South America. Minerals of south america

Australia

The Australian platform has an Archean-Lower Proterozoic basement composed of deeply metamorphosed volcanic rocks and contains significant gold deposits ( Western Australia), polymetallic and uranium ores, bauxites (West Queensland, etc.), Proterozoic sedimentary cover - rich deposits of iron ore (Hamersley Range in Western Australia, etc.). There are coal deposits in the Upper Paleozoic, as well as younger formations in eastern Australia. AT last years in a number of areas of Australia (the Great Artesian Basin, the coast of Victoria, Western Australia, the Amadies Trough), oil and gas deposits have also been discovered in sedimentary deposits of different ages.

South America

Bosom South America contain a very diverse complex of minerals. The largest iron ore deposits are confined to the ancient Precambrian of Venezuela (Orinoco river basin) and Brazil (Minas Gerais state), the richest deposits of porphyry copper ores - to granitoid batholiths Central Andes. Ore deposits rare elements associated with the ultramafic alkaline intrusions of Eastern Brazil. Deposits of ores of tin, antimony, silver, and other ores have been found on the territory of Bolivia. The forward and intermountain troughs of the Andes contain deposits of oil and gas along their entire length, which are especially rich within Venezuela. There are coal deposits; deposits of coal are known in the Upper Paleozoic, brown - in the Cenozoic. Bauxite deposits are confined to the young weathering crust (especially in Guyana and Suriname).

North America

North America is rich in minerals, the deposits of which are closely related to the geological structure of the mainland.

On the Canadian shield, where Precambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks are shallow, there are one of the world's largest deposits of metal ores: iron, nickel, copper, uranium, molybdenum.

In a thick layer of sedimentary rocks Central Plains coal deposits are concentrated. In the marine sediments of the coastal lowlands and on the shelf there are deposits of oil and gas. They are mined both on land and from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.

Significant reserves of coal are also concentrated in the intermountain depressions of the Appalachians. And the Cordillera, characterized by a variegated geological structure, is rich in minerals of both igneous and sedimentary origin. There are non-ferrous metal ores, deposits of mercury and gold. Oil and gas, coal lie in the east, as well as in the trough of the earth's crust between the Cordillera and the North American platform.

A variety of minerals are an important natural resource raw material base for the development of the economy of the countries of North America.

Africa

Minerals of Africa are the main suppliers of resources for ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical enterprises for the entire planet. The bowels of Africa are rich in phosphorites, chromites, and titanium. The main reserves of ores (uranium, cobalt, copper, manganese), as well as precious minerals and metals (diamonds, gold) of the globe are concentrated on this continent. Minerals north africa which include sedimentary minerals, gas and oil, are of global importance. South and central Africa is valued for igneous minerals - ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, as well as diamonds.

Deposits of minerals are due to the formation of the relief of the continent. In the north, there are more lowlands and subsidences, which were flooded by the seas, therefore, coal and manganese ores were formed in the form of precipitation. The east and south of Africa are represented by plateaus and highlands, which historically formed at the site of vertical and horizontal movements of platforms, therefore this part is rich in diamonds, gold, and uranium ores.

Africa is famous for its deposits of ores, the formation of which dates back to the time of the birth of the Paleozoic. Currently, this platform is exposed on the equator and the south of the mainland, and therefore, these areas have become the concentration of ore deposits. Thanks to this “exposure” of ancient platforms, copper deposits in South Africa became available to the population of the planet, chromites are being developed in Southern Rhodesia, Nigeria is famous for tin and tungsten, Ghana for manganese, and the island of Madagascar may well provide the entire planet with graphite. But still, Africans thank the Paleozoic for gold deposits. Perhaps, in some areas, Africa lags behind Western countries, but in the field of gold mining, this continent, represented by South Africa, has long and firmly held the leading position.

Cambrian period of formation earth platforms considers the beginning of the laying of the copper belt, which formed such minerals of Africa as copper, tin, cobalt, lead, tungsten and brought it to a leading position in the world. In terms of development and extraction of the above minerals, Africa ranks second. During this period, deposits of uranium and platinum ores were formed on the continent. AT sea depths iron ores were formed, but due to the deposition sea salts, these minerals of Africa are of low grade.

At the junction of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, the terrestrial platform of the continent experienced a calm period with the absence of movement of the earth's platforms, which allowed the formation of coal deposits, which are especially abundant in South Africa, Rhodesia, Congo and Madagascar.

The Sahara-Sudanian Plain of Africa is the most complex formation in structure, which has undergone faults and outcrops rocks, uplifts and deflections of ancient foundations, is valued by deposits of iron, manganese ores and oil.

Antarctica

In Antarctica, deposits of coal, iron ores have been discovered, signs of deposits of mica, graphite, rock crystal, gold, uranium, copper, and silver have been established. The small number of mineral deposits is explained by the poor geological knowledge of the mainland and its powerful ice sheet. The prospects for the Antarctic subsoil are very great. This conclusion is based on the similarity of the geological structure of the Antarctic platform with the Gondwanan platforms of other continents of the South. hemisphere, as well as on the commonality of the folded belt of Antarctica with the mountain structures of the Andes.

Eurasia

Eurasia is very rich in various minerals. On its territory there are large deposits of coal, oil, natural gas, significant reserves of ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, many places where gold and precious stones are mined. The diversity of the mineral wealth of the mainland is due to huge size, complex structure the earth's crust of Eurasia.

Coal deposits on the territory of Eurasia are located in foothill and intermountain troughs of the Paleozoic age (Donetsk basin in Ukraine, Karaganda - in Kazakhstan, Pechora - in Russia, Ruhr - in Germany, etc.). In the east of Eurasia, the coal basins were discovered within the Hindustan and Chinese platforms. Large brown-coal basins - Kuznetsk and Kansk-Achinsk - in Siberia. Oil and gas fields are concentrated in troughs of the earth's crust filled with sedimentary rocks. The two largest oil and gas basins of the Earth are located in the Mesopotamian lowlands and the West Siberian Plain. There are oil and gas fields in Arabian Peninsula and the East European Plain.

Most of the deposits of various ores associated with igneous and metamorphic rocks are located in the crystalline basement of ancient platforms, as well as where igneous and metamorphic rocks come to the surface in mountain ranges. global importance have iron ores of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA), Krivoy Rog and Lorraine iron ore basins, manganese Nikopol basin, iron ores of Hindustan and Northeast China. Through South China and the Indochina peninsula stretch deposits of non-ferrous metal ores such as tin and tungsten form the so-called tin-tungsten belt. Gold is found in the Asian part of the mainland.

Deposits of rock and potassium salts were formed in shallow basins - lakes and shallow seas. The Iranian highlands are known for their rich sulfur reserves. There are unique deposits in the Ukrainian Carpathian region native sulfur. On the Hindustan Peninsula, the island of Sri Lanka, there are deposits of diamonds, various precious stones. In many places of Eurasia there are deposits of various building materials(marble, granite, etc.).

Minerals of Eurasia- combustible, metallic and non-metallic - represented by the largest deposits. Their placement is closely related to the geological structure of the mainland and its topography.

The most diverse combination of minerals of different origin is characteristic of platforms. Large metal ore deposits found in the crystalline basement of ancient platforms on shields, where it is located close to the surface. These are iron, manganese, copper, nickel, tungsten, gold, platinum, molybdenum, uranium, polymetals. With volcanism, manifested on ancient platforms, are associated Yakut and Indian diamonds.

Sedimentary cover of platforms- young and ancient - contains rich reserves of rock and potash salts, sulfur, phosphorites. Brown and bituminous coals are concentrated in the platform foundation deflections. The coal belt stretches across the entire continent - from the islands of Great Britain through Western Europe, the East European Plain, Central Asia and Yakutia, bifurcating in the east into northern China and northeastern Hindustan. Oil and gas contain sedimentary strata that fill the troughs of the platforms - West Siberian, Turan, Scythian, shelf North Sea. Powerful oil and gas bearing zones are confined to the junction areas of platforms and young belts - marginal troughs. Fringing the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt on both sides, they stretch along the Middle and Lower Danube lowlands, the Carpathian region, and the foothills North Caucasus, Caspian, Persian Gulf, northern Hindustan, South-East Asia. Sands, gravel, clays, limestones, dolomites, which make up the upper tier of the platforms, are used as building material.

So folded belts connected metal belts of Eurasia. Iron, lead-zinc, tin, mercury, uranium and polymetallic ores are concentrated within the ancient folded belts - in the mountains Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe, Ural, South Siberia, Central Asia.

Metals there are also in young folded belts, but the deposits are confined to their most ancient structures. So, the mountains of the Pacific belt contain world reserves of tungsten and tin, gold. Through the south of China, Myanmar, Thailand to Malaysia and Indonesia stretches tin belt Southeast Asia, corresponding to the most ancient structures of the Himalayan belt. Here are concentrated iron ores, lead, zinc, nickel, gold, silver, mica, graphite.

Modern fold belts are dominated by deposits of sedimentary minerals. This is oil and coals intermountain valleys of the Alps, the Iranian Highlands, the Malay Archipelago. The world's largest sulfur deposits are located on the Iranian Highlands, on the peninsula Asia Minor- Phosphorites, asbestos. For the Apennines, the Balkans, Asia Minor are characteristic metal ores sedimentary origin (bauxites, iron and magnesium ores).

It should be remembered that deposits minerals of Eurasia directly related to .

The relief of Australia is unique. 95% of the mainland has a height of no more than 600 meters above sea level. Mostly it is plains. Mountains occupy only 5% of the entire territory of the mainland.

Forms and main indicators of heights

The relief of Australia has not changed much since Precambrian times, there were no serious tectonic movements.

Once upon a time, Australia, like Africa, was part of big mainland Gondwana. The separation of Austria from Gondwana occurred in the Mesozoic.

On the relief of the mainland big influence had such a process as denduation - this is the process of transfer, demolition (under the influence of the forces of nature) of the products of crushing rocks in low-lying areas. It was during this process that peneplain appeared - spacious plains with low island mountains.

Fig 1. Relief map of Australia

The basis for a relatively flat relief was the Precambrian Australian platform, which, in turn, is part of the Indo-Australian lithospheric plate, and a relatively young Epi-Hercynian platform. Some experts note that the Hindustan platform also serves as the basis for the even relief of the mainland (it is also part of the Indo-Australian lithospheric plate).

Briefly describe all the forms of the Australian relief, indicating the heights, using the table.

Relief and minerals of Australia

The relief of the mainland and, especially, its peculiar formation, influenced the amount of minerals found here. The Australian mainland is very rich in minerals and is one of the largest resource pools on the planet.

On the mineral map of Australia, the regional binding of certain resources is clearly visible. AT compressed form this can be presented as a table from which one can understand which minerals of Australia are concentrated in a particular region of the mainland:

Region of Australia	Minerals
Western Australia	gold (it should be noted that there are gold deposits throughout the continent, but compared to the western ones, they are much poorer); polymetallic ores; uranium ores; bauxites (deposits on the Arnhem Land and Cape York peninsulas, and near the Darling Ridge; iron (large deposits of iron are also found in South Australia, here is the largest ore deposit - Iron Knob);
Central Australia	polymetallic ores; manganese; In the area of Lake Eyre, active development of opal deposits is underway.
Eastern Australia	coal deposits (brown and hard coal; more than 9% of the world's coal reserves are concentrated in Australia);

Figure 3. Minerals map of Australia

Many deposits in Australia lie at shallow depths, which is why they are mined in an open way.

Australia currently occupies:

1st place in iron ore mining;
1st place in the extraction of bauxite, lead and zinc;
2nd place in uranium mining;
6th place in coal production.

It should be noted that Australia currently ranks first in the world in terms of diamond mining. The country's largest deposit is located in the area of Lake Argyle.

Among other things, Australia leads active work for the development of deposits of clay, sand and limestone.

What have we learned?

The characteristic of the relief of Australia is simple. There are practically no high mountains on this mainland; in terms of area, this mainland is more like big Island, coastline quite even, large area The mainland is occupied by plains and plateaus. But, despite this, Australia is the world leader in raw materials.

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And fuel, timber industry. Acting as exporters of products of these industries, the countries of South America in to a large extent depend on their prices on the world market.

Peculiarity economic development countries of South America - a decrease in the share of agriculture in gross domestic product and an increase in the share of industry: from 1960 to 1980, the first fell from 17 to 11%, and the second increased from 21 to 26%.

Among the countries of South America, the so-called new industrial countries, which include Argentina and Brazil, in terms of economic development, Venezuela adjoins them. The least developed include Guiana (French), Paraguay, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and Ecuador; an intermediate position is occupied by Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and Peru. Uruguay and Paraguay belong to the category of countries where the predominantly developed Agriculture and the agricultural processing industry. Big role The mining industry plays a major role in the economies of most South American countries. Her share in the domestic gross product ranges from 1% (Brazil), 1.5% (Colombia), 2.5% (Argentina) to 8% (Bolivia), 9-10% (Suriname, Guyana, Chile, Peru, Ecuador) and 16% (Venezuela ). The share of mining in total industrial production is much higher: from 4.5% for Argentina to 25-30% for Bolivia and Venezuela; in Peru and Chile, mining is the main branch of industrial production. According to the structure of the mining industry, it is possible to single out countries associated mainly with the extraction of energy (Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador) and metal (Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, Peru, Chile, Brazil) raw materials. A significant part of the extracted raw materials and fuel is processed locally (in Venezuela, copper ore in Chile, polymetals in Peru, tin in Bolivia, etc.), while a significant part of the extracted iron ore and bauxite is exported in its raw form. The share of domestic consumption of produced metals is relatively small. With an annual production of steel on the continent of 28.3 million tons (1986), the countries of South America export 10 million tons of ferrous metals with an annual import of 3-4 million tons. Mineral raw materials, fuel and products made from them are one of the main export items, accounting for a significant part (over 10%) of foreign trade turnover. In addition to energy raw materials, primarily oil, which provides 80-90% total cost export of raw materials and fuel, over 90% of the export of mining and metallurgical production is provided by copper, iron ores, bauxite, tin, lead and zinc, silver, tungsten, molybdenum and antimony.

At the latitude of the Amazon valley, the Northern Andes are separated from the Central Andes by a pinch. The latter are divided into two segments: the northern segment of the northwestern strike mainly occupies the territory of Peru, the southern one is meridional; within its borders are Bolivia and parts of the territory of Chile and Argentina. The northern segment of the Central Andes consists of two main ranges - the Cordillera-anticlinoria, Western and Eastern, between which the Sierra Blanca massif is wedged, formed by a young granite batholith. On the coast Southern Peru in the Arequipa massif, early Precambrian rocks emerge, proving that the Central Andes are entirely underlain by ancient continental crust. The Eastern Cordillera of Peru and its continuation in Bolivia are composed mainly of a folded terrigenous Paleozoic complex. In the cores of uplifts, a green-schist Upper Proterozoic complex is exposed, separated by a sharp unconformity from the Paleozoic; the main deformations of the latter occurred in the Late Devonian and Permian. The Upper Paleozoic and Triassic are represented by continental volcanics and molasses. On the wings and in separate synclines, shallow water sediments are preserved, in the south - continental deposits of chalk. The Western Cordillera is formed mainly by calc-alkaline volcanics and granites of Cretaceous and Early Paleogene age. In the south, within its limits, there is a group of young volcanoes. In the trough between the Cordillera and to the east of the latter, shallow-water carbonate-terrigenous Cretaceous deposits, devoid of manifestations of volcanism, are mainly distributed. In the south, in Bolivia, the space between the Cordillera is occupied by the Altiplano graben, filled with a thick sequence of predominantly continental clastic sediments of the Cretaceous-Cenozoic. In the sides of the graben are Neogene subvolcanic intrusions. In the south, to the eastern part of the Bolivian Andes, the Sierra Pampa massif with a block structure adjoins; horsts contain Upper Proterozoic metamorphites and Paleozoic granites; grabens are filled with continental Cenozoic. In the southern segment of the Central Andes in the structure of the Western Cordillera significant role belongs to the Jurassic marine "porphyrite" series; in the upper Jurassic, it is replaced by terrestrial volcanics, continuing in the Cretaceous and Paleogene deposits; they form a single volcano-plutonic belt with coeval granites. In the south, the Main Cordillera of Chile and Argentina answers it; from the west it is accompanied by the Peredovaya Cordillera and Precordillera Argentina, composed of Paleozoic strata with ophiolites. In the Coastal Cordillera of Chile, Paleozoic metamorphites and granites come to the surface.

The border of the South (Patagonian) and Central Andes is fuzzy. In the south, the folded mountain system turns east, continuing into Tierra del Fuego and, already under water, towards the island of South Georgia. Here, between the folded Paleozoic and young granites of the Patagonian Cordillera and the Cretaceous-Early Paleogene flysch zone, a sequence of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous ophiolites is wedged, considered as formations marginal sea. Ophiolites and flysch are gently thrust over the Cenozoic molasse of the fore Magellan Trough.

The Bolivian tin-silver belt is distributed in a territory composed of Paleozoic geosynclinal and platform deposits, intruded by subvolcanic granodiorites, dacites and rhyolites, with which endogenous mineralization is associated. In the recent past, it was the richest silver province with such unique deposits as Potosi, from whose bowels 35 thousand tons of silver have been mined since 1544. The ore veins of this deposit are concentrated around a porphyry stock. The veins have been traced to a depth of 875 m, but rich ores are concentrated in their upper parts to a depth of 350 m. Now the main thing practical value have deposits of tin ores of sulfide-cassiterite formation.

The oil and gas belt of the Eastern Foothills, as well as the intermountain troughs of the Andes, filled mainly by Cenozoic molasses, contain numerous deposits of oil and combustible gas, especially significant in Venezuela.

Traps and ring intrusions of ultramafic alkaline rocks with rare-metal carbonatites of Cretaceous and Paleogene age are known in the Andes and beyond.

Numerous coal deposits are also associated with the Mesozoic-Cenozoic era, mainly of Jurassic, Cretaceous and age. Among them are coal deposits in the intermountain depressions of the Andes (for example, Bogota in Colombia, Beblian in Ecuador, etc.), a chain of lignite deposits of predominantly Tertiary age in the eastern forward trough of the Andes (Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina) and individual deposits in the platform cover (Aosta- Amazon in Brazil, etc.). 51 oil and gas bearing basins are known to the young weathering crust of the water area. total area 8.1 million km 2, including 2 million km 2 of water area. Industrial oil and gas potential is established in 28 basins, and production is carried out in 25 of them. Explored reserves of hydrocarbons at the beginning of 1989 amounted to 18.2 billion tons of oil and 7.3 trillion. m 3 gas (about 90% associated). At the same time, the vast majority of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in two basins: Maracaibe (44% oil and 34% gas) and Orinok (36% oil and 32% gas). The productive horizons of these basins are associated with Cenozoic and Cretaceous sediments. The main explored hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the depth interval of 1-3 km (70% of oil reserves and 80% of gas reserves). Among the countries of South America, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Suriname, Chile and Ecuador have proven oil and gas reserves. The most significant hydrocarbon reserves are in Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia. The first oil fields were discovered in Peru in 1863 (Sorritos) and in 1868 (La Brea Parinhas). Systematic searches in most countries of South America began in the 1940s. 20th century By this time, about 100 oil fields had been discovered on the continent, including the unique Bolivar oil and gas accumulation zone. The search and exploration of hydrocarbons was carried out mainly by foreign companies. In the 40-50s. the first deposits were discovered in Brazil and Chile, in the 60s. proven industrial oil and gas potential eastern regions Colombia, Ecuador, Peru (Upper Amazonian oil and gas basin). In the 50s. Shelves are also covered by oil exploration. The first field was discovered on the Pacific shelf in 1955 (Littoral, Peru), and on the Atlantic shelf in 1968 (Guaricema, Brazil). The main volumes of oil prospecting work fall on the oil and gas basins of the Pre-Andean trough (Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador) and the Atlantic pericontinental basin (Brazil, Argentina). At the beginning of 1989, 1,400 oil (including 140 offshore) and 252 gas (including 40 offshore) fields were discovered in South America. Among them are Venezuelan oil fields with unique reserves (more than 1 billion tons) - Bachaquero, Lagunillas, Tia Juana (included in the Bolivar zone), giant cluster heavy oils - the Orinoco Belt (reserves 4.2 billion tons), Lamar and Lama, which have reserves of more than 300 million tons, as well as the deep-water fields of Brazil, unique in terms of oil reserves - Marlin (500 million tons of oil and 100 billion tons of oil). m 3 of gas) and Albacore (342 million tons of oil and 150 billion m 3 of gas).

The total reserves of coals of all types in the countries of South America at the beginning of 1987 were estimated at about 52.8 billion tons (39.9 billion tons of hard coal and 12.9 billion tons of brown coal). Explored reserves amount to 15.4 billion tons (14.2 billion tons of hard coal and 1.2 billion tons of brown coal). Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile have the largest total reserves.

The coal content of South America is associated with deposits of a wide age range - from Devonian to Quaternary, however, coal seams of the Permian (Brazil), Cretaceous (Colombia, Peru) and Paleogene-Neogene (Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina) age are of the main industrial importance. Coal-bearing deposits of Permian (possibly, partially Late Carboniferous) age are distributed mainly in the sediments of the cover South American Platform, and the Mesozoic-Cenozoic - in the folded belt of the Andes. The coal basins of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina (Brazil), Bogota, Boyaca (Colombia), Zulia (Venezuela), Concepción, Magellanes (Chile) and the deposits of Serrejon (Colombia) and Rio Turbio ( Argentina). Brown coal basins in South America are insignificantly distributed (Bolivia, Brazil) and are practically not developed. The coals of South America are mainly medium- and high-ash, mostly energetic non-coking or low-coking.

The relief and minerals of Eurasia are very diverse. Geomorphologists very often call this continent the continent of contrasts. Geological structure, the relief of the continent, as well as the distribution of minerals in Eurasia will be discussed in detail in this article.

Mainland Eurasia: geological structure

Eurasia is the most major continent our planet. 36% sushi and about 70% terrestrial population concentrated right here. Almost all the continents of the Earth, in fact, are fragments of two ancient supercontinents - Laurasia and Gondwana. But not Eurasia. After all, it was formed from several lithospheric blocks, which long time approached and, finally, soldered into a single whole by locks of folded belts.

The mainland consists of a number of geosynclinal regions and platforms: East European, Siberian, West Siberian, West European and others. In Siberia, in Tibet, as well as in the area of Lake Baikal Earth's crust slashed huge amount cracks and breaks.

Eurasia emerged and formed in different geological epochs. Pacific and Alpine-Himalayan are the largest of them. They are considered young (that is, their formation has not yet ended). It is these belts that include the largest mountain systems of the mainland - the Alps, the Himalayas, Caucasian mountains other.

Some areas of the mainland are areas of increased seismic activity(such as, central Asia or Powerful earthquakes are observed here with considerable frequency. Eurasia also boasts the largest number of active volcanoes.

The minerals of the continent are closely related to its geological structures. But we will talk about them further.

General features of the relief of Eurasia

The relief and minerals of Eurasia are extremely diverse. They formed in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, within several ancient platforms connected by mobile folding areas.

Eurasia is the second highest continent on the planet with an average height of 830 meters above sea level. Only Antarctica is higher, and even then only due to the powerful ice shell. Most high mountains and most large plains are located in Eurasia. And the total number of them is much more than on other continents of the Earth.

Eurasia is characterized by the maximum possible amplitude (difference) absolute heights. It is here that highest peak planets - Mount Everest (8850 m) and the most low point world - level Dead Sea(-399 meters).

Mountains and plains of Eurasia

Almost 65% of the territory of Eurasia is occupied by mountains, plateaus and highlands. The rest belongs to the plains. The five largest by area mountain systems mainland:

Himalayas.
Caucasus.
Alps.
Tien Shan.
Altai.

The Himalayas are the highest mountain range not only in Eurasia, but of the entire planet. They occupy about 650 thousand square kilometers of area. It is here that the “roof of the world” is located - Mount Chomolungma (Everest). Throughout history, 4469 climbers have conquered this peak.

The Tibetan Plateau is also located on this mainland - the largest in the world. It occupies a huge area - two million square kilometers. Many famous ones originate (Mekong, Yangtze, Indus and others). Thus, this is another geomorphological record that Eurasia can boast of.

The minerals of Eurasia, by the way, often occur precisely in folding zones. So, for example, the bowels of the Carpathian Mountains are very rich in oil. And in the mountains of the Urals, precious minerals are actively mined - sapphires, rubies and other stones.

There are also many plains and lowlands in Eurasia. Among them is another record - the East European Plain, which is considered the largest on the planet. It stretches from the Carpathians to the Caucasus for almost 2,500 thousand kilometers. Within this plain, in whole or in part, there are twelve states.

Relief of Eurasia: highlights and interesting facts

Behind impressive orographic records, it is very easy to miss smaller, but no less interesting features mainland. In the relief of Eurasia, there are, in fact, all known modern science landforms. Caves and karst mines, kars and fjords, ravines and river valleys, dunes and dunes - all this can be seen within the very major continent Earth.

In Slovenia, there is the famous Karst plateau, geological features which gave the name to a whole group of specific landforms. Within this small limestone plateau, there are several dozen beautiful caves.

There are many volcanoes in Eurasia, both active and extinct. Etna, Vesuvius and Fujiyama are the most famous of them. But on the Crimean Peninsula you can see unique mud volcanoes (on the Kerch Peninsula) or the so-called failed volcanoes. A prime example The latter is known to many mountain Ayu-Dag.

Minerals of the mainland

Eurasia ranks first in the world in terms of general reserves many mineral resources. In particular, the bowels of the mainland are extremely rich in oil, gas and non-ferrous metal ores.

In the mountains, as well as on the shields (protrusions of the platform foundations) of Eurasia, solid deposits of iron and also tin, tungsten, platinum and silver are concentrated. Huge reserves of fuel mineral resources - oil, gas, coal and oil shale - are confined to the deflections of the foundations of ancient platforms. Thus, the largest oil fields are being developed in the Persian Gulf, on the Arabian Peninsula, in the shelf of the North Sea; natural gas - in Western Siberia; coal - within the East European Plain and Hindustan.

What else is rich in Eurasia? Minerals of non-metallic type are also extremely common on the mainland. So, on the island of Sri Lanka is the world's largest deposit of rubies. Diamonds are mined in Yakutia, granite is mined in Ukraine and Transbaikalia highest quality, in India - sapphires and emeralds.

In general, the main minerals of Eurasia are oil, gas, iron ore, manganese, uranium, tungsten, diamonds and coal. In terms of extraction of many of these resources, the mainland is unrivaled in the world.

Minerals of Eurasia: table and main deposits

It should be noted that the mineral resources of the mainland are extremely uneven. Some states are frankly lucky in this regard (Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, etc.), while others are not very lucky (like, for example, Japan). Listed below are the most important minerals of Eurasia. The table also contains information about largest deposits certain mineral resources of the mainland.

Mineral resource (type)	Mineral resource	The largest deposits
fuel		Al Ghawar ( Saudi Arabia); Rumaila (Iraq); Daqing (China); Samotlor (Russia)
fuel	Natural gas	Urengoyskoye and Yamburgskoye (Russia); Galkynysh (Turkmenistan); Aghajari (Iran)
fuel	Coal	Kuznetsk, Donetsk, Karaganda basins
fuel	oil shale	Bazhenovskoye (Russia), Boltyshskoye (Ukraine), Mollaro (Italy), Nordlinger-Ries (Germany)
	Iron ore	Krivoy Rog (Ukraine), Kustanai (Kazakhstan) basins; Kursk magnetic anomaly (Russia); Kirunawara (Sweden)
	Manganese	Nikopolskoe (Ukraine), Chiatura (Georgia), Usinskoe (Russia)
	uranium ore	India, China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Romania, Ukraine
		Oktyabrskoe and Norilskoe (Russia), Rudna and Lubin (Poland)
non-metallic		Russia (Siberia, Yakutia)
non-metallic		Russia, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden, India
non-metallic		Russia ( Kaliningrad region), Ukraine (Rivne region)

Finally

Eurasia is the largest continent on our planet. The minerals of this continent are very diverse. The world's largest reserves of oil, natural gas, iron and manganese ore are concentrated here. In the bowels of the mainland contains a large number of copper, uranium, lead, gold, coal, precious and semiprecious stones.

Region	Relief	Average heights (above sea level)	Maximum/minimum altitudes (above sea level)
Western Australia	Western Australian highlands	400 - 500 meters	Mount Woodroffe (Musgrave Range) -1440 meters; Mount Zeal (McDonnell Range - 1510 meters
Central Australia	Central Lowland (Lake Eyre area)	100 meters	12 meters (in the Lake Eyre area)
Eastern Australia	Plains (Victoria deserts and semi-deserts, Great Sand and Great Artesian Basin), foothills and mountains (Australian Alps and Great Dividing Range)	300 -600 meters	Mount Kosciuszko (Australian Alps) - 2230 meters. This is the most high point the entire continent.

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