Russian lowland on the map. East European Plain, geographical location. Specially protected natural areas

The article contains information that gives a complete picture of the East European Plain, its topography and minerals. Indicates the states that are located in this territory. Allows you to accurately determine geographical position plains and points to the factors that influenced climatic features.

The East European Plain

The East European Plain is one of the largest territorial units on the planet. Its area exceeds 4 million km. sq.

On a flat plane, in whole or in part, there are such states as:

Russian Federation;
Finland;
Estonia;
Latvia;
Lithuania;
Republic of Belarus;
Poland;
Germany;
Ukraine;
Moldova;
Kazakhstan.

Rice. 1. East European Plain on the map.

Type of geological structure platform was formed under the influence of shields and folded belts.

It occupies the second position in the ranking of magnitudes after the Amazonian plain. The plain is localized in the eastern part of Europe. Due to the fact that its main part is localized within the borders of Russia, the East European Plain is also called Russian. The Russian plain is washed by the waters of the seas:

Minerals of the East European Plain

There is a significant accumulation of Russian minerals here.

Natural resources that lie in the bowels of the East European Plain:

iron ore;
coal;
Uranus;
non-ferrous metal ores;
oil;

Monuments of nature - a protected area in which there are unique objects of animate or inanimate nature.

The main monuments of the East European Plain: Lake Seliger, Kivach Waterfall, Kizhi Museum-Reserve.

Rice. 3. Kizhi Museum-Reserve on the map.

A large part of the territory is reserved for agricultural land. Russian regions on the territory of the plain are actively using its potential and exploiting water and land resources to the maximum. However, this is not always good. The territory is highly urbanized and significantly altered by man.

The level of pollution of the mass of rivers and lakes has reached a critical level. This is especially noticeable in the center and south of the plain.

Security measures are caused by uncontrolled human activities, which are today the main source of environmental problems.

The plain almost absolutely corresponds to the boundaries of the East European Platform.

This explains the flat shape of the relief. Small hill-like formations within the East European Plain arose as a result of faults and other processes of a tectonic nature. This suggests that the plain has a tectonic structure.

Glaciation contributed to the formation of the flat relief.

The water arteries of the plain are fed with snow, which occurs during the spring flood. Abundant northern rivers flow into the White, Barents, Baltic Seas, and occupy 37.5% of the entire area of the plain. The runoff of inland waters is due to the seasonal nature of the distribution, which occurs relatively evenly. In the summer season, the rivers do not undergo sharp shallowing.

What have we learned?

We found out what is the total area of \u200b\u200bthe territory of the East European Plain. We learned in which areas the greatest water pollution as a result of human activities was noted. We learned what natural monuments are located on the territory of the plain. Get an idea of the zonality of soils.

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Essay on geography

Russian or East European Plain: description, size and historical details.

2) Hydrography

4) Flora and fauna

III. History of relief formation and climate fluctuations in Eastern Europe.

IV. Used Books.

Dimensions.

A significant part of the European part of Russia is located on one of the largest plains in the world - the East European (Russian), the length of which from west to east, from the borders of the country to the Urals, reaches 1600 km, and from north to south, from the seas of the Arctic Ocean to Caucasus mountains and the Caspian Sea - 2400 km; the amplitude of recent tectonic movements is low here; the main features of the relief were formed in the late Cenozoic. Most of the territory of the East European Plain lies below 200 m above sea level; highest point- 343 m - located on the Valdai Hills. Nevertheless, 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 (the latter reaches a height of 314 m); moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial lowlands are common. 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. To the south, the East European Plain extends up to the spurs of the Greater Caucasus. The vast Kuban and Kuma lowlands are separated by the Stavropol Upland, where heights from 300 to 600 m predominate (in the upper reaches of the Kuma there is also a group of island mountains up to 1401 m high). Human economic activity has greatly changed the relief of the East European Plain

Description.

1) Relief .

Almost the entire length is dominated by a gently sloping plain relief.

The East European Plain almost completely coincides with the East European Platform. This circumstance explains its flat relief, as well as the absence or insignificance of manifestations of such natural phenomena as earthquakes and volcanism. Large uplands and lowlands arose as a result of tectonic movements, including along faults. The height of some hills and plateaus reaches 600-1000 meters.

On the territory of the Russian Plain, platform deposits occur almost horizontally, but their thickness in some places exceeds 20 km. Where the folded foundation protrudes to the surface, elevations and ridges are formed (for example, the Donetsk and Timan ridges). On average, the height of the Russian Plain is about 170 meters above sea level. The lowest areas are on the Caspian coast (its level is about 26 meters below the level of the World Ocean).

2) Hydrography.

Hydrographically, the territory of the East European Plain is divided into two parts. Most of them have a drain into the ocean. The northern rivers (Mezen, Onega, Severnaya, Dvina, Pechora) belong to the Arctic basin, the western and southern - to the basin Atlantic Oceans. The latter include rivers flowing into the Baltic (Neva, Western Dvina, Neman, Vistula, rivers of Sweden and Finland), Black (Dnepr, Southern Bug, Dniester) and Azov (Don) seas. The rivers of the Volga, Ural and some other basins flow into the Caspian Sea, which has lost its connection with the World Ocean.

3) Climate.

Moderate continental climate. It is characterized by moderately cold winters and warm summers with an average July temperature of +12 degrees C (off the coast of the Barents Sea) to +24 degrees C in the southeast (on the Caspian lowland). The average January temperatures vary from -8 degrees C in the west of the territory (along the border with the territory of Belarus) to -16 degrees C in the Cis-Urals. Precipitation falls throughout the year from 800 mm in the west to 400 mm in the southeast. In the temperate continental climate, moisture changes from excessive in the north and northwest to insufficient in the east and southeast. This is reflected in the change of natural zones from the taiga to the steppe.

From north to south, the East European Plain, also known as the Russian Plain, is clad in succession in the Arctic tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and forests of broadleaf tobacco, field (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea), as changes in vegetation reflect changes in climate. Siberia maintains a similar sequence, but is largely taiga. Russia has the largest forest reserves in the world, known as "lungs of Europe", second only to the Amazon Rainforest in quantity carbon dioxide it absorbs. There are 266 mammal species and 780 bird species in Russia. A total of 415 animal species have been included in theRed Directory Russian Federation for 1997 and are now protected.

History of relief formation and climate fluctuations in Eastern Europe.

The relief of Eastern Europe, modern plains, lowlands and mountains were formed as a result of a complex and long geological development. The most ancient structure of crystalline rocks, representing the geological basis of Eastern Europe, is the Russian Platform, in the rigid foundation of which mining and educational processes stopped relatively early.

This, as well as the activity of glaciers, explains the predominance of the flat landscape. In the same place where the platform was in contact with others, there were movable areas earth's crust. Its vertical uplifts and subsidences, together with magmatic processes, led to the formation of folds and active manifestations of volcanism. The end result of this process was the formation of the mountainous regions of Eastern Europe - the Urals, the Caucasus, the Carpathians.

Of great importance in the formation of the most important features physical geography Eastern Europe had the last stage of geological history - the Quaternary period. It is also called an anthropogen (Greek antropos - “man” and genos - “birth”), that is, the time of the appearance and development of man, and the beginning is dated from 1 million to 600 thousand years ago. In the field of geological, natural - this is the period continental glaciations. It was during the ice age that varieties of soils appeared, the movement of glaciers led to the creation modern relief and the formation of coastlines.

Moraine ridges, boulder clays, sands and other glacial deposits cover the main part of the northern half of the plain. The last significant changes in the natural environment of Eastern Europe date back to the 12th–10th millennium BC. e. This is the time of the so-called Valdai glaciation, the southern border of which ran approximately along the Vilnius-Vitebsk-Valdai-Vologda line. It was after him that the natural and climatic conditions, the main character of which has been preserved to our time. The postglacial period, which began 8–10 thousand years ago, is a time of global warming.

It is characterized by a retreat from Europe to the north and the melting of the Scandinavian ice sheet, the rise of the earth's crust freed from the ice load (this process was uneven in time and space), and a slow rise in the level of the World Ocean. The evolution of one of the huge lakes that existed at the edge of the glacier over several millennia led to the emergence of the Baltic Sea, which acquired its modern form about 4.5 thousand years ago. By this time, the warm interval (the so-called "climatic optimum") ended, the average annual air temperature dropped, and humidity, on the contrary, increased and the modern type of climate was formed.

In the historical period (for Eastern Europe, more or less detailed information from written sources is available from the 5th century BC), the most important of the natural conditions - relief and climate - did not undergo global changes. This is especially true for relief. Some local changes in it are associated with ongoing mining and educational processes. The coastal regions of the Crimean Peninsula and the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus were subject to certain fluctuations, as a result of which part of the ancient cities located in this region ended up on seabed. Quite significant changes have taken place and are taking place with the northern shores of the Caspian Sea, which are known as the transgression and regression of the Caspian, but they are more related to climate change. In general, the secondary elements of the physical and geographical landscape changed - the outlines and position of coastlines, river flows, sand boundaries, etc.

The climate is subject to some periodic fluctuations, which, however, do not lead to major shifts in physical geography and the distribution of vegetation. So, at the beginning of the Iron Age (the turn of the II-I millennium BC) and later, the climate was in general terms almost the same as now, but cooler and more humid. Forests along the river valleys of the south of the Russian Plain descended to the banks of the Black and Seas of Azov. The floodplains of the lower Dnieper were covered with thick forest on both banks of the river. To date, these forests have been destroyed by man, and have not disappeared due to some catastrophic climate change.

The early Middle Ages (the end of the 1st - the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD) had a "small climatic optimum" - a period of significant warming in Western Europe and the North Atlantic. It is no coincidence that this time is considered the "Viking Age": warming made possible in the 9th-11th centuries. long voyages across the North Atlantic and the discovery of Iceland, Greenland and North America. However, since the 14th century cooling begins in Western Europe and the XV-XIX centuries. often defined as the "Little Ice Age" - this is the time of the onset of mountain glaciers, cooling of waters, severe winters. new period warming started in late XIX century, and in the twentieth century. it has become massive.

The Russian Plain is otherwise called the East European Plain. This is its physical and geographical name. The total area of this land area is 4 million km2. Larger is only the Amazonian lowland.

The East European Plain occupies a significant part of the territory of Russia. It starts off the coast of the Baltic Sea and ends near Ural mountains. From the north and from the south, the plain is immediately limited by 2 seas. In the first case, these are the Barents and White Seas, in the second, the Caspian and Azov. From different sides the plain is limited by mountain ranges. The situation is this:

Northwestern border - Scandinavian mountains;
Western and southwestern borders - the mountains of Central Europe and the Carpathians;
Southern border - the Caucasus Mountains;
The eastern border is the Ural Mountains.

In addition, Crimea is located on the territory of the Russian Plain. In this case, the northern one from the foothills of the Crimean Mountains acts as a border.

Scientists attributed the East European Plain to the rank of physiographic countries due to the fact that it is characterized by the following features:

Placement on one of the plates of the platform of the same name, which, unlike the others, is slightly elevated;
Being in the temperate climate zone, as well as a small amount of precipitation. This is a consequence of the influence of two oceans, the first of which is the Atlantic, the second is the Arctic;
The presence of a clear natural zonality, which is explained by the flatness of the relief.

The described plain is divided into two other plains, namely:

Socle-denudation, occupying the Baltic crystalline shield;
East European, located on two plates at once: Scythian and Russian.

The crystalline shield has a unique relief. It was formed during a continental denudation that lasted more than one thousand years. Certain features were obtained by relief as a result of tectonic movements that occurred in recent times. As for the past, in the Quaternary period, at the site of the modern Baltic crystalline shield, there was a center of the glacier. It is for this reason that the local relief is glacial.

Platform deposits, which are part of the Russian Plain, are a kind of cover that is in a horizontal position. Thanks to them, the formation of two types of uplands and lowlands occurred. The first of them are reservoir-denudation, and the second are accumulative. In some areas of the plain there are ledges of a folded basement. They are represented by socle-denudation hills and ridges: Donetsk, Timan, etc.

If we take into account the average indicator, then the height of the East European Plain above sea level is 170 meters. This indicator is the lowest on the coast of the Caspian Sea, and the highest - on the hills. For example, the Podolsk Upland is located 417 meters above sea level.

Settlement of the East European Plain

Some scientists are of the opinion that Eastern Europe was inhabited by Slavs, but some researchers are convinced of the opposite. It is known for certain that about 30 thousand years BC Cro-Magnons settled on the Russian Plain. Outwardly, they slightly resembled Caucasians, and over time they became similar to modern people. The process of adaptation of the Cro-Magnons proceeded in the conditions of the glacier. In the 10th millennium BC, the climate became milder, so the descendants of the Cro-Magnons, called Indo-Europeans, began to explore the territories located in the southeast of modern Europe. Where they were before is unknown, but there is reliable evidence that the settlement of this territory by the Indo-Europeans occurred 6 thousand years before our era.

The first Slavs appeared on European territory much later than the Indo-Europeans. Historians claim that their active resettlement falls on the 5th-6th centuries AD. For example, the Balkan Peninsula and the territories adjacent to it were occupied by the southern Slavs. Western Slavs moved in a direction from north to west. Many of them became the ancestors of modern Germans and Poles. Some settled on the coast of the Baltic Sea, while others settled in the Czech Republic. At the same time, serious changes took place in primitive society. In particular, the community became obsolete, the tribal hierarchy faded into the background, and associations began to replace them, which became the first states.

The Slavs, without apparent difficulties, settled the eastern lands of a large territory called Europe. At first, their relations with each other were based on the primitive communal system, and then on the tribal system. The number of settlers was small, so their tribes did not lack free lands.

In the process of settlement, the assimilation of the Slavs with representatives of the Finno-Ugric tribes took place. Their tribal unions are considered the first similarities of states. In parallel with this, the climate of Europe became warmer. This led to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, but at the same time an important role in economic activity primitive people continued to play fishing and hunting.

A favorable combination of circumstances for the colonists explains that the Eastern Slavs became the largest group of peoples, including Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. If in the early Middle Ages the settlement of the Slavs only originates, but in the VIII century its "flourishing" falls. Simply put, it was at this time that the Slavic tribes were able to take a dominant position. Their neighbors were representatives of other nations. This has its pros and cons.

Speaking about the resettlement of the Slavs, it should be noted that main feature given historical process is uneven. First, the territories that were located near the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” were developed, and only then the eastern, western and southwestern lands were colonized.

The settlement of the Slavs on the territory of the Russian Plain has a number of features. Among them it is necessary to highlight:

Significant influence of climate on the duration of colonization;
Dependence of population density on natural and climatic conditions. This means that the southern territories were more densely populated than the northern ones;
Absence of military conflicts caused by lack of land;
Imposing tribute on other peoples;
Complete assimilation of representatives of small tribes.

After the Slavic tribes occupied the East European Plain, they began to develop new types of economic activity, made adjustments to the existing social system and created the prerequisites for the creation of the first states.

Modern exploration of the East European Plain

Many well-known scientists were engaged in the study of the East European Plain. In particular, a huge contribution to the development of science was made by the mineralogist V.M. Severgin.

In the early spring of 1803, Severgin was studying the Baltic. While doing research, he noticed that in the southwest direction from Lake Peipsi the terrain becomes more hilly. Subsequently, Vasily Mikhailovich made a multi-stage transition. First, he went from the Gauja River to the Neman, and then to the Bug. This allowed him to establish that the area is either hilly or elevated. Realizing that such an alternation is a regularity, Severgin accurately determined its direction, going from the southwest to the northeast.

The territory of Polissya was studied by scientists no less closely. In particular, numerous studies began after the lands on the right bank of the Dnieper “opened up”, which led to a decrease in the number of meadows. So, in 1873 the Western Expedition was organized. A group of scientists led by topographer I.I. Zhilinsky planned to study the features of local swamps and determine the best ways to drain them. Over time, the expedition members were able to map Polissya, studied the land with a total area of more than 100 thousand km2 and measured about 600 heights. The information received by Zhilinsky allowed A.A. Tillo to continue the undertakings of a colleague. This led to the appearance of the hypsometric map. It served as a clear proof that Polissya is a plain with raised borders. In addition, it was found that the region is rich in rivers and lakes. There are about 500 of the first here, and 300 of the second. The total length of both of them exceeds 9 thousand kilometers.

Later, G.I. Tanfiliev. He established that the destruction of the swamps would not cause the shallowing of the Dnieper. P.A. also came to the same conclusion. Tutkovsky. The same scientist finalized the map created by Tillo by adding several hills to it, among which the Ovruch ridge should be highlighted.

E.P. Kovalevsky, being an engineer at one of the factories in Luhansk, devoted himself to the study of the Donetsk Ridge. He conducted a lot of research and determined that the ridge is a pool of enormous size. Later, Kovalevsky was recognized as the discoverer of Donbass, because. it was he who created his first geological map and suggested that the region is rich in minerals.

In 1840, the famous geologist R. Murchison came to Russia. Together with domestic scientists, he explored the coast of the White Sea. As a result of the work carried out, many rivers and hills were studied, which were then mapped.

The study of the southern part of the Russian Plain was carried out by V.V. Dokuchaev, who was later recognized as the "father" of domestic soil science. This scientist found that a part of Eastern Europe is occupied by a unique zone, which is a mixture of black soil and steppe. In addition, in 1900, Dokuchaev compiled a map on which he divided the plain into 5 natural zones.

Over time, the interest of scientists in the East European Plain has not weakened. This led to the organization of many expeditions and various studies. Both those and others made it possible to make many scientific discoveries, as well as create new maps.

Geographical position of the East European Plain

The physical and geographical name of the Russian Plain is East European. The plain occupies about $4 million sq. km. and is the second largest in the world after the Amazonian lowland. Within Russia, the plain stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. In the north, its border starts from the shores of the Barents and White Seas to the shores of the Azov and Caspian Seas in the south. From the northwest, the Russian Plain is bordered by the Scandinavian Mountains, in the west and southwest by the mountains of Central Europe and the Carpathians, in the south by the Caucasus Mountains and in the east by the Ural Mountains. Within Crimea, the border of the Russian Plain runs along the northern foot of the Crimean Mountains.

The following features defined the plain as a physiographic country:

The location of a slightly elevated plain on the slab of the ancient East European Platform;
Moderate and insufficiently humid climate, which is largely formed under the influence of the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean;
The flatness of the relief had an impact on a clearly defined natural zonality.

Within the plain, two unequal parts stand out:

Socle-denudation plain on the Baltic crystalline shield;
The East European Plain proper with layered erosion-denudation and accumulative relief on the Russian and Scythian plates.

Relief crystal shield is the result of prolonged continental denudation. Tectonic movements of recent times have already had a direct impact on the relief. In the Quaternary period, the territory occupied by the Baltic crystalline shield was the center of glaciation, therefore, fresh forms of glacial relief are common here.

A powerful cover of platform deposits within actually East European Plain, lies almost horizontally. As a result, accumulative and layer-denudation lowlands and uplands were formed. The folded foundation protruding to the surface in some places formed socle-denudation hills and ridges - the Timan ridge, the Donetsk ridge, etc.

The East European Plain has an average height of about $170$ m above sea level. On the coast of the Caspian Sea, the heights will be the smallest, because the level of the Caspian Sea itself is $ 27.6 $ m below the level of the World Ocean. Elevations rise to $ 300 $ - $ 350 $ m above sea level, for example, the Podolsk Upland, whose height is $ 471 $ m.

Settlement of the East European Plain

The Eastern Slavs, according to a number of opinions, were the first to settle Eastern Europe, but this opinion, others believe, is erroneous. On this territory for the first time in the $ 30 millennium BC. Cro-Magnons appeared. To some extent, they were similar to modern representatives of the Caucasian race, and over time, their appearance became closer to characteristic features person. These events took place in a harsh winter. By the $X$ millennium, the climate in Eastern Europe was no longer so severe, and the first Indo-Europeans gradually began to appear on the territory of South-Eastern Europe. No one can say exactly where they were until that moment, but it is known that in the east of Europe they firmly settled in the $VI$-th millennium BC. e. and occupied a significant part of it.

Remark 1

The settlement by the Slavs of Eastern Europe occurred much later than the appearance of ancient people on it.

The peak of the settlement of the Slavs in Europe is considered $ V$-$VI$ centuries. new era and under the pressure of migration in the same period, they are divided into eastern, southern and western.

South Slavs settled in the Balkans and nearby territories. The tribal community ceases to exist, and the first similarities of states appear.

Simultaneously, settlement Western Slavs, which had a northwestern direction from the Vistula to the Elbe. Some of them, according to archaeological data, ended up in the Baltics. On the territory of modern Czech Republic in the $VII$ c. the first state appeared.

AT Eastern Europe the resettlement of the Slavs took place without major problems. In ancient times, they had a primitive communal system, and later a tribal one. Due to the small population, there was enough land for everyone. Within Eastern Europe, the Slavs assimilated with the Finno-Ugric tribes and began to form tribal unions. These were the first state formations. In connection with climate warming, agriculture, cattle breeding, hunting and fishing are developing. Towards the Slavs was nature itself. East Slavs gradually became the most numerous group of Slavic peoples - these are Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians. The East European Plain began to be settled by the Slavs in the early Middle Ages, and by the $VIII$ c. they already dominated it. On the plain, the Eastern Slavs settled in the neighborhood with other peoples, which was both positive and negative. negative traits. The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs took place over half a millennium and proceeded very unevenly. On the initial stage there was land development along the path, which is called " from Varangians to Greeks". In a later period, the Slavs advanced to the east, west and southwest.

The colonization of the East European Plain by the Slavs had its own characteristics:

The process was slow due to the severity of the climate;
Different population densities in the colonized territories. The reason is the same - natural and climatic conditions, soil fertility. Naturally, there were few people in the north of the plain, and in the south of the plain, where conditions are favorable, there were much more settlers;
Since there was a lot of land, there were no confrontations with other peoples during the settlement;
Slavs imposed tribute on neighboring tribes;
Small peoples "merged" with the Slavs, adopting their culture, language, customs, customs, way of life.

Remark 2

In the life of the Slavic people, who settled on the territory of the East European Plain, began new stage associated with the rapid development of the economy, a change in the life system and way of life, the emergence of prerequisites for the formation of statehood.

Modern exploration of the East European Plain

After the settlement and settlement of the East European Plain by the Eastern Slavs, with the beginning of the development of the economy, the question of its study arose. Prominent people took part in the study of the plain scientists of the country, among which the name of the mineralogist V. M. Severgin can be mentioned.

studying the Baltics spring $1803$ V.M. Severgin drew attention to the fact that to the south-west of Lake Peipus, the character of the terrain becomes very hilly. To test his thoughts, he walked along the $24$ meridian from the mouth of the Gauja River to the Neman River and reached the Bug River, again noting many hills and sandy elevated fields. Similar "fields" were found in the upper reaches of the Ptich and Svisloch rivers. As a result of these works, in the west of the East European Plain, for the first time, an alternation of low-lying spaces and elevated "fields" was noted with the correct indication of their directions - from the southwest to the northeast.

Detailed study Polissya was caused by the reduction of meadow spaces due to plowing of land on the right bank of the Dnieper. For this purpose, in $1873$, the Western Expedition was created to drain the swamps. At the head of this expedition was the military topographer I. I. Zhilinsky. Researchers for $25$ summer period covered about $100$ thousand sq. km. territory of Polissya, $600$ of height measurements were made, a map of the region was compiled. Based on the materials collected by I.I. Zhilinsky, the work was continued by A.A. Tillo. The hypsometric map he created showed that Polissya was a vast plain with raised edges. The results of the expedition were $300$ lakes and $500$ rivers of Polesye mapped with a total length of $9$ thousand km. A great contribution to the study of Polissya was made by the geographer G.I. Tanfiliev, who concluded that the drainage of the Polissya swamps would not lead to the shallowing of the Dnieper and P.A. Tutkovsky. He identified and mapped $5$ of uplands in the swampy areas of Polissya, including the Ovruch Ridge, from which the right tributaries of the lower Pripyat originate.

By studying Donetsk Ridge the young engineer of the Lugansk foundry, E.P. Kovalevsky, who found out that this ridge is geologically a huge basin. Kovalevsky became the discoverer of the Donbass and its first explorer, who compiled a geological map of this basin. It was he who recommended to engage in the search and exploration of ore deposits here.

In $1840$, a master of field geology R. Murchison was invited to Russia to study the natural resources of the country. Together with Russian scientists, a site was surveyed southern coast of the White Sea. In the course of the work carried out, rivers and uplands in the central part of the East European Plain were studied, hypsometric and geological maps areas where the features of the structure of the Russian platform were clearly visible.

On the south of the East European Plain the founder of scientific soil science V.V. Dokuchaev. In $1883$, while studying chernozem, he came to the conclusion that there is a special chernozem-steppe zone in Eastern Europe. On the map compiled in $1900 by V.V. Dokuchaev allocates $5$ of the main natural zones on the territory of the plain.

In subsequent years, on the territory of the East European Plain and beyond, numerous scientific work according to her research, new scientific discoveries new maps were made.

1. What are the features of the geographical position of the Russian and West Siberian plains? What natural regions do they border on?

The Russian Plain is 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. In the northwest it is bounded by the Scandinavian mountains, in the southwest by the Sudetenland and other mountains central Europe, in the southeast - the Caucasus, and in the west, the Vistula River serves as a conditional border of the plain. Is one of the largest plains the globe. 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. Area - over 3 million square meters. km.

In the east, the Russian Plain borders on the Ural Mountains, in the south - on the North Caucasus.

The West Siberian Plain is located in the north of Asia, it occupies the entire western part of Siberia from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Central Siberian Plateau in the east. In the north it is bounded by the coast of the Kara Sea, in the south it extends to the Kazakh hills, in the southeast the West Siberian Plain, gradually rising, is replaced by the foothills of Altai, Salair, Kuznetsk Altai and Mountain Shoria. The plain has the shape of a trapezoid narrowing to the north: the distance from its southern border to the northern reaches almost 2500 km, the width is from 800 to 1900 km, and the area is 2.6 million square meters. km.

In the west, the West Siberian Plain borders on the Ural Mountains, in the southeast - on the mountains of Southern Siberia, in the east - on Northeast Siberia.

2. Establish a correspondence between the plain and its natural features.

1. Russian.

2. West Siberian.

A. Has a flat low-lying terrain.

B. A young platform lies at the base of the plain.

B. An area of about 3 million square meters km.

G. Main natural area- taiga.

D. largest river- Volga.

E. The largest river is the Ob.

2 - A, B, D, F

3. What is common and what are the differences in the relief of the great plains of Russia?

Comparable in area.

Both plains stretched from the seas of the Arctic Ocean to the southern borders of the country.

They are located on the plates of large platforms, which are characterized by slow tectonic movements over a long geological time. This determines their flat relief.

Most of both great plains lie in the temperate climate zone.

The northern parts of both regions are located in the subarctic zone.

Differences:

The Russian plain goes to two oceans: the Arctic and the Atlantic.

The age of the crystalline basement of these platforms is different: at the base of the East European Plain there is an ancient platform. At the base of the West Siberian Plain is a young platform.

The relief of the East European Plain is more complex than that of the West Siberian Plain.

The relief of the West Siberian Plain is more swampy than that of the Russian Plain.

The climate of the Russian Plain is predominantly temperate continental, the West Siberian - continental.

The northern islands and the coast of the Kara Sea in Western Siberia(Yamal and Gydansky peninsulas) - in the Arctic climatic zone.

The climate of the Arctic in the European sector (despite the more northerly position of its continental part) is much milder than in Western Siberia.

Common on the Russian Plain broadleaf forests. The main natural zone of Western Siberia is the dark coniferous taiga.

4. Choose the correct statements.

a) The Sayan mountains separate the Russian and West Siberian plains.

b) The climate of the Russian Plain is predominantly temperate continental.

c) Permafrost is widespread in the northern part of the West Siberian Plain.

d) Development natural resources The West Siberian Plain is hampered by swampy areas.

Answer: b, c, d

5. Read a fragment of I. Frolov's poem. What kind of plain are we talking about?

Plain. Plain.

Neither yar, nor fall.

Plains - to the north,

Plains to the south.

As if mountainous

smoothed out the earth

Some kind of giant iron.

Answer: we are talking about the West Siberian Plain.

8. Based on the text of the paragraph, additional literature and geographical maps make a figurative story on behalf of an eyewitness on the topic “I am flying over the Russian (West Siberian) plain” (optional).

“I am flying over the Russian Plain. There are many plowed lands - after all, the most fertile soils are located here and there are excellent climatic conditions for farming. Agriculture, especially if you fly over the southern part of the East European Plain. If you fly over the northern part, you will see the taiga - coniferous forests. The relief is flat, occasionally there will be visible ridges (hills). But wherever the flight is, in whatever part of the plain we would not fly, everywhere we will see many cities and villages - after all, this is the most densely populated region of the country.