What is the difference between plains and mountains. The largest plains of Russia

The relief of the earth is a collection of oceans and seas and land surface irregularities that vary in age, origin and size. It consists of forms that are combined with each other. The relief of the Earth is quite diverse: giant depressions of the oceans and vast expanses of land, endless plains and mountains, high hills and deep gorges. Plains occupy the main part of the Earth's surface. This article will give Full description plains.

Mountains and plains

Different sciences are engaged in the study of the reliefs of the Earth. The main landforms are mountains and plains. Geography can most fully answer the question concerning what mountains and plains are. Plains are land areas that occupy 60% of the Earth's surface. Mountains occupy 40%. Definition of mountains and plains:

Plains are fairly large areas of land with slight slopes and slight fluctuations in elevation.
The mountains are vast, raised high above the plains and sharply dissected land areas with significant elevation changes. The structure of the mountains: folded or folded-blocky.

According to the absolute height of the mountains are divided into:

Lowlands. The height of such mountains is up to 1000m. They usually have gently sloping peaks, rounded slopes and relatively wide valleys. These include some mountains of northern Russia, Central Europe, for example, the Khibiny on the Kola Peninsula.
Middle mountains. Their height ranges from 1000m to 2000m. These include the Apennines and the Pyrenees, the Carpathian and Crimean mountains and others.
Highlands. These mountains are over 2000m high. These are the Alps, the Himalayas, the Caucasus and others.

Plains classification

Plains are divided into types according to different characteristics, for example, by height, by type of surface, by the history of their development and their structure. Types of plains by absolute height:

Plains below sea level. An example can be such depressions as Kattara, its height is 133 m below sea level, the Turfan depression, the Caspian lowland.
Low plains. The height of such plains ranges from 0 to 200 m. These include the largest plains in the world, the Amazonian and La Plata lowlands.
The elevated plains have a height of 200m to 500m. An example is the Great Victoria Desert.
Upland plateaus higher than 500m, such as the Ustyurt plateau, the Great Plains North America other.

The surface of the plain is inclined, horizontal, convex or concave. According to the type of surface, plains are distinguished: hilly, wavy, ridged, stepped. As a rule, the higher the plains, the more dissected they are. The types of plains also depend on the history of development and their structure:

alluvial valleys such as the Great Plain of China, the Karakum desert, etc.;
glacial valleys;
water-glacial, for example Polesie, foothills of the Alps, the Caucasus and Altai;
flat low-lying sea plains. Such plains are a narrow strip along the coasts of the seas and oceans. These are such plains as the Caspian and Black Sea.

There are plains that arose on the site of the mountains after their destruction. They are composed of hard crystalline rocks and crumpled into folds. Such plains are called denudation. Examples of them are the Kazakh small-sand pit, the plains of the Baltic and Canadian shields.

The climate of the plain depends on the climate zone they are also from what air masses they are influenced. This article systematized data on the main reliefs of the Earth and gave the concept of what mountains are and what a plain is.

The mountains(mountain structures) - vast areas of land or the ocean floor, significantly elevated and strongly dissected. Large mountain structures - mountainous countries (Caucasus, Urals), or mountain systems. They consist of mountain ranges - linearly elongated uplifts with slopes intersecting in a ridge line. Mountain ranges join and intersect to form mountain knots. These are usually the highest parts of mountainous countries. There are also individual mountains are isolated elevations of the surface, most often of volcanic origin. The areas of mountainous countries, consisting of heavily destroyed ridges and high plains covered with destruction products, are called highlands.

High mountains are distinguished by absolute height (above 2000 m), medium altitude (from 800 m to 2000 m) and low (not higher than 800 m). highest height reaches the peak of the Himalayas Chomolungma (Everest ) – 8848m, and in the CIS - the peak of Communism in the Pamirs – 7495 m

Mountains are formed under the simultaneous action of internal and external processes, but with a clear predominance of the former. Depending on the conditions for the formation of mountains, folds or blocks displaced relative to each other may predominate in their structure. Most of the mountains on the continents are folded-block mountains. The blocks that form them have a folded structure. At the bottom of the ocean, most of the mountains are volcanic.

In the relief of mountains, despite the intensive destruction, their structure is always manifested (folded , blocky-folded) . The direction of the ridges, their shape and mutual arrangement. The relief of the revived and rejuvenated mountains is characterized by flat, highly elevated areas - leveling surfaces. Landforms created by external (exogenous) processes are superimposed on the structure of the mountains, causing their dismemberment and lowering. The forms of relief created by them depend on the position of the mountains at a particular latitude, on the climate.

General pattern relief changes with height - altitudinal zonality.

The higher, the more intense the weathering in the mountains. Mountain peaks rising above the snow line carry glaciers. Glacial tongues descend below, feeding stormy mountain streams. Streams dissect the slopes with deep valleys, moving sediments down. At the foot, sediments and material falling from the slopes accumulate, smoothing out the bends of the slopes, creating foothill plains.

Plains - surface areas with small height differences. Plains with an absolute height of no more than 200 m are called lowlands. or lowlands (West Siberian Plain); no more than 500 m - elevated (The East European Plain); above 500 m - high or plateaus (Middle Siberian Plateau). On the continents, the majority (64%) of the plains formed on platforms and they are composed of layers of sedimentary cover ( stratal plains). The plains that arose as a result of the demolition of the products of the destruction of mountains (denudation) from the remaining base of the mountains (basement) are called denudation or basement . Where the material accumulates (accumulates), leveling the surface, accumulative plains are formed. Depending on the origin, they are marine, lake, river, glacial, volcanic.

Exogenous the relief of the plains depends on their geographical location, from the history of formation. Thus, on the plains subjected to continental glaciation, the relief of the glacier feeding areas, its spreading, melting and runoff is distinguished melt water. The plains of the tundra, the plains of sandy deserts have a special relief.

At the bottom of the ocean, the plains cover a much smaller area than was thought before the update became known. oceanic crust, about the system of mid-ocean ridges , occupying about 1/3 of the bottom area. It was assumed that over the millions of years of the existence of the Ocean, its bottom should be leveled by a thousand-meter thick layer of sediments. In fact, there are many single mountains and hills at the bottom of the Ocean.

deep sea (abyssal) plains - hilly, undulating , rarely flat . Significant thicknesses of sediments accumulate at the foot of the continental slope, forming sloping plains. flat relief it also has a shelf (underwater margin of the mainland). Usually it represents the outskirts of the platform, which turned out to be under sea level. On the shelf there are landforms that have arisen on land: riverbeds, forms of glacial relief.

The role of internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous) processes in the formation of relief earth's surface equally important.

If the former create the largest surface irregularities, then the latter provide the force of gravity with the opportunity to level them. The ratio of internal and external processes in different places on Earth is different and changes over time, so the topography of the surface of the lithosphere is diverse and changeable.

Let's remember

1. What can you tell on the map about the surface of our country?

The territory of Russia is vast and diverse. On the surface of our country there are not only plains, but also mountains. They are located in the south and east of Russia. There are many different water bodies in Russia - rivers, lakes. Russia is washed by the seas of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

You can find out extreme points Russia:

From the south - the city of Bazaduzu

From the north - Franz Josef Land

From the west - the Baltic Spit

From the east - about. Ratmanova

Russia has land borders with Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, Ukraine, Finland, Belarus, Georgia, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Norway, North Korea; maritime borders with Japan and the United States.

2. How are plains and mountains marked on the map?

Answer: Land is shown on the map different colors It depends on the height of the land above sea level. The mountains are marked in brown, the darker - the higher, individual peaks black dot. Most of the plains have a small height above sea level and are depicted in green. Like mountains, plains are also high and then they are indicated in yellow or even brown.

3. What surface in our region is flat or mountainous?

Answer: In our region there are Ural mountains. The Ural Mountains belong to the ancient mountains (formed more than 300 million years ago). They stretched from north to south across the entire territory of Russia.

The Ural Mountains separate European part our country from the Asian one, for which they are also called the "Stone Belt of the Russian Land". The height of these mountains is small: less than 2000 meters. Mount Narodnaya is considered the highest peak of the Urals, its height is 1895 meters. The Ural Mountains are a storehouse of minerals that have been mined here for a long time. These mountains are especially famous for deposits of precious and semi-precious stones: malachite, jasper, emeralds, amethysts and other gems widely used for making jewelry and souvenirs.

Also, a small section of the West Siberian Plain enters our region in the east.

How does the features of the earth's surface in a particular region affect the lives of people, their economic activities, customs and traditions?

Answer: A very big impact on life and economic activity, customs and traditions of a person is rendered by the relief of the earth's surface of the place where he lives. The peoples of different regions create their own culture, not similar to the culture of their neighbors, and this is closely related to the nature of a particular region. Among the inhabitants of the steppes prevailed nomadic image life, they were engaged in cattle breeding. They had plenty of milk, meat, cheese, which they sold. Now agriculture is well developed in these territories. Pomors who inhabited the coast White Sea, there was an abundance of fish, and therefore they were engaged in fishing, built strong boats. If people settled on the plains where there was not enough water, then small insignificant settlements were built, and construction was carried out along major rivers, since it was the river that served as a source of water supply. People have always sought to occupy flat territories, since it is easier to farm there, it is easier to build buildings and roads. AT Western Siberia, where the forest-swamp relief prevails, cities and villages line up on the slopes of river valleys. The rivers were the only means of transport for the inhabitants of these places. The nomadic way of life also prevailed here. The reindeer herders of the North and the pastoralists of the deserts constantly drove their cattle to new pastures. In mountainous regions, due to high ridges, the population settled in narrow intermountain valleys. Communication with neighbors was difficult because of the mountain ranges, and therefore the mountains are characterized by great ethnic diversity. Each nation developed its own specific culture, had its own characteristics in everyday life and economy. Today, the features of laying roads and the construction of various engineering structures, as well as mining, depend on the terrain.

Let's think!

Based on the observations, give brief description the surface of your edge.

Answer: Chelyabinsk region different surface shapes. Within it are lowlands and rolling plains, plateaus and mountains. Moreover, the surface rises in the form of ledges from east to west. In the extreme east, a narrow strip enters the region West Siberian Lowland not rising above 200 m above sea level. On the meridian of the eastern outskirts of Chelyabinsk, it passes into the Trans-Ural elevated plain, reaching in places 400 m above sea level. From the west, this plain is limited by low ridges of the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains (Cherry Mountains, the Ilmensky Range, the Ishkul Range and others), behind which rise the main mountain ranges Southern Urals: Ural-Tau, Taganay, Urenga, Nurgush, Zigalga, etc. The height of these ridges is in the range of 800-1100 m, and their individual peaks reach 1200-1400 m. So, Mount Big Sholom, on the Zigalga ridge, reaches 1425 m and is highest point in our area.

To the west of these highest ridges, the Ural Mountains drop again, descending in the form of an amphitheater to the Ufa plateau, which, in its southeastern sections, enters the Chelyabinsk region.

Let's check ourselves

1. List the forms of the earth's surface.

Answer: Forms of the earth's surface: plains, mountains, lowlands, hills, hills, beams, ravines.

. As indicated on physical map lowlands and highlands?

Answer: On the map, the lowlands are marked in green, and the hills are yellow.

3. Show on the map the Plains and mountains that you met in the lesson.

Answer: Map work. Plains - East European, West Siberian, Central Siberian plateau. Mountains - Ural, Caucasian mountains, Altai and Sayan Mountains.

4. Give a brief description of the plains of Russia; mountains of Russia.

Answer: To the west of the Ural Mountains is the East European Plain, one of the largest plains on earth. The surface of the plain is uneven, there are lowlands, and elevation, and hills. To the east of the Ural Mountains is the West Siberian Plain. The surface of the plain is very flat and stretches for several kilometers. But to the east of the West Siberian Plain is the Central Siberian Plateau. This is also a plain, and there are elevations with fairly steep slopes, and flat surface. The Ural Mountains are quite low, but the most high mountains are Caucasian. In the south of Siberia are the Altai and Sayan Mountains, which are famous for their beauty and rich nature.

landform

The earth's surface is very diverse, on our planet there are high mountains, and wide plains, river valleys, deep ravines, hills and caves. All these elevations and depressions make up the topography of the land surface. The relief is constantly changing, but we do not see this, since the time of these changes is measured in centuries.

The study of relief is important because it has great importance in nature and in our life, for example, high mountains determine the difference in climatic conditions in the bosoms and in the valleys, which are located along different sides from the crest of the mountains. In its turn, climatic conditions significantly affect rivers and springs, vegetation and animal world. Each large area of the earth's surface has its own relief, in which plains, hills and mountains are distinguished.

Plains are vast areas of land that have a flat or slightly undulating surface, usually slightly inclined to one side. Plains are called low-lying if their surface is raised above the ocean level by no more than 200 m; elevated if they are above the ocean level from 200 to 500 m; upland, if the height of their surface above sea level exceeds 500 m.

The hilly relief is a combination of frequently alternating hills, having a height above the base of no more than 200 m and a depression located between the hills.

Mountain relief - a combination of alternating elevations (mountain peaks, ridges) and depressions (valleys, depressions, hollows) between them. They have a height of more than 200 m from the foot of the mountain to the top.

All landforms are limited by slopes of varying steepness. The watershed line is obtained by crossing two opposite slopes of the ridge. The spillway line, or thalweg, is located at the bottom of depressions, which are limited on both sides by slopes - valleys, ravines, gullies. The spillway line in the river valleys coincides with the river bed.

The slopes that delimit any rise are not often the same steepness from top to bottom. The most frequent phenomenon is a change in the slope, which is immediately visible and traceable in certain line. When making a change in the steepness of the slope, the line along which the change in steepness occurs is called the plantar line. This occurs under the condition that a steep slope is replaced by a slope of less steepness. The sole line limits the bases of isolated hills and other elevations, which differ markedly in this area. When a slope of lesser steepness is replaced by a slope of greater steepness and at the same time a change in the steepness of the slope occurs, then the line along which the change of steepness occurs is called an edge. It limits from above the slopes of ravines, gullies, gullies, river valleys.

For a correct understanding of the relief of any territory, its characteristic points are of great importance: summit, saddle, mouth and bottom. The vertex points are on the most high places hills, and from them you can see surrounding area long distances. Points from which the terrain is especially clearly visible in all directions are called command points. Saddle points are located in the lowest places of mountain ridges and watershed lines, for example, in mountainous regions, the lowest saddles are the most convenient places to move from one slope of the ridge to the opposite. These saddles are called passes.

At the bottom of river valleys, ravines and gullies there are mouth points (mouths of rivers, ravines or gullies). Bottom points can be used to determine the depth of depressions in the terrain, usually they are located at the bottom of closed depressions, hollows and other relief depressions.

There are two main groups, which are divided into appearance relief forms: positive and negative - depending on their position relative to the horizon plane. Mountain ranges, hills, ridges, barrows and other elevations are considered positive. A to negative forms relief include concavities, depressions or depressions relative to the horizon plane: river valleys, ravines, beams, hollows, depressions, etc.

A mound, a hill, a hillock and a basin are limited by slopes on all sides, therefore such landforms are called closed. Unclosed landforms are limited by slopes on two or three sides, for example, river valleys, ravines. Landforms are simple and complex. Simple forms include a ravine, a mound, a mound, etc.

Complex landforms are composed of several simple forms and are usually larger. River valleys belong to complex relief forms: their slopes are broken by ravines, gullies, gullies and hollows. Any mountain range is also a complex form of relief: its slopes are separated by gorges, smaller ridges always deviate from the mountain range to the sides. For this reason, in each complex form you can always find a few simple reliefs. They make it possible to understand the features of the relief and find out the conditions of occurrence.

Mountains and plains of land distinguish by height above sea level, by origin, age and appearance.

Altitude above sea levelthe mountains there are: low- with absolute altitude up to 1000 m (Crimean); medium - from 1000 to 2000 m (Carpathians, Scandinavian); high - above 2000 m (Himalayas, Pamir, Andes) (Fig. 43). On the map, they are indicated respectively by light brown, brown and dark brown. .

Plains subdivided into: lowlands- their absolute height does not exceed 200 m above the level of the World Ocean (for example, Amazonian, Black Sea; hills - from 200 to 500 m (Pridneprovskaya, Volynskaya, Podolskaya; plateaus- over 500 m (Central Siberian, Arabian).

On the map, the plains are indicated respectively in green, yellow, brown. If the plain lies below sea level, it is colored on the map in dark green color(for example, the Caspian lowland).

By agethe mountains there are young and old. Conditionally young mountains are called, the process of formation of which is not completed. Their age usually does not exceed 60 million years. Mountains formed before this time are considered old. Their age may be 600 million years. Mostly young mountains are high. For example. Pamir, Himalayas, Alps. In Ukraine, the Carpathians and the Crimean Mountains are low, but young.

Origin the mountains divide by folded, volcanic and folded-block. Plains by origin and age divide by primary and secondary. Due to secular vertical movements of the lithosphere, individual coastal areas of the seas and oceans rose, forming vast lowlands (Black Sea, West Siberian). Such plains are called primary.

Some plains formed in place former mountains destroyed over hundreds of millions of years, for example, East European. Others were formed by river sediments (Amazonian, Mesopotamian, Indo-Gangetic). Such plains are called secondary.

The age of the plains is different: from 1-2 billion years (East European) to several tens of thousands (Black Sea). Distinguish in appearance the plains are flat, with a flat surface(Black Sea, West Siberian) and hilly, on which hills alternate with hollows, ravines. Such small relief forms are characteristic of the plains of Ukraine.

In the mountains, individual peaks, mountain ranges, consisting of interconnected mountains, as well as mountain valleys- depressions between mountain ranges. Narrow, deep mountain valleys are called mountain gorges.

Mountains with peaks tall, young in age, usually with narrow mountain gorges. These mountains include the Caucasus, the Andes, the Pamirs, the Himalayas with the highest peak in the world Everest (Chomolungma) - 8 850 m (Fig. 48 , a ). Material from the site http://worldofschool.ru

Mountains with rounded peaks consist of soft rocks, therefore they have smoothed outlines, similar to waves. Mountain valleys are shallow, mostly with gentle slopes. In height, such mountains are medium and low. For example, the Ukrainian Carpathians, whose highest peak is Hoverla (2,061 m), are medium high (Fig. 48, b). There are mountains with flat tops, steep or stepped slopes. In Ukraine, such mountains include the Crimean (Fig. 49).

In appearance, mountains and plains are very different: the peaks of the Caucasus and the Andes are covered with snow and glaciers; smooth, like a table, the peaks of the Crimean mountains; flat West Siberian Plain; hilly plains of Ukraine - how different they are! And the uniqueness of them is given by small forms of relief.

Relief(from lat. Relevo - “I raise”) - a set of irregularities of the earth's surface, which were formed under the influence of internal and external forces. By size, landforms are divided into planetary, basic and small.

Planetary landforms: continents and oceanic trenches.

Basic landforms: mountains and plains.

Plains and mountains are distinguished: by height, age and method of formation, by appearance.

Plains- areas of the land surface or the ocean floor that have slight variations in altitude. On land, plains are distinguished:

lowlands(up to 200 m high - Black Sea, Indo-Gangetic, La Platskaya)

hills(200-500 m - Pridneprovskaya, Volynskaya, Laurentian)

plateaus(over 500 m - Deccan, Western Australian, East African, Brazilian).

Plains occupy most the surface of the earth. The largest plain is the Amazonian (the area is more than 5 million km 2).

Plains by age and method of formation are divided into primary (formed as a result of vertical lithospheric movements- Black Sea) and secondary (formed on the site of the destroyed mountains- East European or formed by the accumulative activity of the rivers - Mesopotamian, Indo-Gangetic). In appearance, the plains are divided into flat and hilly.

The main landforms have a pattern in their location: plains correspond to platforms, mountains correspond to folding areas.

Platforms- relatively stable areas earth's crust, have a continental or oceanic type. In accordance with this, land plains or ocean floor plains are formed on the platforms.

Platform structure: lower tier - foundation(formed from metamorphic and igneous rocks) and upper tier - sedimentary cover(from sedimentary rocks). Most of the platforms on the continents are ancient (at the age of 1.5-4 billion years): North American, South American, Antarctic, African-Arabian, East European, Siberian, Australian. The foundation of young platforms was formed more than 500 million years ago - the West Siberian platform.

If on old platforms dense foundation rocks come to the surface, shields are formed. On the shields, hills and plateaus are most often located.

The mountains– areas of the surface of the lithosphere, which rise above the adjacent plains to a height of more than 500 m, have a significantly dissected relief.

low mountains- with absolute height from 500 m to 1000 m.

Mid-altitude- from 1000 to 2000 m (Scandinavian, Carpathians).

High- more than 2000 m (Himalayas, Andes, Caucasus).

In the mountains, peaks, mountain ranges, mountain valleys, mountain gorges are distinguished separately.

Mountains by education are distinguished: folded(formed as a result of the collision of two mainland lithospheric plates), fold-block(ancient ruined mountains) and volcanic(arising due to internal processes - volcanism).

Graben(from German Graben - “ditch”) - an elongated, relatively lowered part of the earth's crust or a block bounded by faults along its long sides, that is, a lowered section of the earth's crust between tectonic cracks. On the surface of the earth, large grabens can be depressions of lakes (Baikal), seas (Krasnoe).

Horst(from German Horst - “hill”) - a section of the earth's crust raised along faults.

On a physical map, mountains and plains are indicated by the corresponding shades of green, yellow and brown (depending on height).

Bibliography

Main

1. Starting course Geography: Proc. for 6 cells. general education institutions / T.P. Gerasimova, N.P. Neklyukov. – 10th ed., stereotype. – M.: Bustard, 2010. – 176 p.

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3. Geography. Grade 6: atlas. - 4th ed., stereotype. – M.: Bustard, DIK, 2013. – 32 p.

4. Geography. 6 cells: cont. cards. – M.: DIK, Bustard, 2012. – 16 p.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia / A.P. Gorkin. – M.: Rosmen-Press, 2006. – 624 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute pedagogical measurements ().

2. Russian Geographic Society ().