EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN (Russian Plain), one of largest plains the globe. Occupies mainly the eastern and part Western Europe where are European part Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, most of Ukraine, the western part of Poland and the eastern part of Kazakhstan. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south - 2500 km. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the valley of the Vistula River); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudet and others) and the Carpathians; in the south it goes to the Black, Azov and Caspian seas and is bounded by the Crimean mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east - by the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia into the East European Plain, others attribute this territory to Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.

Relief and geological structure.

The East European Plain geostructurally corresponds mainly to the Russian Plate of the ancient East European Platform, in the south - the northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - the southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform.

The complex relief of the East European Plain is characterized by a slight fluctuation in elevation (average height is about 170 m). The highest heights are on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) and Podolskaya (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) uplands, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level, 2001; the lowest point in Russia) - on the coast of the Caspian Sea. On the East European Plain, two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern extra-morainic with erosional landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small uplands (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). To the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechora and others). In the northwest, in the area of ​​the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief prevails: hilly and ridge-moraine, depression with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.) - the so-called lake area. To the south and east, in the area of ​​distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; there are basins of lowered lakes. Moraine-erosion uplands and ridges (Belarusian Ridge, Smolensk-Moscow Upland, and others) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial, and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Upper Volga, and others). Ravines and gullies are more common, as well as river valleys with asymmetric slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, woodlands (Polesskaya lowland, etc.) and opolye (Vladimirskoye, etc.) are typical.

The southern extra-morainic region of the East European Plain is characterized by large uplands with an erosive ravine-beam relief (Volynskaya, Podolskaya, Pridneprovskaya, Azovskaya, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains related to the region of the Dnieper glaciation (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Wide asymmetric terraced river valleys are characteristic. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called "saucers", formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits, and bedrocks come to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathered remnants, the so-called shikhans. In the south and southeast - flat coastal accumulative lowlands (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).

Climate. In the extreme north of the East European Plain there is a subarctic climate, in most of the plain it is temperate continental with the dominance of western air masses. As you move away from Atlantic Ocean to the east, the climate becomes more continental, harsh and dry, and in the southeast, in the Caspian lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature is from -2 to -5 °С, in the southwest it drops to -20 °С in the northeast. The average July temperature increases from north to south from 6 to 23-24 °C and up to 25 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern - insufficient and arid. The most humid part of the East European Plain (between 55-60° north latitude) receives 700-800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600-700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (in the tundra 250-300 mm) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (in the semi-desert and desert 150-200 mm). The maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (10-20 cm thick) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (60-70 cm thick) in the northeast. Frosts, droughts and dry winds are frequent in the forest-steppe and steppe; in the semi-desert and desert - dust storms.

Rivers and lakes. Most of the rivers of the East European Plain belong to the Atlantic basins [the Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; to the Black Sea - Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug; into the Sea of ​​Azov - Don, Kuban, etc.] and the Arctic Oceans (the Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; into the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc.). The Volga (the largest river in Europe), Ural, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Malyi Uzen, and others belong to the basin of internal flow, mainly the Caspian Sea. All rivers are predominantly snow-fed with spring floods. In the southwest of the East European Plain, the rivers do not freeze every year, in the northeast the freeze lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10-12 l/s per km2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing the East European Plain. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester, and others have been turned into cascades of reservoirs (Rybinsk, Kuibyshev, Tsimlyansk, Kremenchug, Kakhovskoe, and others). There are numerous lakes: glacial-tectonic (Ladoga and Onega - the largest in Europe), moraine (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloe, etc.), etc. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.

natural landscapes. The East European Plain is a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone, and only the northern part is in the subarctic zone. In the north, where permafrost is widespread, tundras are developed: moss-lichen and shrubs (dwarf birch, willow) on tundra gley, marsh soils and podburs. To the south, a forest-tundra zone with undersized birch and spruce woodlands stretches in a narrow strip. About 50% of the territory of the plain is occupied by forests. The zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, in the east - with the participation of fir) European taiga, swampy in places, on podzolic soils and podzols is expanding to the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-broad-leaved (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils. Pine forests are developed along the river valleys. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests stretches on gray forest soils; forests wedged out to the Volga and have an insular character of distribution in the east. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, which occupy 50-70% of the forest area. Peculiar landscapes of opal areas - with plowed flat areas, the remains of oak forests and a ravine-beam network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals, a forest-steppe zone stretches with oak forests (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-cereal meadow steppes (preserved in reserves) on chernozems (the main fund of arable land). The share of arable land in the forest-steppe is up to 80%. The southern part of the East European Plain (except the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which are replaced to the south by dry fescue-feather grass steppes on chestnut soils. Most of the Caspian Lowland is dominated by wormwood-feather grass semi-deserts on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-saltwort deserts on brown desert-steppe soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.

Ecological situation and specially protected natural areas . The East European Plain has been mastered and significantly changed by man. In many natural areas dominated by natural-anthropogenic complexes, especially in the landscapes of the steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and deciduous forests. The territory of the East European Plain is highly urbanized. The most densely populated areas (up to 100 people/km2) are zones of mixed and broad-leaved forests. Anthropogenic relief is typical: waste heaps (height up to 50 m), quarries, etc. Particularly intense ecological situation in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, etc.). Many rivers in the central and southern parts are heavily polluted.

To study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes Numerous nature reserves, national parks and sanctuaries have been created. In the European part of Russia there were (2005) over 80 reserves and national parks, including more than 20 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central Forest, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Bialowieza Forest, Askania Nova and Astrakhan Nature Reserve. Among the largest - Vodlozersky national park(486.9 thousand km 2) and the Nenets Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2). Plots of indigenous taiga "Virgin forests of Komi" and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the World Heritage List.

Lit. : Spiridonov AI Geomorphological zoning of the East European Plain // Geosciences. M., 1969. T. 8; Plains of the European part of the USSR / Edited by Yu. A. Meshcheryakov, A. A. Aseev. M., 1974; Milkov F. N., Gvozdetsky N. A. physical geography USSR. General review. European part of the USSR. Caucasus. 5th ed. M., 1986; Isachenko A. G. Ecological geography of the North-West of Russia. SPb., 1995. Part 1; East European forests: history in the Holocene and the present: In 2 books. M., 2004.

A. N. Makkaveev, M. N. Petrushina.

Russian plain(East European Plain) - a plain in Eastern Europe, component European plain. It extends from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. In the northwest it is bounded by the Scandinavian mountains, in the southwest by the Sudetes and other mountains of central Europe, in the southeast by the Caucasus, and in the west the Vistula River serves as the conditional boundary of the plain. It is one of the largest plains in the world. The total length of the plain from north to south is more than 2.7 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 2.5 thousand kilometers. The area is over 4 million square meters. km. Often the plain is called Russian because. most of the plain is located within Russia.
At present, parts of the territory of the Russian Plain are occupied by Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Moldova.
On the Russian Plain there are the Central Russian Upland, Karelian and Pechora taiga, Central Russian oak forests, tundra pastures, forest steppes and steppes.
The Moscow Region is located in the central part of the Russian Plain.
The Russian Plain is rich not only in resources, but also in its history - the events of almost a thousand years of Russian history took place here. Many peoples developed here. It was from here that Russian explorers set off to the north and east. The most ancient cities of Russia are located on the Russian Plain: Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Arkhangelsk, Moscow, Kazan, Vladimir, Ryazan and others.
In these lands, the most important battles in the history of Russia took place: battles with the Tatar-Mongols, Napoleon's army, Hitler's troops ... Important historical significance have places of military glory: Lake Peipsi, Kulikovo, Borodino and Prokhorovka fields.
The nature of the Russian Plain served as inspiration for the figure of the national culture: A. S. Pushkin, N. V. Gogol, A. P. Borodin, P. I. Chayskovsky and many others. It served as a research site for famous Russian naturalists: M. V. Lomonosov, V. V. Dokuchaev, D. I. Mendeleev, V. I. Vernfdsky, L. S. Berg and others.
The nature of the relief of the Russian Plain is quite complex. To the north of the latitude of Moscow, glacial landforms predominate, including moraine ridges, of which the most famous are the Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow Uplands. To the south of the latitude of Moscow, the uplands, directed mainly in the meridional direction, alternate with flat areas. There are numerous ravines and gullies on the hills. In the west is the Central Russian Upland (maximum height 293 m), separating the upper reaches of the Dnieper, Oka and Don; here the valleys of small rivers are clearly defined; at the same time, large rivers have wide, shallow floodplains; in some places, a strong influence of eolian processes and the formation of dunes were noted. To the east is the Volga Upland, reaching a height of 329 m and abruptly dropping off to the river. The lower reaches of the Volga are located within the Caspian lowland, some parts of which have a height of 90 m below sea level.
-Smolensk-Moscow Upland is located on the territory of Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Moscow and Smolensk regions Russia, as well as the Vitebsk region (now occupied). In the southeast, the Central Russian Upland adjoins the Smolensk-Moscow Upland, and in the north - the Valdai Upland.
-Middle Russian Upland (Mittelrussische Platte) - an upland located within the Russian Plain from the latitudinal segment of the Oka River valley in the north to the Donetsk Ridge in the south. In the northwest, the Smolensk-Moscow Upland adjoins the Central Russian Upland. It is bounded in the west by the Polesskaya, in the southwest by the Dnieper lowland, and in the east by the Oka-Don Plain (Tambov Plain). The population of the hill exceeds 7 million people. Largest cities: Tula, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Kharkiv, Sumy, Kaluga, Oryol, Yelets, Stary Oskol, Novomoskovsk.
-North Russian Lowland (also North Russian Plain or North Russian Slope) - flat territories occupying the geographical north and northeast of the Russian Plain. The Timan Ridge, which is a series of low (350–400 m), flattened and heavily destroyed mountain ranges, divides the North Russian Lowland into two sectors - the Pechora Lowland in the east and the North Dvina Lowland in the west, which approximately correspond to the basins of two largest rivers regions, which are Pechora and Northern Dvina. From the north, the lowlands are washed by the White Sea and the Barents Sea. (see Russian North)
-Central Russia.
-European part of Russia - a part of Russia geographically belonging to Eastern Europe. Its borders are the Ural Mountains, the border with Kazakhstan and the Kuma and Manych rivers. Includes the Central, Southern, Northwestern, North Caucasian Federal Districts, as well as part of the Volga Federal District (with the exception of the regions of the Urals, partially located in Asia - Bashkiria, the Orenburg Region and Perm Territory). European Russia makes up 40% of the area of ​​Europe.
The European part of Russia is located on the East European Plain (Russian Plain) and occupies most of it, which is why the plain is often called Russian.

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 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 the 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.

Such a relief was formed due to tectonic movements and breaks. 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. 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 article reveals the features of the relief of the East European Plain. Indicates coincidence with landscapes characteristic of the Russian Plain. The material explains why seismological or volcanic manifestations are not so typical for this territory.

Relief of the East European Plain

The Russian Plain, located on the East European Plate, is formed by peaks whose height above sea level is 200-300 m.

It almost absolutely coincides with the East European platform, and this allows us to assert that the relief of the Russian Plain is identical to the East European lowland relief formation.

Rice. 1. Russian plain on the map.

The formation of the relief of the Russian Plain is mainly due to belonging to the plate of the Russian Platform and is characterized by an extremely stable regime and a small amplitude of current tectonic movements.

The average height is 170 m, and the maximum is 479 m. It is localized in the Ural part. Within the plain, the following areas are distinguished:

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• central;
• northern;
• southern.

The central part is represented by a strip of alternating hills and lowlands of considerable size.

The complete absence or insignificance of such natural manifestations as earthquakes or volcanism can rightly be considered features that are characteristic of these territories.

The northern region is represented by low plains with slight elevations. These are the watersheds of two oceans.

The southern plains are occupied by lowlands.

within the borders Russian territory only the Caspian lowland can be noted.

Rice. 2. Caspian lowland on the map.

The relief of the East European Plain is represented by a platform type. This is due to tectonic specificity, which is characterized by heterogeneity of the structure. The largest forms of uplands and lowlands, common on a flat plane, owe their appearance to tectonic processes.

The Russian Plain is one of the largest plains in the world in terms of area. Among all the plains of Russia, only she goes to two oceans.

Glaciers have had a significant impact on the formation of the flat relief. They participated in the creation of moraine and outwash plains.

Minerals

The natural resources of the territory are mostly represented by the largest deposits of iron ore, among which is the Kursk magnetic anomaly.

Rice. 3. Kursk magnetic anomaly on the map.

The reserves of the deposit correspond to 57.3% of all ore reserves of the state. The ore rock occurs in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The nature of the occurrence of minerals makes it possible to carry out open-pit mining, which has a significant impact on the nature of the black earth zone of the Russian Plain.

Chemical raw materials on the Russian Plain are represented by phosphorites, potash and rock salts. The construction orientation of fossils is expressed by chalk formations, marl, cement and fine-grained sands.

In the porcelain and faience industry, kaolin clays are used. Basically, they are mined in the Tver and Moscow regions.

On the territory of the plain there are deposits of black and brown coals.

What have we learned?

We learned what natural resources the area under consideration is rich in. We found out what percentage of the iron ore reserves located in the Kursk magnetic anomaly falls on the state. They clarified what was the main reason in the process of relief formation of the East European Plain. We learned which of the flat territories goes directly to two oceans.

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September 13, 2012

The most valuable thing that any country owns is its territory together with the population living there. As for our country, as you know, it occupies 1/6 of the land surface, being the largest state in the world. The territory on which our people live is called the East European Plain and is the second largest after the Amazonian, located in South America. In the northwestern part, our plain is limited by the Scandinavian mountains, and from the north it is washed by the waters of the Barents and White Seas. As for the southwestern part, here the Sudetenland of the Czech Republic, as well as the mountains of Central Europe, serve as the border. From the south it is bounded by the waters of Azov. Black and Caspian Seas. In the east, the Russian Plain, as it is often called in our country, is closed by the Ural Mountains. In general, the East European Plain has its length from north to south about 2.8 thousand kilometers, and from east to west - about 1.2 thousand.

Most of its territory is dominated by a relief of a gently sloping plain type, where most of the natural resources our state. It is also a great advantage for all of us that our plain is almost completely aligned with the East European platform, as a result of which significant natural disasters and catastrophes associated with earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and so on are extremely rare. In some places there are small hills and plateaus, the height of which can reach up to 1000 meters in some places. It is noteworthy that during the last ice age, the Baltic Shield was the center of glaciation, as evidenced by some of the preserved landforms that bear the imprint of glaciation.

The East European Plain has its own platform deposits, which lie horizontally, making up the highlands and lowlands that form the relief of the common surface. It is noteworthy that in some places such a folded foundation comes to the surface, sometimes forming ridges and hills. Examples of such places are the Timan Ridge and the Central Russian Upland, while in other places the relief is mostly calm. On average, the height of the plain above sea level is 170 meters, but there are also places where the lowlands are at a level of 30-40 meters below sea level. Many coastal lowlands many thousands of years ago partially went under the water of the washed seas, as a result of which, as a result of water erosion, the relief was slightly corrected. Examples of such lowlands are the Caspian and Black Sea, where one can observe a characteristic slope towards the oceans.

The East European Plain is rich in full-flowing rivers that belong to the basins of two oceans: the Atlantic (Neva and Western Dvina) and the Arctic (Pechora, Northern Dvina). Other rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, which has no connection with the world's oceans, having a closed water area. Here flows not only the most famous, but also the longest river in Europe, sung in songs - the Volga.

The minerals of the East European Plain are rich in oil and coal, but as a result of intensive mining, these natural resources are already being gradually depleted. The main part of the country's energy resources falls on the Siberian zone, which has huge oil deposits in the world. If we talk about the natural zones of this plain, then most of it is located in the temperate climate zone, in which there are both coniferous and mixed forests. In general, the forest reserves on the territory of the Russian plain are also quite extensive.

Summing up all the above, it should be said that geographical position The East European Plain is very profitable, since it has the most favorable conditions for human habitation. The absence of natural disasters, as well as strong heat, with a good climate, led to the emergence of centers of civilizational and cultural development modern people. It is for this reason that we should be grateful to nature for endowing our country with such wonderful living conditions and rich natural resources.

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