Ural economic region located at the junction of the European and Asian parts of Russia. He borders with the Northern, Volga-Vyatka, Volga and West Siberian economic regions. In the south it borders on Kazakhstan. The Ural is a land area, but along the Ural, Kama, Volga rivers and canals it has exit to the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas. Here developed transport network: transit railways and roads, as well as oil and gas pipelines. transport network connects Ural with the European part of Russia and Siberia.

The territory of the Urals includes Ural mountain system, stretching from north to south for more than 2 thousand km. with a width of 40 to 150 km (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Ural Mountains ()

By the nature of the relief and landscapes allocate Polar, Subpolar, Northern, Middle and Southern Urals. The main territory is medium-high ridges and ranges from 800 to 1200 m high. Only a few peaks reach a height of 1500 m above sea level. highest peak- Mount Narodnaya (1895 m), which is located in the Northern Urals (Fig. 3). In the literature, there are two variants of stress: Folk and Folk. The first is substantiated by the presence of the Naroda River at the foot of the mountain, and the second refers to 20-30 years. of the last century, when people sought to dedicate names to the symbols of the state.

Rice. 3. Mount Narodnaya ()

Mountain ranges stretch in parallel in the meridian direction. The ridges are separated by longitudinal mountain depressions, in which rivers flow. The mountains are composed of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Karst is developed on the western slopes, there are many caves. One of the most famous is the Kungur Ice Cave.

Karst- a set of processes and phenomena associated with the activity of water and expressed in the dissolution of such rocks as gypsum, limestone, dolomite, rock salt, and the formation of voids in them (Fig. 4).

natural conditions unfavorable. The mountain range of the Urals influenced climate region. It changes in three directions: from north to south, from west to east and from the foot of the mountains to the peaks. The Ural Mountains are a climatic barrier to the transfer of moist air masses from west to east, i.e. from the Atlantic. Despite the insignificant height of the mountains, they prevent the spread of air masses to the east. Thus, the Cis-Urals receives more precipitation than in the Trans-Urals, and permafrost is also observed in the north of the Ural Mountains.

Diversity mineral resources The Urals is unparalleled among the economic regions of Russia (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Economic map of the Urals. ()

The Urals has long been the largest mining and metallurgical base of the country. There are 15 thousand deposits of various minerals here. The main wealth of the Urals is ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Ore raw materials prevail in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, in the eastern foothills and the Trans-Urals. 2/3 of the iron ore reserves of the Urals are contained in the Kachkanar deposit. Oil fields are concentrated in the Perm Territory, Udmurtia, Bashkiria and the Orenburg Region. The largest gas condensate field in the European part of the country is located in the Orenburg region. Copper ores - in Krasnouralsk, Revda (Sverdlovsk region), Karabash (Chelyabinsk region), Mednogorsk (Orenburg region). Small reserves of coal are located in the Chelyabinsk basin, and brown coal - in Kopeysk. The Urals has large reserves of potash and table salts in the Verkhnekamsk basin. The region is also rich in precious metals: gold, silver, platinum. More than 5 thousand minerals have been found here. In the Ilmensky Reserve, on an area of ​​​​303 km 2, 5% of all minerals of the Earth are concentrated.

40% of the territory of the Urals is covered with forest. Forest performs recreational and sanitary functions. Northern forests are mainly for industrial use. The Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk Region, Bashkiria and Udmurtia are rich in forests. Cultivated lands and arable lands predominate in the structure of land. Soils almost everywhere are depleted as a result of human impact.

Rice. 6. Nature of the Perm Territory ()

The Urals is also rich in rivers (Fig. 6). There are 69 thousand of them here, but the region is unevenly provided with water resources. Most of the rivers are located on the western slope of the Urals. Rivers originate in the mountains, but in the upper reaches they are shallow. The region contains the most important educational tourism centers, historical and architectural monuments - such cities as Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Solikamsk, Izhevsk. Here are interesting objects of nature: Kungur Ice Cave (5.6 km long, consisting of 58 ice grottoes and a huge number of lakes (Fig. 7)), Kapova Cave (Republic of Bashkiria, with ancient wall paintings), as well as the Chusovaya River - one of the most beautiful rivers in Russia ( Fig. 8).

Rice. 7. Kungur ice cave ()

Rice. 8. River Chusovaya ()

Many of the resources of the Urals have been exploited for more than 300 years, so it is not surprising that they are depleted. However, it is premature to talk about the impoverishment of the Urals economic region. The fact is that the region is poorly studied geologically, the subsoil has been explored to a depth of 600-800 m, and it is possible to carry out geological exploration in width in the north and south of the region.

Celebrities of Udmurtia - Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov

Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeevich - design engineer of small arms, creator of the world-famous AK-47 (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. M. Kalashnikov with an AK-47 assault rifle ()

In 1947, the Kalashnikov assault rifle was put into service. Mikhail Timofeevich was born on November 10, 1919 in the village. Kurya Altai Territory. He was the 17th child in a large family. In 1948, Mikhail Timofeevich was sent to the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant to organize the manufacture of the first batch of his AK-47 assault rifle (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. M.T. Kalashnikov ()

In 2004, in the city of Izhevsk (the capital of Udmurtia), a small arms museum named after M.T. Kalashnikov. The basis of the museum includes a large collection of military and civilian weapons of Russian and foreign production, weapons accessories and personal belongings of Mikhail Timofeevich. Mikhail Timofeevich died on December 23, 2013 in the city of Izhevsk.

Ural - the border between Europe and Asia

The border between Europe and Asia is most often drawn along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains and Mugodzhar, the Emba River, along the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, along the Kuma-Manych depression and the Kerch Strait (Fig. 11).

Rice. 11. Obelisk in Yekaterinburg ()

General length border on the territory of Russia is 5524 km, of which along the Ural ridge - 2 thousand km, and along the Caspian Sea - 990 km. Another option for determining the border of Europe is often used - along the watershed of the Ural Range, the Ural River and the watershed of the Caucasus Range.

Lake Turgoyak

Lake Turgoyak is one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in the Urals. It is located in a mountain basin near the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Lake Turgoyak ()

The lake is recognized as a natural monument. It is deep - its average depth is 19 m, and the maximum reaches 36.5 m. Lake Turgoyak is famous for its very high transparency, which reaches 10-17 m. Turgoyak water is close to Baikal water. The bottom of the lake is rocky - from pebbles to cobblestones. The shores of the lake are high and steep. Only a few small streams flow into the lake. The main source of nutrition is groundwater. Interestingly, the water level in the lake fluctuates. There are several archaeological sites on the shores of Lake Turgoyak.

Bibliography

1. Customs E.A. Geography of Russia: economy and regions: Grade 9, textbook for students of educational institutions. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2011.

2. Fromberg A.E. Economic and social geography. - 2011, 416 p.

3. Atlas of economic geography, grade 9. - Bustard, 2012.

Homework

1. Tell us about the geographical location of the Urals.

2. Tell us about the relief and climate of the Urals.

3. Tell us about the mineral and water resources of the Urals.

Ural economic region located at the junction of the European and Asian parts of Russia. He borders with the Northern, Volga-Vyatka, Volga and West Siberian economic regions. In the south it borders on Kazakhstan. The Ural is a land area, but along the Ural, Kama, Volga rivers and canals it has exit to the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas. Here developed transport network: transit railways and roads, as well as oil and gas pipelines. transport network connects Ural with the European part of Russia and Siberia.

The territory of the Urals includes Ural mountain system, stretching from north to south for more than 2 thousand km. with a width of 40 to 150 km (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Ural Mountains ()

By the nature of the relief and landscapes allocate Polar, Subpolar, Northern, Middle and Southern Urals. The main territory is medium-high ridges and ranges from 800 to 1200 m high. Only a few peaks reach a height of 1500 m above sea level. highest peak- Mount Narodnaya (1895 m), which is located in the Northern Urals (Fig. 3). In the literature, there are two variants of stress: Folk and Folk. The first is substantiated by the presence of the Naroda River at the foot of the mountain, and the second refers to 20-30 years. of the last century, when people sought to dedicate names to the symbols of the state.

Rice. 3. Mount Narodnaya ()

Mountain ranges stretch in parallel in the meridian direction. The ridges are separated by longitudinal mountain depressions, in which rivers flow. The mountains are composed of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks. Karst is developed on the western slopes, there are many caves. One of the most famous is the Kungur Ice Cave.

Karst- a set of processes and phenomena associated with the activity of water and expressed in the dissolution of such rocks as gypsum, limestone, dolomite, rock salt, and the formation of voids in them (Fig. 4).

natural conditions unfavorable. The mountain range of the Urals influenced climate region. It changes in three directions: from north to south, from west to east and from the foot of the mountains to the peaks. The Ural Mountains are a climatic barrier to the transfer of moist air masses from west to east, i.e. from the Atlantic. Despite the insignificant height of the mountains, they prevent the spread of air masses to the east. Thus, the Cis-Urals receives more precipitation than in the Trans-Urals, and permafrost is also observed in the north of the Ural Mountains.

Diversity mineral resources The Urals is unparalleled among the economic regions of Russia (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Economic map of the Urals. ()

The Urals has long been the largest mining and metallurgical base of the country. There are 15 thousand deposits of various minerals here. The main wealth of the Urals is ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Ore raw materials prevail in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, in the eastern foothills and the Trans-Urals. 2/3 of the iron ore reserves of the Urals are contained in the Kachkanar deposit. Oil fields are concentrated in the Perm Territory, Udmurtia, Bashkiria and the Orenburg Region. The largest gas condensate field in the European part of the country is located in the Orenburg region. Copper ores - in Krasnouralsk, Revda (Sverdlovsk region), Karabash (Chelyabinsk region), Mednogorsk (Orenburg region). Small reserves of coal are located in the Chelyabinsk basin, and brown coal - in Kopeysk. The Urals has large reserves of potash and table salts in the Verkhnekamsk basin. The region is also rich in precious metals: gold, silver, platinum. More than 5 thousand minerals have been found here. In the Ilmensky Reserve, on an area of ​​​​303 km 2, 5% of all minerals of the Earth are concentrated.

40% of the territory of the Urals is covered with forest. Forest performs recreational and sanitary functions. Northern forests are mainly for industrial use. The Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk Region, Bashkiria and Udmurtia are rich in forests. Cultivated lands and arable lands predominate in the structure of land. Soils almost everywhere are depleted as a result of human impact.

Rice. 6. Nature of the Perm Territory ()

The Urals is also rich in rivers (Fig. 6). There are 69 thousand of them here, but the region is unevenly provided with water resources. Most of the rivers are located on the western slope of the Urals. Rivers originate in the mountains, but in the upper reaches they are shallow. The region contains the most important educational tourism centers, historical and architectural monuments - such cities as Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Perm, Solikamsk, Izhevsk. Here are interesting objects of nature: Kungur Ice Cave (5.6 km long, consisting of 58 ice grottoes and a huge number of lakes (Fig. 7)), Kapova Cave (Republic of Bashkiria, with ancient wall paintings), as well as the Chusovaya River - one of the most beautiful rivers in Russia ( Fig. 8).

Rice. 7. Kungur ice cave ()

Rice. 8. River Chusovaya ()

Many of the resources of the Urals have been exploited for more than 300 years, so it is not surprising that they are depleted. However, it is premature to talk about the impoverishment of the Urals economic region. The fact is that the region is poorly studied geologically, the subsoil has been explored to a depth of 600-800 m, and it is possible to carry out geological exploration in width in the north and south of the region.

Celebrities of Udmurtia - Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov

Kalashnikov Mikhail Timofeevich - design engineer of small arms, creator of the world-famous AK-47 (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. M. Kalashnikov with an AK-47 assault rifle ()

In 1947, the Kalashnikov assault rifle was put into service. Mikhail Timofeevich was born on November 10, 1919 in the village. Kurya Altai Territory. He was the 17th child in a large family. In 1948, Mikhail Timofeevich was sent to the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant to organize the manufacture of the first batch of his AK-47 assault rifle (Fig. 10).

Rice. 10. M.T. Kalashnikov ()

In 2004, in the city of Izhevsk (the capital of Udmurtia), a small arms museum named after M.T. Kalashnikov. The basis of the museum includes a large collection of military and civilian weapons of Russian and foreign production, weapons accessories and personal belongings of Mikhail Timofeevich. Mikhail Timofeevich died on December 23, 2013 in the city of Izhevsk.

Ural - the border between Europe and Asia

The border between Europe and Asia is most often drawn along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains and Mugodzhar, the Emba River, along the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, along the Kuma-Manych depression and the Kerch Strait (Fig. 11).

Rice. 11. Obelisk in Yekaterinburg ()

General length border on the territory of Russia is 5524 km, of which along the Ural ridge - 2 thousand km, and along the Caspian Sea - 990 km. Another option for determining the border of Europe is often used - along the watershed of the Ural Range, the Ural River and the watershed of the Caucasus Range.

Lake Turgoyak

Lake Turgoyak is one of the most beautiful and cleanest lakes in the Urals. It is located in a mountain basin near the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Lake Turgoyak ()

The lake is recognized as a natural monument. It is deep - its average depth is 19 m, and the maximum reaches 36.5 m. Lake Turgoyak is famous for its very high transparency, which reaches 10-17 m. Turgoyak water is close to Baikal water. The bottom of the lake is rocky - from pebbles to cobblestones. The shores of the lake are high and steep. Only a few small streams flow into the lake. The main source of nutrition is groundwater. Interestingly, the water level in the lake fluctuates. There are several archaeological sites on the shores of Lake Turgoyak.

Bibliography

1. Customs E.A. Geography of Russia: economy and regions: Grade 9, textbook for students of educational institutions. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2011.

2. Fromberg A.E. Economic and social geography. - 2011, 416 p.

3. Atlas of economic geography, grade 9. - Bustard, 2012.

Homework

1. Tell us about the geographical location of the Urals.

2. Tell us about the relief and climate of the Urals.

3. Tell us about the mineral and water resources of the Urals.

Do you think the Urals separate or connect the European part of Russia and Siberia?

The Ural region is located at the junction of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, the largest structures of the earth's crust, the largest river basins. This is one of the oldest mining areas on the planet; the second district after the Central in terms of population, number of cities and economic power.

What is the specificity of the geographical location of the Urals?

The Ural region has an advantageous geographical position, being on the border of the European and Asian parts of the country between the western economically developed and eastern regions with raw materials. A web of railways and roads, pipelines and power lines connects the Urals with its neighbors: the Volga-Vyatka, Volga and West Siberian regions of Russia, as well as with Kazakhstan.

The territories of the Ural region and the Ural mountains do not quite coincide. The Ural region did not include the mountain ranges of the Polar and Subpolar Urals, but it was supplemented by the steppe foothill plains of the Cis-Urals (the eastern outskirts of the East European Plain) and the Trans-Urals (the western edge of the West Siberian Lowland).

Rice. 115. Foothills of the Urals

The Urals has always been a natural frontier for migratory waves. Russian explorers, moving east, were looking for convenient passages in the lower areas of the "Stone Belt". The steppe peoples, striving to the west, most often skirted it from the south. However, many peoples settled along the way, which explains the ethnic diversity of the region. The Urals was a cradle for many peoples. From here, the peoples of the Ural-Yukaghir language family dispersed throughout Northern Eurasia. Now the population of the region is dominated by Russians - 80% of the population; Tatars, Bashkirs, Udmurts, Chuvashs, Maris, Mordvins, Komi-Permyaks and other peoples also live here.

How were the Ural Mountains and their mineral wealth formed?

The Ural Mountains, which form the core of the region, stretch along the meridian of the 60th century. more than 2 thousand km from the shores of the Kara Sea to the Ural River. The orographic and geological continuation of the Ural Mountains in the north are the islands of Novaya Zemlya and Vaigach, and in the south - the Mugodzhary mountains in neighboring Kazakhstan. It is often said about the Ural Mountains that these are old, heavily destroyed mountains. In fact, this is not entirely true. The rocks that make up the mountains are old, for the most part they are of Paleozoic and older age. The mountain relief itself is the result of the latest tectonic uplifts.

Rice. 116. Ilmensky Reserve

The most intense were uplifts in the North and South. Ural, where heights reach 1500 m. In the region of the Southern Urals, mountain ranges diverge like a fan. The absolute height of the rounded peaks of the Middle Urals does not exceed 600-800 m. During uplifts along faults in the earth's crust, magma flows rushed to the surface, accompanied by the metamorphization of rocks, the formation of ores and numerous minerals. And even before that, in the Mesozoic, the first Ural Mountains were destroyed, eroded, and fabulous wealth of ore minerals and precious minerals turned out to be on the surface.

Rice. 117. Kungur cave

Therefore, it is no coincidence that the Urals are famous for precious and semi-precious, as well as ornamental stones: aquamarines and alexandrites, garnets and sapphires, emeralds and rubies, topazes and rock crystal, malachite and jasper. The eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, composed of igneous rocks, are especially rich in ore minerals. At the deposits of ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals discovered here, the industry of the Urals was laid and developed. Iron, copper, chromium, nickel, zinc, cobalt, aluminum ores, gold, platinum - this is not a complete list of the "pantry" of the Eastern Urals.

Rice. 118. Orographic scheme of the Ural Mountains

1. Determine the boundaries of individual parts of the Urals. How do they differ in height and location of mountain ranges?
2. Find the highest relief points in the Northern, Southern and Middle Urals. What is the height difference between them?
3. How were the features of the relief of various parts of the Urals used in the construction of railways and roads? Match with physical map

Rice. 119. Climate of the Urals

1. Compare the climatic conditions of the northern and southern regions of the Urals, Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals. How to explain the difference in temperatures in July and January, the amount of precipitation?
2. How do the density of the river network and the water content of the rivers of the western and eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains differ? Name and show on the map of the Ural River.
3. Which regions of the Urals have the most favorable climatic conditions for agriculture?4. Using maps (Fig. 13, 14), determine the crops common in the area.

Rice. 120. Altitudinal zonality of the Ural Mountains

1. How can one explain that the tundra and taiga regions of the mountainous Urals extend much further south than on the neighboring plains?
2. Explain the difference in the number and composition of altitudinal belts in different parts of the Urals.
3. Why are broad-leaved species, with the exception of linden, not common on the eastern slopes of the Urals?

The geological structure determined the features of the distribution of minerals in the western foothills of the Urals. Here, for a long time, the lowering of the earth's crust took place. The accumulated thickness of sedimentary rocks contains minerals of sedimentary origin: potash and table salts, limestones, refractory clays, sands, coals. Oil and gas fields are also exploited there, which, together with the fields of the Volga region, form the Volga-Ural oil region.

What is the reason for the extraordinary natural diversity of the Urals?

The Ural Mountains are distinguished by significant differences in the climate of the northern and southern, western and eastern regions (Fig. 119). In the Cis-Urals, climatic conditions are milder compared to the climate of the Trans-Urals, which in winter falls into the zone of influence of cold Siberian air. Therefore, in the northern part of the Cis-Urals, broad-leaved-spruce forests grow, and in the Trans-Urals at the same latitudes - larch forests and small-leaved forests. Large forest tracts of the Middle Urals are replaced in the Southern Urals and in the southern regions of the foothill plains by forest-steppe and steppe. Fertile chernozem soils are common in this part of the Urals. These are the main agricultural lands of the region.

Since the western slope of the Urals receives more precipitation, the density and water content of the rivers on it are much higher than on the eastern one.

The Urals has significant forest resources; forests occupy almost half of the region's territory. The main forest areas are located in the northern part, within the Sverdlovsk and Perm regions. Of particular value in industrial terms are conifers: fir, larch, spruce and pine. In the taiga zone, already in the distant past, the first metallurgical plants arose, which widely used wood as fuel. Nowadays, the timber and pulp and paper industries have spread in the Urals.

conclusions

The Urals occupies an advantageous geographical position at the turn of the European and Asian parts of the country. Features of the geological history of the Ural Mountains have affected the exceptional wealth of their mineral resources. The large length, difference between the western and eastern parts of the Urals, altitudinal zonality, different directions of economic development of the territory determined the extraordinary diversity of the natural and economic landscapes of the region.

Questions and tasks

1. How are the differences in nature in the Urals manifested and how are they explained?
2. Highlight the features of the geographical location of the Urals. Compare the economic and geographical position of the Urals and the Volga region. What are their similarities and differences?
3. Make a geographical description of the Middle (Southern, Northern) Urals. Determine the features of its geographical location, natural conditions and resources, the location of protected areas.
4. Imagine that for guests, business people, tourists visiting the Urals, you were asked to compile a list of memorable places that reflect the uniqueness of the region, in order to issue postcards, badges and other souvenirs. What objects would you include in such a list?

Ural discovery

Official history says that the Ural Mountains were discovered in ancient times.

In Greek texts, the mountains are referred to as Riphean (Riphean), Imaus, Hyperborean. It is difficult to say what part of the Urals the scientists of Rome and Ancient Greece were talking about, because the mention is intertwined with legends, fairy tales and even fables.

From Arabic sources, you can learn that the territory of the Ural Mountains was closed to travelers because of the fierce people who lived there. The harsh climate they describe indicates that we are talking about the Urals.

Furs and salt, valued no less than gold, were the riches of the Urals, and, therefore, attracted close attention. Russian pioneers began to develop this area, starting from the XIII-XIV centuries, and gave the mountains the name Kamen.

The modern name "Ural" was fixed behind the mountains with the light hand of V. Tatishchev in the 17th century.

The Ural Mountains stretch along the 60th meridian from north to south for 2000 km, parallel to elongated ridges. The watershed forms the main mountain range, which is almost uninterrupted by river valleys.

The rivers of the Urals carry their waters to the Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. In the northeastern part, they make a bend towards the Yamal Peninsula, and in their southern part they turn to the southwest.

The width of the mountains varies from 40 km in the north and reaches 200 km with advancement to the south. In the region of the Orenburg region, the Urals connects with nearby elevations.

The peak of the Ural Mountains is Mount Narodnaya, with a height of 1895 m above sea level.

Of the high Ural peaks can be called:

• Pay-Er;
• Telpos-Iz;
• Pavdinsky Stone;
• Yamantau.

Remark 1

Experts consider the Ural Mountains the oldest on the planet and determine their age at 600 million years. Until now, their exact geological boundary has not been established, which means that it is also quite difficult to determine the exact geographical boundary between Europe and Asia.

Due to the large length of the mountains, they are conventionally divided into five regions:

1. Polar Ural;
2. Circumpolar;
3. Northern;
4. Average;
5. Southern Urals.

From north to south, the Ural Mountains capture the following regions:

• Arkhangelsk region;
• Republic of Komi;
• YNAO;
• KhMAO;
• Perm region;
• Sverdlovsk region;
• Chelyabinsk region;
• Bashkortostan;
• Orenburg region and part of Kazakhstan.

The bowels of the mountains are rich in minerals, such as: copper, titanium, magnesium, oil, coal, bauxite, salt and many others.

Geographical position of the Polar, Subpolar and Northern Urals

The subpolar Urals is the northernmost part of the Ural Mountains, the northern border of which starts from the sources of the Lyapin River - this is the 65th parallel and in the south passes through the mountain Telpos-Iz - the 64th parallel.

This mountainous area covers an area of ​​32 thousand square meters. km and is the highest part of the Ural Mountains. Here is the peak of the entire Urals - Mount Narodnaya, whose height is 1895 m above sea level.

You can name other peaks that have an alpine relief - the Bell Tower, Protection, Manaraga, Neroika, etc.

The watershed between Europe and Asia runs along the Itinsky Range, which is a complex mountain ridge.

For the first time in Russia in 2009, a mountain appeared that bears the name of an Orthodox saint - the mountain of St. Stephen of Perm.

For climbers, the Sablinsky Range, about 30 km long, is of great interest. The ridge stretches from north to south, and its highest point - Mount Saber has a height of 1497 m.

There are glaciers in the Subpolar Urals, for example, the Malda and Hoffman glaciers.

The Polar Ural is the second part of the Ural Range and starts from the headwaters of the Khulga River in the south to Konstantinov Kamen in the north.

The territory of this mountainous region covers an area of ​​25 thousand square meters. km. The Polar Urals is located within the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic.

The rivers of the northern slope flow into the Baidaratskaya Bay of the Arctic Ocean.

In the first half of the 19th century, the first geographical description of the Polar Urals was compiled. It was the North Ural expedition of the Russian Geographical Society. The expedition took place from 1847-1850 under the leadership of E. Hoffmann.

The western slopes are steeper. The eastern slope goes down towards Western Siberia and ends with a wide strip of foothill ridges. To the south, the Polar Ural becomes narrower and reaches 25-30 km. Here is the watershed line between the Ob and Pechora.

The peaks of the Polar Urals have a height of 800 to 1200 m, but there are also higher ones, for example, Mount Payer - 1500 m.

The Northern Urals in the south starts from the Kosvinsky Kamen mountain and in the north reaches the Telpos-Iz mountains. This part of the Ural Range consists of parallel ridges and ridges located along the meridian. Together with the foothill ridges, the width of the mountain strip is 80-100 km.

Within the ridge, traces of ancient glaciation are clearly visible - these are huge boulders, moraines, glacial lakes.

The slopes of the ridge are steep and dotted with cars and circuses. The highest peaks are Denezhkin Kamen (1493 m), Konzhakovsky Kamen (1569 m), Kosvinsky Kamen (1519 m).

The gentle western slope gradually passes into the Russian Plain. The ranges of the Northern Urals are characterized by flat or rounded peaks with developed upland terraces.

Geographical position of the Middle and Southern Urals

The boundary of the Middle Urals in the north is the latitude of Konzhakovsky Stone and Mount Yurma in the south. This part of the Ural Range is the lowest and most developed.

The top of the Middle Urals is Mount Middle Baseg (994 m), the second option is Mount Oslyanka (1119 m). The heights of the Ural Mountains in this area decrease, and the mountain belt changes its meridional extension to the southeast.

The Middle Urals together with the Southern Urals forms a huge arc, the convex side of which is turned to the east. The length of the Middle Urals is about 400 km, and the width, together with the foothills, reaches 90 km.

In territorial terms, the Middle Urals belongs to two federal districts - the Urals and the Volga. Within the boundaries of these districts, the Middle Urals occupies part of the Perm Territory, part of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions and Bashkiria.

The Ural mountain range ends with its southern part, which is called the Southern Urals.

From west to east, its width reaches 150 km, and mountain ranges stretch in parallel from northeast to southwest. The height of the mountains here again becomes higher. The highest mountains in this part are Mount Yamantau (1640 m) and Big Iremel (1582 m).

The conditional border between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern slope.

The Southern Urals lie within the territory of Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Kurgan regions and partly on the territory of Kazakhstan.

Remark 2

The peculiarity of the geographical position of the Urals lies in the fact that it is located between two parts of Russia - European and Asian and divides the mainland of Eurasia into Europe and Asia. Features of the geological structure affected the vast wealth of mineral resources.

Ural mountains- a unique natural object for our country. Probably, it is not necessary to think to answer the question why. The Ural Mountains - the only mountain range that crosses Russia from north to south, is the border between two parts of the world and the two largest parts (macro-regions) of our country - European and Asian.

Geographical position of the Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains stretch from north to south, mainly along the 60th meridian. In the north they bend towards the northeast, towards the Yamal Peninsula, in the south they turn towards the southwest. One of their features is that the mountainous territory expands as you move from north to south (this can be clearly seen on the map on the right). In the very south, in the region of the Orenburg region, the Ural Mountains connect with nearby elevations, such as General Syrt.

Strange as it may seem, the exact geological boundary of the Ural Mountains (hence the exact geographic boundary between Europe and Asia) still cannot be accurately determined.

The Ural Mountains are conditionally divided into five regions: Polar Urals, Subpolar Urals, Northern Urals, Middle Urals and Southern Urals.

To one degree or another, part of the Ural Mountains is captured by the following regions (from north to south): Arkhangelsk Region, Komi Republic, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region, Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg Region , as well as part of Kazakhstan.

Origin of the Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains have a long and complex history. It begins back in the Proterozoic era - such an ancient and little-studied stage in the history of our planet that scientists do not even divide it into periods and epochs. Approximately 3.5 billion years ago, on the site of future mountains, a rupture of the earth's crust occurred, which soon reached a depth of more than ten kilometers. Over the course of almost two billion years, this fault widened, so that about 430 million years ago an entire ocean was formed, up to a thousand kilometers wide. However, soon after this, the convergence of lithospheric plates began; the ocean disappeared relatively quickly, and mountains formed in its place. It happened about 300 million years ago - this corresponds to the era of the so-called Hercynian folding.

New large uplifts in the Urals resumed only 30 million years ago, during which the Polar, Subpolar, Northern and Southern parts of the mountains were raised by almost a kilometer, and the Middle Urals by about 300-400 meters.

At present, the Ural Mountains have stabilized - no major movements of the earth's crust are observed here. Nevertheless, to this day they remind people of their active history: from time to time earthquakes happen here, and very large ones (the strongest had an amplitude of 7 points and was recorded not so long ago - in 1914).

Features of the structure and relief of the Urals

From a geological point of view, the Ural Mountains are very complex. They are formed by breeds of various types and ages. In many ways, the features of the internal structure of the Urals are associated with its history, for example, traces of deep faults and even sections of the oceanic crust are still preserved.

The Ural Mountains are medium and low in height, the highest point is Mount Narodnaya in the Subpolar Urals, reaching 1895 meters. It is curious that the second highest peak of the Urals - Mount Yamantau- located in the South Urals. In general, in profile, the Ural Mountains resemble a depression: the highest ridges are located in the north and south, and the middle part does not exceed 400-500 meters, so that when crossing the Middle Urals, you may not even notice the mountains.

View of the Main Ural Range in the Perm Territory. Author of the photo - Yulia Vandysheva

It can be said that the Ural Mountains were “unlucky” in terms of height: they were formed in the same period as Altai, but subsequently experienced much less strong uplifts. The result - the highest point of Altai, Mount Belukha, reaches four and a half kilometers, and the Ural Mountains are more than two times lower. However, such an "elevated" position of Altai turned into a danger of earthquakes - the Urals in this respect is much safer for life.

Typical vegetation of the mountain tundra belt in the Ural Mountains. The picture was taken on the slope of Mount Humboldt (Main Ural Range, Northern Urals) at an altitude of 1310 meters. Author of the photo - Natalia Shmaenkova

The long, continuous struggle of volcanic forces against the forces of wind and water (in geography, the former are called endogenous, and the latter exogenous) has created a huge number of unique natural attractions in the Urals: rocks, caves and many others.

The Urals is also known for its vast reserves of minerals of all types. This is, first of all, iron, copper, nickel, manganese and many other types of ores, building materials. The Kachkanar iron deposit is one of the largest in the country. Although the metal content in the ore is low, it contains rare, but very valuable metals - manganese, vanadium.

In the north, in the Pechora coal basin, hard coal is mined. There are noble metals in our region - gold, silver, platinum. Undoubtedly, Ural precious and semi-precious stones are widely known: emeralds mined near Yekaterinburg, diamonds, gems of the Murzinskaya strip, and, of course, Ural malachite.

Unfortunately, many valuable old deposits have already been depleted. "Magnetic mountains", containing large reserves of iron ore, have been turned into quarries, and malachite reserves have been preserved only in museums and in the form of separate inclusions at the site of old mines - it is hardly possible to find even a three-hundred-kilogram monolith now. Nevertheless, these minerals largely ensured the economic power and glory of the Urals for centuries.

Text © Pavel Semin, 2011
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