The Urals is the geographical region in Russia, the basis of which is the mountain system of the same name. The resources of the Urals (mineral, forest, aquatic, climatic and recreational) are rich and diverse. They will mainly be discussed in this article.
Ural: geographical location, natural conditions and resources (briefly)
A geographical region called the Urals serves as the border between the two largest plains of Eurasia - the East European and West Siberian. And the axial part of this region is the mountain system of the same name, stretching for 2,000 kilometers from north to south.
The Urals also delimits two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. On the outskirts of Yekaterinburg there is an appropriate commemorative sign. By the way, the toponym "Ural" in translation from the Bashkir language means "belt". The Bashkirs even have an ancient legend about a giant who once spread his huge belt, so much so that he connected the cold Kara Sea with the southern Caspian. And in the pockets of this giant were hidden innumerable riches. It is about these riches that will be discussed later.
The natural resources of the Urals are rich and of great diversity. The beauty and uniqueness of this region is reflected in both literature and art. Its different corners can be seen in the paintings of artists and photographs of famous travelers. The most vivid and capacious Ural nature was described at the time by D.N. Mom-Siberian.
The economic importance of the region
The Urals has long been and remains a strategically important industrial foundation of Russia. Active development of this region began during the reign of Peter the Great. The richest mineral resources of the Urals contributed to this.
In the XIX-XX centuries, factories and industrial enterprises in the Urals grew like mushrooms after heavy summer rain. This, according to writer Alexei Ivanov, even provoked the formation of a special “mining civilization” here. The Ural region played an important role during the Great Patriotic War. It was not for nothing that he was called in those days the "supporting edge of the state." In fact, it was in the Urals that the victory was forged in that difficult and incredibly bloody war.
The territory of the Urals by Russian standards is quite densely populated and well developed. The largest cities in the region: Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Ufa, Magnitogorsk, Izhevsk and Nizhny Tagil.
Minerals in the region
The mineral resources of the Urals are extremely rich and diverse. By and large, in the bowels of this richest region there is everything: from sand and clay, to oil and gold. It unbelievably combines large reserves of ore, nonmetallic, construction and chemical raw materials.
In the XVI century, copper was discovered in the western part of the Urals, and iron in the XVII century. It is with the foundation of the ironworks that the history of the emergence of the "capital" of the region, the city of Yekaterinburg, is connected.
Later, large deposits of gold and platinum, coal and silver, precious and semiprecious stones will be found here. In the Urals, bauxite and potassium salts are mined, the quality of which is considered the best in the country. The city of Orenburg is famous for gas production, and Ishimbay - for oil. A variety of building materials are also abundant (limestone, marble, sand and clay).
Water resources of the Urals
The entire territory of the geographical region is divided between two basins. Some rivers and rivulets carry their waters to the cold Arctic Ocean. The waters of other streams are destined to be in the basin of the Caspian Sea-lake.
The water resources of the Urals are mainly represented by rivers. The largest of them are Kama, Ural, Pechora, Tobol, Tour, Iset. All of them originate in the Ural Mountains. Therefore, in the upper reaches of the valleys of these rivers are narrow and very steep. In general, water scarcity is felt only in the southern part of the region. In addition, many rivers are polluted with effluents of various industrial enterprises.
In the Urals, a number of large and small hydroelectric power stations operate. The most powerful among them are Pavlovskaya, Shirokovskaya and Yumaguzinskaya hydroelectric power stations. However, the hydropower resources of the Urals are not yet well developed.
Forests of the Urals
Forest resources of the Urals are estimated by ecologists at 3 billion cubic meters of wood. Of the local tree species, pine, fir, spruce and larch are considered the most valuable. Forests occupy almost half of the total area of the region. In absolute terms, this is about 40 million hectares.
The bulk of the forests of the region is concentrated in its northern regions (mainly in Perm and Sverdlovsk regions). As they move south, they are gradually replaced by forest-steppe and steppe. It is worth noting that the Ural forests underwent intensive deforestation during the XVIII-XIX centuries. Small areas of virgin (untouched) forests in the Urals can be found only in the north of the region.
Climatic and recreational resources of the region
The climate of the Urals is of a continental type. Moreover, its continentality is markedly enhanced with the advance to the southeast. Winters are long and rather snowy, and the transitional seasons are pretty cool. The amount of precipitation ranges from 700 mm in the north of the region to 200-250 mm in its southern part. In general, the climate west of the Ural Mountains is milder and wetter, and east of the mountain system it is drier and colder.
Only the Middle and South Urals are promising for agriculture and the development of productive agriculture. In particular, the wide valley of the Ural River is a canvas of plowed steppes with fertile chernozems. This is the main agricultural region of the entire Urals.
The recreational resources of the Urals are, first of all, picturesque landscapes, a healing climate and numerous sources of various mineral waters (sulfate, sodium chloride, ferrous, bromine, radon). Of the natural attractions, karst caves are of particular interest, of which there are at least 500! In general, skiing, ecological, and health tourism are actively developing in the Ural region.