The largest territories of the Russian plain. §four. Great Plains of Russia - East European and West Siberian
The 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.
The Russian plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow. 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).
To the north of this strip, low plains predominate. Large rivers flow through this territory - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries. The southern part of the Russian Plain is occupied by lowlands, of which only the Caspian is located on the territory of Russia.
The Russian 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).
The formation of the relief of the Russian Plain is determined by belonging to the plate of the Russian Platform and is characterized by a calm regime and a low amplitude of the latest tectonic movements. Erosion-denudation processes, Pleistocene ice sheets and marine transgressions created the main features of the relief in the late Cenozoic. The Russian Plain is subdivided into three provinces.
The North Russian province is distinguished by the widespread distribution of glacial and water-glacial landforms formed by the ice sheets of the Moscow and Valdai times. Stratified lowlands predominate with remnant stratal-mono-clinal and ridge elevations, with relief forms oriented in the northwestern and northeastern directions, underlined by the pattern of the hydro-network.
The Central Russian province is characterized by a regular combination of erosion-denudation stratal and monoclinal-stratal uplands and lowlands oriented in the meridional and sublatitudinal directions. Part of its vast territory was covered by the Dnieper and Moscow glaciers. Low-lying areas served as areas of accumulation of water- and lacustrine-glacial deposits, and the relief of woodland was formed on them, sometimes with significant eolian processing, with dune formations. Gullies and ravines are widely developed on elevated areas and sides of valleys. Relics of the Neogene denudation-accumulative relief have been preserved under the cover of loose deposits of the Quaternary age. Leveled surfaces are preserved on the stratal uplands, and in the east and southeast of the province - marine deposits of the ancient transgressions of the Caspian.
The South Russian province includes the Stavropol stratified-monocline flat-topped upland (up to 830 m), a group of island mountains (Neogene subextrusive bodies, the city of Beshtau - 1401 m, etc.) in the upper reaches of the Kuma, the deltaic plains of the Terek and Sulak rivers of the Caspian lowland, a terraced alluvial plain in the lower reaches of the river Kuban. The relief of the Russian Plain has been significantly changed as a result of human activities.
Report: External processes that shape the relief and
Lesson topic: External processes that form the relief and
associated natural phenomena
Lesson objectives: to form knowledge about the change in landforms as a result of erosion,
weathering and other external relief-forming processes, their role
in shaping the appearance of the surface of our country.
Let the students down
to the conclusion about the constant change, the development of the relief under the influence of
only internal and external processes, but also human activities.
1. Repetition of the studied material.
What causes the Earth's surface to change?
2. What processes are called endogenous?
2. What parts of the country experienced the most intense uplifts in the Neogene-Quaternary?
3. Do they coincide with earthquake distribution areas?
Name the main active volcanoes in the country.
5. In what parts of the Krasnodar Territory are internal processes most often manifested?
2. Learning new material.
The activity of any external factor consists of the process of destruction and demolition of rocks (denudation) and the deposition of materials in depressions (accumulation).
This is preceded by weathering. There are two main types of exposure: physical and chemical, as a result of which loose deposits are formed that are convenient for moving by water, ice, wind, etc.
As the teacher explains the new material, the table is filled
^ External processes
main types
Distribution areas
The activity of the ancient glacier
^ Trogs, sheep foreheads, curly rocks.
Moraine hills and ridges.
Introductory glacial plains
Karelia, Kola Peninsula
Valdai rise, Smolensk-Moscow rise
^ Meshcherskaya nizm.
Activity of flowing waters
Erosion forms: ravines, beams, river valleys
Central Russian, Volga and others
almost everywhere
Eastern Transcaucasia, Baikal region, Wed.
^ Wind work
Eolian forms: dunes,
deserts and semi-deserts of the Caspian lowlands.
southern coast of the Baltic Sea
^ Groundwater
Karst (caves, mines, funnels, etc.)
Caucasus, Central Russian erection, etc.
Tidal bore
abrasive
coasts of seas and lakes
^ Processes caused by the activity of gravity
landslides and scree
They predominate in the mountains, often on the steep slopes of river valleys and ravines.
Middle course of the Volga river, Black Sea coast
^ Human activity
land plowing, f.i. mining, construction, deforestation
in places of human habitation and extraction of natural resources.
Examples of certain types of external processes - pp. 44-45 Ermoshkin "Geography Lessons"
FIXING THE NEW MATERIAL
1. Name the main types of exogenous processes.
2. Which of them are the most developed in the Krasnodar Territory?
3. What anti-erosion measures do you know?
4. HOME TASK: prepare for a general lesson on the topic “Geological structure,
relief and minerals of Russia» pp. 19-44.
Relief of the East European (Russian) Plain
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.
The East European Plain has the highest rural population density, large cities and many small towns and urban-type settlements, and a variety of natural resources.
The plain has long been mastered by man.
The substantiation of its definition as a physical-geographical country are the following features: 1) an elevated stratal plain was formed on the plate of the ancient East European platform; 2) Atlantic-continental, predominantly temperate and insufficiently humid climate, formed largely under the influence of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans; 3) natural zones are clearly expressed, the structure of which was greatly influenced by the flat relief and neighboring territories - Central Europe, North and Central Asia.
This led to the interpenetration of European and Asian species of plants and animals, as well as to a deviation from the latitudinal position of natural zones in the east to the north.
Relief and geological structure
The East European Uplifted Plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow.
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. A strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands passes through the central part of the plain: the Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and the Common Syrt are separated by the Oka-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 Uvaly stretch, 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. This part of the Russian Plain A.A.
Borzov called the northern slope. Large rivers flow along it - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries.
The southern part of the East European Plain is occupied by lowlands, of which only the Caspian is located on the territory of Russia.
Figure 1 - Geological profiles across the Russian Plain
The East European Plain has a typical platform relief, which is predetermined by the tectonic features of the platform: the heterogeneity of its structure (the presence of deep faults, ring structures, aulacogens, anteclises, syneclises, and other smaller structures) with unequal manifestations of recent tectonic movements.
Almost all large uplands and lowlands are plains of tectonic origin, while a significant part is inherited from the structure of the crystalline basement.
In the process of a long and complex path of development, they were formed as unified in the morphostructural, orographic and genetic terms of the territory.
At the base of the East European Plain lie the Russian plate with a Precambrian crystalline basement and in the south the northern edge of the Scythian plate with a Paleozoic folded basement.
The boundary between the plates in the relief is not expressed. On the uneven surface of the Precambrian basement of the Russian Plate, there are strata of Precambrian (Vendian, in some places Riphean) and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks with slightly disturbed occurrence. Their thickness is not the same and is due to the unevenness of the basement topography (Fig. 1), which determines the main geostructures of the plate. These include syneclises - areas of deep occurrence of the foundation (Moscow, Pechora, Caspian, Glazov), anteclises - areas of shallow occurrence of the foundation (Voronezh, Volga-Ural), aulacogens - deep tectonic ditches, on the site of which syneclises subsequently arose (Kresttsovsky, Soligalichsky, Moskovsky and others), ledges of the Baikal basement - Timan.
The Moscow syneclise is one of the oldest and most complex internal structures of the Russian plate with a deep crystalline basement.
It is based on the Central Russian and Moscow aulacogenes, filled with thick Riphean sequences, above which the sedimentary cover of the Vendian and Phanerozoic (from Cambrian to Cretaceous) occurs. In the Neogene-Quaternary time, it experienced uneven uplifts and is expressed in the relief by rather large uplands - Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow and lowlands - Upper Volga, North Dvinskaya.
The Pechora syneclise is located wedge-shaped in the northeast of the Russian Plate, between the Timan Ridge and the Urals.
Its uneven block foundation is lowered to various depths - up to 5000-6000 m in the east. The syneclise is filled with a thick layer of Paleozoic rocks overlain by Meso-Cenozoic deposits. In its northeastern part is the Usinsky (Bolshezemelsky) vault.
In the center of the Russian Plate there are two large anteclises - Voronezh and Volga-Urals, separated by the Pachelma aulacogen. The Voronezh anteclise slopes gently to the north into the Moscow syneclise.
The surface of its basement is covered with thin deposits of the Ordovician, Devonian and Carboniferous. Rocks of the Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Paleogene occur on the southern steep slope.
The Volga-Ural anteclise consists of large uplifts (arches) and depressions (aulacogens), on the slopes of which flexures are located.
The thickness of the sedimentary cover here is at least 800 m within the highest arches (Tokmovsky).
The Caspian marginal syneclise is a vast area of deep (up to 18-20 km) subsidence of the crystalline basement and belongs to the structures of ancient origin, almost on all sides of the syneclise is limited by flexures and faults and has an angular outline.
From the west it is framed by the Ergeninskaya and Volgograd flexures, from the north by the flexures of the General Syrt. In places they are complicated by young faults.
In the Neogene-Quaternary, further subsidence (up to 500 m) and accumulation of a thick layer of marine and continental deposits took place. These processes are combined with fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea.
The southern part of the East European Plain is located on the Scythian epi-Hercynian plate, lying between the southern edge of the Russian plate and the Alpine folded structures of the Caucasus.
The tectonic movements of the Urals and the Caucasus led to some disturbance of the sedimentary deposits of the plates.
This is expressed in the form of dome-shaped uplifts, significant along the shafts (Oksko-Tsniksky, Zhigulevsky, Vyatsky, etc.), individual flexural bends of layers, salt domes, which are clearly visible in the modern relief. Ancient and young deep faults, as well as ring structures, determined the block structure of the plates, the direction of river valleys, and the activity of neotectonic movements. The predominant direction of the faults is northwestern.
A brief description of the tectonics of the East European Plain and a comparison of the tectonic map with the hypsometric and neotectonic ones allows us to conclude that the modern relief, which has undergone a long and complex history, is in most cases inherited and dependent on the nature of the ancient structure and manifestations of neotectonic movements.
Neotectonic movements on the East European Plain manifested themselves with different intensity and direction: in most of the territory they are expressed by weak and moderate uplifts, low mobility, and the Caspian and Pechora lowlands experience weak subsidence.
The development of the morphostructure of the north-west of the plain is associated with the movements of the marginal part of the Baltic Shield and the Moscow syneclise; therefore, monoclinal (sloping) layered plains are developed here, expressed in orography in the form of uplands (Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Belorusskaya, Northern Uvaly, etc.), and layered plains occupying a lower position (Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya).
The central part of the Russian Plain was affected by intense uplifts of the Voronezh and Volga-Ural anteclises, as well as subsidence of neighboring aulacogenes and troughs.
These processes contributed to the formation of layer-tier, stepped uplands (Central Russian and Volga) and the layered Oka-Don plain. The eastern part developed in connection with the movements of the Urals and the edge of the Russian Plate, therefore, a mosaic of morphostructures is observed here. In the north and south, accumulative lowlands of the marginal syneclises of the plate (Pechora and Caspian) are developed. Interspersed between them are layered-stage uplands (Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt), monoclinal-stratified uplands (Verkhnekamskaya) and the intra-platform folded Timan Ridge.
In the Quaternary, the cooling of the climate in the northern hemisphere contributed to the spread of ice sheets.
Glaciers had a significant impact on the formation of relief, Quaternary deposits, permafrost, as well as on the change in natural zones - their position, floristic composition, fauna and migration of plants and animals within the East European Plain.
Three glaciations are distinguished on the East European Plain: the Okskoe, the Dnieper with the Moscow stage, and the Valdai.
Glaciers and fluvioglacial waters created two types of plains - moraine and outwash. In a wide periglacial (preglacial) zone, permafrost processes dominated for a long time.
The relief was especially intensively affected by snowfields during the period of reduction of glaciation.
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Make a description of the relief and minerals of the Russian Plain according to the following plan: 1.
Make a description of the relief and minerals of the Russian Plain according to the following plan:
1. Where is the territory
2.
What tectonic structure is confined to
3. How old are the rocks that make up the territory and how they lie
4. How it affected the relief
5. How altitudes change across the territory
6. Where are and what are the minimum and maximum heights
7. What determines the current altitude position of the territory
8. What external processes were involved in the formation of the relief
9. What forms are created by each process and where are they located, why
10.
What minerals and why are they common on the plain, how are they located
1. Geographic location.
2. Geological structure and relief.
3. Climate.
4. Internal waters.
5. Soils, flora and fauna.
6. Natural zones 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. The sedimentary cover is associated with reserves of coal (eastern part of the Donbass, Pechersk and Moscow basins), oil and gas (Ural-Volga and Timan-Pechersk basins), oil shale (north-western and Middle Volga), building materials (wide distribution), bauxites (Kola Peninsula), phosphorites (in a number of areas), salts (Caspian region).
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. During the cold period, many cyclones come to the plain from the Atlantic. 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 sharp cooling to the very 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 in the Kaliningrad region 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 of 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 and 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, the chemical composition of water and water temperature change.
Fresh waters 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 cover of other large regions of 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 the 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. Forest animals are most widely represented and, to a lesser extent, steppe animals. Western species 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 to the 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. Pine forests form on swamps and sands.
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. are widespread in swamps and reservoirs. 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, etc.
There are many lakes, 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 the economic development of these forests, the animal world has sharply decreased. 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, waterfowl arrive in the summer. 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 of the 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.
The animal world consists of forest and steppe fauna, but in recent times, due to human economic activity, the steppe fauna has begun to predominate.
The steppe zone extends from the southern border of the 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 (the Don and others), floodplain forests of poplar, willow, alder, oak, elm, and others grow. Among the animals, rodents predominate: ground squirrels, shrews, hamsters, field mice, and others.
Of the predators - ferrets, foxes, weasels. Birds include larks, steppe eagles, harriers, corncrakes, falcons, bustards, etc. There are snakes and lizards. Most of the northern steppes are now plowed up. 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 shrub 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 have experienced anthropogenic impacts. Particularly heavily modified by man are the zones of forest-steppes and steppes, as well as mixed and broad-leaved forests.
The East European Plain is one of the largest 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 borders of the Russian Federation, the East European Plain is sometimes called the Russian Plain. In the northwestern part it is limited by the mountains of Scandinavia, in the southwestern part by the Sudetenland and other mountains of central Europe, in the southeastern part by the Caucasus, and in the east by 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. Most of the population of Russia and most of the country's large cities are concentrated within the territory of the East European Plain. It was here that many centuries ago the Russian state was formed, which later became the largest country in the world in terms of its territory. 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 in the center of glaciation, as evidenced by some forms of glacial relief.
The East European Plain. satellite view
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 southern, southeastern and eastern parts, which were subjected to glaciation in an earlier period, their consequences are smoothed out by erosion processes. As a result of this, a number of uplands (Smolensk-Moscow, Borisoglebskaya, Danilevskaya and others) and lacustrine-glacial lowlands (Caspian, Pechora) were formed.
To the south, there 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 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 the impact of a glacier is the winding deep bays of the 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 of a large amount of sandy material. Thus, over the course of many millennia, the many-sided relief of the East European Plain was formed.
Meadows of the Russian Plain. Volga river
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.
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, tundra prevails in the subtropical zone. 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.
Russian plain
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. The most dangerous natural phenomena that can occur on the territory of the Russian Plain are tornadoes and floods. The main 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.
The East European Plain is one of the largest plains on the planet. It covers four million square kilometers, fully or partially affecting the territories of ten states. What is the relief and climate of the East European Plain? You will find all the details about it in our article.
Geography of the East European Plain
The relief of Europe is very diverse - there are mountains, and plains, and swampy lowlands. Its largest orographic structure in terms of area is the East European Plain. From west to east it stretches for about a thousand kilometers, and from north to south - more than 2.5 thousand kilometers.
Due to the fact that most of the plain is located on the territory of Russia, it received the name Russian. With an eye to the historical past, it is also often called the Sarmatian Plain.
It starts from the Scandinavian Mountains and the coast of the Baltic Sea and stretches to the foothills of the Ural Mountains. Its southern border of the plain runs near the Southern Carpathians and Staraya Planina, the Crimean Mountains, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and the northern edge runs along the shores of the White and Barents Seas. On the territory of the East European Plain there is a significant part of Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus. It also includes Kazakhstan, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.
Relief and geological structure
The outlines of the plain almost completely coincide with the ancient East European platform (only a small area in the south lies on the Scythian plate). Due to this, there are no significant uplifts in its relief, and the average height is only 170 meters. The highest point reaches 479 meters - this is the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, which is located in the Cis-Urals.
The tectonic stability of the plain is also associated with the platform. It never finds itself at the epicenter of volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. All the fluctuations of the earth's crust that occur here are low-level and are only echoes of the unrest of the mountainous regions nearby.
However, this area was not always calm. The relief of the East European Plain was formed by very old tectonic processes and glaciations. In the south, they occurred much earlier, so their traces of consequences have long been smoothed out by active climatic processes and water erosion. In the north, traces of the past glaciation are most clearly visible. They are manifested by sandy lowlands, winding bays of the Kola Peninsula, which cut deep into the land, and also in the form of a large number of lakes. On the whole, modern landscapes of the plain are represented by a number of uplands and lacustrine-glacial lowlands, alternating with each other.
Minerals
The ancient platform underlying the East European Plain is represented by crystalline rocks, which are overlain by a sedimentary layer of different ages, lying in a horizontal position. In the area of Ukrainian and rocks come out in the form of low rocks and rapids.
The territory of the plain is rich in various minerals. Its sedimentary cover contains deposits of limestone, chalk, slates, phosphorites, sand and clay. Oil shale deposits are located in the Baltic region, salt and gypsum are mined in the Cis-Urals, and oil and gas are mined in Perm. Large deposits of coal, anthracite and peat are concentrated in the Donbas basin. Brown and hard coal is also mined in the Dnepropetrovsk basin of Ukraine, in the region of Perm and Moscow region in Russia.
The crystalline shields of the plain are composed mainly of metamorphic and igneous rocks. They are rich in gneisses, shales, amphibolites, diabase, porphyrite, and quartzite. Raw materials for the production of ceramics and stone building materials are mined here.
One of the most "fertile" areas is the Kola Peninsula - a source of a large amount of metal ores and minerals. Within its limits, iron, lithium, titanium, nickel, platinum, beryllium, various micas, ceramic pegmatites, chrysolite, amethyst, jasper, garnet, iolite and other minerals are mined.
Climate
The geographical position of the East European Plain and its low relief largely determine its climate. The Ural Mountains near its outskirts do not allow air masses to pass from the east, so throughout the year it is influenced by winds from the west. They form over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing moisture and warmth in winter, and rainfall and coolness in summer.
Due to the absence of mountains in the north, winds from the south of the Arctic also easily penetrate deep into the plain. In winter, they bring cold continental air masses, low temperatures, frosts and light snow. In the summer, they bring drought and cold snaps with them.
In the cold season, temperatures are highly dependent on the incoming winds. In summer, on the contrary, the climate of the East European Plain is most powerfully influenced by solar heat, so temperatures are distributed in accordance with the geographical latitude of the area.
In general, the weather conditions in the plains are very unstable. Atlantic and Arctic air masses over it often replace each other, which is accompanied by a constant alternation of cyclones and anticyclones.
natural areas
The East European Plain is located mainly within the temperate climate zone. Only a small part of it in the far north lies in the subarctic zone. Due to the flat relief, latitudinal zoning is very clearly traced on it, which manifests itself in a smooth transition from the tundra in the north to arid deserts on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
The tundra, covered with dwarf trees and shrubs, is found only in the extreme northern territories of Finland and Russia. Below it is replaced by taiga, the zone of which expands as it approaches the Urals. Mostly coniferous trees grow here, such as larch, spruce, pine, fir, as well as grasses and berry bushes.
After the taiga, the zone of mixed and deciduous forests begins. It covers the entire Baltic, Belarus, Romania, part of Bulgaria, a vast part of Russia, the north and northeast of Ukraine. The center and south of Ukraine, Moldova, the northeast of Kazakhstan and the southern part of Russia are covered by the forest-steppe and steppe zone. The lower reaches of the Volga and the shores of the Caspian Sea cover deserts and semi-deserts.
Hydrography
The rivers of the East European Plain flow both north and south. The main watershed between them runs through Polesye, and some of them belong to the Arctic Ocean basin, and flow down to the Barents, White and Baltic Seas. Others flow south, emptying into the Caspian Sea and the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The longest and deepest river of the plain is the Volga. Other significant watercourses are the Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Pechora, Northern and Western Dvina, Southern Bug, Neva.
There are also many swamps and lakes in the East European Plain, but they are not evenly distributed. They are very densely distributed in the northwestern part, but in the southeast they are practically absent. On the territory of the Baltic States, Finland, Polissya, Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, reservoirs of glacial and moraine type were formed. In the south, in the region of the Caspian and Azov lowlands, there are estuary lakes and salt marshes.
Despite the relatively gentle relief, there are many interesting geological formations within the East European Plain. Such, for example, are the rocks "Lamb foreheads", which are found in Karelia, on the Kola Peninsula and in the Northern Ladoga region.
They are ledges on the surface of rocks that were smoothed during the convergence of an ancient glacier. Rocks are also called "curly". Their slopes in places where the glacier moved are polished and smooth. The opposite slopes, on the contrary, are steep and very uneven.
The Zhiguli are the only mountains on the plain that were formed as a result of tectonic processes. They are located in the southeastern part, in the region of the Volga Upland. These are young mountains that continue to grow, growing by about 1 centimeter every hundred years. Today, their maximum height reaches 381 meters.
The Zhiguli Mountains are composed of dolomites and limestones. There are also oil deposits within them. Their slopes are covered with forests and forest-steppe vegetation, among which there are also endemic species. Most of it is included in the Zhiguli Nature Reserve and is closed to the public. The site, which is not under protection, is actively visited by tourists and lovers of skiing.
Bialowieza Forest
Within the East European Plain there are many nature reserves, sanctuaries and other protected areas. One of the oldest formations is the National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located on the border of Poland and Belarus.
A large area of relic taiga has been preserved here - a primary forest that existed in this area even in prehistoric times. It is assumed that this is what the forests of Europe looked like millions of years ago.
On the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha there are two vegetation zones, and coniferous forests are closely adjacent to mixed broad-leaved ones. The local fauna is represented by fallow deer, mouflon, reindeer, tarpan horses, bears, minks, beavers and raccoon dogs. The pride of the park is bison, which are saved here from complete extinction.
1. Determine the distinctive features of the geographical location of the European part of Russia. Rate it. Show on the map the main geographical features of the East European Plain - natural and economic; Largest cities.
The European part of Russia occupies the East European Plain. In the north, the East European Plain is washed by the cold waters of the Barents and White Seas, in the south - by the warm waters of the Black and Azov Seas, in the southeast - by the waters of the world's largest Caspian lake. The western borders of the East European Plain are bordered by the Baltic Sea and go beyond the borders of our country. The Ural Mountains limit the plain from the east, and the Caucasus - partially from the south.
Geographical features - Bolshezemelskaya tundra, Valdai upland, Donetsk ridge, Malozemelskaya tundra, Oka-Don plain, Volga upland, Caspian lowland, Northern Uvaly, Smolensk-Moscow upland, Central Russian upland, Stavropol upland, Timan ridge.
The rivers Akhtuba, Belaya, Volga, Volkhov, Vychegda, Vyatka, Dnieper, Don, Zap. Dvina, Kama, Klyazma, Kuban, Kuma, Mezen, Moscow, Neva, Oka, Pechora, Svir, Sev. Dvina, Sukhona, Terek, YugOzera, Baskunchak, White, Vygozero, Ilmen, Caspian Sea, Ladoga, Manych-Gudilo, Onega, Pskov, Seliger, Chudskoye, Elton.
Large cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Ufa, Perm, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don.
Ancient Russian cities: Veliky Novgorod (859), Smolensk (862), Yaroslavl (1010), Vladimir (1108), Bryansk (1146), Tula (1146), Kostroma (1152), Tver (XII century), Kaluga (1371 ), Sergiev Posad (XIV century), Arkhangelsk (1584), Voronezh (1586).
2. What do you think, what features unite the East European Plain with a huge variety of its landscapes?
The East European Plain is united by a single tectonic foundation (the Russian Platform), the flat nature of the surface, and the distribution of a temperate climate, transitional from maritime to continental, over most of the territory.
3. What is the originality of the Russian Plain as a territory most inhabited by people? How has its appearance changed as a result of the interaction of nature and people?
The main characteristic feature of the East European Plain is the well-defined zoning in the distribution of its landscapes. On the coast of the Barents Sea, occupied by cold, heavily waterlogged plains, a narrow strip is located in the tundra zone, which is replaced by forest-tundra to the south. Harsh natural conditions do not allow farming in these landscapes. This is a zone of developed reindeer breeding and hunting and trade economy. In the areas of mining, where settlements and even small towns arose, industrial landscapes became the predominant landscapes. The northern strip of the plain is the least transformed by human activity.
In the middle zone of the East European Plain, a thousand years ago, typical forest landscapes prevailed - dark coniferous taiga, mixed, and then broad-leaved oak and linden forests. In the vast expanses of the plain, forests have now been cut down and forest landscapes have turned into forest fields - a combination of forests and fields. The floodplains of many northern rivers are home to the best grazing and hayfields in Russia. Forest areas are often represented by secondary forests, in which coniferous and broad-leaved species have been replaced by small-leaved species - birch and aspen.
The south of the plain is a boundless expanse of forest-steppes and steppes that go beyond the horizon with the most fertile chernozem soils and the most favorable climatic conditions for agriculture. Here is the main agricultural zone of the country with the most transformed landscapes and the main fund of arable land in Russia.
4. What do you think, did the fact that it is the historical center of the Russian state play a special role in the economic development and development of the Russian Plain?
The role of the center of the Russian state definitely influenced the development and development of the Russian Plain. It is characterized by dense population, the greatest variety of types of economic activity, and a high degree of landscape transformation.
5. In the works of which Russian artists, composers, poets are the peculiarities of the nature of Central Russia especially clearly understood and conveyed? Give examples.
In literature - K. Paustovsky "Meshcherskaya side", Rylenkov's poem "Everything is in a melting haze", E. Grieg "Morning", Turgenev I.S. "Notes of a hunter", Aksakov S.T. "Childhood of Bagrov-grandson", Prishvin M.M. - many stories, Sholokhov M.M. - stories, "Quiet Don", Pushkin A.S. many works, Tyutchev F.I. "Evening", "Noon", "Spring Waters".
In music - to G. Ibsen's drama "Peer Gynt", K. Bobescu, "Forest" from the suite "Forest Fairy Tale", "Where the Motherland Begins" (music by V. Basner, lyrics by Matusovsky).
Artists - I. N. Kramskoy, I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov, V. G. Perov, V. M. Vasnetsov, I. I. Levitan, I. I. Shishkin.
The East European (Russian) Plain is one of the largest plains in the world in terms of area.; It stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov and Caspian.
The East European Plain has the highest rural population density, large cities and many small towns and urban-type settlements, and a variety of natural resources. The plain has long been mastered by man.
Relief and geological structure
The East European Uplifted Plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow. 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. A strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands passes through the central part of the plain: the Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and the Common Syrt are separated by the Oka-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 Uvaly stretch, 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. This part of the Russian Plain A.A. Borzov called the northern slope. Large rivers flow along it - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries.
The southern part of the East European Plain is occupied by lowlands, of which only the Caspian is located on the territory of Russia.
The East European Plain has a typical platform relief, which is predetermined by the tectonic features of the platform: the heterogeneity of its structure (the presence of deep faults, ring structures, aulacogens, anteclises, syneclises, and other smaller structures) with unequal manifestations of recent tectonic movements.
Almost all large uplands and lowlands are plains of tectonic origin, while a significant part is inherited from the structure of the crystalline basement. In the process of a long and complex path of development, they were formed as unified in the morphostructural, orographic and genetic terms of the territory.
At the base of the East European Plain lie the Russian plate with a Precambrian crystalline basement and in the south the northern edge of the Scythian plate with a Paleozoic folded basement. These include syneclises - areas of deep occurrence of the foundation (Moscow, Pechora, Caspian, Glazov), anteclises - areas of shallow occurrence of the foundation (Voronezh, Volga-Ural), aulacogens - deep tectonic ditches, on the site of which syneclises subsequently arose (Kresttsovsky, Soligalichsky, Moskovsky and others), ledges of the Baikal basement - Timan.
The Moscow syneclise is one of the oldest and most complex internal structures of the Russian plate with a deep crystalline basement. It is based on the Central Russian and Moscow aulacogenes filled with thick Riphean strata and is expressed in relief by rather large uplands - the Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow and lowlands - the Upper Volga, North Dvina.
The Pechora syneclise is located wedge-shaped in the northeast of the Russian Plate, between the Timan Ridge and the Urals. Its uneven block foundation is lowered to various depths - up to 5000-6000 m in the east. The syneclise is filled with a thick layer of Paleozoic rocks overlain by Meso-Cenozoic deposits.
In the center of the Russian Plate there are two large anteclises - Voronezh and Volga-Urals, separated by the Pachelma aulacogen.
The Caspian marginal syneclise is a vast area of deep (up to 18-20 km) subsidence of the crystalline basement and belongs to the structures of ancient origin, almost on all sides of the syneclise is limited by flexures and faults and has an angular outline.
The southern part of the East European Plain is located on the Scythian epi-Hercynian plate, lying between the southern edge of the Russian plate and the Alpine folded structures of the Caucasus.
The modern relief, which has undergone a long and complex history, in most cases turns out to be inherited and dependent on the nature of the ancient structure and manifestations of neotectonic movements.
Neotectonic movements on the East European Plain manifested themselves with different intensity and direction: in most of the territory they are expressed by weak and moderate uplifts, low mobility, and the Caspian and Pechora lowlands experience weak subsidence (Fig. 6).
The development of the morphostructure of the north-west of the plain is associated with the movements of the marginal part of the Baltic Shield and the Moscow syneclise; therefore, monoclinal (sloping) layered plains are developed here, expressed in orography in the form of uplands (Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Belorusskaya, Northern Uvaly, etc.), and layered plains occupying a lower position (Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya). The central part of the Russian Plain was affected by intense uplifts of the Voronezh and Volga-Ural anteclises, as well as subsidence of neighboring aulacogenes and troughs. These processes contributed to the formation of layer-tier, stepped uplands (Central Russian and Volga) and the layered Oka-Don plain. The eastern part developed in connection with the movements of the Urals and the edge of the Russian Plate, therefore, a mosaic of morphostructures is observed here. In the north and south, accumulative lowlands of the marginal syneclises of the plate (Pechora and Caspian) are developed. Interspersed between them are layered-stage uplands (Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt), monoclinal-stratified uplands (Verkhnekamskaya) and the intra-platform folded Timan Ridge.
In the Quaternary, the cooling of the climate in the northern hemisphere contributed to the spread of ice sheets.
Three glaciations are distinguished on the East European Plain: the Okskoe, the Dnieper with the Moscow stage, and the Valdai. Glaciers and fluvioglacial waters created two types of plains - moraine and outwash.
The southern boundary of the maximum distribution of the Dnieper ice sheet crossed the Central Russian Upland in the Tula region, then descended along the Don valley to the mouth of the Khopra and Medveditsa, crossed the Volga Upland, then the Volga near the mouth of the Sura River, then went to the upper reaches of the Vyatka and Kama and crossed the Urals in area 60° N Then came the Valdai glaciation. The edge of the Valdai ice sheet was located 60 km north of Minsk and went to the northeast, reaching Nyandoma.
Natural processes of the Neogene-Quaternary time and modern climatic conditions on the territory of the East European Plain determined various types of morphosculptures, which are zonal in their distribution: on the coast of the seas of the Arctic Ocean, marine and moraine plains with cryogenic landforms are common. To the south lie the moraine plains, at various stages transformed by erosion and periglacial processes. Along the southern periphery of the Moscow glaciation, there is a strip of outwash plains interrupted by remnant elevated plains covered with loess-like loams, dissected by ravines and gullies. To the south there is a strip of fluvial ancient and modern landforms on uplands and lowlands. On the coast of the Azov and Caspian Seas there are Neogene-Quaternary plains with erosional, depression-subsidence and eolian relief.
The long geological history of the largest geostructure - the ancient platform - predetermined the accumulation of various minerals on the East European Plain. The richest deposits of iron ore are concentrated in the foundation of the platform (Kursk magnetic anomaly). The sedimentary cover of the platform is associated with deposits of coal (the eastern part of the Donbass, the Moscow basin), oil and gas deposits in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic deposits (the Ural-Volga basin), and oil shale (near Syzran). Building materials (songs, gravel, clays, limestones) are widespread. Brown ironstones (near Lipetsk), bauxites (near Tikhvin), phosphorites (in a number of regions), and salts (near the Caspian Sea) are also associated with the sedimentary cover.
Climate
The climate of the East European Plain is influenced by its position in temperate and high latitudes, as well as neighboring territories (Western Europe and North Asia) and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The total solar radiation per year in the north of the plain, in the Pechora basin, reaches 2700 mJ / m2 (65 kcal / cm2), and in the south, in the Caspian lowland, 4800-5050 mJ / m2 (115-120 kcal / cm2). The distribution of radiation over the territory of the plain changes dramatically with the seasons. In winter, radiation is much less than in summer, and more than 60% of it is reflected by the snow cover. In January, the total solar radiation at the Kaliningrad-Moscow-Perm latitude is 50 mJ/m2 (about 1 kcal/cm2), and in the southeast of the Caspian lowland it is about 120 mJ/m2 (3 kcal/cm2). Radiation reaches its greatest value in summer and in July, its total values in the north of the plain are about 550 mJ/m2 (13 kcal/cm2), and in the south - 700 mJ/m2 (17 kcal/cm2). All year round, the western transfer of air masses dominates over the East European Plain. Atlantic air brings coolness and rainfall in summer, and warmth and rainfall in winter. When moving east, it transforms: in summer it becomes warmer and drier in the surface layer, and colder in winter, but also loses moisture.
In the warm period of the year, from April, cyclonic activity proceeds along the lines of the Arctic and Polar fronts, shifting to the north. Cyclonic weather is most typical for the northwest of the plain, so cool sea air from temperate latitudes often comes to these areas from the Atlantic. It lowers the temperature, but at the same time it heats up from the underlying surface and is additionally saturated with moisture due to evaporation from the moistened surface.
The position of the January isotherms in the northern half of the East European Plain is submeridional, which is associated with greater frequency in the western regions of the Atlantic air and its lesser transformation. The average January temperature in the Kaliningrad region is -4°С, in the western part of the compact territory of Russia it is about -10°С, and in the northeast -20°С. In the southern part of the country, the isotherms deviate to the southeast, amounting to -5 ... -6 ° С in the region of the lower reaches of the Don and Volga.
In summer, almost everywhere on the plain, the most important factor in the distribution of temperature is solar radiation, so isotherms, in contrast to winter, are located mainly in accordance with geographic latitude. In the extreme north of the plain, the average July temperature rises to 8°C, which is associated with the transformation of the air coming from the Arctic. The average July isotherm of 20°C goes through Voronezh to Cheboksary, approximately coinciding with the border between forest and forest-steppe, and the isotherm of 24°C crosses the Caspian lowland.
The distribution of precipitation over the territory of the East European Plain is primarily dependent on circulation factors (western transport of air masses, the position of the Arctic and polar fronts, and cyclonic activity). Especially many cyclones move from west to east between 55-60°N. (Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow Uplands). This strip is the most humid part of the Russian Plain: the annual precipitation here reaches 700-800 mm in the west and 600-700 mm in the east.
The relief has an important influence on the increase in the annual amount of precipitation: on the western slopes of the uplands, precipitation is 150-200 mm more than on the lowlands lying behind them. In the southern part of the plain, the maximum precipitation occurs in June, and in the middle lane - in July.
The degree of moistening of the territory is determined by the ratio of heat and moisture. It is expressed by various values: a) the coefficient of moisture, which in the East European Plain varies from 0.35 in the Caspian lowland to 1.33 or more in the Pechora lowland; b) dryness index, which varies from 3 in the deserts of the Caspian lowland to 0.45 in the tundra of the Pechora lowland; c) the average annual difference in precipitation and evaporation (mm). In the northern part of the plain, moisture is excessive, since precipitation exceeds evaporation by 200 mm or more. In the zone of transitional moisture from the upper reaches of the Dniester, Don and the mouth of the Kama, the amount of precipitation is approximately equal to evaporation, and the further south from this zone, the more evaporation exceeds precipitation (from 100 to 700 mm), i.e., moisture becomes insufficient.
Differences in the climate of the East European Plain affect the nature of the vegetation and the presence of a fairly clearly pronounced soil-vegetation zonality.