The highest point in Eurasia. Eurasia mainland. Such is the beautiful world of the mountains of Eurasia. Thank you for your attention

Education

The continent of Eurasia has a rather complex structure. Its relief is boundless plains and huge mountain belts. It is this factor, or rather, the peculiarity of the location, that distinguishes it from other continents. The mountains in Eurasia are located in the depths of the mainland, thereby forming a kind of place for the union of the two largest belts - the Pacific and the Albian-Himalayan.

The relief of the mainland is quite diverse, since its formation took place over several eras. Therefore, studying the mountains, one can distinguish significant differences in shape and height. The Himalayas, Caucasian, Crimean, Carpathians are considered relatively young. They mostly have sharp peaks and steep slopes. Their height and power amaze with their magnificence.

Getting to know the mainland

Eurasia by area is the largest continent on planet Earth. It occupies about 54 million sq. km. The continent is mainly located in the northern hemisphere, and only some islands are located in the southern. The mainland unites two significant parts of the world: Europe and Asia. The mountains of Eurasia, in particular the Urals, as well as the Ural, Emba, Manych, Kuma, Black and Caspian Seas rivers act as the boundary between them.

It is worth noting that this mainland is the only one that is washed by all four oceans:

North Arctic in the north.
Indian in the south.
Quiet in the east.
Atlantic in the west.

Relief features

Eurasia is a continent with a varied relief. It has the largest mountains and plains in the world. It is also worth noting that it is distinguished from other continents by a height of 850 m. Some scientists argue that the ice cover of Antarctica is much larger. If you count the bedrock, then its indicators are the smallest.

There are several active volcanoes on the territory of Eurasia, they are located in the Kamchatka region, Southeast Asia, and Iceland. The height of the continent is mainly due to the presence of mountain systems. They, stretching across the mainland, occupy 60% of its land.

The main and highest mountains of Eurasia

The Tien Shan, whose height is 3 thousand meters, means "celestial body" in translation.
The Hindu Kush is part of the Alpine-Himalayan system, the height of the peaks is from 4 thousand meters to 6 thousand meters.
Karakorum, the main peak - Dapsang, reaches 8.5 thousand meters.
The Caucasian mountain system in translation means "snow-white mountain", the highest peak is Elbrus, its height is 5.6 thousand meters.
The Alps are a large mountain belt, Mont Blanc reaches almost 5 thousand meters.
The Himalayas, the highest point is Mount Chomolungma, or Everest (more than 8.8 thousand m).

Himalayan mountain system: description

The Himalayas are recognized as the highest mountain belt on the entire planet Earth. These mountains on the mainland of Eurasia are located between the Indo-Ghana Plain and the Tibetan Plateau. Their peaks are always covered with snow. It was this factor that influenced the name of the mountain system, translated from the Scandinavian language, it means "abode of snows." The length of the Himalayas reaches 3 thousand km, and its width is about 400 km. The total area of the mountain system is 650 thousand km. Mostly peaks are 6 thousand meters high, but there are 10 ridges that exceed the mark of 8 thousand meters. It is this system that belongs to the famous Mount Everest, rising almost 9 thousand meters above sea level.

Climatic conditions

The southern slopes of the Himalayas are under the influence of monsoon winds. But in the north, these mountains of Eurasia fall into the continental climatic zone, cold temperatures and low rainfall prevail here. Summer time in the southern part is the rainy season, they are quite plentiful. Snow in the Himalayas lies all year round, high in the mountains the temperature can vary from -25 to -400C. Here you can constantly observe heavy hurricanes, the speed of which sometimes reaches 150 km/h. The possibility of a quick change in weather cannot be ruled out.

Flora

Vegetation in the Himalayas is distributed in tiers. Deciduous and coniferous forests and meadows are located here. The world of evergreen tropical plants is also quite widely represented. In the north, the flora is poorer, semi-deserts and steppes predominate. At an altitude of 2 km, you can find trees such as maples, oaks, chestnuts, and a little higher - cedars and pines. But already at around 4 km, mosses and shrubs grow to a greater extent. The mountains of Eurasia at an altitude of 5 km do not have vegetation, since at this level the zone of eternal snow begins.

Fauna

In the meadows you can meet Indian rhinoceros and snow leopard. In the tropical zone, the animal world is quite diverse. These are mammals, and insects, and reptiles. In the north, bears, antelopes, and musk deer are more common. And also in the steppe zone you can see grazing wild sheep, horses, goats.

The largest continent on the planet is Eurasia. Mountains (the most significant), lakes, seas are located here. Many different climatic zones combine on the continent: from hot southern to cold northern lands. An interesting fact is that it is in Eurasia that the lowest point of land (the Dead Sea) and the pole of the northern hemisphere with a critically cold temperature are located.

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Mountains of Eurasia

The surface of Eurasia has a complex structure. Vast plains and mountain belts are located differently than on other continents, where mountains are located on the outskirts of the continents. The mountains in Eurasia are also located in the depths of the mainland, they seem to connect two huge mountain belts.
One (Pacific) stretches from north to south to the east of the continent. It is formed at the boundaries of the lithospheric plates, where intensive movements of the earth's crust take place. Another mountain belt (Albian-Himalayan) is located in the south and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

The mountains of Eurasia arose in different eras of mountain building, therefore they have different heights and surface shapes. A long belt of young folded mountains on the planet stretches across the entire continent from west to east - the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Carpathians, the Crimean, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, the highlands of Tibet. They were formed in the last Alpine era of mountain building, therefore, as a rule, they are high and powerful, with steep slopes and sharp peaks.

The continent of Eurasia is much higher than the others. In the Himalayan mountains is the highest mountain in the world - Chomolungma (Everest) with a height of 8848 m. 14 peaks of Eurasia exceed the highest peaks of other continents.

According to the absolute height, the mountains are divided into three groups: low - up to 1000 m (Middle Urals, etc.), medium-altitude - 1000-3000 m (Carpathians, etc.), high - more than 3000 m (Tian - Shan, etc. .)

Low mountains are usually characterized by rounded peaks, gentle slopes, and relatively wide river valleys. For high mountains are typical peaks, usually covered with snow and glaciers, steep slopes, narrow valleys. Medium-altitude mountains have transitional external features. However, the specific appearance of mountains depends not only on height, but also on their origin, tectonic structure, material composition of rocks, various slope processes, location in the climatic zone, and other factors. The highest mountains are the Himalayas with the peak of Everest (Chomolungma) - 8848 m, etc., Karakoram with three peaks - eight-thousanders, the mountainous country of Pamir.

The Alps are the largest and highest mountain range in Europe. Their sharp ridges rise to a height of more than 4,000 m, and the highest peak of Mont Blanc reaches 4,807 m. The Pyrenees stretch in several parallel high ridges with snow-capped peaks on the Iberian Peninsula. The medium-high Apennines cross the entire Apennine Peninsula. They are composed of various rocks, therefore they have both pointed and rounded tops. The Carpathians are also medium high mountains. They are composed of rocks that are not very resistant to destruction (sandstones, shales, limestones), so their tops have rounded outlines, and the slopes are cut by river valleys. The ridges of the Crimean Mountains stretch in three parallel ridges along the southern coast of the Crimean peninsula.

The Caucasus Mountains are located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Among their ridges rise the cones of extinct volcanoes - Elbrus and Kazbek. Majestic and inaccessible Himalayas - The highest mountain system the globe. Their highest peak is Mount Chomolungma.

To the north lies the Tibet highlands - a combination of high flat plains (5,000 m high) and very high (up to 7,000 m) mountain ranges. It rose along with the Himalayas and reached a record height for the highlands.

The old mountains, located in the areas of ancient folding, are worse preserved. They are usually low and have rounded tops. So, the flat-topped medium-high Scandinavian mountains are badly destroyed. The Ural Mountains, stretched in a long belt from north to south, are just as destroyed and low.
The Tien Shan mountains are also old and have been destroyed over time. However, they gradually rose again. Now they are very high, their slopes are steep, and the tops are flat. Such mountains are called reborn.

On the site of ancient platforms and Baikal folded structures, blocky mountains arose. As a result of repeated reactivation and denudation over a long geological history, their ancient folded structure turned out to be cut to a great depth and is practically not expressed in modern relief. These mountains were reborn by raising blocks to different heights, they are called reborn. These are usually medium-altitude short ridges with smoothed peaks and steep slopes due to fault tectonics. For example, Western and Eastern Ghats in India; Eastern Sayan - on the Baikalids.

The sublatitudinal belt of the Eurasian mountains was formed on uneven-aged folded structures from Precambrian to Alpine - within two closed inland mobile belts: the epigeosynclinal - Alpine-Himalayan and the epiplatform Central Asian.

The Alpine-Himalayan belt of young mountains, which is mainly in the orogenic stage of development, includes the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Carpathians, the Caucasus, the Hindu Kush, the Western Pamirs, the Himalayas, and other mountains. They are characterized by a folded and vault-folded structure, high height, and significant vertical dissection. Due to their high altitude, they are characterized by a wide development of mountain glaciation and nival-glacial morphosculpture.
Within the belt of young mountains there are also high uplands. They usually correspond to median massifs involved in the general uplift. These are Asia Minor, Iranian, the southern part of Tibet, the volcanic Armenian and other highlands.

The names of the mountains in translation from different languages have approximately the same meaning. Compare: Alps - high mountains, Tien Shan - heavenly mountains, Pyrenees - peak, Carpathians - rock, Ural - hill; The Caucasus is a snow-white mountain, the Himalayas are the house of snows. The highest mountain of the planet - the peak of the Himalayas, located on the border of Nepal and China, the Nepalese call Sagarmatha - the Owner of the sky, and the Tibetans - Chomolungma - the Mother Goddess of the world. It's interesting that locals adored this peak, not even knowing that it is the highest on Earth. Humanity learned about this only in 1852, when the topographic service of India determined its height. They also gave her the name Everest in honor of George Everest, who led the topographic department.

The complex geological structure of the mainland has led to a significant diversity of its minerals. On the vast territory of Eurasia is all kinds of minerals that exist in nature. However, they are unevenly spaced. In their occurrence, the same regularity can be traced as on other continents - a connection with the relief and the conditions for its formation. So, deposits of various ores associated with igneous rocks, Therefore, they are located in places where they come to the earth's surface (on shields). The mountains are rich in ores of various metals.

Mountains of Eurasia

Eurasia- the largest continent on Earth. It occupies 1/3 of the entire land. The area of Eurasia is 53.4 million km2. It is formed by two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. It is customary to draw a conditional boundary between them along Ural mountains, maritime border passes through the Black and Azov Seas, as well as through the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The name Europa comes from the legend that the Phoenician king Agenor had a daughter, Europa. The almighty Zeus fell in love with her, turned into a bull and kidnapped her. He took her to the island of Crete. There Europe first set foot on the land of that part of the world, which since then bears her name. Asia - the designation of one of the provinces to the east of the Aegean Sea, the Scythian tribes to the Caspian were called so (Asians, Asians).

The coastline is very indented and forms a large number of peninsulas and bays. The largest peninsulas are Arabian and Hindustan. The mainland is washed by the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Indian oceans. The seas they form are deepest in the east and south of the mainland. Scientists and navigators from many countries took part in the study of the mainland. The studies of P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and N.M. Przhevalsky.

Relief of Eurasia complicated. The mainland is much higher than the others. In the Himalayan mountains is the highest mountain in the world - Chomolungma (Everest) with a height of 8848 m. 14 peaks of Eurasia exceed the highest peaks of other continents. The Eurasian plains are huge and stretch for thousands of kilometers, the largest of them are: East European, West Siberian, Central Siberian Plateau, Indo-Gangetic, East China. Unlike other continents, the central regions of Eurasia are occupied by mountains, while the plains occupy coastal areas. In Eurasia, there is also the deepest land depression: the Dead Sea coast is located 395 meters below sea level. Such a variety of relief can only be explained by the historical development of the continent, which is based on the Eurasian lithospheric plate.

It contains more ancient sections of the earth's crust - platforms, to which the plains are confined, and folding zones that connected these platforms, expanding the area of \u200b\u200bthe mainland.

On the southern borders of the Eurasian plate, where it junctions with other lithospheric plates, powerful mountain-building processes have taken place and are taking place, leading to the emergence of the highest mountain systems. This is accompanied by intense volcanic activity and earthquakes. One of them in 1923 destroyed the capital of Japan, Tokyo. More than 100 thousand people died.

The relief of the mainland was also influenced by the ancient glaciation that captured the north of the mainland. It changed the surface of the earth, smoothed the peaks, left numerous moraines. Eurasia is exceptionally rich in minerals of both sedimentary and magmatic origin.

Eurasia is a continent of the strongest contrasts. This is the only continent where all climatic zones are represented: from the Arctic to the equatorial. Over 1/4 of the territory in the north of the continent is occupied by permafrost, about the same number - sultry deserts and semi-deserts. In Eurasia, there is a cold pole - in the northeast of the mainland, on the Oymyakon highland. Here the air is cooled down to -70°С. At the same time, in the deserts of India, the temperature rises to + 53 ° C in summer. On the territory of Eurasia there is also one of the wettest places on earth - Cherrapunji. Many rivers flow through the territory of Eurasia, the length of many of them is about 5 thousand kilometers. These are the Yangtze, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena, the Amur, the Huang He, the Mekong. Most large lake in the world - the Caspian Sea - is also located on the territory of the mainland. The deepest lake, Baikal, is also located here. It contains 20% of the fresh water on Earth. Continental ice is an important custodian of fresh water.

The natural zones of Eurasia are more diverse than on other continents of the globe: from arctic deserts to equatorial forests.

Eurasia is the most populated continent. More than 3/4 of all inhabitants of the globe live here. The eastern and southern regions of the mainland are especially densely populated. In terms of the diversity of peoples living on the mainland, Eurasia differs from other continents. Slavic peoples live in the north: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats and others. South Asia is inhabited by numerous Indian peoples and the Chinese.

Eurasia is the cradle of ancient civilizations.

Geographical position: Northern Hemisphere between 0° E. d. and 180 ° in. some of the islands lie in the southern hemisphere.

Eurasia Square: about 53.4 million sq. km.

Extreme points of Eurasia:

The extreme northern island point is Cape Fligeli, 81°51` N. sh.;

The extreme northern continental point is Cape Chelyuskin, 77°43` N. sh.;

The extreme eastern island point is Ratmanov Island, 169°0`W. d.;

The extreme eastern mainland point is Cape Dezhnev, 169°40`W. d.;

The extreme southern island point is the South Island, 12°4` S. sh.;

The southernmost continental point is Cape Piai, 1°16` N. sh.;

The extreme western point of the island is the rock of Monchique, 31°16`W. d.;

The extreme western mainland point is Cape Roca, 9°30`W. d.

Climatic zones of Eurasia: arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical, mediterranean, tropical, subequatorial, equatorial.

Geology of Eurasia: on the territory of Eurasia is the East European, Siberian, Chinese-Korean, South China, Indian platforms.

Relief of Eurasia: the average height of the continent is 830 m; mountain systems are located on the territory of Eurasia: the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, the Tien Shan, Altai, the Alps, the Caucasus, the Karakorum, the Kun-Lun, Tibet, the Ural Mountains, the Pamirs, the Carpathians, the mountains of South Siberia, the mountains Northeast Siberia; Sayano-Tuva Upland, Dekan Plateau, Central Siberian Plateau; plains: East European, West Siberian, Great Chinese, Indo-Gangetic; Turan lowland.

Additional information on Eurasia: Eurasia is washed by the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans; the length of the mainland from west to east is 16 thousand km, from north to south - 8 thousand km; more than 4.3 billion people live in Eurasia.

European countries
Asian countries
Geography of Eurasia.
Eurasia.Relief, development history.
Climate of Eurasia.
Internal waters of Eurasia.
Natural zones of Eurasia.
Rivers of Europe
Rivers of Asia
Eurasia map
Geographical position, size of the territory and nature of the coastline of Eurasia
Brief information from the history of the discovery and exploration of the continent of Eurasia
Relief and geological structure, minerals of Eurasia
Report - Climate of Eurasia
Report - Inland waters of Eurasia
Report - Natural zones of Eurasia
Physico-geographical zoning of Eurasia
Population and political map of Eurasia

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Mountain systems of Eurasia

Physical map of Eurasia showing all its mountain systems

Main characteristics

The longest in geographic latitude

Peaks of the Tien Shan

The longest in geographic longitude

Low, with rounded peaks, dilapidated Ural Mountains

Mountains of the European part of the mainland

Mountain lake in the Carpathians

The highest mountains in Europe

The landscape in the Alps annually attracts many tourists from all over the world.

The highest mountains in Russia

Alpine meadows in the Caucasus

The Altai mountains are located in the center of Eurasia

Such is the beautiful world of the mountains of Eurasia. Thank you for your attention.

The largest continent on earth. It occupies 1/3 of the entire land. The area of Eurasia is 53.4 million km2. It is formed by two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. It is customary to draw a conditional border between them along the Ural Mountains, the sea border runs along the Black and Azov Seas, as well as along the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The name Europa comes from the legend that the Phoenician king Agenor had a daughter, Europa. The almighty Zeus fell in love with her, turned into a bull and kidnapped her. He took her to the island of Crete. There Europe first set foot on the land of that part of the world, which since then bears her name. Asia - the designation of one of the provinces to the east of the Aegean Sea, the Scythian tribes to the Caspian were called so (Asians, Asians).

On the southern borders of the Eurasian Plate, where it junctions with other lithospheric plates, powerful mountain-building processes have taken place and are taking place, leading to the emergence of the highest mountain systems. This is accompanied by intense volcanic activity and earthquakes. One of them in 1923 destroyed the capital of Japan, Tokyo. More than 100 thousand people died.

The mainland was also influenced by the ancient glaciation that captured the north of the mainland. It changed the surface of the earth, smoothed the peaks, left numerous moraines. Eurasia is exceptionally rich in minerals of both sedimentary and magmatic origin.

Eurasia is a continent of the strongest contrasts. This is the only continent where all climatic zones are represented: from the Arctic to the equatorial. Over 1/4 of the territory in the north of the continent is occupied by permafrost, about the same number - sultry deserts and semi-deserts. In Eurasia, there is a cold pole - in the northeast of the mainland, on the Oymyakon highland. Here the air is cooled down to -70°С. At the same time, in the deserts of India, the temperature rises to + 53 ° C in summer. On the territory of Eurasia there is also one of the wettest places on earth - Cherrapunji. Many rivers flow through the territory of Eurasia, the length of many of them is about 5 thousand kilometers. These are the Yangtze, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena, the Amur, the Huang He, the Mekong. The largest lake in the world - the Caspian Sea - is also located on the mainland. The deepest lake, Baikal, is also located here. It contains 20% of the fresh water on Earth. Continental ice is an important custodian of fresh water.

Eurasia is more diverse than on other continents of the globe: from arctic deserts to equatorial forests.

Most populated continent. More than 3/4 of all inhabitants of the globe live here. The eastern and southern regions of the mainland are especially densely populated. In terms of the diversity of peoples living on the mainland, Eurasia differs from other continents. Slavic peoples live in the north: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Bulgarians, Serbs, and others. South Asia is inhabited by numerous Indian peoples and the Chinese.

Eurasia is the cradle of ancient civilizations.

Geographical position: Northern Hemisphere between 0° E. d. and 180 ° in. some of the islands lie in the southern hemisphere.

Eurasia Square: about 53.4 million sq. km.

Extreme points of Eurasia:

The extreme northern island point is Cape Fligeli, 81°51` N. sh.;

The extreme northern continental point is Cape Chelyuskin, 77°43` N. sh.;

The extreme eastern island point is Ratmanov Island, 169°0`W. d.;

The extreme eastern mainland point is Cape Dezhnev, 169°40`W. d.;

The extreme southern island point is the South Island, 12°4` S. sh.;

The southernmost continental point is Cape Piai, 1°16` N. sh.;

The extreme western point of the island is the rock of Monchique, 31°16`W. d.;

The extreme western mainland point is Cape Roca, 9°30`W. d.

Climatic zones of Eurasia: arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical, mediterranean, tropical, subequatorial, equatorial.

Geology of Eurasia: on the territory of Eurasia is the East European, Siberian, Chinese-Korean, South China, Indian platforms.

European countries
Asian countries
Geography of Eurasia.
.Relief, development history.
Climate of Eurasia.
Internal waters of Eurasia.
Natural zones of Eurasia.
Rivers of Europe
Rivers of Asia
Eurasia map
Geographical position, size of the territory and nature of the coastline of Eurasia
Brief information about the history of the discovery and exploration of the Eurasian continent
Relief and geological structure, minerals of Eurasia
Report - Climate of Eurasia
Report - Inland waters of Eurasia
Report - Natural zones of Eurasia
Physico-geographical zoning of Eurasia
Population and political map of Eurasia

Russia is located on the most interesting and diverse continent of the planet, which has collected a little bit of almost everything.

So what place does the Eurasian continent occupy in the world?

Characteristics of the largest continent on Earth

There are 6 continents in total on the planet. Eurasia (in English it says Eurasia) is the largest.

Characteristics:

Area - 55,000,000 km².
There was no such researcher who discovered Eurasia in its entirety. Various peoples opened it piece by piece, and in different periods great ancient civilizations were formed. The term "Eurasia" was introduced in 1880 by Eduard Suess.
The mainland is so large that on the map it can be seen immediately in 3 hemispheres: northern, eastern and western.
The population density is about 94 people per sq. km.
Eurasia is the continent with the most large population. For 2015, the number is 5 billion 132 million.

Extreme points on the mainland Eurasia with coordinates

List of Eurasian countries with capitals

Countries on the mainland are usually divided into countries of Europe and Asia.

European countries with capitals:

Asian countries with capitals:

What oceans border Eurasia

The main feature of the geographical position of Eurasia is that the mainland is washed by almost all oceans. And since in some countries the 5th Ocean (Southern) has not yet been recognized, it can be partly argued that Eurasia is washed by all existing oceans.

What parts of the mainland are washed by the oceans:

Arctic - northern;
Indian - southern;
Pacific Ocean - east;
Atlantic - western.

Natural zones of Eurasia

On the territory there are all existing types natural areas. They stretch from west to east and from north to south.

How are they geographically located?

Arctic- islands in the very north;
and forest-tundra- in the north of the Arctic Circle. In the eastern part, an expansion of the zone is observed;
taiga- located a little to the south;
mixed forests - located in the Baltic States and in the eastern part of Russia;
broadleaf forests- zones in the western and eastern parts of the mainland;
hardwood forests- located in the Mediterranean region;
forest-steppes and steppes- located in the central part south of the taiga;
deserts and semi-deserts- are located south of the previous zone, as well as in the eastern part in China;
savannas– coast indian ocean;
variable wet forests- the most southeastern and southwestern regions, as well as the Pacific coast;
rainforests are islands in the Indian Ocean.

Climate

Due to the geographical position of the mainland, the climatic conditions on its territory are quite diverse. AT different regions all climatic indicators differ: temperature, precipitation, air masses.

The southernmost regions are the hottest. To the north, the climate is gradually changing. The central part is already characterized by moderate climatic conditions. BUT northern part of the mainland is in the realm of ice and cold.

Proximity to the oceans also plays an important role. The winds of the Indian Ocean bring a large amount of precipitation. But the closer to the center, the less they are.

In what climatic zones is Eurasia located:

arctic and subarctic;
tropical and subtropical;
equatorial and subequatorial.

Relief

On other continents, a certain type of relief is common. Mountains are usually located on the coast. The relief of Eurasia is different in that the mountainous regions are located in the center of the mainland.

There are two mountain belts: the Pacific and the Himalayan. These mountains are of different ages and formed at different times.

To the north of them are several plains:

Great Chinese;
West Siberian;
European;
Turan.

Also in the central part are the Kazakh hills and the Central Siberian plateau.

The highest mountains

One of the main features of Eurasia is that on the mainland there is the highest mountain in the world - Everest (8848 m).

Mount Everest

But there are several other highest mountain peaks:

Chogori (8611 m);
Ulugmuztag (7723 m);
Tirichmir (7690 m);
peak of Communism (7495 m);
Peak Pobeda (7439 m);
Elbrus (5648).

Volcanoes

The highest active volcano in Eurasia is Klyuchevaya Sopka. It is located near the eastern coast of the mainland in Kamchatka.

Volcano Klyuchevaya Sopka

Other active volcanoes:

Kerinchi (Sumatra Island, Indonesia);
Fujiyama (Honshu Island, Japan);
Vesuvius (Italy);
Etna (Sicily, Italy).

Volcano Erciyes

The highest extinct volcano is Erciyes (Turkey).

The largest island

Kalimantan is the largest island in Eurasia.

Parts of the island belong to 3 different countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. It is the 3rd largest island in the world.

Peninsulas of Eurasia

The biggest river

The largest river in Eurasia, the Yangtze, flows through China.

Its length is approximately 6300 km, and the basin area is 1,808,500 km².

The largest lake

Lake Baikal is the largest in Eurasia and in the world.

Its area is 31,722 km². The lake is located in the eastern part of Siberia. It is truly unique, because it is not only the largest, but also the deepest in the world. The maximum depth of Baikal is 1,642 m.

Iceland's capital, Reykjavik, is the northernmost in the world.
One plant of interest is bamboo. It is able to grow up to 90 cm per day.
"Altai" in translation from the Mongolian language means "Golden Mountains".

General characteristics of the mountain system of Eurasia

The territory of Eurasia is characterized by a diverse and complex relief. The mountains form two large mountain belts.

The Pacific mountain belt stretches from north to southeast of the mainland. The Albian-Himalayan mountain belt is located in the southern parts of Eurasia and covers an area from Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific.

Remark 1

The mountains of Eurasia formed in different periods, so they have different shapes of surfaces and different heights.

From west to east, a belt of folded mountains stretches across the entire continent with sharp peaks and steep slopes:

Alps,
Pyrenees,
Apennines,
Himalayas,
highlands Tibet,
Crimean mountains,
Carpathians,
Caucasus mountains.

The 14 peaks of Eurasia are the highest mountains in the world. According to the absolute height, all mountains are divided into groups: low mountains - up to 1000 m (Middle Urals, etc.), have gentle slopes, rounded peaks, wide river valleys; medium-high - from 1000 to 3000 m (Carpathians, etc.), transitional external features; high - more than 3000 m (Tian - Shan, etc.), characterized by steep slopes, peaks covered with glaciers and snow, narrow valleys.

Alps

The Alps originate from the Mediterranean Sea in the mountain system of the Alpes-Maritimes, which stretch in the meridional direction in the form of the Graian and Cottian Alps.

The highest peaks include: Mont Blanc (4807 m), as well as Pel Vu and Gran Paradiso.

The eastern parts of the Alps, facing the Padana lowland, abruptly break off without foothills. From the west there is a system of medium-high mountain ranges - the Pre-Alps.

In Switzerland, the Alps are formed by powerful parallel ranges: the Pennine and Bernese Alps, separated by the valley of the Rhone River. Here are the massifs of Monte Rosa (4634 m), Matterhorn (4477 m) and Jungfrau (more than 4000 m). Parallel to each other, the ridges of the Glarn and Lepontine Alps stretched, separated by the valley of the Rhine River. The Gotthard massif is a mountain junction and watershed of the Swiss Alps.

The Western and Eastern Alps are separated by a tectonic valley running from Lake Constance to Lake Como. The Eastern Alps are somewhat lower and wider than the Western ones. The highest ranges stretch in the west and east: the Bernina massif (more than 4000 m), the High Tauern and the Ötztal Alps (3500-3700 m).

To the north and south of the main zone stretch the less high ridges of the Prealps.

Carpathians. Caucasus mountains. Ural

The Carpathians are a mountain range located in Central Europe on the territory of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. The mountains stretched from the north from the Devinsky Gates to the southeast to the Iron Gates for 1500 km. The width of the mountain range ranges from 120 to 430 km.

The Carpathians include: Western, Eastern, Southern Carpathians, Western Romanian Mountains, Beskydy, Transylvanian Plateau.

The highest point of the Carpathians is the top of Gerlakhovsky-Shtit (2655 m).

The Caucasus Mountains are located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Includes the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus. The Greater and Lesser Caucasus are connected through the Likhi Range.

The Greater Caucasus runs from the northwest (from Anapa and the Taman Peninsula) to the southeast (to the Apsheron Peninsula in the Caspian Sea) for more than 1100 km. In the Elbrus region, the Greater Caucasus reaches its maximum width - up to 180 km. The Main Caucasian (Dividing) Range is located in the axial part.

In the Greater Caucasus, there are: Western Caucasus, Central Caucasus, Eastern Caucasus.

The Ural Mountains (Riphean or Hyperborean Mountains) are a mountain system located between the East European and West Siberian plains. The total length of the Urals is more than 2000 km, the width varies from 40 to 150 km.

In the direction from west to east in the Ural Mountains, I distinguish: the Cis-Ural marginal trough, the zone of the western slope of the Ural Mountains, the Central Ural uplift, the system of troughs-synclinories of the eastern slope (Magnitogorsk, Tagil, etc.), the Ural-Tobolsk anticlinorium, the East Ural synclinorium.

Himalayas. Tibetan plateau. Tien Shan

The Himalayas (“Snow Abode”) is a mountain range located in a loop on the border between Central and South Asia. The total length of the mountain ranges is about 3000 km. The Himalayas occupy a territory with a total area of 650 thousand square meters. km.

Remark 2

In the Himalayas is located the highest point in the world - Everest (Chomolungma) with a height of 8848 m.

The Himalayas in terms of landscape are divided into three areas: Eastern Himalayas, Nepalese, Western Himalayas.

The entire mountain range can be represented as steps:

Himalayas - Shivalik Range. Mountain peaks do not exceed 2 thousand meters.
The Small Himalayas are the Pir-Panjal, Dhaoladhar and other ridges. The peaks reach a height of 4 thousand meters.
Big Himalayas - peaks over 4 thousand meters.

The Himalayan mountains pass through the territory of China, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Kingdom of Bhutan and, in part, the Republic of Bangladesh.

In the north mountain ranges The Himalayas complete the Tibetan Plateau, separating it from the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

The Himalayas are high mountains, their average height reaches 6 thousand meters. There are 10 (out of 14 world) eight-thousander peaks in the Himalayas.

The Tibetan Plateau is the highest plateau in the world, separated from the rest of Asia by high ridges. The northern borders of the highlands are the foothills of the Kunlun mountain ranges, the northwestern borders are the Pamir-Karakorum mountain junction, the eastern border is the foothills of the Sino-Tibetan mountains. From the south and southwest, the border runs along the northern foot of the Himalayas.

The Tibetan Plateau is characterized by: the predominance of high-altitude desert and semi-desert landscapes, absolute height.

The Tibetan Plateau includes:

Jangtang - Central and Western Tibet - a surface elevated by 4500-5000 m and consisting of smoothed ridges and tectonic depressions.
Sikan - Eastern Tibet - characterized by erosional and tectonic dissection. The ridges of the Sino-Tibetan Mountains are located in parallel and delimited by gorge-like valleys, along which the Yangtze, Huang He, and Mekong flow.
Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau - located south of the upper Yangtze valley, highly dissected and relatively low. In the east, it decreases and then continues within East Asia.
Transhimalayas (Mountains of Gandishishan) - a system of ridges located on the southern outskirts of Tibet. They are separated from the Himalayas by the longitudinal valleys of the Lanchin-Kandbad (Sutlej), Brahmaputra (Tsangpo) and Indus rivers. The tops of some ridges reach a height of 7000 meters.

There are active volcanoes in the northwestern part of the Tibetan Plateau, and geysers and hot springs are scattered throughout the plateau.

Tien Shan (translated from Chinese - "Heavenly Mountains") is a mountain system located mainly in Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, as well as on the territory of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The main Tien Shan ranges run from west to east and include the following natural chains: Central Tien Shan, Inner Tien Shan, Northern and Western Tien Shan. Peaks reach heights of 4000-5000 meters. The Tien Shan is characterized by a powerful ice cover - 7787 glaciers.

The highest point of the Tien Shan is Pobeda Peak (7439 m).

The mountains of Eurasia arose in different eras of mountain building, therefore they have different heights and surface shapes. A long belt of young folded mountains on the planet stretches across the entire continent from west to east - the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Carpathians, the Crimean, the Caucasus, the Altai, the Himalayas, the Tibet highlands. They were formed in the last Alpine era of mountain building, therefore, as a rule, they are high and powerful, with steep slopes and sharp peaks.

Alps begin off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea with the system of the Maritime Alps, bordering on the Apennines. Then they stretch along the border of France in the meridional direction in the form of the Cottian and Gray Alps, which are composed of crystalline rocks and reach great heights. The massifs of Pel-Vu (4102 m), Gran Paradiso (4061 m) and the highest five-domed Mont Blanc (4807 m), located on the border between France, Italy and Switzerland, stand out especially. In the direction of the Padana lowland, this part of the Alps ends abruptly, without foothills, and therefore looks especially grandiose from the east. From the west, a strip of high crystalline massifs is bordered by a system of medium-altitude mountain ranges composed of limestones. Such ridges are usually called Prealps.

From the Mont Blanc massif, the Alps turn sharply to the east, reaching the limit of average height in Switzerland. Two parallel rows of powerful ridges composed of crystalline rocks and limestones can be traced here. Particularly majestic are the Bernese and Pennine Alps, separated by the longitudinal valley of the upper Rhone. In this part of the mountains, the Jungfrau massifs (more than 4000 m), the Matterhorn (4477 m) and the second highest massif of the Alps - Monte Rosa (4634 m) rise, covered with glaciers. Somewhat lower are the parallel ridges of the Lepontinsky and Glarnsky Alps, between which lies the valley of the upper Rhine. The Rhone and Rhine valleys are separated by the powerful Gotthard massif, which is a mountain junction and watershed of the Swiss Alps. From the north and south, a strip of high mountain ranges is accompanied by limestone and flysch Prealps (Swiss in the north and Lombard in the south).

In the middle part, the Alps are crossed by a deep tectonic valley that runs from Lake Constance to Lake Como. This is an important orographic and geographical boundary dividing the Alps into Western and Eastern.

The Eastern Alps are wider and lower than the Western ones, their geological structure is also somewhat different. In the extreme east, the ridges of the Alps diverge in a fan-like fashion, approaching the Danube in the north, and entering the northwest of the Balkan Peninsula in the south. The highest is the axial zone of the ridges of the Eastern Alps, composed of crystalline rocks. But nowhere in the east do the Alps reach such heights as in the west. Only the Bernina massif in Italy is slightly higher than 4000 m, while the rest of the peaks are much lower. The Ötztal Alps and the High Tauern in Austria reach 3500-3700 m, and in the extreme east the height of the mountains rarely exceeds 2000 m. To the north and south of the central crystalline zone, less high ridges of the Prealps, composed of limestone, dolomite and flysch, stretch.

The Alpine mountain system, despite its height and considerable width, does not pose a serious obstacle to climbing. This is due to the large tectonic and erosional dissection of the mountains, the abundance of convenient passages and passes. Since ancient times, the most important routes connecting the countries of Central Europe with the Mediterranean passed through the Alps. Currently, numerous railways and highways with busy traffic are laid through the Alps. Highest value have the Fréjus passes at an altitude of more than 2500 m, through which the road from Turin to Paris passes, and the Great St. Bernard at an altitude of more than 2400 m between Mont Blanc and the Pennines, connecting Switzerland with Italy. The Simplon and St. Gotthard passes are also of great importance. The latter gained fame thanks to Suvorov's unparalleled crossing of the Alps in 1799.

In the Eastern Alps, the low (1371 m) Brenner Pass is the most convenient. The first Alpine railway, built in 1867, passed through it. In the second half of the 19th century. railways crossed almost all the most important alpine passes. During the construction of these roads, it was necessary to lay a large number of tunnels, as a result of which many features were revealed geological structure Alps. Currently, a tunnel has been built under Mont Blanc on the highway connecting France with Italy.

Carpathians– location: located in Central Europe, on the territory of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Romania.

Length: 1500 km from the Devinsky Gates in the north to the Iron Gates in the southeast, width 120 - 430 km.

Highest peaks: Gerlachowski-Shtit (2655 m). Structure: consists of the Western, Eastern and Southern Carpathians, the Beskids, the Western Romanian Mountains and the Transylvanian Plateau.

Minerals: oil, gas, table salt, non-ferrous metals.

Climate: temperate (transitional from maritime to continental). Average temperatures in January range from -2 to -5 °С, in July from 17 to 20 °С. The amount of precipitation in the middle part is about 800-1000 mm, in the upper part up to 2000 mm.

Flora and fauna: broad-leaved and coniferous forests (spruces, larches, pines) in the middle part, above - subalpine shrubs and meadows. Of the large animals, the bear, wolf, lynx, deer, roe deer, chamois, and wild boar are common. Birds: capercaillie, owl, woodpecker, cuckoo.

Caucasian mountains- a mountain system between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is divided into two mountain systems: the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus stretches for more than 1100 km from the northwest to the southeast, from the Anapa region and the Taman Peninsula to the Absheron Peninsula on the Caspian coast, near Baku. The Greater Caucasus reaches its maximum width in the Elbrus region (up to 180 km). In the axial part there is the Main Caucasian (or Dividing) Range, to the north of which a number of parallel ranges (mountain ranges) extend, including a monoclinal (kuest) character. The southern slope of the Greater Caucasus mostly consists of echelon-shaped ridges adjacent to the Main Caucasian ridge. Traditionally, the Greater Caucasus is divided into 3 parts: the Western Caucasus (from the Black Sea to Elbrus), the Central Caucasus (from Elbrus to Kazbek) and the Eastern Caucasus (from Kazbek to the Caspian Sea).

The Greater Caucasus is a region with a large modern glaciation. The total number of glaciers is about 2,050, and their area is approximately 1,400 km. More than half of the glaciation of the Greater Caucasus is concentrated in the Central Caucasus (50% of the number and 70% of the glaciation area). Major centers of glaciation are Mount Elbrus and the Bezengi wall. The largest glacier in the Greater Caucasus is the Bezengi glacier (about 17 km long).

The Lesser Caucasus is connected to the Greater Caucasus by the Likhi Ridge, in the west it is separated from it by the Colchis Lowland, in the east by the Kura Depression. The length is about 600 km, the height is up to 3724 m. The largest lake is Sevan.

Majestic and inaccessible Himalayas - the folded base of the mountain system is complicated by faults and overthrusts (in particular, ridges). In landscape terms, the Himalayas are usually divided into three regions: Eastern, Nepalese and Western Himalayas. In the Eastern Himalayas, the Sivalik foothills, the Small and Large Himalayas are closely pressed against each other, the slope to the Brahmaputra is very steep (almost a wall), there are no longitudinal intermountain basins. The transverse hanging valleys (duars) are widespread. Monsoon air dominates for half a year. Precipitation falls from 3000 to 4500 mm per year. Stormy erosion; rivers flow in deep gorges, falling 30-50 (and up to 100) meters per kilometer. Only from November to January, the moisture coefficient is below 100%; in the rest of the year, moisture is excessive. There are six altitudinal belts: terai, tropical rain forests, evergreen oak forests, coniferous forests, alpine meadows and nival belt. Strictly speaking, the first two belts (up to a height of 1500 m) are not mountainous, especially the Terai. But we consider them here because they owe their origin to the Himalayas. The Terai occupy a swampy strip of the foothill plain, 30-50 km wide, covered with sparse moist forests and high (up to 5 m) herbage (near lakes and swamps). Fan palms (Trachycarpus martiana, Borassus flabelliformis) grow on the edges, closer to the mountains, with an increase in humidity, mango (Mangifera indica) and tall spreading bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa polymorpha). Banyan trees intertwined with vines (Ficus bengalensis to F, religiosa ), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), soap tree (Sapindus utilis), horse chestnut (Aesculus indica) and lard (Shorea busta). The villages are located among the rice fields, on the hills. The Himalayas, covered by foothills, are not visible from here. But their closeness is felt in the climate. Thick clouds constantly envelop the foothills. The air is saturated with moisture, and the slightest drop in temperature is enough to cause showers. At the same time, the fields are covered with water, sometimes waist-deep. In the midst of rains in recent fields, the inhabitants are engaged in fishing. With the rise in the foothills, the swampiness decreases and the black sticky silt disappears. The foothills are covered with dense moist forests of the same species as in the Terai. There are straight-barreled pandanuses with their three-meter leaves, magnolias. The number of vines is increasing (up to 440 species). Among them is a climbing rattan palm tree, the straightened trunk of which sometimes reaches 100 m in length. The belt of evergreen oak forests is located at altitudes from 1500 to 2750 m. They consist of oaks, chestnuts, rhododendrons, maples, laurels, which are mixed with Himalayan species of birch, elm, cherry, bird cherry.

Tibetan Plateau unique in its own way natural conditions. The unity of nature lies primarily in its orographic solidity. Tibet is the largest and highest plateau in the world, surrounded and separated from the rest of Asia by high ridges.

The northern border of the Tibetan Plateau itself is the foot of the mountain ranges that are part of the Kunlun system. In the south and southwest, the border runs along the northern foot of the Himalayas. In the northwest, the border of Tibet is the Pamir-Karakoram mountain junction. The eastern foot of the Sino-Tibetan Mountains is considered the eastern border of the highlands. All this vast territory is characterized by a high absolute height and the predominance of high-altitude desert and semi-desert landscapes.

The Tibetan Plateau has significant internal differences, primarily in structure and relief. Central and Western Tibet (Jangtang) are a uniform surface, elevated by an average of 4500-5000 m and consisting of smoothed ridges and tectonic depressions filled with loose material or occupied by drainless lakes. Eastern Tibet (Sikang) is characterized by sharp tectonic and erosional dissection. The powerful parallel ridges of the Sino-Tibetan Mountains are separated by grandiose gorge-like valleys, through which the largest rivers of the mainland - the Yellow River, the Yangtze, the Mekong - flow. To the south of the valley of the upper Yangtze, the less high but strongly dissected Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau begins, which declines in the east and continues within East Asia.

There are geysers and hot springs in the Tibetan Plateau, and active volcanoes in the northwestern part.

On the southern outskirts of Tibet, a system of ridges rises, which are sometimes combined under the general name of the Trans-Himalayas, or the Gandishishan Mountains. These mountains are separated from the Himalayas by wide longitudinal valleys of the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo), Lanchin-Kandbad (Sutlej) and Indus rivers. The tops of the most significant ranges reach more than 7000 m. The slopes facing the Tibetan Plateau are flat and cluttered with masses of detrital material. Wetter southern slopes characterized by sharp erosional dissection.

Within the Trans-Himalayas, in the valley of one of the tributaries of the Tsangpo River, at an altitude of 3650 m, the city of Lhasa is located - the religious center of Lamaism.

The most common soils are high-mountain steppes and deserts, characterized by strong rubble, primitive soil profile, and low humus content. In significant areas, there is no soil and vegetation cover, and the surface is a shell of pebbles and rubble; fertile mountain meadow-steppe and mountain meadow soils are widespread along the periphery of the highlands.

The Tibetan Plateau is dominated by high-altitude (cold) deserts and semi-deserts, which are characterized by low (usually up to 5 cm, less often up to 15 cm) sparse herbaceous and semi-shrub vegetation, usually represented by separate clumps and cushion forms and herbaceous plants (wormwood, astragalus, acantolimon, Saussurea), there are cereals (ptilagrostis, etc.). In the north of Changtang, mosses and lichens predominate, in places with a close occurrence of groundwater - meadow communities of sedges, kobresia, cotton grass and rush. Along the eastern and southern outskirts of the highlands, where the amount of precipitation and altitudinal differences increase, altitudinal zonality manifests itself. Cold deserts and semi-deserts give way downwards to mountain steppes (from fescue, feather grass, bluegrass, etc.), forming a continuous cover. In the area of the sources of the Yangtze River there are patches of meadows. In the peripheral parts of the highlands and along the valleys of large rivers - shrub thickets (rhododendron, caragana, juniper, etc.) and areas of tugai forests of willow, turanga poplar, etc.

The entire northern part of the Tibetan Plateau is characterized by wild ungulates: yak, orongo and hell antelopes, kiang, kuku-yaman, argali; hares, pikas, and voles are widespread. Of the predators, there are a pischooter bear, a wolf, a fox, and a takal. Of the birds, snowcock, saja, finches are numerous, as well as predatory ones - the Himalayan vulture and the long-tailed eagle. Rivers and lakes are rich in fish (salmon family, carp). In the peripheral southern and eastern parts, the desert faunal complex is replaced by a meadow-steppe one; here you can meet musk deer, musk deer, leopard (in the mountains), and among birds - pheasants, pigeons, kites, falcons, etc.

The old mountains, located in the areas of ancient folding, are worse preserved. They are usually low and have rounded tops. So, the flat-topped medium-high Scandinavian mountains are badly destroyed. The Scandinavian Mountains are a vast upland on the Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway and Sweden). Stretched from NE. to the SW. at 1700 km, width from 200-300 km in the north to 600 km in the south. The highest point is the city of Galdhøpiggen (2469 m). Zap. the slopes drop steeply to the Norwegian Sea, dissected by fjords; east descend stepwise to the Gulf of Bothnia, forming the Norland Plateau. Composed of ancient crystalline rocks, smoothed by glaciers. Mining railway ores (Kiruna), non-ferrous metals. Aligned peaks (fjelds) predominate, high massifs are called Hjölen, Jotunheimen, Telemark, etc. Stone placers, polygonal soils. An important climate division: west, windward slopes receive 4000 mm of precipitation per year, on leeward east. falls from 500 (at the foot) to 2000 mm (at the tops). More than 2400 glaciers with a total area. 3050 km. Stormy rapids rivers, numerous lakes. Slopes up to a height of 900-1100 m in the south and up to 300-500 m in the north are covered with coniferous forests (mainly spruce and pine, beech occurs in the south), on the peaks there is a birch crooked forest, mountain tundra, heaths, and peat bogs. Many national parks: Abisko, Sarek, Stura-Sjöfallet in Sweden, Bergefjell in Norway, etc.; reserves.

Ural mountains- a mountain system between the East European and West Siberian plains. The length of the Ural Mountains is more than 2000 km, the width is from 40 to 150 km.

In ancient sources, the Ural Mountains are called the Riphean or Hyperborean mountains. Russian pioneers called it Stone, under the name Ural these mountains are first mentioned in Russian sources in late XVII century. The name Ural was introduced by V. Tatishchev from the Mansi "ur" (mountain). According to another version, this word is of Turkic origin.

The Ural Mountains were formed in the late Paleozoic during the era of intensive mountain building (Hercynian folding). Formation of the mountain system

The Urals began in the late Devonian (about 350 million years ago) and ended in the Triassic (about 200 million years ago).

Within the Urals, deformed and often metamorphosed rocks predominantly Paleozoic in age. The strata of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are usually strongly folded, disturbed by ruptures, but in general they form meridional bands, which determine the linearity and zonality of the structures of the Ural Mountains.

From west to east, among the Ural Mountains stand out:

Cis-Ural marginal foredeep with relatively gentle sedimentation in the western side and more complex in the eastern side;

the zone of the western slope of the Ural Mountains with the development of intensely crumpled and thrust-disturbed sedimentary strata of the Lower and Middle Paleozoic;

the Central Ural uplift, where among the sedimentary strata of the Paleozoic and Upper Precambrian, older crystalline rocks of the edge of the East European Platform outcrop in places;

a system of troughs-synclinoria of the eastern slope (the largest are Magnitogorsk and Tagil), made mainly by Middle Paleozoic volcanic strata and marine, often deep-sea sediments, as well as deep-seated igneous rocks (gabbroids, granitoids, less often alkaline intrusions) that break through them - the so-called. greenstone belt of the Ural Mountains;

Ural-Tobolsk anticlinorium with outcrops of older metamorphic rocks and wide development of granitoids;

East Ural synclinorium, in many respects similar to Tagil-Magnitogorsk.

The Ural Mountains are a treasure trove of various minerals. There are 48 types of minerals in the Ural Mountains. For the eastern regions of the Ural Mountains, the most characteristic deposits are copper-pyrite ores (Gaiskoye, Sibayskoye, Degtyarskoye deposits, Kirovgradskaya and Krasnouralskaya groups of deposits), skarn-magnetite (Goroblagodatskoye, Vysokogorskoye, Magnitogorskoye deposits), titanomagnetite (Kachkanarskoye, Pervouralskoye), oxide nickel ores (Orsko group -Khalilovsky deposits) and chromite ores (deposits of the Kempirsai massif), confined mainly to the greenstone belt of the Ural Mountains, coal deposits (Chelyabinsk coal basin), placers and primary deposits of gold (Kochkarskoe, Berezovskoe) and platinum (Isovskie).

The largest deposits of bauxite (North Ural bauxite-bearing region) and asbestos (Bazhenovskoye) are located here. On the western slope of the Ural Mountains and in the Urals there are deposits of coal (Pechora coal basin, Kizel coal basin), oil and gas (Volga-Ural oil and gas region, Orenburg gas condensate field), potassium salts (Verkhnekamsk basin). Especially the Ural Mountains are famous for their "gems" - precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones (emerald, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite, etc.). The best jewelry diamonds in the USSR were mined in the Urals.

The bowels of the Ural Mountains contain more than two hundred different minerals, for example, bowls of the St. Petersburg Hermitage are made from Ural malachite and jasper.

Tien Shan is a Chinese word meaning "Celestial Mountains". This is a great mountain system located mainly in Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China. Its northern and remote western ranges are in Kazakhstan, while the southwestern part reaches the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Inside the territory of the ex-USSR, the Tien Shan mountains stretched like an arch for more than 1200 km in length and 300 km in width. They border in the north with the Ili valley and the Fergana depression in the south, while the eastern outskirts, as it were, dock with the Alai Range of the Gissar-Alai mountain system.

All Tien Shan ridges, except for the meridional one, run from west to east and consist of four mountain ranges separated in a natural way: Central Tien Shan, Northern and Western, as well as the Inner Tien Shan. The northern slopes of the ridges are cut by gorges of mountain river valleys and reach a depth of 2,000-4,000 meters; they are short and shallow. The dominant height of the peaks is 4000-5000 meters, and the passes pass between the heights of 3500-4500 m. The climate is typically Central Asian and with the height of precipitation it becomes more and more - up to 900-1000 mm per year on the western slopes of the Ferghana Valley.

The Tien Shan has a significant ice cover: 7787 glaciers, the largest is the South Inylchek, 60 kilometers long.

It has several regions: Trans-Alai Alatau, Inylchek, Kirgiz, Kokshaal-too, Tengri-Tag, Tersky-Ala-too, Talas Ala-too, Fergana, etc.

The highest point of the Tien Shan is Pobeda Peak (7439 m), discovered in 1943, the northernmost seven-thousander of the planet. When climbing, you should always remember that there can be periods of exceptionally bad weather with severe frosts, snow storms and avalanches, so a snow cave is the best option for a temporary shelter.

Not far from Pobeda Peak rises Khan-Tengri Peak (6995 m), the “Lord of Heaven”, a giant pyramid that first allowed climbers in 1936. Both of these peaks are extremely popular among Russian and Western climbers.

Among the three fundamentally important mountain regions, Tien Shan is the most extensive. Over 900 classified routes. The highest and most interesting part is the Central Tien Shan. There are two highest peaks here. Another interesting natural gem is Lake Merzbacher. It is named after a German professor who explored the Central Tien Shan in 1903, including the South and North Inylchek glaciers and Lake Issyk-Kul. This huge reservoir of lightly salted water is located at an altitude of 1608 m and its depth reaches 702 m.

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