In order to better analyze the environmental problems of the Russian Plain, it is necessary to consider in detail what natural resources this geographical area has, what makes it remarkable.

Features of the Russian Plain

First of all, we will answer the question of where the Russian Plain is located. The East European Plain is located on the continent of Eurasia and ranks second in the world in terms of area after the Amazonian Plain. The second name of the East European Plain is Russian. This is due to the fact that a significant part of it is occupied by the state of Russia. It is on this territory that most of the population of the country is concentrated and the largest cities are located.

The length of the plain from north to south is almost 2.5 thousand km, and from east to west - about 3 thousand km. Almost the entire territory of the Russian Plain has a flat relief with a slight slope - no more than 5 degrees. This is mainly due to the fact that the plain almost completely coincides with the East European Platform. It is not felt here and, as a result, there are no destructive natural phenomena (earthquakes).

The average height of the plain is about 200 m above sea level. It reaches its maximum height on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya upland - 479 m. The Russian plain can be conditionally divided into three bands: northern, central and southern. On its territory there are a number of uplands: the Central Russian Plain, the Smolensk-Moscow Upland - and lowlands: the Polesskaya, Oka-Donskaya Plain, etc.

The Russian Plain is rich in resources. There are all kinds of minerals here: ore, non-metallic, combustible. A special place is occupied by the extraction of iron ores, oil and gas.

1. Ore

Iron ore of the Kursk Deposits: Lebedinskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Stoilenskoye, Yakovlevskoye. The ore of these developed deposits is distinguished by a high iron content - 41.5%.

2. Nonmetallic

• bauxites. Deposits: Vislovskoye. The content of alumina in the rock reaches 70%.
• Chalk, marl, fine-grained sand. Deposits: Volskoye, Tashlinskoye, Dyatkovskoye, etc.
• Brown coal. Pools: Donetsk, Podmoskovny, Pechora.
• Diamonds. Deposits of the Arkhangelsk region.

3. Combustible

• Oil and gas. Oil and gas bearing areas: Timan-Pechora and Volga-Ural.
• Burning shale. Deposits: Kashpirovskoe, Obschesyrtskoe.

Minerals of the Russian Plain are mined in various ways, which has a negative impact on the environment. Soil, water and atmosphere are polluted.

The impact of human activity on the nature of the East European Plain

The environmental problems of the Russian Plain are largely related to human activity: the development of mineral deposits, the construction of cities, roads, emissions from large enterprises, their use of huge volumes of water, the reserves of which do not have time to be replenished, and are also polluted.

Below we consider all the Russian plains. The table will show what problems exist, where they are localized. Possible ways of struggle are presented.

Ecological problems of the Russian Plain. Table

Problem	Causes	Localization	What threatens	Solutions
Soil pollution	KMA development	Belgorod region Kursk region	Decreased yield of grain crops	Land reclamation by accumulation of chernozem and overburden
	Industrial engineering	Regions: Belgorod, Kursk, Orenburg, Volgograd, Astrakhan		Proper waste disposal, reclamation of depleted lands
	Construction of railways and highways	All areas
	Development of deposits of chalk, phosphorites, rock salt, slates, bauxites	Regions: Moscow, Tula, Astrakhan, Bryansk, Saratov, etc.
Hydrosphere pollution	KMA development		Decreasing groundwater level	Water purification, raising the level of groundwater
	Groundwater pumping	Moscow region, Orenburg region and etc.	The emergence of karst landforms, deformation of the surface due to subsidence of rocks, landslides, funnels
Air pollution	KMA development	Kursk region, Belgorod region	Air pollution with harmful emissions, accumulation of heavy metals	Increase in the area of ​​forests, green spaces
	Large industrial enterprises	Regions: Moscow, Ivanovo, Orenburg, Astrakhan, etc.	Accumulation of greenhouse gases	Installation of high-quality filters on pipes of enterprises
	Big cities	All major centers		Reducing the number of transport, increasing green areas, parks
Decreased species diversity of flora and fauna	Hunting and population growth	All areas	The number of animals is decreasing, plant and animal species are disappearing	Creation of reserves and reserves

The climate of the Russian Plain

The climate of the East European Plain is temperate continental. Continentality increases as you move inland. The average temperature of the plain in the coldest month (January) is -8 degrees in the west and -12 degrees in the east. In the warmest month (July), the average temperature in the northwest is +18 degrees, in the southeast +21 degrees.

The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the warm season - approximately 60-70% of the annual amount. More precipitation falls over the highlands than over the lowlands. The annual amount of precipitation in the western part is 800 mm per year, in the eastern part - 600 mm.

There are several natural zones on the Russian Plain: steppes and semi-deserts, forest-steppes, taiga, tundra (when moving from south to north).

The forest resources of the plain are represented mainly by coniferous species - these are pine and spruce. Previously, forests were actively cut down and used in the woodworking industry. Currently, forests are of recreational, water-regulating and water-protective importance.

Flora and fauna of the East European Plain

Due to small climatic differences on the territory of the Russian Plain, one can observe a pronounced soil-vegetation zonality. Northern soddy-podzolic soils are replaced to the south by more fertile chernozems, which affects the nature of vegetation.

Flora and fauna have been significantly affected by human activities. Many plant species have disappeared. Of the fauna, the greatest damage was done to fur-bearing animals, which have always been a desirable object of hunting. Endangered mink, muskrat, raccoon dog, beaver. Such large ungulates as the tarpan have been exterminated forever, the saiga and bison have almost disappeared.

To preserve certain species of animals and plants, reserves were created: Oksky, Galichya Gora, Central Black Earth named after. V. V. Alekhina, Forest on Vorskla and others.

Rivers and seas of the East European Plain

Where the Russian Plain is located, there are many rivers and lakes. The main rivers that play a major role in human economic activity are the Volga, Oka and Don.

The Volga is the largest river in Europe. The Volga-Kama hydro-industrial complex is located on it, which includes a dam, a hydroelectric power station and a reservoir. The length of the Volga is 3631 km. Many of its tributaries are used on the farm for irrigation.

Don also plays a significant role in industrial activities. Its length is 1870 km. The Volga-Don shipping canal and the Tsimlyansk reservoir are especially important.

In addition to these large rivers, the Khoper, Voronezh, Bityug, Northern Onega, Kem and others flow on the plain.

In addition to rivers, the Russian Plain includes the Barents, White, Black, Caspian.

The Nord Stream gas pipeline runs along the bottom of the Baltic Sea. This affects the ecological situation of the hydrological object. During the laying of the gas pipeline, clogging of waters occurred, many species of fish decreased their numbers.

In the Baltic, Barents, Caspian, some minerals are being mined, which, in turn, adversely affects the waters. Some of the industrial waste seeps into the seas.

In the Barents and Black Seas, some types of fish are caught on an industrial scale: cod, herring, flounder, haddock, halibut, catfish, anchovy, pike perch, mackerel, etc.

Fishing is carried out in the Caspian Sea, mainly sturgeons. Due to favorable natural conditions, there are many sanatoriums and tourist centers on the seashore. There are navigable routes along the Black Sea. Oil products are exported from Russian ports.

Groundwater of the Russian Plain

In addition to surface water, people use groundwater, which, due to irrational use, adversely affects soils - subsidence, etc. are formed. There are three large artesian basins on the plain: the Caspian, Central Russian and East Russian. They serve as a source of water supply for a vast territory.

The plan for describing the country of New Zealand is according to this plan: 1 What maps should be used when describing the country? 2. In which part of the mainland

is the country located? What is the name of its capital?

3. Features of the relief (general nature of the surface, basic forms of relief and distribution of heights). Minerals of the country.

4.Climatic conditions in different parts of the country (climatic zones, average temperatures in July and January, annual precipitation). Differences by territory and seasons.

5. Large rivers and lakes.

7. The peoples inhabiting the country. Their main languages

Make a description of one of the mainland countries according to the plan: 1) What maps should be used when describing the country. 2) In what part of the mainland

country is located.

3) What are the features of the relief (the general nature of the surface, the main landforms and the distribution of heights). Mineral resources of the country.

4) What are the climatic conditions in different parts of the country (climatic zones, average temperatures in July and January, annual precipitation). What are the differences in territory and seasons.

5) What major rivers and lakes are located

6) What are the natural zones. What are their main features.

7) What peoples inhabit the country. What are their main occupations.

VERY URGENT. HELP.

Help me please. Mexico 1. What maps should be used to describe the country? 2. In what part of the mainland is the country located? how

what is the name of its capital?

3. Features of the relief (the general nature of the surface, the main forms of relief and the distribution of heights). Minerals of the country?

4. Climatic conditions in different parts of the country (climatic zones, average temperatures in July and January, annual precipitation). Differences by territory and by seasons.

5. Large rivers and lakes.

6. Natural zones and their main features.

7. Peoples inhabiting the country. Their main activities.

Thanks in advance!

Practical work number 9. Comparative characteristics of two natural zones of Russia (optional).

Make a description of two natural zones according to the plan:
1) features of the geographical location;
2) climate features: average temperatures in January and July, total radiation, duration of warm and cold periods, amount of precipitation and their distribution over the seasons of the year, humidity coefficient;
3) relief features;
4) features of the annual runoff;
5) soils, their main properties;
6) flora and fauna, their adaptability to given natural conditions;
7) features of agriculture;
8) specially protected components of nature.
Use various sources of geographic information.
Draw a conclusion about the similarities and differences between these zones. Explain what causes the differences.

Landscape and ecological conditions of the Russian (East European) plain

General characteristics of the plain

The Russian Plain, together with the Urals, Carpathians and Crimea surrounding it, occupies the western, European part of Russia. It stretches from the shores of the Arctic Ocean to the Black and Caspian Seas, from the western state border to the Urals. In the north, the plain goes far beyond the Arctic Circle, almost up to 70 degrees north latitude, in the south it reaches 45 degrees north latitude, and in the west and east it is limited by meridians of 20 degrees and 55-56 degrees east. Distances on the Russian Plain are measured in thousands of kilometers, and its area is about 4 million square kilometers. The nature of the plain has been studied better and more completely than other parts of Russia. Many major Russian and Soviet researchers took part in its study. An outstanding contribution to the knowledge of tectonics and paleogeography of the Russian Plain was made by A.P. Karpinsky. His views, outlined in "Essays on the Geological Past of European Russia" (1919), form the basis of modern ideas about tectonics and paleogeography of the western part of the USSR. Ideas A.P. Karpinsky were brilliantly developed in the works of A.D. Arkhangelsky and N.S. Shatsky, who left behind generalizing reports on the geology and tectonics of the USSR.

The general features of the relief of the Russian Plain are predetermined by tectonics, the fact that the plain belongs to the ancient Precambrian platform, which has not experienced mountain building processes for a long time. Therefore, the Russian Plain is devoid of high mountain ranges; over vast expanses, it is characterized by a slight fluctuation in heights. Its average absolute height is about 170 m. The plain is characterized by gradual changes in landscapes at short distances and large differences between territories remote from one another.

Rice. 2

Cold tundra and sunny steppes, swampy taiga and waterless deserts, spruce forest tundra and oak forest steppe - such is the diversity of the landscapes of the Russian Plain (Fig. 2). Despite the general flat character of the surface, the Russian Plain cannot be called uniform in relief. On its territory, hills alternate with lowlands. The Central Russian, Valdai, Volga, and other uplands reach 300-400 m above sea level at the highest points. The lowlands - the Black Sea, Oka-Don, Caspian, etc. - do not exceed 100-200 m. Of these, the Caspian lowland is the most lowered; its southern half has absolute marks below the level of the world ocean. The complex orography of the Russian Plain is due to the tectonic features of the platform - the heterogeneous nature of its structure, the unequal manifestation of the latest tectonic movements. As it turns out on closer inspection, the platform itself consists of heterogeneous elements: shields, anteclises, syneclises and other smaller structures.

The highlands of the Russian Plain, with their long-standing tendency to uplift, are areas of demolition, an energetic course of erosion processes. On geological maps, they are outlined by the outcrop of older bedrocks than the rocks that make up the adjacent lowlands. On the contrary, many lowlands with a tendency to subsidence are areas of accumulation of loose Upper Tertiary and Quaternary sediments, areas of weakened erosion processes. The Russian Plain, more than any other part of Russia, is under the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and its warm Gulf Stream. Marine polar air, which is formed over the Atlantic, enters the Russian Plain still little transformed. Its properties largely determine the main features of the climate of the Russian Plain. Despite the generally uniform relief of the Russian Plain, there are still uplands and lowlands on it, which cause, although not sharp, but quite noticeable differentiation of climatic conditions. Summers are cooler in the uplands than in the lowlands; the western slopes of the uplands receive more precipitation than the eastern slopes and the lowlands shaded by them.

The great length of the Russian Plain from north to south causes sharp climatic differences between its northern and southern parts. These climatic differences are so significant that one should speak of the existence of two climatic regions on the Russian Plain - northern and southern. The Russian Plain is an example of a territory with a pronounced latitudinal zonality of soils and vegetation. On its surface, there is a complex zonal spectrum of vegetation and soils from arctic tundra to deserts on gray soils. Climatic conditions in a significant part of the Russian Plain are favorable for the growth of forests. Three or four centuries ago, they covered more than half of the entire area of ​​the Russian Plain. The extreme north of the plain, occupied by tundra, and its south-south-eastern third, covered with steppes, are devoid of forests. The reasons for the absence of forests in the north and south of the plain are directly opposite. In the north they do not exist due to a lack of heat with an excess of moisture, in the south due to a lack of moisture with an excess of heat.

East European (aka Russian) has the second largest area in the world, second only to the Amazonian lowland. It is classified as a low plain. From the north, the area is washed by the Barents and White Seas, in the south - by the Azov, Caspian and Black. In the west and southwest, the plain is adjacent to the mountains of Central Europe (Carpathians, Sudetes, etc.), in the northwest - with the Scandinavian mountains, in the east - with the Urals and Mugodzhary, and in the southeast - with the Crimean mountains and Caucasus.

The length of the East European Plain from west to east is approximately 2500 km, from north to south - about 2750 km, the area is 5.5 million km². The average height is 170 m, the maximum was recorded in the Khibiny (Mount Yudychvumchorr) on the Kola Peninsula - 1191 m, the minimum height was noted on the coast of the Caspian Sea, it has a minus value of -27 m. The following countries are completely or partially located on the territory of the plain: Belarus, Kazakhstan , Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Estonia.

The Russian Plain almost completely coincides with the East European Platform, which explains its relief with a predominance of planes. This geographical location is characterized by very rare manifestations of volcanic activity.

A similar relief was formed due to tectonic movements and faults. Platform deposits on this plain lie almost horizontally, but in some places they exceed 20 km. Elevations in this area are quite rare and are mainly ridges (Donetsk, Timan, etc.), in these areas the folded foundation protrudes to the surface.

Hydrographic characteristics of the East European Plain

In terms of hydrography, the East European Plain can be divided into two parts. Most of the waters of the plain have access to the ocean. The western and southern rivers belong to the Atlantic Ocean basin, and the northern ones belong to the Arctic Ocean. Of the northern rivers on the Russian Plain are: Mezen, Onega, Pechora and Northern Dvina. Western and southern water flows flow into the Baltic Sea (Vistula, Western Dvina, Neva, Neman, etc.), as well as into the Black (Dnieper, Dniester and Southern Bug) and Azov (Don).

Climatic characteristics of the East European Plain

The East European Plain is dominated by a temperate continental climate. Summer average recorded temperatures range from 12 (near the Barents Sea) to 25 degrees (near the Caspian lowland). The highest winter average temperatures are observed in the west, where in winter about -

The Russian Plain served for centuries as a territory connecting western and eastern civilizations by trade routes. Historically, two busy trade arteries ran through these lands. The first is known as "the path from the Varangians to the Greeks." According to it, as is known from school history, the medieval trade in goods of the peoples of the East and Russia with the states of Western Europe was carried out.

The second is the route along the Volga, which made it possible to transport goods by ship to Southern Europe from China, India and Central Asia and in the opposite direction. The first Russian cities were built along the trade routes - Kyiv, Smolensk, Rostov. Veliky Novgorod became the northern gate of the way from the "Varangians", guarding the safety of trade.

Now the Russian Plain is still a territory of strategic importance. The capital of the country and the largest cities are located on its lands. The most important administrative centers for the life of the state are concentrated here.

The geographical position of the plain

The East European Plain, or Russian, occupies territories in the east of Europe. In Russia, these are its extreme western lands. In the northwest and west, it is bounded by the Scandinavian Mountains, the Barents and White Seas, the Baltic coast and the Vistula River. In the east and southeast it is adjacent to the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus. In the south, the plain is bounded by the shores of the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas.

Relief features and landscape

The East European Plain is represented by a gently sloping flat relief formed as a result of faults in tectonic rocks. According to relief features, the massif can be divided into three bands: central, southern and northern. The center of the plain consists of vast uplands and lowlands alternating with each other. The north and south are mostly represented by lowlands with occasional low elevations.

Although the relief is formed in a tectonic way and minor shocks are possible on the territory, there are no tangible earthquakes here.

Natural areas and regions

(The plain has planes with characteristic smooth drops.)

The East European Plain includes all natural zones found on the territory of Russia:

• Tundra and forest-tundra are represented by the nature of the north of the Kola Peninsula and occupy a small part of the territory, slightly expanding towards the east. The vegetation of the tundra, namely, shrubs, mosses and lichens, is replaced by birch forests of the forest tundra.
• The taiga, with its pine and spruce forests, occupies the north and center of the plain. On the borders with mixed broad-leaved forests, places are often swampy. A typical Eastern European landscape - coniferous and mixed forests and swamps are replaced by small rivers and lakes.
• In the forest-steppe zone, one can see alternating uplands and lowlands. Oak and ash forests are typical for this zone. Often you can find birch-aspen forests.
• The steppe is represented by valleys, where oak forests and groves, alder and elm forests grow along the banks of the rivers, and tulips and sage blossom in the fields.
• Semi-deserts and deserts are located on the Caspian lowland, where the climate is harsh and the soil is saline, but even there you can find vegetation in the form of various varieties of cacti, wormwood and plants that adapt well to a sharp change in daily temperatures.

Rivers and lakes of the plains

(A river on a flat area of ​​the Ryazan region)

The rivers of the "Russian Valley" are majestic and slowly carry their waters in one of two directions - north or south, to the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, or to the southern inland seas of the mainland. Rivers of the northern direction flow into the Barents, White or Baltic Seas. Rivers of the southern direction - to the Black, Azov or Caspian Seas. The largest river in Europe, the Volga, also "flows lazily" through the lands of the East European Plain.

The Russian Plain is the realm of natural water in all its manifestations. The glacier, which passed through the plain millennia ago, formed many lakes on its territory. Especially a lot of them in Karelia. The consequences of the stay of the glacier were the emergence in the North-West of such large lakes as Ladoga, Onega, Pskov-Peipsi reservoir.

Under the thickness of the earth in the localization of the Russian Plain, reserves of artesian water are stored in the amount of three underground basins of huge volumes and many located at a shallower depth.

Climate of the East European Plain

(Flat terrain with slight drops near Pskov)

The Atlantic dictates the weather regime on the Russian Plain. Western winds, air masses that move moisture, make summer on the plain warm and humid, winter cold and windy. During the cold season, winds from the Atlantic bring about ten cyclones, contributing to changeable heat and cold. But the air masses from the Arctic Ocean are still striving for the plain.

Therefore, the climate becomes continental only in the depths of the massif, closer to the south and southeast. The East European Plain has two climatic zones - subarctic and temperate, increasing continentality towards the east.