"Lithosphere. Earth's crust
Formation of the primary Earth's crust The plates are located on a soft plastic layer of the mantle, along which sliding occurs. Inner forces cause the movement of plates when substances move in the upper mantle. Powerful upward flows of matter tear the earth's crust, forming deep faults. The molten substance rises and fills the plates, building up the earth's crust. The edges of the faults are moving away from each other.
Plate tectonics and formation large forms relief Movements of lithospheric plates and movements earth's crust as a result of these movements it is called TECTONICS. These movements occur as a result of the movement of mantle material through mantle channels in the bowels of the Earth. Rising currents move lithospheric plates towards each other or in different sides at a rate of up to 6 cm per year. The direction of plate movement can be maintained for several tens or even hundreds of thousands of years.
Physicist Trubitsyn Having passed through all the fragmentary and very contradictory data known to geologists about the predecessors of Pangea, the model showed: single continents arose every seven hundred to eight hundred million years. The first in time - Monogea - was formed 2.6 - 2.4 billion years ago, Megagaea - 1.8 billion, Mesogea - 1 billion, and Pangea is just a stone's throw away - only 200 million years. The model also clarified the outlines of the supercontinents - they were not repetitions, copies of each other. Special correspondent Vladimir ZASELSKY and from the magazine “NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC”
Internal structure Earth includes three shells: the earth's crust, mantle and core. The shell structure of the Earth was established by remote sensing methods based on measuring the speed of propagation of seismic waves, which have two components - longitudinal and transverse waves. Longitudinal (P) waves associated with tensile (or compressive) stresses oriented in the direction of their propagation. Transverse (S) waves cause vibrations of the medium oriented at right angles to the direction of their propagation. These waves do not propagate in a liquid medium. Basic values physical parameters The lands are shown in Fig. 5.1.
Earth's crust- a stony shell composed of a solid substance with an excess of silica, alkali, water and an insufficient amount of magnesium and iron. It separates from the upper mantle Mohorovicic border(Moho layer), at which there is a jump in the velocities of longitudinal seismic waves to approximately 8 km/s. This boundary, established in 1909 by the Yugoslav scientist A. Mohorovicic, is believed to coincide with the outer peridotite shell of the upper mantle. The thickness of the earth's crust (1% of total mass Earth) is on average 35 km: under young folded mountains on continents it increases to 80 km, and under mid-ocean ridges it decreases to 6 - 7 km (counting from the surface of the ocean floor).
Mantle is the largest shell of the Earth in terms of volume and weight, extending from the base of the earth's crust to Gutenberg Borders, corresponding to a depth of approximately 2900 km and taken as the lower boundary of the mantle. The mantle is divided into lower(50% of the Earth's mass) and top(18%). By modern ideas, the composition of the mantle is quite homogeneous due to intense convective mixing by intramantle flows. Direct data about material composition There is almost no robe. It is assumed that it is composed of a molten silicate mass saturated with gases. The propagation speeds of longitudinal and transverse waves in the lower mantle increase, respectively, to 13 and 7 km/s. The upper mantle from a depth of 50-80 km (under the oceans) and 200-300 km (under the continents) to 660-670 km is called asthenosphere. This is a layer of increased plasticity of a substance close to the melting point.
Core is a spheroid with an average radius of about 3500 km. There is also no direct information about the composition of the nucleus. It is known that it is the densest shell of the Earth. The core is also divided into two spheres: external, to a depth of 5150 km, in a liquid state, and internal - solid. In outer core the speed of propagation of longitudinal waves drops to 8 km/s, and transverse waves do not propagate at all, which is taken as evidence of its liquid state. Below 5150 km, the speed of propagation of longitudinal waves increases and transverse waves pass again. The inner core accounts for 2% of the Earth's mass, and the outer core accounts for 29%.
The outer "solid" shell of the Earth, including the earth's crust and top part mantle, forms lithosphere(Fig. 5.2). Its thickness is 50-200 km.
Rice. 5.1. Changes in physical parameters in the bowels of the Earth (according to S.V. Aplonov, 2001)
Rice. 5.2. The internal structure of the Earth and the speed of propagation of longitudinal (R) and transverse (S) seismic waves (according to S. V. Aplonov, 2001)
The lithosphere and the underlying moving layers of the asthenosphere, where intraterrestrial movements of a tectonic nature usually originate and are realized, and where sources of earthquakes and molten magma are often located, are called tectonosphere.
Composition of the earth's crust. Chemical elements in the earth's crust form natural compounds - minerals, usually solids, having certain physical properties. The earth's crust contains more than 3,000 minerals, including about 50 rock-forming minerals.
Regular natural combinations of minerals form rocks. The earth's crust is composed of rocks of different compositions and origins. Based on their origin, rocks are divided into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Igneous rocks are formed due to the solidification of magma. If this occurs in the thickness of the earth's crust, then intrusive crystallized rocks, and when magma erupts onto the surface, they create effusive education. Based on the content of silica (SiO2) they distinguish the following groups igneous rocks: sour(> 65% - granites, liparites, etc.), average(65-53% - syenites, andesites, etc.), basic(52-45% - gabbro, basalts, etc.) and ultrabasic(<45% - перидотиты, дуниты и др.).
Sedimentary rocks arise on the earth's surface due to the deposition of material in different ways. Some of them are formed as a result of the destruction of rocks. This clastic, or plastic, rocks. The size of the fragments varies from boulders and pebbles to dusty particles, which makes it possible to distinguish among them rocks of different granulometric compositions - boulders, pebbles, conglomerates, sands, sandstones, etc. Organogenic rocks are created with the participation of organisms (limestones, coals, chalk, etc.). They occupy a significant place chemogenic rocks associated with the precipitation of a substance from solution under certain conditions.
Metamorphic rocks are formed as a result of changes in igneous and sedimentary rocks under the influence of high temperatures and pressures in the bowels of the Earth. These include gneisses, crystalline schists, marble, etc.
About 90% of the volume of the earth's crust is made up of crystalline rocks of igneous and metamorphic origin. For the geographic envelope, a relatively thin and discontinuous layer of sedimentary rocks (stratisphere), which is in direct contact with different components of the geographic envelope, plays an important role. The average thickness of sedimentary rocks is about 2.2 km, the actual thickness ranges from 10-14 km in troughs to 0.5-1 km on the ocean floor. According to the research of A.B. Ronov, the most common among sedimentary rocks are clays and shales (50%), sands and sandstones (23.6%), and carbonate formations (23.5%). An important role in the composition of the earth's surface is played by loess and loess-like loams of non-glacial regions, unsorted strata of moraines of glacial regions and intrazonal accumulations of pebble-sand formations of water origin.
The structure of the earth's crust. Based on the structure and thickness (Fig. 5.3), two main types of the earth’s crust are distinguished - continental (continental) and oceanic. The differences in their chemical composition are visible from the table. 5.1.
Continental crust consists of sedimentary, granite and basalt layers. The latter is highlighted conditionally because the speeds of seismic waves are equal to the speeds in basalts. The granite layer consists of rocks enriched in silicon and aluminum (SIAL), the rocks of the basalt layer are enriched in silicon and magnesium (SIAM). The contact between a granite layer with an average rock density of about 2.7 g/cm3 and a basalt layer with an average density of about 3 g/cm3 is known as the Conrad boundary (named after the German explorer W. Conrad, who discovered it in 1923).
Oceanic crust two-layer. Its bulk is composed of basalts, on which lies a thin sedimentary layer. The thickness of the basalts exceeds 10 km; in the upper parts, interlayers of late Mesozoic sedimentary rocks are reliably established. The thickness of the sedimentary cover, as a rule, does not exceed 1-1.5 km.
Rice. 5.3. Structure of the earth's crust: 1 - basalt layer; 2 - granite layer; 3 - stratisphere and weathering crust; 4 - basalts of the ocean floor; 5 - areas with low biomass; 6 - areas with high biomass; 7 - ocean waters; 8 - sea ice; 9 - deep faults of continental slopes
The basalt layer on continents and the ocean floor is fundamentally different. On the continents, these are contact formations between the mantle and the oldest earthly rocks, like the primary crust of the planet, which arose before or at the beginning of its independent development (possibly evidence of the “lunar” stage of the Earth’s evolution). In the oceans, these are real basalt formations, mainly of Mesozoic age, which arose due to underwater outpourings during the movement of lithospheric plates. The age of the former should be several billion years, the latter - no more than 200 million years.
Table 5.1. Chemical composition of the continental and oceanic crust (according to S.V. Aplonov, 2001)
| Content, % | ||
| Oxides | Continental crust | Oceanic crust |
| SiO2 | 60,2 | 48,6 |
| TiO2 | 0,7 | 1.4 |
| Al2O3 | 15,2 | 16,5 |
| Fe2O3 | 2,5 | 2,3 |
| FeO | 3,8 | 6,2 |
| MnO | 0,1 | 0,2 |
| MgO | 3,1 | 6,8 |
| CaO | 5,5 | 12,3 |
| Na2O | 3,0 | 2,6 |
| K2O | 2,8 | 0,4 |
In some places it is observed transitional type the earth's crust, which is characterized by significant spatial heterogeneity. It is known in the marginal seas of East Asia (from the Bering Sea to South China), the Sunda Archipelago and some other areas of the globe.
The presence of different types of earth's crust is due to differences in the development of individual parts of the planet and their age. This problem is extremely interesting and important from the point of view of reconstructing the geographical envelope. It was previously assumed that the oceanic crust is primary, and the continental crust is secondary, although it is many billions of years older than it. According to modern ideas, the oceanic crust arose due to the intrusion of magma along faults between continents.
Scientists' dreams of practical testing of ideas on the structure of the lithosphere, based on remote geophysical data, came true in the second half of the 20th century, when deep and ultra-deep drilling on land and the bottom of the World Ocean became possible. Among the most famous projects is the Kola superdeep well, drilled to a depth of 12,066 m (drilling was stopped in 1986) within the Baltic Shield in order to reach the boundary between the granite and basalt layers of the earth's crust, and, if possible, its base - the Moho horizon. The Kola superdeep well refuted many established ideas about the structure of the Earth's interior. The location of the Conrad horizon in this area at a depth of about 4.5 km, assumed by geophysical sounding, was not confirmed. The velocity of longitudinal waves changed (did not increase, but fell) at the level of 6842 m, where the volcanic-sedimentary rocks of the Early Proterozoic were replaced by amphibolite-gneiss rocks of the Late Archean. The “culprit” of the change turned out to be not the composition of rocks, but their special state - hydrogenous decompaction, first discovered in a natural state in the thickness of the Earth. Thus, another explanation for the change in speeds and directions of geophysical waves became possible.
Structural elements of the earth's crust. The earth's crust was formed over at least 4 billion years, during which it became more complex. under the influence of endogenous (mainly under the influence of tectonic movements) and exogenous (weathering, etc.) processes. Manifesting with different intensities and at different times, tectonic movements formed the structures of the earth's crust, which form relief planets.
Large landforms are called morphostructures(e.g. mountain ranges, plateaus). Relatively small relief forms form morphosculptures(for example, karst).
The main planetary structures of the Earth - continents And oceans. IN within the continents there are large structures of the second order - pleated belts And platforms, which are clearly expressed in modern relief.
Platforms - these are tectonically stable sections of the earth's crust, usually of a two-tier structure: the lower one, formed by ancient rocks, is called foundation, upper, composed predominantly of sedimentary rocks of later age - sedimentary cover. The age of platforms is estimated by the time of formation of the foundation. Areas of platforms where the foundation is submerged under the sedimentary cover are called slabs(for example, Russian stove). Places where platform foundation rocks emerge on the day surface are called shields(for example, the Baltic Shield).
At the bottom of the oceans there are tectonically stable areas - Thalassocratons and mobile tectonically active bands - georifts. The latter spatially correspond to mid-ocean ridges with alternating uplifts (in the form of seamounts) and subsidence (in the form of deep-sea depressions and trenches). Together with volcanic manifestations and local uplifts of the ocean floor, oceanic geosynclines create specific structures of island arcs and archipelagos, expressed on the northern and western margins of the Pacific Ocean.
Contact zones between continents and oceans are divided into two types: active And passive. The former are centers of strong earthquakes, active volcanism and a significant scope of tectonic movements. Morphologically, they are expressed by the conjugation of marginal seas, island arcs and deep ocean trenches. The most typical are the entire margins of the Pacific Ocean (“Pacific Ring of Fire”) and the northern part of the Indian Ocean. The latter are an example of the gradual change of continents through shelves and continental slopes to the ocean floor. These are the margins of most of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Arctic and Indian Oceans. We can also talk about more complex contacts, especially in the areas of development of transitional types of the earth's crust.
Dynamics of the lithosphere. Ideas about the mechanism of formation of earthly structures are developed by scientists of various directions, who can be combined into two groups. Representatives fixism based on the statement about the fixed position of the Continents on the surface of the Earth and the predominance of vertical movements in tectonic deformations of the layers of the earth's crust. Supporters mobilism the primary role is given to horizontal movements. The main ideas of mobilism were formulated by A. Wegener (1880-1930) as continental drift hypothesis. New data obtained in the second half of the 20th century made it possible to develop this direction into a modern theory neomobilism, explaining the dynamics of processes in the earth's crust by the drift of large lithospheric plates.
According to the theory of neomobilism, the lithosphere consists of plates (their number, according to various estimates, ranges from 6 to several dozen), which move horizontally at a speed of several millimeters to several centimeters per year. Lithospheric plates are drawn into motion as a result of thermal convection in the upper mantle. However, recent research, in particular deep drilling, shows that the asthenosphere layer is not continuous. If we recognize the discreteness of the asthenosphere, then we should reject the existing ideas about convective cells and the structure of the movement of blocks of the earth's crust, which underlie classical models of geodynamics. P. N. Kropotkin, for example, believes that it is more correct to talk about forced convection, which is associated with the movement of matter in the Earth’s mantle under the influence of an alternating increase and decrease in the Earth’s radius. Intense mountain building in the last tens of millions of years, in his opinion, was due to the progressive compression of the Earth, amounting to approximately 0.5 mm per year, or 0.5 km per million years, possibly with the general tendency of the Earth to expand.
According to the modern structure of the earth's crust, in the central parts of the oceans the boundaries of lithospheric plates are mid-ocean ridges with rift (fault) zones along their axes. Along the periphery of the oceans, in the transition zones between the continents and the bed of the ocean basin, geosynclinal mobile belts with folded-volcanic island arcs and deep-sea trenches along their outer margins. There are three options for the interaction of lithospheric plates: discrepancy, or spreading; collision, accompanied, depending on the type of contacting plates, by subduction, eduction or collision; horizontal slip one plate relative to another.
Regarding the problem of the origin of oceans and continents, it should be noted that at present it is most often solved by recognizing the fragmentation of the earth's crust into a series of plates, the movement of which caused the formation of huge depressions occupied by ocean waters. A diagram of the geological structure of the ocean floor is shown in Fig. 5.4. The scheme of magnetic field inversions of ocean floor basalts shows amazing patterns of the symmetrical arrangement of similar formations on both sides of the spreading zone and their gradual aging towards the continents (Fig. 5.5). Not only for the sake of fairness, we note the existing opinion about the sufficient antiquity of the oceans - deep-sea ocean sediments, as well as relics of the basaltic ocean crust in the form of ophiolites, are widely represented in the geological history of the Earth over the last 2.5 billion years. Blocks of ancient oceanic crust and lithosphere, imprinted into the deeply submerged foundation of sedimentary basins - peculiar failures of the earth's crust, according to S.V. Aplonov, indicate the unrealized potential of the planet - “failed oceans”.
Rice. 5.4. Scheme of the geological structure of the Pacific Ocean bed and its continental frame (according to A. A. Markushev, 1999): / - continental volcanism (A- individual volcanoes, b - trap fields); II - volcanoes of island blowouts and continental margins (a - underwater, b- ground); III- volcanoes of underwater ridges (a) and oceanic islands (b); IV - volcanoes of marginal seas (A - underwater, b - ground); V- spreading structures of the development of modern tholeiitic-basaltic submarine volcanism; VI- deep-sea trenches; VII- lithospheric plates (numbers in circles): 1 - Burmese; 2 - Asian; 3 - North American; 4 - South American; 5 - Antarctic; 6 - Australian; 7- Solomonova; 8- Bismarck; 9 - Philippine; 10 - Mariana; 11 - Juan de Fuca; 12 - Caribbean; 13 - Coconut; 14 - Nazca; 15 - Skosh; 16 - Pacific; VIII - major volcanoes and trap fields: 1 - Baker; 2 - Lassen Peak; 3-5- traps {3 - Colombia, 4 - Patagonia, 5 - Mongolia); 6 - Tres Virgines; 7 - Paricutin; 8 - Popocatepetl; 9 - Mont Pele; 10 - Cotopaxi; 11 - Tarawera; 12 - Kermadec; 13 - Maunaloa (Hawaiian archipelago); 14- Krakatoa; 75- Taal; 16- Fuji; 17 - Theologian; 18 - Katmai. The age of basalts is based on drilling data
Rice. 5.5. Age (million years) of the Atlantic Ocean bottom, determined on the magnetostratigraphic scale (according to E. Zeibol and W. Berger, 1984)
Formation of the modern appearance of the Earth. IN Throughout the history of the Earth, the location and configuration of the continents and oceans has constantly changed. According to geological data, the Earth's continents united four times. Reconstruction of the stages of their formation over the last 570 million years (in the Phanerozoic) indicates the existence of the last supercontinent - Pangea with a fairly thick, up to 30-35 km continental crust, formed 250 million years ago, which broke up into Gondwana, occupying the southern part of the globe, and Laurasia, uniting the northern continents. The collapse of Pangea led to the opening of the water space, initially in the form paleo-Pacific ocean and ocean Tethys, and later (65 million years ago) - modern oceans. Now we are watching the continents move apart. It is difficult to imagine what the dislocation of modern continents and oceans will be in the future. According to S.V. Aplonov, it is possible that they will unite into a fifth supercontinent, the center of which will be Eurasia. V.P. Trubitsyn believes that in a billion years the continents can again gather at the South Pole.
Geoid- the true form of the Earth. The annual movement of the Earth around the Sun occurs in orbit. The earth's axis is constantly inclined to the plane of the earth's orbit at an angle of 66.5°. As a result of this tilt, each point on the Earth encounters the sun's rays at angles that change throughout the year, so the seasons change, and the length of day and night is not the same in different parts of the planet.
Winter Solstice Day (December 22), on this day the Sun is at its zenith over the Southern Tropic. At this time, there is polar night north of the Arctic Circle, and polar day south of the Antarctic Circle.
Summer Solstice Day (June 22), on this day the Sun is at its zenith over the Northern Tropic. In the southern hemisphere, the day is shortest at this time; north of the Arctic Circle there is polar day, and south of the Antarctic Circle there is polar night.
Equinox days (March 21 - spring, September 23 - autumn), on these days the Sun is at its zenith above the equator, the length of day and night is the same.
Earth is a planet in the solar system with a natural satellite, the Moon.
Arctic Circles(Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle) - parallels of northern and southern latitude, respectively - 66.5°.
Daily rotation of the Earth occurs around an imaginary axis, counterclockwise. Its consequence is the compression of the Earth at the poles, as well as the deviation of the direction of movement of winds, sea currents, etc.
Tropics- (North and South) - parallels of northern and southern latitude 23.5°, respectively. At all latitudes between the tropics, the Sun is at its zenith twice a year. In the tropics themselves, once each - on the day of the summer (June 22) and winter (December 22) solstice, respectively. The Northern Tropic is the Tropic of Cancer. The Southern Tropic is the Tropic of Capricorn.
General information about the Earth
Lithosphere
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
Volcanoes- geological formations that have a cone or dome shape. Volcanoes for which there is historical evidence of eruption are called valid, those about which there is no information - extinct.
Geochronology- designation of the time and sequence of rock formation. If the occurrence of rocks is not disturbed, then each layer is younger than the one on which it lies. The top layer formed later than all those lying below. The oldest interval of geological time, including the Archean and Proterozoic, is called Precambrian. It covers almost 90% of the entire geological history of the Earth.
In the geological history of the Earth, several eras of intense mountain building (folding) are distinguished - Baikal, Caledonian, Hercynian, Mesozoic, Cenozoic.
Mountains- areas of the earth's surface with large sharp fluctuations in heights. By absolute height they distinguish high mountains(above 2000 m), average(from 1000 to 2000 m), low(up to 1000 m).
Earth's crust (EC)- the upper solid layered shell of the Earth, heterogeneous and complex, its thickness ranges from 30 km (under plains) to 90 km (under high mountains). There are two types of earth's crust - oceanic And continental (mainland). The continental crust has three layers: the upper one is sedimentary (the youngest), the middle one is “granite” and the lower one is “basaltic” (the oldest). Its thickness reaches 70 km under mountain systems. The oceanic crust is 5-10 km thick, consists of “basalt” and sedimentary layers, and is heavier than continental crust.
Lithosphere- the rocky shell of the Earth, which includes the earth's crust and the upper part of the mantle and consists of large blocks - lithospheric plates. Lithospheric plates can support continents and oceans, but their boundaries do not coincide. Lithospheric plates move slowly, mid-ocean ridges are formed along the faults, in the axial part of which there are rifts.
Minerals- combinations of various chemical elements that form natural bodies that are homogeneous in physical properties. Rocks are made up of minerals, which vary in origin.
Highlands- vast mountainous areas characterized by a combination of mountain ranges and leveled areas located high above sea level.
Island- a small (compared to the mainland) area of land, surrounded on all sides by water. Archipelago- a group of islands. According to the origin of the islands there are continental(located on the shelf), volcanic And coral(atolls). The largest islands are mainland. Coral islands are located in the tropical zone, because corals require warm salty water to function.
Platform- a vast, sedentary and most stable section of the earth’s crust; in relief they are usually expressed as plains. Continental platforms have a two-tier structure: a foundation and a sedimentary cover. The areas where the crystalline foundation reaches the surface are called shields. There are ancient (Precambrian basement) and young (Paleozoic or Mesozoic basement) platforms.
Peninsula- a piece of land that juts out into the sea.
Plain- a vast area of the earth's surface with small fluctuations in heights and slight slopes, confined to stable tectonic structures. According to the absolute height among the plains, they distinguish lowlands(up to 200 m above sea level), hills(from 200 to 500 m), plateaus And plateau(over 500 m). According to the nature of the relief they distinguish flat And hilly plains.
Relief of the ocean floor- forms of relief of the surface of the ocean floor, developed within various types of the earth's crust. The first zone - the underwater margin of the continents (represented by the continental type of territorial zone) - consists of a shelf (up to 200 m), a relatively steep continental slope (up to 2500 m), turning into a continental foot. The second zone - transitional (at the junction of the continental and oceanic zones) - consists of marginal seas, volcanic islands and deep-sea trenches. The third is the ocean bed with an oceanic-type territorial complex. The fourth zone is located in the central parts of the ocean - these are the mid-ocean ridges.
Relief- this is a set of forms of the earth’s surface, different in outline, origin, age and history of development. It is formed under the influence of internal and external factors.
Seismic belts— places of collision of lithospheric plates. During their collision, the heavier ones (with the oceanic crust) fall under the less heavy ones (with the continental crust). In places where the downward slab bends, deep sea trenches, and mountain building occurs on the edge (mountains appear on the continents, and islands appear in the oceans). Mountain formation also occurs in places where plates collide with the same continental crust.
Exogenous processes (external)- geological processes occurring on the surface and in the upper parts of the earth’s crust under the influence of solar energy and gravity.
Endogenous processes (internal)- geological processes occurring in the bowels of the earth and caused by its internal energy. They manifest themselves in the form of tectonic movements, seismic processes (earthquakes), and volcanism.
Geochronological scale
| Eras and their indices, million years | Periods and their indices, million years | Folding | The main stages of life development |
| Cenozoic KZ, ca. 70 | Quaternary (anthropogenic) Q, ca. 2 Neogene N, 25 Paleogenovy R, 41 |
Cenozoic (alpine) | The dominance of angiosperms. The appearance of man. The flourishing of the mammal fauna. The existence of natural areas close to modern ones. |
| Mesozoic MZ, 165 | Melovaya K, 70 Yursky J, 50 Triassovy T, 45 |
Mesozoic (Cimmerian) | The rise of gymnosperms and giant reptiles. The appearance of deciduous trees, birds and mammals. |
| Paleozoic PZ, 340 | Permsky R, 45 Kamugolny S, 65 Devonsky D, 55 Silurian S, 35 Ordoviksky O, 60 Cambrian S, 70 |
Late Paleozoic (Hercynian) Early Paleozoic (Caledonian) Baikalskaya |
Flowering of spore plants. Time for fish and amphibians. The appearance of animals and plants on Earth. |
| Proterozoic PR, 2000 | There are no generally accepted divisions | Precambrian folding eras | The origin of life in water. Time for bacteria and algae. |
Landforms created under the influence of exogenous processes
Hydrosphere
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
River basin- the territory from which a river and its tributaries collect water.
Swamp- an excessively moist area of land with moisture-loving vegetation and a peat layer of at least 0.3 m. The water in swamps is in a bound state. There are two main types of swamps - upland swamps (in which moisture comes only from precipitation and dry out in its absence) and lowland swamps (fed by groundwater or river water, relatively rich in salts). The main reason for the formation of swamps is excessive moisture in combination with a high level of groundwater due to the close occurrence of water-resistant rocks to the surface and flat terrain.
Watershed- the dividing line between the basins of two rivers or oceans, usually passing through elevated areas.
water sushi- part of the hydrosphere, these include groundwater, rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers.
Unrest- These are predominantly oscillatory movements of water of different nature (wind, tidal, seismic). Common to all types of waves is the oscillatory movement of water particles, in which the mass of water moves around one point.
Geysers- springs that periodically emit fountains of water and steam, which are a manifestation of the late stages of volcanism. Known in Iceland, USA, New Zealand, Kamchatka.
Hydrosphere- the water shell of the Earth. The total volume of water in the hydrosphere is 1.4 billion km 3, 96.5% of which falls on the World Ocean, 1.7% on groundwater, about 1.8% on glaciers, less than 0.01% on surface water land (rivers, lakes, swamps).
Delta- a low-lying plain in the lower reaches of a river, composed of sediment brought by the river and cut through a network of channels.
Bay- a part of the ocean, sea or lake that cuts into land and has free water exchange with the main part of the reservoir. A small bay, well protected from the wind, is called bay. A bay separated from the sea by a sand spit in which there is a narrow strait (often formed at the mouth of a river) - estuary. In northern Russia, a bay that juts deep into the land into which a river flows is called a gulf. Deep, long bays with winding shores are fjords.
One or several rivers flow from waste lakes (Baikal, Ontario, Victoria). Lakes that do not have a drainage are drainless (Caspian, Mortvoe, Chad). Endorheic lakes are often saline (salt content above 1 ‰). Depending on the degree of salinity, lakes are fresh And salty.
Source- the place where a river originates (for example: a spring, lake, swamp, glacier in the mountains).
Glaciers- natural moving accumulations of ice formed from precipitation above snow line(the level above which snow does not melt). The height of the snow line is determined by temperature, which is related to the latitude of the area and the degree of continentality of its climate, and the amount of solid precipitation. A glacier has a feeding area (i.e., ice accumulation) and an ice melting area. The ice in the glacier, under the influence of gravity, moves from the feeding area to the melting area at a speed of several tens of meters per year. The total area of glaciers is 11% of the land surface with a volume of 30 million km 3. If all glaciers melted, the level of the world's oceans would rise by 66 m.
Low water- a period of low water level in the river.
World Ocean- the main part of the hydrosphere, which accounts for 71% of the globe’s area (in the Northern Hemisphere - 61%, in the Southern - 81%). The world ocean is conventionally divided into four oceans: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic. Some researchers identify a fifth - the Southern Ocean. It includes the waters of the Southern Hemisphere between Antarctica and the southern tips of the continents of South America, Africa and Australia.
Permafrost- rocks in the upper part of the earth's crust that remain permanently frozen or thaw only in the summer. The formation of permafrost occurs in conditions of very low temperatures and low snow cover. The thickness of the permafrost layer can reach 600 m. The area of permafrost in the world is 35 million km2, including 10 million km2 in Russia.
Sea- a part of the ocean, more or less separated by islands, peninsulas or underwater hills, characterized by a special hydrological regime. There are seas internal- protruding deeply into the continent (Mediterranean, Baltic) and outlying- adjacent to the mainland and slightly isolated from the ocean (Okhotsk, Beringovo).
Lake- a reservoir of slow water exchange, located in a closed natural depression (basin) of the land surface. Based on their origin, lake basins are divided into tectonic, volcanic, dam, glacial, karst, floodplain (oxbow lakes), and estuary. According to the water regime, they distinguish sewage And drainless.
Flood- short-term, irregular rise in water level.
The groundwater- water contained in the upper (12-16 km) thickness of the earth’s crust in liquid, solid and gaseous states. The possibility of water being found in the earth's crust is determined by the porosity of rocks. Permeable rocks(gravel, pebbles, sands) allow water to pass through well. Waterproof rocks- fine-grained, weakly or completely impervious to water (clays, granites, basalts). According to the conditions of occurrence, groundwater is divided into soil(water in a bound state in the soil), groundwater(the first permanent aquifer from the surface, lying on the first impervious horizon), interstratal waters(confined between waterproof horizons), including artesian(pressure interlayer).
Floodplain- part of a river valley that is flooded during high water and floods. The slopes of the valley usually rise above the floodplain, often in a stepped shape - terraces.
High water- an annually recurring period of high water levels in the river caused by the main source of food. Types of river feeding: rain, snow, glaciers, underground.
Strait- a relatively narrow body of water that separates two land areas and connects adjacent water basins or parts thereof. The deepest and widest strait is the Drake Strait, the longest is the Mozambique Strait.
River mode— regular changes in the state of the river, due to the physical and geographical properties of its basin and climatic features.
River- a constant stream of water flowing in a recess he himself developed - riverbed
river valley- a depression in the relief, at the bottom of which a river flows.
River system- a river with its tributaries. The name of the river system is given by the main river. The largest river systems in the world are the Amazon, Congo, Mississippi and Missouri, Ob and Irtysh.
Salinity of sea water- the amount of salts in grams dissolved in 1 kg (l) of sea water. The average salinity of water in the ocean is 35 ‰, the maximum - up to 42 ‰ - in the Red Sea.
Temperature The amount of water in the ocean depends on the amount of solar heat reaching its surface. The average annual surface water temperature is 17.5°; at a depth of 3000-4000 m it usually ranges from +2° to 0°C.
Currents- translational movements of water masses in the ocean, arising under the influence of various forces. Currents can also be classified by temperature (warm, cold and neutral), by time of existence (short-term, periodic and permanent), depending on depth (surface, deep and bottom).
Estuary- the place where a river flows into a sea, lake or other river.
Estuary- a funnel-shaped flooded mouth of a river, expanding towards the sea. It is formed near rivers flowing into seas, where the influence of ocean water movements (tides, waves, currents) on the river mouth is strong.
Types of lakes
Atmosphere
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
Absolute humidity b is the amount of water vapor contained in 1 m3 of air.
Anticyclone- a downward atmospheric vortex with a closed area of high pressure, in which winds blow from the center to the periphery clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Atmosphere- the air (gas) shell of the Earth surrounding the globe and connected to it by gravity, taking part in the daily and annual movement of the Earth).
Precipitation- water in a liquid and solid state, falling from clouds (rain, snow, drizzle, hail, etc.), as well as released from the air (dew, frost, frost, etc.) onto the earth's surface and objects. The amount of precipitation in an area depends on:
- air temperature (affects evaporation and air moisture capacity);
- sea currents (above the surface of warm currents, the air heats up, becomes saturated with moisture, rises - precipitation is easily released from it. Above cold currents, the opposite process occurs - precipitation does not form);
- atmospheric circulation (where air moves from sea to land, there is more precipitation);
- the heights of the place and the direction of the mountain ranges (mountains prevent the passage of moist air masses, so a large amount of precipitation falls on the windward slopes of the mountains);
- latitude of the area (equatorial latitudes are characterized by a large amount of precipitation, tropical and polar latitudes are characterized by small amounts);
- degree of continentality of the territory (decreases when moving from the coast inland).
Atmospheric front t - zone of separation of air masses of different properties in the troposphere.
Wind- movement of air masses in the horizontal direction from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. The wind is characterized by speed (km/h) and direction (its direction is determined by the side of the horizon from which it blows, i.e. the north wind blows from north to south).
Air- a mixture of gases that make up the earth's atmosphere. In terms of chemical composition, atmospheric air consists of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), inert gases (about 1%), and carbon dioxide (0.03%). The upper layers of the atmosphere are dominated by hydrogen and helium. The percentage of gases is almost constant, but the burning of oil, gas, coal, and the destruction of forests leads to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Air masses- large volumes of troposphere air that have homogeneous properties (temperature, humidity, transparency, etc.) and move as one. The properties of air masses are determined by the territory or water area over which they are formed. Due to differences in humidity, two subtypes are distinguished - continental (mainland) and oceanic (sea). Based on temperature, there are four main (zonal) types of air masses: equatorial, tropical, temperate, arctic (Antarctic).
Atmospheric pressure- this is the pressure exerted by air on the earth's surface and all objects located on it. Normal atmospheric pressure at ocean level is 760 mmHg. Art., with altitude the value of normal pressure decreases. The pressure of warm air is less than that of cold air, because when heated, air expands, and when cooled, it contracts. The general distribution of pressure on the Earth is zonal; heating and cooling of air from the Earth's surface is accompanied by its redistribution and changes in pressure.
Isobars- lines on the map connecting points with the same atmospheric pressure.
Isotherms- lines on a map connecting points with the same temperatures.
Evaporation(mm) - the entry of water vapor into the atmosphere from the surface of water, snow, ice, vegetation, soil, etc.
Volatility(mm) - the maximum amount of moisture that can evaporate in a given place under certain weather conditions (amount of solar heat, temperature).
Climate- long-term weather regime characteristic of a given area. The distribution of climate on Earth is zonal; there are several climatic zones - the largest divisions of the earth's surface according to climatic conditions, having the character of latitudinal zones. They are distinguished according to the characteristics of temperature and precipitation regimes. There are main and transitional climatic zones. The most important climatic factors are:
- geographical latitude of the area;
- atmospheric circulation;
- ocean currents;
- absolute height of the area;
- distance from the ocean;
- the nature of the underlying surface.
Humidity coefficient is the ratio of precipitation to evaporation. If the moisture coefficient is greater than 1, then the moisture is excessive, about 1 is normal, and less than 1 is insufficient. Moisture, like precipitation, is distributed zonally on the earth's surface. Tundra zones, forests of temperate and equatorial latitudes have excessive moisture, while semi-deserts and deserts have insufficient moisture.
Relative humidity- the ratio (in percent) of the actual content of water vapor in 1 m 3 of air to the possible one at a given temperature.
Greenhouse effect- the property of the atmosphere to transmit solar radiation to the earth's surface, but to retain the earth's thermal radiation.
Direct radiation- radiation reaching the Earth's surface in the form of a beam of parallel rays emanating from the Sun. Its intensity depends on the height of the Sun and the transparency of the atmosphere.
Scattered radiation- radiation scattered in the atmosphere and traveling to the surface of the Earth from the entire vault of heaven. It plays a significant role in the energy balance of the Earth, being the only source of energy in the ground layers of the atmosphere during cloudy periods, especially in polar latitudes.
Solar radiation— the totality of solar radiation; measured in thermal units (the number of calories per unit area over a certain time). The amount of radiation depends on the length of the day at different times of the year and the angle of incidence of the sun's rays: the smaller the angle, the less solar radiation the surface receives, which means the less the air above it heats up. Total solar radiation is the sum of direct and diffuse radiation. The amount of total solar radiation increases from the poles (60 kcal/cm 3 per year) to the equator (200 kcal/cm 3 per year), and its highest rates are observed in tropical deserts, since the amount of solar radiation is affected by cloudiness and transparency of the atmosphere , the color of the underlying surface (for example, white snow reflects up to 90% of the sun's rays).
Cyclone- an ascending atmospheric vortex with a closed area of low pressure, in which winds blow from the periphery to the center counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.
Atmospheric circulation- a system of air currents on the globe that promotes the transfer of heat and moisture from one area to another.
Brief description of the layers of the atmosphere
| Atmosphere layer | a brief description of |
| Troposphere |
|
| Stratosphere |
|
| Mesosphere |
|
| Thermosphere |
|
| Ionosphere |
|
Atmospheric pressure belts
Types of winds
| Winds | Areas of distribution | Direction |
| Trade winds | Tropics (blows from 30 latitudes towards the equator) | NE (Northern Hemisphere), SE (Southern Hemisphere) |
| Western transport winds | Temperate latitudes (from 30 to 60 latitudes) | W, N-W |
| Monsoons | Eastern coasts of Eurasia and North America | In summer - from the ocean to the mainland, in winter - from the mainland to the ocean |
| Katava winds | Antarctica | From the center of the continent to the periphery |
| Breeze | Sea coasts | During the day - from sea to land, at night - from land to sea |
| Föhn | Mountain systems, especially the Alps, Pamirs, Caucasus | From mountains to valleys |
Comparative characteristics of a cyclone and an anticyclone
| Signs | Cyclone | Anticyclone |
| Conditions of occurrence | When warm air invades cold air | When cold air invades warm |
| Pressure in the central part | Low (reduced) | High (elevated) |
| Air movement | Ascending, from the periphery to the center, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere | Descending, from center to periphery, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere |
| Weather patterns | Unstable, windy, with precipitation | Clear, no precipitation |
| Influence on weather | Reduces heat in summer and cold in winter, inclement and windy weather | Increases heat in summer and cold in winter, clear weather and calm |
Comparative characteristics of atmospheric fronts
Biosphere and natural complexes of the Earth
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
Biosphere is the totality of all living organisms on Earth. A holistic doctrine of the biosphere was developed by the Russian scientist V.I. Vernadsky. The main elements of the biosphere include: vegetation (flora), fauna (fauna) and soil. Endemics- plants or animals that are found on the same continent. Currently, in the biosphere, the species composition is dominated by animals almost three times over plants, but the biomass of plants is 1000 times higher than the biomass of animals. In the ocean, the biomass of fauna exceeds the biomass of flora. The biomass of land as a whole is 200 times greater than that of the oceans.
Biocenosis- a community of interconnected living organisms inhabiting an area of the earth's surface with homogeneous conditions.
Altitudinal zone- a natural change of landscapes in the mountains, due to altitude above sea level. The altitudinal zones correspond to natural zones on the plain, with the exception of the belt of alpine and subalpine meadows, located between the belts of coniferous forests and tundra. The change of natural zones in the mountains occurs as if we were moving along the plain from the equator to the poles. The natural zone at the base of the mountain corresponds to the latitudinal natural zone in which the mountain system is located. The number of altitudinal zones in the mountains depends on the height of the mountain system and its geographical location. The closer to the equator the mountain system is located and the higher the altitude, the more altitude zones and types of landscapes will be represented.
Geographical envelope- a special shell of the Earth, within which the lithosphere, hydrosphere, lower layers of the atmosphere and the biosphere, or living matter, touch, penetrate each other and interact. The development of the geographical envelope has its own patterns:
- integrity - the unity of the shell due to the close relationship of its components; manifests itself in the fact that a change in one component of nature inevitably causes a change in all the others;
- cyclicity (rhythmicity) - recurrence of similar phenomena in time, there are rhythms of different durations (9-day, annual, periods of mountain building, etc.);
- cycles of matter and energy - consists in the continuous movement and transformation of all components of the shell from one state to another, which determines the continuous development of the geographical shell;
- zonality and altitudinal zonality - a natural change in natural components and natural complexes from the equator to the poles, from the foot to the top of the mountains.
Reserve- a natural area specially protected by law, completely excluded from economic activity for the protection and study of typical or unique natural complexes.
Landscape- a territory with a natural combination of relief, climate, land waters, soils, biocenoses that interact and form an inextricable system.
National Park- a vast territory that combines the protection of picturesque landscapes with their intensive use for tourism purposes.
The soil- the upper thin layer of the earth's crust, inhabited by organisms, containing organic matter and possessing fertility - the ability to provide plants with the nutrients and moisture they need. The formation of a particular type of soil depends on many factors. The entry of organic matter and moisture into the soil determines the humus content, which ensures soil fertility. The largest amount of humus is contained in chernozems. Depending on the mechanical composition (the ratio of mineral particles of sand and clay of different sizes), soils are divided into clayey, loamy, sandy loam and sandy.
Natural area- a territory with similar temperatures and humidity values, naturally extending in the latitudinal direction (on the plains) across the surface of the Earth. On the continents, some natural zones have special names, for example, the steppe zone in South America is called the pampa, and in North America it is called the prairie. The zone of humid equatorial forests in South America is the selva, the savannah zone occupying the Orinoco Lowland - the Llanos, the Brazilian and Guiana Plateau - the Campos.
Natural complex- an area of the earth's surface with homogeneous natural conditions, which are determined by the characteristics of origin and historical development, geographical location, and modern processes operating within its boundaries. In a natural complex, all components are interconnected. Natural complexes vary in size: geographical area, continent, ocean, natural area, ravine, lake ; their formation occurs over a long period of time.
Natural areas of the world
| Natural area | Climate type | Vegetation | Animal world | Soils |
| Arctic (Antarctic) deserts | Arctic (Antarctic) maritime and continental | Mosses, lichens, algae. Most of it is occupied by glaciers | Polar bear, penguin (in Antarctica), gulls, guillemots, etc. | Arctic deserts |
| Tundra | Subarctic | Shrubs, mosses, lichens | Reindeer, lemming, arctic fox, wolf, etc. | |
| Forest-tundra | Subarctic | Birch, spruce, larch, shrubs, sedges | Elk, brown bear, squirrel, hare, tundra animals, etc. | Tundra-gley, podzolized |
| Taiga | Pine, fir, spruce, larch, birch, aspen | Elk, brown bear, lynx, sable, chipmunk, squirrel, mountain hare, etc. | Podzolic, permafrost-taiga | |
| Mixed forests | Moderate continental, continental | Spruce, pine, oak, maple, linden, aspen | Elk, squirrel, beaver, mink, marten, etc. | Sod-podzolic |
| Broadleaf forests | Moderate continental, monsoonal | Oak, beech, hornbeam, elm, maple, linden; in the Far East - cork oak, velvet tree | Roe deer, marten, deer, etc. | Gray and brown forest |
| Forest-steppe | Moderately continental, continental, sharply continental | Pine, larch, birch, aspen, oak, linden, maple with areas of mixed-grass steppes | Wolf, fox, hare, rodents | Gray forest, podzolized chernozems |
| Steppe | Moderate continental, continental, sharply continental, subtropical continental | Fescue, fescue, thin-legged grass, forbs | Gophers, marmots, voles, corsac foxes, steppe wolves, etc. | Typical chernozems, chestnut, chernozem-like |
| Semi-deserts and temperate deserts | Continental, sharply continental | Wormwood, grasses, subshrubs, feather grass, etc. | Rodents, saiga, goitered gazelle, corsac fox | Light chestnut, solonetz, gray-brown |
| Mediterranean evergreen forests and shrubs | Mediterranean subtropical | Cork oak, olive, laurel, cypress, etc. | Rabbit, mountain goats, sheep | Brown |
| Subtropical rainforests | Subtropical monsoon | Laurel, camellias, bamboo, oak, beech, hornbeam, cypress | Himalayan bear, panda, leopard, macaques, gibbons | Red soils, yellow soils |
| Tropical deserts | Tropical continental | Solyanka, wormwood, acacia, succulents | Antelope, camel, reptiles | Sandy, sierozems, gray-brown |
| Savannah | Baobab, umbrella acacias, mimosa, palm trees, spurge, aloe | Antelope, zebra, buffalo, rhinoceros, giraffe, elephant, crocodile, hippopotamus, lion | Red-brown | |
| Monsoon forests | Subequatorial, tropical | Teak, eucalyptus, evergreen species | Elephant, buffalo, monkeys, etc. | Red soils, yellow soils |
| Equatorial rainforests | Equatorial | Palm trees, hevea, legumes, vines, banana | Okapi, tapir, monkeys, forest pig, leopard, pygmy hippopotamus | Red-yellow ferralite |
Endemics of the continents
| Mainland | Plants | Animals |
| Africa | Baobab, ebony, velvichia | Secretary bird, striped zebra, giraffe, tsetse fly, okapi, marabou bird |
| Australia | Eucalyptus (500 species), bottle tree, casuarinas | Echidna, platypus, kangaroo, wombat, koala, marsupial mole, marsupial devil, lyrebird, dingo |
| Antarctica | — | Adelie Penguin |
| North America | Sequoia | Skunk, bison, coyote, grizzly bear |
| South America | Hevea, cocoa tree, cinchona, ceiba | Armadillo, anteater, sloth, anaconda, condor, hummingbird, chinchilla, llama, tapir |
| Eurasia | Myrtle, ginseng, lemongrass, ginkgo | Bison, orangutan, Ussuri tiger, panda |
The largest deserts in the world
Features of the nature of continents and oceans
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
Mainland- a large landmass surrounded by the waters of the World Ocean. Based on geological origin, six continents are distinguished (Eurasia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Australia). Their total area is 149 million km2, or 29% of the earth's surface.
Oceans- large parts of the World Ocean, separated from each other by continents and possessing a certain unity.
Part of the world- historically established division of land. Currently, the historical names of six parts of the world have been preserved: Europe, Asia, Africa, America (originally the West Indies), Australia and Oceania, Antarctica. The Old World includes Europe, Asia, and Africa. The New World is the result of the Great Geographical Discoveries - America, Australia, Antarctica.
General information about the continents
| Mainland | Area, million km. 2 | Height, m | Extreme points | Unique geographical objects and phenomena | ||
| no islands | with islands | maximum | minimum | |||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Australia and Oceania | 7,63 | 8,89 | 2230, Mount Kosciuszko | -12, Lake Eyre | North Cape York, 10° 41"S. Southern Cape South-Eastern, 39°11"S. Zap. Cape Steep Point, 113°05"E. East Cape Byron, 153°39"E. | The driest continent on Earth. The largest number of endemics. The world's largest coral reef is the Great Barrier Reef. |
| Antarctica | 12,40 | 13,98 | 5140, Vinson | Sea level | North Antarctic Peninsula, 63°13"S | The coldest continent. The largest cover glacier. The coldest place on Earth is Vostok station, -89.2° (1983). The strongest wind recorded was Terre Adélie, 87 m/s. There is an active volcano Erebus (3794 m). |
| Africa | 29,22 | 30,32 | 5895, Mount Kilimanjaro | - 153, Lake Assal | North Cape Ben Sekka, 37° 20"N. Southern Cape Agulhas, 34° 52"S. Zap. Cape Almadi, 17° 32"W. Eastern Cape Ras Hafun, 51° 23"E. | The hottest continent. The largest desert on Earth is the Sahara (19,065 million km2). The hottest place on Earth is the city of Tripoli, +58°C (1922). The longest river on Earth is the Nile with the Kagera (6671 km). The highest active volcano on Earth is Kilimanjaro (5895 m). The Congo River (Zaire) crosses the equator twice. |
| Eurasia | 53,54 | 56,19 | 8848, Chomolungma (Everest) | - 395, Dead Sea level. | North Cape Chelyuskin, 77°43"N. Southern Cape Piai, 1°16"N. Zap. Cape Roka, 9° 34"W. Eastern Cape Dezhnev, 169° 40"W. | The largest continent by area. The highest peak of the Earth is Mount Chomolungma (Everest), 8848 m. The lowest place on the Earth's surface is the level of the Dead Sea, 395 m. The largest lake on Earth by area is the Caspian Sea (371 thousand km 2). The deepest lake on Earth is Baikal, 1620 m. The largest peninsula on Earth is Arabian (3 million km 2). |
| North America | 20,36 | 24,25 | 6193 McKinley | - 85, Death Valley | North Cape Murchison, 71° 50"N. South Cape Mariato, 7° 12"N. Zap. Cape Prince of Wales, 168° 05"W. Eastern Cape St. Charles, 55° 40"W. | The highest sea tides are in the Bay of Fundy (tide height is 18 meters). |
| South America | 18,13 | 18,28 | 6960, Aconcagua | - 40, Valdez Peninsula | North Cape Gallinas, 12°25"N. Southern Cape Froward, 53°54"S. Zap. Cape Parinhas, 81° 20"W. Eastern Cape Cabo Branco, 34° 46"W. | The wettest continent. The largest river basin on Earth is the Amazon River basin, 6915 thousand km 2. The highest waterfall on Earth is Angel Falls, 1054 m. The longest mountains on land are the Andes, 9000 km long. The driest place on Earth is the Atacama Desert. |
Ocean Basics
Largest islands
| № | Island | Location | Area, thousand km 2 |
| 1. | Greenland | North Atlantic Ocean | 2176 |
| 2. | New Guinea | southwest pacific | 793 |
| 3. | Kalimantan | west pacific | 734 |
| 4. | Madagascar | Indian Ocean | 587 |
| 5. | Baffin Island | North Atlantic Ocean | 507 |
| 6. | Sumatra | northeast Indian Ocean | 427 |
| 7. | Great Britain | Northwestern Europe | 230 |
| 8. | Honshu | Japanese Sea | 227 |
| 9. | Victoria | 217 | |
| 10. | Ellesmere | Canadian Arctic Archipelago | 196 |
The largest peninsulas
Geography of Russia
Basic concepts, processes, patterns and their consequences
Agro-industrial complex (AIC)- a set of interrelated sectors of the economy involved in the production and processing of agricultural products and bringing them to the consumer.
Unified Energy System (UES)) is a system of energy sources united by means of energy transmission. It provides the ability to quickly maneuver energy capacities, transfer energy or energy carriers (gas) to places where energy consumption increases.
Intensive farming(from lat. intensity- “tension, strengthening”) is an economy that develops on the basis of scientific and technological progress and better organization of labor with high labor productivity. With intensive farming, production output increases without increasing the number of jobs, without plowing up new areas, and without a significant increase in the consumption of natural resources.
Combine(from lat. combinatus- “connected”) is an association of industrial enterprises from different industries, in which the products of one serve as raw materials or semi-finished products for another. Several specialized enterprises are connected by a technological chain that consistently processes raw materials. Combination creates favorable opportunities for the fullest use of raw materials, the use of production waste and the reduction of environmental pollution.
Mechanical engineering complex- the most important complex industry manufacturing industry, including machine tool building, instrument making, energy, metallurgical and chemical engineering; agricultural engineering together with tractor manufacturing; transport engineering of all types; electrical industry; radio electronics and computer technology.
Intersectoral complex is a system of enterprises in various industries united by the production of certain products (or the production of certain services).
Research and production territorial complex (NPTK)— a combination of scientific, development institutions and industrial enterprises on one territory.
Market economy- an economy based on the laws of the market, i.e., the supply of goods and demand for them on a national and global scale, and the balance of prices based on the law of value (regulates the exchange of goods in accordance with the amount of labor expended on their production). In a market economy, a commodity economy develops, focused on the purchase and sale of goods, in contrast to a natural economy, in which labor products are produced to meet the needs of producers.
Territorial production complex (TPK)- an interconnected and interdependent combination of sectors of material production in a certain territory, which is part of the economic complex of the entire country or any economic region.
Fuel and energy complex (FEC)— a combination of the mining (fuel) industry and the electric power industry. The fuel and energy complex ensures the activities of all sectors of industry, transport, agriculture, and the household needs of the population. The fuel and energy complex includes the production of coal, oil (as raw materials for producing fuel), gas, oil shale, peat, uranium ores (as raw materials for producing nuclear energy), as well as electricity generation.
Transport node- a point where at least 2-3 lines of any type of transport converge; complex transport hub - a point of convergence of communication routes of different types of transport, for example, a river port with railways and highways leading to it. Such hubs usually serve as places for passenger transfers and cargo transshipment from one mode of transport to another.
Labor resources- part of the country's population capable of working in the country's economy. The labor force includes: the entire working population, part of the disabled population (working disabled people and preferential pensioners who retired at a relatively young age), working teenagers aged 14-16 years, a significant part of the working population over working age.
Economically active population- part of the country's labor resources. Includes the number of people employed in the economy (employed or owning their own business) and the unemployed.
Economic region- a territorially and economically integral part of the national economy of the country ( region), characterized by the uniqueness of natural and economic conditions, historically established or purposefully created specialization of the economy based on geographical division of labor, the presence of intra-district stable and intensive economic ties.
Extensive farming(from lat. extensivus- “expanding, lengthening”) - an economy developing through new construction, the development of new lands, the use of untouched natural resources, and an increase in the number of workers. Extensive farming initially brings good results at a relatively low scientific and technical level of production, but quickly leads to the depletion of natural and labor resources. With an increase in the scientific and technical level of production, extensive farming gives way to intensive farm.
Brief information (data)
The area of the land— 17.125 million km 2 (first place in the world).
Population— 143.3 million people. (2013).
Form of government- republic, form of administrative-territorial structure - federation.
Extreme points of Russia
Largest geographical features
Land borders of Russia
Political and administrative structure of the Russian Federation
| No. | Name of the subject of the Russian Federation | Area, thousand km 2 | Administrative center |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Republic | |||
| 1 | Republic of Adygea (Adygea) | 7,6 | Maykop |
| 2 | Altai Republic | 92,6 | Gorno-Altaisk |
| 3 | Republic of Bashkortostan | 143,6 | Ufa |
| 4 | The Republic of Buryatia | 351,3 | Ulan-Ude |
| 5 | The Republic of Dagestan | 50,3 | Makhachkala |
| 6 | The Republic of Ingushetia | 19,3 | Magas |
| 7 | Kabardino-Balkarian Republic | 12,5 | Nalchik |
| 8 | Republic of Kalmykia | 76,1 | Elista |
| 9 | Karachay-Cherkess Republic | 14,1 | Cherkessk |
| 10 | Republic of Karelia | 172,4 | Petrozavodsk |
| 11 | Komi Republic | 415,9 | Syktyvkar |
| 12 | Mari El Republic | 23,2 | Yoshkar-Ola |
| 13 | The Republic of Mordovia | 26,2 | Saransk |
| 14 | The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) | 3103,2 | Yakutsk |
| 15 | Republic of North Ossetia-Alania | 8,0 | Vladikavkaz |
| 16 | Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan) | 68,0 | Kazan |
| 17 | Tyva Republic | 170,5 | Kyzyl |
| 18 | Udmurt republic | 42,1 | Izhevsk |
| 19 | The Republic of Khakassia | 61,9 | Abakan |
| 20 | Chechen Republic | 19,3 | Grozny |
| 21 | Chuvash Republic (Chuvashia) | 18,3 | Cheboksary |
| 22 | Autonomous Republic of Crimea | 26,11 | Simferopol |
| The edges | |||
| 23 | Altai region | 169,1 | Barnaul |
| 24 | Kamchatka Krai | 773,8 | Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky |
| 25 | Krasnodar region | 76,0 | Krasnodar |
| 26 | Krasnoyarsk region | 2339,7 | Krasnoyarsk |
| 27 | Perm region | 160,6 | Permian |
| 28 | Primorsky Krai | 165,9 | Vladivostok |
| 29 | Stavropol region | 66,5 | Stavropol |
| 30 | Khabarovsk region | 788,6 | Khabarovsk |
| 31 | Transbaikal region | 450,5 | Chita |
| Regions | |||
| 32 | Amurskaya | 361,9 | Blagoveshchensk |
| 33 | Arkhangelskaya | 589,8 | Arkhangelsk |
| 34 | Astrakhan | 44,1 | Astrakhan |
| 35 | Belgorodskaya | 27,1 | Belgorod |
| 36 | Bryansk | 34,9 | Bryansk |
| 37 | Vladimirskaya | 29,0 | Vladimir |
| 38 | Volgogradskaya | 113,9 | Volgograd |
| 39 | Vologda | 145,7 | Vologda |
| 40 | Voronezh | 52,4 | Voronezh |
| 41 | Ivanovskaya | 21,8 | Ivanovo |
| 42 | Irkutsk | 767,9 | Irkutsk |
| 43 | Kaliningradskaya | 15,1 | Kaliningrad |
| 44 | Kaluzhskaya | 29,9 | Kaluga |
| 45 | Kemerovo | 95,5 | Kemerovo |
| 46 | Kirovskaya | 120,8 | Kirov |
| 47 | Kostromskaya | 60,1 | Kostroma |
| 48 | Kurganskaya | 71,0 | Mound |
| 49 | Kursk | 29,8 | Kursk |
| 50 | Leningradskaya | 83,9 | Saint Petersburg |
| 51 | Lipetskaya | 24,1 | Lipetsk |
| 52 | Magadan | 461,4 | Magadan |
| 53 | Moscow | 46,0 | Moscow |
| 54 | Murmansk | 144,9 | Murmansk |
| 55 | Nizhny Novgorod | 76,9 | Nizhny Novgorod |
| 56 | Novgorodskaya | 55,3 | Velikiy Novgorod |
| 57 | Novosibirsk | 178,2 | Novosibirsk |
| 58 | Omsk | 139,7 | Omsk |
| 59 | Orenburgskaya | 124,0 | Orenburg |
| 60 | Orlovskaya | 24,7 | Eagle |
| 61 | Penza | 43,2 | Penza |
| 62 | Pskovskaya | 55,3 | Pskov |
| 63 | Rostovskaya | 100,8 | Rostov-on-Don |
| 64 | Ryazan | 39,6 | Ryazan |
| 65 | Samara | 53,6 | Samara |
| 66 | Saratovskaya | 100,2 | Saratov |
| 67 | Sakhalinskaya | 87,1 | Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk |
| 68 | Sverdlovskaya | 194,8 | Ekaterinburg |
| 69 | Smolenskaya | 49,8 | Smolensk |
| 70 | Tambovskaya | 34,3 | Tambov |
| 71 | Tverskaya | 84,1 | Tver |
| 72 | Tomsk | 316,9 | Tomsk |
| 73 | Tula | 25,7 | Tula |
| 74 | Tyumen | 1435,2 | Tyumen |
| 75 | Ulyanovskaya | 37,3 | Ulyanovsk |
| 76 | Chelyabinsk | 87,9 | Chelyabinsk |
| 77 | Yaroslavskaya | 36,4 | Yaroslavl |
| Cities | |||
| 78 | Moscow | 1,081 | |
| 79 | Saint Petersburg | 2,0 | |
| 80 | Sevastopol | 0,86 | |
| Autonomous region and autonomous okrugs | |||
| 81 | Jewish Autonomous Region | 36,0 | Birobidzhan |
| 82 | Nenets Autonomous Okrug | 176,7 | Naryan-Mar |
| 83 | Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Ugra | 523,1 | Khanty-Mansiysk |
| 84 | Chukotka Autonomous Okrug | 737,7 | Anadyr |
| 85 | 767,6 | Salekhard | |
Types of climate in Russia
| Climate type | Characteristic |
| Arctic | Islands of the Arctic Ocean. Low temperatures throughout the year. Winter temperatures range from -24 to -30 °C. Summer temperatures are close to 0 °C, and at the southern borders they rise to +5 °C. There is little precipitation (200-300 mm), falling mainly in the form of snow, which persists for most of the year. |
| Subarctic | Northern coast of the country. Winters are long and severity increases from west to east. Summer is cold (from +4 to +14 °C in the south). Precipitation is frequent, but in small quantities, maximum in summer. The annual precipitation is 200-400 mm, but at low temperatures and low evaporation, excessive surface moisture is created and waterlogging occurs. |
| Temperate climate Moderate continental |
European part of the country. The influence of humid air from the Atlantic. Winter is less severe. January temperatures are from -4 to -20 °C, summer temperatures are from +12 to +24 °C. The maximum amount of precipitation is in the western regions (800 mm), but due to frequent thaws, the thickness of the snow cover is small. |
| Continental | Western Siberia. The annual precipitation in the north is no more than 600 mm, in the south - 100 mm. Winters are harsher than in the west. Summer is hot in the south and quite warm in the north. |
| Sharply continental | Eastern Siberia and Yakutia . Winter temperatures range from -24 to -40 °C, significant warming in summer (up to +16 ... +20 °C, in the south up to +35 °C). Annual precipitation is less than 400 mm. The humidification coefficient is close to 1. |
| Monsoon | Pacific coast of Russia, Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories. Winter is cold, sunny and with little snow. Summer is cloudy and cool, with large amounts of precipitation (up to 600-1000 mm), which falls in the form of showers, which is associated with the influx of sea air from the Pacific Ocean. |
| Subtropical | South of Russia, in the Sochi region. Hot and dry summers, warm and humid winters. The annual precipitation is 600-800 mm. |
Population density in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation
National composition of the population of Russia
| Maximum performance | Minimum indicators | ||
| Nationality | Nationality | Share of the total population of Russia, % | |
| Russians | 79,83 | Central Asian Arabs, Crimeans, | 0,0001 |
| Tatars | 3,83 | Izhorians, Tazy, Enets | 0,0002 |
| Ukrainians | 2,03 | Central Asian gypsies, Karaites | 0,0003 |
| Bashkirs | 1,15 | Slovaks, Aleuts, English | 0,0004 |
| Chuvash | 1,13 | Cubans, Orochi | 0,0005 |
Religious affiliation of the peoples of Russia
The largest hydroelectric power plants (HPPs) in Russia
| Power station | The subject of the Russian Federation | River | Power, MW |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Sayano-Shushenskaya | Krasnoyarsk Territory, Republic of Khakassia | Yenisei | 6400 |
| Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk region | Yenisei | 6000 |
| Bratskaya | Irkutsk region | Angara | 4500 |
| Ust-Ilimskaya | Irkutsk region | Angara | 4320 |
| Boguchanskaya | Krasnoyarsk region | Angara | 4000 (under construction) |
| Volgogradskaya | Volgograd region | Volga | 2563 |
| Volzhskaya | Samara Region | Volga | 2300 |
| Bureya | Amur region | Bureya | 2000 (under construction) |
| Cheboksary | Chuvash Republic | Volga | 1404 |
| Saratovskaya | Saratov region | Volga | 1360 |
| Zeyskaya | Amur region | Zeya | 1290 |
| Nizhnekamsk | Republic of Tatarstan | Kama | 1248 |
| Chirkeyskaya | The Republic of Dagestan | Sulak | 1000 |
The largest nuclear power plants (NPPs) in Russia
| Power station | The subject of the Russian Federation | Number of power units | Power, MW | Interesting Facts |
| Kursk | Kursk region | 4 | 4000 | Kursk NPP is located in the city of Kurchatov on the left bank of the Seim River, 40 km southwest of Kursk. |
| Balakovskaya | Saratov region | 4 | 4000 | It is one of the largest and most modern energy enterprises in Russia, providing a quarter of electricity production in the Volga Federal District. Electricity from the Balakovo NPP is the cheapest among all nuclear power plants and thermal power plants in Russia. |
| Leningradskaya | Leningrad region | 4 + 2 under construction | 4000 | Built 80 km west of St. Petersburg in the city of Sosnovy Bor on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. Leningrad NPP is the first station in the country with reactors of the RBMK-1000 type (high-power channel reactor). |
| Kalininskaya | Tver region | 4 | 4000 | Generates 70% of the total volume of electricity produced in the Tver region. Due to its geographical location, the station provides high-voltage transit of electricity. |
| Smolenskaya | Smolensk region | 3 | 3000 | Smolensk NPP is a city-forming, leading enterprise in the region, the largest in the region's fuel and energy balance. Every year the station produces an average of 20 billion kWh of electricity, which is more than 80% of the total amount generated in the region. |
| Novovoronezhskaya | Voronezh region | 3 | 2455 | One of the oldest nuclear energy enterprises in the Russian Federation. Novovoronezh NPP fully meets the Voronezh region's electrical energy needs. This is the first nuclear power plant in Russia with pressurized water power reactors (VVER). |
| Kola | Murmansk region | 4 | 1760 | Located 200 km south of Murmansk on the shores of Lake Imandra. It is the main supplier of electricity for the Murmansk region and Karelia. |
| Rostovskaya | Rostov region | 2+2 under construction | 2000 | The Rostov NPP is located on the shore of the Tsimlyansk reservoir, 13.5 km from the city of Volgodonsk. It is the largest energy enterprise in the South of Russia, providing about 15% of the annual electricity generation in the region. |
| Beloyarskaya | Sverdlovsk region | 2 + 1 under construction | 600 | This is the first high-power nuclear power plant in the history of the country’s nuclear energy industry and the only one with reactors of different types on site. It is at the Beloyarsk NPP that the world's only powerful power unit with a fast neutron reactor is operated. |
| Bilibinskaya | Chukotka Autonomous Okrug | 4 | 48 | When the air temperature drops to -50°C, the nuclear power plant operates in heating mode and develops a heating capacity of 100 Gcal/h while the generated electrical power decreases to 38 MW. |
| Obninskaya | Kaluga region | The world's first nuclear power plant. It was launched in 1954 and stopped in 2002. Currently, a museum is being created on the basis of the station. | ||
| Under construction | ||||
| Baltic | Kaliningrad region | 2 | ||
| Academician Lomonosov | Kamchatka Krai | 2 | ||
Main metallurgical bases of Russia
| Base name | Share in production of ferrous metal ores (%) | Share in steel production (%) | Share in rolled steel production (%) | Types of metallurgical production | Largest centers |
| Ural | 16 | 43 | 42 | full cycle | Magnitogorsk, Serov. Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil, Novotroitsk, Alapaevsk, Asha |
| domain | Satka | ||||
| conversion rate | Ekaterinburg, Zlatoust, Izhevsk | ||||
| production of ferroalloys | Chelyabinsk, Serov | ||||
| pipe production | Chelyabinsk, Pervouralsk, Kamensk-Uralsky | ||||
| Central | 71 | 41 | 44 | full cycle | Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Stary Oskol |
| domain | Tula | ||||
| conversion rate | Moscow, Elektrostal, St. Petersburg, Kolpino, Orel, Nizhny Novgorod, Vyksa, Volgograd | ||||
| pipe production | Volgograd, Volzhsky | ||||
| Siberian | 12 | 16 | 12 | full cycle | Novokuznetsk |
| conversion rate | Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky production | ||||
| ferroalloys | Novokuznetsk | ||||
| Far Eastern | 1 | conversion rate | Komsomolsk-on-Amur | ||
| South | 1 | conversion pipe production | Taganrog |
Main bases and centers of non-ferrous metallurgy in Russia
| Base name | Raw materials and energy base | Specialization | Largest centers |
| Ural | Al, Cu, Ni, resource- and energy-deficient area | aluminum metallurgy | Kamensk-Uralsky, Krasnoturinsk |
| titanium metallurgy | Birch forests | ||
| copper metallurgy | Mednogorsk, Revda, Karabash, Krasnouralsk | ||
| nickel metallurgy | Orsk, Verkhniy Ufaley | ||
| zinc metallurgy | Chelyabinsk | ||
| Siberian | Ni, Pb, Zn, Sn, W, Mo, Au, Pt, main hydropower area | alumina metallurgy | Achinsk |
| metallurgy of nickel and copper | Norilsk | ||
| aluminum metallurgy | Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Sayanogorsk, Shelikhov, Novokuznetsk | ||
| zinc metallurgy | Belovo | ||
| tin metallurgy | Novosibirsk | ||
| Northwestern | Al, Ni, energy-supplied area | alumina metallurgy | Boksitogorsk |
| aluminum metallurgy | Kandalaksha, Nadvoitsy, Volkhov | ||
| metallurgy of nickel and copper | Zapolyarny, Monchegorsk | ||
| Far Eastern | Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, Sn, hydropower resources | lead metallurgy | Dalnegorsk |
Characteristics of large economic regions of Russia
| Subject of the federation | Area, thousand km 2 | Population, thousand people 2010 | Share of urban population, % 2010 | States with which it shares a land border | Access to the ocean | Specialization | |
| industry | Agriculture | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | |
| Northwestern economic region | |||||||
| Leningrad region | 85,3 | 1629,6 | 66 | Finland, Estonia | Eat | Heavy, energy, precision engineering, shipbuilding, machine tool building, chemical, light | |
| Novgorod region | 55,3 | 640,6 | 70 | No | No | ||
| Pskov region | 55,3 | 688,6 | 68 | Belarus, Latvia, Estonia | No | ||
| Saint Petersburg | 0,6 | 4600,3 | 100 | No | Eat | ||
| Kaliningrad region | |||||||
| Kaliningrad region | 15,1 | 937,9 | 76 | Lithuania, Poland | Eat | Mechanical engineering, pulp and paper | Dairy and beef cattle breeding, potato growing, flax growing |
| Central Chernozem economic region | |||||||
| Belgorod region | 27,1 | 1530,1 | 66 | Ukraine | No | Iron ore mining, ferrous metallurgy, heavy, precision engineering, tractor manufacturing, equipment for the chemical and food industries, chemical, cement, sugar, oil, flour milling, amber mining and processing | Grain farming, beet growing, sunflower growing |
| Voronezh region | 52,4 | 2268,6 | 63 | Ukraine | No | ||
| Kursk region | 29,8 | 1148,6 | 65 | Ukraine | No | ||
| Lipetsk region | 24,1 | 1157,9 | 64 | No | No | ||
| Tambov Region | 34,3 | 1088,4 | 58 | No | No | ||
| Central economic region | |||||||
| Bryansk region | 34,9 | 1292,2 | 69 | Belarus, Ukraine | No | Automotive, machine tool, tractor, railway, agricultural, precision engineering, chemical, textile, cement. Handicrafts (Palekh, Khokhloma, etc.) Aviation industry, tourism | Vegetable growing, potato growing |
| Vladimir region | 29 | 1430,1 | 78 | No | No | ||
| Ivanovo region | 23,9 | 1066,6 | 81 | No | No | ||
| Kaluga region | 29,9 | 1001,6 | 76 | No | No | ||
| Kostroma region | 60.1 | 688,3 | 69 | No | No | ||
| Moscow | 1 | 10 563 | 100 | No | No | ||
| Moscow region | 46 | 6752,7 | 81 | No | No | ||
| Oryol Region | 24,7 | 812,5 | 64 | No | No | ||
| Ryazan Oblast | 39,6 | 1151,4 | 70 | No | No | ||
| Smolensk region | 49,8 | 966 | 72 | Belarus | No | ||
| Tver region | 84,1 | 1360,3 | 74 | No | No | ||
| Tula region | 25,7 | 1540,4 | 80 | No | No | ||
| Yaroslavl region | 36,4 | 1306,3 | 82 | No | |||
| Volgo-Vyatka economic region | |||||||
| Kirov region | 120,8 | 1391,1 | 72 | No | No | Automotive, shipbuilding, tractor, machine tool, precision engineering, chemical, forestry | |
| Nizhny Novgorod Region | 74,8 | 3323,6 | 79 | No | No | ||
| Mari El Republic | 23,2 | 698,2 | 63 | No | No | ||
| The Republic of Mordovia | 26,2 | 826,5 | 61 | No | No | ||
| Chuvash Republic | 18,3 | 1278,4 | 58 | No | No | ||
| Northern economic region | |||||||
| Arkhangelsk region, including the Nenets Autonomous Okrug | 410,7 176,7 |
1254,4 | 74 | No | Eat | Oil, gas, coal, shipbuilding, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mining and chemicals, fisheries, oil and cheese, forestry, pulp and paper, ports | Flax farming, dairy and beef cattle breeding |
| Murmansk region | 144,9 | 836,7 | 91 | Finland, Norway | Eat | ||
| Republic of Karelia | 172,4 | 684,2 | 76 | Finland | Eat | ||
| Komi Republic | 415,9 | 951,2 | 76 | No | No | ||
| Povolzhsky economic region | |||||||
| Astrakhan region | 44,1 | 1007,1 | 66 | Kazakhstan | No | Electric power industry, oil and gas, automotive industry, shipbuilding, machine tool industry, equipment for the food and chemical industries, tractor manufacturing, precision engineering, chemical, cement, light industry, flour milling, oil milling, fisheries | Grain farming, sunflower cultivation, vegetable growing, meat and dairy cattle breeding, sheep breeding |
| Volgograd region | 113,9 | 2589,9 | 75 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| Penza region | 43,2 | 1373,2 | 67 | No | No | ||
| Republic of Kalmykia | 76,1 | 283,2 | 45 | No | No | ||
| Republic of Tatarstan | 68 | 3778,5 | 75 | No | No | ||
| Samara Region | 53,6 | 3170,1 | 81 | No | No | ||
| Saratov region | 100,2 | 2564,8 | 74 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| Ulyanovsk region | 37,3 | 1298,6 | 73 | No | No | ||
| Ural economic region | |||||||
| Kurgan region | 71 | 947,6 | 57 | Kazakhstan | No | Oil and gas, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy and precision engineering, automotive, carriage building, tractor building, machine tool building, chemical, forestry, cement. Extraction and processing of precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones | Grain farming, meat-dairy and dairy-meat cattle breeding |
| Orenburg region | 124 | 2112,9 | 57 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| Perm region | 127,7 | 2701,2 | 74 | No | No | ||
| Republic of Bashkortostan | 143,6 | 4066 | 60 | No | No | ||
| Republic of Udmurtia | 42,1 | 1526,3 | 68 | No | No | ||
| Sverdlovsk region | 194,8 | 4393,8 | 83 | No | No | ||
| Chelyabinsk region | 87,9 | 3508,4 | 81 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| North Caucasus economic region | |||||||
| Krasnodar region | 76 | 5160,7 | 52 | Georgia | Eat | Gas, coal, non-ferrous metallurgy, locomotive building, agricultural, energy, precision engineering, chemical, canning, sugar, oil, winemaking, flour milling, traditional crafts (carpet weaving, making jewelry, dishes, weapons, etc.). Tourism and recreational economy | Grain farming, beet farming, sunflower growing, vegetable growing, viticulture, sheep farming, pig farming, dairy and meat, meat and dairy cattle breeding |
| Republic of Adygea | 7,6 | 443,1 | 53 | No | No | ||
| The Republic of Dagestan | 50,3 | 2737,3 | 42 | Azerbaijan, Georgia | No | ||
| The Republic of Ingushetia | 4,3 | 516,7 | 43 | Georgia | No | ||
| Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria | 12,5 | 893,8 | 56 | Georgia | No | ||
| Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia | 14,1 | 427 | 43 | Georgia | No | ||
| Republic of North Ossetia-Alania | 8 | 700,8 | 64 | Georgia | No | ||
| Republic of Chechnya | 15 | 1268,1 | 36 | Georgia | No | ||
| Rostov region | 100,8 | 4229,5 | 67 | Ukraine | Eat | ||
| Stavropol region | 66,5 | 2711,2 | 57 | No | No | ||
| West Siberian economic region | |||||||
| Altai region | 169,1 | 2490,7 | 53 | Kazakhstan | No | Oil, gas, coal, ferrous, non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy, energy, precision engineering, carriage building, tractor building, machine tool building, chemical, forestry | Grain farming, dairy and meat and meat and dairy cattle breeding |
| Kemerovo region | 95,5 | 2820,6 | 85 | No | No | ||
| Novosibirsk region | 178,2 | 2649,9 | 76 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| Omsk region | 139,7 | 2012,1 | 69 | Kazakhstan | No | ||
| Altai Republic | 92,6 | 210,7 | 27 | Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia | No | ||
| Tomsk region | 316,9 | 1043,8 | 70 | No | No | ||
| Tyumen region | 161,8 | 3430,3 | 78 | Kazakhstan | Eat | ||
| Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug | 523,1 | 1538,6 | 92 | No | No | ||
| Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug | 750,3 | 546,5 | 85 | No | Eat | ||
| East Siberian economic region | |||||||
| Irkutsk region | 745,5 | 2502,7 | 79 | No | No | Electric power, non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical, forestry | Fur harvesting |
| Krasnoyarsk region | 2340 | 2893,9 | 76 | No | Eat | ||
| The Republic of Buryatia | 351,3 | 963,5 | 56 | Mongolia | No | ||
| Republic of Tyva (Tuva) | 170,5 | 317 | 51 | Mongolia | No | ||
| The Republic of Khakassia | 61,9 | 539,2 | 68 | No | No | ||
| Transbaikal region | 412,5 | 1117 | 64 | China, Mongolia | No | ||
| Far Eastern economic region | |||||||
| Amur region | 363,7 | 860,7 | 65 | China | No | Non-ferrous metallurgy, forestry, fishing, shipbuilding, diamond mining, port services | Grain farming (soybean production), reindeer husbandry, ginseng cultivation |
| Jewish Autonomous Region | 36 | 185 | 66 | China | No | ||
| Kamchatka Krai | 170,8 | 342,3 | 79 | No | Eat | ||
| Magadan Region | 461,4 | 161,2 | 96 | No | Eat | ||
| Primorsky Krai | 465,9 | 1982 | 75 | China, North Korea | Eat | ||
| The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) | 3103,2 | 949,3 | 65 | No | Eat | ||
| Sakhalin region | 87,1 | 510,8 | 78 | No | Eat | ||
| Khabarovsk region | 788,6 | 1400,5 | 80 | China | Eat | ||
| Chukotka Autonomous Okrug | 737,7 | 48,6 | 68,4 | No | Eat | ||
The concept of relief, its classification. Relief formation factors.
Morphosculptural mesorelief.
Relief of the ocean floor
Relief and geological processes.
Coastal relief.
The lithosphere is the solid shell of the Earth, including the earth's crust and the upper layer of the mantle to the asthenosphere.
Until the 60s. XX century the concepts of “lithosphere” and “earth’s crust” were considered identical. Currently, the view of the lithosphere has changed.
The lithosphere is studied by geology (the material composition of the lithosphere, its structure, origin, development) and physical geography (or general geoscience), or more precisely, geomorphology - the science of the genesis (emergence and development) of relief. Geomorphology as the science of the relief of the earth's surface arose at the beginning of the 20th century. abroad (in France), and then in Russia. The foundations of geomorphology in Russia were laid by V.V. Dokuchaev, P.N. Kropotkin, I.D. Chersky, V.A. Obruchev, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, A.A. Borzov, I.S. Shchukin.
Relief and geological processes
Relief is the totality of all the irregularities in the surface of the globe (from continental ridges and ocean depressions to swamp hummocks and molehills). The word "relief" was borrowed from the French language, in which it goes back to the Latin "raise".
A relief is a three-dimensional body that occupies a volume in the earth's crust. The relief can have the following forms:
– positive (above the surrounding surface - mountains, hills, hills, etc.);
– negative (below the surrounding surface - depressions, ravines, lowlands, etc.);
– neutral.
All the variety of landforms on Earth was created geological processes . Geological processes are processes that change the earth's crust. These include processes endogenous , occurring inside the earth’s crust (i.e. internal processes - differentiation of matter in the bowels of the Earth, the transition of solid matter to liquid, radioactive decay, etc.), and exogenous , occurring on the surface of the earth’s crust (i.e. external processes - they are associated with the activity of the Sun, water, wind, ice, living organisms).
Endogenous processes tend to create preferential large forms of relief: mountain ranges, intermountain depressions, etc.; under their influence, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. Endogenous processes create so-called morphostructures - mountains, mountain systems, vast and deep depressions, etc. Exogenous processes tend to smooth out and level the relief created by endogenous processes. Exogenous processes create so-called morphosculptures - ravines, hills, river valleys, etc. Thus, endogenous and exogenous processes develop simultaneously, interconnectedly and in different directions. This reveals the dialectical law of unity and struggle of opposites.
TO endogenous processes include magmatism, metamorphism, tectonic movements.
Magmatism. It is customary to distinguish intrusive magmatism - the introduction of magma into the earth's crust (plutonism) - and effusive magmatism - eruption, outpouring of magma onto the surface of the Earth. Effusive magmatism is also called volcanism. Magma that flows to the surface and solidifies is called lava . When a volcano erupts, solid, liquid and gaseous products of volcanic activity are released to the surface. Depending on the routes of lava entry, volcanoes are divided into central type volcanoes - they have a cone shape (Klyuchevskaya Sopka in Kamchatka, Vesuvius, Etna in the Mediterranean, etc.) - and fissure type volcanoes (there are many of them in Iceland, New Zealand, and in the past such volcanoes were on the Deccan plateau, in the middle part of Siberia and some other places).
There are currently more than 700 active volcanoes on land, and there are even more on the ocean floor. Volcanic activity is confined to tectonically active zones of the globe, to seismic belts (seismic belts have a greater extent than zones of volcanism). There are four zones of volcanism:
1. The Pacific “Ring of Fire” – it accounts for ¾ of all active volcanoes (Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Fuji, San Pedro, Chimborazo, Orizaba, Erebus, etc.).
2. Mediterranean-Indonesian belt, including Vesuvius, Etna, Elbrus, Krakatau, etc.
3. Mid-Atlantic belt, including Iceland, the Azores and Canary Islands, and St. Helena.
4. East African belt, including Kilimanjaro, etc.
One of the manifestations of the later stages of volcanism is geysers - hot springs that periodically emit fountains of hot water and steam to a height of several meters.
Metamorphism . Metamorphism is understood as a change in rocks under the influence of temperature, pressure, and chemically active substances released from the bowels of the Earth. In this case, for example, limestone turns into marble, sandstone into quartzite, marl into amphibolite, etc.
Tectonic movements (processes) are divided into oscillatory (epeirogenic - from the Greek "epeirogenesis" - the birth of continents) and mountain-forming (orogenic - from the Greek "oros" - mountain) - these are folding and discontinuous movements.
TO exogenous processes include weathering, geological activity of wind, surface and groundwater, glaciers, and wave-wind activity.
Weathering – This is the process of rock destruction. It can be: 1) physical - thermal and frozen, 2) chemical - dissolution of substances with water, i.e. karst, oxidation, hydrolysis, 3) biological - the activity of living organisms. The residual products of weathering are called eluvium (weathering crust).
Physical weathering . The main factors of physical weathering are: temperature fluctuations during the day, freezing water, and crystal growth in rock cracks. Physical weathering does not lead to the formation of new minerals, and its main result is the physical destruction of rocks into fragments. There are permafrost and thermal weathering. Permafrost (frost) weathering occurs with the participation of water, which periodically freezes in cracks in rocks. The resulting ice, due to the increase in volume, exerts enormous pressure on the walls of the cracks. At the same time, the cracks expand, and the rocks gradually disintegrate into fragments. Permafrost weathering is especially evident in polar, subpolar and high-mountain regions. Thermal weathering occurs on land constantly and almost everywhere under the influence of temperature fluctuations during the day. Thermal weathering is most active in deserts, where the daily temperature range is especially large. As a result, rocky and gravelly deserts are formed.
Chemical weathering . The main agents (factors) of chemical weathering are oxygen, water, and carbon dioxide. Chemical weathering results in the formation of new rocks and minerals. The following types of chemical weathering are distinguished: oxidation, hydration, dissolution and hydrolysis. Oxidation reactions occur within the upper part of the earth's crust, located above groundwater. Atmospheric water can contain up to 3% (of the volume of water) of dissolved air. Air dissolved in water contains more oxygen (up to 35%) than atmospheric air. Therefore, atmospheric waters circulating in the upper part of the earth’s crust have a greater oxidizing effect on minerals than atmospheric air. Hydration is the process of combining minerals with water, leading to the formation of new compounds that are resistant to weathering (for example, the transition of anhydrite to gypsum). Dissolution and hydrolysis occur through the combined action of water and carbon dioxide on rocks and minerals. As a result of hydrolysis, complex processes of decomposition of minerals occur with the removal of some elements (mainly in the form of carbonic acid salts).
Biological weathering - These are processes of destruction of rocks under the influence of organisms: bacteria, plants and animals. Plant roots can mechanically destroy and chemically alter rock. The role of organisms in loosening rocks is great. But the main role in biological weathering belongs to microorganisms.
In fact, it is under the influence of microorganisms that rock turns into soil.
Processes associated with wind activity are called aeolian . The destructive work of the wind consists of deflation (blowing) and corrosion (grinding). The wind also transports and accumulates matter. The creative activity of the wind consists in the accumulation of matter. At the same time, barchans and dunes are formed - in deserts, on the coasts of the seas.
Processes associated with water activity are called fluvial .
The geological activity of surface waters (rivers, rain, melt water) also consists of erosion (destruction), transportation and accumulation. Rain and melt water produce planar washout of loose sedimentary material. Deposits of such material are called deluvium . In mountainous areas, temporary watercourses (heavy rains, glacier melting) can form material removal cones when entering the foothill plain. Such deposits are called proluvium .
Permanent watercourses (rivers) also perform various geological work (destruction, transportation, accumulation). The destructive activity of rivers consists of deep (bottom) and lateral erosion, while the creative activity consists of accumulation alluvium . Alluvial deposits differ from eluvium and colluvium by being well sorted.
The destructive activity of groundwater consists of the formation of karst and landslides; creative - in the formation of stalactites (icicles made of calcite) and stalagmites (growths of rock directed upward).
Processes associated with ice activity are called glacial . In the geological activity of ice, one should distinguish between the activity of seasonal ice, permafrost and glaciers (mountains and continents). Physical permafrost weathering is associated with seasonal ice. Phenomena associated with permafrost solifluction (slow flow, sliding of thawing soils) and thermokarst (soil subsidence as a result of thawing permafrost). Mountain glaciers form in the mountains and are characterized by their small size. They often stretch along the valley in the form of an icy river. Such valleys usually have a specific trough-shaped shape and are called touches . The speed of movement of mountain glaciers is usually from 0.1 to 7 meters per day. Continental glaciers reach very large sizes. Thus, on the territory of Antarctica, the ice cover occupies about 13 million km 2, on the territory of Greenland - about 1.9 million km 2. A characteristic feature of this type of glaciers is the spreading of ice in all directions from the feeding area.
The destructive work of a glacier is called exaration . As the glacier moves, curly rocks, sheep's foreheads, troughs, etc. are formed. The creative work of a glacier is to accumulate moraines . Moraine deposits are clastic material formed as a result of glacial activity. The creative work of glaciers also includes the accumulation of fluvioglacial deposits, which arise when the glacier melts and have the direction of flow (i.e., flow out from under the glacier). When a glacier melts, cover deposits are also formed - shallow-water periglacial deposits and meltwater overflows. They are well sorted and named outwash fields .
The geological activity of bogs consists of the accumulation of peat.
The destructive work of waves is called abrasion (destruction of banks). The creative work of this process consists of sedimentation and redistribution.
In the archive: three geography lessons on the topic "Lithosphere"
"litosfera_plita"
A lithospheric plate is a large, stable section of the earth's crust, part of the lithosphere. According to the theory of plate tectonics, lithospheric plates are bounded by zones of seismic, volcanic and tectonic activity - plate boundaries.
The division of the earth's crust into plates is not unambiguous, and as geological knowledge accumulates, new plates are identified, and some plate boundaries are recognized as non-existent.
A. Wegener came up with the idea of the possible movement of continents when he carefully examined the geographical map of the world. He was struck by the amazing similarity between the outlines of the coasts of South America and Africa.
The formation and movement of plates is associated with the mixing of mantle matter due to the temperature difference in its upper and lower parts
There are three types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent and transform.
There are three types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent and transform.
Formation of mountains and mid-ridges
Displacement of plates during earthquakes
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“Warehouse. belt"
Horst - an elevated, usually elongated section of the earth's crust formed as a result of tectonic movements.
Graben - a section of the earth's crust that is lowered relative to the surrounding area along tectonic faults.
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"Ancient continents"
Ancient continents
Geography of continents and oceans
History of the formation of the Earth's relief
Since the formation of the Earth - 4.6 billion years ago - the appearance of its surface has changed many times: continents and oceans have acquired different sizes and shapes. The current geographical position of the continents and oceans, the features of their relief, are the result of the long geological development of the Earth.
Pangea, 200 million years ago
Pangea is the name given Alfred Wegener proto-continent that arose during the Paleozoic era.
Ancient continent and ocean
During the formation of Pangea, mountain systems arose from more ancient continents at the sites of their collision, some of which have existed to this day, for example, the Urals or the Appalachians. These early mountains are much older than such relatively young mountain systems as the Alps in Europe, the Cordillera in North America, the Andes in South America or the Himalayas in Asia. Due to erosion lasting many millions of years, the Urals and Appalachians are rolled low mountains.
The giant ocean that washed Pangea is called
Panthalassa .
About 200 million years ago, Pangea began to split and split into two continents: Laurasia and Gondwana.
Further splits divided Laurasia into North America and Eurasia, and Gondwana into the southern continents of Africa, South America, India, Australia and Antarctica.
Due to the divergence of lithospheric plates, the continents moved away from each other and eventually took their present position. The depressions of the Atlantic, Indian and Arctic oceans expanded between the continents.
What does the future hold for the continents?
The black lines on the maps are the boundaries of giant plates that are slowly and steadily tearing apart the continents. Scientists can now envision the geography of the future: the latest map reveals the planet of tomorrow. Look - the Atlantic Ocean has become even wider, and Africa has split apart.
Presumably, our continents will collide again and form a new supercontinent, which has already been given a name - Pangea Ultima. The term Pangea Ultima and the very theory of the appearance of the continent were invented by the American geologist Christopher Scotese, who, using various methods of calculating the movement of lithospheric plates, established that a merger could occur somewhere in 200 million years.
The last Pangea, as this continent is sometimes called in Russia, will be almost entirely covered with deserts, and in the northwest and southeast there will be huge mountain ranges.
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