The highest part of the Russian plain. Temperature regime of the summer season

Russian, or East European, plain - the second in

the largest after the Amazonian Plain of the Earth. Most of

this plain is located within Russia. Extended

the plain from north to south is more than 2500 km, from west to east

current - about 1000 km. The vastness of the Russian Plain is also

Karelian and Pechora taiga, and Central Russian oak forests, and neo

wild tundra pastures, forest-steppe and steppe. What are

signs unite the plain? First of all, the relief is polo

go-wavy in huge spaces. Flatness rail

epha of such a huge area of the earth's land is due to the must

a stable platform foundation at its base,

occurrence of thick sedimentary strata and prolonged

the impact of 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, the Ros, flows into it. The name Ros (Rus) is relative

Silos both to the Slavic tribe itself, and to that territory,

which it occupied.

Relief. At the base of the East European Plain le

lives of the ancient Precambrian Russian platform that obus

catches the main feature of the relief - flatness. Warehouse

the chatted foundation lies at different depths and comes out

to the surface within the plain only on the Kola floor

island and in Karelia (Baltic shield). On the rest of her

territory, the basement is covered by a sedimentary cover of various

noise power. To the south and east of the shield, one can distinguish it “under

terrestrial "slopes and the Moscow depression (more than 4 km deep),

bounded in the east by the Timan Ridge.

The irregularities of the crystalline basement are determined once

the location of the largest highlands and lowlands.

The Central Russian heights are timed to the uplifts of the foundation

shennost and Timan Ridge. Decreases correspond

lowlands - Caspian and Pechora.

Diverse and scenic relief Russian Plain Fore

world under the influence of external forces, and above all even

vertical glaciation. On the Russian Plain glaciers nadvi

They were from the Scandinavian Peninsula and from the Urals. Traces of ice

Nickname Activity was manifested everywhere in different ways. initially

the glacier "plowed" 11-shaped valleys and races on its way

expanded tectonic depressions; polished rocks, forming re

lef of "ram's foreheads". Narrow, winding, extended and deep

side bays protruding far into the land on the Kola Peninsula

the ditch is the result of the “plowing out” activity of the ice.

At the edge of the glacier, along with rubble and boulders, deposits

clays, loams and sandy loams were found. Therefore, in the northwest

the plains are dominated by hilly-moraine relief, as if

superimposed on the protrusions and depressions of the ancient relief; So,

for example, the Valdai Upland, reaching a height

340 m, is based on rocks of the coal

period, on which the glacier deposited moraine material.

During the retreat of the glacier, fires formed in these areas

lakes: Ilmen, Chudskoe, Pskovskoe.

Along the southern border of glaciation, melted glacial waters

set aside the mass sandy material... Here the planes arose

cue or slightly concave sandy lowlands.

The erosional relief prevails in the southern part of the plain.

Especially strongly dismembered by ravines and ravines

nosti: Valdai, Central Russian, Volga.

Minerals... Long geological history

rya of an ancient platform lying at the base of the plain,

added the wealth of the plain with various useful uses

dug. In crystalline basement and sedimentary

the platform cover contains such mineral resources

those that are important not only for our country,

but also world significance... First of all, these are rich deposits of the same

of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) ore.

Deposits are associated with the sedimentary cover of the platform

hard coal (Vorkuta) and brown coal - Basin near Moscow

and oil - Ural-Vyatka, Timan-Pechora and Caspian

swimming 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 at Lipets

ka, aluminum ores (bauxites) at Tikhvin.

Building materials: sand, gravel, clay, lime

nyak - are widespread almost everywhere.

With outcrops of crystalline Precambrian rocks Bal

tiyskiy shield on the Kola Peninsula and in Karelia

deposits of apatite-nepheline ores and fine

building granites.

The Volga region has long known deposits of cooking

salt (lakes Elton and Baskunchak) and potassium salts in the Kama

Pre-Urals.

Relatively recently in the Arkhangelsk region I discovered

wives diamonds. In the Volga region and the Moscow region, valuable

raw materials for the chemical industry - phosphorites.

Climate... Despite the fact that with the exception of the extreme

north, the entire territory of the Russian Plain is located in the mind

a renowned climatic zone, the climate is varied.

The continentality of the climate grows towards the southeast.

The Russian plain is influenced by the western

nose of air masses and cyclones coming from the Atlantic,

and gets the most compared to other plains

Russian precipitation. The abundance of precipitation in the northwest

plains contributes to the wide distribution of bo

lot, the high flow of rivers and lakes.

The absence of any obstacles in the way of the Arctic

air masses lead to the fact that they penetrate far

South. In spring and autumn, with the arrival of arctic air,

a sharp drop in temperature and freezing has been reported. As well as

arctic masses on the plain arrive polar masses

sy from the northeast and tropical masses from the south (with the latter

are associated with droughts and dry winds in the southern and central

Districts).

Water resources. There are many

number of rivers and streams. The most abundant and longest river Rus

skysky plains and all of Europe - the Volga. Big rivers jav

There are also Dnieper, Don, Severnaya Dvina, Pechora, Kama -

the largest tributary of the Volga. Settled along the banks of these rivers

our distant ancestors, creating fortresses that later became poison

rami of ancient Russian cities. Looks into the waters of the Great River

ancient Pskov, on the banks of the epic Ilmen Lake, where

legendary guslar Sadko was in the sea kingdom, is New

city (before it was called "Lord Novgorod the Great"),

Moscow, the capital of Russia, arose on the Moscow River.

Water resources the most well-supplied north

western and central regions of the Russian Plain. Abundance

lakes, high-water rivers are not only fresh water supplies and

hydropower, but also cheap transport routes, and fish

trades, and recreational facilities. Dense river network of the plain, races

the position of watersheds on low flat elevated

are favorable for the construction of canals, of which there are so many

on the Russian plain. Thanks to the modern kana system

fishing - Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic and Vol

go-Donskoy, as well as the Moscow-Volga channel Moscow, located

woman on a relatively small river Moscow and compare

far from the seas, it became a port of five seas.

Agro-climatic regions are of great value.

plain resources... Most of the Russian Plain receives

enough heat and moisture for cultivating mul

other crops. In the north of the forest zone

grow fiber flax, a crop that requires cool

cloudy and humid summer, rye and oats. All average

the strip of the plain and the south have fertile soils: der

new-podzolic chernozems, gray forest soils and porridge

tanned. Soil plowing is facilitated by calm conditions

flat terrain, which allows you 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 industrial (sugar

beetroot, including sunflower), horticulture and

melon growing. Famous Astrakhan watermelons know and love

the inhabitants of the entire Russian Plain are beaten.

The most characteristic feature of the nature of the Russian Plain is

well-pronounced zoning of its landscapes. To the Edge

in the North, in the cold, very waterlogged in summer

the shores of the Arctic Ocean, there is a tundra zone with

her underpowered and poor nutrients tun-

wood-gley or humus-peaty soils, with state

podded moss-lichen and shrub vegetation

communities. Further south, near the Arctic Circle, first in

river valleys, and then along the interfluves, le

sotundra.

In the middle zone of the Russian Plain, forest

landscapes. In the north, it is dark coniferous taiga to podzolis

th, often swampy soils, in the south - mixed, and behind

themes and broadleaf forests of oak, linden and maple.

Further south, they are replaced by forest-steppe and steppes with fertile

mi, mainly chernozem soils and herbaceous 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 gray soils, saline

kami and salt licks. The vegetation of these places is expressed

new features of aridity.

Diverse, but not yet very well mastered recreation

onny resources of the plain. Her picturesque landscapes are chu

gum resting places. Rivers and lakes of Karelia, its White Nights,

the Museum of Wooden Architecture of Kizhi; powerful Solovetsky mo

infusion; brooding Valaam beckon tourists. Ladoga and

Lake Onega, Valdai and Seliger, legendary Ilmen,

Volga with Zhiguli and Astrakhan delta, Old Russian

cities included in " Gold 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 a variety of natures

new resources, favorable conditions for life liu

dey, that's why here the population density is the highest in Russia

niya, the largest number of large cities with highly developed

industry, developed agriculture.

Currently, work is being carried out more and more actively on the reclamation

tivation of lands, that is, upon the return of territories to their use

walking shape, bringing the devastated landscape into

productive state. Depressions on the site of the former

peat flow, quarries remaining after sand excavation, building

solid stone, coal and iron ore mining from the surface

subject to cultivation. They artificially bring

the soil, their turfing and even afforestation are carried out. Thor

fenny notches are turned into ponds in which fish are raised.

Mos

kovskaya, Tula and Kursk regions. In the Tula region

heaps and dumps are successfully planted with forest.

Pain is carried out near the major cities of the Russian Plain

work to improve the cultural landscape. Create

Xia green belts and forest parks, suburban water basins

us - picturesque reservoirs that are used as

recreation areas.

In large industrial cities, attention is paid to

measures for the purification of water and air from industrial

emissions, dust control, noise control. Reinforced and toughened environmental

gical control over vehicles, including

le and behind private cars, which is getting more and more painful

more and more.

Dangerous natural phenomena: tornadoes, droughts (southeast, south),

ice, hail, floods.

Ecological problems: pollution of rivers, lakes, soils, at

mosphere - industrial waste; radioactive dawn

life after the Chernobyl disaster.

Moscow is one of the ten most environmentally unfriendly

the resulting cities of the world.

NORTH CAUCASUS

Geographical position. On a huge isthmus between

do the Black and Caspian Seas, from the Taman RoApsheron-

on the peninsula, there are the majestic Bol mountains

Shogo Caucasus.

The North Caucasus is the southernmost part of the Russian territory.

ritories. Along the ridges of the Main, or Vodorazdelny, Caucasus

skysky ridge is the border of the Russian Federation with the country

us Transcaucasia.

The Caucasus is separated from the Russian Plain by the Kumo-Manychskaya

depression, in the place of which in the mid-Quaternary time there is

there was a sea strait.

The North Caucasus is an area located on the border

temperate and subtropical zones.

The epithet “sa

my, the most ". The latitudinal zonality is replaced by the vertical here

noisy zoning. For an inhabitant of the plains, the Caucasus Mountains are bright

an example of "multi-storey" nature.

Relief, geological structure and minerals.

The Caucasus is a young mountain structure formed in the Peri

alpine folding. The Caucasus includes:

Caucasus, Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia. Russia includes

only the Ciscaucasia and the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus.

The Greater Caucasus is often presented as a single ridge.

In fact, this is a system of mountain ranges.

From Black Sea coast to Mount Elbrus is located

Western Caucasus, from Elbrus to Kazbek - Central Kav

kaz, east of Kazbek to the Caspian Sea - Eastern Kav

kaz. In the longitudinal direction, there is an axial zone occupied by

Dividing (Main), and Lateral ridges (see Fig. 14).

The northern slopes of the Caucasus form the Skalisty ridges,

Pasture and Black Mountains. They have a cuesta structure -

these are ridges with one slope gently sloping and the other steep

breaking off. The reason for the formation of cuest is interlayering

layers composed of rocks of different hardness.

The chains of the Western Caucasus begin near Tamansky along

luostrov. At first, these are not even mountains, but hills with soft

outlines. They rise when moving to the east. The mountains

Fisht (2867 m) and Oshten (2808 m) are the highest parts of the

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

altitude of 3000 m, only one pass - Krestovy on Voenno-

Georgian road - lies at an altitude of 2379 m.

The highest summits are located in the Central Caucasus

us - two-headed Elbrus, an extinct volcano, the highest

the top of Russia (5642 m), and Kazbek (5033 m).

The eastern part of the Greater Caucasus is mainly

the numerous ridges of mountainous Dagestan (translated as Country

In the structure of the North Caucasus, various

nye tectonic structures... There is a warehouse in the south

blocky mountains and foothills of the Greater Caucasus. This is part

alpine geosynclinal zone.

Fluctuations crust accompanied by the bends of the earth

layers, their stretching, faults, ruptures. By way

cracks formed from great depths to the surface of

magma erupted, leading to the formation of numerous

ore deposits.

Rise in recent geological periods - Neogene

high and quaternary - turned the Greater Caucasus into a high

mountainous country. The rise in the axial part of the Greater Caucasus from

was carried out by intensive subsidence of the earth's strata along

the edges of an emerging mountain range. This led to the image

the foothill troughs: in the west of the Indalo-Kuban and

in the east of the Terek-Caspian.

Complex story geological development region - at

rank of the wealth of the Caucasus subsoil with various minerals

shareable. The main wealth of the 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. Sources are varied in chemical composition,

in temperature and are unusually useful.

Climate. The North Caucasus is moderately located in the south.

th belt - there is a parallel of 45 ° N. w., that is, clearly

the equidistant position of the territory between

du equator and pole, which determines its soft, warm

ly climate, transitional from temperate to subtropical.

This situation determines the amount of salt received.

night heat: in the summer 17-18 kcal for each square

centimeter, which is 1.5 times more than the average receives

european part of Russia. Except for the highlands,

the climate in the North Caucasus is mild, warm, on the plains

the average July temperature everywhere exceeds +20 ° С, 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. There is th

genus Sochi, where the warmest winter in Russia with temperature

January +6.1 ° C.

The abundance of warmth and light allows the vegetation of the North

The Caucasus to develop in the north of the region for seven months,

in the Ciscaucasia - eight, and on the Black Sea coast, to the south

from Gelendzhik - up to 11 months. This means that when the

with the appropriate selection of crops, you can get two crops here

per year.

North Caucasus very difficult circulation

various air masses. This area may be penetrated

pump various air masses.

The main source of moisture for the North Caucasus is

the Atlantic is on. That's why western regions Northern

The Caucasus is characterized by a large amount of precipitation. Annual

the amount of precipitation in the foothill regions in the west is

380-520 mm, and in the east, in the Caspian region, - 220-250 mm. This is why

Mu in the east of the region there are frequent droughts and dry winds.

Highlands climate very different from the plains and

foothill parts. The first major 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 make them 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

the duration of the warm season due to a decrease in temperature

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

there is a snow line, or the border of "eternal ice". On high

over 4000 m, even in July, positive temperatures would

are very rare.

The third difference between the high mountain climate is its amazing

variety from place to place due to the height of the mountains, exposure

by the slope, proximity or distance from the sea.

The fourth difference is the peculiarity of atmospheric circulation.

Chilled air from the highlands rushes down to the bottom

very narrow intermontane valleys. When lowering on each

From the distance of 100 m, the air heats up by about 1 ° C. Coming down from

an altitude of 2500 m, it heats up by 25 ° C and becomes warm,

even hot. This is how the local wind is formed - the hair dryer. Oso hair dryers

especially frequent in the spring, when the intensity of the

circulating air masses. Unlike a hair dryer, with a second

boron is formed when masses of dense cold air are formed (from

Greek Loreav - north, north wind), strong cold low

blowing wind. Flowing over low ridges into the terrain with

warmer thinner air, it is relatively small

heats up and "falls" downwind at high speed

slope. Bora is observed mainly in winter, where

the mountain range is bordered by the sea or a vast body of water.

The Novorossiysk pine forest is widely known. And yet leading

climate factor in the mountains, influencing very strongly

to all other components of nature, is the height, leading

leading to vertical zoning and climate, and natural zones.

The rivers The North Caucasus are numerous and just like the rail

ef and climate are clearly divided into flat and mountainous. Especially

numerous turbulent mountain rivers, the main source of

which are fed by snow and glaciers during the melting period.

The largest rivers are the Kuban and Terek, with their numerous

tributaries, as well as originating in the Stavropol

the Yegorlyk and Kalaus heights. In the lower reaches of the Kuban and Te

the river is flooded - vast swampy areas

things covered with reeds and reeds.

The wealth of the Caucasus is fertile soils... In the western

parts of the Ciscaucasia are dominated by chernozems, and in the eastern,

in the drier part, chestnut soils.

The soils of the Black Sea coast are intensively used for orchards, berries

nicks, vineyards. The most north are in the Sochi area

the world's most famous tea plantations.

In the mountains of the Greater Caucasus, the high-altitude

zonation. The lower belt is occupied by deciduous forests with

the predominance of oak. Above are beech forests, 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 is a lush

nye subalpine meadows with thickets of the Caucasian rhododendron.

They move into low-grass alpine meadows, behind which

the highest belt of snowfields and glaciers follows.

Variety of natural territorial complexes Behold

the true Caucasus is due to their differences in geographic

location, in particular altitude. Most

it is clearly possible to distinguish natural complexes of plains, intermountain

valleys, high mountains.

Reserves. Caucasian - northern slopes of the western

parts of the Greater Caucasus; protection of unique flora (yew, itself

shit, walnut, noble chestnut) and fauna (tur, chamois, Caucasus

deer, etc.).

Teberdinsky - northern slopes of the Main Bol ridge

Shogo 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 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 are located. 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 (Sudetenland, etc.) 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 the Mugodzhars. Some researchers include V.-E. R. the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia, others attribute 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 as a whole to the Russian plate of the ancient East European Platform, in the south - the northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - the southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform .

Difficult relief V.-E. R. characterized by small fluctuations in altitude (average height 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 on the Caspian lowland, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

On V.-E. R. two geomorphological areas are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern non-moraine with erosional landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshchera, etc.), as well as small uplands (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Haanja, etc.). In the east - Timan ridge. The extreme north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechora and others). There are also a number of large uplands - tundra, among them - Lovozero tundra and others.

In the northwest, in the area of distribution of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief prevails: hilly and ridge-moraine, depression with flat lake-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoe, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloye, etc.), the so-called poozerie. To the south and east, in the area of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating secondary moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; there are basins of drained lakes. Moraine-erosional hills and ridges (Belorusskaya Ridge, Smolensk-Moscow Upland, etc.) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Verkhnevolzhskaya, etc.). In some places, karst landforms are developed (White Sea-Kuloi plateau, etc.). Ravines and gullies are more common, as well as river valleys with asymmetric slopes. On the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, woodlands (Polessye lowland, etc.) and opolye (Vladimirskoye, Yuryevskoye, etc.) are typical.

In the north, in the tundra, insular permafrost is widespread, in the extreme northeast - continuous permafrost with a thickness of up to 500 m and temperatures from –2 to –4 ° C. To the south, in the forest-tundra, the permafrost thickness decreases, its temperature rises to 0 ° C. Permafrost degradation, thermal abrasion on the sea coasts with destruction and retreat of the shores up to 3 m per year are noted.

For the southern non-moraine area V.-E. R. large uplands with erosional gully-ravine relief are characteristic (Volynskaya, Podolskaya, Pridneprovskaya, Priazovskaya, Central Russian, Privolzhskaya, Ergeni, Bugulma-Belebeyevskaya, Obshchenny Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and areas of the Dnieper plain (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 (Vysokoe Zavolzhye, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like sediments and bedrocks come to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are complicated by the weathering remnants of bizarre forms - 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 dominated by western air masses. With distance from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the continental climate increases, it becomes more severe and dry, and in the southeast, on the Caspian lowland, it is continental, with hot dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature is from –2 to –5 ° C in the southwest and drops to –20 ° C in the northeast. The average July temperature rises 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 scarce, 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 (in the tundra to 300–250 mm) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (in the semi-desert and desert up to 200–150 mm). The maximum precipitation occurs in the summer. In winter, the 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 semi-desert and desert - dust storms.

Inland waters

Most of the rivers V.-E. R. refers to the basins of the Atlantic and North. Arctic oceans. The Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman and others flow into the Baltic Sea; the Dnieper, Dniester, and Southern Bug carry their waters to the Black Sea; into 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, belongs to the basin of internal flow, mainly of the Caspian Sea, as well as the Ural, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Maly Uzen, etc. All rivers are mainly snow-fed from spring flood. In the southwest of East -Europe. 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 km 2 in the north to 0.1 l / s per km 2 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 V.-E. R. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing to the south, is regulated. Significant stretches of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester and others have been transformed into cascades of large reservoirs (Rybinskoe, Kuibyshevskoe, Tsimlyanskoe, Kremenchugskoe, Kakhovskoe, etc.).

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; moraine - Chudsko-Pskovskoe, Ilmen, Beloe, etc., estuaries (Chizhinsky floods, etc.), karst (Zherlo Okonskoe in Polesie, etc.), thermokarst in the north and suffusion in the south V.-E. R. and others. 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 zonation of natural landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographic zone, and only the northern part is in the subarctic. In the north, where permafrost is widespread, small areas with expansion to the east are occupied by the tundra zone: typical moss-lichen, herb-moss-dwarf shrubs (lingonberry, blueberry, crowberry, etc.) and southern shrub ( dwarf birch, willow) on tundra-gley and bog soils, as well as on dwarf illuvial-humus podzols (on the sands). These are uncomfortable landscapes for living with a low ability to restore. To the south, a narrow strip of forest stretches a zone of forest-tundra with low-growing birch and spruce woodlands, in the east - with larch. This is a pasture area with man-made and field landscapes around rare cities. Forests cover about 50% of the plain. The dark coniferous zone (mainly spruce, and in the east - with the participation of fir and larch) of the European taiga, in places swampy (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 to the east. To the south, there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-broad-leaved (oak, spruce, pine) forests on sod-podzolic soils, which is most widespread 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, there is a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests on gray forest soils; forests wedge 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 opolii are peculiar - with plowed flat areas, the remains of oak forests and a ravine-and-gully network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals, there is a forest-steppe zone with oak forests (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich-herb-cereal meadow steppes (some areas have been preserved in reserves) on chernozems that make up the main fund of arable land. The share of arable land in the forest-steppe zone is up to 80%. The southern part of V.-E. R. (except for 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. In most of the Caspian lowland, cereal-wormwood semi-deserts prevail on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-saltwort deserts on brown soils in combination with solonetzes and saline soils.

Ecological situation

V.-E. R. mastered long ago and significantly changed by man. In many natural landscapes, natural-anthropogenic complexes dominate, especially in steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and deciduous forests (up to 75%). Territory V.-E. R. highly urbanized. The most densely populated (up to 100 people / km 2) are the zones of mixed and deciduous forests of the Central region V.-E. r., where territories with a relatively satisfactory or favorable ecological situation occupy only 15% of the area. Particularly tense ecological situation in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Voronezh, etc.). In Moscow, emissions into the air amounted to (2014) 996.8 thousand tons, or 19.3% of the emissions from 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. The centers 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 18 034 mg / kg) of the Samara region, in the districts 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 the facilities of the oil and gas industry 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 salt marshes, and the appearance of microelement anomalies. In agricultural areas, soil contamination with pesticides, including the banned DDT, is noted.

Numerous rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are heavily polluted (2014), especially in the center and south of V.-E. r., including the rivers Moscow, Pakhra, Klyazma, Myshega (Aleksin), Volga, etc., mainly within cities and downstream. Fresh water intake (2014) in the Central Federal District amounted to 10,583.62 million m 3; the volume of domestic water consumption is the highest in the Moscow region (76.56 m 3 / person) and in Moscow (69.27 m 3 / person), the discharge of polluted Wastewater also the highest in these regions - 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%. Discharge of polluted water in St. Petersburg reached 1,054.14 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. Waste disposal is an acute problem. In 2014, the Belgorod region collected 150.3 million tons of waste - the largest in the Central Federal District, as well as disposed waste - 107.511 million tons. Typical anthropogenic relief: waste heaps (height up to 50 m), quarries, etc. Leningrad region over 630 quarries with an area of more than 1 hectare. Large open-pit mines remain in Lipetsk and Kursk regions. The taiga is home to the main areas of logging and timber processing industry, which are powerful pollutants. natural environment... Clear felling and cuttings, littering of forests are observed. The share of small-leaved species is growing, including on the site of former arable lands and hay meadows, as well as spruce forests, which are less resistant to pests and windblows. The number of fires increased, in 2010 more than 500 thousand hectares of land burned. Secondary waterlogging is noted. The number and biodiversity of the animal world is decreasing, 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 soil washout 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 land is erosion-prone, the density of the ravine network reaches 1–2.0 km / km 2. The processes of siltation and eutrophication of reservoirs are increasing, and the shallowing of small rivers continues. Secondary soil salinization and waterlogging are noted.

Specially protected natural areas

For the study and protection of typical and rare natural landscapes, numerous reserves, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries have been created. In the European part of Russia, there are (2016) 32 nature reserves and 23 national parks, including 10 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central-Lesnoy, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Astrakhan reserve(1919), Askania-Nova (1921, Ukraine), Bialowieza Forest(1939, Belarus). Among the largest reserves is the Nenets Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2), and among the national parks - Vodlozersky National Park (4683.4 km 2). Sites of the primary taiga "Virgin Komi Forests" and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the list World heritage... There are many reserves: federal (Tarusa, Kamennaya steppe, Mshinskoe swamp) and regional, as well as natural monuments (Irgiz floodplain, Racheyskaya 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 comes out 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 Seas.

Natural zones The most widespread natural zones (from north to south): Tundra (north of the Kola Peninsula) Taiga (northern part of European Russia, excluding the Murmansk region; partly Central Russia). Mixed forests (Eastern Ukraine, Belarus, middle stripe Russia, Upper Volga region, Baltic) Broad-leaved forests (Poland, western Ukraine) Forest-steppe (middle Volga region, south of the Central Federal District). Steppes and semi-deserts (Caspian lowland)

Tectonic structure The East European elevated plain consists of elevations 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-Belebey Upland in the Urals part. The maximum elevation of the Timan Ridge is somewhat lower (471 m). According to the peculiarities of the orographic pattern, three stripes are clearly distinguished within the East European Plain: central, northern and southern. Through the central part of the plain passes a strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands: Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and General 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 prevail, on the surface of which, here and there, smaller uplands are scattered here and there in garlands and singly. From the west to the east-northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai Uplands and the Northern Uvaly stretch here, replacing each other. They are mainly used for watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal (closed-drainage Aral-Caspian) basins. From the Northern Ridges, 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 flat-flat 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, volcanism. Large hills and lowlands have arisen as a result of tectonic movements, including along faults. The height of some highlands and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters. On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits lie almost horizontally, but their thickness in some places exceeds 20 km. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, hills and ridges are formed (for example, 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 represented by iron ores of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. The main ore here is magnetite, which occurs in Proterozoic quartzites, but ore deposits in the weathering crusts of the Precambrian basement enriched with iron oxides are currently being exploited. The balance reserves of the 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 ore exceeds the average for Russia and is 41.5%. Developed deposits include 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 Yakovlevskoye deposit (Belgorod region) by the method of deep freezing in conditions of heavily watered sedimentary rocks. Tula and Oryol regions have small reserves of this type of raw material. Ores are represented by brown iron ores with an iron content of 39 -46%. They lie close to the surface, and they are mined in an open way. Open-pit mining of iron ores in the KMA have large-scale anthropogenic impacts on the nature of the Black Earth zone of the Russian Plain. The plowing of agricultural land in 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. The dumps have accumulated about 25 million tons of overburden, 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 thousand hectares of chernozems have already been alienated for industrial construction, and in the future this figure may double. The total area of agricultural land affected by the production of KMA exceeds 4 million hectares. Anthropogenic and technogenic pressures on water bodies... The total water consumption at the mining enterprises of the KMA is 700-750 million m³ per year, which corresponds to the natural annual water flow within this region. Thus, dehydration of the territories of the Kursk and Belgorod regions occurs. The groundwater level in the Belgorod region 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 environment... The average grain yield within the KMA is noticeably lower than in general for the Belgorod and Kursk regions. Therefore, it is necessary to continue work on restoration (reclamation) of lands disturbed by mine workings, using the black soil and overburden accumulated in dumps. This will make it possible to recreate up to 150 thousand hectares of arable, forest and recreational land in the region. In the Belgorod region, there are explored reserves of bauxite with an alumina content of 20 to 70% (Vislovskoye deposit).

On the Russian Plain, there are chemical raw materials: phosphorites (Kursk-Shchigrovsky basin, Yegoryevskoe deposit in the Moscow region and Polpinskoe in Bryansk), potash salts (Verkhnekamsky basin, one of the largest in the world - contains a quarter of the world's potassium reserves, balance reserves in all categories are over 173 billion tons), rock salt (again, the Verkhnekamsky basin, as well as the Iletskoye deposit in the Orenburg region, Lake Baskunchak in the Astrakhan region and Elton in the Volgograd region). Construction materials such 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 - Volskoye in the Saratov region. The Tashlinskoye glass sands deposit in the Ulyanovsk region is a large source of raw materials for the entire glass industry in Russia and the CIS. The Kiembaevskoe asbestos deposit is located in the Orenburg region. Quartz sands of Dyatkovsky (Bryansk region) and Gus. The Khrustalnensky (Vladimir region) deposits are used for the production of artificial quartz, glass, crystal glassware; The kaolin clays of Konakov (Tver region) and Gzhel (Moscow region) are used in the porcelain and faience industry. Coal and brown coal reserves are concentrated in the Pechora, Donetsk and Moscow region basins. Brown coals of the Moscow Region Basin are used not only as fuel, but also as a chemical raw material. Its role in the fuel and energy complex of the Central Federal District is increasing due to high costs for the import of energy resources from other regions of the country. Coal near Moscow can also be used as a process 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 gas reserves in Russia). Oil shale deposits are known in the Pskov and Leningrad regions, in the Middle Volga region (Kashpirovskoe deposit near Syzran) and in the northern part of the Caspian syneclise (Obshsyrtskoe deposit). Peat reserves are of no small importance in the fuel balance of some regions of the Russian Plain. On the territory of the Central Federal District there are about 5 billion tons of them (industrial development is being 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 peat deposits, the geological reserves of which are about 2 billion t. The Shaturskaya 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, siderite, 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 activities often change the shape of the relief. In the areas of coal mining (Donbass, Vorkuta, the Moscow region), 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 sinkholes and wells, subsidence and landslides. In the Middle Volga region, Moscow region, sinkholes and craters are formed over 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 heaps. Many areas of the Russian Plain are covered with a dense network of railways and highways, and road construction is accompanied by the creation of embankments, ditches, small quarries, from which material for road construction was taken. The Russian plain, in comparison with all other physical and geographical countries of Russia, is the most explored 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 - forest-steppes, mixed and broad-leaved forests - has been changed most of all. Even the taiga and tundra of the Russian Plain were involved in the sphere economic activity earlier than the analogous zones of Siberia, therefore, they are significantly changed.

Rivers, lakes The surface waters of the East European Plain are closely related to the climate, relief, geological structure, and, consequently, to 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 with young river valleys prevails. In the south, in the non-glacial area, there is an erosional relief with a well-pronounced asymmetry of the slopes of valleys, gullies and watersheds. The direction of the river flow of the plain is predetermined by its orography, geostructures and deep faults. Rivers flow in lowered depressions formed in the ruptures of the earth's crust, at the contact points 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, as well as the basins of large lakes - Chudskoye, Ilmen, Beloye, Kubenskoye, are laid. Runoff from the East European Plain occurs into the basins of the Arctic, Atlantic oceans and into the closed area of the Caspian Sea basin. The main watershed between them runs along the Ergeny, the Volga and Central Russian uplands, Valdai and along the Northern Uvals. The highest average long-term annual runoff (10 -12 l / s s 1 km 2) is typical for the rivers of the Barents Sea basin - Pechora, Severnaya Dvina and Mezen, and the Volga runoff modulus 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 provision with river flow, the East European Plain is divided into three zones: a) northern regions of high abundance; b) central regions of average availability with a lack of water in industrial and urban centers; c) southern and southeastern regions (southern Volga region, Zadonia) with low security. Rivers are associated with the solution of the most important problems of transport, hydropower, irrigation, water supply and the development of fisheries, and, consequently, the creation of dams, reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations. Changes to 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 the rich grain granaries of the country, where the highest quality wheat is grown, the forests of the North, the endless expanses of which are an ideal natural pasture and unique habitat for hundreds of thousands of beasts. 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.

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Special features

East European Plain on the map

Within a huge flat area, seasonal temperatures and humidity levels fluctuate within significant limits. Moreover, in one region snowfalls can occur, creating impenetrable drifts, while in the other endless forests make noise with foliage and fragrant meadows bloom. It is known that these expanses are part of the East European Platform. It is ancient and geologically stable. with a giant shield on the surface, which is closely bordered by the belts of tectonic folding. The outlines of this flat territory, the most significant on this side of the planet, impress anyone who is familiar with the basics of geography.

What the East European Plain looks like on the map:

frame its eastern border of the ridge;
the southern outskirts are closely adjacent to the Mediterranean fold 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 practically endless expanses, only insignificant hills can be found, and even then only in the northern regions.

As a result of the movement of the glacier to the south, the elements of tectonic plates can be seen simply with our own eyes, in the region of Karelia and in some areas of the Baltic. Further movement of endless ice masses, combined with a low altitude relative to sea level, resulted in an almost ideal surface.

In terms of economic opportunities, the area of this vast territory differs most densely populated in rural areas, there is a huge number of cities and towns, urban-type settlements. Natural resources impressive variety. For many thousands of years, the vastness of the territory has been successfully developed by man as an industrial and agricultural base.

About tectonics

The rather complex geological structure and structural features have been investigated for many decades by various scientists from amateur amateurs to world-renowned professional scientists who gave their description the territory of the East European Plain.

In some scientific schools, it is better known as the Russian Plain, on which geologists distinguish two of the most significant protrusions - 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 significant geological age of formations and structures. The foundation consists of several layers.

Archean layer complex. The tectonic structure is quite peculiar, characterized by the exposure of the basement. These are the regions of the Baltic, Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, known for their rocks, as well as the Konotop, Podolsk and Pridneprovsky massifs. They formed more than three million years ago, are rich in significant deposits of graphite, ferruginous quartzite and other highly valuable minerals. Another type of Archean is no less interesting, which is represented by the Voronezh anteclise, where the basement is insignificant. The age of the formations according to the data today is about 2.7 million years.

Features of descents and hills

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 a multi-meter layer 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, ups and downs appeared on the surface at a fairly low altitude 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 multi-thousandth pressure of glaciers that literally leveled the surface of these territories, the formation of the basement is distinguished by an intermittent trend. A feature of the structure is alternate arrangement of relief ups and downs... The profile looks quite interesting in the field of geology:

subsidence of the Caspian lowland area;
Sarmatian Upland;
The Baltic-Central Russian lowering of the relief;
zone of the Baltic shield.

According to the data obtained thanks to modern calculation methods, there is reliable information about the thickness of the platform pie in different regions of the plain. Average data within 35-40 kilometers. The maximum is the Voronezh anteclise - about 55 kilometers; the minimum is attributed by scientists 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 recorded 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 syneclises and anteclises

The Caspian syneclise is considered the most ancient; numerous deep salt domes are determined here, which most of all typical for the Guryev zone.

Here they occupy areas from tens to hundreds of square meters. kilometers. Despite the name, the most diverse shapes and outlines are inherent in the 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 outlines are determined by a pair of uplifts - Soligalichsky and Sukhonsky. The researchers define the lowest part of the region near the city of Syktyvkar, where the Seregovsky salt domes formed by Devonian salts were identified.
The Volga-Ural anteclise is practically an equal in importance tectonic element. Numerous differences in relief are recorded here, the most significant height- This is the Mordovian Tokmov vault. Anteclise carries

The relief of Russia is diverse, but most of the territory is characterized by the flatness of vast territories and low contrast of the relief.

From the point of view of 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 part, which is predominantly flat, and the eastern part, where mountains predominate.

Plains

Great Russian Plain (or East European Plain)

It is bounded by the Scandinavian ridges 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
big rivers: Onega, Pechera, Dnieper, Dniester, Dvina, Don, Volga, Ural
type of vegetation from north to south: tundra, forests, forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert

Great Russian Plain - homeland Eastern Slavs... it center of modern Russia, here are the most important cities of the country, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

West Siberian Plain (lowland)

Takes up most of Western Siberia, bounded in the west by the Urals, in the south by the Kazakh hummocks, in the east by the Siberian plateau. It is characterized by a flat, poorly dissected boggy surface (low-lying bogs cover up to 50% of its territory). The relief of the West Siberian Plain is one of the most homogeneous in the world. area: 3 million km2
large rivers: Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei
type of vegetation: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga.
large oil and gas fields
Most of the plain 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

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, and permafrost areas can also be found.
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 to the east of the West Siberian plains are the 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 Caucasian Mineralnye Vody group of balneological resorts in the North Caucasus) and the center of mountaineering in Russia. The Caucasus is a place of exile for many writers, whose works have shaped the romantic ideas of Russians about these mountains.

Here it is the highest mountain in Russia - Elbrus... Its height is 5642 m. It is an isolated two-headed mountain, a cone of an extinct volcano.

Ural

Natural border between Europe and Asia.
Ancient, heavily destroyed mountains, stretching for 2,100 km from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the border with Kazakhstan.
The average height does not exceed 600 m.
Highest mountain - (1895 m)
The Urals can be divided into the South, Middle, North and Polar Urals.
This area was inhabited during the reign of Catherine II, and manufactories for the processing of iron ore were opened here. In the Urals region, industry adversely affects the environment.
Major cities: Yekaterinburg, Perm.
There is an extensive pass between Perm and Yekaterinburg, along which the most important highways and railways connect the European part of Russia with the Asian one.

Altai

The highest mountain range of southern Siberia, located on the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Its continuation is the system of the Western and Eastern Sayan.
The highest mountain in Altai - (4506 m)

Mountains of Southern Siberia

The mountain system of Southern Siberia is formed by the Sayan Mountains and the Transbaikalia mountains.

Kamchatka ridge

The Kamchatka Range with active volcanoes stretches across 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 has no outlet to the open ocean.

Arctic Ocean

Arctic seas: Barents, White, Kara, Laptev Sea, East Siberian, Chukotka... 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 river estuaries. The richest flora and fauna are in the Chukchi Sea.
Along the coast of the Arctic seas passes 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 selected sites longer, but with the help of icebreakers). The Northern Sea Route serves for the import of fuel, equipment, food, timber and 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, center of Russian foreign trade

In the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea, the largest ice-free fishing and commercial port in Russia, was founded only at the beginning of the 20th century. Not far from here is the submarine cemetery.

Atlantic Ocean

Baltic Sea

The inland sea, "cut" into Russia by the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Sea is of great transport importance.

Ports:
St. Petersburg- built by Peter I as a "window to Europe". For ships to reach the sea, bridges are raised at night.

- on the coast of the open sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea coast is the most important recreational zone in Russia, especially in the east and south, where the Caucasus mountains rise to the sea.
Resorts:

Azov sea

It is connected with the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.
The shallowest sea in the world, in fact, the Black Sea bay. 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:
- the 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: Beringovo, Okhotsk, Japanese... These are seas with high biological productivity, rich in fish species and quantity (valuable salmon fish, 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, end of Transsib

Sea transport

The share of sea transport accounts for only 2.9% of the total cargo turnover.
Problems: an outdated fleet that does not allow overseas navigation, shallow-water ports (two-thirds) that are unable to receive modern large-tonnage 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 in Russia, located in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan.

Kurile Islands

Volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, which are part of the Sakhalin Region.
Since the 19th century, the Russians are still arguing with the Japanese about the ownership of the southern group of islands - Russia refuses to give their part (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 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 a place of exile for prisoners; the first Soviet camps of the Gulag were located here. Only since the 90s. 20th century church life on the island resumed again.

Inland waters

Lakes

There are only about 3 million freshwater and salt lakes scattered on the territory of Russia. The Russians call the Republic of Karelia the "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"

The most deep lake in the world, the eighth largest in the world in 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, the 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 Bay-kul ("rich lake"), or Baigal doi ("big sea"). Baikal has some characteristic differences inherent in the seas: high tide, low tide, 27 islands, the great influence of the mass of water 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 planning to build an oil pipeline along the lake shore.

Ladoga lake

The largest lake in Europe... It is located near St. Petersburg.
During the blockade of Leningrad, it led along the lake, the only way along which it was possible to supply the city with food and take residents away from the city. In the northern part of Lake Ladoga there is Valaam island with the famous monastery.

Lake Onega and Kizhi Island

There is a small island of Kizhi in Lake Onega. A unique monument of Russian architecture, an ensemble of wooden churches, church buildings and houses, which is included in the list of World Cultural Heritage and is protected by UNESCO, has been preserved here. The oldest of its buildings were built already in the 14th century.

Lake Peipsi

Lake Peipsi is located on the border with Estonia. On the ice of Lake Peipsi, in 1242, the glorious battle of the Russian troops led by Prince Alexander Nevsky with the Livonian knights took place.

The rivers

There are 120,000 rivers in Russia with a length of more than 10 km. Most of them relate 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 cubic meters km / h.

Volga

The Volga can be considered the central river of the European part of Russia. Russians call her "mother".
It is at the same time the longest river in Europe(3530 km). The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Since ancient times, large transportations have been carried out 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 sailing 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: Volga with Kama, Ob with Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, White Sea-Baltic and 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.

Fishing is very common on Russian rivers and seas, in summer and winter. This hobby is part of the lifestyle of the older and younger generation of Russian men. In winter, fishermen use special devices to make a hole in the ice.
EMERCOM of Russia employees often have to rescue amateur fishermen carried out to sea on the breakaway ice floes.