The enormous forest zone from the Pechora and Karelian taiga, stretching to the middle strip oak groves, including steppe grain granaries and tundra pastures - this whole territory is nothing but the Russian plain. The map of our country confirms that a large number of cities and towns are located on these lands, and therefore, they are most densely populated.
The Russian or East European Plain has seen more than a thousand-year history of Russia. It served as a field for liberation battles, through it came the Tatar-Mongols, the troops of Napoleon and Hitler. It was on this plain that grandiose revolutionary events unfolded. Here the main building of a socialist society was going on. And to date, this territory is an important economic part of Russia.
Geography
The East European Plain is located on a vast territory. By its area, it is second only to the Amazonian. Its lands begin from the Baltic coast and stretch to the mountain ranges of the Urals, from the White and Barents Sea to the Caspian and Azov.
The geographical position of the Russian Plain is such that it has access to two oceans.
In the northwestern part, this territory is limited to the Scandinavian mountains. In the southwest and west, it reaches the ridges of Central Europe and the Carpathians. What other mountains are on the border of the territory occupied by the Russian Plain? The map points to the Caucasus ranges located in the southeast, the Urals and Mogodzhary - in the east. In addition, the territory of the Russian plain ends at the northern foot of the Crimean mountains in the Crimean peninsula. This entire area is four million square meters. This is more than two and a half thousand kilometers from south to north and a thousand from east to west.
The geographical position of the Russian Plain is such that its significant territories are located within the Russian Federation. In addition, there are countries such as Latvia and Belarus, Estonia and Lithuania, Ukraine and Moldova, Poland and Finland, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Kazakhstan.
Relief
On the territory of the East European Plain there are elevations, the maximum height of which is from 200 to 300 meters above sea level. There are also lowlands with large rivers flowing on them. The greatest height of the plain is observed in the Cis-Urals, as well as in the Bugulminsko-Veremeevskaya Upland. Here it reaches a mark of 479 m. The average level of height throughout the plain is at a mark of 170 meters.
The orography is engaged in the description and classification of the external features of the relief. This is one of the sections that includes geography. The Russian plain, according to the characteristics described by the orography, is divided into three bands - central, northern and southern. In the first of them on the Russian plain you can see such
highlands: Volga, Central Russian, Bugulminsko-Belebeyevskaya, as well as General Syrt. They are separated from each other by the Low Volga and the Oka-Don Lowland.
Middle lane
The relief of the Russian plain in the northern strip is mostly low-lying. Only in some places in this territory, small hills are scattered alone or in small garlands. In the direction from west to east and northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, as well as the Valdai Uplands and the Northern Uval zone replace each other here. The watersheds between the Arctic, Northern, Atlantic, as well as the drainless inland Aral-Caspian basins pass through their territories. It is noteworthy that from the Northern Uvals to the Barents and White Seas, a certain decrease in the territory of the plain occurs.
In the third, southern strip are numerous lowlands. Among them are the Black Sea, Caspian and others. They are separated by low elevations (Stavropol, Ergeni, etc.).
Classification of tectonic structures
Large sections are located in the earth's crust , the boundaries of which are deep faults. These are tectonic structures. They are studied by a separate geological science. Its name is tectonics. This discipline identifies the two largest structures that are located in the earth's crust. These are platforms, as well as mobile belts. The first of them are stable areas with a flat surface. Platforms lie on the ground of already destroyed folded structures. Moreover, they have a two-layer structure. So, in the lower part of the platform is a crystalline foundation, which is composed of ancient hard rocks. Above this layer is a sedimentary cover. Later deposits took part in its formation. Tectonics highlights plates and shields on the platform. The first of them are those zones where the foundation lies completely at a depth covered by a sedimentary cover. Shields, on the other hand, are parts of a crystalline basement raised above the surface of the earth. There is also a sedimentary cover. However, it is not continuous and low-power.
As for the mobile belt, it is an elongated area in the earth's crust, in the area of which educational processes continue to this day.
Based on this classification, to which tectonic structure is the Russian Plain confined? Of course, to the first group, that is, to the platforms.
History of occurrence
The basis of the Russian plain is an ancient platform. That is why the relief of this area consists mainly of lowlands. The formation of such a vast territory was influenced by many natural factors. It is wind, water and glacier.
The foundation of the East European Platform is at various depths. Only between Karelia and the Kola Peninsula does it reach the surface of the earth. In this zone is the so-called Baltic Shield. The origin of the Khibiny located on the Kola Peninsula is associated with it. Throughout the rest of the territory, a sedimentary cover with various thicknesses covers the foundation.
All the hills that are on the East European Plain are formed either by the deflections of the platform, or under the influence of a glacier, or when raising the foundation.
The influence of tectonic plates on the landscape
The Russian plain has a typically platform relief. Moreover, all its lowlands and elevations are of tectonic origin. What are the features of this platform? What tectonic structure is the Russian Plain confined to?
A flat relief prevails throughout the territory under consideration. And all this thanks to the tectonic structure, which has a plain platform. All the irregularities of the foundation led to the formation of the largest lowlands and some highlands. For example, the Voronezh elevation of the foundation caused the emergence of the Central Russian Upland. The lowering of the platform led to the appearance of the Pechersk and Caspian lowlands.
The tectonic structure of the Russian Plain in most of the territory is represented by a plate with Precambrian crystalline base. The southern zones are located on the northern edge of the Scythian plate lying on the Paleozoic folded basement. This structure gives a more accurate answer to the question of which tectonic structure the Russian Plain is associated with. Moreover, the border between these two plates on the terrain is not reflected in any way.
The structure of the tectonic stratum
Despite the fact that the general character of the territory under consideration is flat, both lowlands and highlands are present in its relief. An explanation of this can be found in the tectonic features of the Russian plain. The fact is that its structure has a heterogeneous character and unequal manifestations of modern educational movements. A closer look reveals that the platform underlying the Russian Plain consists of smaller elements. They are:
- shields;
- anteclises, which are shallow areas of the foundation;
- syneclises, which are those areas, the deeper Precambrian foundation is located at great depths.
Anteclises
The largest of these elements are located in the central part of the Russian plate. These are the Volga-Ural and Voronezh anteclises. The first of them contains large elevations (arches) and depressions. The thickness of the sedimentary cover is about 800 meters.
The territory of the Voronezh anteclise smoothly descends towards the north. On the surface of its foundation are deposits of carbonaceous, Devonian, and Ordovician that are thin in thickness. Paleogene and Cretaceous rocks lie on the steeper southern slope. Carbon is also here.
Syneclise
The most ancient and complex element is the Moscow zone. Here, the crystalline basement lies in the earth's crust at great depths. At the heart of the Moscow syneclise are aulacogens, the filling of which are powerful strata of Riphean. Above these layers is a sedimentary cover represented by various rocks from Cambrian to Cretaceous.
In the Neogene-Quaternary period, Moscow syneclise underwent an uneven uplift. This was reflected in the terrain, where there were such highlands as Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow, as well as lowlands - the North Dvina and Upper Volga.
On the East European Plain is another major syneclise - Pechora. It occupies a wedge-shaped territory in the north-eastern part of the Russian plate. Its blocky uneven foundation is located at different depths, reaching in the eastern region from 5,000 to 6,000 meters. This syneclise is filled with thick strata of Paleozoic rocks, which are overlain by Mesozoic Cenozoic sediments.
Minerals
So, we decided on what tectonic structure the Russian Plain is confined to, what is its geological history. Due to the long period of its formation, this oldest platform is a powerful geostructure. It contains inexhaustible mineral reserves. So, in the basement of the platform found iron ore deposits. They are located in the Kursk magnetic anomaly zone. Coal deposits were discovered in sedimentary covers of the platform. They are developed in the eastern part of Donbass and in the Moscow Region basin. In the Mesozoic and Paleozoic deposits are gas and oil reserves. This is the Ural-Volga basin. Nearby Syzran, oil shale was discovered . In the bowels of the Russian Plain there are a lot of various building materials - limestone and gravel, clay, etc. Brown limestones, bauxites, salts and phosphorites are found in sedimentary covers.
Variety of natural areas
As we already know, the Russian Plain is located on a vast territory. That is why it is characterized by a pronounced diversity of the climate. The natural areas of the Russian Plain are represented in all their diversity. In the regions of the Far North, the tundra with its thin and poor vegetation growing on humus-peaty soils. Summer in these parts is cold, with high humidity, increasing due to the proximity of the Arctic Ocean.
A little south of this area is the forest-tundra zone. Next is the middle strip of the Russian plain. It is covered with forests. In its northern part, dark coniferous taiga prevails, growing on swampy podzolic soils. Towards the south, mixed arrays appear, replaced by broad-leaved forests of oak, maple and linden.
The natural zones of the Russian Plain in the southern part are represented by forest-steppes and steppes. These are territories with fertile, as a rule, chernozem soils with grassy vegetation.
Scarce lands
The extreme southeast of the East European Plain is located in the Caspian Lowland. Under the influence of a dry climate, a semi-desert zone was formed here, located on chestnut soils. Deserts are also found in places. These are zones of sierozems, solonetzes and solonchaks.
Conclusion
How can the Russian Plain be studied more fully and in detail? The table, which contains various indicators (tectonic structure, natural zones, climate, etc.), should be carefully considered. This is a wonderful visual aid that can provide invaluable assistance in understanding and studying the necessary material.