Eurasia is the largest continent of our planet, which for a long time remained the least explored. It is washed by the waters of four oceans, all climatic zones are found on its territory. The nature of Eurasia is so diverse that it is easy to find areas completely opposite in terms of conditions. The contrasts of the continent are due to its relief, length and history of formation.
Features of geographical location
The mainland is washed by the Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. The closest neighbors of Eurasia are Africa and North America. The first mainland is connected through the Sinai Peninsula. North America and Eurasia are separated by a relatively small Bering Strait.
The continent is conditionally divided into two parts: Europe and Asia. The border between them runs along the eastern foot of the Ural Mountains, then along the Emba River, the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, the Kumo-Manych Depression, along the line of meeting of the waters of the Black and Azov Seas and, finally, along the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
The coastline of the continent is quite rugged. In the west, the Scandinavian peninsula stands out, in the south - the Arabian and Hindustan. The east coast is also in places greatly inferior to the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Here you can find whole chains of islands: Kamchatka, Bolshoi Sundskie and so on. The north of the continent is less indented. Land areas, the most prominent in the ocean, are the Taimyr Peninsula, Kola and Chukchi.
The nature of the continent of Eurasia as a whole is determined by the influence of the waters of the oceans only to a small extent. The reason for this is the significant extent of the continent and the features of its relief. The vast territories of Eurasia for a long time remained poorly studied. Peter Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky made a special contribution to the development of the territories of Asia.
Relief
The miracles of the nature of Eurasia are, first of all, its contrast. It is largely due to the features of the relief of the mainland. Eurasia is above all other continents. Mountain ranges are located here, surpassing in their sizes the similar formations of Africa, Australia and both Americas. The most famous peak of the mainland is Everest, or Chomolungma. This is the highest point on the planet - 8848 meters above sea level.
The plains of Eurasia occupy vast areas. There are much more of them than on other continents. There is also the lowest point of the planet on land - this is the hollow of the Dead Sea. The difference between it and Everest is approximately 9 kilometers.
Formation
The reason for such a variety of surface relief lies in the history of its formation. The continent is based on the Eurasian lithosphere plate, consisting of sections of different ages. The “oldest” areas are the South China, East European, Siberian and Sino-Korean platforms. They are connected by later mountain formations. As the continent was formed, fragments of ancient Gondwana, which today lie at the base of Hindustan and the Arabian Peninsula, were added to these platforms.
The southern edge of the Eurasian Plate is a zone of increased seismic activity. Here are the processes of mountain building. In the eastern part of the continent, the Pacific edge went under the Eurasian plate, and deep depressions and extended island arcs formed as a result. Earthquakes and their associated disasters are not uncommon in this area.
In the so-called fire ring of the Pacific Ocean there are a large number of volcanoes. The highest operating in Eurasia is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m above sea level).
Glaciation, which in ancient times occupied the northern part of the continent, made a significant contribution to the formation of the continent's relief.
Plains and mountains, old and young
The nature of Eurasia has undergone many changes. The vast West Siberian Plain, one of the first largest areas in the world, was once the bottom of the sea. Today, only the large number of sedimentary rocks found here recalls the distant past.
The mountains of the mainland were not always what they look like today. The most ancient of them are Altai, Ural, Tien Shan, Scandinavian. The process of mountain building here has long been completed, and time has left its imprint on them. Arrays are badly damaged in places. In some areas, however, later uplifts occurred.
"Young" mountain ranges form two zones in the southern and eastern parts of the mainland. One of them, the Alpine-Himalayan, includes the Pamirs, the Caucasus, the Himalayas, the Alps, the Carpathians, the Pyrenees. Some of the ridges of the belt converge to form highlands. The largest of them is the Pamir, and the highest is Tibet.
The second belt, the Pacific, extends from Kamchatka to the Great Sunda Islands. Many of the mountain peaks located here are extinct or active volcanoes.
Wealth of the continent
The natural features of Eurasia include minerals that are unique in their diversity. On the territory of the mainland, tungsten and tin, which are rarely found, are found for industry. Their deposit is located in the eastern part of the continent.
Gold is mined in Eurasia, as well as diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The mainland is rich in iron ore deposits. Here, oil and gas are produced in large quantities. By reserves of these minerals, Eurasia is ahead of all other continents. The largest deposits are located in Western Siberia, on the Arabian Peninsula. Natural gas and oil are also found at the bottom of the North Sea.
Eurasia is also famous for coal deposits. Bauxite, table salt and potassium salt are also mined on the mainland.
Climate
The diverse nature of Eurasia is largely due to the peculiarities of climatic conditions. The mainland is famous for their rather sharp changes both from north to south, and from east to west. The main features of the nature of Eurasia on the Indochina and Hindustan peninsulas have developed under the influence of monsoons. Part of the year they blow from the ocean and bring a huge amount of rainfall. In winter, monsoons come from the continent. In summer, a zone of low pressure forms above the warmed-up land, and equatorial air masses come here from the ocean.
The nature of Eurasia in the southern part of the continent is associated with high mountain ranges, stretching from west to east. These are the Alps, the Caucasus, the Himalayas. They do not allow cold air from the north and at the same time do not interfere with the penetration of the moist masses coming from the Atlantic Ocean.
The wettest places on the continent are those where monsoons from the ocean meet with mountain ranges. So, a large amount of precipitation falls on the southern slopes of the Western Caucasus. One of the wettest places on the planet is located in India, at the foot of the Southeast Himalayas. The city of Cherapundji is located here.
Climatic zones
The nature of Eurasia changes as it moves from north to south, and from west to east. Not the least role is played by climatic zones. The northern and eastern parts of the mainland, including the Arctic islands, are an arid and cold region. Low temperatures prevail here, the air warms up somewhat only in the summer. In winter, the Arctic climate is characterized by severe frosts.
The following belt is less severe. The subarctic climate in Eurasia dominates a small territory stretching in a narrow strip from west to east. It also includes the island of Iceland.
The most significant territory on the continent is the northern temperate zone. It is characterized by a gradual change in climate types as they move from west to east. The regions of Eurasia, bordering the Atlantic Ocean, are characterized by warm and mild winters with frequent rains and fogs (temperature does not fall below 0º), cool cloudy summers (average 10-18º) and high humidity (up to 1000 mm of rain falls here). Such features are characteristic of the temperate marine climate.
With the distance from the west coast, the influence of the Atlantic Ocean is weakening. The temperate continental climate extends to the Ural Mountains. This area is characterized by warm summers and frosty winters. Beyond the Ural Mountains, the nature of the continent of Eurasia is determined by the continental temperate climate. In Central and Central Asia it is very hot in summer and cold in winter. The temperature may drop below 50º frost. Due to the small amount of snow, the ground freezes to a sufficiently large depth.
Finally, in the east of the temperate zone, the climate becomes monsoon. Its main difference is a clear change in the seasons of air masses.
A subtropical climate stretches from the Iberian Peninsula to the Pacific Ocean . It is also divided into zones. The subtropical Mediterranean climate is characterized by warm, rainy winters and hot, dry summers. As you move east, air humidity decreases. The central regions of the belt are continental subtropical climate: hot summers, cold winters, low rainfall.
The east coast, washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, is characterized by high humidity. The air masses that come here in the summer are poured by endless rains, causing the flood of rivers. In winter, the subtropical monsoon climate is characterized by temperatures up to 0º.
The diversity of nature in Eurasia: natural areas
The climatic zones of the continent provide unique in their variability of the animal and plant world. Here are all the natural areas that are found on the planet. Many of them are quite strongly changed by man. This is especially true of the zone suitable for agriculture, and territories comfortable for living. The wild nature of Eurasia, however, has been partially preserved, and today every possible effort is being made so that, after a long time, people know what the surrounding area was originally.
Miracles of nature on the continent of Eurasia are not uncommon. There are plants and animals that are not found anywhere else. The diversity of nature in Eurasia is created in places by a smooth, and sometimes rather sharp change in climatic zones.
Harsh north
A narrow strip across Eurasia stretches the zone of Arctic deserts, tundra and forest-tundra. Due to the harsh climate, there is little vegetation. Vast plots of land remain year-round "bare." From animals here you can meet polar bears, reindeers, arctic foxes. The area is characterized by a large number of birds flying in the warm season.
The tundra is characterized by special aridity and impressive permafrost in depth. These features lead to the formation of bogs characteristic of the area.
Taiga
To the south of the tundra swamps are also found in large numbers. Taiga, located here, is divided into European and Asian. The first is dominated by conifers such as pine and spruce. Birch, mountain ash and aspen are adjacent to them. As you move south, maples and oaks, as well as ash, are more common. Asian taiga is the birthplace of cedar and fir. Larch is also found in large numbers here - a coniferous tree that discards foliage for the winter.
Taiga animals are also very diverse. Brown bears, white hares, squirrels, moose, wolves, foxes and lynxes live here, as well as forest lemmings, martens, ferrets and weasels. Bird polyphony is a familiar background for these places. Here you can find woodpeckers, partridge, black grouse, capercaillie, owls and hazel grouse.
Forest edge
The nature and animals of Eurasia are changing along with climatic conditions. On the vast territory of the East European Plain, the bulk of the mainland mixed forests is concentrated. As they move west, they gradually disappear and reappear on the Pacific coast.
In mixed forests coniferous, small-leaved and broad-leaved species grow together. There are much fewer marshes, sod-podzolic soils, well-defined grass cover. Broad-leaved forests of the Atlantic zones are characterized by beech and oak. When deepening to the east, the latter begins to prevail. There are also hornbeam, maple and linden. On the Pacific coast, due to the monsoon climate, the composition of forests is also very diverse.
The fauna is represented here by wild boars, roe deer, deer, as well as almost all the “inhabitants” of the taiga. In the Alps and Carpathians, brown bears are found.
Changed zone
To the south lie the forest-steppe and steppe. Both zones are quite changed by man. Forest-steppe is intermittent sections of forest and grassy vegetation. The steppe zone is mainly represented by cereals. There are a large number of rodents, ground squirrels, field voles, and groundhogs. Natural vegetation for the area has been preserved today only on the territory of nature reserves.
The eastern part of the Gobi plateau is a zone of dry steppes. Low herbs grow here, there are areas completely devoid of vegetation or saline.
Deprived of vegetation
Zones of semi-desert and desert occupy a considerable part of the continent. They extend from the Caspian lowland along the plains of Central and Central Asia. The main features of the nature of Eurasia here are the almost complete absence of vegetation and a poor fauna. Extremely low rainfall, dry air, clay and rocky soils do not contribute to the appearance of even herbs in this area. Fairly sparse vegetation is found in sandy deserts. Wormwood, astragalus, saxaul, and hodgepodge “live” here.
The wildlife of the deserts is also scarce. However, here you can find quite rare representatives of the fauna, for example, wild kulans, the Przhevalsky horse. Distributed in this zone are rodents as well as camels.
Subtropics
Warm winters with a lot of rainfall and hot, dry summers are good conditions for hard-leaved forests and shrubs that stretch along the Mediterranean coast. There are cork and stone oak, cypress, pine, wild olives. The nature of Eurasia, and here has undergone many changes due to human activities. Forests in the modern Mediterranean are almost completely cut down. Their place was taken by low trees, as well as shrubs.
Subtropics in the south of China and the Japanese islands look somewhat different. Monsoon forests grow here , magnolias, palm trees, camellias, ficuses, camphor laurel and bamboo are found.
On the inside of the mainland are subtropical and tropical deserts and semi-deserts. This zone is characterized by arid hot weather, low rainfall. The plant world is represented in the same way as in the deserts of the temperate zone. In addition, acacias are found here, date palms grow in oases. The animal world is not numerous: Przhevalsky's horse, kulans, jerboas, antelopes, jackals, hyenas, wild donkeys, onagra, gerbils.
Near the equator
The savannahs of Eurasia - a place where a large number of cereals grows, as well as teak and grease trees, acacia trees, palm trees. Vast territories cover variable-humid subequatorial forests. They are located on the coast of Hindustan and Indochina, in the lower reaches of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers , as well as in the northern part of the Philippine Islands. Only some trees growing here dump foliage in the dry period.
In subequatorial forests, the animal world is very diverse. There are a variety of ungulates, monkeys, lions and tigers, as well as wild elephants.
Equatorial forests strike a variety of palm trees. There are over three hundred species, coconut is also among them. There is also a lot of bamboo in this area.
Mountain Climatic Zones
Features of the nature of the continent Eurasia is also a distinctly noticeable change in the flora and fauna in the Alps and the Himalayas. These mountain systems are the highest in Europe and Asia respectively. The Alps reach a maximum of 4,807 meters (Mount Mont Blanc).
On the southern slopes there is the lower zone of the high-altitude zone. It extends up to 800 m and has the features of a Mediterranean climate. In the western part of the Alps are mainly mixed and beech forests. In the east, in the lower zone, the climate is drier. Pine and beech forests grow here, interspersed with steppe meadows. The second belt extends to the level of 1800 m. There are oak and beech forests, there are conifers. The next subalpine zone (up to 2300 m) is characterized by shrubs and meadow vegetation. Above, only scale lichens are found mainly.
At the foot of the Eastern Himalayas are terai, marshy areas. Here grow palm trees, bamboo, bacon. . , , , , , . 1500 2000 . . 3500 .
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Due to the peculiarities of geography, the diversity of nature, Eurasia is a unique place on our planet. Contrasts of the mainland contribute to the vigilant interest in it from researchers and travelers. However, the description of the nature of Eurasia without mentioning traces of human activity seems somewhat ideal. As on any other continent, the territory has undergone a lot of changes. A huge number of the population living on the mainland needs developed agriculture, constant extraction of mineral resources. Therefore, the areas suitable for this are very different from the state in which they were at the dawn of mankind. Today Eurasia is vast fields, large cities and abandoned villages, huge industrial complexes. Conserving wildlife often fails. Reserves have been created to save rare species of animals and plants, but they do not quite cope with the task. Nevertheless, the opinion about the need for a careful attitude to the outside world is increasingly finding support from government organizations. I would like to believe that due to this, the amazing nature of Eurasia, photos of which are found on the pages of all thematic magazines, will be preserved not only in pictures in the future.