China's land resources in brief. Natural resource potential of China

China's natural resources are varied and rich.

China is a huge country. It ranks third in area in the world. It consists of many international organizations, which confirms its powerful status and natural resource potential. This is the second economy in the world in all respects, and in terms of nominal GDP it is even ahead of the United States.

This dawn of the economy is directly related to the huge reserves of natural resources, including labor. According to many indicators, this state is a leader, and this is supported by weighty arguments - Natural resources, of which China has plenty.

Mineral and alternative resources

China is completely enriched with this type of resource, but we should not forget that with the rate of production in China as it is now, these resources will last no more than twenty years. Deposits found here:

Graphite;
Copper;
Tin;
Tungsten;
Zinc;
Coal;
Oil.

Tantalum is also mined, which is used to create alloys that are stronger than natural ones. As was said at the beginning, resources will soon be exhausted, but there is a way out - alternative energy.

Thanks to its huge area, China can build solar power plants throughout its territory that will provide 6 megawatts of energy per year per kilometer of area. There are 60 percent of such territories in China. Wind energy potential is 250 million kilowatts per year. But this is all in perspective.

Forest resources of China

China is rich in forest resources. About 30 thousand plant species are found on the territory of the state. Very valuable tree species grow here: sumac, poppy, tallow, tung.

Plants can be divided into: savannah, forest, desert, steppe, marsh. In this area, China is also the leader in imports. Specializes in the production of plywood, and ranks first in the world.

Land resources of China

China's land resources are in danger, literally at the level environmental disaster. Many areas are becoming unsuitable for economic activity, due to various man-made disasters, as well as the construction of new roads and buildings.

To keep the land resource normal, the Chinese authorities are trying to renew forest resources that will strengthen the land. The soils of China are very diverse in their types: from gray-brown desert to red soils. Long-term cultivation of rice crops influences soil formation.

Water resources of China

Water resources can be used for the operation of hydroelectric power plants, which will provide great amount electricity. About 65 percent of China's area is occupied by this type of resource. So many big rivers there is this earth. The largest: Yellow River, Yangtze. The Indus and Ganges flow through the territory. The reservoirs are also filled with water. There are many lakes in Eastern Tibet. In desert areas, namely in the central part of the state, there are huge reserves of artesian water.

Most known species animals – panda
The Chinese were the first to discover: watches, compass, paper, parachute
China is located in five time zones, but everyone still lives according to Beijing time - to save energy and resources
This is the bottom of the most ancient civilizations
The largest and most famous architectural monument is Velikaya Chinese Wall
Ice cream was also invented here. Someone just left rice porridge in the snow, and because of this, the idea to create ice cream arose.
87 thousand characters exist in Chinese culture
China honors the symbol - infinity - the number eight. That is why the 2008 Olympiad opened on 08/08/2008 at 20:08 (8:08 pm local time).

conclusions

China is very rich interesting country. All types of resources are here in sufficient quantities for any developed state. But they are not enough for China's growing population. Only alternative ones will help here, but unfortunately, they are rarely used on a national scale at the moment. Although it’s time, because when they wake up and introduce an alternative, it will be too late. But now China is a powerful, prosperous state with a dynamically developing economy and enormous natural resource potential.

19. Mineral resources of China

China is extremely rich in mineral resources; its total reserves rank third in the world. Of the approximately two hundred types of existing mineral resources in its depths, industrial scale contains 156 species, including 9 energy, 54 metals, 90 non-metals, 3 other liquid and gaseous minerals. In recent years, China has been investing heavily in prospecting and exploration. Thus, in 2001, 22.7 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) were spent for these purposes. Gross value of products produced by Chinese mining industry, in 2001 amounted to 479 billion yuan (58 billion dollars).

Fuel and energy resources. The best situation is with coal. Explored reserves coal in China are just over 1 trillion. tons (second place in the world after the USA), while they are constantly replenished. Approximately half of the coal is located in Shaanxi and inner Mongolia. Large reserves are also available in the provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Shinxi and Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The country ranks first in the world in coal production. Despite the fact that China is the first country to discover the possibility of using oil, the development of modern oil industry began only in the 1950s. Currently, China ranks 9th in the world in terms of proven oil reserves (4.0 billion tons), and fifth in terms of production (162 million tons in 2000). The largest deposits are Daqing in Heilongjiang Province (40% of all production), Shengli in Hebei Province (23%) and Liaohe in Liaoning Province. It is worth mentioning more than forty offshore oil basins containing about 1.2 billion tons. The most promising here are the Bohai Strait in the Yellow Sea, the estuary of the river. Pearl and South China Sea. The process and exploration of deposits is carried out at an impressive pace and in 2001 alone, the increase in reserves amounted to 727 million tons. Gas fields quite closely related to oil. China is not yet one of the leading countries in terms of proven natural gas reserves, but such a prospect is not excluded in the future. Recently discovered fields in Western China have the following reserves: in the Tarim basin - 110 billion m3, in the Junggar basin - 52 billion m3, in the Turpan-Hami basin - 25 billion m3. Natural gas reserves in the South China Sea in the coastal waters of the island. Hainan Chinese experts are estimated at a huge 13 trillion. However, these deposits have not yet been explored, and Vietnam claims some of them. Natural gas production is currently mainly carried out in the Sichuan Basin, however, the development of other deposits is not far off. In 2000, 30.5 billion m3 of gas were produced (Russian Statistical Yearbook, 2002). Other types of fuel and energy resources deserve attention: radioactive minerals and oil shale. The former are represented in China mainly by uranium and thorium. In terms of uranium ore reserves (0.5 thousand tons), the country ranks 6th in the world. As for oil shale, there are more than 180 known deposits in the country with total reserves of 400 billion tons. They are mainly mined in the south and northeast of China.

Ferrous metal ores. It works best with iron ores . Their reserves are estimated at almost 50 billion tons, which is about 19% of the world's total. China is the clear leader in their production. The main deposits are the Anshan basin in Liaoning province, the Panzhihua basin in Sichuan province, as well as deposits in the eastern part of Hebei province.

Non-ferrous metal ores. Of the non-ferrous metals, the situation is most favorable with tungsten, tin, tantalum, zinc, molybdenum, lead and mercury. In all these positions, China is among the leaders. The main ore minerals are wolframite and scheelite. China contains 42% of the world's tungsten reserves (mainly in the form of wolframite). China is the world leader in tin production (61 thousand tons in 1995). Along with Australia, it is the leading producer of lead, accounting for 16% of lead ore production. Together with Chile, China shares second place in molybdenum production (18 thousand tons). China ranks fifth in the world in tantalum reserves.

Precious metal ores. Of the precious metals, the most favorable situation is with gold. For recent years China consistently holds fifth place in the world in the production of this metal. The richest is the gold-bearing region of Xiaoqinling-Xiong'ershan, located in the eastern part of Henan province and the western part of Shaanxi province, where more than a hundred deposits and ore occurrences have been discovered. About 45% of the world's reserves of rare earth elements (43 million tons) are also concentrated in China.

Mining chemical raw materials. Of all types of mining chemical raw materials, the situation is best with antimony. China contains 52% of the world's antimony reserves, estimated at 6 million tons. China ranks second in the world in production table salt, its share accounts for 14% (obtaining salt from sea water). The situation with phosphates is also very favorable. In 1995, China accounted for 15% of their production (third place in the world after the USA and Morocco)

Precious and ornamental stones. Of this category of minerals, the largest reserves are jade. The main jade placers of China are located in the valleys of the Yarkand, Khotan, Keria and Karamurun rivers in northern slopes Kunlun Ridge. Things are going quite well with other types of mineral resources (non-metallic industrial raw materials, non-metallic building materials and hydromineral raw materials). Although China is not one of the world leaders here, it nevertheless provides for its needs.

!!!Option No. 2 (based on lecture): gigantic coal reserves. There is an urgent need for energy resources; there are oil reserves, but they are not enough. China has large reserves of tungsten and molybdenum. Deposits (North and South). There are small deposits of tin and precious metals. metals and energy carriers of uranium. There is a belt of copper deposits, a lot of manganese and chromium. Geologists who have gone through a good Soviet school work in China.

39.Mineral cheese. South African resources.

South Africa is the world's largest producer of gold and platinum, as well as base metals and coal. This is one of the few countries in the world where it is allowed private property for mineral resources, minerals and subsoil.

South Africa ranks second in the world in coal exports and fourth in its production. Over the past 20 years, the annual increase in coal production has been consistently 5%. The annual increase in coal export volumes averages 4%. The main direction of coal export is Western Europe.

Diamond mining

In 2000, total diamond production was 111.5 million carats per year. The value of rough diamonds reached $7.8 billion. The main diamond mining enterprise of the De Beers group of companies is Almaznaya Trade company(Diamond Trading Company) - sold diamonds worth $5.7 billion in 2000.

The diamond industry is the cornerstone of the South African economy. The industry employs 15 thousand people; the total contribution of the diamond mining industry to the state treasury in 2000 alone amounted to R5.2 billion.

Gold mining

Now there is a decrease in gold mining production by 5% (2000). However, South Africa still remains largest gold producer in the world, its total gold production amounts to 17% of world gold production.

Mining of platinum group metals

South Africa produced 206.8 tons of platinum group metals in 2000, accounting for 46% of world production. The volume of production of the main platinum group metals in 2000 was distributed as follows: platinum - 114.5 tons, palladium - 55.8 tons, rhodium - 14.2 tons, ruthenium (19.4 tons).

Other minerals

South Africa has the world's largest reserves of manganese (80% of world reserves), chromium (78%), vanadium (44%), titanium (20%), uranium (10%) and lead (5%). The country's subsoil is also rich in deposits of copper, aluminum, nickel, zinc, cobalt, and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Industrial minerals will also be a significant export item: sand, limestone, dolomite flour, phosphates, sulfur, granite and andalusite. South Africa is practically the only exporter of vermiculite in the world. And for export vanadium ores, ferrochrome, chrome ores, ferromanganese and antimony ranks first in the world.

!!!Var.2 (per lecture): South Africa yavl. An important supplier of chromium (Bushweltz complex) to Europe and America, Bush reserves. Khromites - the first in the world. Merensky Reef is the main platinum metal. deposits (you have to dose production so that it does not fall in price), at the top of the complex there are deposits of vanadium, tibalium and iron (this massif will be developed for a long time, it will last for hundreds of years). Widwatersraid (?) is the largest gold deposit in the world (initially 70 thousand gold, now - 25-27 thousand), the most deep mines world (4.5 km.) and a series of “blind” mines containing several grams of gold in the ore. For 1 t. (7-14g./1t.). Also found in South Africa. The world's first manganese deposits, however, after the closure of these deposits, Gondits and Iteberets (?) - enriched. hydroxide and oxide manganese In these places = x are the oldest diamond deposits - Kimberlints (the share of jewelry diamonds is 15%, others - 5%), primary diamond deposits in South Africa are being depleted. Zap. South Coast Africa is a special deposit (80% are represented by jewelry diamonds, they are very valuable and production is very profitable). Nile's bed (?) - led. continent rifts (from south to north) - there are a lot of large deposits, some extend beyond the borders of South Africa. Great Dayla (?) - deposit of chromium, copper-nickel. and cobalt.

50.Mineral cheese. resources of Mexico.

Mexico is very rich in oil, as well as in ores of silver, wiesmut, fluoride and graphite. There are also significant reserves of antimony, mercury ores, lead, zinc, cadmium, copper ore, gold, iron ore and sulfur. 400 oil and 200 gas fields have been identified in Mexico, the main oil-bearing area is the basin Gulf of Mexico, as well as the districts of Bermudez and Cantarey (the oil is shallow - it is convenient to drill). There's quite a lot in M. large deposits coking coal J, as well as manganese ores, copper and gold reserves (located together), lead-zinc ores, containing. Silver, cadmite and sometimes antimony. There are direct deposits of silver (Potozia areas - 10 million tons, Las Torres - 5 million tons). Antimony - 60 deposits, max. Large ones are San Jose and El Ortero, mercury ores are Uitsuko (from 0.5 to 1 million tons). Mexico contains about 15% of the world's reserves of fluorite (smelting spar).

71. Structure of allocation of oil resources of Russia according to the federation. districts, economic districts and federal subjects.

Russia has 13% of all world oil resources (its own reserves are 4.7% of the world's proven reserves). Share of federal subjects . in reserves and onshore oil production (1 figure - reserves, 2 - production): Khantymans. auto okr.- (55%/58%), Yamalonetsk. okr (16.5/10), Tatarstan (4.2/7), Nenets. Av. OK. (4/0.4), Komi (2.9/2.7) Bashkortostan. (2.4/5.8), Permsk. region (2.5 each), Orienburg. region (po2), Tyumensk. region (2/2.5), Udmurtia (2 each), Samara. region (1.5/3.1), Irkut. region (0.9/0), Krasnoyarsk. (0.7/0), Yakutia (0.7/0), Stavropol region (0.4/0.4), Chechnya (0.3/0.9), others (1.7/1.9) Initial distribution total oil resources by economy district 1). General distribution. Zap. Sib.-58%, Ural region. district-13%, East. Sib. and Daln. Vost.-12, ros. shelves - 11, Timan-Pechorsk. district - 4, etc. districts Ratio: accumulated. ext./intelligence reserves/forecast resources (%)- Zap. Sib. 10/4/66, Ural. pov district 44/22/34, East. Sib. no/4/46, shelves no/1/44, Timan-Pech. district 8/33/54, other districts 41/11/46, in Russia as a whole 13/19/0.8

The figures are reliable, based on his lectures. According to the federal district. I didn’t find it - if anyone finds it, let me know.

Land Resources China has a wide variety of land types, with many mountainous areas but few plains. Arable land is concentrated in the plains and basins located in eastern China, steppes are located mainly in the inland highlands and mountainous regions in the west and north of the country, and forests are concentrated in the remote northeastern and southwestern edges.

Arable land In China, the area of arable land is 130.04 million hectares, and the area of virgin land suitable for agriculture is 35.35 million hectares. Arable land is mainly concentrated: on the Plain of Northeast China (fertile black soils predominate, mainly wheat, corn, kaoliang, soybeans, bast crops and beets are grown); Plain of Northern China (brown soils dominate, wheat, corn, millet, kaoliang, cotton, peanuts are grown); Plain in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze (rice, citrus fruits, rapeseed are grown); the Pearl River Delta and the Sichuan Basin (violet soils predominate on which jellied rice, rapeseed, sugar cane, tea, citrus fruits, including grapefruits, are grown).

Forest land The area under forest in the entire country was 175 million hectares, that is, 18.21% of the area is covered by forest. The total volume of living trees was 13.62 billion cubic meters. m. Forest reserves are estimated at 12.46 billion cubic meters. m. China has a wide variety of tree plant species, including 2,800 species of trees themselves. Currently, the area of artificial forests is 33.79 million hectares, or 31.86% of the country's total forest area. According to statistics, in 2005, 6,370 thousand hectares of territory were afforested in the country, including 5,430 thousand hectares in six largest areas forest plantations, which amounted to 85.2% of the total area afforested in the specified year. The largest forest tracts are located in the Greater and Lesser Khingan regions, in the Changbai Mountains of the Northeast, their area and timber reserves occupy more than one-third of the forest area and timber reserves of the entire country, their timber harvesting accounts for half of the scale of the entire country. Cedar, larch, birch, oak, Manchurian ash, and poplar grow there. Southwestern China ranks second in terms of forest area; its timber reserves account for one-third of the timber reserves of the entire country. Spruce, fir, and Yunnan pine predominate here. Valuable species include grapefruit trees, Pterocarpus Santalinus, camphor tree, Phoebe nanmu, mahogany, etc. Southeast China represents the most important artificial forest region of China, which includes vast hills located south of the Qinlin - Huihe line and east of Yunnan -Guizhou Plateau.

Pastures The area of various natural pastures in China is more than 400 million hectares, in particular the area of used pastures is 313.33 million hectares, thereby making China one of the world's leading countries in terms of pasture area. China's natural grasslands are mainly located in large areas to the west and north of the Greater Khingan-Yinshan-Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau line, while artificial grasslands are mainly scattered in southeast China.

Four Major Cattle-Raising Regions of China Inner Mongolia is the largest cattle-raising region in China and is famous for its elite livestock breeds such as the Sanhe horse and Sanhe ox. Xinjiang is famous for fine-wool sheep, Altai large-tailed sheep, Ili horse, etc. Qinghai - main area yak breeding, it is also famous for the world-famous Hequ horse. Tibet is the main yak-raising region.

Non-metallic minerals China is one of the few countries in the world that has significant full set non-metallic minerals. Today in China there are more than 5,000 deposits of minerals of this category, the rich resources of which have already been proven. In particular, one of the leading places in the world is occupied by reserves of magnesite, graphite, fluorite, talc, asbestos, gypsum, barite, silica, alunite, bentonite, rock salt; after them come deposits of phosphorus, kaolin, iron sulfide, mirabilite, diatomite, zeolite, perlite and cement marl; Marble and granite are distinguished by excellent quality and rich reserves. However, there are not enough deposits of potassium salt and boron.

Metal Minerals China is among the countries in the world with rich metal mineral resources. It ranks in terms of reserves in the world: 1st place 2nd place 4th place 5th tungsten, tin, antimony, tantalum, titanium, rare earth metals; ores of vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, beryllium and lithium zinc iron, lead, gold, silver

Iron ores are mainly found in the Anshan-Benxi city belt, in the northern part of Hebei Province and in Shanxi Province; Aluminum ores occur in the provinces of Shanxi, Henan, Guizhou and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Tungsten ore deposits are located in the provinces of Jiangxi, Hunan and Guangdong; Tin deposits are in the provinces of Yunnan, Guangdong, Hunan and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Energy minerals China has relatively rich underground energy resources, however, their structure cannot be called ideal: coal deposits predominate, and oil and natural gas reserves are relatively small. Coal deposits are distinguished by a wealth of reserves and a variety of fuel types; the mined coal is mostly brown, and only a small part of the coal can be mined by opencast mining. Oil and natural gas deposits place China on the list of ten countries in the world, each of which has industrial oil reserves exceeding 15 billion tons; however, geologically explored deposits on land account for only 1/5 of all resources, reserves near the coastal strip of the sea are poorly explored; oil fields are concentrated, reserves in 14 basins with an area of over 100 thousand sq. km. each make up 73% of the country's total, and natural gas deposits in central and western regions exceed half the reserves of the entire country.

Water and steam minerals Natural resources have been explored in China The groundwater at 870 billion cubic meters/year, industrial reserves are 290 billion cubic meters/year, brackish natural groundwater is estimated at 20 billion cubic meters/year. However, their geographical distribution is uneven: reserves in the south are rich, and in northwest poor. Different types aquifers are located in different stripes: pore water is mainly concentrated in the north, and karst water in the southwest.

China is rich in marine resources marine resources. Oil and gas deposits account for about 700 thousand square meters. km, oil reserves - 24 billion tons, natural gas - 14 trillion. cube m. China's marine waters total 2.8 million square meters. km of fisheries; On 2.6 million hectares of shallow sea water within 20 m, seafood can be raised; the seafood farming area currently amounts to 710 thousand hectares. China has already acquired about 75 thousand square meters of seabed in international regions. km of mining areas of metal nodules, the reserves of which amount to over 500 million tons of nodules of many types of ores. In the coastal areas of China, there are currently more than 50 salt mines, their total area is 337 thousand square meters. km. In salt production over 70% - sea salt. Tidal energy reserves are estimated at 110 million kW, and industrial reserves amount to about 21 million kW, which makes it possible to annually generate 58 billion kW/h of electricity.

Water resources There are many rivers and lakes in China, water resources rich. The sources of most of China's rivers are located on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, the elevation differences are large and this creates favorable conditions for the use of hydropower resources, which amount to 680 million kW and rank first in the world. But water resources in China are uneven, 70% is in the southwest of the country. The Yangtze hydropower resources account for about 40% of the country's total water resources, and the Yalutsangpo, Yellow River and Pearl River systems are also rich in hydropower resources. According to the statistical communique, in 2005 the volume of water resources was 2.743 trillion. cube m, increasing by 13.7%; water resources averaged 2098 cubic meters per capita. m, increasing by 13.0%. Precipitation for the entire year averaged 628 mm, an increase of 4.6%. By the end of the year, the total capacity of the country's 454 large reservoirs was 222.7 billion cubic meters. m, by 28.3 billion cubic meters. m more. The total water consumption for the entire year was calculated at 557.8 billion cubic meters. m, which increased against previous year by 0.5%. Of these are household expenses? by 6.9%, in industry? by 3.7%, in agriculture? 3.8% less. Water consumption per GDP per 10 thousand yuan was 357 cubic meters. m, which decreased by 8.7%. The average per capita water consumption throughout the country was 427 cubic meters. m, basically maintaining the level of the previous year. Temporary difficulties with drinking water experienced 21.63 million people, as well as 19.69 million heads of cattle.

Fauna In terms of the number of species of wild animals, China ranks among the first in the world. It is home to more than 2,000 species of terrestrial vertebrates, representing 9.8% of all species on Earth. About 1,189 species of birds, 500 species of predators, 210 species of amphibians, 320 species of reptiles have been recorded, many of which live only in China, such as the giant panda, called a “living fossil.” There are also many species of resource animals in China, the number of fur species alone is more than 70. The bamboo bear (panda), golden monkey, white-lipped deer, takin, white dolphin, Chinese alligator are unique species found only in China.

Flora The flora of China is also exceptionally rich. There are more than 2,800 tree species in the country, among which about a thousand species have high economic value. Almost all cold-temperate and temperate plants grow in China. tropical zones northern hemisphere. Unique species include Metasequoia glyptostrobovidae, Glyptostrobus chinensis, Chinese argyrophylla, Cunningamia, false larch, Taiwanese fluusiana, Fujian cypress, Davidia, Eocommia, etc.

Relief and minerals

China is one of the world's most resource-rich countries. Here they mine: coal, oil, magnesium and iron ores, tungsten, copper, graphite and tin. The country's largest deposits of coal (which in its origin dates back to the Jurassic period) and oil (mostly of the Mesozoic and Meso-Cenozoic periods) are concentrated within the Sinai shield. The largest deposits of non-ferrous and rare metals, of which the tungsten deposit, which ranks first in size in the world, is located within the South China Massif; antimony, tin, mercury, molybdenum, manganese, lead, zinc, copper and etc. And in the Tien Shan, Mongolian Altai, Kunlun, Khingan there are deposits of gold and other precious metals.

Agroclimatic resources

One of the main factors influencing climatic features China is, first of all, the country's position within three zones: temperate, subtropical and tropical. In addition, the large size of the mainland and inland areas, as well as the coastal location of the eastern and southern regions, has a significant impact.

The average January temperature ranges from -4 and below in the North (and in the North of the Greater Khingan to -30) and up to +18 in the South. In summer, the temperature regime is more varied: average temperature July in the North +20, and in the South +28.

Annual precipitation decreases as you move from the Southeast (2000 mm in the Southeast, mainland China, 2600 mm on Hainan Island) to the Northwest (on the Tarim Plain in some places up to 5 mm or less).

Based on the temperature regime in China, a distinction is made between the southern and northern parts. The first has a moderate and warm climate even in winter, and the second has cold winters and a sharp temperature contrast between summer and winter. Based on the annual amount of precipitation, the eastern, relatively humid, and western arid zones are distinguished.

Land resources

In many ways, the climatic and topographic features of the country have determined the wide variety of soils in China. The western part is characterized by desert-steppe complexes. Outside the Tibetan part, chestnut and brown soils of dry steppes, as well as dry-brown deserts, predominate, with significant areas of rocky or saline areas. Characteristic feature This part of China is dominated by gray soils, mountain chestnut and mountain meadow soils. On the Tibetan Plateau, high-mountain desert soils are more common.

For the eastern part of China, soils associated with forest associations are typical, and the most common in this territory are: soddy-podzolic, brown forest - in the mountains and dark-colored meadow - on the plains of the Northeast. Yellow soils, red soils and laterites, mainly in mountain varieties, are common in the south of the country.

In many ways, the peculiarities of the formation of soil resources in China were influenced by the centuries-old cultivation of the country's oldest agricultural crop, rice, which led to changes in soils and the formation of essentially special varieties, such as “swampy rice” in the South and “eastern carbonate” in the South. Loess plateau.

Water resources

The relief features affected, first of all, the distribution of the country's water resources. The wettest parts are the Southern and Eastern parts, which have a dense and highly branched system. China's largest rivers, the Yangtze and Yellow River, flow through these areas. These also include: Amur, Sungari, Yalohe, Xijiang, Tsagno. The rivers of eastern China are mostly high-water and navigable, and their regime is characterized by uneven seasonal flow - minimum flows in winter and maximum flows in summer. Floods caused by rapid spring and summer snowmelt are common on the plains.

The western, arid part of China is poor in rivers. Basically, they have little water, and navigation on them is poorly developed. Most of the rivers in this area do not flow into the sea, and their flow is episodic. The largest rivers in this area are the Tarim, Black Irtysh, Ili, and Edzin-Gol. The country's largest rivers, carrying their waters to the ocean, are blocked in the Tibetan Plateau.

China is rich not only in rivers, but also in lakes. There are two main types:

tectonic and water-erosive. The former are located in the central Asian part of the country, and the latter in the Yangtze River system. In the western part of China, the largest lakes are: Lop Nor, Kununor, Ebi-Nur. Lakes are especially numerous on the Tibetan Plateau. Most of the lowland lakes, as well as rivers, are low-water, many without wastewater and are saline. In the eastern part of China the largest are Dongting, Poyanghu, Taihu, located in the Yangtze River basin; Hongzohu and Gaoihu are in the Yellow River basin. During high water, many of these lakes become the country's natural reservoirs.

Flora and fauna

Special geographical position China, thanks to which it is located in three zones at once: temperate, subtropical and tropical, influenced not only the formation of climatic conditions, topography and soil resources, but, above all, the diversity and richness of the country's flora and fauna. It is no coincidence that the flora and fauna of China includes more than 30 thousand species of various plants. It is also characteristic that out of 5 thousand tree and shrub species, about 50 are found only in China. There are also numerous relics of ancient flora. China ranks first in the world in terms of diversity of forest species. Such valuable technical species as poppy and tallow trees, tung, camellia oleifera and sumac grow here.

The country is divided into two main parts based on the nature of the vegetation cover: eastern and western. In the eastern part, forest types of vegetation are more common; summer-green broad-leaved forests extend to the north of the Qinling Ridge various types. In the central part of eastern China are great plains, the forests here are almost cleared, and the lands are plowed.

In the Northeast, taiga-type forests are common. Here you can find pine, birch, dwarf larch, spruce, oak, maple, cedar, cedar, hornbeam, walnut and even Amur velvet.

In the South and Southeast of China there are evergreen subtropical forests in which you can find cypress, amphora laurel, lacquer and tallow trees, as well as the relict quininghami tree. Tropical forests have been preserved in their original form only on the island of Hainan.

One of the features flora In China, there is a contrast between the forested and deserted, mostly saline and completely devoid of vegetation areas of the western part. The number of animal species here is not large, although the animal world of China is rich and diverse. It has about 1 thousand 800 species of land animals only. The most common and numerous are deer, elk, leopards, brown bears, wild boars, monkeys, porcupines, gibbons, armadillos and even Indian elephants. The south-eastern territory of the country is richest in animal species.

China has enormous resource potential. In terms of total mineral reserves, the country of China ranks third in the world. China has large reserves of tungsten, tin, antimony, lead, mercury, zinc, and molybdenum. The amount of rare earth metals exceeds total stock the rest of the world. Energy sources in China include oil, coal, natural gas, oil shale. China has almost one-third of the world's coal reserves.

1 Land resources.

Structure data land resources China is very contradictory. Only the total area of the territory is beyond doubt (9.6 million km2, i.e. 960 million hectares). Approximately, the structure of China's land resources can be as follows: arable land - 13%, forests - 14%, steppes - 33%, open water spaces - 2%, built-up areas - 3%, deserts and desertified lands - 17%. The remaining 18% is made up of glaciers, highlands and other “waste” lands. Let us consider these categories of land in more detail.

According to various estimates, the forest area of the PRC ranges from 280 to 400 million hectares. A more accurate figure for the current area of steppes is 315-320 million hectares. The steppes stretch in a 3,000 km long strip across China from northeast to southwest. In general, there is a tendency to reduce their area. The main factor in this regard is desertification. The built-up area, which accounts for 3% of the territory of the PRC, generally tends to grow.

2 Water resources.

Total resources river flow China is 2800 km/year. This corresponds to 6.6% of the world's river flow and 19.3% of the total Asian river flow. According to this indicator, the country ranks 5th in the world after Brazil, Russia, Canada and the USA. There are more than 1,500 rivers in the country, each with a drainage area of more than 1,000 km². Most rivers flow east or south and belong to the Pacific drainage basin, which covers 56.8% of the entire country. The largest rivers in this basin are the Yangtze, Yellow River, Amur, Zhujiang (Xijiang, Pearl), flowing in the eastern part of China. More than a third of the country's area belongs to inland drainage basins, covering the Tibetan Plateau and large parts of northern China and Xinjiang. The largest river here is the Tarim. Rivers of the Indian Ocean basin drain the south of the Tibetan and west of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. To the Northern basin Arctic Ocean include only 50 thousand km². The largest river in this basin is the Irtysh, the upper reaches of which are located in the PRC.

China has many lakes. Among them are 2848 natural lakes with an area of more than 1 km² each, including 130 lakes with a water area of more than 100 km². Most of the lakes are located in the basin of the middle and lower reaches of the river. Yangtze and on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

The area of the Chinese seas (within a 12-mile zone) is 348.09 thousand km², and the area of the exclusive economic zone (200 miles from the coast) is 3.2 million km², while the length coastline exceeds 30 thousand km.

Despite abundant water resources, there is only 2,220 m3 of fresh water per capita per year, only a quarter of the world average and ranking 109th out of 149 countries.

3 Mineral and energy resources.

China is extremely rich in mineral resources; its total reserves rank third in the world. Of the approximately two hundred types of existing mineral resources, its depths contain 156 types on an industrial scale, including 9 energy, 54 metals, 90 non-metals, 3 other liquid and gaseous minerals. In recent years, China has been investing heavily in prospecting and exploration.

By the nature of their use, mineral resources can be divided as follows: 1) fuel and energy (oil, gas, coal, shale, uranium ores, etc.); 2) ores of ferrous metals (iron, manganese, chrome); 3) ores of non-ferrous metals (zinc, aluminum, cobalt, nickel, tin, tungsten, etc.); 4) ores of noble metals (gold, platinum, silver); 5) mining chemical raw materials (phosphorites, apatites, sulfur, salts, bromine, etc.); 6) precious and ornamental stones (diamond, garnet, corundum, etc.); 7) non-metallic industrial raw materials (mica, graphite, quartz, asbestos, etc.); 8) non-metallic Construction Materials(marble, clay, granite, etc.); 9) hydromineral raw materials (underground fresh and mineralized waters). Let us consider the situation with these categories of mineral resources in more detail.

Despite the fact that China is the first country to discover the possibility of using oil, the development of modern oil industry began only in the 1950s. Currently, China ranks 9th in the world in terms of proven oil reserves (4.0 billion tons), and fifth in terms of production (162 million tons in 2006).

Other types of fuel and energy resources in China include radioactive minerals and oil shale. Radioactive minerals in China are mainly represented by uranium and thorium. In terms of uranium ore reserves (0.5 thousand tons), the country ranks 6th in the world

Ferrous metal ores. Iron ore reserves are estimated at almost 50 billion tons, which is about 19% of the world's reserves. China is the clear leader in their production. Non-ferrous metal ores. Among non-ferrous metals, China has reserves of tungsten, tin, tantalum, zinc, molybdenum, lead and mercury. In all these positions, China is among the leaders.

Precious metal ores. Over the past few years, China has consistently held fifth place in the world in gold production. The richest gold-bearing areas include the following: the Jiadong Peninsula along the eastern edge of the platform; gold-bearing provinces in the Daqingshan, Yanliao and Changbai Mountains along the northern edge; Xiao Qinling-Xiong Ershan along the south-central edge of the platform; Qinling Mountains along the southwestern edge of the platform. In each of these areas there are several dozen deposits.

Mining chemical raw materials. Of all types of mining chemical raw materials, antimony is the most common in China. It is mainly used for the manufacture of fire retardants - compounds that reduce the flammability of wood, fabrics and other materials. Antimony is also used in chemical industry, in semiconductors, in the manufacture of ceramics and glass, as a lead hardener in car batteries. China contains 52% of the world's antimony reserves, estimated at 6 million tons.

China ranks second in the world in production of table salt, accounting for 14%. Its source is numerous salt lakes and sea water. In obtaining salt from sea water, China is a recognized leader. The area of salt evaporators is 430 thousand hectares. In 2007, China produced more than 29 million tons of salt.

The country ranks first in the world in hydropower reserves (680 million kW), which is explained by two circumstances: 1) a significant volume of surface runoff (2800 km/year, which is almost equal to the runoff of the whole of Europe); 2) the origins of the majority large rivers located on the high Tibetan Plateau and their upper reaches are characterized by waterfalls.

China is the world leader in the production of biogas from agricultural waste. There are significant reserves geothermal energy, concentrated in Tibet and Yunnan province. The first geothermal power plant with a capacity of 7 thousand kW was built in Tibet back in 1977.

4 Demographic resources.

Life expectancy in China is 73 years. The average life expectancy for men is 71 years, for women - 74 years.

According to the “Communique on the Socio-Economic Development of the People's Republic of China for 2008”, issued on February 26, 2009 by the State Statistics Administration of the People's Republic of China, the total population at the end of 2008 was 1328.02 million people, an increase compared to the previous year - 6.73 million people The sex ratio (number of men per 100 women) in the population birth rate was 120.5