The East European Plain is one of the largest plains of the planet. It covers four million square kilometers, fully or partially affecting the territories of ten states. What relief and climate are characteristic of the East European Plain? You will find all the details about it in our article.
Geography of the East European Plain
The relief of Europe is very diverse - there are mountains, and plains, and marshy lowlands. Its largest orographic structure by area is the East European Plain. From west to east, it extends for about a thousand kilometers, and from north to south - more than 2.5 thousand kilometers.
Due to the fact that most of the plain is located on the territory of Russia, it received the name Russian. With an eye on the historical past, it is also often called the Sarmatian Plain.
It starts from the Scandinavian mountains and the coast of the Baltic Sea and stretches to the foothills of the Ural Mountains. Its southern boundary of the plain passes near the Southern Carpathians and Stara Planina, the Crimean Mountains, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and the northern edge runs along the shores of the White and Barents Seas. A significant part of Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus is located on the territory of the East European Plain. It also includes Kazakhstan, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.
Relief and geological structure
The outlines of the plain almost completely coincide with the ancient East European platform (only a small area in the south lies on the Scythian plate). Due to this, there are no significant elevations in its relief, and the average height is only 170 meters. The highest point reaches 479 meters - this is the Bugulminsko-Belebeyevskaya Upland, which is located in the Urals.
The tectonic stability of the plain is also associated with the platform. She never finds herself in the midst of volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. All the fluctuations of the earth's crust that occur here are low-ball and are only echoes of the unrest of mountain regions nearby.
However, this area was not always calm. The relief of the East European Plain is formed by very old tectonic processes and glaciations. In the south, they occurred much earlier, so their traces of the consequences long ago smoothed out the active climatic processes and water erosion. In the north, traces of past glaciation are most clearly visible. They appear sandy lowlands, winding bays of the Kola Peninsula, which cut deep into the land, as well as in the form of a large number of lakes. In general, the modern landscapes of the plains are represented by a number of hills and lake-glacial lowlands, alternating between themselves.
Minerals
The ancient platform, which lies at the base of the East European Plain, is represented by crystalline rocks, which are overlain by a sedimentary layer of different ages, lying in a horizontal position. In the area of the Ukrainian and Baltic shields , rocks go out in the form of low rocks and rapids.
The territory of the plain is rich in a variety of minerals. Its sedimentary cover contains deposits of limestone, chalk, shale, phosphorite, sand and clay. Oil shale deposits are located in the Baltic region, salt and gypsum are mined in the Urals, and oil and gas are produced in Perm. In the Donbass basin, large deposits of coal, anthracite and peat are concentrated. Lignite and coal are also mined in the Dnepropetrovsk basin of Ukraine, in the Perm and Moscow region in Russia.
The crystal shields of the plain are composed mainly of metamorphic and igneous rocks. They are rich in gneisses, schists, amphibolites, diabase, porphyrite, quartzite. It produces raw materials for the production of ceramics and stone building materials.
One of the most “fertile” areas is the Kola Peninsula - the source of a large number of metal ores and minerals. Within its limits, iron, lithium, titanium, nickel, platinum, beryllium, various micas, ceramic pegmatites, chrysolite, amethyst, jasper, garnet, iolite and other minerals are mined.
Climate
The geographical position of the East European Plain and its low-lying topography largely determine its climate. The Ural Mountains near its outskirts do not allow air masses to pass from the east, so throughout the year it is influenced by winds from the west. They form over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing moisture and heat in the winter, and precipitation and coolness in the summer.
Due to the lack of mountains in the north, deep winds from the south of the Arctic also easily penetrate the plains. In winter, they bring cold continental air masses, low temperatures, frosts and light snow. In the summer they bring with them drought and cold snap.
In the cold season, temperatures are highly dependent on incoming winds. In summer, on the contrary, the climate of the East European Plain is most strongly influenced by solar heat, therefore, temperatures are distributed in accordance with the geographical latitude of the area.
In general, the weather conditions in the plain are very unstable. The Atlantic and Arctic air masses above it often succeed each other, which is accompanied by a constant alternation of cyclones and anticyclones.
Natural areas
The East European Plain is located mainly within the temperate climatic zone. Only a small part of it in the far north lies in the subarctic zone. Due to the flat terrain, latitudinal zonality is very clearly visible on it, which manifests itself in a smooth transition from the tundra in the north to arid deserts on the Caspian Sea.
The tundra, covered with dwarf trees and shrubs, is found only in the extreme northern territories of Finland and Russia. Below it is replaced by a taiga, the zone of which expands as it approaches the Urals. Mostly coniferous trees grow here, such as larch, spruce, pine, fir, as well as herbs and berry bushes.
After the taiga, a zone of mixed and deciduous forests begins. It covers the entire Baltic States, Belarus, Romania, part of Bulgaria, a vast part of Russia, the north and northeast of Ukraine. The center and south of Ukraine, Moldova, north-east of Kazakhstan and the southern part of Russia cover the forest-steppe and steppe zone. The lower reaches of the Volga and the shores of the Caspian Sea cover deserts and semi-deserts.
Hydrography
The rivers of the East European Plain flow both in the north and in the south. The main watershed between them runs through Polesie, Northern Uval and Valdai Uplands. Some of them belong to the basin of the Arctic Ocean, and flow to the Barents, White and Baltic Seas. Others flow south, flowing into the Caspian Sea and the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The longest and deepest river of the plain is the Volga. Other significant watercourses are the Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Pechora, Northern and Western Dvina, Southern Bug, Neva.
There are also many swamps and lakes in the East European Plain, but they are not evenly distributed. They are very densely distributed in the northwestern part, but in the southeast they are practically nonexistent. On the territory of the Baltic states, Finland, Polesie, Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, water bodies of glacial and moraine type were formed. In the south, in the area of the Caspian and Azov lowlands, estuary lakes and salt marshes are located.
“Lamb foreheads”
Despite the relatively gentle relief, there are many interesting geological formations within the East European Plain. Such, for example, are the rocks "Lamb foreheads", which are found in Karelia, on the Kola Peninsula and in the Northern Ladoga.
They are ledges on the surface of rocks that were smoothed during the convergence of an ancient glacier. Rocks are also called "curly". Their slopes in the places where the glacier moved are polished and smooth. Opposite slopes, on the contrary, are steep and very uneven.
Zhiguli mountains
Lada - these are the only mountains on the plain, which were formed as a result of tectonic processes. They are located in the south-eastern part, in the area of the Volga Upland. These are young mountains that continue to grow, increasing by about 1 centimeter every hundred years. Today, their maximum height reaches 381 meters.
Zhiguli mountains are composed of dolomites and limestones. They also contain oil deposits. Their slopes are covered with forests and forest-steppe vegetation, among which there are endemic species. Most of it is included in the Zhigulevsky Reserve and is closed to the public. The site, which is not under protection, is actively visited by tourists and lovers of skiing.
Belovezhskaya Pushcha
Within the East European Plain there are many reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and other protected areas. One of the oldest formations is the National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located on the border of Poland and Belarus.
A large section of the relic taiga - the indigenous forest, which existed in this area in prehistoric times, has been preserved here. It is assumed that this is what the forests of Europe looked like millions of years ago.
On the territory of the Bialowieza Forest there are two vegetation zones, and coniferous forests are adjacent to mixed broadleaf forests. The local fauna is represented by fallow deer, mouflons, reindeer, tarpan horses, bears, minks, beavers and raccoon dogs. The pride of the park is the bison, which are saved from complete extinction here.