Influence natural conditions on the lives and economic activities of people. Classification of Russian territories according to the level of comfort. The dependence of the location of industries National economy from natural features territory. Unfavorable and dangerous phenomena nature: problems of protection of the population and economy. Classification natural resources and their distribution throughout the country. Economic and geographical assessment of natural resources: quantitative, technological, cost.

Natural factors have played and continue to play essential role in the life and development of human society.

The concept of "natural factors" usually includes the following categories: natural conditions, natural resources, sustainability of landscapes and ecological situation, which we will consider further mainly from the standpoint of the science of management.

Under natural conditions is understood the totality of the most important natural characteristics territories reflecting the main features of the components natural environment or local natural phenomena.

Natural conditions directly affect the life and economic activity of the population. On them depend: the resettlement of the population, the development and distribution of productive forces, their specialization. They determine the cost and, consequently, the competitiveness of manufactured products, which is especially important for countries with a significant distribution of extreme natural features, including Russia.

Among the components of the natural environment, as a rule, climate, geological environment, surface and The groundwater, soils, biota, and landscapes.

Optional but very important characteristic natural conditions is the prevalence of local natural phenomena - adverse and dangerous natural phenomena, which include natural disasters and natural foci of infections.

The climatic features of the territory are manifested primarily in the ratio of heat and moisture.

The amount of heat required to complete the vegetation cycle (growth period) is called the biological sum of temperatures. Thermal resources determine the energy of plant growth.

As the world's largest country in terms of territory (about 17 million sq. km), Russia is characterized by a significant variety of climatic conditions. At the same time, it should be emphasized that Russia as a whole is the northernmost and most cold country in the world, which affects its economy, economy, many aspects of the life of the population and politics. The consequence of climatic conditions is permafrost, which covers an area equal to almost 10 million square meters. km.

specifics permafrost must be taken into account when creating engineering structures: pipelines, bridges, iron and highways, power lines and other infrastructure facilities.

Humidification is manifested primarily in the form of precipitation, which is the second most important climatic factor. It is necessary for the entire period of plant life. The lack of moisture leads to a sharp decrease in yield. To identify the conditions for moistening a particular territory, they operate with indicators of the amount of precipitation and the magnitude of possible evaporation. In Russia, territories with excessive moisture predominate; excess of precipitation over evaporation.

The most important factors the formation of the natural specificity of the region are the relief and geological structure. Influencing all components of the natural environment, the relief contributes to the emergence of differences in landscapes and at the same time is itself affected by natural zonality and altitudinal zonality. Engineering-geological conditions of the area reflect the composition, structure and dynamics of the upper horizons earth's crust in connection with the economic (engineering) activities of a person. On the basis of engineering and geological studies, the most favorable places for the placement of various types of economic objects are determined, stability calculations are carried out rocks at construction works ah, reworking of the banks after filling reservoirs, the stability of dams, determine the requirements for the construction of structures in permafrost conditions, excessive surface moisture in seismic, karst, landslide areas, etc. Accounting for mining and geological conditions is vital in all areas of economic activity, but especially in urban planning, transport and hydraulic engineering construction.

For agriculture and a number of other sectors of the economy, soil conditions are of paramount importance. Soil is a special natural body formed as a result of the transformation of the surface layer of the earth's crust under the influence of water, air and biota and combines the properties of living and inanimate nature. The value properties of the soil are reflected in its fertility - the ability to provide plants with digestible nutrients and moisture and create conditions for harvesting.

Under the biota natural sciences understand the historically established set of living organisms living in any large area, i.e. fauna and flora of this area. The characteristic of the natural conditions of the area also includes an assessment of vegetation and wildlife.

In Russia, the main types of vegetation include tundra, forest, meadow and steppe. Among various types vegetation a special place belongs to the forest. Their ecological and economic value is high, as well as their unique environment-forming role on the planet.

Natural conditions affect almost all aspects Everyday life population, features of its work, rest and life, people's health and the possibility of their adaptation to new, unusual conditions. Total score natural conditions is determined by the level of their comfort for humans. To measure it, up to 30 parameters are used (duration climatic periods, temperature contrast, climate humidity, wind regime, the presence of natural foci infectious diseases etc.)

According to the level of comfort, there are:

1. extreme territories (polar regions, high mountainous areas high latitudes etc.);

2. uncomfortable territories - areas with harsh natural conditions, unsuitable for life of non-indigenous, unadapted population; subdivided into cold humid (arctic deserts, tundra), arid territories (deserts and semi-deserts), as well as mountainous areas;

3. hypercomfortable territories - areas with limited favorable natural conditions for the resettlement population; subdivided into boreal (forests temperate zone) and semiarid (temperate steppes);

4. precomfortable territories - areas with minor deviations from the natural optimum for the formation of a permanent population;

5. comfortable areas - areas with practically ideal conditions the external environment for the life of the population; characteristic of the southern part of the temperate zone, in Russia they are represented by small areas.

Natural conditions are of paramount importance for those sectors of the national economy that operate under open sky. It is rural, forest and water management. Almost all types of construction are in great dependence on natural conditions. The natural parameters of the territory have a significant impact on the organization of urban utilities.

In the north and in other regions with extreme natural conditions, there is a need to create special technical means adapted to these conditions, for example, with an increased margin of safety.

A specific form of natural conditions are internal inherent in themes or other areas adverse and dangerous natural phenomena (NOH) or natural disasters

To the most common and at the same time dangerous for humans natural disasters include earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, hurricanes and storms, tornadoes, typhoons, landslides, landslides, mudflows, avalanches, forest and peat fires. Typical examples adverse natural phenomena are droughts, frosts, severe frosts, thunderstorms, heavy or prolonged rains, hail and some others.

Vital in many cases, protection from NOA inevitably leads to a significant increase in the cost of building and maintaining cities and communications; technologies adapted to increased loads or capable of preventing dangerous impacts.

Natural resources are represented by those elements of the natural environment that can be used in the process of material production on this stage development of society. They are used to obtain industrial and food raw materials, electricity generation, etc.

As the basis of any production, they are divided into:

1. subsoil resources (these include all types of mineral raw materials and fuel);

2. biological, land and water resources;

3. resources of the World Ocean;

4. recreational resources.

On the basis of exhaustibility, natural resources are divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible.

Exhaustible resources are divided into non-renewable and renewable. Inexhaustible natural resources include water, climatic and space resources, the resources of the World Ocean.

Mineral resources remain an indispensable basis for the development of any society. According to the nature of industrial and sectoral use, they are divided into three large groups:

fuel or combustible - liquid fuel (oil), gaseous (usable gas), solid (coal, oil shale, peat), nuclear fuel (uranium and thorium). These are the main sources of energy for most modes of transport, thermal and nuclear power plants, blast furnaces. All of them, except for nuclear fuel, are used in chemical industry;

metal ore - ferrous, non-ferrous, rare ores, noble metals, rare and rare earth metals. They form the basis for the development of modern engineering;

non-metallic - mining and chemical raw materials (asbestos, graphite,

mica, talc), building materials (clays, sands, limestones),

agrochemical raw materials (sulfur, salts, phosphorites, and apatites), etc.

The economic-geographical assessment of mineral resources is complex concept and includes three types of assessments.

It includes: quantification individual resources (for example, coal in tons, gas, wood in cubic meters, etc.), its value increases as the exploration of the resource increases and decreases j as it is exploited; technological, technical (reveals the suitability of resources for economic purposes, their condition and study, the degree of exploration and availability) and cost (in monetary terms).

total cost of explored and estimated mineral resources is 28.6 (or 30.0) trillion US dollars, of which a third is gas (32.2%), 23.3 - coal, 15.7 - oil, and the forecast potential is 140 .2 trillion US dollars (structure: 79.5% - solid fuel, 6.9 - gas, 6.5 - oil).

The natural resource potential of Russia is distributed unevenly across the territory. The main and most promising sources natural resources are located mainly in the East and North of the country and are removed from the developed areas at very considerable distances. To share eastern regions accounts for 90% of the reserves of all fuel resources, more than 80% hydropower, high specific gravity reserves of ores of non-ferrous and rare metals.

Russia is the largest state in the world in terms of territory with a rich variety of natural and climatic conditions. Any subject of the Russian Federation can be equated in size with one or another state of Europe, the territory of some Federal districts of the country is comparable to the area of ​​a number of the largest states in the world. The country has a high diversity of territorial distribution of natural resources and population settlement.

Most of the territory of Russia lies in the temperate climate zone; Northern Islands Arctic Ocean and the northern continental regions lie in the arctic and subarctic belts; Black Sea coast The Caucasus is located in the subtropical zone. The climate is almost universally continental, with cold winters with long snow cover and hot summers.

The coldest place northern hemisphere(with minimum temperature January -68 C) - the city of Oymyakon in Eastern Siberia. In the south of the Far East, the climate is moderately monsoonal with average January temperatures from 0 C to -5 C. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the mountains of the Caucasus and Altai (up to 2000 mm per year), the driest region is the Caspian Lowland (about 150 mm of precipitation per year). ).

Among the most important natural features of the Russian Federation are its size. Russia is the largest state in the world by area. This is its essential merit. But at the same time big sizes territories also cause significant difficulties in the life and economic activity of Russians. The vast expanses of the state represent a certain advantage in a defensive sense. In the vastness of Russia, more than one invasion of its enemies choked, which initially won victories and captured vast territories of the country. But they usually did not have enough strength to hold back what they had conquered, and the conquerors left our country. When trying to occupy Russia, a lot of energy had to be spent on guarding stretched communications, on fighting partisans in the rear of the advancing armies. Suffice it to recall the invasion of the armies of Napoleon, who managed to capture Smolensk and Moscow, the interventionists who captured the north, south and Far East of Russia during the Civil War. The fascist German armies reached Moscow, the Volga and the Caucasus, but their offensive ended in complete defeat.

Vast spaces make you have big army to protect the borders and the entire territory. Total length Russia's borders is 61 thousand km. Of these, land areas make up 14.5 thousand km, river - 7 thousand km, lake - 0.5 thousand km. Previously, all the borders of the USSR were well technically equipped and were under constant supervision of border guards. After the collapse Soviet Union most of land borders was not equipped in any way (more than 50%). The greatest length of unimproved borders is with Kazakhstan. maritime border is 39 thousand km.

Russia - sea ​​power, it has four navies: Northern, Baltic, Pacific and Black Sea. The bases of these fleets are separated from each other by huge distances, which makes it difficult for them to interact.

The vast size of the country's geographic space is in clear contradiction with Russia's relatively small population. The current rapid decline in the number of Russians leads to an aggravation of the problem of using natural resources and preserving the country's territory. As N.N. Klyuev, “Russia's huge, far from being developed natural resources, including its territory, are unlikely to remain out of sight of other countries in the conditions of an acute shortage of resources in the world. Attention outside world to the disproportion between underdeveloped Russian territory, rich in natural resources, and with a relatively small population, is a real threat to Russia's national security."

The huge size of the country and the inconvenient configuration of its space hinder transport, economic and social ties in Russia. This increases the cost of production, significantly affects the decline in the living standards of Russians. Indirectly, long distances also affect the health of Russians. For example, the record high life expectancy of the Japanese is associated with the nature of their diet, in particular, with the consumption of large amounts of fish and seafood. The reason for the decline in the share of seafood in the diet of Russians is not only a decrease in the country's fish catch, but also a sharp increase in prices for seafood. This increase is due to a number of reasons, including the huge distances of fish transportation to the consumer: 60% of the total Russian fish catch is in the Sea of ​​Japan, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Bering Sea.

Russia has many minerals, which is due to the geological structure. In terms of the value of minerals, Russia is the richest country in the world. The population of Russia is only 2.1% of the world. But the Russians account for more than 50% of the world's diamond and gas reserves. In terms of reserves of nickel, zinc, silver, titanium, platinum group metals, coal, lead, cobalt, molybdenum, Russia occupies a leading position. Considering the cost of mineral resources per capita, our country is 2-3 times richer than the USA, 5-6 times richer than the countries of Western Europe.

Oil and gas resources enjoy the greatest attention in the modern world market. Russia ranks first in terms of gas reserves. More than 75% of the explored Russian oil and gas fields onshore are already involved in development. At the same time, the depletion of these deposits is approaching 50%. Many oil and gas fields have been discovered on the shelves of the Baltic, Barents, Okhotsk, Japanese, Caspian, and Azov seas. The area of ​​the Russian shelf exceeds 6.2 million km 2 , of which 4 million km 2 are promising for oil and gas. The main volumes of oil and gas reserves are concentrated on the shelves of the Arctic seas. Here, their production is hindered by harsh climatic conditions. This significantly increases the price of oil and gas production compared to other areas of the world.

Large areas in Russia are occupied by wetlands - swamps, swampy and waterlogged lands (wetland in English means "wet land"). About 60% of the swamp area in the Northern Hemisphere is concentrated in Russia; they occupy vast areas in Western Siberia. The Vasyugan swamp with an area of ​​53 thousand km 2 is considered the largest in the world. The total area of ​​peat bogs in Western Siberia is 400 thousand km 2, and together with swampy and waterlogged lands, it reaches 1 million km 2. General stocks peat in Russia is estimated at 163 billion tons at 40% humidity. In addition to Western Siberia, extensive swamps are located in the North Siberian, Yano-Indigirskaya and Kolyma lowlands. There are many swampy areas on the Russian Plain - in the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Novgorod, Tver, Leningrad regions. Swamps make it difficult to lay roads, impede construction, and increase the cost of mining. For example, most of the oil fields are located in Western Siberia among swamps. But swamps also play a positive role. They serve as reservoirs of water, sustainable sources of food for rivers. AT total volume peat, the proportion of water reaches 94%. Bogs reliably and for a long time (for hundreds of years) fix large masses of carbon compounds. Carbon is especially well preserved under water in the composition of peat. There are no soil fungi in swamps that destroy organic matter, releasing the carbon contained in them. About 75% of the area of ​​peat bogs in the world is concentrated in Russia (109 million hectares). Every year, 50 million tons are recorded in the peat mass of the swamps of our country. organic carbon, which is thus removed from planetary circulation. By absorbing excess atmospheric carbon, swamps reduce the rate of growth of the greenhouse effect, slow down global warming climate. Our country plays a leading role in the positive impact on the course of global climate processes, in the preservation of environmentally friendly properties atmospheric air.

In addition to peat, huge masses of sapropel are formed in swamps (organic substances accumulated at the bottom of lakes and lagoons from the remains of aquatic organisms, plants, protozoa, mixed with mineral sediments). It is possible to produce motor fuel, various oils, lighting gas, coke, acetic acid, methyl alcohol, wax, insulating materials from sapropel. Peat and sapropel can be used in agriculture as organomineral fertilizers. Sapropel is used in medicine. Its healing properties are similar to expensive mumiyo. The total reserves of sapropel in Russia make up 30% of the world's resources. Peat and sapropel represent a huge energy reserve.
Russia is located in 10 natural zones. The most agriculturally productive steppe and forest-steppe zones occupy only one fifth of the country. The most valuable crops are grown here, such as sunflower, sugar beet, corn, and wheat. The fertile soils of the steppe and forest-steppe make up slightly more than half of the country's total arable land. The remaining fields are located on marginal lands that need constant and intensive fertilization.

Mountainous areas are mainly located in the south and east of the country. They serve as shock absorbers for seismic stresses arising from movements from the south and east. lithospheric plates on the Eurasian plate. There are no mountain structures in the west of the country. This contributes to the penetration of moist and warm Atlantic air masses far into the depths of Russia. Mountains serve as a condenser and store of moisture, including in the form of snow and ice. Most of the great rivers of Russia (except the Volga) originate in the mountains and carry their waters to the Arctic Ocean.
In our country, there are a lot of unfavorable natural factors that greatly complicate life in the mountains. These include high seismicity, frequent mudflows, avalanches, rockfalls, the dominance of steep slopes, on which it is difficult to build roads and houses, and engage in agriculture. Therefore, the main branch of agriculture in the mountains is animal husbandry.

Among the most important negative properties Russia's nature includes its weather and climate features. Almost the entire country is located north of 50°N. Delivers inconvenience and a short growing season. In different natural zones, it lasts from four to six months.
The northern position of the country, unfavorable climatic conditions affect all spheres of economic activity and everyday life of people. Huge amounts of money are being spent on combating the cold. Average duration heating season in Russia - 225 days. In short, he is in Adygea - 154 days. The longest is in Chukotka - 318 days. In Moscow duration heating season averages 214 days. Large expenditures on heating, construction, clothing, and food increase the cost of living for Russians.

Russia is a great snow power. Many of its natural and economic features are determined by the snow cover. Snow for Russia is both a blessing and a disaster. Big funds are spent in cities to fight snow drifts. But thanks to the snow in Russia, winter farming with its more sustainable crops is possible. Snow is an accumulator of moisture in the fields and in reservoirs.

45% of all agricultural land in Russia is located in the zone of insufficient moisture, risky farming. Therefore, after the abolition of serfdom in Russia, a form of unification of agricultural labor took shape in the form of communal farming, which served as the basis for collective agricultural labor in the 30s of the last century. Current attempts to massively expand farming forms of agricultural production have been unsuccessful.

More than 60% of the country's territory is covered with permafrost soils. To the east of the Yenisei, permafrost is found up to the very southern borders countries. The presence of permafrost has a negative impact on all sectors of the economy and complicates the technology of construction work. For example, in Norilsk, most of the buildings are raised above the frozen ground and placed on piles. In areas of permafrost, many cities and towns are surrounded by mountains of garbage.
In permafrost soils, the processes of its decomposition do not occur. In these areas it is difficult to solve problems of water supply. Nevertheless, some natural features of permafrost regions are positive character. In summer, the upper active layer of permafrost thaws and provides moisture to the roots of plants. Therefore, in Siberia, even in areas with low rainfall, forests of Dahurian larch grow. It has a horizontal root system and can feed on moisture from thawed permafrost. There are also a number of positive geoecological factors associated with permafrost. It performs important environmental regulatory functions both on a national scale and on a global scale.

Russia has the largest forest area in the world. There are 1.2 billion hectares of forest here (about a quarter of the entire forest fund of the planet). The global demand for commercial timber is constantly growing. Satisfying the demand for logging is possible only at the expense of Russia. Exist great difficulties in the use of Russian forests. Most of them are located in temperate latitudes with a cold climate. This state of forests does not contribute to their rapid recovery. In areas that are easily accessible for exploitation, forests have been largely cut down. Harvesting wood in remote areas is difficult due to the lack of logging roads.

Photo: World Wide Gifts World Wide Gifts

The forests of Russia have not only economic, but also global geoecological significance. They serve as one of the most important regulators of both regional and global geo-economic processes. In natural forests up to 90% solar radiation absorb needles and leaves. Forests serve as natural pumps that regulate and enhance most of Russia's continental moisture cycle, clean atmospheric air from carbon dioxide emissions, and generate huge amounts of oxygen in the process of photosynthesis. Only Brazilian forests play a role comparable to Russian forests in the global ecosystem.

Russia has a huge hydroecological potential. More than 2.5 million rivers flow on its territory. Russia has a very great resources fresh water. But these resources have a number of significant shortcomings that hinder their rational use. First, the volumes of water vary greatly both by season and by year. Most of the country's rivers are fed by snow, so their main runoff occurs in spring. This is the main reason for fluctuations in their water content. Uneven flow interferes with the rational use of hydro resources, accompanied by large economic losses. A significant part of the water drains unused. Floods and floods flood settlements, destroy bridges, impede the work of transport.

Water reserves are needed for sustainable water supply of cities and towns, large industrial enterprises. Water supply of many cities of the country is carried out with the help of reservoirs. At present, reservoirs have become a significant link in the hydroecological system of Russia. The total number of reservoirs in the country is 1200 (excluding small ones with a volume of less than 100 million m3). The creation of artificial reservoirs required huge labor and financial costs.

Disproportions in the distribution of the population and water resources are among the negative features of the Russian hydroelectric network. About 90% of the annual river runoff falls on the basins of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. Less than 8% - to the basins of the Caspian and Azov Seas, where 80% of Russia's population lives and its main industrial and agricultural potential is concentrated. Under the influence of economic use, there is a rapid depletion of water resources in the southern region of the country. The possibilities of irretrievable water withdrawal in the basins of the Don, the Urals, and the Moskva River have been practically exhausted.
Among the significant negative properties of the Russian hydro network is the long standing of ice on the rivers: on average, about half a year, the rivers and lakes of Russia are not navigable.

The Volga basin occupies a special place in the river network of Russia. More than 40% of the country's population lives within its borders, and about half of the industrial and agricultural potential is concentrated. Majority developed countries peace through major navigable rivers connected with the oceans, which contributes to their international relations. The Volga does not offer such opportunities for the main economically developed region of Russia. It flows into the Caspian Sea-Lake isolated from the World Ocean. For the development of transport links between Central Russia and the seas of the World Ocean, it was necessary to build the Volga-Don canals (access to the Sea of ​​Azov), Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic. But these channels can only partially compensate for the lack of a direct output. Central Russia to the oceans.

Russia has the largest biospheric potential of the planet. Forests, waterlogged lands and swamps, huge tracts of preserved undeveloped lands act as the world's natural "cleaning plant" of the planet. About 60% of the area of ​​Russia is not affected by active economic activity(global average 39%), of which about half is still not used on the farm at all. This is the world's largest array of natural biocenoses not disturbed by human activity. These spaces occupy the north of the Russian Plain, most of Siberia and the Far East, and the high mountain regions of the country. These areas are dominated by productive natural communities of forests and swamps. Together, they have a powerful impact on the stabilization of the natural environment in global scale. In terms of geoecological significance, the natural plant communities of our country are comparable only with the powerful biota of the Amazon. The Amazonian forests play a leading role in stabilizing regional and global natural processes in the Southern Hemisphere, and Russia's natural plant communities in the Northern Hemisphere.



How did human exploration of the Earth take place? It was a very difficult and lengthy process. Even now it cannot be said that our planet has been 100% studied. Until now, there are corners of nature that no man has set foot on.

Studying the development of the earth by man 7th grade of the secondary secondary school. This knowledge is very important and helps to better understand the history of the development of civilization.

How did human exploration of the Earth take place?

The first stage of settlement, during which the ancient upright people began to migrate from East Africa to Eurasia and explore new lands, began about 2 million years ago and ended 500,000 years ago. Later, ancient people die out, and with the advent of Homo sapiens in Africa 200,000 years ago, the second stage started.

The main settlement of people was observed along the mouths of large rivers - the Tigris, Indus, Euphrates, Nile. It was in these places that the first civilizations arose, which were called river.

Our ancestors chose such sites in order to break up settlements, which would later become the centers of states. Their life was subject to a clear natural regime. In the spring, the rivers flooded, and then, when they dried up, fertile moist soil remained in this place, ideal for sowing.

Settlement on the continents

The vast majority of historians and archaeologists consider Africa and Southwestern Eurasia to be their homeland. Over time, mankind has mastered almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica. Where it is now located 30 thousand years ago there was land that connected Eurasia and North America. It was on this bridge that people penetrated into more and more new places. So, hunters from Eurasia, having passed through North America, also got into it. southern part. A man came to Australia from South-East Asia. Scientists were able to draw such conclusions based on the results of excavations.

Main areas of settlement

When considering the question of how human development of the land took place, it will be interesting to know how people chose places for their residence. Very often, entire settlements left their familiar corner and went into the unknown in search of better conditions. The developed new lands made it possible to develop animal husbandry and agriculture. The population also increased very rapidly. If about 3,000,000 people lived on Earth 15,000 years ago, now this figure exceeds 6 billion. The vast majority of people live in flat areas. It is convenient to break fields on them, build factories and factories, equip settlements.

It is possible to single out four areas where the settlement of people is the most dense. This is South and East Asia, eastern North America. There are reasons for this: favorable natural factors, the age of settlement and a developed economy. For example, in Asia, the population is still actively sowing and irrigating the soil. The favorable climate allows several harvests per year to feed a large family.

AT Western Europe and North America is dominated by urban settlement. The infrastructure is very developed here, many modern plants and factories have been built, industry prevails over agriculture.

Types of economic activity

Economic activity affects the environment and changes it. Moreover, different industries affect nature in different ways.

So, Agriculture became the root cause of the reduction of the areas of the planet where natural conditions were preserved. More and more space was required for fields and pastures, forests were cut down, animals lost their homes. Due to the constant load, the soil partially loses its fertile qualities. Artificial irrigation allows you to get good harvest but this method has its drawbacks. So, in arid regions, too abundant watering of the land can lead to salinization and a decrease in yield. Pets trample vegetation and compact ground cover. Often, in a dry climate, pastures turn into a desert.

Particularly harmful to environment rapid industrial growth. Solid and liquid substances penetrate into the soil and water, and gaseous are emitted into the air. The rapid growth of cities necessitates the development of ever new territories where vegetation is being destroyed. Environmental pollution has an extremely adverse effect on human health.

Human exploration of the Earth: countries of the world

People who live in the same area have mutual language and one culture, form an ethnos. It may consist of a nation, a tribe, a people. In the past, great ethnic groups created entire civilizations.

Currently, there are more than 200 states on the planet. All of them differ from each other. There are states that occupy an entire mainland (Australia), and there are very tiny ones, consisting of one city (Vatican). Countries also differ in terms of population. There are states with billionaires (India, China), and there are those in which no more than a few thousand live (San Marino).

So, considering the question of how the human exploration of the Earth took place, we can conclude that this process has not yet been completed and we still have a lot of interesting things to learn about our planet.

From many other planets - the presence of intelligent beings on it - people. Where and when did the first man appear? People have been searching for an answer to this question for a very long time.

Human settlement of the Earth

In the resettlement of people on the planet, two stages are distinguished. Approximately 2 million years ago, ancient people began to penetrate from other areas and to other continents. This stage of the development of the Earth ended approximately 500 thousand years ago. Subsequently, the ancient people died out.

Modern man (" homo sapiens”) appeared only about 200 thousand years ago. It was from here that the second stage of human settlement began. First of all, concern for food made them go to new unexplored lands. With an increase in the number of people, the territories on which hunting was carried out expanded, and edible plants were collected. The resettlement of people was facilitated by strong changes climate. The level 15-16 thousand years ago was 130 m lower than the current one, so there were "land bridges" between individual continents and islands. The transition to a settled way of life occurred 11 thousand years ago. This contributed to the development of ancient civilizations. Many monuments of their culture have survived to this day.

Races

The long existence of people in various natural conditions led to the emergence of races - large groups people who have common, inherited, external signs. According to external signs, all of humanity is divided into four large geographical races.

Negroid race formed in hot regions of the Earth. Dark, almost black, skin, coarse curly or wavy black hair, characteristic of these people, protect against sunburn and overheating of the body. Brown eyes. A wide, flat nose and thick lips help regulate body temperature.

australoid race according to the external signs of its representatives, it is close to Negroid.

Mongoloid adapted to life in the steppes and semi-deserts, where summer temperatures are high, frequent strong winds and dust storms. Yellow protects skin from excessive exposure to sunlight. The narrow slit of the eyes saves them from wind and dust. Mongoloids have straight, coarse hair, a large flattened face, prominent cheekbones, and a slightly protruding nose.

Caucasian race divided into northern and southern branches. Southern Caucasians have swarthy skin, brown eyes, and dark hair. The northern ones have white skin, light and soft hair, blue or gray eyes.

Mixed races. Over time, the proportion of people on Earth is growing, in the form of which there are signs different races. They form mixed races, the emergence of which is associated with the migration of people. These include mestizos - the descendants of Europeans and Indians; mulattos - descendants of Europeans and peoples negroid race; sambo - descendants of Indians and peoples of the Negroid race; Malgash - descendants of the peoples of the Negroid and Mongoloid races.

Russia occupies about 1/3 of the territory of the Eurasian continent, where about 23% of the country's area is located in the east of Europe and about 76% of the area in northern Asia. Due to the vast territories and in some places of great distance from the sea, the climate of Russia is continental, which is characterized by all four seasons with pronounced summer and winter.

Flora and fauna of Russia

The nature of Russia is diverse and has its own characteristics in different parts of the country. The territory of Russia consists of different natural zones: arctic deserts, tundra, taiga, mixed and broad-leaved forests, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Along with climatic conditions, this gives big variety in the nature of Russia for the world of plants and animals.

The flora of nature in Russia

Vegetable world make up a huge variety of plant communities growing in all types of natural zones of Russia.

The most common types of vegetation in Russia are tundra, forest, steppe, meadow, swamp and others with a characteristic climate for certain natural zones.
To the section...

Flora of Russia:

Animal world of nature in Russia

The animal world is represented by a diverse rich fauna, characterized by various types representatives of the animal world living throughout Russia.

In different natural zones, the animal world of Russia is all the more diverse when moving from north to south and from the plains to the mountains, where the number of endemic and relict animal species is more prevalent.
To the section...

Fauna of Russia:

Nature of Russia: regions, republics, territories

All plants and animals in the nature of Russia are in close relationships, determined by the climate and geographical location throughout the country. Nevertheless, each region, region, being in certain natural zones, has its own pronounced flora and fauna, determining the unique diversity of nature in various regions of Russia.

Central federal district located on the East European Plain. characteristic natural areas: mixed and broad-leaved forests, forest-steppe.

The entire territory of the district (3.8% of the entire territory of Russia) is characterized by moderate continental climate with cold winters and warm summers.
To the section...

The nature of the central district of Russia:

The Northwestern Federal District is located in the Northern and Northwestern parts of Russia. Characteristic natural zones: mixed and broad-leaved forests.

The entire territory of the district (9.87% of the entire territory of Russia) is characterized by a fairly moderate continental climate with cool winters and moderately warm summers.
To the section...

Nature of the Northwestern District of Russia:

The Southern Federal District is located in the south of the European part of Russia. Characteristic natural zones: steppe (plain), mountainous and mountainous.

Throughout the district (2.4% of the entire territory of Russia), a moderately warm climate is typical with not cold winters and warm, sometimes hot summers.
To the section...

Nature Southern District Russia:

The Volga Federal District is located in the south of the European part of Russia. Characteristic natural zones: mixed and broad-leaved forests.

The entire territory of the district (6.06% of the entire territory of Russia) is characterized by a continental climate with pronounced seasons.
To the section...

Nature of the Volga region of Russia:

North Caucasian District of Russia

The North Caucasian Federal District is located in the south of the European part of Russia, in the central and eastern part North Caucasus. Characteristic natural zones: flat, foothill and mountainous.

The entire territory of the district (1% of the entire territory of Russia) is characterized by a moderately warm climate with mild winters, warm and hot summers.
To the section...

Nature of the North Caucasian region of Russia:

The Ural Federal District is located at the junction of the borders of the European and Asian parts of Russia. Characteristic natural zones: forest with an abundance of coniferous forests, tundra, forest-tundra and taiga.

The entire territory of the district (10.64% of the entire territory of Russia) is characterized by a sharply continental climate with severe winters and short hot summers.

The Far Eastern Federal District occupies the largest large area Russia and is located on Far East, almost all subjects have access to the sea. The most diverse natural zones are characteristic: from arctic deserts, tundra, forest-tundra, taiga, to forest-steppes with mixed and broad-leaved forests.

The entire territory of the district (36% of the entire territory of Russia) has a varied climate from sharply continental with pronounced winters and summers to monsoonal with little snow in winter and heavy rainfall in summer.
To the section...

Nature of the Far Eastern District of Russia: