining
polymetallic ores, tungsten, copper, mercury, mo
In the mountains and foothills of the North Caucasus, many
mineral springs, near which resorts were created,
have long received worldwide fame - Kislovodsk,
Mineral water, Pyatigorsk, Essentuki, Zheleznovodsk,
Matsesta. The sources are varied chemical composition,
temperature and extremely useful.
Climate. The North Caucasus is located in the south moderately
th belt - a parallel of 45 ° N passes here. sh., that is, clearly
the equidistant position of the territory between
do the equator and the pole, which determines its soft, warm
mild climate, transitional from temperate to subtropical.
This situation determines the amount of salt received.
some warmth: in summer 17-18 kcal per square
centimeter, which is 1.5 times more than the average
european part of Russia. Except for the highlands
the climate in the North Caucasus is mild, warm, on the plains
the average July temperature exceeds +20 °C everywhere, and summer
lasts from 4.5 to 5.5 months. Average temperatures
January fluctuate from -10 °С to +6 °С, and winter lasts only
only two or three months. In the North Caucasus is located
genus Sochi, where the warmest winter in Russia with a temperature
January +6.1 °С.
The abundance of heat and light allows the vegetation of the Northern
Caucasus to develop in the north of the district for seven months,
in Ciscaucasia - eight, and on the Black Sea coast, to the south
from Gelendzhik - up to 11 months. This means that, with the corresponding
With the current selection of crops, you can get two levels here
zhya per year.
North Caucasus very complex circulation
various air masses. This area can be penetrated
kat various air masses.
The main source of moisture for the North Caucasus is
the Atlantic is falling. So western regions Northern
The Caucasus are distinguished by a large amount of precipitation. annual
the amount of precipitation in the foothills in the west is
380-520 mm, and in the east, in the Caspian Sea, - 220-250 mm. Poeto
mu in the east of the region there are often droughts and dry winds.
The climate of the highlands very different from the plains and
foothill parts. The first main difference is that
much more precipitation falls in the mountains: at an altitude of 2000 m -
2500-2600 mm per year. This is due to the fact that the mountains delay
air masses cause them to rise up. Air
at the same time it cools and gives up its moisture.
The second difference in the climate of the highlands is a decrease in
duration of the warm season due to lower temperatures
ry air with height. Already at an altitude of 2700 m in the northern
slopes and at an altitude of 3800 m in the Central Caucasus passes
there is a snow line, or the border of "eternal ice". On high
over 4000 m even in July, positive temperatures would
vayut very rarely.
The third difference between the alpine climate is its amazing
diversity from place to place due to the height of the mountains, exposure
slope, proximity or distance from the sea.
The fourth difference is the peculiarity of atmospheric circulation.
Cooled air from the highlands rushes down
narrow intermountain valleys. When lowering to each
For a distance of 100 m, the air heats up by about 1 °C. Coming down from
height of 2500 m, it heats up by 25 ° C and becomes warm,
even hot. This is how the local wind - hair dryer - is formed. Oso hair dryers
especially frequent in the spring, when the intensity of
current circulation of air masses. Unlike a hair dryer,
When masses of dense cold air are compressed, boron is formed (from
Greek logeav - north, north wind), strong cold nisho
blowing wind. Flowing over low ridges into an area with
warmer rarefied air, it is relatively small
heats up and "falls" downwind at high speed
slope. Bora is observed mainly in winter, where
a mountain range borders on the sea or a vast body of water.
The Novorossiysk Bora is widely known. And yet leading
factor of climate formation in the mountains, influencing very strongly
on all other components of nature, is height, resulting
leading to vertical zonality of both climate and natural zones.
Rivers of the North Caucasus are numerous and just like the rel
ef and climate are clearly divided into flat and mountainous. Especially
numerous turbulent mountain rivers, the main source
which are fed by snow and glaciers during the melting period.
The largest rivers are the Kuban and Terek with their numerous
ny tributaries, as well as originating in the Stavropol
Egorlyk and Kalaus hills. In the lower reaches of the Kuban and Te
the river is flooded - vast swampy expanses
stva covered with reeds and reeds.
The wealth of the Caucasus is fertile soil. in the western
parts of Ciscaucasia are dominated by chernozems, and in the eastern,
more arid part - chestnut soils.
The soils of the Black Sea coast are intensively used for orchards, berries
nicknames, vineyards. In the Sochi region are the most northern
tea plantations in the world.
In the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, altitudinal
explanation. The lower belt is occupied by broad-leaved forests with
dominance of oak. Above are forests of beech, which
rye with height pass first into mixed, and then into spruce
fir forests. The upper border of the forest is at an altitude of 2000-
2200 m. Behind it, on mountain meadow soils, there are lush
nye subalpine meadows with thickets of the Caucasian rhododendron.
They pass into short-grass alpine meadows, behind which
follows the highest belt of snowfields and glaciers.
Variety of natural territorial complexes Se
the true Caucasus is due to their differences in geographical
position, in particular the height above sea level. Most
one can clearly distinguish the natural complexes of the plains, intermountain
valleys, highlands.
Reserves. Caucasian - northern slopes of the western
parts of the Greater Caucasus; protection of unique flora (yew, self
sheet, walnut, noble chestnut) and fauna (tour, chamois, Caucasus
sky deer, etc.).
Teberdinsky - northern slopes of the Main Ridge Bol
shogo of the Caucasus; protection of virgin beech and dark coniferous
forests, subalpine and alpine meadows.
THE EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN, Russian Plain, one of the largest plains the globe, within which are the European part of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, as well as most of Ukraine, the western part of Poland and the eastern part of Kazakhstan. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south - 2500 km. The area is over 4 million km 2. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the valley of the Vistula River); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudet and others) and the Carpathians; in the south it goes to the Black, Azov and Caspian seas, to the Crimean mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east, it is bounded by the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include V.-E. R. the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia, others refer this territory to Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.
Relief and geological structure
V.-E. R. geostructurally corresponds in general to the Russian plate of the ancient East European platform, in the south - northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform .
Complex relief V.-E. R. characterized by small fluctuations in altitude (average height is about 170 m). The highest heights are noted on the Podolsk (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) and Bugulma-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) uplands, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level - the lowest point in Russia) is located on the Caspian lowland, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
On V.-E. R. two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern extra-morainic with erosive landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small uplands (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). To the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechora and others). There are also a number of large uplands - the tundra, among them - the Lovozero tundra, etc.
In the northwest, in the area of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief prevails: hilly and ridge-moraine, depression with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.), the so-called lake area. To the south and east, in the area of distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating secondary moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; there are basins of lowered lakes. Moraine-erosion uplands and ridges (Belarusian Ridge, Smolensk-Moscow Upland, and others) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial, and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Upper Volga, and others). In some places, karst landforms are developed (the White Sea-Kuloi plateau, etc.). Ravines and gullies are more common, as well as river valleys with asymmetric slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, woodlands (the Polesskaya lowland, etc.) and opolyas (Vladimirskoye, Yuryevskoye, etc.) are typical.
In the north, insular permafrost is widespread in the tundra, in the extreme northeast - continuous permafrost up to 500 m thick and with temperatures from -2 to -4 °C. To the south, in the forest-tundra, the thickness of the permafrost decreases, its temperature rises to 0 °C. Permafrost degradation, thermal abrasion on sea coasts with destruction and retreat of coasts up to 3 m per year is noted.
For the southern extra-morainic region V.-E. R. characterized by large uplands with erosion ravine-gully relief (Volyn, Podolsk, Pridneprovsk, Azov, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains belonging to the area of the Dnieper and Don glaciation (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Wide asymmetric terraced river valleys are characteristic. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called "saucers", formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits and bedrocks come to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathering remnants of bizarre shapes - shikhans. In the south and southeast, flat coastal accumulative lowlands are typical (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).
Climate
Far North V.-E. The river, which is located in the subarctic zone, has a subarctic climate. Most of the plain, located in the temperate zone, is dominated by a temperate continental climate with the dominance of western air masses. As the distance from the Atlantic Ocean to the east increases, the continentality of the climate increases, it becomes more severe and dry, and in the southeast, in the Caspian Lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature ranges from -2 to -5 °C in the southwest and drops to -20 °C in the northeast. The average temperature in July increases from north to south from 6 to 23–24 °C and up to 25.5 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern part - insufficient and meager, reaching arid. The most humid part of V.-E. R. (between 55–60°N) receives 700–800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600–700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (up to 300–250 mm in the tundra) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (up to 200–150 mm in the semi-desert and desert). The maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (10–20 cm thick) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (60–70 cm thick) in the northeast. In the forest-steppe and steppe, frosts are frequent, droughts and dry winds are characteristic; in the semi-desert and desert - dust storms.
Inland waters
Most of the rivers V.-E. R. belongs to the basins of the Atlantic and North. Arctic Oceans. The Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; the Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug carry their waters to the Black Sea; in the Sea of Azov - Don, Kuban, etc. The Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; to the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc. The Volga, the largest river in Europe, as well as the Urals, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Maly Uzen, etc. belong to the basin of internal flow, mainly the Caspian Sea. spring flood. In the southwest of the E.-E.r. rivers do not freeze every year; in the northeast, freeze-up lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10–12 l/s per km2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing the East-E. R. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester, and others have been transformed into cascades of large reservoirs (Rybinsk, Kuibyshev, Tsimlyansk, Kremenchug, Kakhovskoe, and others).
There are numerous lakes of various genesis: glacial-tectonic - Ladoga (area with islands 18.3 thousand km 2) and Onega (area 9.7 thousand km 2) - the largest in Europe; morainic - Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloe, etc., estuaries (Chizhinsky floods, etc.), karst (Okonskoye Zherlo in Polissya, etc.), thermokarst in the north and suffusion in the south of V.-E. R. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.
natural landscapes
V.-E. R. - a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of natural landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone, and only the northern part is in the subarctic zone. In the north, where permafrost is widespread, small areas with expansion to the east are occupied by the tundra zone: typical moss-lichen, grass-moss-dwarf shrubs (lingonberries, blueberries, crowberries, etc.) and southern shrubs ( dwarf birch, willow) on tundra-gley and marsh soils, as well as on dwarf illuvial-humus podzols (on sands). These are landscapes that are uncomfortable for living and have a low ability to recover. To the south, a forest-tundra zone with undersized birch and spruce sparse forests stretches in a narrow strip, in the east - with larch. This is a pasture zone with technogenic and field landscapes around rare cities. About 50% of the territory of the plain is occupied by forests. Zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, and in the east - with the participation of fir and larch) European taiga, swampy in places (from 6% in the southern to 9.5% in the northern taiga), on gley-podzolic (in the northern taiga), podzolic soils and the podzols are expanding towards the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-broad-leaved (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils, which extends most widely in the western part. Pine forests on podzols are developed along the river valleys. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests stretches on gray forest soils; forests wedged out to the Volga valley and have an insular distribution in the east. The subzone is represented by forest-field-meadow natural landscapes with a forest cover of only 28%. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, which occupy 50–70% of the forest area. The natural landscapes of the opal areas are peculiar - with plowed flat areas, the remains of oak forests and a ravine-beam network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals, a forest-steppe zone stretches with oak forests (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-grass meadow steppes (some sections are preserved in reserves) on black soil, which make up the main fund of arable land. The share of arable land in the forest-steppe zone is up to 80%. Southern part of V.-E. R. (except the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which are replaced to the south by fescue-feather grass dry steppes on dark chestnut soils. Most of the Caspian lowland is dominated by grass-wormwood semi-deserts on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-saltwort deserts on brown soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.
Ecological situation
V.-E. R. has been mastered for a long time and significantly changed by man. Many natural landscapes are dominated by natural-anthropogenic complexes, especially in the steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and broad-leaved forests (up to 75%). Territory V.-E. R. highly urbanized. The most densely populated areas (up to 100 people/km 2) are the zones of mixed and broad-leaved forests of the Central region of V.-E. r., where territories with a relatively satisfactory or favorable ecological situation occupy only 15% of the area. Particularly tense environmental situation in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Voronezh, etc.). In Moscow, emissions into the atmospheric air amounted (2014) to 996.8 thousand tons, or 19.3% of the emissions of the entire Central federal district(5169.7 thousand tons), in the Moscow region - 966.8 thousand tons (18.7%); in the Lipetsk region, emissions from stationary sources reached 330 thousand tons (21.2% of the district's emissions). In Moscow, 93.2% are emissions from road transport, of which carbon monoxide accounts for 80.7%. The largest amount of emissions from stationary sources was noted in the Komi Republic (707.0 thousand tons). The share of residents (up to 3%) living in cities with high and very high levels of pollution is decreasing (2014). In 2013, Moscow, Dzerzhinsk, Ivanovo were excluded from the priority list of the most polluted cities of the Russian Federation. Foci of pollution are typical for large industrial centers, especially for Dzerzhinsk, Vorkuta, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Oil products contaminated (2014) soils in the city of Arzamas (2565 and 6730 mg / kg) of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Chapaevsk (1488 and 18034 mg /kg) Samara region, in the regions of Nizhny Novgorod (1282 and 14,000 mg/kg), Samara (1007 and 1815 mg/kg) and other cities. Spills of oil and oil products as a result of accidents at oil and gas production facilities and main pipeline transport lead to a change in soil properties - an increase in pH to 7.7–8.2, salinization and the formation of technogenic solonchaks, and the appearance of microelement anomalies. In agricultural areas, soils are contaminated with pesticides, including banned DDT.
Numerous rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are heavily polluted (2014), especially in the center and south of East-East. r., including the rivers Moscow, Pakhra, Klyazma, Myshega (Aleksin), Volga, etc., mainly within the cities and downstream. Fresh water intake (2014) in the Central Federal District amounted to 10,583.62 million m3; the volume of domestic water consumption is the largest in the Moscow region (76.56 m 3 / person) and in Moscow (69.27 m 3 / person), discharge of polluted Wastewater also maximum in these subjects - 1121.91 million m 3 and 862.86 million m 3 respectively. The share of polluted wastewater in the total volume of discharges is 40–80%. The discharge of polluted waters in St. Petersburg reached 1054.14 million m 3 or 91.5% of the total volume of discharges. There is a shortage of fresh water, especially in the southern regions of V.-E. R. The problem of waste disposal is acute. In 2014, 150.3 million tons of waste were collected in the Belgorod Region - the largest in the Central Federal District, as well as disposed waste - 107.511 million tons. Leningrad region over 630 quarries with an area of more than 1 hectare. Large quarries remain in the Lipetsk and Kursk regions. The main areas of logging and timber processing industries are located in the taiga, which are powerful pollutants. natural environment. There are clear cuttings and over-cutting, littering of forests. The proportion of small-leaved species is growing, including in the place of former arable lands and hay meadows, as well as spruce forests, which are less resistant to pests and windfalls. The number of fires has increased, in 2010 more than 500 thousand hectares of land burned. Secondary swamping of territories is noted. The number and biodiversity of the animal world is declining, including as a result of poaching. In 2014, 228 ungulates were poached in the Central Federal District alone.
For agricultural lands, especially in the southern regions, soil degradation processes are typical. The annual washout of soils in the steppe and forest-steppe is up to 6 t/ha, in some places 30 t/ha; the average annual loss of humus in soils is 0.5–1 t/ha. Up to 50–60% of the lands are prone to erosion, the density of the ravine network reaches 1–2.0 km/km2. The processes of siltation and eutrophication of water bodies are growing, and the shallowing of small rivers continues. Secondary salinization and flooding of soils is noted.
Specially protected natural areas
Numerous nature reserves, national parks and reserves have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. In the European part of Russia there are (2016) 32 reserves and 23 national parks, including 10 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central Forest, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Astrakhan Nature Reserve(1919), Askania-Nova (1921, Ukraine), Belovezhskaya Pushcha(1939, Belarus). Among the largest reserves is the Nenets Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2), and among the national parks - the Vodlozersky National Park (4683.4 km 2). Native taiga plots "Virgin Komi Forests" and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the list world heritage. There are many nature reserves: federal (Tarusa, Kamennaya steppe, Mshinsky swamp) and regional ones, as well as natural monuments (Irgiz floodplain, Rachey taiga, etc.). Natural parks have been created (Gagarinsky, Eltonsky, etc.). The share of protected areas in different subjects varies from 15.2% in the Tver region to 2.3% in the Rostov region.
Geographical position The East European (Russian) Plain is one of the largest plains in the world in terms of area. Among all the plains of our Motherland, only it goes to two oceans. Russia is located in the central and eastern parts of the plain. It stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov and Caspian.
Natural areas The most common natural areas (from north to south): Tundra (northern Kola Peninsula) Taiga (northern part of European Russia, excluding the Murmansk region; partly Central Russia). Mixed forests (Eastern Ukraine, Belarus, middle lane Russia, Upper Volga region, Baltic States) Broad-leaved forests (Poland, western Ukraine) Forest-steppes (middle Volga region, south of the Central Federal District). Steppes and semi-deserts (Caspian lowland)
Tectonic structure The East European Uplifted Plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow. The average height of the plain is 170 m, and the highest - 479 m - on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Ural part. The maximum mark of the Timan Ridge is somewhat less (471 m). According to the features of the orographic pattern within the East European Plain, three bands are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. A strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands passes through the central part of the plain: the Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and the Common Syrt are separated by Oksko. The Don lowland and the Low Trans-Volga region, along which the Don and Volga rivers flow, carrying their waters to the south. To the north of this strip, low plains predominate, on the surface of which smaller hills are scattered here and there in garlands and singly. From the west to the east-northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai uplands and Northern Uvals stretch here, replacing each other. The watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal (endorheic Aral-Caspian) basins mainly pass through them. From Severnye Uvaly the territory goes down to the White and Barents Seas. A. A. Borzov called this part of the Russian Plain the northern slope. Large rivers flow along it - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries.
Relief Almost the entire length is dominated by a gently sloping plain relief. The East European Plain almost completely coincides with the East. European platform. This circumstance explains its flat relief, as well as the absence or insignificance of manifestations of such natural phenomena as earthquakes and volcanism. Large uplands and lowlands arose as a result of tectonic movements, including along faults. The height of some hills and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters. On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits occur almost horizontally, but their thickness in some places exceeds 20 km. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, elevations and ridges are formed (for example, the Donetsk and Timan ridges). On average, the height of the Russian Plain is about 170 meters above sea level. The lowest areas are on the Caspian coast (its level is about 26 meters below the level of the World Ocean).
Minerals Mineral resources are represented by iron ores of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. The main ore here is magnetite, which occurs in Proterozoic quartzites, but ore deposits are now mainly exploited in the weathering crusts of the Precambrian basement enriched in iron oxides. The balance reserves of KMA are estimated at 31.9 billion tons, which is 57.3% of the country's iron ore reserves. The main part lies within the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The average iron content in the ore exceeds the average for Russia and is 41.5%. Among the fields being developed are Mikhailovskoye (Kursk region) and Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, Pogrometskoye, Gubkinskoye (Belgorod region). The development of high-quality iron ores by the underground method is carried out at the Yakovlevsky deposit (Belgorod region) by the method of deep freezing in conditions of heavily watered sedimentary rocks. Tula and Orel regions have small reserves of this type of raw material. The ores are represented by brown iron ore with an iron content of 39-46%. They lie close to the surface, and their extraction is carried out in an open way. Open pit mining of iron ores in the KMA has large-scale anthropogenic impacts on the nature of the Chernozem zone of the Russian Plain. The plowed area of the agricultural lands of the Kursk and Belgorod regions, within which the iron ore resources of the KMA are developed, reaches 80-85%. Open pit mining has already led to the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares. About 25 million tons of overburden rocks have accumulated in the dumps, and in the next 10 years their volume may increase by 4 times. The amount of industrial waste generated annually exceeds 80 million tons, and their utilization does not exceed 5-10%. More than 200,000 hectares of chernozems have already been alienated for industrial construction, and in the future this figure may increase by 2 times. The total area of agricultural land affected by the harmful effects of KMA production exceeds 4 million hectares. Great anthropogenic and technogenic pressures on water bodies. The total water consumption at the mining enterprises of KMA is 700-750 million m³ per year, which corresponds to the natural annual water flow within this region. Thus, there is dehydration of the territories of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The groundwater level in the Belgorod region has dropped by 16 m, near Kursk - by 60 m, and near the quarries themselves - near the city of Gubkin - by 100 m. negative impact on the environment. The average grain yield within the KMA is noticeably lower than in the Belgorod and Kursk regions as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to continue work on the restoration (recultivation) of lands disturbed by mine workings, using the chernozem and overburden accumulated in dumps. This will allow recreating up to 150 thousand hectares of arable, forest and recreational land in the region. In the Belgorod region, bauxite reserves with an alumina content of 20 to 70% have been explored (Vislovskoe deposit).
There are chemical raw materials on the Russian Plain: phosphorites (the Kursk-Shchigrovsky basin, the Egorievsk deposit in the Moscow region and Polpinskoye in the Bryansk region), potassium salts (the Upper Kama basin, one of the largest in the world - contains a quarter of the world's potassium reserves, the balance reserves for all categories are over 173 billion tons), rock salt (again, the Verkhnekamsk basin, as well as the Iletsk deposit in the Orenburg region, Lake Baskunchak in the Astrakhan region and Elton in the Volgograd region). Such building materials as chalk, marls, cement raw materials, fine-grained sands are common in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Moscow, Tula regions. A large deposit of high-quality cement marls is Volskoye in the Saratov region. The Tashlinskoye deposit of glass sands in the Ulyanovsk region is a large raw material base for the entire glass industry in Russia and the CIS. The Kiyembaevsk asbestos deposit is located in the Orenburg region. Quartz sands of Dyatkovsky (Bryansk region) and Gus. Khrustalnensky (Vladimir region) deposits are used for the production of artificial quartz, glass, crystal utensils; kaolin clays from Konakovo (Tver region) and Gzhel (Moscow region) are used in the porcelain-faience industry. Reserves of black and brown coal are concentrated in the Pechora, Donetsk and Moscow region basins. Brown coals from the Moscow Basin are used not only as fuel, but also as chemical raw materials. Its role in the fuel and energy complex of the Central Federal District is increasing due to high costs for the import of energy carriers from other regions of the country. Moscow region coal can also be used as technological fuel for the region's ferrous metallurgy. Oil and gas are produced at a number of fields within the Volga-Ural ( Samara Region, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan) and Timan-Pechora oil and gas regions. There are gas condensate fields in the Astrakhan region, and the Orenburg gas condensate field is the largest in the European part of the country (over 6% of all Russian gas reserves). Oil shale deposits are known in the Pskov and Leningrad regions, in the Middle Volga region (Kashpirovskoye deposit near Syzran) and in the northern part of the Caspian syneclise (Obshchesyrtskoye deposit). Of no small importance in the fuel balance of some regions of the Russian Plain are peat reserves. On the territory of the Central Federal District there are about 5 billion tons of them (industrial development is carried out in the Tver, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl and Moscow regions), in the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in the Republic of Mari El, there are deposits of peat, the geological reserves of which are about 2 billion t. The Shatura thermal power plant, located in the Meshcherskaya province (between Klyazma and Oka), operates on peat.
Some ore deposits are also associated with the sedimentary cover: sedimentary iron ores (brown iron ore, siderites, oolitic nodules), aluminum ores represented by bauxite deposits (Tikhvin, Timan), titanium placers (Timan). The discovery of diamond deposits in the northern regions of the Russian Plain (Arkhangelsk region) was unexpected. Human activity often changes landforms. In the areas of coal mining (Donbass, Vorkuta, the Moscow basin), there are numerous cone-shaped relief forms up to 4050 m high. These are waste heaps, waste rock dumps. As a result of underground workings, voids are also formed, causing the occurrence of failed funnels and wells, subsidence and landslides. In the Middle Volga region, Moscow region, dips and craters are formed above the places of underground limestone mining. They are very similar to natural karst landforms. Surface deformations also occur due to intensive pumping of groundwater. In areas of open mining of minerals (iron ores, oil shale, peat, building materials) large areas are occupied by quarries, pits and waste rock dumps. A dense network of railways and highways covers many areas of the Russian Plain, and road construction is accompanied by the creation of embankments, ditches, small quarries, from which material was taken for road construction. The Russian Plain, in comparison with all other physical and geographical countries of Russia, is the most mastered by man. It has been inhabited for a long time and has a fairly high population density, so the nature of the plain has undergone very significant anthropogenic changes. The nature of the most favorable zones for human life has changed the most - forest-steppes, mixed and broad-leaved forests. Even the taiga and tundra of the Russian Plain were involved in the sphere economic activity earlier than similar zones of Siberia, and therefore they have been significantly changed.
Rivers, lakes The surface waters of the East European Plain are closely connected with the climate, relief, geological structure, and, consequently, with the history of the formation of the territory. In the northwest of the plain, in the area of ancient glaciation, a moraine hilly-ridge relief dominates with young river valleys. In the south, in the non-glacial region, there is an erosive relief with a well-pronounced asymmetry of the slopes of valleys, gullies, and watersheds. The direction of the plain's river flow is predetermined by its orography, geostructures, and deep faults. The rivers flow in depressions formed in the ruptures of the earth's crust, at the points of contact of large geostructures, which experience intense multidirectional movements. For example, in the zone of contact between the Baltic Shield and the Russian Plate, the basins of the Onega and Sukhona rivers are laid, as well as the basins of large lakes - Chudskoye, Ilmen, Bely, Kubenskoye. The runoff from the East European Plain occurs in the basins of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and in the drainless region of the Caspian Sea basin. The main watershed between them runs along the Ergeny, the Volga and Central Russian Uplands, Valdai and the Northern Uvals. The highest average long-term annual flow (10 -12 l / s from 1 km 2) is typical for the rivers of the Barents Sea basin - Pechora, Northern Dvina and Mezen, and the flow module of the Volga varies from 8 in the upper reaches to 0.2 l / s from 1 km 2 in the mouth part. According to the degree of natural supply with river runoff, the East European Plain is divided into three zones: a) northern areas of high supply; b) central regions of average provision with a lack of water in industrial and urban centers; c) southern and southeastern regions (southern Volga region, Zadonye) with low security. The solution of the most important problems of transport, hydropower, irrigation, water supply and the development of fisheries is connected with rivers, and consequently, the creation of dams, reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations. Changes in the hydrographic network of the plain are possible only if the rules for the protection of nature and the environment are observed.
The East European Plain is the steppes, which are rich grain granaries of the country where the highest quality wheat is grown, the forests of the North, the vast expanses of which are an ideal natural pasture and unique habitat for hundreds of thousands of animals. This is a variety of nature, tree species, vegetation cover, temperature and humidity. Where is the main plain of Russia and what are its features - more on that later.
In contact with
Special features
East European Plain on the map
Within a vast flat area, seasonal temperature and humidity levels fluctuate significantly. Moreover, in one region snowfalls can occur, creating impassable drifts, and in another, endless forests can rustle with leaves and fragrant meadows bloom. It is known that these expanses are part of the East European Platform. It is ancient and geologically stable. giant shield on the surface, which closely borders on the belts of tectonic folding. The outlines of this most significant flat area on this side of the planet are impressive to anyone familiar with the basics of geography.
What does the East European Plain look like on the map:
- its eastern boundary is framed by the ridge;
- the southern margins closely adjoin the Mediterranean folded belt and the Scythian plate, which occupies the area of the foothills of the Caucasus and Crimea;
- the length of the East European Plain in the western direction runs along the Danube, close to the coasts of the Black Sea and Azov.
Note! Due to the venerable geological age in these almost endless expanses, only minor elevations can be found, and even then only in the northern regions.
As a result of the movement of the glacier to the south, elements of tectonic plates can be seen simply with one's own eyes, in the region of Karelia and in some areas of the Baltic. The further advancement of endless ice masses, combined with a low altitude relative to sea level, led to an almost ideal surface.
In terms of economic opportunities, the area of this vast territory differs highest population density in rural areas, there is a huge number of large and small cities, urban-type settlements. Natural resources impressive variety. The expanses of the territory have been successfully developed by man as an industrial and agricultural base for many thousands of years.
About tectonics
The rather complicated geological structure and structural features have been studied for many decades by various scientists from amateur amateurs to professional scientists with a worldwide reputation, who gave their description territory of the East European Plain.
In some scientific schools, it is better known as the Russian Plain, on which geologists distinguish the two most significant ledges - the Ukrainian Shield and the Baltic Shield, areas with a small or deep occurrence of basement elements.
Such a relief is associated with huge areas and a significant geological age of formations and structures. The foundation consists of several layers.
Archean complex of layers. The tectonic structure is rather peculiar, characterized by the outcrop of the basement. These are the areas of the Baltic, Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, known for their rocks, as well as the Konotop, Podolsky and Pridneprovsky massifs. They formed over three million years ago, are rich in significant deposits of graphite, ferruginous quartzite and other very valuable minerals. No less interesting is another type of Archaean, which is represented by the Voronezh anteclise, where the basement occurrence is insignificant. The age of the formations according to today's data is about 2.7 million years.
Features of subsidence and elevations
As mentioned above, the East European Plain in ancient times was significantly affected by the glacier, which was also facilitated by its geographical position. During the Ice Age, almost the entire area was completely covered many meters of ice, which could not but have a physical impact not only directly on the surface layers of the soil, but also indirectly on deep-lying structures. As a result of such phenomena, uplifts and subsidences appeared on the surface at a fairly low height of the plain relative to sea level. By and large, this area is a platform cover, consisting of several deposits:
- Proterozoic;
- Paleozoic;
- Mesozoic;
- Cenozoic.
With a significant pressure of many thousands of glaciers, which literally leveled the surface of these territories, the formation of the basement is distinguished by a discontinuous trend. The feature of the building is alternating arrangement of ups and downs of the relief. The profile looks quite interesting in the field of geology:
- lowering of the area of the Caspian lowland;
- Sarmatian Upland;
- Baltic-Middle Russian lowering of the relief;
- zone of the Baltic Shield.
According to the data obtained using modern calculation methods, there are reliable data on the thickness of the platform cake in various regions of the plain. Average data within 35–40 kilometers. The maximum is the Voronezh anteclise - about 55 kilometers, scientists attribute the minimum to the Caspian region.
Note! Approximately, the East European Plain has a fairly solid age - from 1.6 to 2.6 million years
The features of the relief of this vast territory are that the most ancient formations are fixed in the area of its eastern borders. The oldest elements of the massif are the most static elements of the geological structure; this can be said about the Tatar, Caspian and Zhigulevsko-Pugachev massifs, separated by a protoplatform cover.
About the nuances of syneclise and anteclise
The Caspian syneclise is considered the most ancient, numerous deep salt domes are defined here, which is the most characteristic of the Guryev zone.
Here they occupy areas from tens to hundreds of square meters. kilometers. Despite the name, the most varied shapes and outlines are inherent in domes - a circle, an ellipse, there are also irregular shapes education.
The largest known domes in this region are Chelkarsky, Dossorsky, Indersky, Makatsky, Eltonsky, Sakharno-Lebyazhinsky.
Long-term studies of geologists and specialized methods of photography and scanning from orbit make it possible to obtain reliable data on the tectonic structure of the Russian Plain. The research results are as follows:
- Moscow syneclise is the largest on the East European platform. Its northern contours are determined by a pair of uplifts - Soligalichsky and Sukhonsky. The researchers determine the lowest part of the region near the city of Syktyvkar, where the Seregovsky salt domes, formed by Devonian salts, are identified.
- The tectonic element of almost equal importance is the Volga-Ural anteclise. Numerous relief drops are recorded here, the most significant height- this is the Mordovian Tokmovo vault. Anteclise bears
The relief of Russia is diverse, but most of the territory is characterized by the flatness of vast territories and low relief contrast.
From the point of view of the geological structure and relief, the territory of Russia can be divided into two main parts, the border of which runs approximately along the Yenisei - the western, which is predominantly flat, and the eastern, dominated by mountains.
Plains
Great Russian Plain (or East European Plain)
It is bounded by the Scandinavian ranges in the north, the Carpathians in the west, the Caucasus in the south and the Urals in the east. In the south it passes into the Caspian lowland.
area: 5 million km2
average height: about 170 m
large rivers: Onega, Pechera, Dnieper, Dniester, Dvina, Don, Volga, Ural
type of vegetation from north to south: tundra, forests, forest-steppes, steppes, semi-deserts
Great Russian Plain - motherland Eastern Slavs. This center of modern Russia, here are the most important cities of the country, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.
West Siberian Plain (lowland)
Occupies most of Western Siberia, bounded in the west by the Urals, in the south by the Kazakh hills, in the east by the Siberian plateau. It is distinguished by a flat, slightly dissected swampy surface (lowland swamps cover up to 50% of its territory). The relief of the West Siberian Plain is one of the most uniform in the world. area: 3 million km2
major rivers: Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei
type of vegetation: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga.
large oil and gas fields
Most of the plain area belongs to forest zone. In Soviet times, there were many Gulag camps here, in which prisoners were engaged in the extraction of timber.
average population density: only 6.2 people. per km2
largest cities: Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tyumen
Central Siberian Plateau
It occupies most of Eastern Siberia, located on the territory between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. The alternation of wide plateaus and ridges is characteristic. Most of the plateau lies in the taiga zone, you can also find areas of permafrost.
area: 3.5 million km2
rivers: Lena, Amur
average population density: only 2.2 people. per km2
largest cities: Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Ulan-Ude
mountain ranges
To the south of the Russian and east of the West Siberian plains are systems of mountain ranges.
Greater Caucasus
The Caucasus Range runs from west-north to south-east between the Black and Caspian Seas on the border with Georgia and Azerbaijan. Its length is over 1100 km. There are about 2000 glaciers here.
The Caucasus is one of the largest resort areas (the group of balneological resorts Caucasian Mineralnye Vody in the North Caucasus) and the center of mountaineering in Russia. The Caucasus is a place of exile for many writers, whose works shaped the Russians' romantic ideas about these mountains.
Here it is the highest mountain in Russia - Elbrus. Its height is 5642 m. It is an isolated two-headed mountain, the cone of an extinct volcano.
Ural
Natural border between Europe and Asia.
Ancient, heavily destroyed mountains, stretching for 2100 km from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the border with Kazakhstan.
The average height does not exceed 600 m.
The highest mountain - (1895 m)
The Urals can be divided into Southern, Middle, Northern and Polar Urals.
This area was inhabited under Catherine II, manufactories for the processing of iron ore were opened here. In the Ural region, industry adversely affects the state of the environment.
Major cities: Yekaterinburg, Perm.
Between Perm and Yekaterinburg there is an extensive pass, along which the most important highways and railways pass, connecting the European part of Russia with the Asian one.
Altai
The highest mountain system of southern Siberia, located on the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Its continuation is the system of Western and Eastern Sayan.
The highest mountain of Altai - (4506 m)
Mountains of Southern Siberia
The mountain system of Southern Siberia is formed by the Sayans and the mountains of Transbaikalia.
Kamchatka Range
The Kamchatka Range with active volcanoes stretches on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Here is the highest peak of the Far East - the active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m) and numerous mineral and thermal springs and geysers.
Seas and islands
The shores of Russia are washed by the waters of 12 seas of three oceans, but it does not have access to the open ocean.
Arctic Ocean
Arctic seas: Barents, White, Kara, Laptev Sea, East Siberian, Chukchi. Although the seas are used for transport purposes, the ports are blocked by ice for several months. A harsh climate is characteristic, fishing is carried out mainly in the mouths of the rivers. The richest flora and fauna are in the Chukchi Sea.
Along the coast of the Arctic seas northern sea route,the shortest sea route (5600 km) between the Far East and European part Russia. The duration of navigation is only 2-4 months per year (for separate sections longer, but with the help of icebreakers). The Northern Sea Route serves the import of fuel, equipment, food, the export of timber, natural resources.
White Sea- the only one that lies south of the Arctic Circle.
Ports:
- at the mouth of the Northern Dvina, from the 15th century. the monastery is known, from the middle of the 16th century. the only seaport, the center of Russian foreign trade
In the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea, the largest non-freezing fishing and commercial port in Russia was founded only at the beginning of the 20th century. Not far from here is a submarine graveyard.
Atlantic Ocean
Baltic Sea
Inland sea, "embedded" in Russia by the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Sea is of great transport importance.
Ports:
Saint Petersburg- built by Peter I as a "window to Europe". In order for ships to reach the sea, bridges are drawn up at night.
- on the open sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea coast is the most important recreational zone of Russia, especially in the east and south, where the mountains of the Caucasus approach the sea.
Resorts:
Sea of Azov
Connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.
The shallowest sea in the world, actually a bay of the Black Sea. Two large rivers Don and Kuban flow into the Sea of Azov. The Sea of Azov was very important for Russia in the 19th century, at which time the Russian merchant fleet of the Sea of Azov reached grandiose proportions.
Port:
- a harbor founded by Peter I after the capture of Azov, built for the first regular navy in the history of Russia
Pacific Ocean
Far Eastern Seas: Bering, Okhotsk, Japanese. These are seas with high bioproductivity, rich in variety and quantity of fish (valuable salmon species, whales).
Main port in the Bering Sea: Anadyr, the capital of Chukotka
The main port in the Sea of Okhotsk: The main port in the Sea of Japan: opening the way to Far East, the end of the Transsib
Sea transport
The share of maritime transport accounts for only 2.9% of the total cargo turnover.
Problems: an outdated fleet that does not allow foreign navigation, shallow ports (two-thirds) that are not capable of receiving modern large-capacity vessels.
Islands
New Earth
The largest archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. In Soviet times New Earth served as a nuclear test site for powerful nuclear tests.
Sakhalin island
- the largest island of Russia, located in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan.
Kurile Islands
Volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, which are part of the Sakhalin region.
Since the 19th century, the Russians have been arguing with the Japanese about the ownership of the southern group of islands - Russia refuses to give part of them (with which it agreed in the agreement reached in 1956) to Japan, and Japan does not recognize the Russian right to own the islands.
Complex issue Kuril Islands- "stumbling block" in Japanese-Soviet (later Japanese-Russian) relations.
Solovetsky Islands
Archipelago in the Onega Bay in the White Sea.
The history of the world-famous Solovetsky monastery goes back to the 13th century. In the 15-16 centuries. the local monastery became one of the centers Orthodox Church Russia.
The Solovetsky Islands have long been also a place of exile for prisoners; Here were the first Soviet Gulag camps. Only since the 90s. 20th century church life on the island resumed again.
Inland waters
lakes
Only about 3 million freshwater and salt lakes are scattered on the territory of Russia. The Russians call the Republic of Karelia “Land of Lakes”.
Caspian Sea
The largest lake in the world washing the shores of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan. Oil, gas and salt are being extracted on the lake, which constantly worsens the ecological situation in this region.
Baikal - "pearl of Siberia"
Most deep lake in the world, the eighth in the world in terms of its area is located in Eastern Siberia, surrounded by mountains. 20% of all fresh water reserves on the surface of the globe are concentrated here.
The length of Baikal is 636 km, the average width is 48 km, max. depth - 1620 m. The average water temperature in July is 13 ˚С. Only one river flows out of Baikal - Angara.
The languages of the local peoples designated it as Bai-kul ("rich lake"), or Baigal do ("big sea"). Baikal has some characteristic differences inherent in the seas: high tide, low tide, 27 islands, a great influence of the water mass on the climate of the region.
Many species of animals and plants live in the lake and on its shores, 3/4 of them are endemic, that is, they live only here.
The still fairly clean lake is under the threat of pollution due to production at a pulp and paper mill, a hydroelectric power station in Irkutsk, and plans to build an oil pipeline along the shore of the lake.
Ladoga lake
The largest lake in Europe. It is located near St. Petersburg.
During the siege of Leningrad, it led across the lake, the only way by which it was possible to supply the city with food and take residents out of the city. In the northern part of Lake Ladoga is Valaam island with the famous monastery.
Lake Onega and Kizhi Island
In Lake Onega there is a small island of Kizhi. A unique monument of Russian architecture has been preserved here, an ensemble of wooden churches, church buildings and houses, which is included in the list of World Cultural Heritage and is under the protection of UNESCO. The oldest of its buildings were built already in the 14th century.
Lake Peipus
Lake Peipsi is located on the border with Estonia. On the ice of Lake Peipus, in 1242, a glorious battle took place between the Russian troops, led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, and the Livonian knights.
Rivers
Russia has 120,000 rivers over 10 km long. Most of them belong to the Arctic Ocean basin.
The largest rivers are in Siberia: Ob with Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena
The longest river in Russia: Ob with Irtysh- 5,410 km (13 times longer than the Vltava)
The most abundant river in Russia: Yenisei- 585 cu. km/h.
Volga
The Volga can be considered the central river of the European part of Russia. The Russians call her "mother".
It's at the same time the longest river in Europe(3530 km). The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Since ancient times, large shipments were made along the Volga, it was here that peasant uprisings broke out under the leadership of S. T. Razin and E. I. Pugachev. In the 18th century A huge army of barge haulers worked on the Volga.
Large and ancient cities on the Volga: Tver, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan (port)
The Volga is connected by canals with the Don, the Baltic and White Seas.
River transport
It is used when swimming along natural (rivers, lakes) and artificial (canals, reservoirs) routes. River transport accounts for only 2% of freight and passenger traffic, since river transport is one of the seasonal modes of transport and its importance since the beginning of the 90s. falls.
The largest waterways are: the Volga with the Kama, the Ob with the Irtysh, the Yenisei, the Lena, the Amur, the White Sea-Baltic and the Volga-Don navigable canals.
White Sea-Baltic Canal
The White Sea-Baltic Canal connects the White Sea and Lake Onega. It was built in the USSR during the first five-year plans by prisoners of Soviet camps. The total length is 227 km.
On Russian rivers and seas, in summer and winter, fishing is very common. This hobby is part of the lifestyle of the older and younger generations of Russian men. In winter, fishermen use special tools to make a hole in the ice.
Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations often go through to rescue amateur fishermen who have been carried out to sea on breakaway ice floes.
List of Natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia
26 titles, including 10 objects according to natural criteria
Virgin forests of Komi;
Lake Baikal;
Volcanoes of Kamchatka;
Golden Mountains of Altai;
Western Caucasus;
Central Sikhote-Alin;
Ubsunur basin;
Wrangel Island;
Putorana Plateau;