The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow - one of the largest megacities of the modern world. It is home to over 12 million people. Where is Moscow located? In what part of the country is it located? What is the geographical location of Moscow and the Moscow region?
Moscow is the capital of Russia
According to historians, Moscow for the first time became the capital of the Russian state back in 1340. Today, 12.4 million people live in this city. By this indicator, Moscow is among the top ten cities in the world in terms of population. Here is the largest library in Europe and one of the most visited attractions - the Moscow Kremlin.
People have long been choosing these places for their lives. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. Later, the convenient geographical location of Moscow attracted merchants and artisans to the city. The latter were mainly engaged in leather dressing, the manufacture of wood and iron.
Trying to explain the origin of the toponym "Moscow", the researchers broke into two camps. The first associate it with the Old Slavic language, from which this word can be translated as "dampness." The second insist that the roots of this toponym are Finnish. In this case, the modern name “Moscow” can be composed of two Finnish words: “mosk” (bear) and “wa” (water).
Where is Moscow located? We pay more attention to the geography of the capital city.
The geographical position of the city
Moscow is an important financial, scientific and cultural center of Russia. The city was founded in the middle of the XII century and today is the most populated in Europe. What is the geographical position of Moscow? And how did it affect the history of the city?
Moscow is located in the very center of the East European Plain, between the Volga and Oka rivers. The city itself stands on the Moscow River, which gave it its name. The relief of Moscow is rather heterogeneous: low hills alternate here with low-lying depressions. The average height of the urban area is 144 meters.
The total length of Moscow from north to south is 51.7 km, and from west to east - 29.7 km. In the extreme southwest, the urban territory extends to the borders of the Kaluga region.
More precisely, the location of Moscow on the map of Russia is shown below.
Geographical coordinates and the area of the capital
Description of the geographical location of Moscow will be incomplete without indicating its coordinates. So, the city is located in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres of the Earth. Its exact coordinates: 55 ° 45 'sowing. W, 37 ° 36 'East By the way, such famous cities as Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Kazan are located at the same latitude. The minimum distance from Moscow to the state border of Russia is 390 km.
And here are the distances from Moscow to some other capitals of Europe and major Russian cities:
- Minsk - 675 km;
- Kiev - 750 km;
- Riga - 850 km;
- Berlin - 1620 km;
- Rome - 2380 km;
- London - 2520 km;
- Yekaterinburg - 1420 km;
- Rostov-on-Don - 960 km;
- Khabarovsk - 6150 km;
- St. Petersburg - 640 km.
Moscow is a very dynamic city. Therefore, its boundaries are constantly changing towards expansion. Today, the capital occupies an area of 2561 square meters. km This is roughly comparable to the area of Luxembourg.
Moscow is an important transportation hub
The extremely convenient geographical position of Moscow contributed to the gradual transformation of the city into a major transport hub. As early as 1155, Andrei Bogolyubsky walked to these places on foot, carrying the miraculous icon of the Mother of God to Vladimir. Today, important transport corridors in different directions exit from Moscow.
The internal transport system of the city is also quite developed. In total, there are five airports and nine railway stations in Moscow. All areas of the capital are densely riddled with a network of bus, trolleybus and tram routes. Moscow Metro is considered one of the largest in the world. The total length of its lines (12 in total) is 278 kilometers. By the way, according to one hypothesis, in the capital there is also a secret metro line connecting the Kremlin with military bunkers for shelter.
General nature of Moscow
The capital of Russia is at the junction of three orographic structures. These are the Smolensk-Moscow Upland in the west, the Meshchera Lowland in the east and the Moskvoretsko-Oka Plain in the south. This fact explains the heterogeneity of its relief. Some areas of Moscow are densely cut by steep ravines and gullies, while others, on the contrary, are flat and swampy lowlands.
The city is located in a zone of temperate continental climate with average temperatures in January –10 degrees, July –18 degrees. The amount of precipitation in Moscow, as a rule, does not exceed 600-650 mm per year.
Within the city dozens of rivers, streams and shallow streams carry their waters. The largest of them are the Moscow River, Setun, Khodynka, Yauza and Neglinnaya. True, today most of the Moscow rivers are “hidden” in underground collectors.
There is no need to talk about any solid soil cover in such a large metropolis as Moscow. Sod-podzolic soils are most widespread in urban areas free from residential or industrial development.
From almost all sides, Moscow is surrounded by forests - pine, oak, spruce and lime. In the city itself, many parks, squares and green spaces have been created. The largest natural park within the capital is Elk Island.
Economic and geographical position of Moscow and its assessment
EGP of the city is extremely beneficial. First of all, from the transport point of view. Important road and rail routes connect Moscow not only with major Russian cities, but also with other countries of the near abroad. In addition, relatively close to the city there are powerful fuel and metallurgical bases of the state.
The second advantageous factor of the Moscow EGP is the capital status of the city. It was he who determined the placement of key government bodies, foreign embassies, important universities and financial institutions in it.
In general, the advantageous central geographical position of Moscow for several centuries has been the main factor in its economic development. Today, four free economic zones have been created and are functioning within the capital and its immediate vicinity.
Geographical position of the Moscow region
Figuratively speaking, the capital is enclosed, as it were, in the careful embrace of the Moscow Region or the Moscow Region, as they like to call this region unofficially. By area it is the 55th subject of the Russian Federation.
The Moscow Region is located within the East European Plain and directly borders the Kaluga, Smolensk, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula and Ryazan Regions. The relief of the region is mostly flat. Only in the west is the territory slightly hilly.
The region is not rich in mineral resources. Within its limits there are insignificant deposits of phosphorites, sandstone, limestone, brown coal and peat. The Moscow Region is located in a zone of temperate continental climate with humid summers and fairly snowy winters. The region has a developed hydrological network. The largest rivers in the Moscow region are Moscow, Oka, Klyazma, and Sturgeon.
Interesting fact: the region is almost equally distant from the nearest seas (Black, Baltic, White and Azov). Important transport routes connecting Russia with the countries of Eastern Europe pass through its territory.
The modern Moscow region is an important industrial region. In terms of total industrial production, it ranks ninth in Russia.
Conclusion
So, what features distinguishes the geographical position of Moscow? As a result, we list the most iconic of them:
- Moscow is located in the European part of the country, on the 55th parallel of the Northern hemisphere of the Earth;
- the capital of Russia is located in the heart of the East European Plain, in the zone of temperate continental climate;
- Moscow is closer to many European capitals than to some large cities of Russia;
- the city is located at the intersection of important transport routes that have long connected Europe with Russia and Asia;
- all the benefits of Moscow's geographical position are only enhanced by its metropolitan status.