west siberian plain c, west siberian plain

West Siberian Plain on the map of Western Siberia (mountainous regions are separated by a dotted line)
62° N sh. 76° E  / 62° N sh. 76° E d. / 62; 76 (G) (O) (I) Coordinates: 62° N sh. 76° E  / 62° N sh. 76° E d. / 62; 76 (G) (O) (I)
Countries	Russia, Russia Kazakhstan Kazakhstan
Length from north to south	2500 km
Length from west to east	1900 km
Square	2.6 million km²
Rivers	Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei

West Siberian Plain- a plain in northern Asia, occupies the entire western part of Siberia from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Central Siberian Plateau in the east. In the north it is bounded by the coast of the Kara Sea, in the south it extends to the Kazakh hills, in the southeast the West Siberian Plain, gradually rising, is replaced by the foothills of Altai, Salair, Kuznetsk Alatau and Mountain Shoria. The plain has the shape of a trapezoid narrowing to the north: the distance from its southern border to the northern reaches almost 2500 km, the width is from 800 to 1900 km, and the area is only slightly less than 3 million km².

The West Siberian Plain is the most inhabited and developed (especially in the south) part of Siberia. within its borders are the Tyumen, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions, the eastern regions of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, a significant part of the Altai Territory, the western regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (about 1/7 of the area of ​​Russia), as well as the northern and northeastern regions of Kazakhstan.

• 1 Relief and geological structure
• 2 Climate
• 3 Hydrography
• 4 Natural areas
• 5 Gallery
• 6 See also
• 7 Notes
• 8 Links

Relief and geological structure

Southern border of Western Siberia: view of the plain from the spurs of the Altai Mountains (mountain Tserkovka in Belokurikha) Border of the West Siberian Plain and the Kazakh Upland Kulunda Steppe

The surface of the West Siberian Lowland is flat with a rather insignificant elevation difference. However, the relief of the plain is quite diverse. The lowest parts of the plain (50-100 m) are located mainly in the central (Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands) and northern (Nizhneobskaya, Nadymskaya and Purskaya lowlands) parts of it. Low (up to 200-250 m) elevations stretch along the western, southern and eastern outskirts: the North Sosvinskaya and Turinskaya, Ishimskaya plains, the Ob and Chulym-Yenisei plateaus, the Ketsko-Tymskaya, Upper Taz and Lower Yenisei uplands. A distinctly pronounced strip of uplands is formed in the inner part of the plain by the Siberian Uvaly (average height - 140-150 m), extending from the west from the Ob to the east to the Yenisei, and the Vasyugan Plain parallel to them.

The relief of the plain is largely due to its geological structure. The epihercynian West Siberian Plate lies at the base of the West Siberian Plain, the foundation of which is composed of intensely dislocated Paleozoic deposits. The formation of the West Siberian Plate began in the Upper Jurassic, when, as a result of breaking, destruction and regeneration, the vast territory between the Urals and the Siberian platform sank, and a huge sedimentary basin arose. In the course of its development, the West Siberian Plate was more than once captured by marine transgressions. At the end of the Lower Oligocene, the sea left the West Siberian plate, and it turned into a huge lacustrine-alluvial plain. In the middle and late Oligocene and Neogene, the northern part of the plate experienced uplift, which was replaced by subsidence in the Quaternary. The general course of the development of the plate with the subsidence of colossal spaces resembles the process of oceanization that has not reached its end. This feature of the plate is emphasized by the phenomenal development of waterlogging.

The basement of the West Siberian plate is covered with a cover of loose marine and continental Mesozoic-Cenozoic rocks (clays, sandstones, marls, etc.) with a total thickness of over 1000 m (in the basement depressions up to 3000-4000 m). The youngest, Anthropogenic, deposits in the south are alluvial and lacustrine, often covered with loess and loess-like loams; in the north - glacial, marine and glacial-marine (up to 200 m thick in places). In the northern part of the West Siberian plate (the most submerged) are the Nadym-Tazov and Yamalo-Gydan syneclises, separated by a narrow sublatitudinal Messoyakha megaswell. In the central part of the West Siberian Plate, there are several anteclises elongated in the longitudinal direction, syneclises and narrow deep trenches: the Khanty-Mansiysk syneclise, the Khantei anteclise (with the Surgut and Nizhnevartovsk arches), the Pursky trench (over the southern part of the Koltogorsk-Urengoysky rift), the Ket-Vakhskaya anteclise and the Khudosei trench with the Chulym syneclise. To the south of the Ket-Vakh and Khantei anteclises are the sublatitudinally elongated Middle Irtysh and Kulunda syneclises.

Separate geological structures, despite a thick layer of sediments, are reflected in the relief of the plain: for example, the Verkhnetazovsky and Lyulimvor uplands correspond to gentle anticlines, and the Baraba and Kondinsky lowlands are confined to syneclises of the basement of the plate. However, discordant (inversion) morphostructures are also not uncommon in Western Siberia. These include, for example, the Vasyugan Plain, which formed on the site of a gently sloping syneclise, and the Chulym-Yenisei Plateau, located in the basement trough zone.

The cuff of loose deposits contains groundwater horizons - fresh and mineralized (including brine), hot (up to 100-150 ° C) waters are also found. There are industrial deposits of oil and natural gas (the West Siberian oil and gas basin). the Khanty-Mansiysk syneclise, Krasnoselsky, Salymsky and Surgutsky regions, in the layers of the Bazhenov formation at a depth of 2 km there are the largest reserves of shale oil in Russia.

Climate

The north of the West Siberian Plain - the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydan Peninsulas. The West Siberian Plain. Spill of the rivers Taz and Ob. July, 2002

The West Siberian Plain is characterized by a harsh, fairly continental climate. Its large length from north to south determines the distinct zonality of the climate and significant differences in climatic conditions in the northern and southern parts of Western Siberia. The proximity of the Arctic Ocean also has a significant effect on the continental climate of Western Siberia. The flat relief contributes to the exchange of air masses between its northern and southern regions.

During the cold period, within the plain, there is an interaction between the area of ​​relatively high atmospheric pressure, located above the southern part of the plain, and the area of ​​low pressure, which in the first half of winter extends in the form of a hollow of the Icelandic baric minimum over the Kara Sea and the northern peninsulas. In winter, masses of continental air of temperate latitudes predominate, which come from Eastern Siberia or are formed on the spot as a result of air cooling over the territory of the plain.

Cyclones often pass in the border zone of areas of high and low pressure. Therefore, the weather in the coastal provinces is very unstable in winter; on the coast of Yamal and the Gydan Peninsula, strong winds occur, the speed of which reaches 35-40 m/s. The temperature here is even somewhat higher than in the neighboring forest-tundra provinces located between 66 and 69°N. sh. Further south, however, winter temperatures gradually rise again. On the whole, winter is characterized by stable low temperatures, and there are few thaws. The minimum temperatures throughout Western Siberia are almost the same. Even near the southern border of the country, in Barnaul, there are frosts down to -50 -52 °. Spring is short, dry and comparatively cold; April, even in the forest-marsh zone, is not yet quite a spring month.

In the warm season, a lower pressure sets in over Western Siberia, and an area of ​​higher pressure forms over the Arctic Ocean. Due to this summer, weak northerly or northeasterly winds predominate, and the role of western air transport is noticeably enhanced. In May there is a rapid increase in temperatures, but often, with the intrusions of arctic air masses, there are returns of cold weather and frosts. The warmest month is July, the average temperature of which is from 3.6° on Bely Island to 21-22° in the Pavlodar region. The absolute maximum temperature is from 21° in the north (Bely Island) to 44° in the extreme southern regions (Rubtsovsk). High summer temperatures in the southern half of Western Siberia are explained by the inflow of heated continental air here from the south - from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Autumn comes late.

Most of the precipitation falls in the summer and is brought by air masses coming from the west, from the Atlantic. the period from May to October Western Siberia receives up to 70-80% of the annual precipitation. There are especially many of them in July and August, which is explained by intensive activity on the Arctic and polar fronts. The amount of winter precipitation is relatively low and ranges from 5 to 20-30 mm/month. In the south, in some winter months, snow sometimes does not fall at all. Significant fluctuations in the amount of precipitation in different years are characteristic. So, in the forest-steppe zone, where, with an average long-term precipitation of about 300-350 mm / year, up to 550-600 mm / year falls in wet years, and only 170-180 mm / year in dry years. The extreme southern regions of Western Siberia are characterized by droughts, which occur mainly in May and June.

The duration of snow cover in the northern regions reaches 240-270 days, and in the south - 160-170 days. The thickness of the snow cover in the tundra and steppe zones in February is 20-40 cm, in the forest-marsh zone - from 50-60 cm in the west to 70-100 cm in the eastern Yenisei regions.

The harsh climate of the northern regions of Western Siberia contributes to the freezing of soils and the widespread permafrost. On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, permafrost is found everywhere. In these areas of its continuous (confluent) distribution, the thickness of the frozen layer is very significant (up to 300-600 m), and its temperatures are low (in watershed spaces - 4, -9 °, in valleys -2, -8 °). Further south, within the limits of the northern taiga up to a latitude of about 64°, permafrost occurs already in the form of isolated islands interspersed with taliks. Its thickness decreases, temperatures rise to 0.5-1°, and the depth of summer thawing also increases, especially in areas composed of mineral rocks.

Hydrography

The Ob River near Barnaul The Vasyugan River in its upper course

The territory of the plain is located within the large West Siberian artesian basin, in which hydrogeologists distinguish several basins of the second order: Tobolsk, Irtysh, Kulunda-Barnaul, Chulym, Ob and others. sandstones) and water-resistant rocks, artesian basins are characterized by a significant number of aquifers associated with suites of various ages - Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Quaternary. The groundwater quality of these horizons is very different. In most cases, artesian waters of deep horizons are more mineralized than those lying closer to the surface.

More than 2000 rivers flow on the territory of the West Siberian Plain, the total length of which exceeds 250 thousand km. These rivers carry about 1200 km³ of water into the Kara Sea annually - 5 times more than the Volga. The density of the river network is not very large and varies in different places depending on the relief and climatic features: in the Tavda basin it reaches 350 km, and in the Baraba forest-steppe - only 29 km per 1000 km². Some southern regions of the country with a total area of ​​more than 445 thousand km² belong to the territories of closed flow and are distinguished by an abundance of endorheic lakes.

The main sources of food for most rivers are melted snow water and summer-autumn rains. In accordance with the nature of food sources, the runoff is seasonally uneven: approximately 70-80% of its annual amount occurs in spring and summer. Especially a lot of water flows down during the spring flood, when the level of large rivers rises by 7-12 m (in the lower reaches of the Yenisei even up to 15-18 m). for a long time (in the south - five, and in the north - eight months), the West Siberian rivers are ice-bound. Therefore, the winter months account for no more than 10% of the annual runoff.

The rivers of Western Siberia, including the largest ones - the Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei, are characterized by slight slopes and low flow rates. So, for example, the fall of the Ob channel in the section from Novosibirsk to the mouth over 3000 km is only 90 m, and the speed of its flow does not exceed 0.5 m/sec.

There are about one million lakes on the West Siberian Plain, the total area of ​​which is more than 100 thousand km². According to the origin of the basins, they are divided into several groups: occupying the primary irregularities of the flat relief; thermokarst; moraine-glacial; lakes of river valleys, which in turn are divided into floodplain and oxbow lakes. Peculiar lakes - "fogs" - are found in the Ural part of the plain. They are located in wide valleys, flood in the spring, sharply reducing their size in the summer, and by autumn, many disappear altogether. the southern regions of the lake are often filled with salt water. The West Siberian Lowland holds the world record for the number of swamps per unit area (the area of ​​the wetland is about 800 thousand square kilometers). The reasons for this phenomenon are the following factors: excessive moisture, flat relief, permafrost and the ability of peat, which is available here in large quantities, to hold a significant amount of water.

natural areas

Yamal tundra

The large length from north to south contributes to a pronounced latitudinal zonality in the distribution of soils and vegetation cover. within the country there are gradually replacing one another tundra, forest-tundra, forest-bog, forest-steppe and steppe zones. In all zones, rather large areas are occupied by lakes and swamps. Typical zonal landscapes are located on dissected and better drained upland and riverine areas. In poorly drained interfluve spaces, the runoff from which is difficult, and the soils are usually highly moistened, marsh landscapes prevail in the northern provinces, and landscapes formed under the influence of saline groundwater in the south.

A large area is occupied by the tundra zone, which is explained by the northern position of the West Siberian Plain. To the south is the forest-tundra zone. The forest-bog zone occupies about 60% of the territory of the West Siberian Plain. Broad-leaved and coniferous-broad-leaved forests are absent here. The strip of coniferous forests is followed by a narrow zone of small-leaved (mainly birch) forests. An increase in the continentality of the climate causes a relatively sharp transition, compared to the East European Plain, from forest-bog landscapes to dry steppe spaces in the southern regions of the West Siberian Plain. Therefore, the width of the forest-steppe zone in Western Siberia is much less than on the East European Plain, and of the tree species it contains mainly birch and aspen. the extreme southern part of the West Siberian lowland is the steppe zone, which is mostly plowed up. the flat landscape of the southern regions of Western Siberia is varied by manes - sandy ridges 3-10 meters high (sometimes up to 30 meters), covered with pine forests.

Gallery

Windmills on the Siberian Plain
(S. M. Prokudin-Gorsky, 1912)

Village in Tomsk Oblast

Landscape of the West Siberian Plain

Floodplain Tom

Mariinsky forest-steppes

see also

• West Siberian subtaiga

Notes

1. 1 2 3 Western Siberia: a brief physical and geographical overview
2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
3. Russia. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 24, 2013. Archived from the original on August 22, 2011.
4. 1 2 3 4 Western Siberia
5. 1 2
6. Milanovsky E.E. Geology of Russia and neighboring countries (Northern Eurasia) - M .: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1996. - 448 p. ISBN 6-211-03387-6
7. About the Bazhenov formation "Expert" No. 12 (746)
8. 1 2 West Siberian Plain: General characteristics
9. 1 2 Western Siberia

Links

• West Siberian Plain - article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
• The West Siberian Plain in the book: N. A. Gvozdetsky, N. I. Mikhailov. Physical geography of the USSR. M., 1978.
• Kröner, A. (2015) The Central Asian Orogenic Belt.

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West Siberian Plain

WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN (West Siberian Lowland), one of the largest plains in the world. It is located in the northern part of Asia, in Russia and Kazakhstan. The area is over 3 million km2, including 2.6 million km2 in Russia. The length from west to east is from 900 km (in the north) to 2000 (in the south), from north to south up to 2500 km. In the north it is washed by the Arctic Ocean; in the west it borders on the Urals, in the south - on the Turgai plateau and the Kazakh hills, in the southeast - on the mountains of Southern Siberia, in the east - along the valley of the Yenisei River with the Central Siberian plateau.

Relief. It is a low accumulative plain with a rather uniform relief, various forms of permafrost (common up to 59 ° north latitude), increased swampiness, and ancient and modern salt accumulation developed in the south in loose rocks and soils. Heights of about 150 m predominate. In the north, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdistribution of marine accumulative and moraine plains, the general flatness of the territory is disturbed by moraine gently sloping and hilly-sloping (North-Sosvinskaya, Lyulimvor, Verkhne-, Srednetazovskaya, etc.) hills 200-300 m high, the southern border of which runs about 61-62 ° north latitude; they are horseshoe-shaped from the south covered by flat-topped elevations Belogorsky Continent, Siberian Uvaly, etc. In the northern part, permafrost exogenous processes (thermal erosion, heaving of soils, solifluction) are widespread, deflation occurs on sandy surfaces, and peat accumulation occurs in swamps. There are numerous ravines on the plains of the Yamal and Gydansky peninsulas and on the moraine uplands. To the south, the area of ​​moraine relief is adjoined by flat lacustrine-alluvial lowlands, the lowest (height 40-80 m) and swampy of which are Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya. The area not covered by Quaternary glaciation (to the south of the line Ivdel - Ishim - Novosibirsk - Tomsk - Krasnoyarsk) is a weakly dissected denudation plain, rising (up to 250 m) to the Urals. In the interfluve of the Tobol and the Irtysh, there is an inclined, in places with ridges, lacustrine-alluvial Ishim plain (120-220 m) with a thin cover of loess-like loams and loess occurring on salt-bearing clays. It is adjacent to the alluvial Baraba lowland and Kulunda plain, where the processes of deflation and modern salt accumulation are developing. In the foothills of Altai there are the ridge-ridged Priobskoe plateau (height up to 317 m - the highest point of the West Siberian Plain) and the Chulym Plain. On the geological structure and minerals, see the article The West Siberian Platform, with which the West Siberian Plain is geostructurally connected.

Climate. Continental climate prevails. Winter in the polar latitudes is severe and lasts up to 8 months (the polar night lasts almost 3 months), the average January temperatures are from -23 to -30 ° C; in the central part, winter lasts up to 7 months, average January temperatures are from -20 to -22 °С; in the south, where the influence of the Asian anticyclone intensifies, winters are shorter at the same temperatures (up to 5-6 months). The minimum air temperature is -56 °C. In summer, the western transfer of Atlantic air masses predominates with intrusions of cold air from the Arctic in the north, and dry warm air masses from Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the south. In the north, summer is short, cool and humid with a polar day, in the central part it is moderately warm and humid, in the south it is arid and dry, with dry winds and dust storms. The average July temperature rises from 5°C in the Far North to 21-22°C in the south. The duration of the growing season in the south is 175-180 days. Atmospheric precipitation falls mainly in summer. The wettest (400-550 mm per year) are the Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands. To the north and south, the annual precipitation gradually decreases to 250 mm.

surface waters. There are more than 2,000 rivers in the West Siberian Plain belonging to the basin of the Arctic Ocean. Their total flow is about 1200 km 3 of water per year; up to 80% of the annual runoff occurs in spring and summer. The largest rivers are the Ob, Yenisei, Irtysh, Taz and their tributaries. The feeding of the rivers is mixed (snow and rain), the spring flood is extended, the low water is long summer-autumn and winter. The ice cover on the rivers lasts up to 8 months in the north, up to 5 months in the south. The total area of ​​lakes is more than 100 thousand km2. The largest lakes are located in the south - Chany, Ubinskoye, Kulundinskoye. In the north - lakes of thermokarst and moraine-glacial origin. There are many small lakes in the suffusion depressions (less than 1 km 2): on the Tobol-Irtysh interfluve - more than 1500, on the Baraba lowland - 2500, including fresh, salty and bitter-salty ones; there are self-sustaining lakes.

Landscape types. The uniformity of the relief of the vast West Siberian Plain determines the clearly pronounced latitudinal zonality of landscapes, although, compared with the East European Plain, the natural zones here are shifted to the north. On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, in conditions of continuous permafrost, landscapes of arctic and subarctic tundra with moss, lichen and shrubs (dwarf birch, willow, alder) cover on gleyzems, peat-gleyzems, peat-podburs and soddy soils were formed. Polygonal mineral grass-hypnum bogs are widespread. The share of primary landscapes is extremely insignificant. To the south, tundra landscapes and swamps (mostly flat-hilly) are combined with larch and spruce-larch woodlands on podzolic-gley and peat-podzolic-gley soils, forming a narrow forest-tundra zone, transitional to the forest (forest-bog) zone of the temperate zone, represented by subzones of the northern, middle and southern taiga. Swampiness is common to all subzones: over 50% of the area of ​​the northern taiga, about 70% - middle, about 50% - southern. The northern taiga is characterized by flat and large-hummocky raised bogs, the middle taiga is characterized by ridge-hollow and ridge-lake bogs, the southern taiga is characterized by ridge-hollow, pine-shrub-sphagnum, transitional sedge-sphagnum and low-lying tree-sedge bogs. The largest marsh massif is the Vasyugan Plain. The forest complexes of different subzones, formed on slopes with different degrees of drainage, are peculiar. Northern taiga forest complexes on permafrost are represented by sparse and low-growing pine, pine-spruce and spruce-fir forests on gley-podzolic and podzolic-gley soils. The indigenous landscapes of the northern taiga occupy 11% of the area of ​​the West Siberian Plain. Common to the forest landscapes of the middle and southern taiga is the wide distribution of lichen and shrub-phagnum pine forests on sandy and sandy loamy illuvial-ferruginous and illuvial-humus podzols. On loams in the middle taiga, spruce-cedar forests with larch and birch forests are developed on podzolic, podzolic-gley, peat-podzolic-gley and gley peat-podzols. In the subzone of the southern taiga, on loams, there are spruce-fir small-grass forests and birch forests with aspen on sod-podzolic and sod-podzolic-gley (including those with a second humus horizon) and peat-podzolic-gley soils. Primary landscapes in the middle taiga occupy 6% of the area of ​​the West Siberian Plain, in the southern - 4%. The subtaiga zone is represented by park pine, birch and birch-aspen forests on gray, gray gley and soddy-podzolic soils (including those with a second humus horizon) in combination with steppe meadows on cryptogley chernozems, solonetsous in places. Indigenous forest and meadow landscapes are practically not preserved. Boggy forests turn into lowland sedge-hypnum (with ryams) and sedge-reed bogs (about 40% of the zone). For the forest-steppe landscapes of sloping plains with loess-like and loess covers on salt-bearing tertiary clays, birch and aspen-birch groves on gray soils and malts are typical in combination with forb-grass steppe meadows on leached and cryptogley chernozems, to the south - with meadow steppes on ordinary chernozems, in places solonetzic and saline. On the sands - pine forests. Up to 20% of the zone is occupied by eutrophic reed-sedge bogs. In the steppe zone, the primary landscapes have not been preserved; in the past, these were forb-feather grass steppe meadows on ordinary and southern chernozems, saline in places, and in the drier southern regions - fescue-feather grass steppes on chestnut and cryptogley soils, gley solonetzes and solonchaks.

Environmental problems and protected natural areas. In areas of oil production due to pipeline breaks, water and soil are polluted with oil and oil products. In forestry areas - overcutting, swamping, the spread of silkworms, fires. In agricultural landscapes, there is an acute problem of lack of fresh water, secondary salinization of soils, destruction of soil structure and loss of soil fertility during plowing, drought and dust storms. In the north - degradation of reindeer pastures, in particular due to overgrazing, which leads to a sharp reduction in their biodiversity. No less important is the problem of preserving hunting grounds and habitats of fauna.

Numerous reserves, national and natural parks have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. Among the largest reserves are: in the tundra - the Gydansky reserve, in the northern taiga - the Verkhnetazovsky reserve, in the middle taiga - the Yugansky reserve, etc. A national park - Priishimsky Bory - has been created in the sub-taiga. Natural parks are also organized: in the tundra - Deer streams, in the northern taiga - Numto, Siberian Uvaly, in the middle taiga - Kondinsky lakes, in the forest-steppe - Bird's harbor.

Lit.: Trofimov V. T. Patterns of spatial variability of engineering-geological conditions of the West Siberian plate. M., 1977; Gvozdetsky N. A., Mikhailov N. I. Physical geography of the USSR: Asian part. 4th ed. M., 1987; Soil cover and land resources of the Russian Federation. M., 2001.

The West Siberian Plain (it will not be difficult to find it on the world map) is one of the largest in Eurasia. It stretches for 2500 km from the harsh shores of the Arctic Ocean to the semi-desert territories of Kazakhstan and for 1500 km - from the Ural Mountains to the mighty Yenisei. The whole area consists of two bowl-shaped flat depressions and many wetlands. Between these depressions stretch the Siberian Ridges, which rise to 180-200 meters.

The West Siberian Plain is a rather interesting and fascinating moment that deserves detailed consideration. This natural object is located almost at the same distance between the Atlantic and the center of continentality of the mainland. About 2.5 million sq. km covers the area of ​​​​this huge plain. This distance is very impressive.

Climatic conditions

The geographical position of the West Siberian Plain on the mainland causes interesting climatic conditions. Therefore, the weather in most of the plain has a temperate continental character. From the north, large arctic masses enter this territory, which bring with them severe cold in winter, and in summer the thermometer shows from + 5 ° С to + 20 ° С. In January, on the southern and northern sides, the temperature regime can range from -15 °С to -30 °С. The lowest indicator in winter was recorded in the north-east of Siberia - down to -45 °С.

Humidity on the plain also spreads gradually from south to north. With the beginning of summer, most of it falls on the steppe zone. In the middle of summer, in July, the heat takes possession of the entire south of the plain, and the humid front moves to the north, thunderstorms and showers sweep over the taiga. At the end of August, the rains reach the tundra zone.

water streams

Describing the geographical position of the West Siberian Plain, it is necessary to talk about the water system. A huge number of rivers flow through this territory, as well as numerous lakes and swamps. The largest and most full-flowing river is the Ob with a tributary of the Irtysh. It is not only the largest in the region, but also one of the largest in the world. In terms of its area and length, the Ob dominates among the rivers of Russia. The water streams Pur, Nadym, Tobol and Taz, suitable for navigation, also flow here.

Plain in terms of the number of swamps is the world record holder. Such a vast territory cannot be found on the globe. Marshes occupy an area of ​​800 thousand square meters. km. There are several reasons for their formation: excessive moisture, a flat surface of the plain, a large amount of peat, and low air temperature.

Minerals

This region is rich in minerals. This is largely influenced by the geographical position of the West Siberian Plain. Oil and gas deposits are concentrated here in huge quantities. On its vast swampy areas there is a large supply of peat - approximately 60% of the total amount in Russia. There are iron ore deposits. Siberia is also rich in its hot waters, which contain salts of carbonates, chlorides, bromine and iodine.

Animal and plant worlds

The climate of the plain is such that the flora here is quite poor compared to neighboring regions. This is especially noticeable in the taiga and tundra zone. The reason for such a poverty of plants is perennial glaciation, which does not allow plants to spread.

The fauna of the plain is also not very rich, despite the vast extent of the territories. The geographical position of the West Siberian Plain is such that it is almost impossible to meet interesting individuals here. There are no unique animals living only in this territory. All species that live here are common with the rest of the regions, both neighboring ones, and the entire mainland of Eurasia.

The West Siberian Plain is one of the largest flat areas in the world, covering approximately 80% of Western Siberia.

Features of nature

In terms of total area, the West Siberian Plain is surpassed only by the Amazonian. The plain stretches from the coast of the Kara Sea south to the north of Kazakhstan. The total area of ​​the West Siberian Plain is about 3 million square kilometers. km 2. Predominantly wide gently sloping and flat interfluves, which separate terraced valleys, prevail here.

The altitude amplitudes of the plain range on average between 20 and 200 m above sea level, but even the highest points reach 250 m.

On the lands of the West Siberian Plain, a continental climate dominates, the level of precipitation here is different: in the tundra and steppe regions - about 200 mm per year, in the taiga area it increases to 700 mm. General average temperatures - - 16°C in winter, + 15°C in summer.

Large full-flowing rivers flow on the territory of the plain, in particular the Yenisei, Taz, Irtysh and Ob. There are also very large lakes (Ubinskoye, Chany), and many smaller ones, some of them are salty. Some regions of the West Siberian Plain are characterized by wetlands. The center of the northern part is continuous permafrost. Solonchaks and solonetzes are common in the extreme south of the plain. The western-northern territory in all respects corresponds to the temperate zone - forest-steppe, steppe, taiga, deciduous forests.

Flora of the West Siberian Plain

The flat relief significantly contributes to zoning in the distribution of vegetation cover. The zonality of this territory has significant differences in comparison with similar zones in Eastern Europe. Due to difficulties in runoff, lichens, mosses and shrubs grow predominantly in wetlands in the north of the plains. Southern landscapes are formed under the influence of groundwater with a high level of salinity.

About 30% of the area of ​​the plain is occupied by massifs of coniferous trees, many of which are swampy. Smaller areas are covered with dark coniferous taiga - spruces, firs and cedars. Occasionally, broad-leaved tree species are found in the southern regions. In the southern part there are very common birch forests, many of which are secondary.

Fauna of the West Siberian Plain

More than 450 species of vertebrates live in the expanses of the West Siberian Plain, of which 80 species belong to mammals. Many species are protected by law, as they belong to the category of rare and endangered. Recently, the fauna of the plain has been significantly enriched with acclimatized species - muskrat, hare, teleutka squirrel, American mink.

In reservoirs live mainly carp and bream. In the eastern part of the West Siberian Plain, some eastern species are found: chipmunk, Dzungarian hamster, etc. In most cases, the fauna of this territory is not much different from the animal world of the Russian Plain.

West Siberian Lowland the third largest plain on our planet after the Amazonian and Russian. Its area is about 2.6 million square kilometers. The length of the West Siberian Lowland from north to south (from the coast to the mountains of Southern Siberia and) is about 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from west to east (from to) - 1.9 thousand kilometers. The West Siberian lowland is quite clearly bounded from the north by the coastline of the sea, from the south by the hills of Kazakhstan and mountains, from the west by the eastern foothills of the Urals, and in the east by the valley of the Yenisei River.

The surface of the West Siberian Lowland is flat with a rather insignificant elevation difference. Small hills are characteristic mainly of the western, southern and eastern outskirts. There, their height can reach about 250-300 meters. The northern and central regions are characterized by lowlands with a height of 50-150 meters above sea level.

On the entire surface of the plain there are flat areas of interfluves, as a result of which they are significantly waterlogged. In the northern part, small hills and sandy manes are sometimes found. Rather impressive areas on the territory of the West Siberian Lowland are occupied by ancient hollows, the so-called woodlands. here they are mainly expressed by rather shallow hollows. Only some of the largest rivers flow in deep (up to 80 meters) valleys.

Yenisei river

The glacier also had an impact on the nature of the relief of Western Siberia. The northern part of the plain was mainly affected by it. At the same time, water accumulated in the center of the lowland, as a result of which a fairly flat plain was formed. In the southern part, there are slightly elevated sloping plains with many shallow basins.

More than 2,000 rivers flow on the territory of the West Siberian Lowland. Their total length is about 250 thousand kilometers. The largest are . They are not only navigable, but also used to generate energy. They feed mainly on meltwater and rain (in the summer-autumn period). There are also a large number of lakes here. In the southern regions they are filled with salt water. The West Siberian Lowland holds the world record for the number of swamps per unit area (the area of ​​the wetland is about 800 thousand square kilometers). The reasons for this phenomenon are the following factors: excessive moisture, flat terrain, and the ability of peat, which is available here in large quantities, to hold a significant amount of water.

Due to the large length of the West Siberian Lowland from north to south and the uniformity of the relief, there are many natural zones in its aisles. In all zones, rather large areas are occupied by lakes and swamps. are absent here, and the zone is rather insignificant.

A large area is occupied by the zone, which is explained by the northern position of the West Siberian Plain. To the south is the forest-tundra zone. As mentioned above, the forests in this area are mostly coniferous. The forest-bog zone occupies about 60% of the territory of the West Siberian Lowland. The strip of coniferous forests is followed by a narrow zone of small-leaved (mainly birch) forests. The forest-steppe zone is formed in the conditions of a flat relief. The groundwater occurring here at a shallow depth is the cause of a large number of swamps. In the extreme southern part of the West Siberian Lowland is located, which is mostly plowed up.

In the flat southern regions of Western Siberia, a variety of manes are introduced - sandy ridges 3-10 meters high (sometimes up to 30 meters), covered with pine forests, and pegs - birch and aspen groves that are scattered among the steppes.