Geographical position East European Plain

The physical and geographical name of the Russian Plain is East European. The plain occupies about $4 million sq. km. and is the second largest in the world after the Amazonian lowland. Within Russia, the plain stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. In the north, its border starts from the shores of the Barents and White Seas to the shores of the Azov and Caspian Seas in the south. From the northwest, the Russian Plain is bordered by the Scandinavian Mountains, in the west and southwest by the mountains of Central Europe and the Carpathians, in the south by the Caucasus Mountains and in the east by the Ural Mountains. Within Crimea, the border of the Russian Plain runs along the northern foot of the Crimean Mountains.

The following features defined the plain as a physiographic country:

1. The location of a slightly elevated plain on the slab of the ancient East European Platform;
2. Moderate and insufficiently humid climate, which is largely formed under the influence of the Atlantic and the North Arctic Ocean;
3. The flatness of the relief had an impact on a clearly defined natural zonality.

Within the plain, two unequal parts stand out:

1. Socle-denudation plain on the Baltic crystalline shield;
2. The East European Plain proper with layered erosion-denudation and accumulative relief on the Russian and Scythian plates.

Relief crystal shield is the result of prolonged continental denudation. Tectonic movements of recent times have already had a direct impact on the relief. In the Quaternary period, the territory occupied by the Baltic crystalline shield was the center of glaciation, therefore, fresh forms of glacial relief are common here.

A powerful cover of platform deposits within actually East European Plain, lies almost horizontally. As a result, accumulative and layer-denudation lowlands and uplands were formed. The folded foundation protruding to the surface in some places formed socle-denudation hills and ridges - the Timan ridge, the Donetsk ridge, etc.

The East European Plain has an average height of about $170$ m above sea level. On the coast of the Caspian Sea, the heights will be the smallest, because the level of the Caspian Sea itself is $ 27.6 $ m below the level of the World Ocean. Elevations rise to $ 300-$ 350 m above sea level, for example, the Podolsk Upland, whose height is $ 471 $ m.

Settlement of the East European Plain

The Eastern Slavs, according to a number of opinions, were the first to settle Eastern Europe, but this opinion, others believe, is erroneous. On this territory for the first time in the $ 30 millennium BC. Cro-Magnons appeared. To some extent, they were similar to modern representatives of the Caucasian race, and over time, their appearance became closer to characteristic features person. These events took place in a harsh winter. By the $X$ millennium, the climate in Eastern Europe was no longer so severe, and the first Indo-Europeans gradually began to appear on the territory of Southeast Europe. of Eastern Europe. No one can say exactly where they were until that moment, but it is known that in the east of Europe they firmly settled in the $VI$-th millennium BC. e. and occupied a significant part of it.

Remark 1

The settlement by the Slavs of Eastern Europe occurred much later than the appearance of ancient people on it.

The peak of the settlement of the Slavs in Europe is considered $ V$-$VI$ centuries. new era and under the pressure of migration in the same period, they are divided into eastern, southern and western.

South Slavs settled in the Balkans and nearby territories. The tribal community ceases to exist, and the first similarities of states appear.

Simultaneously, settlement Western Slavs, which had a northwestern direction from the Vistula to the Elbe. Some of them, according to archaeological data, ended up in the Baltics. On the territory of modern Czech Republic in the $VII$ c. the first state appeared.

AT Eastern Europe the resettlement of the Slavs took place without big problems. In ancient times, they had a primitive communal system, and later a tribal one. Due to the small population, there was enough land for everyone. Within Eastern Europe, the Slavs assimilated with the Finno-Ugric tribes and began to form tribal unions. These were the first state formations. In connection with climate warming, agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing are developing. Towards the Slavs was nature itself. East Slavs gradually became the most numerous group of Slavic peoples - these are Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians. The East European Plain began to be settled by the Slavs in the early Middle Ages, and by the $VIII$ c. they already dominated it. On the plain, the Eastern Slavs settled in the neighborhood with other peoples, which had both positive and negative features. The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs took place over half a millennium and proceeded very unevenly. At the initial stage, land development took place along the path, which is called " from Varangians to Greeks". In more late period there was an advance of the Slavs to the east, west and southwest.

The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs had its own characteristics:

1. The process was slow due to the severity of the climate;
2. Different population densities in the colonized territories. The reason is the same - natural and climatic conditions, soil fertility. Naturally, there were few people in the north of the plain, and in the south of the plain, where conditions are favorable, there were much more settlers;
3. Since there was a lot of land, there were no confrontations with other peoples during the settlement;
4. Slavs imposed tribute on neighboring tribes;
5. Small peoples "merged" with the Slavs, adopting their culture, language, customs, customs, way of life.

Remark 2

In life Slavic people, which settled on the territory of the East European Plain, began new stage associated with the rapid development of the economy, a change in the life system and way of life, the emergence of prerequisites for the formation of statehood.

Modern exploration of the East European Plain

After the settlement and settlement of the East European Plain by the Eastern Slavs, with the beginning of the development of the economy, the question of its study arose. Prominent people took part in the study of the plain scientists of the country, among which the name of the mineralogist V. M. Severgin can be mentioned.

studying the Baltics spring $1803$ V.M. Severgin drew attention to the fact that to the south-west of Lake Peipus, the character of the terrain becomes very hilly. To test his thoughts, he walked along the $24$ meridian from the mouth of the Gauja River to the Neman River and reached the Bug River, again noting many hills and sandy elevated fields. Similar "fields" were found in the upper reaches of the Ptich and Svisloch rivers. As a result of these works, in the west of the East European Plain, for the first time, an alternation of low-lying spaces and elevated "fields" was noted with the correct indication of their directions - from the southwest to the northeast.

Detailed study Polissya was caused by the reduction of meadow spaces due to plowing of land on the right bank of the Dnieper. For this purpose, in $1873$, a Western expedition for draining swamps. At the head of this expedition was the military topographer I. I. Zhilinsky. Researchers for $25$ summer period covered about $100$ thousand sq. km. territory of Polissya, $600$ of height measurements were made, a map of the region was compiled. Based on the materials collected by I.I. Zhilinsky, the work was continued by A.A. Tillo. The hypsometric map he created showed that Polissya was a vast plain with raised edges. The results of the expedition were $300$ lakes and $500$ rivers of Polesye mapped with a total length of $9$ thousand km. A great contribution to the study of Polissya was made by the geographer G.I. Tanfiliev, who concluded that the drainage of the Polissya swamps would not lead to the shallowing of the Dnieper and P.A. Tutkovsky. He identified and mapped $5$ of highlands in the swampy areas of Polissya, including the Ovruch Ridge, from which the right tributaries of the lower Pripyat originate.

By studying Donetsk Ridge the young engineer of the Lugansk foundry, E.P. Kovalevsky, who found out that this ridge is geologically a huge basin. Kovalevsky became the discoverer of the Donbass and its first explorer, who compiled a geological map of this basin. It was he who recommended to engage in the search and exploration of ore deposits here.

In $1840$ for study natural resources country, the master of field geology R. Murchison was invited to Russia. Together with Russian scientists, a site was surveyed southern coast of the White Sea. In the course of the work carried out, rivers and uplands in the central part of the East European Plain were explored, hypsometric and geological maps of the area were compiled, on which the structural features of the Russian platform were clearly visible.

On the south of the East European Plain the founder of scientific soil science V.V. Dokuchaev. In $1883$, while studying chernozem, he came to the conclusion that there is a special chernozem-steppe zone in Eastern Europe. On the map compiled in $1900 by V.V. Dokuchaev allocates $5$ of the main natural zones on the territory of the plain.

In subsequent years, numerous scientific works on its study were carried out on the territory of the East European Plain and further, new scientific discoveries new maps were made.

1. Geographic location.

2. Geological structure and relief.

3. Climate.

4. Internal waters.

5. Soils, flora and fauna.

6. Natural areas and their anthropogenic changes.

Geographical position

The East European Plain is one of the largest plains in the world. The plain goes to the waters of two oceans and extends from the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains and from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov, Black and Caspian. The plain lies on the ancient East European platform, its climate is predominantly temperate continental and natural zonality is clearly expressed on the plain.

Geological structure and relief

The East European Plain has a typical platform relief, which is predetermined by platform tectonics. At its base lie the Russian plate with a Precambrian basement and in the south the northern margin of the Scythian plate with a Paleozoic basement. At the same time, the boundary between the plates in the relief is not expressed. Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks lie on the uneven surface of the Precambrian basement. Their power is not the same and is due to the unevenness of the foundation. These include syneclises (areas of deep basement) - Moscow, Pechersk, Caspian Sea and anticlises (protrusions of the foundation) - Voronezh, Volga-Ural, as well as aulacogenes (deep tectonic ditches, on the site of which syneclises arose) and the Baikal ledge - Timan. In general, the plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300m and lowlands. The average height of the Russian Plain is 170 m, and the highest, almost 480 m, is on the Bugulma-Belebeev Upland in the Ural part. In the north of the plain there are the Northern Ridges, the Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow stratal uplands, the Timan Ridge (Baikal folding). In the center are the uplands: Central Russian, Volga (layered, stepped), Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt and lowlands: Oka-Don and Zavolzhskaya (stratified). In the south lies the accumulative Caspian lowland. Glaciation also influenced the formation of the relief of the plain. There are three glaciations: Okskoe, Dnieper with the Moscow stage, Valdai. Glaciers and fluvioglacial waters have created moraine landforms and outwash plains. In the periglacial (preglacial) zone, cryogenic forms were formed (due to permafrost processes). The southern boundary of the maximum Dnieper glaciation crossed the Central Russian Upland in the Tula region, then descended along the Don valley to the mouth of the Khopra and Medveditsa rivers, crossed the Volga Upland, the Volga near the mouth of the Sura, then the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama and the Urals in the region of 60˚N. Iron ore deposits (IMA) are concentrated in the foundation of the platform. Reserves associated with the sedimentary cover hard coal(eastern part of Donbass, Pechersk and Moscow basins), oil and gas (Ural-Volga and Timan-Pechersk basins), oil shale (north-western and Middle Volga), building materials (widespread), bauxite (Kola Peninsula), phosphorites (in a number of areas), salts (Caspian).

Climate

The climate of the plain is influenced by the geographical position, the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Solar radiation changes dramatically with the seasons. In winter, more than 60% of the radiation is reflected by the snow cover. Throughout the year, the western transport dominates over the Russian Plain. The Atlantic air transforms as it moves east. Behind cold period many cyclones come from the Atlantic to the plain. In winter, they bring not only precipitation, but also warming. Mediterranean cyclones are especially warm when the temperature rises to +5˚ +7˚C. After cyclones from the North Atlantic, cold Arctic air penetrates into their rear, causing cold spells all the way south. Anticyclones in winter provide frosty clear weather. During the warm period, cyclones mix to the north; the northwest of the plain is especially susceptible to their influence. Cyclones bring rain and coolness in summer. Hot and dry air is formed in the cores of the spur of the Azores High, which often leads to droughts in the southeast of the plain. January isotherms in the northern half of the Russian Plain run submeridian from -4˚C to Kaliningrad region down to -20˚C in the northeast of the plain. In the southern part, the isotherms deviate to the southeast, amounting to -5˚C in the lower reaches of the Volga. In summer, the isotherms run sublatitudinally: +8˚C in the north, +20˚C along the Voronezh-Cheboksary line, and +24˚C in the south of the Caspian Sea. The distribution of precipitation depends on western transport and cyclonic activity. Especially a lot of them move in the 55˚-60˚N band, this is the most humid part of the Russian Plain (Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow Uplands): the annual precipitation here is from 800 mm in the west to 600 mm in the east. Moreover, on the western slopes of the uplands, precipitation is 100-200 mm more than on the lowlands lying behind them. The maximum precipitation occurs in July (in the south in June). In winter, a snow cover forms. In the northeast of the plain, its height reaches 60-70 cm and it occurs up to 220 days a year (more than 7 months). In the south, the height of the snow cover is 10-20 cm, and the duration of occurrence is up to 2 months. The moisture coefficient varies from 0.3 in the Caspian lowland to 1.4 in the Pechersk lowland. In the north, moisture is excessive, in the strip of the upper reaches of the Dniester, Don and the mouth of the Kama - sufficient and k≈1, in the south, moisture is insufficient. In the north of the plain, the climate is subarctic (the coast of the Arctic Ocean), in the rest of the territory the climate is temperate with varying degrees continentality. At the same time, continentality increases towards the southeast.

Inland waters

Surface waters are closely related to climate, topography, and geology. The direction of rivers (river flow) is predetermined by orography and geostructures. The runoff from the Russian Plain occurs in the basins of the Arctic, Atlantic Oceans and in the Caspian basin. The main watershed runs along the Northern Ridges, Valdai, Central Russian and Volga Uplands. The largest is the Volga River (it is the largest in Europe), its length is more than 3530 km, and the basin area is 1360 thousand sq. km. The source lies on the Valdai Upland. After the confluence of the Selizharovka River (from Lake Seliger), the valley expands noticeably. From the mouth of the Oka to Volgograd, the Volga flows with sharply asymmetric slopes. On the Caspian lowland, branches of the Akhtuba separate from the Volga and a wide strip of floodplain is formed. The Volga Delta begins 170 km from the Caspian coast. The main food of the Volga is snow, so the flood is observed from the beginning of April to the end of May. The height of the water rise is 5-10 m. 9 reserves have been created on the territory of the Volga basin. The Don has a length of 1870 km, the basin area is 422 thousand sq. km. Source from a ravine on the Central Russian Upland. It flows into the Taganrog Bay of the Sea of ​​Azov. Food is mixed: 60% snow, more than 30% groundwater and almost 10% rain. Pechora has a length of 1810 km, begins in the Northern Urals and flows into the Barents Sea. The area of ​​the basin is 322 thousand km2. The nature of the current in the upper reaches is mountainous, the channel is rapids. In the middle and low reaches, the river flows through the moraine lowland and forms a wide floodplain, and a sandy delta at the mouth. Food is mixed: up to 55% falls on melted snow water, 25% on rainwater and 20% on groundwater. The Northern Dvina is about 750 km long and is formed from the confluence of the Sukhona, Yuga and Vychegda rivers. It flows into the Dvina Bay. The area of ​​the basin is almost 360 thousand sq. km. The floodplain is wide. At the confluence of the river forms a delta. The food is mixed. Lakes on the Russian Plain differ primarily in the origin of lake basins: 1) moraine lakes are distributed in the north of the plain in areas of glacial accumulation; 2) karst - in the basins of the rivers of the Northern Dvina and the upper Volga; 3) thermokarst - in the extreme northeast, in the permafrost zone; 4) floodplain (oxbow lakes) - in the floodplains of large and medium-sized rivers; 5) estuary lakes - in the Caspian lowland. Groundwater is distributed throughout the Russian Plain. There are three artesian basins of the first order: Central Russian, East Russian and Caspian. Within their limits there are artesian basins of the second order: Moscow, Volga-Kama, Cis-Ural, etc. With depth chemical composition water and water temperature changes. fresh water occur at depths of no more than 250 m. Mineralization and temperature increase with depth. At a depth of 2-3 km, the water temperature can reach 70˚C.

Soils, flora and fauna

Soils, like vegetation on the Russian Plain, have a zonal distribution pattern. In the north of the plain there are tundra coarse-humus gley soils, there are peat-gley soils, etc. To the south, podzolic soils lie under the forests. In the northern taiga they are gley-podzolic, in the middle taiga they are typical podzolic, and in the southern taiga they are soddy-podzolic soils, which are also characteristic of mixed forests. Under deciduous forests and forest-steppe, gray forest soils are formed. In the steppes, the soils are chernozem (podzolized, typical, etc.). On the Caspian lowland, the soils are chestnut and brown desert, there are solonetzes and solonchaks.

The vegetation of the Russian Plain differs from the vegetation of the cover of other major regions our country. Broad-leaved forests are common on the Russian Plain, and only here are semi-deserts. In general, the set of vegetation is very diverse from tundra to desert. In the tundra, mosses and lichens predominate; to the south, the number of dwarf birch and willow increases. Spruce with an admixture of birch dominates in the forest-tundra. In the taiga, spruce dominates, to the east with an admixture of fir, and on the poorest soils - pine. Mixed forests include coniferous-broad-leaved species, in broad-leaved forests, where they have been preserved, oak and linden dominate. These same rocks are also characteristic of the forest-steppe. The steppe occupies here largest area in Russia, where cereals predominate. The semi-desert is represented by grass-wormwood and wormwood-saltwort communities.

In the animal world of the Russian Plain, western and eastern species are found. The most widely represented forest animals and, in lesser degree steppe. Western views gravitate towards mixed and broad-leaved forests (marten, black polecat, dormouse, mole, and some others). Oriental species gravitate toward the taiga and forest-tundra (chipmunk, wolverine, Ob lemming, etc.). Rodents (ground squirrels, marmots, voles, etc.) dominate in the steppes and semi-deserts, and the saiga penetrates from the Asian steppes.

natural areas

Natural zones on the East European Plain are especially pronounced. From north to south, they replace each other: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga, mixed and broad-leaved forests, forest-steppe, steppes, semi-deserts and deserts. Tundra occupies the coast of the Barents Sea, covers the entire Kanin Peninsula and further to the east, to the Polar Urals. The European tundra is warmer and wetter than the Asian one, the climate is subarctic with maritime features. The average temperature in January varies from -10˚C near the Kanin Peninsula to -20˚C near the Yugorsky Peninsula. In summer around +5˚C. Precipitation 600-500 mm. The permafrost is thin, there are many swamps. On the coast, typical tundras are common on tundra-gley soils, with a predominance of mosses and lichens, in addition, arctic bluegrass, pike, alpine cornflower, and sedges grow here; from shrubs - wild rosemary, dryad (partridge grass), blueberries, cranberries. To the south, shrubs of dwarf birches and willows appear. The forest tundra extends south of the tundra in a narrow strip of 30-40 km. The forests here are sparse, the height is not more than 5-8 m, spruce dominates with an admixture of birch, sometimes larch. Low places are occupied by swamps, thickets of small willows or birch dwarf birch. There are many crowberries, blueberries, cranberries, blueberries, mosses and various taiga herbs. High-stemmed forests of spruce with an admixture of mountain ash (here it blooms on July 5) and bird cherry (blooms by June 30) penetrate along the river valleys. Of the animals of these zones, reindeer, arctic fox, polar wolf, lemming, hare, ermine, wolverine are typical. There are many birds in summer: eiders, geese, ducks, swans, snow bunting, white-tailed eagle, gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon; many blood-sucking insects. Rivers and lakes are rich in fish: salmon, whitefish, pike, burbot, perch, char, etc.

The taiga extends south of the forest-tundra, its southern border runs along the line St. Petersburg - Yaroslavl - Nizhny Novgorod- Kazan. In the west and in the center, the taiga merges with mixed forests, and in the east with forest-steppe. The climate of the European taiga is temperate continental. Precipitation on the plains is about 600 mm, on the hills up to 800 mm. Humidification is excessive. The growing season lasts from 2 months in the north to almost 4 months in the south of the zone. The depth of soil freezing is from 120 cm in the north to 30-60 cm in the south. The soils are podzolic, in the north there are peat-gley zones. There are many rivers, lakes, swamps in the taiga. The European taiga is characterized by dark coniferous taiga of European and Siberian spruce. To the east, fir is added, closer to the Urals, cedar and larch. On swamps and sands are formed pine forests. On clearings and burnt areas - birch and aspen, along the river valleys alder, willow. Of the animals, elk, reindeer, brown bear, wolverine, wolf, lynx, fox, white hare, squirrel, mink, otter, chipmunk are characteristic. There are many birds: capercaillie, hazel grouse, owls, ptarmigan, snipes, woodcocks, lapwings, geese, ducks, etc. in swamps and reservoirs. Woodpeckers are widespread, especially three-toed and black, bullfinch, waxwing, smur, kuksha, tits, crossbills, kinglets and others. From reptiles and amphibians - vipers, lizards, newts, toads. In summer there are many blood-sucking insects. Mixed, and to the south broad-leaved forests are located in the western part of the plain between the taiga and the forest-steppe. The climate is temperate continental, but, unlike the taiga, it is milder and warmer. Winters are noticeably shorter and summers are longer. The soils are soddy-podzolic and gray forest. Many rivers begin here: the Volga, the Dnieper, the Western Dvina, and others. There are many lakes, there are swamps and meadows. The boundary between the forests is weakly expressed. With advancement to the east and north, the role of spruce and even fir in mixed forests increases, while the role of broad-leaved species decreases. There is linden and oak. To the southwest, maple, elm, ash appear, and conifers disappear. Pine forests are found only on poor soils. In these forests, undergrowth is well developed (hazel, honeysuckle, euonymus, etc.) and grass cover of goutweed, hoof, chickweed, some grasses, and where conifers grow, there are oxalis, maynik, ferns, mosses, etc. In connection with economic development these forests, the animal world has declined sharply. There are elk, wild boar, red deer and roe deer have become very rare, bison only in reserves. The bear and lynx have practically disappeared. The fox, squirrel, dormice, forest polecat, beaver, badger, hedgehog, moles are still common; preserved marten, mink, forest cat, muskrat; muskrat, raccoon dog, American mink are acclimatized. From reptiles and amphibians - snake, viper, lizards, frogs, toads. Many birds, both sedentary and migratory. Woodpeckers, tits, nuthatch, blackbirds, jays, owls are characteristic, finches, warblers, flycatchers, warblers, buntings arrive in the summer, waterfowl. Black grouse, partridges, golden eagles, white-tailed eagles, etc. have become rare. Compared to the taiga, the number of invertebrates in the soil increases significantly. The forest-steppe zone extends south from the forests and reaches the line Voronezh - Saratov - Samara. The climate is temperate continental with an increase in the degree of continentality to the east, which affects the more depleted floristic composition in the east of the zone. Winter temperatures range from -5˚C in the west to -15˚C in the east. In the same direction, the annual amount of precipitation decreases. Summer is very warm everywhere +20˚+22˚C. The moisture coefficient in the forest-steppe is about 1. Sometimes, especially in recent years, droughts occur in summer. The relief of the zone is characterized by erosional dissection, which creates a certain diversity. soil cover. Most typical gray forest soils on loess-like loams. Leached chernozems are developed along the river terraces. The further south, the more leached and podzolized chernozems, and gray forest soils disappear. Little natural vegetation has been preserved. Forests here are found only in small islands, mainly oak forests, where you can find maple, elm, ash. Pine forests have been preserved on poor soils. Meadow forbs have been preserved only on lands that are not convenient for plowing. Animal world consists of forest and steppe fauna, but recently, due to human economic activity, the steppe fauna began to predominate. The steppe zone extends from southern border forest-steppe to the Kumo-Manych depression and the Caspian lowland in the south. The climate is temperate continental, but with a significant degree of continentality. Summer is hot, average temperatures are +22˚+23˚C. Winter temperatures vary from -4˚C in the Azov steppes to -15˚C in the Trans-Volga steppes. Annual rainfall decreases from 500 mm in the west to 400 mm in the east. The moisture coefficient is less than 1, droughts and hot winds are frequent in summer. The northern steppes are less warm, but more humid than the southern ones. Therefore, the northern steppes are forb-feather grass on chernozem soils. The southern steppes are dry on chestnut soils. They are characterized by salinity. In the floodplains of large rivers (Don, etc.), floodplain forests of poplar, willow, alder, oak, elm, etc. grow. Among animals, rodents predominate: ground squirrels, shrews, hamsters, field mice, etc. From predators - ferrets, foxes, weasels . Birds include larks, steppe eagles, harriers, corncrakes, falcons, bustards, etc. There are snakes and lizards. Most of northern steppes is now open. The semi-desert and desert zone within Russia is located in the southwestern part of the Caspian lowland. This zone adjoins the coast of the Caspian Sea and merges with the deserts of Kazakhstan. The climate is continental temperate. Rainfall is about 300 mm. Winter temperatures are negative -5˚-10˚C. The snow cover is thin, but lies up to 60 days. Soils freeze up to 80 cm. Summer is hot and long, average temperatures are +23˚+25˚C. The Volga flows through the territory of the zone, forming a vast delta. There are many lakes, but almost all of them are salty. The soils are light chestnut, sometimes brown desert. The humus content does not exceed 1%. Solonchaks and salt licks are widespread. The vegetation cover is dominated by white and black wormwood, fescue, thin-legged, xerophytic feather grasses; to the south, the number of saltworts increases, a tamarisk bush appears; tulips, buttercups, rhubarb bloom in spring. In the floodplain of the Volga, there are willow, white poplar, sedge, oak, aspen, etc. The animal world is represented mainly by rodents: jerboas, ground squirrels, gerbils, many reptiles - snakes and lizards. Of the predators, the steppe polecat, the corsac fox, and the weasel are typical. There are many birds in the Volga Delta, especially during the migration seasons. All natural zones of the Russian Plain experienced anthropogenic impacts. Particularly heavily modified by man are the zones of forest-steppes and steppes, as well as mixed and broad-leaved forests.

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one of the most large plains on our planet (the second largest after the Amazonian plain in Western America). It is located in the eastern part of Europe. Since most of it is within the boundaries Russian Federation, The East European Plain is sometimes called Russian. In the northwestern part it is limited by the mountains of Scandinavia, in the southwestern part by the Sudetenland and other mountains. central Europe, in the southeast - the Caucasus, and in the East - the Urals. From the north, the Russian Plain is washed by the waters of the White and Barents Seas, and from the south by the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.

The length of the plain from north to south is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 1 thousand kilometers. Almost the entire length of the East European Plain is dominated by a gently sloping plain relief. Within the territory of the East European Plain is concentrated most of population of Russia and most of the country's major cities. It was here that many centuries ago formed Russian state which later became the largest country in the world. A significant part of Russia's natural resources is also concentrated here.

The East European Plain almost completely coincides with the East European Platform. This circumstance explains its flat relief, as well as the absence of significant natural phenomena associated with the movement of the earth's crust (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions). Small hilly areas within the East European Plain resulted from faults and other complex tectonic processes. The height of some hills and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters. In ancient times, the Baltic Shield of the East European Platform was at the center of glaciation, as evidenced by some forms of glacial relief.

On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits occur almost horizontally, making up lowlands and uplands that form the surface topography. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, uplands and ridges are formed (for example, the Central Russian Upland and the Timan Ridge). On average, the height of the Russian Plain is about 170 meters above sea level. The lowest areas are on the Caspian coast (its level is about 30 meters below the level of the World Ocean).

Glaciation left its mark on the formation of the relief of the East European Plain. This effect was most pronounced in the northern part of the plain. As a result of the passage of the glacier through this territory, many lakes arose (Chudskoye, Pskovskoye, Beloe and others). These are the consequences of one of the most recent glaciers. In the south, southeast and eastern parts, which were subjected to glaciation in more than early period, their consequences are smoothed out by erosive processes. As a result, a number of uplands (Smolensk-Moscow, Borisoglebskaya, Danilevskaya and others) and lacustrine-glacial lowlands (Caspian, Pechora) were formed.

Further south is a zone of uplands and lowlands, elongated in the meridional direction. Among the hills, one can note the Azov, Central Russian, Volga. Here they also alternate with the plains: Meshcherskaya, Oka-Donskaya, Ulyanovsk and others.

Further south are the coastal lowlands, which in ancient times were partially submerged under sea level. The plain relief here was partially corrected by water erosion and other processes, as a result of which the Black Sea and Caspian lowlands were formed.

As a result of the passage of the glacier through the territory of the East European Plain, valleys formed, tectonic depressions expanded, and even some rocks were polished. Another example of glacier impact is winding deep bays. Kola Peninsula. With the retreat of the glacier, not only lakes were formed, but concave sandy lowlands also arose. This happened as a result of the deposition a large number sand material. Thus, over the course of many millennia, the many-sided relief of the East European Plain was formed.

Some of the rivers flowing through the territory of the East European Plain belong to the basins of two oceans: the Arctic (Northern Dvina, Pechora) and Atlantic (Neva, Western Dvina), while others flow into the Caspian Sea, which has no connection with the world ocean. The longest and most abundant river in Europe, the Volga, flows along the Russian Plain.

On the East European Plain, there are practically all types of natural zones available on the territory of Russia. Off the coast of the Barents Sea subtropical zone tundra dominates. To the south, in the temperate zone, a strip of forests begins, which stretches from Polissya to the Urals. It includes both coniferous taiga and mixed forests, which gradually become deciduous in the west. To the south, the transition zone of the forest-steppe begins, and beyond it the steppe zone. On the territory of the Caspian lowland, a small strip of deserts and semi-deserts begins.

As mentioned above, on the territory of the Russian Plain there are no such natural phenomena as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Although some tremors(up to 3 points) are still possible, they cannot cause damage, and are recorded only by highly sensitive devices. Most hazards nature that can occur on the territory of the Russian Plain - tornadoes and floods. Basic environmental problem is the pollution of soil, rivers, lakes and the atmosphere with industrial waste, since many industrial enterprises are concentrated in this part of Russia.

According to the materials of the big encyclopedia of Russia

The Russian Plain served for centuries as a territory connecting western and eastern civilizations by trade routes. Historically, two busy trade arteries ran through these lands. The first is known as "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks." According to him, as is known from school history, medieval trade in goods of the peoples of the East and Russia with the states of Western Europe was carried out.

The second is the route along the Volga, which made it possible to transport goods by ship to Southern Europe from China, India and Central Asia and in reverse direction. The first Russian cities were built along the trade routes - Kyiv, Smolensk, Rostov. Veliky Novgorod became the northern gate of the way from the "Varangians", guarding the safety of trade.

Now the Russian Plain is still the territory of strategic importance. The capital of the country was located on its lands and Largest cities. The most important administrative centers for the life of the state are concentrated here.

The geographical position of the plain

The East European Plain, or Russian, occupies territories in the east of Europe. In Russia, these are its extreme western lands. In the northwest and west, it is bounded by the Scandinavian Mountains, the Barents and White Seas, the Baltic coast and the Vistula River. In the east and southeast it is adjacent to the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus. In the south, the plain is bounded by the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.

Relief features and landscape

The East European Plain is represented by a gently sloping flat relief formed as a result of faults in tectonic rocks. According to relief features, the massif can be divided into three bands: central, southern and northern. The center of the plain consists of vast uplands and lowlands alternating with each other. The north and south are mostly represented by lowlands with occasional low elevations.

Although the relief is formed in a tectonic way and minor shocks are possible on the territory, there are no tangible earthquakes here.

Natural areas and regions

(The plain has planes with characteristic smooth drops.)

The East European Plain includes all natural zones found on the territory of Russia:

• Tundra and forest-tundra are represented by the nature of the north of the Kola Peninsula and occupy a small part of the territory, slightly expanding towards the east. The vegetation of the tundra, namely, shrubs, mosses and lichens, is replaced by birch forests of the forest tundra.
• The taiga, with its pine and spruce forests, occupies the north and center of the plain. On the borders with mixed broad-leaved forests, places are often swampy. A typical Eastern European landscape - coniferous and mixed forests and swamps are replaced by small rivers and lakes.
• In the forest-steppe zone, one can see alternating uplands and lowlands. Oak and ash forests are typical for this zone. Often you can find birch-aspen forests.
• The steppe is represented by valleys, where oak forests and groves, alder and elm forests grow along the banks of the rivers, and tulips and sage blossom in the fields.
• Semi-deserts and deserts are located on the Caspian lowland, where the climate is harsh and the soil is saline, but even there you can find vegetation in the form of various varieties of cacti, wormwood and plants that adapt well to a sharp change in daily temperatures.

Rivers and lakes of the plains

(A river on a flat area of ​​the Ryazan region)

The rivers of the "Russian Valley" are majestic and slowly carry their waters in one of two directions - north or south, to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, or to the southern inland seas of the mainland. Rivers of the northern direction flow into the Barents, White or Baltic Seas. Rivers south direction- to Black, Azov or Caspian Sea. The largest river in Europe, the Volga, also "flows lazily" through the lands of the East European Plain.

The Russian Plain is the realm of natural water in all its manifestations. The glacier, which passed through the plain millennia ago, formed many lakes on its territory. Especially a lot of them in Karelia. The consequences of the stay of the glacier were the emergence in the North-West of such large lakes as Ladoga, Onega, Pskov-Peipsi reservoir.

Under the thickness of the earth in the localization of the Russian Plain, reserves of artesian water are stored in the amount of three underground basins of huge volumes and many located at a shallower depth.

Climate of the East European Plain

(Flat terrain with slight drops near Pskov)

The Atlantic dictates the weather regime on the Russian Plain. Western winds air masses, moving moisture, make the summer on the plain warm and humid, the winter - cold and windy. During the cold season, winds from the Atlantic bring about ten cyclones, contributing to changeable heat and cold. But the air masses from the Arctic Ocean are still striving for the plain.

Therefore, the climate becomes continental only in the depths of the massif, closer to the south and southeast. The East European Plain has two climatic zones- subarctic and temperate, increasing continentality towards the east.

Geographical position The East European (Russian) Plain is one of the largest plains in the world in terms of area. Among all the plains of our Motherland, only it goes to two oceans. Russia is located in the central and eastern parts of the plain. It stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov and Caspian.

Natural areas The most common natural areas (from north to south): Tundra (northern Kola Peninsula) Taiga (northern part European Russia, not to mention Murmansk region; partly Central Russia). Mixed forests (Eastern Ukraine, Belarus, middle lane Russia, Upper Volga region, Baltic States) Broad-leaved forests (Poland, western Ukraine) Forest-steppes (middle Volga region, south of the Central Federal District). Steppes and semi-deserts (Caspian lowland)

Tectonic structure The East European Uplifted Plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands, along which major rivers. The average height of the plain is 170 m, and the highest - 479 m - on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Ural part. The maximum mark of the Timan Ridge is somewhat less (471 m). According to the features of the orographic pattern within the East European Plain, three bands are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. Through central part The plains are traversed by a strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands: the Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and the Common Syrt are separated by Oksko. The Don lowland and the Low Trans-Volga region, along which the Don and Volga rivers flow, carrying their waters to the south. To the north of this strip, low plains predominate, on the surface of which smaller hills are scattered here and there in garlands and singly. From the west to the east-northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai uplands and Northern Uvals stretch here, replacing each other. The watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal (endorheic Aral-Caspian) basins mainly pass through them. From Severnye Uvaly the territory goes down to the White and Barents Seas. A. A. Borzov called this part of the Russian Plain the northern slope. Large rivers flow along it - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries.

Relief Almost the entire length is dominated by a gently sloping plain relief. The East European Plain almost completely coincides with the East. European platform. This circumstance explains its flat relief, as well as the absence or insignificance of manifestations of such natural phenomena as earthquakes and volcanism. Large uplands and lowlands arose as a result of tectonic movements, including along faults. The height of some hills and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters. On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits occur almost horizontally, but their thickness in some places exceeds 20 km. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, elevations and ridges are formed (for example, the Donetsk and Timan ridges). On average, the height of the Russian Plain is about 170 meters above sea level. The lowest areas are on the Caspian coast (its level is about 26 meters below the level of the World Ocean).

Minerals Mineral resources are represented by iron ores of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. 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. The balance reserves of KMA are estimated at 31.9 billion tons, which is 57.3% of the country's iron ore reserves. The main part lies within the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The average iron content in the ore exceeds the average for Russia and is 41.5%. Among the fields being developed are Mikhailovskoye (Kursk region) and Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, Pogrometskoye, Gubkinskoye (Belgorod region). The development of high-quality iron ores by the underground method is carried out at the Yakovlevsky deposit (Belgorod region) by the method of deep freezing in conditions of heavily watered sedimentary rocks. Small reserves of this type of raw material are located in Tula and Oryol region. The ores are represented by brown iron ore with an iron content of 39-46%. They lie close to the surface, and their extraction is carried out in an open way. Open pit mining of iron ores in the KMA has large-scale anthropogenic impacts on the nature of the Chernozem zone of the Russian Plain. The plowed area of ​​the agricultural lands of the Kursk and Belgorod regions, within which the iron ore resources of the KMA are developed, reaches 80-85%. open way ore mining has already led to the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares. About 25 million tons of overburden rocks have accumulated in the dumps, and in the next 10 years their volume may increase by 4 times. The amount of industrial waste generated annually exceeds 80 million tons, and their utilization does not exceed 5-10%. More than 200,000 hectares of chernozems have already been alienated for industrial construction, and in the future this figure may increase by 2 times. The total area of ​​agricultural land experiencing harmful effect production of KMA, exceeds 4 million hectares. Great anthropogenic and technogenic pressures on water bodies. The total water consumption at the mining enterprises of KMA is 700-750 million m³ per year, which corresponds to the natural annual water flow within this region. Thus, there is dehydration of the territories of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Level groundwater in the Belgorod region it dropped by 16 m, near Kursk - by 60 m, and near the quarries themselves - near the city of Gubkin - by 100 m. negative impact on the environment. The average grain yield within the KMA is noticeably lower than in the Belgorod and Kursk regions. Therefore, it is necessary to continue work on the restoration (recultivation) of lands disturbed by mine workings, using the chernozem and overburden accumulated in dumps. This will allow recreating up to 150 thousand hectares of arable, forest and recreational land in the region. In the Belgorod region, bauxite reserves with an alumina content of 20 to 70% have been explored (Vislovskoe deposit).

There are chemical raw materials on the Russian Plain: phosphorites (the Kursk-Shchigrovsky basin, the Egorievsk deposit in the Moscow region and Polpinskoye in the Bryansk region), potassium salts (the Upper Kama basin, one of the largest in the world - contains a quarter of the world's potassium reserves, the balance reserves for all categories are over 173 billion tons), rock salt (again, the Verkhnekamsk basin, as well as the Iletsk deposit in the Orenburg region, Lake Baskunchak in the Astrakhan region and Elton in the Volgograd region). Such building materials as chalk, marls, cement raw materials, fine-grained sands are common in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Moscow, Tula regions. A large deposit of high-quality cement marls - Volskoe in Saratov region. Tashli deposit of glass sands in Ulyanovsk region is a major raw material base throughout the glass industry in Russia and the CIS. The Kiyembaevsk asbestos deposit is located in the Orenburg region. Quartz sands of Dyatkovsky (Bryansk region) and Gus. Khrustalnensky ( Vladimir region) deposits are used for the production of artificial quartz, glass, crystal glassware; kaolin clays from Konakovo (Tver region) and Gzhel (Moscow region) are used in the porcelain-faience industry. Reserves of black and brown coal are concentrated in the Pechora, Donetsk and Moscow region basins. brown coals The Moscow Region basin is used not only as a fuel, but also as a chemical raw material. Its role in the fuel and energy complex of the Central federal district increases due to the high cost of energy imports from other regions of the country. Moscow region coal can also be used as technological fuel for the region's ferrous metallurgy. Oil and gas are produced at a number of fields within the Volga-Ural (Samara region, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan) and Timan-Pechora oil and gas regions. There are gas condensate fields in the Astrakhan region, and the Orenburg gas condensate field is the largest in the European part of the country (over 6% of all Russian gas reserves). Oil shale deposits are known in the Pskov and Leningrad regions, in the Middle Volga region (Kashpirovskoye deposit near Syzran) and in the northern part of the Caspian syneclise (Obshchesyrtskoye deposit). Of no small importance in the fuel balance of some regions of the Russian Plain are peat reserves. On the territory of the Central Federal District there are about 5 billion tons of them (industrial development is carried out in the Tver, Kostroma, Ivanovo, Yaroslavl and Moscow regions), in the Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions, as well as in the Republic of Mari El, there are deposits of peat, the geological reserves of which are about 2 billion tons. Shaturskaya thermal power plant, located in the Meshcherskaya province (between Klyazma and Oka).

Some ore deposits are also associated with the sedimentary cover: sedimentary iron ores (brown iron ore, siderites, oolitic nodules), aluminum ores represented by bauxite deposits (Tikhvin, Timan), titanium placers (Timan). The discovery of diamond deposits in the northern regions of the Russian Plain (Arkhangelsk region) was unexpected. Human activity often changes landforms. In the areas of coal mining (Donbass, Vorkuta, the Moscow Basin) there are numerous cone-shaped relief forms up to 4050 m high. These are waste heaps, waste rock dumps. As a result of underground workings, voids are also formed, causing the occurrence of failed funnels and wells, subsidence and landslides. In the Middle Volga region, Moscow region, dips and craters are formed above the places of underground limestone mining. They are very similar to natural karst landforms. Surface deformations also occur due to intensive pumping of groundwater. In areas of open mining of minerals (iron ores, oil shale, peat, building materials) large areas occupied by quarries, pits and waste rock dumps. A dense network of railways and highways covers many areas of the Russian Plain, and road construction is accompanied by the creation of embankments, ditches, small pits, from which material was taken for road construction. The Russian Plain, in comparison with all other physical and geographical countries of Russia, is the most mastered by man. It has been inhabited for a long time and has enough high density population, so the nature of the plain has undergone very significant anthropogenic changes. The nature of the most favorable zones for human life has changed the most - forest-steppes, mixed and broad-leaved forests. Even the taiga and tundra of the Russian Plain were involved in the sphere of economic activity earlier than similar zones of Siberia, and therefore they have been significantly changed.

Rivers, lakes The surface waters of the East European Plain are closely connected with the climate, relief, geological structure, and, consequently, with the history of the formation of the territory. In the northwest of the plain, in the area of ​​ancient glaciation, a moraine hilly-ridge relief dominates with young river valleys. In the south, in the non-glacial region, there is an erosive relief with a well-pronounced asymmetry of the slopes of valleys, gullies, and watersheds. The direction of the plain's river flow is predetermined by its orography, geostructures, and deep faults. The rivers flow in depressions formed in the ruptures of the earth's crust, at the points of contact of large geostructures, which experience intense multidirectional movements. For example, in the zone of contact between the Baltic Shield and the Russian Plate, the basins of the Onega and Sukhona rivers are laid, as well as the basins of large lakes - Chudskoye, Ilmen, Bely, Kubenskoye. The runoff from the East European Plain occurs in the basins of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans and in the drainless region of the Caspian Sea basin. The main watershed between them runs along the Ergeny, the Volga and Central Russian Uplands, Valdai and the Northern Uvals. The largest average long-term annual flow(10 -12 l / s from 1 km 2) is typical for the rivers of the Barents Sea basin - Pechora, Northern Dvina and Mezen, and the flow module of the Volga varies from 8 in the upper reaches to 0.2 l / s from 1 km 2 in the mouth part. According to the degree of natural provision with river runoff, the East European Plain is divided into three zones: a) northern regions high security; b) central regions medium availability with a lack of water in industrial and urban centers; c) southern and southeastern regions (southern Volga region, Zadonye) with low security. The decision is connected with the rivers critical issues transport, hydropower, irrigation, water supply and the development of fisheries, and consequently, the creation of dams, reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations. Changes in the hydrographic network of the plain are possible only if the rules for the protection of nature and the environment are observed.