East European Plain: Main Characteristics. East European Plain: Geographical Location, Characteristics
The Russian plain is one of the largest plains on the planet. It is located in the eastern part of Europe, therefore its second name is the East European Plain. Since most of it is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, it is also called the Russian Plain. Its length from north to south is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers.
The relief of the Russian plain
This plain is dominated by a gently flat relief. There are many natural resources Russia. Hilly areas on the Russian Plain were formed as a result of faults. The height of some hills reaches 1000 meters.
The height of the Russian Plain is approximately 170 meters above sea level, but there are some areas that are 30 meters below sea level. As a result of the passage of the glacier, many lakes, valleys arose in this area, some tectonic depressions expanded.
Rivers
The rivers flowing through the East European Plain belong to the basins of two oceans: the Arctic and Atlantic, while others flow into the Caspian Sea and are not connected with the world's oceans. The longest river, the Volga, flows along this plain.
Natural areas
On the Russian Plain, there are all types of natural zones, as on the territory of Russia. There are no earthquakes or volcanic eruptions in this area. Tremors are quite possible, but they are not harmful.
The most dangerous natural phenomena in the East European Plain are tornadoes and floods. The main environmental problem is the pollution of soil and atmosphere with industrial waste. there are many industrial enterprises in this area.
Flora and fauna of the Russian Plain
There are three main groups of animals on the Russian Plain: arctic, forest and steppe. Forest animals are more common. Eastern species - lemmings (tundra); chipmunk (taiga); marmots and ground squirrels (steppes); saiga antelope (Caspian deserts and semi-deserts). Western species - pine marten, mink, forest cat, wild boar, garden dormouse, forest dormouse, hazel dormouse, black polecat (mixed and broad-leaved forests).
Animal world East European Plain more than any other part of Russia. Due to hunting and changes in the habitat of animals, many fur-bearing animals have suffered because of their valuable fur, and ungulates because of their meat. River beaver and squirrel were trade items among the Eastern Slavs.
Almost until the 19th century, the wild forest horse, the tarpan, lived in mixed and deciduous forests. Bison are protected in the reserve of Belovezhskaya Pushcha, and beavers have been successfully raised in the Voronezh reserve. A variety of animals from Africa, Asia and Australia live in the Askania-Nova steppe reserve.
In the Voronezh regions, an elk appeared and a previously destroyed wild boar revived. Astrakhan Nature Reserve was created in the Volga delta to protect waterfowl. Despite bad influence human, animal world The Russian plain is still large.
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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 borders 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 - the Sudetes and other mountains central Europe, in the southeast - the Caucasus, and in the east - the Urals. From the north, the Russian Plain is washed by the waters of the White and Barents Seas, and from the south by the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.The length of the plain from north to south is more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 1 thousand kilometers. Almost throughout the entire East European Plain, gently flat relief prevails. 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 Russian state, which later became the largest country in the world by its territory. A significant part of the natural resources of Russia 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 movement crust(earthquakes, volcanic eruptions). Small hilly areas within the East European Plain have arisen as a result of faults and other complex tectonic processes. The height of some highlands and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters. In ancient times, the Baltic shield of the East European platform was located in the center of glaciation, as evidenced by some forms of glacial relief.
On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits lie almost horizontally, making up lowlands and hills that form the surface relief. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, hills 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 impact 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, Beloye and others). These are the consequences of one of the most recent glaciers. In the southern, southeastern and eastern parts, which were subject to glaciation in more early period, their consequences are smoothed over by erosion processes. As a result, a number of uplands (Smolensk-Moscow, Borisoglebsk, Danilevskaya and others) and lacustrine-glacial lowlands (Caspian, Pechora) were formed.
Further south, there is a zone of uplands and lowlands stretched in the meridional direction. Among the heights, one can note the Priazovskaya, Central Russian, Privolzhskaya. Here they also alternate with the plains: Meshcherskaya, Oksko-Don, Ulyanovsk and others.
Further south are the coastal lowlands, which in ancient times were partially submerged under sea level. The flat 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 across the territory of the East European Plain, valleys were 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 also concave sandy lowlands. 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.
Some of the rivers flowing through the territory of the East European Plain belong to the basins of two oceans: the Arctic (Northern Dvina, Pechora) and Atlantic (Neva, Western Dvina), while others flow into the Caspian Sea, which has no connection with the world ocean. The longest and most abundant river in Europe, the Volga, flows along the Russian Plain.
On the East European Plain, there are practically all types of natural zones available on the territory of Russia. Tundra predominates in the subtropical zone off the coast of the Barents Sea. To the south, in the temperate zone, a strip of forests begins, which stretches from Polesie to the Urals. It includes both coniferous taiga and mixed forests, which gradually turn into deciduous in the west. To the south, the transitional zone of the forest-steppe begins, and beyond it the steppe zone. A small strip of deserts and semi-deserts begins on the territory of the Caspian lowland.
As mentioned above, on the territory of the Russian Plain there are no natural ones such 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. 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.
Based on materials great encyclopedia 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 relief and climate are typical for the East European Plain? You will find all the details about her in our article.
Geography of the East European Plain
The relief of Europe is very diverse - there are mountains, 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 Baltic Sea coast and stretches to the foothills of the Ural Mountains. Its southern border of the plain runs near the South Carpathians and Stara Planina, the Crimean Mountains, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and the northern edge runs along the shores of the White and Barents Seas. A significant part of Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus is located on the territory of the East European Plain. 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-Belebey Upland, which is located in the Cis-Urals.
The tectonic stability of the plain is also associated with the platform. She never finds herself in the epicenter of volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. All the vibrations of the earth's crust that occur here are low-ball 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 is formed by very old tectonic processes and glaciations. In the south, they happened much earlier, so their traces of the consequences have long been smoothed out by active climatic processes and water erosion. In the north, traces of past glaciation are most visible. They are manifested by sandy lowlands, winding bays of the Kola Peninsula, which cut deeply into the land, as well as in the form of a large number of lakes. In general, the modern landscapes of the plain are represented by a number of hills 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 the 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, shale, phosphorite, 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 Donbass basin. Brown and bituminous coal is also mined in the Dnipropetrovsk basin of Ukraine, in the 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, schists, amphibolites, diabase, porphyrite, and quartzite. Here, raw materials are mined for the production of ceramics and stone building materials.
One of the most "fertile" areas is the Kola Peninsula - a source of a large amount of metal ores and minerals. Iron, lithium, titanium, nickel, platinum, beryllium, various micas, ceramic pegmatites, chrysolite, amethyst, jasper, garnet, iolite and other minerals are mined within its limits.
Climate
The geographic position of the East European Plain and its low-lying relief largely determine its climate. The Ural mountains near its outskirts do not allow the passage of air masses from the east, therefore, throughout the year it is under the influence of winds from the west. They form over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing moisture and warmth in winter and precipitation 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, frost and light snow. In the summer they bring drought and cold spells with them.
In the cold season, temperatures are highly dependent on the incoming winds. In summer, on the contrary, solar heat has the most powerful effect on the climate of the East European Plain, so temperatures are distributed in accordance with the geographical latitude of the area.
Generally weather on the territory of the plains are very unstable. Atlantic and Arctic air masses above 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 climatic zone. Only a small part of it in the far north lies in the subarctic belt. 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 coast 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. It is dominated by coniferous trees such as larch, spruce, pine, fir, as well as herbs and berry bushes.
After the taiga, the zone of mixed and deciduous forests begins. It covers the entire Baltic region, Belarus, Romania, part of Bulgaria, a vast part of Russia, north and north-east of Ukraine. The center and south of Ukraine, Moldova, north-east of Kazakhstan and the southern part of Russia are covered by a zone of forest-steppe and steppe. The lower reaches of the Volga and the shores of the Caspian Sea are covered with deserts and semi-deserts.
Hydrography
The rivers of the East European Plain flow both north and south. The main watershed between them runs along Polesie, and some of them belong to the basin of the Arctic Ocean, and flow down to the Barents, White and Baltic Seas. Others flow southward, flowing into the Caspian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The longest and deepest river in 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 located. They are very densely distributed in the northwestern part, but in the southeast they are practically nonexistent. On the territory of the Baltic States, Finland, Polesie, Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, water bodies of glacial and moraine type have formed. In the south, in the area 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 "Sheep foreheads" rocks, which are found in Karelia, on the Kola Peninsula and in the Northern Ladoga area.
They are protrusions to the surface rocks that were smoothed out during the descent of the ancient glacier. The rocks are also called "curly". Their slopes, where the glacier moved, are polished and smooth. The opposite slopes, on the contrary, are steep and very uneven.
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, increasing by about 1 centimeter every hundred years. Today their maximum height reaches 381 meters.
The Zhiguli mountains are composed of dolomites and limestones. They also contain oil deposits. Their slopes are covered with forests and forest-steppe vegetation, among which there are also endemic species. Most of it is included in the Zhigulevsky Reserve and is closed to the public. The site, which is not under protection, is actively visited by tourists and alpine skiing enthusiasts.
Belovezhskaya Pushcha
There are many nature reserves, sanctuaries and other protected areas within the East European Plain. One of the oldest formations is national park Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located on the border of Poland and Belarus.
A large area of the relict taiga, an indigenous forest that existed in this area since prehistoric times, has been preserved here. 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, mouflons, reindeer, tarpan horses, bears, minks, beavers and raccoon dogs. The pride of the park is the bison, which is being rescued here from complete extinction.
For centuries the Russian plain served as a territory connecting the western and eastern civilizations by trade routes. Historically, two lively trade arteries have run through these lands. The first is known as “the way from the Varangians to the Greeks”. According to him, as is known from school history, medieval trade in goods of the peoples of the East and Russia with the states of Western Europe was carried out.
The second was the route along the Volga, which made it possible to transport goods by ship to Southern Europe from China, India and Central Asia and vice versa. The first Russian cities were built along the trade routes - Kiev, Smolensk, Rostov. Velikiy Novgorod became the northern gateway from the "Varangians", protecting the safety of trade.
Now the Russian Plain is still a territory of strategic importance. The capital of the country is located on its lands and Largest cities... The most important administrative centers for the life of the state are concentrated here.
Geographical location of the plain
The East European Plain, or Russian, occupies territories in the east of Europe. In Russia, these are its extreme western lands. In the northwest and west, it is bounded by the Scandinavian Mountains, the Barents and White Seas, the Baltic coast and the Vistula River. In the east and southeast, it is adjacent to Ural mountains and the Caucasus. In the south, the plain is bounded by the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.
Features of the relief and landscape
The East European Plain is represented by a gentle flat relief, formed as a result of faults in tectonic rocks. On the basis of relief features, the massif can be divided into three bands: central, southern and northern. The center of the plain consists of extensive highlands and lowlands alternating with each other. The north and south are mostly lowlands with rare low elevations.
The relief, although it is formed in a tectonic way, and insignificant tremors are possible on the territory, there are no tangible earthquakes here.
Natural areas and regions
(The plain has planes with characteristic smooth gradients)
The East European Plain includes all natural zones found on the territory of Russia:
- Tundra and forest-tundra are represented by the nature of the north of the Kola Peninsula and occupy a small part of the territory, slightly expanding to the east. The vegetation of the tundra, namely, shrubs, mosses and lichens, is replaced by birch forests of the forest-tundra.
- Taiga, with its pine and spruce forests, occupies the north and center of the plain. On the borders with mixed deciduous forests, the places are often swampy. Typical Eastern European landscape - coniferous and mixed forests and swamps are replaced by small rivers and lakes.
- In the forest-steppe zone, you can see alternating hills and lowlands. This zone is characterized by oak and ash forests. You can often find birch and aspen forests.
- The steppe is represented by valleys, where oak forests and groves, alder and elm forests grow near the river banks, and tulips and sage bloom in the fields.
- Semi-deserts and deserts are located on the Caspian lowland, where the climate is harsh and the soil is saline, but even there you can find vegetation in the form of various varieties of cacti, wormwood and plants that adapt well to a sharp change in daily temperatures.
Rivers and lakes plains
(A river on the flat terrain of the Ryazan region)
The rivers of the "Russian valley" are majestic and slowly carry their waters in one of two directions - to the north or south, to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, or to the southern inland seas of the mainland. Rivers north direction flow into the Barents, White or Baltic seas. Rivers of the southern direction - to the Black, Azov or Caspian Seas. The most large river Europe, the Volga, also "flows lazily" through the lands of the East European Plain.
The Russian plain is the kingdom of natural water in all its manifestations. The glacier, which passed through the plain thousands of years ago, formed many lakes on its territory. There are especially many of them in Karelia. The consequences of the presence of the glacier were the emergence in the North-West of such large lakes as Ladoga, Onega, Pskov-Peipsi reservoir.
Under the earth in the localization of the Russian Plain, artesian water reserves are stored in the amount of three underground basins of huge volumes and many located at a shallower depth.
Climate of the East European Plain
(Flat terrain with small drops near Pskov)
The Atlantic dictates the weather regime on the Russian Plain. Western winds, air masses that move moisture, make summer on the plain warm and humid, winter cold and windy. In the cold season, winds from the Atlantic bring about ten cyclones, contributing to changeable heat and cold. But the air masses from the Arctic Ocean also tend to the plain.
Therefore, the climate becomes continental only in the interior of the massif, closer to the south and southeast. The East European Plain has two climatic zones - subarctic and temperate, increasing continentality to the east.
