Ural mountains- the mountain range that crosses Russia from north to south is the border between two parts of the world and two largest parts (macroregions) of our country - European and Asian.

Geographical position of the Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains stretch from north to south, mainly along the 60th meridian. In the north, they bend towards the northeast, towards the Yamal Peninsula, in the south, they turn towards the southwest. One of their features is that the mountainous area expands as you move from north to south (this is clearly visible on the map on the right). In the very south, in the region of the Orenburg region, the Ural Mountains are connected with nearby elevations, such as the General Syrt.

No matter how strange it may seem, the exact geological border of the Ural Mountains (hence, the exact geographical border between Europe and Asia) still cannot be accurately determined.

The Ural Mountains are conventionally divided into five regions: the Polar Urals, the Subpolar Urals, the Northern Urals, the Middle Urals and the Southern Urals.

To one degree or another, part of the Ural Mountains is captured by the following regions (from north to south): Arkhangelsk Region, Komi Republic, Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region, Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg Region, as well as part of Kazakhstan.

Professor D.N. In the 19th century, Anuchin wrote about the variety of landscapes in the Urals:

“From the Konstantinovsky stone in the north to the Mugodzhary mountains in the south, the Urals exhibit a different character in different latitudes. Wild, with rocky peaks in the north, it becomes forest, with more rounded outlines in the middle part, it acquires rockiness again in the Kyshtym Urals, and especially near Zlatoust and further, where the high Iremel rises. And these lovely lakes of the Trans-Urals, bordered from the west by a beautiful line of mountains. These rocky shores of the Chusovaya with its dangerous "fighters", these Tagil rocks with their mysterious "scribes", these beauties of the southern, Bashkir Urals, how much material they represent for a photographer, painter, geologist, geographer! "

The origin of the Ural mountains

The Ural Mountains have a long and complex history. It begins in the Proterozoic era - such an ancient and little-studied stage in the history of our planet that scientists do not even divide it into periods and epochs. About 3.5 billion years ago, a rupture occurred in the place of future mountains. crust, which soon reached a depth of more than ten kilometers. Over the course of almost two billion years, this rift expanded, so that an ocean up to a thousand kilometers wide was formed about 430 million years ago. However, soon after this, the rapprochement began. lithospheric plates; the ocean disappeared relatively quickly, and mountains formed in its place. It happened about 300 million years ago - this corresponds to the era of the so-called Hercynian folding.

New large uplifts in the Urals resumed only 30 million years ago, during which the Polar, Subpolar, Northern and Southern parts of the mountains were raised by almost a kilometer, and the Middle Urals - by about 300-400 meters.

At present, the Ural Mountains have stabilized - no large movements of the earth's crust are observed here. Nevertheless, to this day, they remind people of their active history: from time to time earthquakes occur here, and very large ones (the strongest had an amplitude of 7 points and was recorded not so long ago - in 1914).

Features of the structure and relief of the Urals

From a geological point of view, the Ural Mountains are very complex. They are formed by breeds of various types and ages. In many ways features internal structure The Urals are associated with its history, for example, traces of deep faults and even parts of the oceanic crust are still preserved.

The Ural mountains are medium and low in height, the highest point is Mount Narodnaya in the Subpolar Urals, reaching 1895 meters. In profile, the Ural Mountains resemble a depression: the highest ridges are located in the north and south, and the middle part does not exceed 400-500 meters, so that, crossing the Middle Urals, you may not even notice the mountains.

View of the Main Ural Range in the Perm Territory. Photo by Yulia Vandysheva

We can say that the Ural Mountains were "unlucky" in terms of height: they formed in the same period as Altai, but subsequently experienced much less strong uplifts. The result is that the highest point of Altai, Mount Belukha, reaches four and a half kilometers, and the Ural Mountains are more than two times lower. However, such a "lofty" position of Altai turned into a danger of earthquakes - the Urals in this respect are much safer for life.

Despite the relatively low heights, the Ural ridge serves as an obstacle to the air masses, moving mainly from the west. More precipitation falls on the western slope than on the eastern. In the mountains themselves, the nature of the vegetation has a pronounced altitudinal zonation.

Typical vegetation of the mountain tundra belt in the Ural Mountains. The picture was taken on the slope of Mount Humboldt (Main Ural Range, Northern Ural) at an altitude of 1310 meters. Photo by Natalia Shmaenkova

The long, continuous struggle of volcanic forces against the forces of wind and water (in geography, the former are called endogenous, and the latter - exogenous) created in the Urals great amount unique natural attractions: rocks, caves and many others.

The Urals are also famous for their huge reserves of all types of minerals. These are, first of all, iron, copper, nickel, manganese and many other types of ores, building materials. The Kachkanar iron deposit is one of the largest in the country. Although the metal content in the ore is low, it contains rare, but very valuable metals - manganese, vanadium.

In the north, in the Pechora coal basin, coal is mined. There are also precious metals in our region - gold, silver, platinum. Undoubtedly, the Ural precious and semi-precious stones are widely known: emeralds mined near Yekaterinburg, diamonds, gems of the Murzinsky strip, and, of course, the Ural malachite.

Unfortunately, many valuable old deposits have already been depleted. "Magnetic mountains", containing large reserves of iron ore, have been turned into quarries, and reserves of malachite have been preserved only in museums and in the form of separate inclusions at the site of old developments - now it is hardly possible to find even a three-hundred-kilogram monolith. Nevertheless, these minerals largely ensured the economic power and glory of the Urals for centuries.

Film about the Ural Mountains:

The Ural Mountains, also called the "Stone Belt of the Urals", are represented by a mountain system surrounded by two plains (East European and West Siberian). These ranges serve as a natural barrier between the Asian and European territories, and are among the oldest mountains in the world. Their composition is represented by several parts - polar, southern, circumpolar, northern and middle.

Ural mountains: where are they

Feature geographic location This system is considered to be the length from north to south. The hills adorn the continent of Eurasia, mainly covering two countries - Russia and Kazakhstan. Part of the massif is spread out in the Arkhangelsk, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk regions, Perm Territory, Bashkortostan. Coordinates of the natural object - the mountains run parallel to the 60th meridian.

The length of this mountain range is more than 2500 km, and the absolute height of the main peak is 1895 m.The average height of the Ural mountains is 1300-1400 m.

The highest peaks of the array include:

The highest point is located on the border separating the Komi Republic and the territory of Ugra (Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug).

The Ural Mountains reach the shores belonging to the Arctic Ocean, then hide under water for some distance, continue to Vaygach and the archipelago New earth... Thus, the massif stretches in a northerly direction for another 800 km. Maximum width " Stone Belt"- about 200 km. In places it narrows to 50 km or more.

Origin story

Geologists argue that the Ural Mountains have a complex way of origin, as evidenced by the variety of rocks in their structure. The mountain ranges are associated with the era of the Hercynian folding (late Paleozoic), and their age reaches 600,000,000 years.

The system was formed as a result of the collision of two huge plates. The beginning of these events was preceded by a rupture in the earth's crust, after the expansion of which an ocean was formed, which disappeared over time.

Researchers believe that the distant ancestors of the modern system have undergone significant changes over many millions of years. Today, a stable situation prevails in the Ural Mountains, and there are no significant movements from the side of the earth's crust. The last strong earthquake (with a power of about 7 points) occurred in 1914.

Nature and wealth of the "Stone Belt"

While staying in the Ural Mountains, you can admire the impressive views, visit various caves, swim in the lake water, experience adrenaline emotions, going down the course of the seething rivers. It is convenient to get around here in any way - by private cars, buses or on foot.

The fauna of the "Stone Belt" is diverse. In places where spruce trees grow, it is represented by proteins that feed on the seeds of coniferous trees. After the arrival of winter, red animals feed on independently prepared supplies (mushrooms, pine nuts). Martens are found in abundance in mountain forests. These predators settle nearby with squirrels and periodically hunt for them.

The ridges of the Ural Mountains are rich in furs. Unlike their dark Siberian counterparts, the Ural sables are reddish in color. Hunting for these animals is prohibited by law, which allows them to breed freely in mountain forests. In the Ural Mountains, there is enough space for wolves, elks, and bears to live. The mixed forest area is a favorite spot for roe deer. The plains are inhabited by foxes and hares.

The Ural mountains hide a variety of minerals in the depths. The hills are fraught with asbestos, platinum, gold deposits. There are also deposits of gems, gold and malachite.

Climate characteristic

Most of the Ural mountain system covers a temperate climate zone. If in summer season move along the perimeter of the mountains from the north to the south, it can be recorded that the temperature indicators begin to increase. In summer, the temperature fluctuates at + 10-12 degrees in the north and +20 in the south. In the winter season, the temperature readings acquire a lower contrast. With the onset of January, northern thermometers show about -20 ° C, in the south - from -16 to -18 degrees.

The climate of the Urals is closely related to the air currents arriving from the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the precipitation (up to 800 mm during the year) permeates the western slopes. In the eastern part, such indicators decrease to 400-500 mm. In winter, this zone of the mountain system is under the influence of an anticyclone coming from Siberia. In the south, in autumn and winter, you should count on little cloudy and cold weather.

The fluctuations typical of the local climate are largely due to the mountainous relief. With increasing altitude, the weather becomes more severe, and temperature indicators vary significantly on different parts of the slopes.

Description of local attractions

The Ural Mountains can be proud of many attractions:

1. Reindeer Streams Park.
2. Reserve "Rezhevskaya".
3. Kungur cave.
4. An ice fountain located in the Zyuratkul park.
5. "Bazhovsky places".

Deer Streams Park located in the city of Nizhnie Sergi. For lovers ancient history the local rock Pisanitsa, dotted with drawings by ancient artists, will become interesting. Other prominent sites in this park are caves and the Great Gap. Here you can walk along special paths, visit observation decks, cross to the desired place by cable car.

Reserve "Rezhevskoy" attracts all connoisseurs of gems. This protected area contains deposits of precious and semi-precious stones. It is forbidden to walk here on your own - you can stay on the territory of the reserve only under the supervision of employees.

The territory of the reserve is crossed by the Rezh River. On its right bank is the Shaitan-stone. Many residents of the Urals consider it magical, helping in solving various problems. That is why people constantly go to the stone, wanting to fulfill their dreams.

Length Kungur Ice Cave- about 6 kilometers, of which tourists can visit only a quarter. In it you can see numerous lakes, grottoes, stalactites and stalagmites. To enhance the visual effects, there is a special highlight here. The cave owes its name to the constant subzero temperature. To enjoy the local beauty, you need to have winter clothes with you.

From the national park "Zyuratkul", spread out in the area of ​​Satka, Chelyabinsk region, it arose due to the appearance of a geological well. It is worth looking at it exclusively in winter. In frosty weather, this underground fountain freezes and takes the form of a 14-meter icicle.

Park "Bazhovskie mesto" associated with the famous and beloved by many book "Malachite Box". This place has created full-fledged conditions for vacationers. You can go on a fascinating walk on foot, by bicycle, or on horseback, while admiring the picturesque landscapes.

Anyone can cool off here in the lake waters or climb the Markov Kamen Upland. In the summer season, numerous extreme lovers come to "Bazhovskie mesto" in order to descend along the course of mountain rivers. In winter, the park will be able to experience no less adrenaline while riding a snowmobile.

Recreation centers in the Urals

For visitors to the Ural Mountains, everything has been created the necessary conditions... Recreation centers are located in places far from noisy civilization, in quiet corners of pristine nature, often on the shores of local lakes. Depending on personal preference, you can stay here in complexes with a modern design or in antique buildings. In any case, travelers will find comfort and polite, caring staff.

At the bases, there is a rental of cross-country and downhill skis, kayaks, tubing, a snowmobile ride with an experienced driver is available. On the territory of the guest zone, there are traditionally barbecue zones, a Russian bath with billiards, children's playhouses and playgrounds. In such places, you can be guaranteed to forget about the bustle of the city, and fully relax on your own or with the whole family, taking an unforgettable memory photo.

Posted Sun, 08/01/2017 - 10:13 by Cap

Part of the Ural Mountains from the Kosvinsky Kamen massif in the south to the bank of the Shchugor River in the north is called the Northern Ural. In this place, the width of the Ural ridge is 50-60 kilometers. As a result of the rise of ancient mountains and the impact of subsequent glaciations and modern frost weathering, the territory has a mid-mountainous relief, with flat tops.
The Northern Urals are very popular with tourists. Of particular interest are the rocks and outliers of the Man-Pupu-Nier, Torre-Porre-Iz, Muning-Tump massifs. The main peaks of this part of the Urals are located away from the watershed ridge: Konzhakovsky Kamen (1569 meters), Denezhkin Kamen (1492 meters), Chistop (1292), Otorten (1182), Kozhim-Iz (1195),

The northernmost peak of the Ural mountain system is Mount Telposiz in Komi. The facility is located on the territory of the republic. Mount Telposiz in Komi is composed of quartzite sandstones, crystalline schists and conglomerates. On the slopes of Mount Telposiz in Komi, a taiga forest grows - mountain tundra. Translated from the language of the local population, oronim means “Nest of the Winds”.
The Subpolar Urals is one of the most beautiful regions of our Motherland. Its ridges stretch in a wide arc from the headwaters of the Khulga River in the north to Mount Telposiz in the south. The area of ​​the mountainous part of the region is about 32,000 km2.
Little explored harsh nature, abundance of fish in rivers and lakes, in the taiga of berries and mushrooms attract travelers here. Good connections along the North railroad, on steamships and boats along Pechora, Usa, Ob, Severnaya Sosva and Lyapin, as well as a network of airlines allow to develop in the Subpolar Urals water, pedestrian, water, hiking and ski routes crossing the Ural ridge or along its western and eastern slopes.
A characteristic feature of the relief of the Subpolar Urals - high altitude ridges with alpine relief forms, the asymmetry of its slopes, deep dissection by through transverse valleys and gorges, significant height of the passes. The highest peaks are located in the center of the Subpolar Urals.
The absolute height of the passes across the main watershed separating Europe from Asia, and through the ridges located to the west of it, is from 600 to 1500 m above sea level. The relative heights of the peaks near the passes are 300-1000 m. The passes on the Sablinsky and Impenetrable ranges are especially high and difficult to pass, the slopes of which end in steep-walled kars. The most easily passable passes through the Research Ridge (from 600 to 750 m above sea level) with relatively gentle insignificant ascents that allow for easy dragging are located in the southern part of the ridge between the upper reaches of the Puyva (right tributary of the Shchekurya) and Torgovaya (right tributary of the Shchugor), as well as between the upper reaches of the Shchekurya, Magnya (Lyapin basin) and Bolshoi Molotov (right tributary of the Shchugor).
In the area of ​​Narodnaya Mountain and on the Narodo-Ityinsky ridge, the height of the passes is 900-1200 m, but here, too, many of them pass paths along which the portage from the upper reaches of the Khulga (Lyapin), Khaimai, Grubei, Khalmeriu, Narodi to the upper reaches of the tributaries of the Lemva are relatively easy , on Kozhim and Balbanyo (Usa basin).

The Subpolar Urals is one of the most beautiful regions of our Motherland. Its ridges stretch in a wide arc from the headwaters of the Khulga River in the north to Mount Telposiz in the south. The area of ​​the mountainous part of the region is about 32,000 km2.

Northern border
From the border of the Perm region to the east along the northern borders of quarters 1-5 of the forestry of the state industrial farm "Denezhkin Kamen" (Sverdlovsk region) to the northeastern corner of square 5.

Eastern border
From the northeast corner of the square. 5 to the south along the eastern borders of blocks 5, 19, 33 to the southeast corner of the square. 33, further east along the northern border of the square. 56 to its southeastern corner, further south along the eastern border of the square. 56 to its southeastern corner, further east along the northern border of the square. 73 to its northeastern corner, further south along the eastern border of blocks 73, 88, 103 to the river B. Kosva and further along the left bank of the river. B. Kosva before its confluence with the Shegultan River, then along the left bank of the river. Shegultan to the eastern border of the square. 172 and further south along the eastern borders of blocks 172, 187 to the southeast corner of the block. 187, further east along the northern border of the square. 204 to its northeast corner.
Further south along the eastern borders of blocks 204, 220, 237, 253, 270, 286, 303, 319 to the southeast corner of the square. 319, further east along the northern border of blocks 336, 337 to the northeastern corner of the block. 337.
Further south along the eastern border of blocks 337, 349, 369, 381, 401, 414, 434, 446, 469, 491, 510 to the southeast corner of the square. 510.

Southern border
From the southwest corner of the square. 447 to the east along the southern borders of blocks 447, 470, 471, 492, 493 to the Sosva river, then along the right bank of the river. Sosva to the southeast corner of the square. 510.

Western border
From the southwest corner of the square. 447 to the north along the border of the Perm region to the north-western corner of the square. 1 forestry of the state industrial farm "Denezhkin Kamen".

Geographical coordinates
Center: lat - 60o30 "29.71", lon - 59o29 "35.60"
North: lat - 60o47 "24.30", lon - 59o35 "0.10"
East: lat - 60о26 "51.17", lon - 59о42 "32.68"
South: lat - 60о19 "15.99", lon - 59о32 "45.14"
West: lat - 60о22 "56.30", lon - 59о12 "6.02"

GEOLOGY
The Ilmenogorsk complex is located in the southern part of the Sysertsko-Ilmenogorsk anticlinorium of the East Ural uplift, has a fold-block structure and is composed of igneous and metamorphic rocks of various compositions. Of greatest interest here are numerous unique pegmatous veins, in which topaz, aquamarine, phenakite, zircon, sapphire, tourmaline, amazonite, and various rare-metal minerals are found. Here, for the first time in the world, 16 minerals were discovered - ilmenite, ilmenorutil, potassium sadanagaite (potassium ferrisadanagaite), cancrinite, macarochinite, monazite- (Ce), polyakovite- (Ce), samarskite- (Y), bindite, ushkovite, fergusonite-beta ), fluoromagnesioarfvedsonite, fluoroorichterite, chiolite, chevkinite- (Ce), eshinite- (Ce).

Ilmensky reserve

GEOGRAPHY
The relief of the western part is low-mountainous. The average heights of the ridges (Ilmensky and Ishkulsky) are 400-450 m above sea level, the maximum elevation is 747 m. The eastern foothills are formed by low elevations. More than 80% of the area is occupied by forests, about 6% - by meadows and steppes. The tops of the mountains are covered with larch-pine forests. Pine forests prevail in the south, pine-birch and birch forests in the north. On the western slopes of the Ilmen mountains there is an old pine forest massif. There are areas of larch forests, stony, gramineous-forb and shrub steppes, moss swamps with cranberries and wild rosemary. The flora contains more than 1200 plant species, many endemic, relict and rare species. Inhabited by ermine, polecat, Siberian weasel, wolf, lynx, flying squirrel, hares - white hare and hare, brown bear comes in. Elk and roe deer are few in number. Sika deer and beaver have been acclimatized. Of the birds, grouse are common - wood grouse, black grouse, hazel grouse, gray partridge. Whooper swan and gray crane nest in the reserve, rare birds are noted - white-tailed eagle, burial ground, peregrine falcon, osprey, saker falcon, little bustard.

Since 1930, there has been a mineralogical museum founded by A.E. Fersman, which displays more than 200 different minerals found in the Ilmen ridge, including topaz, corundum, amazonite, etc.

In 1991, a branch was organized - the historical landscape archaeological monument "Arkaim" with an area of ​​3.8 thousand hectares. Located in the steppe foothills of the eastern Urals, in the Karagan valley. More than 50 archaeological sites are preserved here: Mesolithic and Neolithic sites, burial grounds, settlements of the Bronze Age, and other historical sites. The fortified settlement Arkaim of the 17th - 16th centuries is of particular importance. BC NS.

Location:

Gremyachinsky district of the Perm region.

Monument type: Geomorphological.

Brief description: Remnants of weathering in the Lower Carboniferous quartzite sandstones.

Status: Landscape natural monument of regional significance.

A city turned to stone.

The city is located on the main peak of the Rudyansky Spoi ridge, the absolute height of which is 526 m above sea level. It is a powerful rock mass, composed of fine-grained quartz sandstones of the Lower Carboniferous, which are part of a coal-bearing strata formed in the delta of a large river.

The massif is cut by deep, up to 8-12 m, cracks from 1 to 8 m wide both in the meridional and latitudinal directions, which creates the illusion of deep and narrow perpendicularly intersecting streets, streets and lanes of the ancient abandoned city.

The Urals is a mountainous country that stretches from north to south from the shores of the cold Kara Sea to the Central Asian steppes and semi-deserts. The Ural Mountains are a natural border between Europe and Asia.
In the north, the Ural ends in the low Pai-Khoi ridge, in the south - in the Mugodzhary mountain range. The total length of the Urals with Pai-Khoi and Mugodzhary is more than 2500 km.

In the east of the Orenburg region, the Guberlin Mountains (the southern part of the Ural Mountains) rise - one of the most beautiful places in the Orenburg region. The Guberlin Mountains are located 30-40 kilometers west of the city of Orsk on the right bank of the Urals, where the Guberlya River flows into it.

The Guberlinsky mountains are a washed-out edge of the high Orsk steppe, strongly dissected and indented by the valley of the Guberli River, the ravines and gorges of its tributaries. Therefore, the mountains do not rise above the steppe, but lie below it.

They occupy a narrow strip along the valley of the Ural River, to the north passing into the high Orsk steppe, and to the west, on the right bank of the Guberli, they are replaced by a ridge low-mountain relief. The gentle eastern slope of the Guberlin Mountains imperceptibly passes into the plain on which the city of Novotroitsk is located.

The territory occupied by the Guberlin Mountains is about 400 square kilometers.

“From the open cracks of the crevices, an incessantly thin, quivering vapor rises up against the sun, to which it is impossible to touch with a hand; a birch bark thrown there or dry wood chips would catch fire in one minute; in bad weather and on dark nights it looks like a red flame or a fiery steam several arshins higher, ”wrote academician and traveler Pyotr Simon Pallas about an unusual mountain in Bashkiria more than 200 years ago.

Long ago, Yangantau mountain was called differently: Karagosh-Tau or Berkutova mountain. According to the good old tradition, “what I see is what I call”. For the mountain to be renamed, some exceptional event had to happen. They say that this event even has an exact date: 1758. Lightning struck the mountain, all the trees and bushes on the southern slope caught fire. Since then, the mountain has become known under the name Yangantau (Yangan-tau), translated from Bashkir as "burnt mountain". The Russians slightly changed the name: Gorela Gora. However, despite the wide popularity and absolute uniqueness of Yangantau, locals they still remember the old name, Karagosh-tau, and they still use it.

Hiking trips to Iremel can be carried out from May to October from the village of Tyulyuk (Chelyabinsk region). It can be reached from the Vyazovaya railway station (70 km).

The road to Tyulyuk is covered with gravel, to Meseda there is asphalt. There is a bus.

Tuluk - a view of the Zigalga ridge

The base camp can be set up both in Tyulyuk, there are special paid places for tents or houses to choose from, and on the way to Iremel by the Karagayka river.

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SOURCE OF MATERIALS AND PHOTOS:
Team Wandering.
Encyclopedia of the Urals
List of mountains and ridges of the Urals.
Mountains and peaks of the Urals.

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The Russian plain, which we have just met, is bounded in the east by a well-defined natural boundary - the Ural Mountains. These mountains have long been considered to be the border of two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. Despite its low altitude, the Urals are fairly well isolated as a mountainous country, which is greatly facilitated by the presence of low-lying plains to the west and east of it.

“Ural” is a word of Turkic origin, which means a belt in translation. Indeed, the Ural Mountains resemble a narrow belt or ribbon thrown by someone on the plains of northern Eurasia from the shores of the Kara Sea to the steppes of Kazakhstan. The length of the mountains from north to south is about 2000 km (from 68 ° 30 ′ to 51 ° N), and the width is 40-60 km and only in some places more than 100 km. In the northwest, through the Pai-Khoi ridge and the Vaygach Island, the Ural connects with the mountains of Novaya Zemlya; in the south, it is continued by the Mugodzhars.

Many Russian and Soviet researchers took part in the study of the Urals. The first researchers of its nature were P.I. Rychkov and I.I. Lepekhin (the second half Xviii v.). In the middle XIX v. EK Hoffman worked for many years in the Northern and Middle Urals. Soviet scientists V.A.Varsanofieva (geologist and geomorphologist) and I.M.Krasheninnikov (geobotanist) made a great contribution to the knowledge of the landscapes of the Urals.

The Ural is the oldest mining region in our country. In the depths of it there are huge reserves of a wide variety of minerals. Iron, copper, nickel, chromites, aluminum raw materials, platinum, gold, potash salts, precious stones, asbestos - it is difficult to list everything that the Urals are rich in. The reason for such a wealth of minerals lies in the peculiar geological history of the Urals, which also determines the relief and many other elements of the landscape of this mountainous country.

Geological history. The Urals are among the ancient folded mountains. In its place in the Paleozoic there was a geosyncline, the seas rarely left its territory. They changed their boundaries and depth, leaving behind powerful sediments. The Urals experienced mountain building twice in the Paleozoic. The first, the Caledonian folding, which manifested itself in the Silurian and Devonian, although it covered a significant territory, was not the main one for the Ural ridge. The main folding is the second, Hercynian. It began in the Middle Carboniferous in the east of the Urals, and in the Permian it spread to the western slopes.

The Hercynian folding was most intense in the east of the ridge. It was accompanied here by the formation of strongly compressed, often overturned and recumbent folds, complicated by large thrusts, leading to the appearance of scaly structures. Folding in the east of the Urals was complemented by deep splits and intrusions of powerful granite intrusions. Some of the intrusions in the Southern and Northern Urals reach enormous sizes: up to 100-120 km in length and 50-60 km in width.

Mountain building proceeded much less vigorously on the western slope; As a result, simple folds predominate there, thrusts are rare, and there are no intrusions.

The tectonic pressure, which resulted in folding, was directed from east to west. The rigid foundation of the Russian Platform prevented the spread of folding to the west. The folds are most compressed in the region of the Ufa plateau, where even on the western slope they are very complex. In the north and south of the Urals, folded structures diverge in the form of a fan, forming the Pechora and Aral virgations.

After the Hercynian orogeny, folded mountains arose on the site of the Ural geosyncline, and the later tectonic movements were here in the form of block ups and downs. These block ups and downs in places, in a limited area, were accompanied by intense folding and faults. Triassic-Jurassic most of The territory of the Urals remained dry land, on its surface there was an accumulation of coal-bearing strata, well developed along the eastern slope of the ridge.

The geological structure of the Urals reflects its geological history and especially the nature of the manifestation of the Hercynian orogeny. Along the entire length of the ridge, when moving from west to east, a regular change of rocks is observed, differing from one another in age, lithology and origin. It has long been customary to distinguish six such meridional zones in the Urals, which are associated with the largest tectonic structures. The first zone is formed by Paleozoic sedimentary deposits (Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian). It is developed along the western slope of the ridge. To the east of it there is a zone of crystalline schists of Precambrian and Lower Paleozoic age. The third zone is represented by igneous basic rocks - the gabbro zone. In the fourth zone, erupted rocks, their tuffs and Paleozoic shales come out. The fifth zone is made up of granites and gneisses of the eastern slope. In the sixth zone, metamorphic Paleozoic deposits, broken by igneous rocks, are widespread. The folded Paleozoic in this latter zone is largely covered by horizontally lying Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments, characteristic of the West Siberian lowland.

The distribution of minerals in the Urals is subordinated to the same meridional zoning. The Paleozoic sedimentary deposits of the western slope are associated with deposits of oil, state coal (Vorkuta), potash salt (Solikamsk), rock salt, gypsum. Platinum deposits tend to the intrusions of the main rocks of the gabbro zone. The most famous deposits of iron ores - Magnitnaya, Blagodat, Vysokaya mountains are associated with granite and syenite intrusions. Deposits of primary gold and precious stones are associated with granite intrusions, among which the Ural emerald received world fame.

Orography and geomorphology. The Ural is a whole system of mountain ranges stretched parallel to one another in the meridional direction. As a rule, there are two or three such parallel ridges, but in some places, with the expansion of the mountain system, their number increases to four or more. For example, the Southern Urals are distinguished by great orographic complexity between 55 and 54 ° N. sh., where there are at least six ridges. Between the ridges lie narrow depressions occupied by river valleys.

Relatively low areas are replaced in the Urals by elevated ones - a kind of mountain nodes, in which the mountains reach not only their maximum heights, but also their greatest width. It is remarkable that such nodes coincide with the places where the Ural ridge changes its strike. The main of these nodes are Subpolar, Middle Ural and South Ural. In the Subpolar node, lying at 65 ° N. sh., the Ural changes its strike from south-west to south. Here rises the highest peak of the Ural ridge - Mount Narodnaya (1894 m). The Middle Urals knot is located about 60 ° N. NS. where the strike of the Urals changes from south to south-southeast. Among the peaks of this node stands out Mount Konzhakovsky Kamen (1569 m). The South Ural junction is located between 55 ° and 54 ° N. NS. Here, the strike of the Ural ridges changes from

south-west to south, and from the peaks Iremel (1566 m) and Yaman-Tau (1638 m) attract attention.

A common feature of the Ural relief is the asymmetry of its western and eastern slopes. The western slope is more gentle, it passes into the Russian Plain more gradually than the eastern one, which slopes steeply towards the West Siberian lowland. The asymmetry of the ridge is due to tectonics, the history of its geological development.

In connection with the asymmetry, there is another orographic feature of the Urals - the displacement of the main watershed ridge to the east, closer to the West Siberian lowland. This watershed ridge in different parts of the Urals has different names - Ural-Tau in the South Urals, Belt Stone in the North Urals. At the same time, almost everywhere the main watershed ridge separating the rivers of the Russian Plain from the rivers Western Siberia is not the highest. The largest peaks, as a rule, lie to the west of the watershed ridge. Such a hydrographic asymmetry of the Urals is the result of the increased "aggressiveness" of the rivers of the western slope, caused by the sharper and faster uplift of the Cis-Urals in the Neogene in comparison with the Trans-Urals.

Even with a cursory glance at the hydrographic pattern of the Urals, it is striking that most rivers on the western slope have sharp, cranked turns. In the upper reaches, the rivers flow in the meridional direction, following longitudinal intermontane depressions. Then they turn sharply to the west, cutting through often high ridges, after which they again flow in the meridional direction or retain the old latitudinal direction. Such sharp turns are well pronounced in Pechora, Shchugor, Ilych, Belaya, Aya, Sakmara and many others. It was found that rivers cut through ridges in places where fold axes fall. In addition, many rivers, apparently, are older than the mountain ranges and their incision proceeded simultaneously with the rise of the mountains.

The low absolute height determines the predominance of low-mountain and mid-mountain geomorphological landscapes in the Urals. The tops of the ridges are flat, dome-shaped in some mountains with more or less soft outlines of the slopes. In the Northern and Polar Urals, near the upper border of the forest and above it, where frost weathering is vigorously manifested, stone seas ("kurums") are widespread. These places are also characterized by upland terraces arising as a result of solifluction processes and frost weathering.

Alpine landforms in the Urals are very rare. They are known only in the most elevated parts.

Polar and Subpolar Urals. The bulk of the modern glaciers of the Urals is associated with these same mountain ranges.

"Glaciers" is not a casual expression in relation to the glaciers of the Urals. Compared to the glaciers of the Alps and the Caucasus, the Ural ones look like miniature dwarfs. All of them belong to the type of tar and tar-valley glaciers and are located below the climatic snow boundary. The total area of ​​50 glaciers known to date in the Urals is only 15 square meters. km. The most significant area of ​​modern glaciation is located in the polar watershed part southwest of Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye. There are found tar-valley glaciers up to 1.5-2 km long (L.D.Dolgushin, 1957).

The ancient Quaternary glaciation of the Urals was not very intense either. Reliable traces of glaciation can be traced to the south no further than 61 ° N. NS. Glacial landforms such as kars, circuses and hanging valleys are quite well expressed in the Urals. At the same time, attention is drawn to the absence of sheep's foreheads and well-preserved glacial-accumulative forms - drumlins, ozes and end-moraine swells. The latter suggests that the ice sheet in the Urals was thin and not active everywhere; large areas, apparently, were occupied by inactive firn and ice.

Ancient flattening surfaces make up a remarkable feature of the Ural relief. They were first studied by V.A.Varsanofieva in 1932 in the Northern Urals and then described by other researchers in the Middle and Southern Urals. Various researchers for different places in the Urals find from one to seven ancient alignment surfaces. These ancient alignment surfaces provide compelling evidence of the uneven uplift of the Ural Mountains over time. The highest leveling surface corresponds to the oldest peneplanation cycle falling on the lower Mesozoic, the youngest, lower surface is of Tertiary age.

IP Gerasimov (1948) denies the existence in the Urals of uneven-aged leveling surfaces. In his opinion, there is one leveling surface in the Urals, which formed during the Jurassic-Paleogene and then underwent deformation as a result of the latest tectonic movements and erosional erosion.

It is difficult to agree that for such a long time as the Jurassic-Paleogene there was only one, undisturbed, denudation cycle. But IP Gerasimov is undoubtedly right, emphasizing the great role of neotectonic movements in the formation of the modern relief of the Urals. After the Cimmerian folding, which did not deeply affect the Paleozoic structures, the Urals existed throughout the Cretaceous and Paleogene in the form of a strongly peneplained country, along the edges of which there were also shallow seas. The Ural acquired its modern mountainous character only as a result of tectonic movements that took place in the Neogene and Quaternary. Where neotectonic movements were widespread, the most elevated mountain areas are located in the Urals, where they were weakly manifested - little altered ancient peneplains lie.

Karst landforms are widespread in the Urals. They are characteristic of the western slope and the Cis-Urals, where Paleozoic limestones, gypsum and salts serve as karst rocks. The Kungur Ice Cave is very famous in the Cis-Urals. It has about 100 beautiful grottoes and up to 36 underground lakes.

Climatic conditions. Due to the large extent from north to south in the Urals, there is a zonal change in climate types from tundra in the north to steppe in the south. Contrasts between north and south are most pronounced in summer. The average July temperature in the north of the Urals is below 10 °, in the south it is above 20 °. In winter, these differences are smoothed out and the average January temperature is equally low both in the north (below -20 °) and in the south (about -16 °).

The small height of the mountains with a small length, from west to east, does not create conditions for the formation of its own special mountain climate in the Urals. Here, in a slightly modified form, the climate of the adjacent plains in the west and east is repeated. At the same time, in the Urals, climate types seem to be shifting to the south. For example, the mountain-tundra climate continues to dominate at the latitude at which the taiga climate is already developed in the adjacent lowland regions; the mountain-taiga climate penetrates to the latitude of the forest-steppe climate of the plains, etc.

The Urals are stretched across the direction of the prevailing westerly winds. In this regard, its western slope is more often visited by cyclones and is better moistened than the eastern one; on average, it receives 100-150 mm more precipitation. Thus, the annual amount of precipitation on the western slope is: in Kizel (260 m above sea level) - 688 mm, in Ufa (173 m) - 585 mm; on the eastern slope it is equal to: in Sverdlovsk (281 m) - 438 mm, in Chelyabinsk (228 m) - 361 mm. Differences in the amount of atmospheric precipitation between the western and eastern slopes are very clearly traced in winter. While on the western slope the Ural taiga is buried in snowdrifts, on the eastern slope the snow remains shallow throughout the winter.

Maximum precipitation - up to 1000 mm per year - falls on the western slopes of the Subpolar Urals. In the extreme north and south of the Ural Mountains, the amount of atmospheric precipitation decreases, which is associated, as in the Russian Plain, with a weakening of cyclonic activity.

The rugged mountainous terrain creates an exceptional variety of local climates in the Urals. Mountains of different heights, slopes of different exposure, intermountain valleys and hollows - they all have their own special climate. In winter and during the transitional seasons of the year, cold air rolls down the slopes of the mountains into the hollows, where it stagnates, causing the phenomenon of temperature inversion, which is very common in the mountains. In the Ivanovsky mine in winter, the temperature is higher or the same as in Zlatoust, although the latter is located 400 m below the Ivanovsky mine (the height of the Ivanovsky mine is 856 m, Zlatoust is 458 m).

Soils and vegetation. In accordance with climatic conditions, the soils and vegetation of the Urals reveal latitudinal zoning from the tundra in the north to the steppes in the south. However, this zoning is special, alpine, differing from the zoning on the plains in that the soil-vegetation zones are displaced here far to the south.

The extreme north of the Urals from the foot to the top is covered with mountain tundra. The mountain tundra, however, very soon (north of 67 ° N) transforms into a high-altitude landscape belt, at the foothills being replaced by mountain-taiga forests.

Forests are the most common type of vegetation in the Urals. They stretch as a solid green wall along the ridge from the Arctic Circle to 52 ° N. sh., interrupted at high peaks by mountain tundras, and in the south, at the foothills, by steppes.

The forests of the Urals are diverse in composition: coniferous, broad-leaved and small-leaved. The Ural 3 coniferous forests have a completely Siberian appearance: in addition to Siberian spruce and pine, they contain Siberian fir, Sukachev larch and cedar. For the distribution of Siberian conifers, the Urals does not pose a serious obstacle, they all cross the ridge, and the western border of their distribution runs along the Russian Plain.

Most of all, coniferous forests are distributed in the northern part of the Urals, north of 58 ° N. NS. True, they are found to the south of this latitude, but their role here sharply decreases due to the increase in the area of ​​small-leaved and broad-leaved forests. The least demanding coniferous species to climate and soil is Sukachev's larch. It goes farther than other rocks to the north, reaching 68 ° N. sh., and together with the pine it descends further than other species to the south, just a little short of the latitudinal section of the Ural River. Despite the fact that Sukachev's larch is characterized by such a vast area, it does not occupy large areas and almost does not form clean plantings. The main role in the coniferous forests of the Urals belongs to spruce-fir and pine plantations.

Broad-leaved forests begin to play a noticeable role south of 57 s. NS. Their composition in the Urals is very poor: there is no ash and oak is found only on the western slope of the ridge. The Ural broad-leaved and mixed forests are characterized by linden, which often forms pure plantations in Bashkiria.

Many broadleaf species do not go east beyond the Urals. These include oak, elm, and holly maple. But the coincidence of the eastern border of their distribution with the Urals is an accidental phenomenon: the promotion of oak, elm and maple to Siberia is not hindered by the heavily destroyed Ural Mountains, but by the Siberian continental climate.

Small-leaved forests are scattered throughout the Urals, but there are more of them in its southern part. The origin of small-leaved forests is twofold - primary and secondary. Birch is one of the most widespread tree species in the Urals.

Mountain-podzolic soils of varying degrees of waterlogging and podzolization are developed under the forests in the Urals. In the south of the distribution of coniferous forests, where these forests acquire a southern taiga character, typical mountain-podzolic soils give way to mountain sod-podzolic soils. Further south, under the mixed, broad-leaved and small-leaved forests of the Southern Urals, gray forest soils are widespread.

The further south you go, the higher and higher the forest belt of the Urals rises in the mountains. Its upper border in the Northern Urals lies at an altitude of 450-600 m above sea level, in the Middle Urals it rises to 600-750 m, and in the Southern Urals up to 1000-1100 m.

Between the mountain-forest belt and the treeless mountain tundra, there is a narrow transitional belt, which P. L. Gorchakovsky (1955) calls the podgoltsov one. In the subalpine belt, thickets of shrubs and twisted low-growing forests alternate with glades of wet meadows on dark mountain meadow soils. The sinuous birch, cedar, fir and spruce entering the subalpine belt form a dwarf tree in some places.

South of 57 ° N. NS. first on the foothill plains, and then on the slopes of the mountains, the forest belt is displaced by forest-steppe and steppe on chernozem soils. The extreme south of the Urals, like its extreme north, is treeless. Mountain chernozem steppes, in places interrupted by mountain forest-steppe, cover the entire ridge here, including its peneplained axial part.

Animal world The Urals is composed of three main complexes - tundra, forest and steppe. Following the vegetation, northern animals in their distribution along the Ural ridge move far to the south. Suffice it to say that a reindeer lived in the Southern Urals not long ago, and a brown bear sometimes comes from mountainous Bashkiria to the Orenburg region.

Typical tundra animals inhabiting the Polar Urals are: reindeer, arctic fox, hoofed lemming, Middendorf's vole, ptarmigan and tundra partridge; in summer there are many commercial waterfowl (ducks, geese).

The forest complex of animals is best preserved in the Northern Urals, where it is represented by taiga species. The typical taiga-Ural species include: brown bear, sable, wolverine, otter, lynx, squirrel, chipmunk, red vole; of game birds - hazel grouse and wood grouse.

The distribution of steppe animals is limited to the Southern Urals. As well as on the plains, in the steppes of the Urals there are many rodents: small and reddish ground squirrels, large jerboa, marmot, steppe pika, common hamster, common vole, etc. Among the predators are common wolf, corsac fox, steppe polecat. The composition of birds is diverse in the steppe: steppe eagle, steppe harrier, kite, bustard, little bustard , saker falcon, grouse demoiselle, horned lark, black lark.

From the history of development landscapes of the Urals. In the Paleogene, on the site of the Ural Mountains, a low hilly plain rose, reminiscent of the modern Kazakh small hills. Shallow seas surrounded it from the east and south. The climate was then hot; evergreen tropical forests and dry woodlands with the participation of palm trees and laurel grew in the Urals.

By the end of the Paleogene, the evergreen Poltava flora is replaced by the Turgai deciduous flora of temperate latitudes. Already at the very beginning of the Neogene, forests of oak, beech, hornbeam, kashtan, alder, and birch prevailed in the Urals. Major changes during this period take place in the relief: as a result of vertical tectonic movements, the Urals are transformed from a hummock into a middle-mountainous country. Along with the uplifts, there is a process of altitudinal differentiation of vegetation: the tops of the mountains are captured by mountain taiga, and alpine vegetation is gradually formed, which is facilitated by the restoration in the Neogene of the continental connection of the Urals with Siberia, the homeland of mountain tundra vegetation.

At the very end of the Neogene, the Akchagyl Sea rises to the southwestern slopes of the Urals. The climate at that time was cold, the ice age was approaching; Coniferous taiga is becoming the dominant type of vegetation in the Urals.

During the era of the Dnieper glaciation, the northern half of the Urals is hidden under the ice cover, in the south at this time there is a cold birch-pine-larch forest-steppe, in some places spruce forests, and near the valley of the Ural River and on the slopes of Obshchy Syrt are the remains of deciduous forests.

After the glacier died away, the forests moved to the north of the Urals, and the role of dark conifers increased in their composition. In the south of the Urals, deciduous forests are more widespread, while the birch-pine-larch forest-steppe has degraded. Birch and larch groves found in the Southern Urals are direct descendants of those birch and larch forests that were characteristic of the cold Pleistocene forest-steppe.

- A source-

Milkov, F.N. Physical geography of the USSR / F.N. Milkov [and others]. - M .: State publishing house of geographical literature, 1958.- 351 p.

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