The concept of the plain. The word "plain" or the expression "level place" is well known to everyone. Everyone knows that there are no absolutely flat places, that plains can have slopes, undulations, hills, etc. In geography, under the name of plains or flat areas, they mean vast spaces in which the heights of neighboring sections differ relatively little from each other. An example of one of the most perfect vast plains is the West Siberian lowland and especially its southern part. Here you can travel hundreds of kilometers and not meet a single significant hill. In its northern part, the West Siberian Lowland is more hilly. Nevertheless, even here elevations reaching 200 m Height is a rarity.

But not all flat areas have a similar leveled surface. Suffice it to point to the East European (or Russian) Plain, within which we have elevations up to 300 or more meters of absolute height and depressions, the absolute height of which is below ocean level (Caspian lowland). The same can be said about other large lowlands (Amazonian, Mississippi, Laplata, etc.).

The flat regions include not only lowlands, but also many plateaus: the Central Siberian, Arabian, Deccan, etc. Due to the high absolute height, their surface is usually more dissected by flowing waters. The latter can be clearly seen on the example of the Central Siberian Plateau, within which the absolute heights range from 500 to 1 thousand meters. m, not counting the valleys of large rivers with absolute heights less than 200 m.

So far we have been talking about large plains. But, besides these vast plain areas, there are a lot of smaller plains, located mainly along the banks of rivers, lakes and seas (Rionskaya, Kurinskaya, Lombardskaya, Ronskaya, Zeya-Bureinskaya plains and many others).

It goes without saying that the plains are far from identical in character, structure and origin. Therefore, plains, like all other landforms, are classified, that is, divided into groups, using one or another feature. So, if we proceed from the absolute height, then the rabbis divide into lowlands(from 0 to 200 m), elevated plains, or simply hills(up to 300-500 m), and finally plateaus(over 500 m). Depending on the shape of the relief, plains are distinguished as flat, inclined, bowl-shaped, wavy, etc. It is important for us to know not only the height and shape of the surface of the plain, but also the origin (genesis) of the plain. The latter is also important because the form, character and many other features of the plain are determined by its genesis. Therefore, when considering the most typical plains of the globe, we divide them into groups based on the genetic principle.

primary plains. The vast plains that have come out from under the sea level are collectively called the primary plains. Primary plains are composed predominantly of horizontal layers, which, in fact, determine the basic shape of the surface of these plains. The latter gives reason to call the primary plains structural. It is also easy to understand that large primary, or structural, plains are platform areas.

An example of the youngest primary plain is the Caspian lowland, which became dry land only at the end of the Quaternary. The surface of the Caspian lowland is almost not dissected by rivers. A relatively young primary plain is also the West Siberian Lowland, most of which came out from under the sea level by the beginning of the Neogene. The surface of this lowland has already been largely changed by the activity of flowing waters, and in the northern part by the activity of glaciers. Examples of older primary plains are the East European Plain and the Central Siberian Plateau. Many sections of these plains emerged from under the sea level in the Mesozoic and even Paleozoic times. It is clear that these plains are changed by subsequent processes to a much greater extent. So, for example, the surface of the Central Siberian Plateau is strongly dissected by rivers, the valleys of which are cut to a depth of 250-300 m. Separate sections of the plateau dissected by rivers, depending on their size, have different names. So, vast areas with a more or less flat surface and well-defined slopes (at the edges) are called plateau; smaller areas depending on the height are called mesas(Fig. 234) or dining heights. The flat upper surface of the table mountains here is due to the more resistant rock of the upper layers.

alluvial plains. Plains formed by sediments and deposits of river waters are collectively called alluvial plains. Among the alluvial plains there are river and deltaic. These plains are described by us in the section “The work of rivers”.

fluvioglacial plains formed by deposits of loose materials brought by melted glacial waters. They have been described by us earlier.

Lake plains. The plains that have arisen on the site of former lakes are called lacustrine plains. They represent the flat bottoms of lakes, which disappeared as a result of their descent by rivers or the filling of lake basins with sediments. The dimensions of such plains are usually small. According to the remains of the former shores of the lake and coastal ramparts, it is possible to restore the outline of the disappeared lakes.

Coastal plains. Along the coasts of the seas, as a result of the work of waves, coastal currents, as well as the work of streams and rivers flowing into the sea, lowland strips are formed that border the coast. In some cases, these low-lying plains result from the accumulation of sediments brought by coastal water currents, washed over by waves, or deposited by coastal currents. In others, these plains are due to the abrasion activity of the sea. The sizes of both can be very different. The conditions of origin of these plains are familiar to us.

lava plateaus. Erupted liquid (basic) lavas can form large flat spaces, which are called lava plateaus. Lava plateaus are difficult to destroy. Therefore, dense river networks are usually not formed here. River valleys are characterized by a canyon-like character and often with steeply falling banks. The latter is also due to the very high strength of the rock. The alternation of lavas and tuffs often gives the shores a stepped character.

The dissection of the lava plateau by canyons is, as it were, the first stage in the transformation of their relief. In the future, the valleys expand and the plateau breaks into table forms. But even for table forms, the steepness of the slopes always remains characteristic. The steepness is greater at the top because the upper edges of the table forms are made of resistant volcanic rocks. More gentle slopes at the bases of table forms are mainly due to the presence of screes.

Leveled surfaces(foamed). As a result of prolonged destruction of mountains, leveled, slightly hilly surfaces, collectively known as leveled surfaces, or peneplains, can form. In contrast to the plains formed by the accumulation of sediments (accumulation), these plains are composed of hard rocks, the occurrence of which can be very diverse. We will talk about the origin of these plains a little later in connection with the transformation of the mountains under the influence of external agents.

Upland plateau. Low areas among the mountains are usually the place of accumulation of those products of destruction that are carried away from the surrounding mountains. As a result, such areas are leveled and form vast raised plains, which are called upland plateaus. Examples of such plateaus are the Iranian plateau (about 500 m in height), Gobi (over 1 thousand m), Tibet (4-5 thousand m).

All the types of plains we have noted can be grouped into three main groups.

The first group is the primary, or structural, plains. The basic shape of these plains is determined by their structure. These are predominantly platform areas.

The second group is various kinds of accumulative plains (alluvial, fluvioglacial, lacustrine, coastal plains and volcanic plateaus). Most of these plains are confined to areas of subsidence.

The third group is the residual, or denudation, plains that arose on the site of the former mountains as a result of denudation processes (leveled surfaces, or peneplains, and abrasion plains).

encyclopedic reference(from the geography textbook for the 6th grade "The World of the Earth")

We live on a planet of the plains. The flat relief prevails over the mountainous one both on land and at the bottom of the ocean.

Plains called vast and fairly flat areas of the earth's surface. The plains are distinguished by a small fluctuation in heights and small slopes.

The largest plain on earth Amazonian lowland- Located in South America. Its area exceeds 5 million km2. In Russia, the largest plain is West Siberian Plain. Its area is about 3 million km2.

Common on the plains hills- landforms similar to standing low mountains. In nature, it is quite difficult to distinguish a high hill from a low mountain. Scientists have agreed to call hills those of them that rise above the surrounding plain by no more than 200 m.

In appearance, the plains are flat and hilly. There are no big ups and downs on the flats.

Extensive flat plains are very rare. There are many more small flat plains. They are found along the coasts of the seas and large rivers.

If the height of the plains does not exceed 200 m above sea level, they are called lowlands. Plains located at altitudes from 200 to 500 m above sea level are called hills, and if above 500 m, then plateaus or plateaus. The plateau differs from the plateau in its internal structure and the presence of limiting cliffs - ledges. Many deep gorges run along the cracks on the surface of the plateaus. This gives them the appearance of mountains with flat tops.

The mountains- These are areas of the earth's surface, sharply elevated above the plains. They are characterized by large elevation changes and significant slopes of the relief.

However, in the mountains you can find areas of plains. Usually they are located in wide depressions between mountain ranges and are called intermountain basins. Extensive mountain systems, consisting of mountain ranges and wide, highly elevated intermountain basins, are called uplands.

As you know, mountain they call any uplift with clearly defined slopes, soles and peaks, which rise above the plain by more than 200 m. The high parts of the mountains are called peaks, and the pointed vertices peaks. Separate mountains are rare, representing either volcanoes or the remains of destroyed mountains. Usually mountains are combined into large groups - mountainous countries. For example, Tien Shan, Andes, Caucasus. In length, mountainous countries stretch up to several thousand kilometers.

Mountains are distinguished by height: low, or lowlands,– up to 1000 m, medium, or middle mountains - 1000–2000 m, high, or highlands,- more than 2000 m.

Man-made structures - houses, quarries, ancient pyramids, dams on rivers, road embankments, canals - show the possibility of using the underground bowels by man.

Koshevoy V.A., Dushina I.V., Lobzhanidze A.A. Geography. World of the Earth: textbook. for the 6th grade. – M.: Balass, 2005.

The relief of the earth is a collection of oceans and seas and land surface irregularities that vary in age, origin and size. It consists of forms that are combined with each other. The relief of the Earth is quite diverse: giant depressions of the oceans and vast expanses of land, endless plains and mountains, high hills and deep gorges. Plains occupy the main part of the Earth's surface. This article will give a complete description of the plain.

Mountains and plains

Different sciences are engaged in the study of the reliefs of the Earth. The main landforms are mountains and plains. Geography can most fully answer the question concerning what mountains and plains are. Plains are land areas that occupy 60% of the Earth's surface. Mountains occupy 40%. Definition of mountains and plains:

• Plains are fairly large areas of land with slight slopes and slight fluctuations in elevation.
• The mountains are vast, raised high above the plains and sharply dissected land areas with significant elevation changes. The structure of the mountains: folded or folded-blocky.

According to the absolute height of the mountains are divided into:

• Lowlands. The height of such mountains is up to 1000m. They usually have gently sloping peaks, rounded slopes and relatively wide valleys. These include some mountains of northern Russia, Central Europe, such as the Khibiny on the Kola Peninsula.
• Middle mountains. Their height ranges from 1000m to 2000m. These include the Apennines and the Pyrenees, the Carpathian and Crimean mountains and others.
• Highlands. These mountains are over 2000m high. These are the Alps, the Himalayas, the Caucasus and others.

Plains classification

Plains are divided into types according to different characteristics, for example, by height, by type of surface, by the history of their development and their structure. Types of plains by absolute height:

1. Plains below sea level. An example can be such depressions as Kattara, its height is 133 m below sea level, the Turfan depression, the Caspian lowland.
2. Low plains. The height of such plains ranges from 0 to 200 m. These include the largest plains in the world, the Amazonian and La Plata lowlands.
3. The elevated plains have a height of 200m to 500m. An example is the Great Victoria Desert.
4. Upland plateaus over 500m high, such as the Ustyurt Plateau, the Great Plains of North America and others.

The surface of the plain is inclined, horizontal, convex or concave. According to the type of surface, plains are distinguished: hilly, wavy, ridged, stepped. As a rule, the higher the plains, the more dissected they are. The types of plains also depend on the history of development and their structure:

• alluvial valleys such as the Great Plain of China, the Karakum desert, etc.;
• glacial valleys;
• water-glacial, for example Polesie, foothills of the Alps, the Caucasus and Altai;
• flat low-lying sea plains. Such plains are a narrow strip along the coasts of the seas and oceans. These are such plains as the Caspian and Black Sea.

There are plains that arose on the site of the mountains after their destruction. They are composed of hard crystalline rocks and crumpled into folds. Such plains are called denudation. Examples of them are the Kazakh small-sand pit, the plains of the Baltic and Canadian shields.

The climate of the plains depends on which climatic zone they are in and on what air masses affect them. This article systematized data on the main reliefs of the Earth and gave the concept of what mountains are and what a plain is.

A plain is a type of relief, which is a flat, vast area. More than two-thirds of Russia's territory is occupied by plains. They are characterized by a slight slope and slight fluctuations in the heights of the terrain. A similar relief is also found at the bottom of marine areas. The territory of the plains can be occupied by any: deserts, steppes, mixed forests, etc.

Map of the largest plains of Russia

Most of the country is located on a relatively flat type of terrain. Favorable allowed a person to engage in cattle breeding, build large settlements and roads. On the plains, it is easiest to conduct construction activities. Many minerals and others are concentrated on them, including, and.

Below are maps, characteristics and photos of landscapes of the largest plains in Russia.

the East European Plain

East European Plain on the map of Russia

The territory of the East European Plain is approximately 4 million km². The natural northern border is the White and Barents Seas, in the south of the land they are washed by the Azov and Caspian Seas. The Vistula River is considered the western border, and the Ural Mountains - the eastern.

At the base of the plain lies the Russian platform and the Scythian plate, the foundation is covered with sedimentary rocks. Where the base is raised, uplands were formed: Pridneprovskaya, Central Russian, Volga. In places where the foundation is deeply lowered, lowlands lie: Pechora, Black Sea, Caspian.

The territory is located in moderate latitude. Atlantic air masses penetrate the plain, bringing with them precipitation. The western part is warmer than the east. The minimum temperature in January is -14˚C. In summer, the air from the Arctic gives coolness. The largest rivers flow south. Short rivers, Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora, are directed to the north. The Neman, Neva and Zapadnaya Dvina carry waters to the west. They all freeze over in the winter. Spring floods begin.

Half of the country's population lives on the East European Plain. Almost all forests are secondary forest, there are a lot of fields and arable lands. There are many minerals on the territory.

West Siberian Plain

West Siberian Plain on the map of Russia

The area of ​​the plain is about 2.6 million km². The Ural Mountains are the western border, in the east the plain ends with the Central Siberian Plateau. The Kara Sea washes the northern part. The southern border is considered to be the Kazakh small sandbox.

At the base lies the West Siberian plate, sedimentary rocks lie on the surface. The southern part is higher than the northern and central. The maximum height is 300 m. The edges of the plain are represented by the Ket-Tym, Kulunda, Ishim and Turin plains. In addition, there is the Nizhneeniseyskaya, Verkhnetazovskaya and North Sosvinskaya uplands. Siberian ridges - a complex of hills in the west of the plain.

The West Siberian Plain lies in three: arctic, subarctic and temperate. Due to the low pressure, arctic air penetrates the territory, cyclones are actively developing in the north. Precipitation is unevenly distributed, the maximum number falls on the middle part. Most precipitation falls between May and October. Thunderstorms often occur in the southern strip in summer.

The rivers flow slowly, and many swamps have formed on the plain. All reservoirs have a flat character, they have a small slope. Tobol, Irtysh and Ob originate in mountainous areas, so their regime depends on the melting of ice in the mountains. Most of the reservoirs have a north-western direction. In the spring comes a long flood.

Oil and gas are the main wealth of the plain. In total, there are more than five hundred deposits of combustible minerals. In addition to them, there are deposits of coal, ore and mercury in the bowels.

The steppe zone, located in the south of the plain, is almost completely plowed up. On the black soil there are fields of spring wheat. Plowing, which lasted for many years, led to the formation of erosion and dust storms. There are many salt lakes in the steppes, from which table salt and soda are extracted.

Central Siberian Plateau

Central Siberian Plateau on the map of Russia

The area of ​​the plateau is 3.5 million km². In the north it borders on the North Siberian Lowland. The Eastern Sayans are a natural border in the south. In the west, the lands originate from the Yenisei River, in the east they end at the Lena River valley.

At the heart of the plateau lies the Pacific lithospheric plate. Because of it, the earth's crust has risen significantly. The average heights are 500 m. The Putorana Plateau in the northwest reaches 1701 m in height. The Byrranga Mountains are located in Taimyr, their height exceeds a thousand meters. There are only two lowlands in Central Siberia: North Siberian and Central Yakut. There are many lakes here.

Most of the territories are located in the arctic and subarctic zones. The plateau is fenced off from the warm seas. Because of the high mountains, precipitation is unevenly distributed. They fall in large numbers in the summer. The earth is very cold in winter. The minimum January mark is -40˚C. Dry air and lack of winds help to endure such difficult conditions. Powerful anticyclones form during the cold season. There is little rainfall in winter. In summer, a cyclonic type of weather sets in. The average temperature during this period is +19˚C.

The largest rivers Yenisei, Angara, Lena, Khatanga flow through the lowland. They cross the faults of the earth's crust, so they have many thresholds and gorges. All rivers are navigable. Central Siberia has colossal hydropower resources. Most of the major rivers are located in the north.

Almost the entire territory is located in the zone. Forests are represented by larch species that shed their needles for the winter. Pine forests grow along the Lena and Angara valleys. In the tundra there are shrubs, lichens and mosses.

There are a lot of minerals in Siberia. There are deposits of ore, coal, oil. In the southeast are deposits of platinum. There are salt deposits in the Central Yakut lowland. There are deposits of graphite on the Nizhnyaya Tunguska and Kureika rivers. Diamond deposits are located in the northeast.

Due to difficult climatic conditions, large settlements are located only in the south. Human economic activity is focused on the mining and logging industries.

Azov-Kuban Plain

Azov-Kuban plain (Kuban-Azov lowland) on the map of Russia

The Azov-Kuban Plain is a continuation of the East European Plain, its area is 50 thousand km². The Kuban River is the southern border, and the northern one is the Yegorlyk River. In the east, the lowland ends with the Kumo-Manych depression, the western part goes to the Sea of ​​Azov.

The plain lies on the Scythian plate and is a virgin steppe. The maximum height is 150 m. Large rivers Chelbas, Beisug, Kuban flow in the central part of the plain, there is a group of karst lakes. The plain is located in the continental belt. Warm weather softens the local climate. In winter, the temperature rarely drops below -5˚C. In summer, the thermometer shows +25˚C.

The plain includes three lowlands: Prikubanskaya, Priazovskaya and Kuban-Priazovskaya. Rivers often flood settlements. There are gas deposits on the territory. The region is famous for its black earth fertile soils. Almost the entire territory is developed by man. People grow cereals. The diversity of flora is preserved only along the rivers and in the forests.

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My friend Nina lives in Kazakhstan. When I went to visit her, I saw what the plains of this country are like. We were driving to the village through the spring steppe, and it seemed to me that it had no boundaries.

What are called plains

Today my son Sasha and I are learning geography again. We understand what plains are and what signs they have.

Plains are large areas of the earth's surface with a slight slope of the terrain (no more than 5 °). Altitude fluctuations on the plain up to about 200 m.

Signs of plains by absolute height.

1. Elevated (height difference 200–500 m above sea level).
2. Low-lying (elevation difference is not more than 200 m).
3. Upland (lie at a level of over 500 m).
4. Depressions (their highest point is located below sea level).
5. Underwater plains.

The plains differ in the type of relief:

• horizontal or flat;
• wavy;
• hilly;
• stepped;
• concave.

There are denudation and accumulative plains. Denudation appeared during the destruction of the mountains. Accumulative are formed during the accumulation of sedimentary deposits.

The largest plain on earth

To make it clear to Sasha what the plains are, we considered the Amazonian lowland as an example. This plain is the largest on our planet. Its area is more than 5 million km². It is located in South America, in the Amazon basin and was formed as a result of the activity of this river, it is accumulative. The plain stretches from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. The relief of this area is not uniform. The Western Amazon is very low and flat. In the eastern Amazon, you can find elevations up to 350 m. But basically this plain is flat.

Economic importance of the plains

I told my son how important the plains are in the economy. Plains have always been of great importance in people's lives. Grain and horticultural crops grow best on their spaces.

Cows, sheep and horses graze on the expanses of the steppes, pampas and prairies. This is possible thanks to the herbs and shrubs that grow in abundance on the plains.

The basis of food for people is the plains, and this is very important.

Mostly on the plains are villages and large cities with their industries.

Plains are the most convenient places for people and animals to live. Most of the people live on the plains, 65% of the world's population.