In which country is the East European Plain located? East European Plain: main characteristics
NATURAL AREAS OF RUSSIA
EASTERN EUROPEAN (RUSSIAN) PLAIN
See photographs of the nature of the East European Plain: Curonian Spit, Moscow Region, Kerzhensky Nature Reserve and the Middle Volga in the Nature of the World section of our website.
The East European (Russian) Plain is one of the largest plains in the world by area. Among all the plains of our Motherland, only it opens to two oceans. Russia is located in the central and eastern parts of the plain. It extends from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov and Caspian Seas.
The East European Plain has the highest density of rural population, large cities and many small towns and urban settlements, and a variety of natural resources. The plain has long been developed by man.
The justification for its determination to the rank of a physical-geographical country is the following features: 1) an elevated strata plain formed on the plate of the ancient East European Platform; 2) Atlantic-continental, predominantly moderate and insufficiently humid climate, formed largely under the influence of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans; 3) clearly expressed natural areas, the structure of which was greatly influenced by the flat terrain and neighboring territories - Central Europe, Northern 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 Elevated Plain consists of hills 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 Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Urals part. Maximum mark Timan Ridge somewhat less (471 m).
According to the characteristics of the orographic pattern within the East European Plain, three stripes are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. A strip of alternating large hills and lowlands runs through the central part of the plain: Central Russian, Volga, Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya uplands And General Syrt separated 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 individually. From west to east-northeast they stretch here, replacing each other, Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai Uplands And Northern Uvaly. They mainly serve as watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal (drainless Aral-Caspian) basins. From the Northern Uvals the territory descends to the White and Barents Seas. This part of the Russian Plain A.A. Borzov called it 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 Russian territory.
Rice. 25. Geological profiles across the Russian Plain
The East European Plain has a typical platform topography, 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 the unequal manifestation of recent tectonic movements.
Almost all large hills and lowlands of the plain are of tectonic origin, with a significant part inherited from the structure of the crystalline basement. In the process of a long and complex development path, they formed as a single territory in morphostructural, orographic and genetic terms.
At the base of the East European Plain lie Russian stove with Precambrian crystalline basement and in the south the northern edge Scythian plate with a Paleozoic folded basement. The boundary between the plates is not expressed in the relief. On the uneven surface of the Precambrian foundation of the Russian plate there are strata of Precambrian (Vendian, in places Riphean) and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks with slightly disturbed occurrence. Their thickness is not the same and is due to the unevenness of the foundation relief (Fig. 25), which determines the main geostructures of the plate. These include syneclises - areas of deep foundation (Moscow, Pechora, Caspian, Glazov), anteclises - areas of shallow foundation (Voronezh, Volga-Ural), aulacogens - deep tectonic ditches, in the place of which syneclises subsequently arose (Kresttsovsky, Soligalichsky, Moscow, etc.), protrusions 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 foundation. It is based on the Central Russian and Moscow aulacogens, filled with thick Riphean strata, above which lies the sedimentary cover of the Vendian and Phanerozoic (from Cambrian to Cretaceous). In the Neogene-Quaternary time, it experienced uneven uplifts and is expressed in relief by fairly large elevations - Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow and lowlands - 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 varying depths - up to 5000-6000 m in the east. The syneclise is filled with a thick layer of Paleozoic rocks, overlain by Meso-Cenozoic sediments. In its northeastern part there is the Usinsky (Bolshezemelsky) arch.
In the center of the Russian plate there are two large anteclises - Voronezh and Volga-Ural, separated Pachelma aulacogen. The Voronezh anteclise gently descends to the north into the Moscow syneclise. The surface of its basement is covered with thin sediments of the Ordovician, Devonian and Carboniferous. On the south steep slope Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Paleogene rocks occur. The Volga-Ural anteclise consists of large uplifts (vaults) 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; the syneclise is limited on almost all sides by flexures and faults and has angular outlines. From the west it is framed by the Ergeninskaya and Volgograd flexures, from the north - flexures of General Syrt. In places they are complicated by young faults. In Neogene-Quaternary time, further subsidence (up to 500 m) and accumulation of a thick layer of marine and continental sediments occurred. 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.
Tectonic movements of the Urals and the Caucasus led to some disruption of the occurrence of sedimentary deposits of plates. This is expressed in the form of dome-shaped uplifts, significant along the length of 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 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, weak mobility, and the Caspian and Pechora lowlands experience weak subsidence (Fig. 6).
The development of the morphostructure of the northwestern plain is associated with movements of the marginal part of the Baltic shield and the Moscow syneclise, therefore monoclinal (sloping) strata plains, expressed in orography in the form of hills (Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Belarusian, Northern Uvaly, etc.), and strata plains occupying a lower position (Verkhnevolzhskaya, Meshcherskaya). The central part of the Russian Plain was influenced by intense uplifts of the Voronezh and Volga-Ural anteclises, as well as subsidence of neighboring aulacogens and troughs. These processes contributed to the formation strata-tiered, stepped hills(Central Russian and Volga) and stratal Oka-Don plain. The eastern part developed in connection with the movements of the Urals and the edge of the Russian plate, so a mosaic of morphostructures is observed here. Developed in the north and south accumulative lowlands marginal syneclises of the plate (Pechora and Caspian). They alternate between strata-tiered hills(Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya, Obshchiy Syrt), monoclinal-stratal uplands (Verkhnekamsk) and intraplatform folded Timan ridge.
During the Quaternary, climate cooling in the northern hemisphere contributed to the spread of glaciation. Glaciers had a significant impact on the formation of relief, Quaternary deposits, permafrost, as well as on changes in natural zones - their position, floristic composition, wildlife and the migration of plants and animals within the East European Plain.
There are three glaciations on the East European Plain: Oka, Dnieper with the Moscow stage and Valdai. Glaciers and fluvioglacial waters created two types of plains - moraine and outwash. In the wide periglacial (pre-glacial) zone, permafrost processes dominated for a long time. Snowfields had a particularly intense impact on the relief during the period of reduced glaciation.
Moraine of the most ancient glaciation - Oksky- was studied on the Oka River, 80 km south of Kaluga. The lower, heavily washed Oka moraine with Karelian crystalline boulders is separated from the overlying Dnieper moraine by typical interglacial deposits. In a number of other sections to the north of this section, under the Dnieper moraine, the Oka moraine was also discovered.
Obviously, the moraine relief that arose during the Oka Ice Age has not been preserved to this day, since it was first washed away by the waters of the Dnieper (Middle Pleistocene) glacier, and then it was covered by its bottom moraine.
Southern limit of maximum distribution Dneprovsky integumentary glaciation crossed the Central Russian Upland in the Tula region, then descended along the Don valley - to the mouth of the Khopr 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 the region of 60 ° N. In the Upper Volga basin (in Chukhloma and Galich), as well as in the Upper Dnieper basin, above the Dnieper moraine lies the upper moraine, which is attributed to the Moscow stage of the Dnieper glaciation*.
Before the last Valdai glaciation During the interglacial era, the vegetation of the middle zone of the East European Plain had a more heat-loving composition than the modern one. This indicates the complete disappearance of its glaciers in the north. During the interglacial era, peat bogs with brazenia flora were deposited in lake basins that arose in depressions of the moraine relief.
In the north of the East European Plain, boreal ingression arose during this era, the level of which was 70-80 m above modern sea level. The sea penetrated through the valleys of the Northern Dvina, Mezen, and Pechora rivers, creating wide branching bays. Then came the Valdai glaciation. The edge of Valdai ice sheet was located 60 km north of Minsk and went northeast, reaching Nyandoma.
Changes occurred in the climate of more southern regions due to glaciation. At this time in more southern regions On the East European Plain, the remnants of seasonal snow cover and snow patches contributed to the intensive development of nivation, solifluction, and the formation of asymmetric slopes near erosive landforms (ravines, gullies, etc.).
Thus, if ice existed within the distribution of the Valdai glaciation, then nival relief and sediments (boulder-free loams) were formed in the periglacial zone. The non-glacial, southern parts of the plain are covered by thick layers of loess and loess-like loams, synchronous with the ice ages. At this time, due to climate humidification, which caused glaciation, and also, possibly, with neotectonic movements, marine transgressions occurred in the Caspian Sea basin.
Many rivers flow through the East European Plain.
The largest of them is the Volga. It flows into the Caspian Sea.
Another very large Russian river, the Dnieper, flows into the Black Sea, and the Don into the Sea of Azov.
Yellow paint on physical map Russia is designated the Valdai Hills. There are many lakes and swamps among its hills. In one of the swamps, near the village of Volgino-Verkhovye, there is a small wooden building. Inside it there is a well about a meter deep. A strong spring gushes from its viscous bottom, which is considered the source of the Volga.
At first the Volga flows like a barely noticeable stream. Gradually the Volga becomes wider and wider. Passenger ships and cargo ships - barges - travel along it.
It's nice to sail on a motor ship along the Volga on a fine summer day! How majestically and calmly it flows! How beautiful are the shores bathed in bright sunshine! Everywhere you look, endless fields stretch, ripening ears of corn sway in the light breeze, shady forests rustle, meadows turn green, covered with lush grass.
This continues for a day, and two, and three... But as soon as the river turns south, everything around changes.
After the city of Samara, on the right bank you can still see forests here and there, but on the left you rarely see even a solitary tree.
When Volgograd is left behind, the dull steppe, scorched by the sun, overgrown with brown, dried grass, stretches endlessly along both banks. The ground was cracked from the scorching heat. It rarely rains here.
In the spring, when the snow melts, there is still enough water. But as soon as summer sets in, the rivers begin to dry up one after another, and the ponds become shallow. And plants cannot live without water.
Even further south, closer to Astrakhan, you won’t see even a piece of an open post office. On both banks, wherever you look, there is only sand and clay. Only unpretentious sheep manage to look for stunted bushes of yellow waste among the sandy hills.
And along these lands, languid with heat and thirst, the Volga flows lazily and slowly. She could water millions of hectares of fields, meadows, gardens and vegetable gardens to the full. But the Volga runs past. Their fresh ones, clear waters it carries straight into the Caspian Sea.
Think about it: is it possible to allow the vast regions through which the largest river in Europe flows to remain without water and turn into a barren desert? Of course not!
To use the Volga waters to generate electricity and irrigate fields, meadows, gardens and vegetable gardens, huge dams were built on the great Russian river. Huge reservoirs formed near the dams.
Huge hydroelectric power stations (HPPs for short) were built next to the dams.
The dams raised the water level of the Volga. It has become much deeper and now does not become shallow anywhere in the summer. Large cargo and passenger ships can sail on the river. Transporting goods by river is much cheaper than by rail.
Timber, oil, bread, salt, cars, tractors, agricultural machinery and many other goods are transported along the Volga.
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THE EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN, Russian Plain, one of largest plains globe, within which are the European part of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, as well as most of Ukraine, the western part of Poland and the eastern part of Kazakhstan. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south – 2500 km. Area over 4 million km 2. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the Vistula River valley); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudetes, etc.) and the Carpathians; in the south it reaches the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east - limited to the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include V.-E. R. the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia, others classify this territory as Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.
Relief and geological structure
V.-E. R. geostructurally corresponds in general to the ancient Russian plate East European Platform, in the south - northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform .
Complex relief of V.-E. R. characterized by slight fluctuations in height (average height about 170 m). The highest altitudes are observed on the Podolsk (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) and Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) elevations, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level - the lowest point in Russia) is located on the Caspian Lowland, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
On E.-E. R. Two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern non-moraine with erosive landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small hills (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). In the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechorskaya and others). There are also a number of large hills - tundras, among them - the Lovozero tundras and others.
In the north-west, in the area of distribution of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief predominates: hilly and ridge-moraine, western with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoe, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.), the so-called lake district. To the south and east, in the area of distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating secondary moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; There are basins of drained lakes. Moraine-erosive hills and ridges (Belarusian ridge, Smolensk-Moscow upland, etc.) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Verkhnevolzhskaya, etc.). In some places, karst landforms are developed (Belomorsko-Kuloiskoe plateau, etc.). More often there are ravines and gullies, as well as river valleys with asymmetrical slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, typical areas are Polesye (Polesskaya Lowland, etc.) and Opole (Vladimirskoye, Yuryevskoye, etc.).
In the north, island permafrost is common in the tundra, while in the extreme northeast there is continuous permafrost up to 500 m thick and temperatures from –2 to –4 °C. To the south, in the forest-tundra, the thickness of the permafrost decreases, its temperature rises to 0 °C. There is permafrost degradation and thermal abrasion on sea coasts with destruction and retreat of the shores up to 3 m per year.
For the southern non-moraine region of V.-E. R. characterized by large hills with erosive gully-gully relief (Volynskaya, Podolskaya, Pridneprovskaya, Priazovskaya, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains related to the area of the Dnieper and Don glaciations (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Characterized by wide asymmetrical terraced river valleys. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called “saucers,” formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga region, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits and bedrock comes to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathered remains of bizarre shapes - shikhans. In the south and southeast, flat coastal accumulative lowlands are typical (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).
Climate
Far north of V.-E. The river, which is located in the subarctic zone, has a subarctic climate. Most of the plain, located in the temperate zone, is dominated by a temperate continental climate dominated by Western air masses. As you move away from Atlantic Ocean To the east, the continental climate increases, it becomes more severe and drier, and in the southeast, on the Caspian lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature ranges from –2 to –5 °C in the southwest and drops to –20 °C in the northeast. The average July temperature increases from north to south from 6 to 23–24 °C and up to 25.5 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern part is characterized by insufficient and meager moisture, reaching the point of aridity. The most moist part of V.-E. R. (between 55–60° N) receives 700–800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600–700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (in the tundra to 300–250 mm) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (in the semi-desert and desert to 200–150 mm). Maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (thickness 10–20 cm) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (thickness 60–70 cm) in the northeast. In the forest-steppe and steppe, frosts are frequent, droughts and hot winds are typical; in semi-deserts and deserts there are dust storms.
Inland waters
Most of the rivers of V.-E. R. belongs to the Atlantic and Northern basins. Arctic Oceans. The Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; the Dnieper, Dniester, and Southern Bug carry their waters to the Black Sea; Don, Kuban, etc. flow into the Sea of Azov. Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; to the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc. The Volga, the largest river in Europe, as well as the Ural, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Maly Uzen, etc. belong to the internal drainage basin, mainly of the Caspian Sea. All rivers are predominantly snow-fed with spring flood. In the southwest of the E.-E.r. rivers do not freeze every year; in the northeast, freeze-up lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10–12 l/s per km 2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km 2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing East-Europe. R. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing to the south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester and others have been transformed into cascades of large reservoirs (Rybinskoye, Kuibyshevskoye, Tsimlyanskoye, Kremenchugskoye, Kakhovskoye, etc.).
There are numerous lakes of various genesis: glacial-tectonic - Ladoga (area with islands 18.3 thousand km 2) and Onega (area 9.7 thousand km 2) - the largest in Europe; moraine - Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloye, etc., estuary (Chizhinsky spills, etc.), karst (Okonskoe vent in Polesie, etc.), thermokarst in the north and suffosion in the south of V.-E. R. etc. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.
Natural landscapes
V.-E. R. – a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of natural landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone and only Northern part– in the subarctic. In the north, where permafrost is common, small areas expanding to the east are occupied by the tundra zone: typical moss-lichen, grass-moss-shrub (lingonberry, blueberry, crowberry, etc.) and southern shrub ( dwarf birch, willow) on tundra-gley and swamp soils, as well as on dwarf illuvial-humus podzols (on sands). These are landscapes that are uncomfortable to live in and have a low ability to recover. To the south there is a narrow strip of forest-tundra with low-growing birch and spruce forests, and in the east - with larch. This is a pastoral zone with man-made and field landscapes around rare cities. About 50% of the plain's territory is occupied by forests. Zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, and in the east - with the participation of fir and larch) European taiga, swampy in places (from 6% in the southern to 9.5% in the northern taiga), on gley-podzolic (in the northern taiga), podzolic soils and podzols expands to the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-deciduous (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils, which extends most widely in the western part. Along the river valleys there are pine forests growing on podzols. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, there is a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests on gray forest soils; forests wedge out towards the Volga valley and have an island distribution in the east. The subzone is represented by forest-field-meadow natural landscapes with forest cover of only 28%. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, occupying 50–70% of the forest area. The natural landscapes of opolis are unique - with plowed flat areas, remnants of oak forests and a ravine-gully network along the slopes, as well as forests - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals there is a forest-steppe zone with oak groves (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-grass meadow steppes (some areas are preserved in nature reserves) on chernozems, which make up the main fund of arable land. The share of arable land in the forest-steppe zone is up to 80%. Southern part of V.-E. R. (except in the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which give way to the south by fescue-feather grass dry steppes on dark chestnut soils. In most of the Caspian Lowland, cereal-wormwood semi-deserts predominate on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-salote deserts on brown soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.
Ecological situation
V.-E. R. mastered for a long time and significantly changed by man. In many natural landscapes, natural-anthropogenic complexes dominate, especially in steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and deciduous forests (up to 75%). Territory of V.-E. R. highly urbanized. The most densely populated areas (up to 100 people/km2) are mixed and deciduous forests Central region V.-E. r., where territories with a relatively satisfactory or favorable environmental situation occupy only 15% of the area. Particularly tense environmental situation in major cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Voronezh, etc.). In Moscow, emissions into the atmospheric air amounted (2014) to 996.8 thousand tons, or 19.3% of emissions from the entire Central Federal District (5169.7 thousand tons), in the Moscow region - 966.8 thousand tons (18. 7%); in the Lipetsk region, emissions from stationary sources reached 330 thousand tons (21.2% of the district’s emissions). In Moscow, 93.2% are emissions from road transport, of which carbon monoxide accounts for 80.7%. The largest amount of emissions from stationary sources was noted in the Komi Republic (707.0 thousand tons). The proportion of residents (up to 3%) living in cities with high and very high high level pollution. In 2013, Moscow, Dzerzhinsk, and Ivanovo were excluded from the priority list of the most polluted cities in the Russian Federation. Foci of pollution are typical for large industrial centers, especially for Dzerzhinsk, Vorkuta, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Soils in the city of Arzamas are contaminated with oil products (2014) (2565 and 6730 mg/kg) Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Chapaevsk (1488 and 18,034 mg/kg) of the Samara region, in the areas of Nizhny Novgorod (1282 and 14,000 mg/kg), Samara (1007 and 1815 mg/kg) and other cities. Spills of oil and petroleum products as a result of accidents at oil and gas production facilities and main pipeline transport lead to changes in soil properties - an increase in pH to 7.7–8.2, salinization and the formation of technogenic salt marshes, and the appearance of microelements anomalies. In agricultural areas, soil contamination with pesticides, including the banned DDT, is observed.
Numerous rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are heavily polluted (2014), especially in the center and south of Eastern Europe. rivers, including the rivers Moscow, Pakhra, Klyazma, Myshega (city of Aleksin), Volga and others, mainly within cities and downstream. Fence fresh water(2014) in the Central Federal District amounted to 10,583.62 million m3; the volume of domestic water consumption is greatest in the Moscow region (76.56 m 3 / person) and in Moscow (69.27 m 3 / person), discharge of polluted Wastewater is also maximum in these regions - 1121.91 million m 3 and 862.86 million m 3, respectively. The share of contaminated wastewater in the total volume of discharges is 40–80%. The discharge of polluted waters in St. Petersburg reached 1054.14 million m3, or 91.5% of the total volume of discharges. There is a shortage of fresh water, especially in the southern regions of V.-E. R. The problem of waste disposal is acute. In 2014, 150.3 million tons of waste were collected in the Belgorod region - the largest in the Central Federal District, as well as disposed waste - 107.511 million tons. The anthropogenic terrain is typical: waste heaps (height up to 50 m), quarries, etc. In the Leningrad region there are over 630 quarries with an area of more than 1 hectare. Large quarries preserved in the Lipetsk and Kursk regions. The taiga contains the main areas of logging and wood processing industries, which are powerful polluters of the natural environment. There are clear cuttings and overcuts, littering of forests. The share of small-leaved species is growing, including on the site of former arable lands and hay meadows, as well as - spruce forests, less resistant to pests and windfalls. The number of fires has increased; in 2010, more than 500 thousand hectares of land burned. Secondary swamping of territories is noted. The number and biodiversity of wildlife is declining, including as a result of poaching. In 2014, 228 ungulates were poached in the Central Federal District alone.
For agricultural lands, especially in the southern regions, soil degradation processes are typical. The annual loss of soil in the steppe and forest-steppe is up to 6 t/ha, in some places 30 t/ha; the average annual loss of humus in soils is 0.5–1 t/ha. Up to 50–60% of the land is prone to erosion; the density of the ravine network reaches 1–2.0 km/km 2 . The processes of siltation and eutrophication of water bodies are increasing, and the shallowing of small rivers continues. Secondary salinization and flooding of soils are observed.
Specially protected natural areas
Numerous reserves, national parks and sanctuaries have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. In the European part of Russia there are (2016) 32 nature reserves and 23 national parks, including 10 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central-Lesnoy, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Astrakhan Nature Reserve(1919), Askania-Nova (1921, Ukraine), Belovezhskaya Pushcha(1939, Belarus). Among the largest nature reserves is the Nenets Nature Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2), and among the national parks is Vodlozersky national park(4683.4 km 2). Areas of indigenous taiga “Virgin Komi Forests” and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the list World Heritage. There are many reserves: federal (Tarusa, Kamennaya Steppe, Mshinskoe swamp) and regional, as well as natural monuments (Irgiz floodplain, Racheyskaya taiga, etc.). Created natural parks(Gagarinsky, Eltonsky, etc.). The share of protected areas in different regions varies from 15.2% in the Tver region to 2.3% in the Rostov region.
The East European Plain is second in size only to the Amazon Lowland, located in South America. The second largest plain on our planet is located on the Eurasian continent. Most of it is located in the eastern part of the continent, the smaller part is in the western part. Since the geographical location of the East European Plain is mainly in Russia, it is often called the Russian Plain.
East European Plain: its borders and location
From north to south the plain has a length of more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from east to west 1 thousand kilometers. Its flat terrain is explained by its almost complete coincidence with the East European Platform. This means that major natural phenomena do not threaten it; small earthquakes and flooding are possible. In the north-west the plain ends with the Scandinavian Mountains, in the south-west - the Carpathians, in the south - the Caucasus, in the east - the Mugodjars and the Urals. Its highest part is located in the Khibiny Mountains (1190m), the lowest is located on the Caspian coast (below sea level 28 m). Most of the plain is located in the forest zone, the southern and central parts are forest-steppe and steppe. The extreme south and eastern part is covered with desert and semi-desert.
East European Plain: its rivers and lakes
Onega, Pechora, Mezen, Northern Dvina are large rivers in the northern part that belong to the Arctic Ocean. The Baltic Sea basin includes such large rivers as the Western Dvina, Neman, and Vistula. The Dniester, Southern Bug, and Dnieper flow to the Black Sea. The Volga and Ural rivers belong to the Caspian Sea basin. The Don flows its waters towards the Sea of Azov. In addition to large rivers, there are several large lakes on the Russian Plain: Ladoga, Beloe, Onega, Ilmen, Chudskoye.
East European Plain: fauna
Animals of the forest group, arctic and steppe live on the Russian Plain. Forest fauna are more common. These are lemmings, chipmunks, gophers and marmots, antelopes, martens and forest cats, minks, black polecat and wild boar, garden, hazel and forest dormouse and so on. Unfortunately, man has caused significant damage to the fauna of the plain. Even before the 19th century, the tarpan (wild forest horse) lived in mixed forests. Today in Belovezhskaya Pushcha they are trying to preserve bison. There is the Askania-Nova steppe reserve, where animals from Asia, Africa and Australia live. And the Voronezh Nature Reserve successfully protects beavers. Moose and wild boars, previously completely exterminated, have reappeared in this area.
Minerals of the East European Plain
The Russian Plain contains many mineral resources that have great importance not only for our country, but also for the rest of the world. First of all, these are the Pechora coal basin, the Kursk deposits of magnetic ore, nepheline and apathetic ores in Kola Peninsula, Volga-Ural and Yaroslavl oil, brown coal in the Moscow region. No less important are the aluminum ores of Tikhvin and the brown iron ore of Lipetsk. Limestone, sand, clay and gravel are common throughout almost the entire plain. Table salt is mined in lakes Elton and Baskunchak, and potassium salt is mined in the Kama Cis-Ural region. In addition to all this, gas production is underway (Azov coast region).
1. Determine distinctive features geographical location European part of Russia. Please rate it. Show on the map the main geographical features 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 - warm waters Black and Azov seas, in the southeast - the waters of the world's largest Caspian lake. The western borders of the East European Plain are bordered by the shores of the Baltic Sea and extend beyond the borders of our country. Ural Mountains they limit the plain from the east, and the Caucasus - partly from the south.
Geographical objects - 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, North. Dvina, Sukhona, Terek, YugOzeraBaskunchak, 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 (12th century), Kaluga (1371 ), Sergiev Posad (XIV century), Arkhangelsk (1584), Voronezh (1586).
2. What do you think are the characteristics that unite the East European Plain given the enormous diversity of its landscapes?
The East European Plain is united by a single tectonic basis (Russian Platform), the flat nature of the surface, and the distribution of a temperate climate, transitional from marine to continental, over most of the territory.
3. What is the uniqueness of the Russian Plain as the 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 zonality in the distribution of its landscapes. On the coast of the Barents Sea, occupied by cold, heavily waterlogged plains, there is a narrow strip of tundra zone, giving way to forest-tundra to the south. Harsh natural conditions do not allow farming in these landscapes. This is an area of developed reindeer husbandry and hunting and commercial farming. In mining areas where villages and even small towns, 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. On vast areas of the plain, forests have now been cut down and forest landscapes have turned into forest fields - a combination of forests and fields. The best pasture and hay lands in Russia are located in the floodplains of many northern rivers. Forest areas are often represented by secondary forests, in which coniferous and broad-leaved species have been replaced by small-leaved trees - birch and aspen.
The south of the plain is the boundless expanse of forest-steppes and steppes stretching beyond the horizon with the most fertile black earth soils and the most favorable climatic conditions for agriculture. Here lies the main agricultural zone of the country with the most transformed landscapes and the main stock of arable land in Russia.
4. Do you think that the fact that this is the historical center of the Russian state played 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 diversity of species economic activity, high degree transformation of landscapes.
5. In the works of which Russian artists, composers, poets the features of nature are especially clearly understood and conveyed? Central Russia? Give examples.
In literature - K. Paustovsky “Meshcherskaya Side”, Rylenkov’s poem “Everything in a Melting Haze”, E. Grieg “Morning”, Turgenev I.S. "Notes of a Hunter", Aksakov S.T. “Childhood years of Bagrov the 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 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.
