Map of the West Siberian Lowland. Geographical location of the West Siberian Plain: description and features. Natural areas are marked in the landscape

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The relief of Russia is varied, but most of the territory is characterized by vast flatness and low relief contrast.

From the point of view of geological structure and relief, the territory of Russia can be divided into two main parts, the border of which runs approximately along the Yenisei - the western, which is predominantly flat, and the eastern, where mountains predominate.

Plains

Great Russian Plain (or East European Plain)
Bounded by the Scandinavian ranges in the north, the Carpathians in the west, the Caucasus in the south and the Urals in the east. In the south it passes into the Caspian Lowland.
area: 5 million km2
average height: about 170 m
large rivers: Onega, Pechera, Dnieper, Dniester, Dvina, Don, Volga, Ural

type of vegetation from north to south: tundra, forests, forest-steppe, steppe, semi-desert The Great Russian Plain is the homeland of the Eastern Slavs. This center of modern Russia

, the most important cities of the country are located here, including Moscow and St. Petersburg.

West Siberian Plain (lowland)
It occupies most of Western Siberia, limited in the west by the Urals, in the south by the Kazakh small hills, and in the east by the Siberian Plateau. It is distinguished by a flat, weakly dissected swampy surface (lowland swamps cover up to 50% of its territory). The relief of the West Siberian Plain is one of the most homogeneous in the world. area: 3 million km2
large rivers: Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei
vegetation type: tundra, forest-tundra, taiga.
large oil and gas fields Most of the plain territory belongs to forest zone
. During Soviet times, there were many Gulag camps here, in which prisoners were engaged in timber extraction.
average population density: only 6.2 people. per km2

largest cities: Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Tyumen

Central Siberian Plateau
Occupies most of Eastern Siberia, located on the territory between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. Characteristic is the alternation of wide plateaus and ridges. Most of the plateau lies in the taiga zone; areas of permafrost can also be found.
area: 3.5 million km2
rivers: Lena, Amur
average population density: only 2.2 people. per km2

largest cities: Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Chita, Ulan-Ude

To the south of the Russian and east of the West Siberian Plains there are systems of mountain ranges.

Greater Caucasus

The Caucasus Range runs from west-north to southeast between the Black and Caspian Seas on the border with Georgia and Azerbaijan. Its length is over 1100 km. There are about 2000 glaciers here.

The Caucasus is one of the largest resort areas (the group of balneological resorts of the Caucasian Mineral Waters in the North Caucasus) and the center of mountaineering in Russia. The Caucasus is a place of exile for many writers, whose works shaped the romantic ideas of Russians about these mountains.

Here it is the highest mountain in Russia - Elbrus. Its height is 5642 m. It is an isolated two-headed mountain, the cone of an extinct volcano.

Ural

Natural border between Europe and Asia.
Ancient, heavily eroded mountains stretching 2,100 km from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the border with Kazakhstan.
The average height does not exceed 600 m.
Highest mountain - (1895 m)
The Urals can be divided into the Southern, Middle, Northern and Polar Urals.
This area was settled under Catherine II, and manufactories for processing iron ore were opened here. In the Urals region, industry adversely affects the environment.
Large cities: Ekaterinburg, Perm.
Between Perm and Yekaterinburg there is a vast pass along which the most important highways and railways pass, connecting the European part of Russia with the Asian part.

Altai

The highest mountain system in southern Siberia, located on the border with Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Its continuation is the system of Western and Eastern Sayan.
The highest mountain in Altai - (4506 m)

Mountains of Southern Siberia

The mountain system of Southern Siberia is formed by the Sayans and the mountains of Transbaikalia.

Kamchatka ridge

The Kamchatka Range with active volcanoes stretches on the Kamchatka Peninsula. Here is the highest peak of the Far East - the active volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m) and numerous mineral and thermal springs and geysers.

Seas and islands

The shores of Russia are washed by the waters of 12 seas of three oceans, but it does not have access to the open ocean.

Arctic Ocean

Arctic seas: Barents, White, Kara, Laptev Sea, East Siberian, Chukotka. Although the seas are used for transport purposes, the ports are blocked by ice for months. The climate is harsh, and fishing is carried out mainly in river mouths. The richest flora and fauna are in the Chukchi Sea.
Along the coast of the Arctic seas passes Northern Sea Route,the shortest sea route (5600 km) between the Far East and the European part of Russia. The duration of navigation is only 2-4 months a year (in some areas longer, but with the help of icebreakers). The Northern Sea Route serves the import of fuel, equipment, food, and the export of timber and natural resources.

White Sea- the only one that lies south of the Arctic Circle.
Ports:
- at the mouth of the Northern Dvina, from the 15th century. The monastery has been known since the mid-16th century. the only seaport, the center of Russian foreign trade

In the Kola Bay in the Barents Sea, the largest ice-free fishing and trading port in Russia was founded only at the beginning of the 20th century. Not far from here is a submarine cemetery.

Atlantic Ocean

Baltic Sea

An inland sea, “cut” into Russia by the Gulf of Finland. The Baltic Sea is of great transport importance.

Ports:
Saint Petersburg- built by Peter I as a “window to Europe”. In order for ships to reach the sea, bridges are opened at night.

– on the shores of the open sea

Black Sea

The Black Sea coast is the most important recreational area in Russia, especially in the east and south, where the Caucasus Mountains approach the sea.
Resorts:

Sea of ​​Azov

Connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait.
The shallowest sea in the world, actually a bay of the Black Sea. Two large rivers, Don and Kuban, flow into the Sea of ​​Azov. The Sea of ​​Azov was very important for Russia in the 19th century, at which time the Russian merchant fleet of the Sea of ​​Azov reached enormous proportions.
Port:
- a harbor founded by Peter I after the capture of Azov, built for the first regular navy in Russian history

Pacific Ocean

Far Eastern seas: Beringovo, Okhotsk, Japanese. These are seas with high bioproductivity, rich in the variety and quantity of fish (valuable salmon fish, whales).
Main port in the Bering Sea: Anadyr, capital of Chukotka
Main port in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk: Main port in the Sea of ​​Japan: opening the way to the Far East, end of the Trans-Siberian Railway

Sea transport

Maritime transport accounts for only 2.9% of total cargo turnover.
Problems: an outdated fleet that does not allow overseas navigation, shallow ports (two thirds) that are not capable of receiving modern large-capacity vessels.

Islands

New Earth

The largest archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. During Soviet times, Novaya Zemlya served as a nuclear testing site for powerful nuclear tests.

Sakhalin island

– the largest island of Russia, located in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan.

Kurile Islands

Volcanic islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of the Sakhalin region.
Since the 19th century, the Russians are still arguing with the Japanese about the ownership of the southern group of islands - Russia refuses to give up part of them (which it agreed to in an agreement reached in 1956) to Japan, and Japan does not recognize the Russian right to own the islands.
The complex issue of the Kuril Islands is a “stumbling block” in Japanese-Soviet (later Japanese-Russian) relations.

Solovetsky Islands

Archipelago in Onega Bay in the White Sea.
The history of the world-famous Solovetsky Monastery goes back to the 13th century. In the 15-16th centuries. The local monastery became one of the centers of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Solovetsky Islands have long been a place of exile for prisoners; the first Soviet Gulag camps were located here. Only since the 90s. 20th century Church life on the island resumed again.

Inland waters

Lakes

There are only about 3 million freshwater and salt lakes scattered across Russia. Russians call the Republic of Karelia “The Land of Lakes”.

Caspian Sea

The largest lake in the world, washing the shores of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan. Oil, gas and salt are being extracted on the lake, which is constantly worsening the environmental situation in this region.

Baikal - “the pearl of Siberia”

The deepest lake in the world, the eighth largest in the world by area, is located in Eastern Siberia, surrounded by mountains. 20% of all fresh water reserves on the surface of the globe are concentrated here.
The length of Lake Baikal is 636 km, the average width is 48 km, max. depth - 1620 m. The average water temperature in July is 13 ˚С. Only one river flows from Baikal - Angara.
The languages ​​of local peoples designated it as Bai-kul (“rich lake”), or Baigal delai (“big sea”). Baikal has some characteristic differences inherent in the seas: ebb and flow, 27 islands, the great influence of the mass of water on the climate of the region.
Many species of animals and plants live in the lake and on its shores, 3/4 of them are endemic, that is, they live only here.
The lake, which is still fairly clean, is under threat of pollution - due to production at a pulp and paper mill, a hydroelectric power station in Irkutsk and the planned construction of an oil pipeline along the lake’s shore.

Ladoga lake

The largest lake in Europe. It is located near St. Petersburg.
During the siege of Leningrad, the only route leading along the lake was through which it was possible to supply the city with food and take residents away from the city. In the northern part of Lake Ladoga there is Valaam island with the famous monastery.

Lake Onega and Kizhi Island

In Lake Onega there is a small island of Kizhi. A unique monument of Russian architecture has been preserved here, an ensemble of wooden churches, church buildings and houses, which is included in the list of World Cultural Heritage and is under the protection of UNESCO. The oldest of its buildings were created already in the 14th century.

Lake Peipsi

Lake Peipus is located on the border with Estonia. On the ice of Lake Peipsi, a glorious battle between Russian troops led by Prince Alexander Nevsky and the Livonian knights took place in 1242.

Rivers

In Russia there are 120,000 rivers more than 10 km long. Most of them relate to Arctic Ocean basin.
The largest rivers are in Siberia: Ob with Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena
The longest river in Russia: Ob with Irtysh- 5,410 km (13 times longer than the Vltava)
The most abundant river in Russia: Yenisei– 585 cubic meters km/hour

Volga

The Volga can be considered the central river of the European part of Russia. Russians call her “mother”.
It's at the same time the longest river in Europe(3530 km). The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.
Since ancient times, large-scale transportation has been carried out along the Volga, and it was here that peasant uprisings broke out under the leadership of S. T. Razin and E. I. Pugachev. In the 18th century A huge army of barge haulers worked on the Volga.
Large and ancient cities on the Volga: Tver, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd, Astrakhan (port)
The Volga is connected by canals with the Don, Baltic and White seas.

River transport

It is used when sailing along natural (rivers, lakes) and artificial (canals, reservoirs) routes. River transport accounts for only 2% of freight and passenger traffic, since river transport is one of the seasonal modes of transport and its importance since the early 90s. falls.
The largest waterways: Volga with Kama, Ob with Irtysh, Yenisei, Lena, Amur, White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Don shipping canals.

White Sea-Baltic Canal

The White Sea-Baltic Canal connects the White Sea and Lake Onega. It was built in the USSR during the first five-year plans by prisoners of Soviet camps. The total length is 227 km.

Fishing is very common on Russian rivers and seas, summer and winter. This hobby is part of the lifestyle of the older and younger generations of Russian men. In winter, fishermen use special devices to make a hole in the ice.
Employees of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations often have to rescue amateur fishermen who are carried out to sea on broken ice floes.

List of natural UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia

26 titles, including 10 objects according to natural criteria

Virgin Komi forests;

Lake Baikal;

Volcanoes of Kamchatka;

Golden Mountains of Altai;

Western Caucasus;

Central Sikhote-Alin;

Ubsunur Basin;

Wrangel Island;

Putorana Plateau;

WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN, The West Siberian Lowland, one of the largest plains on the globe (third largest after the Amazon and East European plains), in northern Asia, Russia and Kazakhstan. Occupies the entire Western Siberia, stretching from the coast of the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Turgai plateau and the Kazakh small hills in the south, from the Urals in the west to the Central Siberian Plateau in the east. The length from north to south is up to 2500 km, from west to east from 900 km in the north to 2000 km in the south. The area is about 3 million km 2, including 2.6 million km 2 in Russia. The prevailing heights do not exceed 150 m. The lowest parts of the plain (50–100 m) are located mainly in the central (Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands) and northern (Lower Obskaya, Nadymskaya and Purskaya lowlands) parts. The highest point of the West Siberian Plain - up to 317 m - is located on the Priob Plateau.

At the base of the West Siberian Plain lies West Siberian Platform. In the east it borders Siberian platform, in the south - with the Paleozoic structures of Central Kazakhstan, the Altai-Sayan region, in the west - with the folded system of the Urals.

Relief

The surface is a low accumulative plain with a fairly uniform topography (more uniform than the relief of the East European Plain), the main elements of which are wide flat interfluves and river valleys; Characterized by various forms of manifestation of permafrost (extended up to 59 ° N latitude), increased swampiness and developed (mainly in the south in loose rocks and soils) ancient and modern salt accumulation. In the north, in the area of ​​distribution of marine accumulative and moraine plains (Nadym and Pur lowlands), the general flatness of the territory is broken by moraine gently ridged and hilly-ridged (North-Sosvinskaya, Lyulimvor, Verkhne-, Srednetazovskaya, etc.) hills with a height of 200–300 m, whose southern border runs around 61–62°N. sh.; they are covered in a horseshoe shape from the south by flat-topped hills, including the Poluyskaya Upland, the Belogorsk Continent, the Tobolsk Continent, the Sibirskie Uvaly (245 m), etc. In the north, exogenous permafrost processes (thermoerosion, soil heaving, solifluction) are widespread, deflation is common on sandy surfaces, in swamps there is peat accumulation. On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, permafrost is widespread; The thickness of the frozen layer is very significant (up to 300–600 m).

To the south, the area of ​​moraine relief is adjacent to flat lacustrine and lacustrine-alluvial lowlands, the lowest (40–80 m high) and the most swampy of which are the Kondinskaya lowland and the Middle Ob lowland with the Surgut lowland (height 105 m). This territory, not covered by Quaternary glaciation (south of the Ivdel-Ishim-Novosibirsk-Tomsk-Krasnoyarsk line), is a weakly dissected denudation plain, rising to 250 m to the west, to the foot of the Urals. In the area between the Tobol and Irtysh rivers there is a sloping, in some places with ragged ridges, lacustrine-alluvial Ishim Plain(120–220 m) with a thin cover of loess-like loams and loess overlying salt-bearing clays. Adjacent to it are alluvial Baraba Lowland, Vasyugan Plain and Kulunda Plain, where the processes of deflation and modern salt accumulation are developed. In the foothills of Altai there are the Priob Plateau and the Chulym Plain.

For geological structure and mineral resources, see Art. West Siberian Platform ,

Climate

The West Siberian Plain is dominated by a harsh, continental climate. The significant extent of the territory from north to south determines the well-defined latitudinal zonation of the climate and noticeable differences in the climatic conditions of the northern and southern parts of the plain. The nature of the climate is significantly influenced by the Arctic Ocean, as well as the flat terrain, which facilitates the unhindered exchange of air masses between north and south. Winter in polar latitudes is severe and lasts up to 8 months (the polar night lasts almost 3 months); The average January temperature is from –23 to –30 °C. In the central part of the plain, winter lasts almost 7 months; The average temperature in January is from –20 to –22 °C. In the southern part of the plain, where the influence of the Asian anticyclone increases, at the same average monthly temperatures, winter is shorter - 5–6 months. The minimum air temperature is –56 °C. The duration of snow cover in the northern regions reaches 240–270 days, and in the southern regions – 160–170 days. The thickness of the snow cover in the tundra and steppe zones is 20–40 cm, in the forest zone – from 50–60 cm in the west to 70–100 cm in the east. In summer, the westerly transport of Atlantic air masses predominates with invasions of cold Arctic air in the north, and dry warm air masses from Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the south. In the north of the plain, summer, which begins under polar day conditions, is short, cool and humid; in the central part it is moderately warm and humid, in the south it is arid and dry with hot winds and dust storms. The average July temperature increases from 5 °C in the Far North to 21–22 °C in the south. The duration of the growing season in the south is 175–180 days. Atmospheric precipitation falls mainly in summer (from May to October - up to 80% of precipitation). The most precipitation - up to 600 mm per year - falls in the forest zone; the wettest ones are the Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands. To the north and south, in the tundra and steppe zones, the annual precipitation gradually decreases to 250 mm.

Surface water

More than 2,000 rivers flowing through the West Siberian Plain belong to the Arctic Ocean basin. Their total flow is about 1200 km 3 of water per year; up to 80% of the annual runoff occurs in spring and summer. The largest rivers - the Ob, Yenisei, Irtysh, Taz and their tributaries - flow in well-developed deep (up to 50–80 m) valleys with a steep right bank and a system of low terraces on the left bank. The rivers are fed by mixed water (snow and rain), the spring flood is extended, and the low water period is long in summer, autumn and winter. All rivers are characterized by slight slopes and low flow speeds. Ice cover on rivers lasts up to 8 months in the north, and up to 5 months in the south. Large rivers are navigable, are important rafting and transport routes and, in addition, have large reserves of hydropower resources.

On the West Siberian Plain there are about 1 million lakes, the total area of ​​which is more than 100 thousand km 2. The largest lakes are Chany, Ubinskoye, Kulundinskoye, etc. Lakes of thermokarst and moraine-glacial origin are common in the north. In the suffusion depressions there are many small lakes (less than 1 km2): in the interfluve of the Tobol and Irtysh - more than 1500, in the Barabinskaya Lowland - 2500, among them many are fresh, salty and bitter-salty; There are self-sedating lakes. The West Siberian Plain is distinguished by a record number of swamps per unit area (the area of ​​the wetland is about 800 thousand km 2).

Types of landscapes

The uniformity of the relief of the vast West Siberian Plain determines a clearly defined latitudinal zonation of the landscapes, although compared to the East European Plain, the natural zones here are shifted to the north; landscape differences within the zones are less noticeable than on the East European Plain, and there is no zone of broad-leaved forests. Due to the poor drainage of the territory, hydromorphic complexes play a prominent role: swamps and swampy forests occupy about 128 million hectares here, and in the steppe and forest-steppe zones there are many solonetzes, solods and solonchaks.

On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, under conditions of continuous permafrost, landscapes of arctic and subarctic tundra with moss, lichen and shrub (dwarf birch, willow, alder) vegetation on gley soils, peat gley soils, peat podburs and turf soils were formed. Polygonal grass-hypnum bogs are widespread. The share of indigenous landscapes is extremely small. To the south, tundra landscapes and swamps (mostly flat-hilly) are combined with larch and spruce-larch woodlands on podzolic-gley and peat-podzolic-gley soils, forming a narrow zone of forest-tundra, transitional to the forest (forest-swamp) zone of the temperate zone, represented by the subzones northern, middle and southern taiga. What is common to all subzones is swampiness: over 50% of the northern taiga, about 70% - middle, about 50% - southern. The northern taiga is characterized by flat- and large-hilly raised bogs, the middle one - ridge-hollow and ridge-lake bogs, the southern one - hollow-ridge, pine-shrub-sphagnum, transitional sedge-sphagnum and lowland tree-sedge. The largest swamp massif - Vasyugan Plain. Forest complexes of different subzones are unique, formed on slopes with varying degrees of drainage.

Northern taiga forests on permafrost are represented by sparse, low-growing, heavily swampy, pine, pine-spruce and spruce-fir forests on gley-podzolic and podzolic-gley soils. Indigenous landscapes of the northern taiga occupy 11% of the plain's area. Indigenous landscapes in the middle taiga occupy 6% of the area of ​​the West Siberian Plain, in the southern - 4%. What is common to the forest landscapes of the middle and southern taiga is the wide distribution of lichen and dwarf-sphagnum pine forests on sandy and sandy loam ferruginous and illuvial-humus podzols. On loam soils in the middle taiga, along with extensive swamps, there are spruce-cedar forests with larch and birch forests on podzolic, podzolic-gley, peat-podzolic-gley and gley peat-podzols.

In the subzone of the southern taiga on loams - spruce-fir and fir-cedar (including urmans - dense dark coniferous forests with a predominance of fir), small grass forests and birch forests with aspen on sod-podzolic and sod-podzolic-gley (including with a second humus horizon) and peat-podzolic-gley soils.

The subtaiga zone is represented by parkland pine, birch and birch-aspen forests on gray, gray gley and soddy-podzolic soils (including with a second humus horizon) in combination with steppe meadows on cryptogleyed chernozems, sometimes solonetzic. Indigenous forest and meadow landscapes have practically not been preserved. Swampy forests turn into lowland sedge-hypnum (with ryams) and sedge-reed bogs (about 40% of the zone's territory). For forest-steppe landscapes of sloping plains with loess-like and loess cover on salt-bearing tertiary clays, birch and aspen-birch groves on gray soils and solods in combination with forb-grass steppe meadows on leached and cryptogleyed chernozems are typical, to the south - with meadow steppes on ordinary chernozems, in some places solonetzic and solonchakous. There are pine forests on the sands. Up to 20% of the zone is occupied by eutrophic reed-sedge bogs. In the steppe zone, indigenous landscapes have not been preserved; in the past these were forb-feather grass steppe meadows on ordinary and southern chernozems, sometimes saline, and in the drier southern regions - fescue-feather grass steppes on chestnut and cryptogley soils, gley solonetzes and solonchaks.

Environmental problems and protected natural areas

In oil production areas, due to pipeline breaks, water and soil are polluted with oil and petroleum products. In forestry areas there are overcuttings, waterlogging, the spread of silkworms, and fires. In agricultural landscapes, there is an acute problem of lack of fresh water, secondary soil salinization, destruction of soil structure and loss of soil fertility during plowing, drought and dust storms. In the north, there is degradation of reindeer pastures, in particular due to overgrazing, which leads to a sharp reduction in their biodiversity. No less important is the problem of preserving hunting grounds and natural habitats of fauna.

Numerous reserves, national and natural parks have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. Among the largest reserves are: in the tundra - the Gydansky Reserve, in the northern taiga - the Verkhnetazovsky Reserve, in the middle taiga - the Yugansky Reserve and Malaya Sosva, etc. In the sub-taiga, the Pripyshminskie Bory National Park was created. Natural parks have also been organized: in the tundra - Oleniy Ruchi, in the north. taiga - Numto, Siberian Uvaly, in the middle taiga - Kondinsky lakes, in the forest-steppe - Bird Harbor.

The first acquaintance of Russians with Western Siberia probably took place back in the 11th century, when the Novgorodians visited the lower reaches of the Ob River. With the campaign of Ermak (1582–85), a period of discoveries in Siberia and the development of its territory began.

The plain has the shape of a trapezoid tapering towards 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 only 2.7 million km².

West Siberian Plain
West Siberian Plain on the map of Western Siberia (mountainous areas are separated by a dotted line)
Characteristics
Dimensions	1900 × 2500 km
Square	2.7 million km²
Rivers	Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei
Location
62° N. w. 76° E. d. HGIOL
Countries
Media files on Wikimedia Commons

The West Siberian Plain is the most populated and developed (especially in the south) part of Siberia. Within its borders are the Tyumen, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions, the Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrugs, the eastern regions of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions, a significant part of the Altai Territory, the western regions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (about 1/7 of the area of ​​Russia). In the Kazakh part, within its boundaries there are areas of the North Kazakhstan, Akmola, Pavlodar, Kustanai and East Kazakhstan regions of Kazakhstan.

Relief and geological structure

The surface of the West Siberian Lowland is flat with a fairly insignificant difference in elevation. However, the relief of the plain is quite diverse. The lowest areas of the plain (50-100 m) are located mainly in the central (Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands) and northern (Lower Obskaya, Nadymskaya and Purskaya lowlands) parts. Along the western, southern and eastern outskirts there are low (up to 200-250 m) hills: the North Sosvinskaya and Turinskaya, Ishim plains, the Priobskoye and Chulym-Yenisei plateaus, the Ketsko-Tymskaya, Verkhnetazovskaya and Lower Yenisei uplands. A clearly defined strip of hills is formed in the inner part of the plain by the Siberian Uvals (average height - 140-150 m), stretching from the west from the Ob to the east to the Yenisei, and the Vasyugan Plain parallel to them.

The relief of the plain is largely determined by its geological structure. At the base of the West Siberian Plain lies the epi-Hercynian West Siberian Plate, the foundation of which is composed of intensely dislocated Paleozoic sediments. The formation of the West Siberian plate began in the Upper Jurassic, when, as a result of breaking off, destruction and degeneration, a huge area between the Urals and the Siberian platform subsided, and a huge sedimentation basin arose. During its development, the West Siberian Plate was repeatedly captured by marine transgressions. At the end of the Lower Oligocene, the sea left the West Siberian plate, and it turned into a huge lacustrine-alluvial plain. In the middle and late Oligocene and Neogene, the northern part of the plate experienced uplift, which gave way to subsidence in Quaternary time. The general course of development of the plate with the subsidence of colossal spaces resembles an incomplete process of oceanization. This feature of the slab is emphasized by the phenomenal development of wetlands.

Individual geological structures, despite the thick layer of sediments, are reflected in the relief of the plain: for example, the Verkhnetazovskaya and Lyulimvor hills correspond to gentle anticlinal uplifts, and the Barabinskaya and Kondinskaya lowlands are confined to the syneclises of the foundation of the plate. However, in Western Siberia, discordant (inversion) morphostructures are also common. These include, for example, the Vasyugan Plain, formed on the site of a gently sloping syneclise, and the Chulym-Yenisei Plateau, located in the zone of basement deflection.

The mantle of loose sediment contains horizons of groundwater - fresh and mineralized (including brine), and hot (up to 100-150°C) water is also found. There are industrial deposits of oil and natural gas (West Siberian oil and gas basin). In the area of ​​the Khanty-Mansi syneclise, Krasnoselsky, Salym and Surgut regions, in the layers of the Bazhenov formation at a depth of 2 km, there are the largest shale oil reserves in Russia.

Climate

The West Siberian Plain is characterized by a harsh, fairly continental climate. Its large extent from north to south determines a clearly expressed climate zonation and significant differences in climatic conditions in the northern and southern parts of Western Siberia. The continental climate of Western Siberia is also significantly influenced by the proximity of the Arctic Ocean. The flat terrain facilitates the exchange of air masses between its northern and southern regions.

During the cold period, within the plain, there is an interaction between an area of ​​relatively high atmospheric pressure located over the southern part of the plain and an area of ​​low pressure, which in the first half of winter extends in the form of a trough of the Icelandic baric minimum over the Kara Sea and the northern peninsulas. In winter, continental air masses of temperate latitudes predominate, which come from Eastern Siberia or are formed locally as a result of cooling of the air over the plain.

Cyclones often pass through the border zone of areas of high and low pressure. Therefore, in winter the weather in the coastal provinces is very unstable; On the coast of Yamal and the Gydan Peninsula, strong winds occur, the speed of which reaches 35-40 m/sec. The temperature here is even slightly higher than in neighboring forest-tundra provinces, located between 66 and 69° N. w. However, further south, winter temperatures gradually rise again. In general, winter is characterized by stable low temperatures and few thaws. Minimum temperatures throughout Western Siberia are almost the same. Even near the southern border of the country, in Barnaul, there are frosts down to −50…−52°. Spring is short, dry and relatively cold; April, even in the forest-swamp zone, is not yet quite a spring month.

In the warm season, low pressure is established over Western Siberia, and an area of ​​higher pressure forms over the Arctic Ocean. In connection with this summer, weak northern or northeastern winds predominate and the role of westerly air transport noticeably increases. In May there is a rapid increase in temperatures, but often, when arctic air masses invade, there are returns of cold weather and frosts. The warmest month is July, the average temperature of which is from 3.6° on Bely Island to 21-22° in the Pavlodar region. The absolute maximum temperature is from 21° in the north (Bely Island) to 44° in the extreme southern regions (Rubtsovsk). High summer temperatures in the southern half of Western Siberia are explained by the arrival of heated continental air from the south - from Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Autumn comes late.

The duration of snow cover in the northern regions reaches 240-270 days, and in the south - 160-170 days. The thickness of the snow cover in the tundra and steppe zones in February is 20-40 cm, in the forest-swamp zone - from 50-60 cm in the west to 70-100 cm in the eastern Yenisei regions.

The harsh climate of the northern regions of Western Siberia contributes to soil freezing and widespread permafrost. On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, permafrost is found everywhere. In these areas of continuous (merged) distribution, the thickness of the frozen layer is very significant (up to 300-600 m), and its temperatures are low (in watershed areas - 4. -9°, in valleys -2. -8°). To the south, within the northern taiga to a latitude of approximately 64°, permafrost occurs in the form of isolated islands interspersed with taliks. Its power decreases, temperatures rise to 0.5–1°, and the depth of summer thawing also increases, especially in areas composed of mineral rocks.

Hydrography

The territory of the plain is located within the large West Siberian artesian basin, in which hydrogeologists distinguish several second-order basins: Tobolsk, Irtysh, Kulunda-Barnaul, Chulym, Ob, etc. Due to the large thickness of the cover of loose sediments, consisting of alternating water-permeable (sands) , sandstones) and water-resistant rocks, artesian basins are characterized by a significant number of aquifers confined to formations of various ages - Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene and Quaternary. The quality of groundwater in these horizons is very different. In most cases, artesian waters of deep horizons are more mineralized than those lying closer to the surface.

More than 2,000 rivers flow on the territory of the West Siberian Plain, the total length of which exceeds 250 thousand km. These rivers carry about 1,200 km³ of water into the Kara Sea annually - 5 times more than the Volga. The density of the river network is not very large and varies in different places depending on the topography and climatic features: in the Tavda basin it reaches 350 km, and in the Barabinsk forest-steppe - only 29 km per 1000 km². Some southern regions of the country with a total area of ​​more than 445 thousand km² belong to areas of closed drainage and are distinguished by an abundance of drainless lakes.

The main sources of nutrition for most rivers are melted snow waters and summer-autumn rains. In accordance with the nature of the food sources, the runoff is uneven over the seasons: approximately 70-80% of its annual amount occurs in spring and summer. Especially a lot of water flows down during the spring flood, when the level of large rivers rises by 7-12 m (in the lower reaches of the Yenisei even up to 15-18 m). For a long time (in the south - five, and in the north - eight months), Western Siberian rivers are frozen. Therefore, no more than 10% of the annual runoff occurs in the winter months.

The rivers of Western Siberia, including the largest ones - the Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei, are characterized by slight slopes and low flow speeds. For example, the fall of the Ob riverbed in the area from Novosibirsk to the mouth over a distance of 3000 km is only 90 m, and its flow speed does not exceed 0.5 m/sec.

There are about one million lakes on the West Siberian Plain, with a total area of ​​more than 100 thousand km². Based on the origin of the basins, they are divided into several groups: those occupying the primary unevenness of the flat terrain; thermokarst; moraine-glacial; lakes of river valleys, which in turn are divided into floodplain and oxbow lakes. Peculiar lakes - “fogs” - are found in the Ural part of the plain. They are located in wide valleys, overflow in the spring, sharply reducing their size in the summer, and by autumn many disappear altogether. In the southern regions, lakes are often filled with salt water. The West Siberian Lowland holds the world record for the number of swamps per unit area (the area of ​​the wetland is about 800 thousand square kilometers). The reasons for this phenomenon are the following factors: excess moisture, flat topography, permafrost and the ability of peat, which is available here in large quantities, to retain a significant amount of water.

Natural areas

The large extent from north to south contributes to a pronounced latitudinal zonality in the distribution of soils and vegetation cover. Within the country there are gradually replacing one another

There are two great plains in Eurasia. The one located in the east stretches from the mountains of Southern Siberia to the eternal ice of the Kara Sea, from the Yenisei to the Urals. The vast and incredible riches of nature are the West Siberian Plain.

Borders and area

Western Siberia is an incredibly vast territory. From the Arctic Ocean it stretches for 2.5 thousand kilometers to the steppes of Kazakhstan, from the Urals to the Yenisei it stretches for 1.5 thousand kilometers. Almost 80% of all Siberia is located on a plain consisting of two flat, bowl-shaped depressions and full of wetlands. These depressions are separated from each other by the Siberian Ridges, raised to 175-200 meters. In the southeast, the height of the West Siberian Plain gradually rises, and the foothills of Salair, Mountain Shoria, Altai and Kuznetsk Alatau appear. The area of ​​this great plain is more than 2.4 million square kilometers.

Geological development

The western part of the Siberian Plain was formed in the Precambrian. Gradually evolving during the Paleozoic, folded structures formed along the edges of the platform. Docked with other parts of the mainland, they formed a single region. However, such a “patchwork” origin gives reason to interpret the nature of the slab in two ways. Quite often, given the facts, it is called heterogeneous, but at the same time, keeping in mind that most of the plain was formed in the Paleozoic, it is considered epi-Paleozoic. And then, keeping in mind the main role of the Hercynian folding, the plate is called epihercynian.

Simultaneously with the formation of the foundation, starting from the Paleozoic and ending with the Early Jurassic, the cover of the future plain was created. The formation of the cover was completely completed by the Meso-Cenozoic. This not only blocked the border zones of folded structures, but also, thus, significantly increased the territory of the plate.

Geographic zoning

The West Siberian Plain includes five zones: tundra, forest-tundra, steppe, forest-steppe and forest. In addition, it includes mountainous and low-mountain areas. Probably in no other place is it possible to trace such a correct manifestation of zonal natural phenomena as here.



Tundra occupies the north of the Tyumen region, occupying Yamal and the Gydan Peninsula. Its area is 160 thousand square kilometers. The tundra is completely covered with moss and lichen, interspersed with hypnum-grass, lichen-sphagnum and coarse bog landscapes.

Forest-tundra runs from the tundra to the south in an almost flat strip of 100-150 kilometers. As a kind of transitional area from tundra to taiga, it looks like a mosaic of swamps, shrubs and woodlands. In the north of the zone, crooked larches grow, located in river valleys.

Forest zone occupies a strip of about a thousand kilometers. This strip includes the north and middle of Tyumen, the Tomsk region, the north of the Novosibirsk and Omsk regions. The forest is divided into northern, southern and middle taiga and birch-aspen forests. Most of it is occupied by wood with dark needles - Siberian fir, spruce and cedar.

Forest-steppe located next to deciduous forests. The main representatives of the zone are meadows, swamps, salt marshes and small areas of forests. The forest-steppe is rich in birch and aspen.

Steppe covered the south of the Omsk region, the west of Altai and the southwest of the Novosibirsk region. The zone is represented by ribbon pine forests.

The rather significant height of the West Siberian Plain in mountainous areas makes it possible to develop altitudinal zones. The main place here is given to forests. In addition, there is black taiga, characteristic of the mountains of Siberia. Among this taiga lies the “linden island” - a forest area of ​​150 square kilometers. Most scientists consider this site to be tertiary vegetation.

Geology and orography

In places where the West Siberian Plain is located, the basis is considered to be the West Siberian Plate. This plate is based on the Paleozoic foundation, which is currently located at a depth of about 7 kilometers. The most ancient rocks come to the surface only in mountainous areas and are hidden in other places by sedimentary rocks. The West Siberian Plain is a fairly young subducting platform. The magnitude and rate of subsidence of different areas vary greatly, therefore the thickness of the cover of loose sediments is also very diverse.



The nature, quantity and extent of icing in ancient times are still not really clear. It is still generally accepted that north of 60 degrees the entire part of the plain was occupied by glaciers. It is the small number of glaciers that explains the fact that their melting did not leave large moraine accumulations.

Natural resources

Since the cover of the plate is formed by sedimentary rocks, one cannot expect a large number of fossils here. There are only exogenous deposits - so-called sedimentary fossils. Among them you can see oil in the south of the plain, gas in the north, coal, peat, iron ore, and evaporites.

Climate

The West Siberian Plain, whose geographical location provides it with such an opportunity, has very interesting climatic characteristics. The fact is that the plain is located almost at the same distance from both the Atlantic and the center of continentality of Eurasia. In most of the plain the climate is temperate continental. Western Siberia, thanks to its northern openness, receives a large amount of Arctic masses, bringing cold in winter and preventing summer from fully manifesting itself. Thus, the January temperature from south to north ranges from -15 to -30 degrees, while the July temperature ranges from +5 to +20. The largest temperature difference - 45 degrees - is observed in the northeast of Siberia.

Causes of climate severity

This rather harsh climate has formed for several reasons.

The West Siberian Plain is located for the most part in temperate latitudes, which causes a rather small amount of solar radiation that enters the territory.

The considerable distance from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans made it possible to develop a continental climate.

The flat topography of the West Siberian Plain allows large amounts of Arctic air to travel further south than in other regions, while allowing warm currents from Central Asia and Kazakhstan to reach deep to the north.

Mountains that fenced off the plain from the west from the air currents of the Atlantic and from the southeast from Central Asia.



Relief

The West Siberian Plain has long been considered a “model” low-lying plain. The reason for this is the fact that on almost the entire surface its absolute height is below 200 meters. Above this there are only small areas. For quite a long time, on the maps the entire plain was painted in a uniform color that did not take into account these small rises in altitude. However, upon closer study, it became clear that orography is not so simple. Plains with a height of more than 100 meters stand out very clearly.

Biodiversity

The West Siberian Plain is in climatic conditions that contribute to the formation of too little diversity for such large areas. The poverty of choice of higher plants is especially noticeable. On average, the flora in this region is almost 1.5 times poorer compared to neighboring regions. This difference is especially noticeable in the taiga and tundra zones. The nature of Western Siberia is the most diverse for the region.

The reason for such limited flora is the same glaciation, which turned out to be devastating for the region. In addition, mountain refugia that could feed the migration flow are located at a sufficient distance.



Animal world

Despite the considerable extent of the West Siberian Plain, the fauna here also cannot boast of diversity. The only exception can be considered Western Siberia, whose territory is home to a fairly large number of different animals. For example, more than 80 species of mammals from four main orders have been identified in this area. Of this set, 13 species are common to Eastern Siberia, 16 are common to the European part of Russia, and 51 are common to the entire territory of Eurasia. There are no unique animals that live only where the West Siberian Plain is located.

Inland waters

Rivers The West Siberian Plain primarily belongs to the Kara Sea basin. All of them are mostly fed by melting snow, thus belonging to the West Siberian type of intra-annual flow. The flood in this type is more extended in time, but the water flow during this period is practically indistinguishable from the rest of the time. The reason for this is the natural regulation of flow. Accordingly, the runoff in the summer is replenished with water from floodplains and swamps, in which flood water was “saved.” In winter, the only method left to saturate the water is the ground method, which almost catastrophically reduces the oxygen content in the water. For this reason, fish living in rivers are forced to accumulate in pools, which is why they are almost constantly in a state of half-asleep.

The groundwater The region is part of the West Siberian hydrogeological basin. The characteristics of these waters fully correspond to their zonal distribution. Considering the direction of the West Siberian Plain, it becomes clear that most of these waters are almost on the surface, while remaining very cold. However, when moving south, it becomes clear that the depth of the waters, their temperature, and mineral saturation increase. The water in the south is saturated with calcium, sulfate, and chlorides. In the very south there are so many of these compounds in the water that its taste becomes salty and bitter.

Swamps given the low-lying terrain, they are one of the main components of the water masses of the plain. Their area and degree of swampiness are very large. Some researchers believe that the swamps of the region are aggressive, not only remaining in their original form, but also gradually growing, capturing more and more new territories. Currently, this process is irreversible.



Administrative division

The West Siberian Plain, the geographical location of which suggests a fairly diverse administrative use, hosts many regions and territories. So, these are Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kemerovo regions. This also partially includes the Sverdlovsk, Kurgan and Chelyabinsk regions. In addition, parts of the Krasnoyarsk and Altai territories are located on the plain. The largest city is Novosibirsk, it has about 1.5 million inhabitants. The city is located on the Ob River.

Economic use

In Western Siberia, the most developed industries are the mining and forestry industries. Today, this territory supplies more than 70% of all oil and natural gas produced in our country. Coal - more than 30% of all-Russian production. And approximately 20% of the wood that our country harvests.



In Western Siberia today there is a huge oil and gas production complex. The largest deposits of natural gas and oil are found in sedimentary rocks. The area of ​​land rich in these minerals is more than two million square kilometers. Until the 60s, the landscapes of Siberia were almost untouched by industry, but now they are dotted with pipelines, power lines, drilling sites, roads, spoiled by oil spills, killed by smoke, blackened by soaked forests, which arose as a result of the use of outdated technologies in transportation and production fossils.

Do not forget that this region, like no other, is rich in rivers, swamps and lakes. This increases the speed of spread of chemical pollution that enters the Ob from small sources. Then the river carries them out to the sea, bringing death and destroying entire ecosystems, even those far removed from the mining complex.

In addition, the plains of the Kuznetsk mountain region are rich in coal deposits. Mining in this region accounts for about 40% of our country’s total coal reserves. The largest coal mining centers are Prokopyevsk and Leninsk-Kuznetsky.

Thus, the West Siberian Plain is not only a refuge for many species of plants and animals, but also plays a huge role in the economic and industrial life of our country. Without huge reserves of natural resources, which are the source of production of products necessary for human life, people simply would not be able to live in such a harsh and not very suitable climate.

The West Siberian Plain (it won’t be difficult to find it on a world map) is one of the largest in Eurasia. It stretches for 2500 km from the harsh shores of the Arctic Ocean to the semi-desert territories of Kazakhstan and for 1500 km - from the Ural Mountains to the mighty Yenisei. This entire area consists of two cup-shaped flat depressions and many wetlands. Between these depressions stretch the Siberian Ridges, which rise 180-200 meters.

The West Siberian Plain is a rather interesting and fascinating point that deserves detailed consideration. This natural object is located almost at the same distance between the Atlantic and the continental center of the mainland. About 2.5 million sq. km covers the area of ​​this huge plain. This distance is very impressive.

Climatic conditions

The geographical position of the West Siberian Plain on the mainland causes interesting climatic conditions. Therefore, the weather in most of the plain is temperate continental. Large Arctic masses enter this territory from the north, bringing with them intense cold in winter, and in summer the thermometer shows from + 5 °C to + 20 °C. In January, on the southern and northern sides the temperature can vary from -15 °C to -30 °C. The lowest winter indicator was recorded in the northeast of Siberia - down to -45 °C.

Humidity on the plain also spreads gradually from south to north. With the beginning of summer, most of it falls on the steppe zone. In mid-summer, in July, the heat takes over the entire south of the plain, and the humid front moves to the north, thunderstorms and showers sweep over the taiga. At the end of August, the rains reach the tundra zone.

Water streams

When describing the geographical location of the West Siberian Plain, it is necessary to talk about the water system. A huge number of rivers flow through this territory, and there are also numerous lakes and swamps. The largest and deepest river is the Ob with its tributary Irtysh. It is not only the largest in the region, but also one of the greatest in the world. In terms of its area and length, the Ob dominates among the rivers of Russia. The Pur, Nadym, Tobol and Taz water streams suitable for navigation also flow here.



The plain holds the world record for the number of swamps. Such a vast territory cannot be found on the globe. The swamps cover an area of ​​800 thousand square meters. km. There are several reasons for their formation: excess moisture, flat surface of the plain, a large amount of peat, and low air temperature.

Minerals

This region is rich in mineral resources. This is largely influenced by the geographical location of the West Siberian Plain. Oil and gas deposits are concentrated here in huge quantities. Its vast wetland areas contain a large reserve of peat - approximately 60% of the total amount in Russia. There are iron ore deposits. Siberia is also rich in its hot waters, which contain salts of carbonates, chlorides, bromine and iodine.

Animal and plant worlds

The climate of the plain is such that the flora here is quite poor compared to neighboring regions. This is especially noticeable in the taiga and tundra zones. The reason for such poverty of plants is long-term glaciation, which does not allow plants to spread.



The fauna of the plain is also not very rich, despite the enormous extent of the territories. The geographical position of the West Siberian Plain is such that it is almost impossible to meet interesting individuals here. There are no unique animals living only in this territory. All species that live here are common to other regions, both neighboring and the entire continent of Eurasia.