West European Plain minerals. Soils of the Russian platform

Physical geography of Russia and the USSR
European part: Arctic, Russian Plain, Caucasus, Urals

REGIONAL NATURE REVIEWS IN RUSSIA

Chapters of the section "REGIONAL REVIEWS OF THE NATURE OF RUSSIA"

Natural areas of Russia
East European (Russian) Plain
- Natural resources

EAST EUROPEAN (RUSSIAN) PLAIN

See photos of the nature of the East European Plain: Curonian Spit, Moscow Region, Kerzhensky Reserve and the Middle Volga in the Nature section of our website.

Natural resources

The value of the natural resources of the Russian Plain is determined not only by their diversity and richness, but also by the fact that they are located in the most populated and developed part of Russia.

Mineral resources are presented iron ore Kursk magnetic anomaly associated with basement deposits within the Voronezh anteclise. The main ore here is magnetite, which occurs in Proterozoic quartzites, but ore deposits are now mainly exploited in the weathering crusts of the Precambrian basement enriched in iron oxides.

Among the minerals associated with the sedimentary cover, the main place is occupied by fossil fuels and chemical raw materials. Reserves of stone and brown coal are concentrated in the Pechora, Donetsk and Moscow region basins. Oil and gas produced at a number of fields within the Volga-Ural (Samara region, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan) and Timan-Pechora oil and gas regions. The gas condensate fields of the Astrakhan region are confined to carbon deposits of the Caspian syneclise. Place of Birth oil shale are known in the Pskov and Leningrad regions, in the Middle Volga region (near Samara) and in the northern part of the Caspian syneclise (Obshchesyrtskoye deposit).

Large deposits potassium, magnesium salts, halite, borate confined to the powerful Permian salt-bearing strata of the Caspian lowland. The largest self-sustaining lakes Elton and Baskunchak are also associated with rock salt domes. industrial clusters phosphorites in the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits are found in the central and eastern regions of the Russian Plain: in the Moscow region (Egorievskoye), the Middle Volga region (Kineshmskoye, Volskoye, etc.), on the General Syrt and in other places.

Some ore deposits are also associated with the sedimentary cover: sedimentary iron ores(brown iron ore, siderites, oolitic concretions), aluminum ores represented by deposits bauxite(Tikhvin, Timan), titanium placers(Timan). The discovery of deposits was unexpected diamonds in the northern regions of the Russian Plain (Arkhangelsk region).

The high-water rivers have significant hydropower resources and are transport routes used for navigation and timber rafting.

Agro-climatic resources make it possible to grow many valuable agricultural crops - grain, industrial, vegetable and fodder. Agro-climatic resources are successfully combined with fertile soils and: chernozems, dark chestnut, gray forest and sod-podzolic. The main areas of the most fertile soils in Russia - chernozems - are located on the Russian Plain.

The forage resources of the plain are great. Water meadows of river valleys, upland meadows of forest zones are valuable hayfields and pastures for cattle, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts are pastures for sheep, tundra and forest tundra are excellent pastures for deer. Spruce and pine taiga forests have large reserves of industrial timber.

The East European Plain occupies about 4 million km 2 in area, which is approximately 26% of the territory of Russia. In the north, east and south, its borders run along natural boundaries, in the west - along the state border. In the north, the plain is washed by the Barents and White Seas, in the south - by the Caspian, Black and Azov, in the west - by the Baltic Sea. The Ural Mountains border the plain from the east.

Large tectonic structures lie at the base of the plain - the Russian platform and the Scythian plate. In most of the territory, their basement is deeply submerged under thick layers of sedimentary rocks of different ages, lying horizontally. Therefore, flat relief prevails on the platforms. In a number of places the foundation of the platform is raised. There are large hills in these areas. The Dnieper Upland is located within the Ukrainian shield. The relatively elevated plains of Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, as well as the low mountains of the Khibiny, correspond to the Baltic Shield. The uplifted foundation of the Voronezh anticlise serves as the core of the Central Russian Upland. The same rise in the foundation is at the base of the highlands of the High Trans-Volga region. A special case is the Volga Upland, where the foundation lies at great depths. Here, during the entire Mesozoic and Paleogene, the earth's crust sagged and thick strata of sedimentary rocks accumulated. Then, during the Neogene and Quaternary time, this area of the earth's crust was uplifted, which led to the formation of the Volga Upland.

A number of large hills were formed as a result of repeated Quaternary glaciations, the accumulation of glacial material - moraine loams and sands. Such are the Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya, Northern Ridges hills.

Between the large hills are lowlands, in which the valleys of large rivers - the Dnieper, Don, Volga - were laid.

On the outskirts of the East European Plain, where the foundation of the platform is lowered very deeply, there are large lowlands - the Caspian, Black Sea, Pechora, etc. Sea advances have repeatedly occurred in these territories, including recently - in the Quaternary, therefore they are blocked by heavy marine sediments and have a flat topography. The average height of the Russian Plain is about 170 m, some elevations reach 300-400 m or more.

On the territory of the East European Plain there are rich deposits of various minerals. Iron ores of the Kursk magnetic anomaly are connected with the foundation of the platform. The Kola Peninsula is especially rich in minerals, where there are significant reserves of iron, copper, nickel, aluminum ores, huge reserves of apatite. The sedimentary cover of the platform is associated with such minerals as oil shale, mined in the strata of the Ordovician and Silurian ages in the Baltic. Carbon deposits are associated with brown coal deposits of the Moscow region, Permian - bituminous coals of the Pechora basin, oil and gas of the Urals and the Volga region, salt and gypsum of the Cis-Urals. Phosphorites, chalk and manganese are mined in the sedimentary layers of the Mesozoic.

The East European Plain is located in temperate latitudes. It is open to the north and west and as a result is exposed to the air masses that form over the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Atlantic air masses bring a significant amount of precipitation to the East European Plain, so forests grow in most of its territory. The amount of precipitation decreases from 600–900 mm per year in the west to 300–200 mm in the south and southeast. As a result, in the south of the East European Plain there are dry steppes, and in the extreme southeast, in the Caspian lowland, there are semi-deserts and deserts.

Atlantic air masses throughout the year have a moderating effect on the climate. In winter, they bring warming up to thaws. Therefore, in the western regions of the plains it is much warmer than in the eastern. Average January temperatures drop from -4° C in the Kaliningrad region to -18° C in the Cis-Urals. As a result, winter isotherms in most of the plain (except for the extreme south) stretch almost meridionally, from north-northwest to south-southeast.

Arctic air in winter spreads over the entire territory of the East European Plain up to the extreme south. It brings with it dryness and coldness. In summer, the invasion of the Arctic air is accompanied by cold snaps and droughts. The alternating invasion of the Atlantic and Arctic air masses causes the instability of weather phenomena and the dissimilarity of the seasons of different years. Summer temperatures naturally increase from north to south: average temperatures in the north are +8...+10°C, in the south +24...+26°C, and the isotherms stretch almost in the latitudinal direction. In general, the climate in most of the East European Plain is temperate continental.

Unlike other large parts of Russia, the largest rivers of the East European Plain flow south. These are the Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug, Don, Volga, Kama, Vyatka, Ural. This allows their water to be used to irrigate the arid lands of the south. Large irrigation systems have been created in the North Caucasus, which use the water of the Volga, Don and local rivers. Extensive irrigation systems have been created on the lower Don, they also exist in the Volga region.

To the north, such high-water, but relatively short rivers as the Pechora, Northern Dvina, Onega carry their water, to the west - the Western Dvina, Neva and Neman.

The upper reaches and channels of many rivers are often located close to each other, which, in conditions of flat terrain, contributes to their connection by channels. These are the channels. Moscow, Volga-Baltic, Volga-Don, White Sea-Baltic. Thanks to canals, ships from Moscow can sail along rivers, lakes and reservoirs to the Caspian, Azov, Black, Baltic and White Seas. Therefore, Moscow is called the port of five seas.

In winter, all the rivers of the East European Plain freeze. In the spring, when the snow melts, floods occur in most parts. Numerous reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been built on the rivers to retain and use spring water. The Volga and Dnieper turned into a cascade of reservoirs used both for electricity generation and for navigation, land irrigation, water supply to cities and industrial centers.

A characteristic feature of the East European Plain is a clear manifestation of latitudinal zonality. It is expressed more fully and more clearly than on other plains of the globe. It is no coincidence that the law of zoning, formulated by the famous Russian scientist Dokuchaev, was primarily based on his study of this very territory.

The flatness of the territory, the abundance of minerals, the relatively mild climate, sufficient rainfall, the diversity of natural landscapes favorable for various branches of agriculture - all this contributed to the intensive economic development of the East European Plain. In economic terms, this is the most important part of Russia. It is home to more than 50% of the country's population and hosts two-thirds of the total number of cities and workers' settlements. On the territory of the plain there is the most dense network of highways and railways. Most of the largest rivers - the Volga, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Zapadnaya Dvina, Kama - are regulated and transformed into a cascade of reservoirs. Large areas of forests have been cut down and forest landscapes have turned into a combination of forests and fields. Many forests are now secondary forests, where coniferous and broad-leaved species have been replaced by small-leaved species - birch, aspen. On the territory of the East European Plain there is half of the entire arable land of the country, about 40% of hayfields, 12% of pastures. Of all the large parts of the East European Plain, the most developed and changed by human activities.

Most of the European territory of Russia, as well as some neighboring countries, is located on the continental part of the earth's crust, which is called the East European Platform. The landform here is predominantly flat, although there are exceptions, which we will discuss below. This platform is one of the oldest geological formations on earth. Let's take a closer look at what the relief of the East European Platform is, what minerals lie in it, and also how the process of its formation took place.

Territorial location

First of all, let's find out exactly where this geological formation is located.

The East European ancient platform, or, as it is also called, the Russian platform, is located on the territory of the geographic regions of Eastern and Northern Europe. It occupies most of the European part of Russia, as well as the territories of the following neighboring states: Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Finland, Sweden, partly Poland, Romania, Kazakhstan and Norway.

In the northwest, the East European ancient platform extends to the formations of the Caledonian folding in Norway, in the east it is limited by the Ural Mountains, in the north by the Arctic Ocean, and in the south by the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as the foothills of the Carpathians, Crimea and the Caucasus (Scythian plate).

The total area of the platform is about 5500 thousand square meters. km.

History of formation

The tectonic landforms of the East European Platform are among the oldest geological formations in the world. This is due to the fact that the platform arose in Precambrian times.

Before the formation of a single world territory, the Russian platform was a separate continent - the Baltic. After the collapse of Pangea, the platform became part of Laurasia, and after the separation of the latter, it became part of Eurasia, where it is still located.

Throughout this time, the formation was covered with sedimentary rocks, which thus formed the relief of the East European Platform.

Platform Composition

As with all ancient platforms, the East European one is based on a crystalline foundation. Over the course of millions of years, a layer of sedimentary rocks was created on top of it. However, in some places the foundation comes to the surface, forming crystalline shields.

There are two such shields in the specified territory (in the south - the Ukrainian Shield, in the north-west - the Baltic Shield), which is shown on the tectonic map of the platform.

the East European Plain

What surface does the East European platform have? The landform here is predominantly hilly and flat. It is characterized by an alternation of low elevations (200-300 m) and lowlands. At the same time, the average plain, which is called the East European, is 170 m.

The East European (or Russian) Plain is the largest flat-type feature in Europe and one of the largest in the world. Its area occupies most of the territory of the Russian platform and is about 4,000 thousand square meters. km. It extends from the Baltic Sea and Finland inclusive in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east for 2500 km, and from the seas of the Arctic Ocean in the north (Barents and White) to the Black, Caspian and Azov seas in the south for 2700 km. At the same time, it is part of an even larger object, which is commonly called the Great European Plain, stretching from the Atlantic coast and the Pyrenees in France to the Ural Mountains. As mentioned above, the average height of the Russian Plain is 170 meters, but its highest point reaches 479 meters above sea level. It is located in the Russian Federation on the Bugulma-Belebeevsky Upland, which is in the foothills of the Ural Mountains.

In addition, on the territory of the Ukrainian Shield, which is also located on the Russian Plain, there are uplifts, which are a form of outcropping of crystalline rocks of the base of the platform. These include, for example, the Azov Upland, the highest point of which (Belmak-Mogila) is 324 meters above sea level.

The basis of the Russian Plain is the East European platform, which is very ancient. This is the reason for the flat character of the area.

Other relief objects

But the Russian Plain is not the only geographical feature that contains the East European Platform. The landform here also takes on other forms. This is especially true at the boundaries of the platform.

For example, in the extreme northwest of the platform on the territory of Norway, Sweden and Finland, there is the Baltic Crystalline Shield. Here, in the south of Sweden, the Central Swedish Lowland is located. Its length from north to south and from west to east is 200 km and 500 km, respectively. The height above sea level here does not exceed 200 m.

But in the north of Sweden and Finland, the Norland plateau is located. Its maximum height is 800 meters above sea level.

A small section of Norway, which includes the East European platform, is also characterized by a hill. The relief here acquires a mountainous character. Yes, this is not surprising, since the hill gradually in the west turns into real mountains, called Scandinavian. But these mountains are already derivatives that are not directly related to the platform described in this review, which is shown on the tectonic map.

Rivers

Now let's take a look at the main reservoirs that are located on the territory of the platform we are studying. After all, they are also relief-forming factors.

The largest river of the East European Platform and Europe as a whole is the Volga. Its length is 3530 km, and the basin area is 1.36 million square meters. km. This river flows from north to south, while on the surrounding lands forming the corresponding floodplain landforms in Russia. The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.

Another major river of the Russian platform is the Dnieper. Its length is 2287 km. It, like the Volga, flows from north to south, but, unlike its longer sister, it does not flow into the Caspian Sea, but into the Black Sea. The river flows through the territory of three states at once: Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. At the same time, about half of its length falls on Ukraine.

Other large and well-known rivers of the Russian platform include the Don (1870 km), the Dniester (1352 km), the Southern Bug (806 km), the Neva (74 km), the Seversky Donets (1053 km), the tributaries of the Volga Oka (1499 km) and Kamu (2030 km).

In addition, in the southwestern part of the platform, the Danube River flows into the Black Sea. The length of this great river is 2960 km, but almost completely it flows beyond the boundaries of the platform we are studying, and only the mouth of the Danube is located on its territory.

lakes

There are on the territory of the Russian platform and the lake. The largest of them are located on Lake Ladoga, Europe's largest (area 17.9 thousand sq. km) and Lake Onega (9.7 thousand sq. km).

In addition, the Caspian Sea is located in the south of the Russian platform, which, in fact, is a salt lake. This is the largest body of water in the world that does not have access to the oceans. Its area is 371.0 thousand square meters. km.

Minerals

Now let's study the minerals of the East European Platform. The bowels of this territory are very rich in gifts. So, in the east of Ukraine and south-west of Russia there is one of the world's largest coal basins - Donbass.

The Krivoy Rog iron ore and Nikopol manganese basins are also located on the territory of Ukraine. These deposits are associated with the outcrop of the Ukrainian Shield. Even larger reserves of iron are located on the territory of the Kursk magnetic anomaly in Russia. True, the shield did not come out there, but it got very close to the surface.

In the region of the Caspian basin, as well as in Tatarstan, there are quite large deposits of oil. They are also found on the territory of the southern oil and gas region in Ukraine.

Apatite mining on an industrial scale has been established on the territory of the Kola Peninsula.

Actually, these are the main minerals of the East European platform.

Soils of the Russian platform

Are the soils of the East European Platform fertile? Yes, this region has some of the most fertile soils in the world. Especially valuable types of soils are located in the south and in the center of Ukraine, as well as in the black earth region of Russia. They are called blacks. These are the most fertile soils in the world.

The fertility of forest soils, in particular gray ones, which are located north of the chernozems, is much lower.

General characteristics of the platform

The forms are quite varied. Among them, a special place is occupied by the plains. Just the East European platform forms the largest flat complex in Europe. Only on its periphery can one find relatively high uplands. This is due to the antiquity of this platform, on which mountain-forming processes have not been going on for a long time, and weathering has smoothed out the hills that existed here millions of years ago.

Nature endowed the region with huge reserves of minerals. Particularly noteworthy are the deposits of coal and iron ore, in terms of which the Russian Platform is one of the world leaders. There are also reserves of oil and some other minerals.

This is the general description of the East European Platform, its topography, minerals stored in the bowels, as well as the geographical features of the area. Of course, this is a fertile land that provides its inhabitants with all the necessary resources, which, if used correctly, will be the key to prosperity.

EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN (Russian Plain), one of the largest plains in the world. It occupies mainly Eastern and part of Western Europe, where the European part of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, most of Ukraine, the western part of Poland and the eastern part of Kazakhstan are located. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south - 2500 km. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the valley of the Vistula River); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudet and others) and the Carpathians; in the south it goes to the Black, Azov and Caspian seas and is bounded by the Crimean mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east - by the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia into the East European Plain, others attribute this territory to Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.

Relief and geological structure.

The East European Plain geostructurally corresponds mainly to the Russian Plate of the ancient East European Platform, in the south - the northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - the southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform.

The complex relief of the East European Plain is characterized by a slight fluctuation in elevation (average height is about 170 m). The highest heights are on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) and Podolskaya (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) uplands, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level, 2001; the lowest point in Russia) - on the coast of the Caspian Sea. On the East European Plain, two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern extra-morainic with erosional landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small uplands (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). To the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechora and others). In the northwest, in the area of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief prevails: hilly and ridge-moraine, depression with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.) - the so-called lake area. To the south and east, in the area of distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; there are basins of lowered lakes. Moraine-erosion uplands and ridges (Belarusian Ridge, Smolensk-Moscow Upland, and others) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial, and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Upper Volga, and others). Ravines and gullies are more common, as well as river valleys with asymmetric slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, woodlands (Polesskaya lowland, etc.) and opolye (Vladimirskoye, etc.) are typical.

The southern extra-morainic region of the East European Plain is characterized by large uplands with an erosive ravine-beam relief (Volynskaya, Podolskaya, Pridneprovskaya, Azovskaya, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains related to the region of the Dnieper glaciation (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Wide asymmetric terraced river valleys are characteristic. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called "saucers", formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits, and bedrocks come to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathered remnants, the so-called shikhans. In the south and southeast - flat coastal accumulative lowlands (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).

Climate. In the extreme north of the East European Plain there is a subarctic climate, in most of the plain it is temperate continental with the dominance of western air masses. As you move away from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the climate becomes more continental, harsh and dry, and in the southeast, in the Caspian lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature is from -2 to -5 °С, in the southwest it drops to -20 °С in the northeast. The average July temperature increases from north to south from 6 to 23-24 °C and up to 25 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern - insufficient and arid. The most humid part of the East European Plain (between 55-60° north latitude) receives 700-800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600-700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (in the tundra 250-300 mm) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (in the semi-desert and desert 150-200 mm). The maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (10-20 cm thick) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (60-70 cm thick) in the northeast. Frosts, droughts and dry winds are frequent in the forest-steppe and steppe; in the semi-desert and desert - dust storms.

Rivers and lakes. Most of the rivers of the East European Plain belong to the Atlantic basins [the Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; to the Black Sea - Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug; into the Sea of Azov - Don, Kuban, etc.] and the Arctic Oceans (the Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; into the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc.). The Volga (the largest river in Europe), Ural, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Malyi Uzen, and others belong to the basin of internal flow, mainly the Caspian Sea. All rivers are predominantly snow-fed with spring floods. In the southwest of the East European Plain, the rivers do not freeze every year, in the northeast the freeze lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10-12 l/s per km2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing the East European Plain. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester, and others have been turned into cascades of reservoirs (Rybinsk, Kuibyshev, Tsimlyansk, Kremenchug, Kakhovskoe, and others). There are numerous lakes: glacial-tectonic (Ladoga and Onega - the largest in Europe), moraine (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloe, etc.), etc. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.

natural landscapes. The East European Plain is a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone, and only the northern part is in the subarctic zone. In the north, where permafrost is common, tundras are developed: moss-lichen and shrubs (dwarf birch, willow) on tundra gley, marsh soils and podburs. To the south, a forest-tundra zone with undersized birch and spruce woodlands stretches in a narrow strip. About 50% of the territory of the plain is occupied by forests. The zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, in the east - with the participation of fir) European taiga, swampy in places, on podzolic soils and podzols is expanding to the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-broad-leaved (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils. Pine forests are developed along the river valleys. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests stretches on gray forest soils; forests wedged out to the Volga and have an insular character of distribution in the east. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, which occupy 50-70% of the forest area. The landscapes of the opal areas are peculiar - with plowed flat areas, the remains of oak forests and a ravine-beam network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals, a forest-steppe zone stretches with oak forests (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-cereal meadow steppes (preserved in reserves) on chernozems (the main fund of arable land). The share of arable land in the forest-steppe is up to 80%. The southern part of the East European Plain (except the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which are replaced to the south by dry fescue-feather grass steppes on chestnut soils. Most of the Caspian Lowland is dominated by wormwood-feather grass semi-deserts on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-saltwort deserts on brown desert-steppe soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.

Ecological situation and specially protected natural areas. The East European Plain has been mastered and significantly changed by man. Natural-anthropogenic complexes dominate in many natural zones, especially in the landscapes of steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and broad-leaved forests. The territory of the East European Plain is highly urbanized. The most densely populated areas (up to 100 people/km2) are zones of mixed and broad-leaved forests. Anthropogenic relief is typical: waste heaps (height up to 50 m), quarries, etc. Especially tense ecological situation in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, etc.). Many rivers in the central and southern parts are heavily polluted.

Numerous nature reserves, national parks and reserves have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. In the European part of Russia there were (2005) over 80 reserves and national parks, including more than 20 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central Forest, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Askania Nova and Astrakhan Reserve. Among the largest are the Vodlozersky National Park (486.9 thousand km 2) and the Nenets Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2). Plots of indigenous taiga "Virgin forests of Komi" and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the World Heritage List.

Lit. : Spiridonov AI Geomorphological zoning of the East European Plain // Geosciences. M., 1969. T. 8; Plains of the European part of the USSR / Edited by Yu. A. Meshcheryakov, A. A. Aseev. M., 1974; Milkov F. N., Gvozdetsky N. A. Physical geography of the USSR. General review. European part of the USSR. Caucasus. 5th ed. M., 1986; Isachenko A. G. Ecological geography of the North-West of Russia. SPb., 1995. Part 1; East European forests: history in the Holocene and the present: In 2 books. M., 2004.

A. N. Makkaveev, M. N. Petrushina.

the East European Plain occupies an area of about 4 million km 2, which is approximately 26% of the territory of Russia. In the north, east and south, its borders run along natural boundaries, in the west - along the state border. In the north, the plain is washed by the Barents and White Seas, in the south - by the Caspian, Black and Azov, in the west - by the Baltic Sea. The Ural Mountains border the plain from the east.

Between the large hills are lowlands, in which the valleys of large rivers - the Dnieper, Don, Volga - were laid.

The East European Plain is located in temperate latitudes. It is open to the north and west and as a result is exposed to the air masses that form over the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Atlantic air masses bring a significant amount of precipitation to the East European Plain, so forests grow in most of its territory. The amount of precipitation decreases from 600-900 mm per year in the west to 300-200 mm in the south and southeast. As a result, in the south of the East European Plain there are dry steppes, and in the extreme southeast, in the Caspian lowland, there are semi-deserts and deserts.

Atlantic air masses throughout the year have a moderating effect on the climate. In winter, they bring warming up to thaws. Therefore, in the western regions of the plains it is much warmer than in the eastern. Average January temperatures drop from -4°C in the Kaliningrad region to -18°C in the Cis-Urals. As a result, winter isotherms in most of the plain (except for the extreme south) stretch almost meridionally, from north-northwest to south-southeast.

Arctic air in winter spreads over the entire territory of the East European Plain up to the extreme south. It brings with it dryness and coldness. In summer, the invasion of the Arctic air is accompanied by cold snaps and droughts. The alternating invasion of the Atlantic and Arctic air masses causes the instability of weather phenomena and the dissimilarity of the seasons of different years. Summer temperatures naturally increase from north to south: average temperatures in the north are +8...+10°С, in the south +24...+26°С, and the isotherms stretch almost in the latitudinal direction. In general, the climate in most of the East European Plain is temperate continental.

To the north, such high-water, but relatively short rivers as the Pechora, Northern Dvina, Onega carry their water, to the west - the Western Dvina, Neva and Neman.

North Caucasus

The North Caucasus occupies a vast space between the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. In the north of this large part of Russia, the Kuma-Manych depression stretches, and in the south there is a state border. The North Caucasus consists of Ciscaucasia and the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus Mountains.

In Ciscaucasia there are vast lowlands, which are divided Stavropol Upland. By origin and natural features, they are associated with the Caucasus Mountains. The Kuban, Terek, Kuma, and other rivers carry a large amount of loose material from the mountains, which is deposited on the plains. As a result, rivers flow in their own sediment above the surrounding plains. Therefore, despite the aridity of the climate in Ciscaucasia, in the lower reaches of the rivers there are vast swampy areas - floodplains. Due to the fact that the riverbeds are elevated, the most favorable opportunities for the development of irrigated agriculture are opening up. In the Kuban valley there are vast flooded fields where a lot of rice is grown.

The climate of Ciscaucasia is arid. Annual rainfall in the west is 550 mm, in the east - about 200 mm. With such a small amount of moisture, productive agriculture is possible only with the use of irrigation. Therefore, a number of irrigation systems have been created that use the waters of the Volga, Don, Kuban, Kuma, Manych and other rivers.

Stavropol Upland located in the axial part of Ciscaucasia. As a result of intense tectonic uplifts of the earth's crust, it turned out to be uplifted to a height of 800 m. A large amount of precipitation falls on the relatively high slopes of the elevation - about 800 mm per year.

Chernozems dominate in the western part of Ciscaucasia. In the past, feather grass-forb steppes grew here, now almost completely plowed and occupied by crops of wheat, sugar beet and sunflower. To the east of the Stavropol Upland, where it is much drier, there are dry steppes on chestnut soils and semi-deserts. They are mainly used for pastures for numerous flocks of sheep.

To the south of the Stavropol Upland, along the faults of the earth's crust, laccolith mountains rose above the plains. The largest of them are Beshtau and Mashuk. At their foot there are sources of healing mineral waters - Narzan and Essentuki and a number of others. They are used in numerous sanatoriums and resorts in Pyatigorsk, Zheleznovodsk, Essentuki, Kislovodsk, etc.

In tectonic piedmont troughs, oil and gas reserves were formed. The oilfields are located near the city of Grozny. Gas is produced in the Stavropol Territory.

Main Watershed, or Greater Caucasian, ridge stretches from the northwest to the southeast, rising up to 5000 m in huge anticlinal folds. Its central part is the highest, where solid crystalline rocks are broken by numerous tectonic cracks. In past geological epochs, lava erupted along cracks and volcanoes formed. The largest of them are Elbrus (5642 m) and Kazbek (5033 m). The snow-covered peak of Elbrus is the highest peak of the Caucasus. In the high mountains of the Greater Caucasus, there is a lot of snow and numerous glaciers (Table VIII.9). Rivers originate from them, carrying swift waters to the plains (Kuban, Terek, Kuma, etc.). The rivers of the Caucasus have large reserves of hydropower resources.

The mountains of the Greater Caucasus are located on the border of the temperate and subtropical zones. They serve as a barrier to the movement of cold air masses to the south. Under the cover of high mountains, the subtropics in this region have moved far to the north (the regions of Anapa and Sochi). The southwestern part of the mountains receives the most precipitation (from 2600 to 4000 mm). Throughout the year, over the Black Sea, cyclones move from west to east. When moist air masses rise along the slopes of the mountains, moisture condenses and precipitation occurs. So, in the vicinity of Sochi there is a large amount of precipitation - up to 2500 mm per year. On the southeastern slope of the mountains, the picture is reversed. The air masses flowing down from the mountains heat up and dry up, so there are arid territories in this area.

Changes in the amount of precipitation and air temperature are directly reflected in the nature of the soil and vegetation cover, in the features of vertical zonality along the slopes of the mountains. The highest peaks of the central part of the Caucasus Range are occupied by snow and glaciers.

Below are lush alpine and subalpine meadows with thickets of Caucasian rhododendron. These meadows are used as excellent summer pastures. Between the heights of 2000 and 1300 m, spruce-fir forests grow, which are replaced from top to bottom by broad-leaved - oak forests. In the lower parts of the southwestern slopes, evergreen shrubs and lianas are frequent. In the eastern part of the Caucasus Mountains, both on the northern and southern slopes, due to a decrease in precipitation, forests occupy much smaller areas. They are replaced by thickets of thorny bushes - shilyak.

The bowels of the Greater Caucasus are rich in minerals. At the eastern foot of the mountains on the Absheron Peninsula there are oil and gas fields.

Ural

Ural stretched in the meridional direction for 2000 km from north to south - from the Arctic islands of Novaya Zemlya to the sun-scorched deserts of the Turan Plain. A conditional geographical border between Europe and Asia is drawn along the Cis-Urals. The Ural Mountains are located in the inland boundary zone of the earth's crust between the ancient Russian platform and the young West Siberian plate. The folds of the earth's crust lying in the bases of the Ural Mountains were formed during the Hercynian orogeny. Mountain building was accompanied by intensive processes of volcanism and metamorphism of rocks, therefore, numerous minerals were formed in the depths of the Urals - ores of iron, polymetals, aluminum, gold, platinum. Then for a long time - in the Mesozoic and Paleogene - there were processes of destruction and alignment of the Hercynian mountains. Gradually, the mountains fell and turned into a hilly hill. In the Neogene-Quaternary time, the ancient folded structures lying at its base split into blocks that rose to different heights. Thus, the former folded mountains turned into folded-blocky ones. There was a rejuvenation of the ancient destroyed mountains. Nevertheless, the modern ranges of the Urals are predominantly low. In the north and south, they rise to 800-1000 m. The highest peak of the Urals is Mount Narodnaya (1894 m). In the middle part, the height of the ridges does not exceed 400-500 m. Railways pass through the low passes of this part of the Urals, along which trains move between the European and Asian parts of Russia.

Uneven uplift of blocks of the earth's crust led to differences in the height of mountain ranges, their external forms. According to the features of the relief, the Urals is divided into several parts. The Polar Urals are stretched by four ridges, gradually rising from the Pai-Khoi hills to 1500 m. The ridges of the Subpolar Urals have many sharp peaks. The Northern Urals consists of two elongated parallel ridges that rise up to 800-1000 m. The western of these two ridges has flat tops. The eastern slope of the Urals abruptly breaks off towards the West Siberian lowland. The Middle Urals is the lowest part of the entire Urals: heights of about 500 m dominate. However, individual peaks rise up to 800 m here too. The Southern Urals is the widest, with predominance of foothill plateaus. Mountain tops are often flat.

The distribution of minerals in the Urals is determined by the peculiarities of its geological structure. In the west, in the Cis-Ural trough, sedimentary strata of limestone, gypsum, and clay accumulated, which are associated with significant deposits of oil, potassium salts, and coal. In the central part of the Urals, metamorphic rocks of the inner folds of the mountains appeared on the surface - gneisses, quartzites and shales, broken by tectonic faults. Igneous rocks intruded along the faults led to the formation of ore minerals. Among them, the most important role belongs to the ores of iron, polymetals, and aluminum. During the years of the first five-year plans, a large iron ore plant and the city of Magnitogorsk were built on the basis of iron ore deposits. The eastern slope of the Urals is composed of various geological rocks - sedimentary, metamorphic and volcanic, and therefore the minerals are very diverse. These are ores of iron, non-ferrous metals, aluminum, deposits of gold and silver, precious and semi-precious stones, asbestos.

The Urals is a climate divide between the temperate continental climate of the East European Plain and the continental climate of Western Siberia. Despite their relatively low height, the Ural Mountains have an impact on the climate of our country. Throughout the year, moist air masses, brought by cyclones from the Atlantic Ocean, penetrate the Urals. When air rises along the western slope, the amount of precipitation increases. The lowering of air along the eastern slope is accompanied by its drying. Therefore, 1.5-2 times less precipitation falls on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains than on the western ones. The western and eastern slopes differ both in temperature and in the nature of the weather. Average January temperatures vary from -22° in the north to -16°C in the south. On the western slope, winters are relatively mild and snowy. Little snow falls on the eastern slope, and frosts can reach -45°C. Summer in the north is cool and rainy, warm in most of the Urals, and hot and dry in the south.

Many rivers originate in the Urals. The largest among them flow to the west. These are Pechora, Kama, Belaya, Ufa. The Ishim flows to the east, the Urals to the south. On the meridional sections, the rivers flow calmly along wide valleys in the basins between the ridges. On latitudinal segments, they swiftly rush across the ridges along tectonic faults along narrow rocky gorges with many rapids. The alternation of narrow gorges and wide sections of valleys gives the rivers an amazing variety and beauty, favors the construction of reservoirs. In the Urals, the need for water is very high, which is needed in large quantities for numerous industrial enterprises and cities. However, many rivers are heavily polluted by wastewater from industrial enterprises and cities and need to be cleaned up. The economic importance of the Ural and Cis-Urals rivers is great and varied, although their role in shipping and energy is not so great. Hydropower reserves of the Ural rivers are below the national average. The average annual capacity of the middle rivers of the Urals is about 3.5 million kW. The Kama basin is richest in hydropower. A number of large hydroelectric power plants have been built here. Among them are Kamskaya and Votkinskaya HPPs. The largest reservoir of the Kamskaya HPP stretches for 220 km. A hydroelectric power station of significant capacity was built on the river. Ufa. Despite the abundance of Ural rivers, only a few of them are suitable for navigation. This is primarily Kama, Belaya, Ufa. In the Trans-Urals, ships sail along the Tobol, Tavda, and in the high waters along Sosva, Lozva and Tura. For shallow-draft vessels, the Urals are also navigable below the city of Orenburg.

To improve water supply, ponds and reservoirs have long been built on the rivers of the Urals. These are Verkhne-Isetsky and city ponds in Yekaterinburg, Nizhne-Tagilsky and others. Reservoirs have also been created: Volchikhinsky on Chusovaya, Magnitogorsky and Iriklinsky in the Urals.

For industrial, agricultural purposes, recreation and tourism, numerous lakes are used, of which there are more than 6 thousand lakes.

The Ural crosses several natural zones. Along its peaks and upper parts of the slopes, they are shifted to the south. Mountain tundras are common in the Polar Urals. To the south, on the western slopes, under conditions of high moisture, dark coniferous spruce-fir forests dominate, along the eastern slopes - pine and cedar forests. In the Southern Urals on the western slope there are coniferous-broad-leaved forests, to the south they are replaced by linden and oak forest-steppe. On the eastern slope of the Southern Urals there is a birch-aspen forest-steppe. In the extreme south of the Urals and in the low mountains of Mugodzhary, there are dry steppes and semi-deserts.

Western Siberia

Western Siberia- the largest plain in the world. It extends from the Kara Sea to the northern slopes of the Kazakh uplands for 2.5 thousand km. In the northern part, the plain stretches from the Urals to the Yenisei for 1,000 km, and in the southern part, for almost 2,000 km. The entire plain lies on the West Siberian Plate with a deeply dipped Paleozoic folded basement. It is covered by sedimentary strata of the Mesozoic, Paleogene and Quaternary age of enormous thickness, reaching 6 thousand m. They are represented by clays, sandstones, sands and shales. Quaternary strata consist of marine, river and glacial deposits: loams, sands and clays. During the revival of the Ural and Altai mountains, loose sedimentary strata of the West Siberian Plate were slightly deformed. Folds appeared in them, which led to the formation of underground domes. In such domes, composed of sands, covered with impenetrable dense clays, oil and gas accumulated. The largest deposits are in the Surgut region, gas fields are in the Urengoy region and on the Yamal Peninsula. In the south of the plain, where the folded basement is elevated, there are deposits of iron ore. The largest of them is Sokolovsko-Sarbaiskoye.

A powerful horizontally occurring stratum of sedimentary rocks determines the flatness of the modern relief. The northern and central parts of Western Siberia are lowlands, located at an altitude of up to 100 m above sea level. The southern part of the plain rises a little higher. In general, Western Siberia has the shape of a huge bowl, slightly rising to the south, west and east and tilted to the north. The northern most lowered part of the plain is separated from the rest by a narrow, latitudinally elongated upland. Siberian Ridges.

Rivers flow slowly across the gently sloping plain. They are shallowly incised and form extensive meanders and channels with an unstable channel. During the spring floods, they overflow widely.

The flat surface of the northern half of the territory, poor drainage associated with shallow incision of rivers, excessive moisture, an abundance of groundwater coming from the elevated margins of the plain - all this led to the formation of extensive marshes. Western Siberia is the most swampy plain in the world. The swampiness is 38%.

The inland position of Western Siberia determined the continentality of its climate, especially in the south of the plain. The average January temperature varies from -25°С in the north to -18°С in the south. Middle July - from +2°С on the coast of the Kara Sea to +22°С in the extreme south. In the second half of winter, an area of increased pressure spreads to Western Siberia. At this time windless sunny frosty weather sets in. Little snow falls (with the exception of the northeast), but since there are practically no thaws in Western Siberia, it accumulates and a stable snow cover forms. In the south of the plain, its thickness is 30 cm, in the northeast, in front of the Putorana mountains, it is 80 cm. In summer, arctic air rushes to the heated surface of the plain, which meets with heated southern air currents. As a result of their interaction, cyclones arise and precipitation falls.

In Western Siberia, latitudinal zonality is clearly expressed. The extreme north on the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas is occupied by the tundra zone. The forest-tundra descends to the south almost to the Siberian Ridges. It presents larch and birch crooked forests. In the south of the forest-tundra, pine and cedar appear in larch forests. Forests extend far to the north along the rivers, as the river valleys are drier due to better drainage, and heat comes from the south with river water. In the tundra and forest-tundra zone there are pastures where many thousands of herds of reindeer graze. Commercial hunting (fox skins) and fishing provide rich prey. Gas is being produced.

Sixty percent of the territory of Western Siberia occupied by forested area. Swamps dominate in the interfluve areas. Taiga forests grow mainly on the slopes of river valleys and narrow sandy elevations in the interfluves - manes. Pine forests predominate in the western Cis-Ural part of the zone. In the northern and middle parts of the plain, spruce-cedar and larch forests dominate, in the southern - taiga of spruce, cedar, fir, birch. In the taiga they hunt sable, squirrel, marten, muskrat and mink. To the south, the taiga gives way to birch-aspen forests, which turn into forest-steppe. It consists of grassy steppes with numerous birch-aspen groves in depressions (choppings). The extreme south of Western Siberia is occupied by the steppe zone, where chernozems and dark chestnut soils have formed in an arid climate. They are almost completely open. Fields of spring wheat are located on vast tracts of former virgin lands. The plowing of the steppes led to the emergence of dust storms. Currently, in the vast expanses of the south of Western Siberia, special methods of non-moldboard tillage are used, in which the stubble of grain crops is preserved. It contributes to the accumulation of snow, protects the soil from blowing. There are many salt lakes in the steppes, where soda and table salt are mined.

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