Climate and inland waters of Eurasia: table (7th grade)

Eurasia is the largest continent of the planet. Its total area (including islands) is more than 54 million square kilometers. Therefore, it is not surprising that the inland waters of Eurasia are distinguished by their exceptional wealth and diversity. However, they are distributed throughout the continent quite unevenly. We will describe in detail about the geography, features and structure of the inland waters of the mainland in our article.

Climate and inland waters of Eurasia (Grade 7)

This topic is studied in detail at the school in geography classes. In the seventh grade, the climate and inland waters of Eurasia are considered as concepts that are closely related to each other. Indeed, climatic features largely determine the water content and distribution of water bodies in absolutely any territory. So, for example, the fullness of rivers and lakes directly depends on precipitation.

Within Eurasia, there are all types of climates that are characteristic of the rest of the planet's continents. In the far north dominated by cold Arctic air masses. In the temperate zone, seasonality is clearly observed: four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) stand out here. In Western Europe, a moist marine climate has formed, and in the east and southeast of the continent, a monsoon.

In the central regions of Eurasia in the winter the air is very cooled, and in the summer, on the contrary, it warms up well. Therefore, continental air masses are formed here. In the summer they bring heat to different parts of the mainland, but in the winter they bring sharp and severe frosts. The most climate-friendly region of Eurasia is the Northern Mediterranean. In the hot summer months, winds from the Atlantic bring moisture and coolness here. They significantly soften the local winters.

The inland waters of Eurasia depend on the average annual rainfall. Their distribution throughout the continent is extremely uneven. Thus, the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula receive no more than 100 mm of rainfall. But in India, in the state of Meghalaya there is a place where over 11,000 millimeters of rain fall in a year.

Inland waters of Eurasia: geography and structure

Inland waters (in hydrology and hydrography) are those waters that are located within a particular continent. In other words, they include all water bodies, except for the seas and oceans, namely: rivers, lakes, swamps, glaciers and others (see diagram below).

If we talk about Eurasia, then the most dense river network was formed in Siberia, South Asia and Eastern Europe. But in South-West Asia (in particular, on the Arabian Peninsula) there are practically no large watercourses. On this continent is the largest inland drainage area in the world. It includes the basins of two "fake" seas - the Caspian and Aral.

What records are known for the inland waters of Eurasia? The table below lists the most important of them. It is important to note that it is on this continent that the largest lake of the planet is located, as well as the largest array of swamps in the world.

Next, we will briefly talk about rivers, lakes, swamps and other water bodies of Eurasia.

Mainland rivers

Consider the river. Inland waters of Eurasia include tens of thousands of rivers and streams of various lengths. The largest of them carry their waters into two oceans - the Pacific and the Arctic (Ob, Yenisei, Yangtze, Yellow River, Lena, Amur and others). Relatively short rivers (Dnieper, Danube, Vistula, Elba, Rhine and others) belong to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean. Many of them are ice bound in winter.

In Eurasia, all existing river regimes are represented. In the streams of the temperate zone, spring floods and summer-autumn low water are observed. The rivers of the monsoon regions are distinguished by an interesting water regime. For example, the Amur River is characterized by significant fluctuations in the water level in the channel, which are caused by heavy monsoon rains in July-October.

An interesting fact: the five longest rivers of the mainland are in Asia. Below in the table you can find the ten longest watercourses of the continent.

Lakes

Lakes on the mainland are also quite unevenly located. Most of them are concentrated in the northern regions of Europe. In particular, the unspoken title of “Queen of the Lakes” belongs to a country such as Finland. Most of the water bodies of Northern Europe are of glacial origin. The second most important “lake region” of the continent is Central Asia. The largest lakes in this region are the Caspian, Balkhash, Issyk-Kul, and the Aral Sea. The water of these reservoirs is predominantly salty.

The largest body of water in Eurasia is the Caspian Sea. In fact, this is a lake, because it has no drain into the ocean. The total area of ​​the Caspian is 371 thousand square meters. km Its hollow contains about 78 thousand cubic kilometers of water.

The deepest body of water in Eurasia is Lake Baikal. 1620 meters - such is its maximum depth. The lake formed in a narrow and deep graben (fault of the earth's crust) about 30 million years ago. According to scientists, this is one of the cleanest reservoirs on the planet.

Swamps

The inland waters of Eurasia are not only rivers and lakes, but also some other water bodies. In particular, speaking of this continent, one cannot but mention swamps and permafrost.

Almost all wetlands are concentrated within the temperate zone of Eurasia. This is facilitated by low-lying topography and a significant amount of precipitation. Eurasian swamps feed on both surface (rain) and groundwater. The largest array of swamps not only in Eurasia, but also on the entire planet - Vasyugan. It is located in the Tomsk region of Russia, between the Ob and Irtysh rivers.

In the coastal strip of Northern Europe, the so-called marches, or coastal swamps, are widespread. Many of them are drained today and are actively used as agricultural land.

Permafrost is common in the northern and northeastern regions of the mainland. In some places, its southern border reaches 50 degrees north latitude. The thickness of the frozen soil layer varies widely: from 1.5 meters on the Kola Peninsula and up to 1.5 kilometers on Taimyr.

Glaciers

The modern glaciation zone in Eurasia covers a number of islands (Novaya Zemlya, Svalbard, Iceland and others). Mountain glaciers are found in all mountain systems of the continent, the height of which exceeds 4000 meters (Himalayas, Caucasus, Tien Shan and others).

In Karakoram there is the largest glacier of Eurasia - Siachen. Its area is about 1200 square meters. km The longest mountain glacier on the mainland is the Fedchenko Glacier. It is located in the mountains of the Pamirs and reaches a length of 77 kilometers.

Artificial water bodies of Eurasia

In Eurasia, a huge number of artificial water bodies were created - canals and reservoirs. Most reservoirs are concentrated in countries such as Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Ukraine. They provide fresh water not only to residents of these countries, but also to heavy industry enterprises. The largest reservoirs of Eurasia: Bratsk, Bukhtarma, Ust-Ilim, Krasnoyarsk, Zeya.

In the desert regions of Central and South-West Asia, many artificial irrigation canals have been created. With their help, water is supplied to particularly arid regions. The largest in Eurasia is the famous Volga-Don Canal, which connected two large river systems - Don and Volga. The canal was built in the early 50s. Its total length is 101 kilometers.

Finally

The climate and inland waters of Eurasia cannot be studied separately. After all, these concepts are closely and inextricably linked with each other. A huge part of the mainland is located within the temperate climate zone with sufficiently large moisture. Therefore, a dense and branched river network has formed here with a certain hydrological regime of watercourses (abundant spring floods and autumn-winter low water).