The Far East consists of 8 regions. These regions have many differences: climate, geological structure, etc. All these features are more affected by the relief of the Far East. The largest subjects: Yakutia, Primorye, Khabarovsk Territory, Kamchatka, Chukotka and Sakhalin. Amur and the Jewish Autonomous Region are smaller in size.
In geography there is such a thing as a physical and geographical country. This is a large unit of measure for terrain. It means any part of the mainland where the relief is the same or logically goes from one to another. A geographic country includes more territories than a geographic area.
Let's take a closer look at the geological structure and relief of the Far East.
Northeast Siberia
One of the geographical countries is Northeast Siberia. Yakutia, Chukotka and the Magadan Region entered the borders of this zone. Northeast Siberia in the north is washed by the Laptev Sea, East Siberian and Chukchi. To the south is the Sea of Okhotsk. This is the largest part that determines the landforms of the Far East.
Northeast Siberia is characterized by the fact that the highest mountains of this region form a kind of arc, similar to an amphitheater. It includes the Kolyma Highlands and the Verkhoyansk Range. These are the highest mountain peaks stretching along the eastern and southern parts of Northeast Siberia. The Kolyma Highlands are mostly located on the territory of the Magadan Region. There are many useful resources lurking in the Kolyma Upland. These places are rich in gold and tin deposits, as well as rare earth metals. In addition, various thermal springs are located in these parts.
Suntar Hayat Range: A Short Description
The Suntar-Khayat ridge is one of the important components of which the relief of the Russian Far East is composed . It is also part of the formed “amphitheater”. This mountain range stretches to a distance of 450 kilometers, and its highest point is determined by the mark of 2959 meters. More than 200 square meters. km of Suntar Hayat is occupied by glaciers, and another 800 square meters. km occupied by perennial ice formed by groundwater. Its thickness in some places can reach 8 m.
Northeast Siberia: Verkhoyansk Range
The longest mountain range in Northeastern Siberia is the Verkhoyansk Range. The characteristics of the relief of the Far East will be incomplete if we do not consider in more detail the data of the peak. The Verkhoyansk ridge is 1200 km long. Its width in some places reaches 250 km. The mountain peaks of this ridge rise 2 km above sea level. Verkhoyansk mountain range belongs to the territory of Yakutia.
Chersky Range
A little lower from the Verkhoyansk ridge settled in a large number of plateaus. They include the Chersky ridge. Its highest point is located on Mount Victory, which reaches a height of 3003 meters above sea level. The Chersky Ridge stretches for one and a half thousand kilometers, capturing the territory of the Magadan Region and Yakutia.
Northeast Siberia: Lowlands
The relief features of the Far East are represented not only in mountain formations, but also in the lowlands. In North-Eastern Siberia, the latter two. These are Kolyma and Yano-Indigirskaya. Together they form a swampy East Siberian lowland, which acts as the lowest level of relief in this region. Its average height ranges from 50 to 100 meters above sea level. The climate in these places is subarctic, and the entire territory of North-East Siberia is divided into tundra, taiga and the zone of Arctic deserts.
Primorsky Krai
The relief of the Far East in the Primorsky Territory consists of 20% of the lowlands, which are located on the territory south of Lake Khanka. It is believed that this place is the most populated not only in the Primorsky Territory, but also throughout the Far East. The Khankai plain is surrounded by the Sikhote-Alin and Manchurian mountains. The climate here, as in the whole of Primorye, is temperate monsoon. The most full-flowing river in the territory of the Primorsky Territory is Ussuri, which begins its course from the slopes of the Snow Mountain. The highest point is Anik Peak, located at an altitude of 1933 meters.
Features of the Sakhalin Territory
The relief of the Far East on Sakhalin is mainly represented by mountain formations of medium height. And in the north of the island hilly plains prevail. On Sakhalin, there are as many as 11 highlighted relief areas. The Schmidt Peninsula is characterized by steep steep banks in the north and mountain ranges up to 623 meters high. To the south, the mountainous terrain of the peninsula passes into the North Sakhalin Plain. Its highest point is 601 m. The northeastern coast of Sakhalin, distinguished as a subarea, boasts large lagoons. Along the western coast of the island stretch the West Sakhalin Mountains. Their length is 630 km. They stretch almost to the very south of the island.
In the middle part of Sakhalin there is the Tym-Poronay lowland, named after the Tym and Poronay rivers, along which it was formed. In the West Sakhalin Mountains, the Susunai Lowland abuts. It is located in the south of the island and has a length of about 100 km from north to south.
East Sakhalin is framed by the East Sakhalin Mountains. This region includes the Nabilsky mountain range, which passes into the Central and then sharply turns the North Sakhalin Lowland. On the Korsakovsky plateau the city of Korsakov is located. The plateau has a wavy surface, which is formed by small flat-topped ridges. The climate on Sakhalin is moderately monsoon.
Kamchatka: relief and features
The relief of the Far East (Kamchatka) is composed mainly of mountain ranges. Two of the largest - East and Middle. Mountains occupy two-thirds of the territory of the Kamchatka Territory. Seismic activity is very developed in these places, frequent earthquakes occur. This is due to the fact that Kamchatka continues to rise. Some areas of land, still relatively recently under water, have now risen and continue their upward movement.
The strongest earthquakes, whose power reached 8 points, were recorded in the eastern part of the peninsula. To the center, earthquake strength decreases to 6 points, and the weakest tremors occur on the west coast. There they are rated at 5 points and below. In Kamchatka, some volcanoes continue to operate. One of them is called Klyuchevskaya Sopka, its height is now 4750 meters. The largest number of volcanoes is concentrated in the Middle Ridge. Some of them collapsed due to constant eruptions. They were so strong that almost no trace remained of ancient volcanoes. About their existence in our days can be found only by the characteristic breed. Kamchatka also abounds in ore deposits, placers of non-ferrous metals and fossil fuels. In the lands of this region about 600 tons of gold reserves.
To summarize
According to all the data, it can be judged that the relief of the Russian Far East is characterized by a large number of mountain ranges. Moreover, both high (in the center of the okrug) and small hills that are closer to the extreme northern and southern points. The mountains contrast with deep swampy plains stretching along rivers and lakes. But the climate, due to the large extent of the district, is very different. From the temperate monsoon in the south to the arctic in the north. Also in the Far East, almost all diamond and tin mining activities are concentrated.