Natural resources of the Urals (table)

The Ural region covers an area of ​​more than 820 thousand km ² . Within its borders are the republics of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg and Kurgan regions, Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug. The capital of the region is Yekaterinburg.

Climate

The natural conditions of the Urals vary from north to south. This is due to a significant length along the meridian (in comparison with latitude). At the same time, the climatic zones of the tundra and taiga, mixed forest, forest-steppe and steppe are replaced. The Urals are divided into the Urals, Trans-Urals and directly the Ural Range. In the central part, the Northern, Southern and Middle regions are distinguished. In general, the climate can be described as continental, however, characterized by diversity. The air temperature in winter from west to east varies from -15 to -20 degrees, and in summer - from 15 (in the north) to 22 (in the south). Autumn and spring are cool enough. Winter is long, snow lasts up to 140-250 days. The natural conditions of the territory are determined by the location relative to the plains of Eurasia, as well as the insignificant height and width of the ridges. Zonal changes are associated with a large extent from north to south. It has been established that 150-200 mm more precipitation falls on the western slope than on the eastern. A lack of moisture is sharply felt in the southern part of the region, where drought is quite common. Meanwhile, it is here that the conditions for agricultural activities are most favorable. In the southern part of the region steppes and forest-steppes with a moderately warm climate prevail. In the north, the soil cover needs high-quality reclamation work. In the Perm Territory, there are about 800 marshes requiring drainage. The main agricultural area is the valley of the river. Ural. In this part there are plowed chernozem steppes.

Features of economic development

The Ural region is located between Siberia and Kazakhstan, on the border of the Asian and European parts of the country. This arrangement has a very favorable effect on the economic development of the territory. The natural conditions and resources of the Urals make it possible to provide a link between the eastern and western economic zones with different economic specializations. The district ranks second in Russia in terms of industrial production.

Natural resources of the Urals

The history of the Urals begins in the 18th century. At that time, the economic and geographical position of the territory was not yet considered favorable. After some time, the EGP of the territory has noticeably improved. This was facilitated by the development of the transport network and the construction of roads. Highways pass through the district and cross the entire country from the west to the Pacific Ocean. From the eastern regions, fuel and raw materials are supplied to the Urals. Western regions supply products of manufacturing enterprises. The natural resources of the Urals, the table of which will be given below, are very diverse. About 1000 types of mineral raw materials, about 12 thousand mineral pools were discovered here. In the Urals, 48 ​​of the 55 elements from the periodic table, which are of great importance for the national economy, are being mined. On the territory of the region there are deposits of oil, salt and potassium salt, limestone, gas. Here, brown coal, oil shale and other natural resources are mined. The Ural Mountains are rich in reserves of precious stones, non-ferrous and ferrous metal.

Fuel and energy complex

Fuel natural resources of the Ural Federal District are presented in a wide variety. Oil fields are located mainly in the Orenburg region. and Perm region, in Udmurtia and Bashkortostan. Relatively recently, gas has been discovered in the area. The base of the gas chemical complex was the Orenburg field. It is considered the largest in the European part of the Russian Federation. Coal mining is open pit mining in some areas, as it is fairly close to the surface. It should be said that the reserves of this raw material are relatively small - about 4 billion tons. Of these, about 75% is brown coal. Fuel natural complexes and natural resources of the Urals have energy value. This, in particular, applies to the Kizel and Chelyabinsk deposits of coal and brown coal. Meanwhile, as experts say, many pools today are largely worked out, and most of the raw materials come from other areas.

Iron ore

These natural resources of the Urals are represented by titanomagnetites, magnetites, siderites, etc. In total, about 15 billion tons of iron ore occur in the region. In terms of production, the territory is second only to the Central Black Earth Region. However, its own production satisfies only 3/5 of the needs of the territory. At present, rich ores of Magnitogorsk, Tagil-Kushvim and other basins have already been developed. Today, the Bakalskaya and Kachkanarsky groups of fields are being developed. The most promising raw materials for metallurgy are titanomagnetites. They lie in the Kachkanar group of pools. Siderite is present in the Bakal deposits. Unique chrome-nickel ores were found in the Orsk-Khalilov group of basins.

Non-ferrous metals

These natural resources of the Urals are represented in great diversity. The region is second only to Kazakhstan in the volume of their production. The main deposits of copper ores are in the Gaisky, Blyavinsky, Degtyarsky, Kirovgrad and other basins. Nickel reserves are present in the Rezh, Buruktalsky, Orsk, and Ufaleysky basins. Natural resources of the Urals include zinc (copper-zinc) ores. Recently, the Gayskoye field was discovered. Pyrite ores with a high copper content were found here. They also contain sulfur (up to 50%), zinc, silver, gold, rare metals. All ores present in the Urals are usually multicomponent. Due to this, their production is very cost-effective.

Other metals

Large reserves of bauxite are concentrated in the North Ural basin (in the deposits of Sosvinskoye, Krasnaya Shapochka, etc.). However, many reserves today are on the verge of depletion. In the Ural region there is 27% of the total explored deposits of copper and ore bauxite, 12% nickel, 58% zinc. Reserves of emeralds, alluvial diamonds, rare-metal ores have been discovered and are being developed.

Salt

Large reserves of this raw material have been discovered in the Urals. The area has one of the world's largest saline basins - Verkhnekamsky. The balance reserves of the field are estimated at 172 billion tons. The large saline basins are Iletsk and Solikamsk.

Building and other materials

The natural resources of the Urals are also represented by large reserves of quartzites, clays, quartz sand, magnesites. Here are deposits of asbestos, cement marls, marble, graphite, etc. The reserves of ornamental, semiprecious and precious stones are widely known. Among them are garnet, alexandrite, aquamarine, ruby, topaz, jasper, lapis lazuli, smoky crystal, malachite, emerald. The bulk of diamond reserves in the Urals is concentrated in the Perm Territory in the Vishersky deposit. The district is in second place in the country in terms of production after Yakutia.

Forest

It occupies about 30 million hectares (more than 40% of the territory). The share of coniferous forest is 14 million hectares. The main arrays are located in the northern part of the Urals. In the Perm Territory, the forest covers about 68.9% of the territory. Moreover, in the Orenburg region. About 4.4% of the tree stands are present. The western slope of the ridge is mainly covered with spruce and fir, the eastern - pine. The total stock of wood is estimated at 4.1 billion tons. Of particular value are species such as larch, fir, pine and spruce. Forestry enterprises produce about 14% of business raw materials, 17% - lumber and about 16% of all paper in the country. Products are manufactured primarily for domestic use. The enterprises are located in industrial areas.

Northern Territories

Natural resources of the polar Urals are represented by minerals, iron ores. Corundum, turquoise, ferrimolybdite, clininoisitis, rhodochrosite, etc. were found here. The volumes of iron ores are estimated at millions of tons. There are deposits of manganese, concrete, copper, chromium, rare earth metals. The development of pools in the northern part of the Urals makes it possible to fill the shortage of raw materials in the region. In 2005-2006 Studies were conducted, during which predictive and promising basins were identified. Mining of manganese, iron, chrome ore was planned . The projected volume of the latter is more than 300 million tons. It is planned to increase coal production by 50% by 2020. This will help to improve the energy situation in the state. In addition, mining of such minerals as gold, tungsten, phosphate rock, lead, zinc, uranium, molybdenum, bauxite, tantalum, niobium, and platinum is planned in the northern territories.

Natural resources of the Urals

The table below will help you better understand what wealth this land has. It contains the main categories of reserves located in the area.

Water reserves

The river network of the region belongs to the basins of the Caspian (Ural and Kama rivers) and Kara (Tobol river) seas. Its total length is more than 260 thousand km. About 70 thousand rivers flow in the region. In the river basin. Kama included 53.4 thousand, p. Tobol - 10.86 thousand. As for groundwater, their specific value in terms of units. area - 115 m / day / km ² , per capita - 5 m / day / person. They are concentrated mainly in the mountainous regions of the Urals. They occupy more than 30% of the total territory and include 39.1% of the total share of groundwater. The distribution of stocks is affected by the dependence of runoff on structural, hydrogeological, and lithological factors. The Urals is considered more endowed with water resources than the Urals. This situation is caused by climatic conditions. Mountain ranges hold back the masses of moist air coming from the Atlantic. Accordingly, unfavorable conditions for the formation of underground drains are formed in these areas.