The largest mountains and plains on earth. Plains and mountains of Russia

There are many places on our planet that are of interest not only to researchers and scientists, but also to ordinary travelers. This high mountains, stormy rivers. But in this article we will introduce you to the great plains of the world. Do not think that these vast territories are not very interesting to study. After reading our article, you will understand that this opinion is wrong.

Where are the Great Plains?

Boundless high plateaus are located between the Cordilleras in the west and the Central Plains in the east. The researchers gave the name to this territory - the Great Plains. Mainland North America It is also famous for its Central Plains, but the Great Plains are distinguished by their absolute heights, dry climate and thickness of sedimentary rocks. Under the thickness of loess-like rocks and forests lie layers of Paleogene and Cretaceous rocks. Since predominantly steppe vegetation dominates here, the Great Plains are often called the Prairie Plateau.

The continental climate, position (rather high) above sea level, and easy erosion of soils became the reasons for the development of erosion processes in these territories. Most characteristic relief - ravines. Erosion sometimes reaches gigantic proportions - thousands of hectares of once fertile soil turn into badlands.

Great Plains: dimensions

This foothill plateau in Canada and the United States is located east of the Rocky Mountains. Its height is from 800 to 1,700 meters above sea level. Length - three thousand six hundred kilometers. Width - from five hundred to eight hundred kilometers. The map shows that this is a huge territory - the Great Plains. Their area is 1,300,000 square kilometers.

Relief

The plains stretch for 3600 km from north to south. They represent a heterogeneous territory. On Canadian soil (the Saskatchewan River basin) is their northern part - the Alberta Plateau. Moraine landforms predominate here. The plateau is distinguished by forest landscapes located on soddy-podzolic soils. There are often individual aspen pegs.

In the Missouri basin (Missouri Plateau), there is an undulating moraine topography with strong erosional dissection, forest-steppe vegetation of aspen and birch copses, separated by forb steppes. This landscape is typical for the Ishim steppe (Southern Siberia). In the middle part of the plateau there is a ridge of terminal moraines.

South of the Missouri Plateau is the High Plains Plateau. These areas are not affected by glaciation; the surface is dissected by rivers, slightly undulating. There is no forest vegetation here - this plateau is dominated by mixed-grass steppe, densely covered with ravines. This part of the Great Plains has been plowed up for a long time, and erosion is particularly progressing here.

Even further south is the Llano Estacado plateau. It has a more leveled relief, which in some places is diluted by karst sinkholes. The vegetation of this plateau is steppe; here you can find single yuccas and columnar cacti.

In the very south of the Great Plains is the Edwards Plateau, which, in its landscape appearance, resembles the neighboring regions of Mexico with its characteristic succulents (yuccas, cacti). This plateau is poorly dissected and is characterized by a predominance of chestnut soils.

Animal world

The Great Plains, whose area is huge, are distinguished by a fairly diverse fauna, which is directly related to the nature of the landscapes. In the northern part you can find steppe bison and pronghorn antelope; in the southern and central regions live the steppe fox, wolf, and prairie dogs. The most common birds are the steppe falcon and the meadow grouse.

Russian Plain

Experts more often call this territory the East European Plain. This is a real natural pantry of Russia. Judge for yourself: its foundation contains coal, iron ores, oil and natural gas, etc. useful resources. Its fertile soils, according to experts, can easily feed Russians.

The Great Russian Plain ranks second in area in the world, second only to the Amazon Lowland. It is classified as low plains. This territory is washed by the White and Barents seas in the north, and the Caspian, Azov and Black seas in the south.

Like many other great plains of the world, the Russian one is in the southwest and west and adjacent to the mountains - the Sudetes, the Carpathians, in the northwest it is limited by the Scandinavian Mountains, in the east by the Urals and Mugodzhars, and in the southeast by the Caucasus and Crimean Mountains .

Dimensions

The Russian Plain stretches from east to west for 2.5 thousand kilometers. From south to north - 2750 kilometers. The total area of ​​the territory is five and a half million square kilometers. The maximum height was recorded on Mount Yudychvumchorr (Kola Peninsula - 1191 meters). The lowest point is located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, it is characterized by a minus value of -27 meters.

The following countries are partially or completely located on the territory of the Russian Plain:

• Kazakhstan.
• Belarus.
• Lithuania.
• Latvia.
• Poland.
• Moldova.
• Russia.
• Estonia.
• Ukraine.

Relief

The relief of the Russian Plain is dominated by planes. Similar geographical position It is characterized by rare earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Hydrography

The main part of the waters of the Russian Plain has access to the ocean. The southern and western northern regions flow into the Arctic Ocean. The northern rivers include the Onega, Mezen, and Northern Dvina Pechora. Southern and western rivers carry their waters to the Vistula, Neman, Neva, etc. The Dniester and Dnieper, the Southern Bug flow into the Black Sea, and the Don into the Azov Sea.

Climate

The Russian Plain has a temperate continental climate. Average summer temperatures can range from -12 degrees (in the Barents Sea area) to +25 degrees (in the Caspian Lowland). Maximum winter temperatures are recorded in the west. In these areas the air temperature does not drop below -3 degrees. In Komi this figure reaches -20 degrees.

Precipitation in the southeast falls up to 400 mm (during the year), in the west their amount doubles. change from semi-desert in the south to tundra in the north.

Chinese plain

Many people have probably heard about this plain, but perhaps not everyone knows where the Great Chinese Plain is located. One of the largest plains in Asia. In the east it is washed by the Yanshan Mountains in the north, and in the west by the Taihangshan Range. Its eastern slopes have steep ledges more than a thousand meters high. In the southwest are the Dabeshan and Tongboshan ranges. The total area of ​​the plain is more than 325 thousand square kilometers.

In the foothill, western part, which is made up of ancient alluvial cones, the plain reaches a height of one hundred meters. Closer to the sea it drops less than fifty meters.

Relief

On sea ​​coast The plain is almost flat, only slight slopes are noticeable. There are swampy depressions occupied by small lakes. Within the plain are the Shandong Mountains.

Rivers

In addition to the largest river, the Yellow River, the Huaihe and Haihe rivers flow here. They are characterized by rather sharp fluctuations in flow and monsoon regime.

The maximum summer flow often exceeds the spring minimum by almost a hundred times.

Climatic conditions

The Chinese Plain has a monsoon subtropical climate. IN winter time dry and cold air that comes from Asia dominates here. In January the average temperature is -2...-4 degrees.

In summer the air warms up to +25...+28 degrees. Up to 500 mm of precipitation falls annually in the north and up to 1000 mm in the south.

Vegetation

Today, the forests that previously grew here with an admixture of subtropical evergreens have not been preserved. There are groves of ash, thuja, poplar, and pine.

The soils are mainly alluvial, which have undergone significant changes during agricultural cultivation.

Amazonian lowland

This is the greatest plain in the world. It covers an area of ​​more than 5 million square kilometers. Its maximum height is 120 meters.

Vast areas of the lowlands are inextricably linked with the life of the Amazon River, the largest drainage area in the world. A huge part of its territory near the river floodplain is regularly flooded, resulting in the formation of swampy areas (marches).

What types of plains are there?

The large plains of the world are the object of study by specialists. The plains truly amaze with their beauty and grandeur. This is confirmed by everyone who has seen this kind of area not only on the map.

Few people know where the largest plains in the world are located, and which of the plains are the most extensive. Plain is a type of terrain characterized by slight fluctuations in elevation. All plains are divided into lowlands, plateaus and hills. The lowlands are located at a distance of up to 200 meters above the main sea level. The hills are located at a distance of over 500 meters above the main sea level. Everything between these levels is a plateau.

Amazonian lowland and Gobi plain

Geography teachers know that the largest and most majestic plain in the world is the Amazon Lowland. Its area is more than 5 million square kilometers. The plain rises 10-100 meters above the main sea level. The Amazonian lowland is located in South America and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the deepest river in the world - the Amazon. Almost the entire area of ​​the plain is occupied by humid equatorial forests. The second longest is the Gobi Plain, which bears the name of the desert of the same name.

The Gobi Plain is located in Central Asia. It is a plateau and is sandwiched on all sides by mountain ranges. On the territory of the Gobi there are both rocky surfaces and surfaces on which plants grow that can only be found in this corner globe. The local climate is quite harsh, since the plain is located at an altitude of approximately 1000 meters above sea level. Very large plains are located in the Sahara Desert. The Sahara is the largest desert on earth. Its area is about 8 million square kilometers, which is quite comparable to a continent such as Australia. The entire territory of the Sahara is made up of plains that are crossed by dry river beds.

East African plateau

The largest plain on the African continent is the East African Plateau. Its length is more than 17,000 kilometers in length. The West Siberian Lowland also has a greater extent. It is a former basin of the Arctic Ocean. There are a lot of lakes and swamps on the plain. This is primarily due to its origin, as well as the fact that it is located at a distance of 10-12 meters above the main sea level. It is noteworthy that all the most famous oil and gas fields in Russia are located here. The East European Plain is also called “Russian”. It is located near the Ural Mountains. Its territory also contains rich mineral deposits.

The largest deposit is the Kursk magnetic anomaly. Each continent can find its own plains, which will be the largest for a given continent. All of them deserve some attention from scientific researchers. Some of them attract thousands of tourists with their beauty, who want to see with their own eyes at least a small part of the majestic plain. That is why it is very popular to lay tourist routes through some plateaus.

The largest plains in the world evoke delight and admiration. Those who love to travel can be advised to choose a tourist route passing through one of these plains.

At the heart of the territory Russian Federation There are large tectonic formations - shields, platforms, folded belts, the impact of which is expressed in the versatility of the relief of our state. Thus, Russia is characterized by numerous lowlands, hills, and mountain systems.

Russian and Siberian Plain

Most of the territory of the state, which is located on two platforms formed in the Precambrian period (Russian and Siberian), is occupied by plains. In the Russian Federation there are three flat areas - the Central Siberian Plateau, the West Siberian Plain and the East European Plain. The height of the plains does not reach 200 m above sea level, but within their boundaries there are also some hills, in particular: the Smolensk-Moscow, Central Russian, Volga uplands and the Timan Ridge. An interesting fact is that in the south of the Russian Federation, the plain abruptly turns into the Caucasus mountain system, which was formed in modern cycle Alpine orogeny.

East European and West Siberian Plain

The East European and West Osiberian plains are separated by the Ural Mountains, which stretch in the north-south direction for more than 2.5 thousand km. From the southeast, the West Siberian Plain is framed by the Altai mountain system.

The Central Siberian Plateau reaches an altitude of 500-700 m above sea level. In the south, this platform is adjacent to the ancient Baikal fold. The territory between the Lena coast and Chukotka is located on the Mesozoic fold, which explains the presence of mountain formations here - the Verkhoyansk, Chersky, Kolyma highlands.

The Pacific fold belt, which runs in the extreme northeast, includes the island of Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and Kamchatka. These islands are the peaks of sea mountains that continue to grow to this day, as evidenced by the intense earthquakes in the region.

The northwestern territory of Russia, between the White Sea and the border with Finland, is located on the Baltic crystalline shield. The relief here has its own characteristics - the presence of denudation hills, sea and lake plains. Low mountains in this area border swampy lowlands.

Mountain systems of Russia

In the south of the state there is the Greater Caucasus mountain system, which forms a natural border with Azerbaijan and Georgia. Mount Elbrus is the highest point in the Caucasus, its height reaches 5600 m. Caucasus Mountains are part of the Carpathians - Crimea - Pamir mountain belt.

In the south of Siberia there are the Altai Mountains (the highest point is Mount Belukha, 4500m). The Altai mountain system includes subparallel ridges that pass into the Sayan mountain system. The mountains that surround Lake Baikal are mostly low, but they continue to grow. The highest is the Daursky arch with a height of about 2500 m.

The oldest and longest, but at the same time low, mountains are the Urals, average height which is 400m. The most high point mountain system of the Urals - Mount Narodnaya, whose height is 1895 m.

Plains and mountains are the main forms of the earth's surface. They were formed as a result of geological processes that have shaped the face of the Earth throughout geological history. Plains are vast spaces with calm, flat or hilly terrain and relatively small fluctuations in relative heights (no more than 200 m).

Plains are divided by absolute height. Plains with an absolute height of no more than 200 m are called lowlands, or lowlands (West Siberian). Plains, absolute altitude of which from 200 to 500 m are called elevated or elevated (East European, or Russian). Plains whose height is over 500 m above sea level are called high or plateaus (Central Siberian).

Due to their considerable height, plateaus and hills usually have a more dissected surface and rugged terrain compared to lowlands. Elevated plains with flat surfaces are called plateaus.

The largest lowlands: Amazonian, Mississippian, Indo-Gangetic, German-Polish. represents an alternation of lowlands (Dnieper, Black Sea, Caspian, etc.) and uplands (Valdai, Central Russian, Volyn-Podolsk, Volga, etc.). Plateaus are most widespread in Asia (Central Siberian, Arabian, Deccan, etc.), in (East African, South African, etc.), in (West Australian).

The plains are also divided by origin. On continents, the majority (64%) of plains formed on platforms; They are composed of layers of sedimentary cover. Such plains are called stratal or platform plains. The Caspian lowland is the youngest plain, and is an ancient platform plain, its surface has been significantly modified by flowing waters and other external processes.

The plains that arose as a result of the removal of products of mountain destruction (denudation) from the destroyed base of the mountains (basement) are called denudation, or base, plains. Mountain destruction and transport usually occurs under the influence of water, ice and gravity. Gradually Mountain country smoothes out, levels out, turning into a hilly plain. Denudation plains are usually composed of hard rocks (small hills).

The main lowlands and plateaus of the world

If you look at the physical map of the world, you will notice that mountains and plains are the main types earth's relief, and the plains are larger in area than the mountain ranges. Most of our planet's population lives on plains, which differ fertile soils and a climate favorable for agriculture.

Interestingly, not all continents are equally level. Most of the plains are located in Africa (about 84%), in Asia, on the contrary, 57% of the continent’s territory is occupied by the largest mountain systems in the world: Tibet, Altai, the Himalayas, the Pamirs, etc.

What are plains and how did they appear?

Before learning the history of the appearance of the plains and classifying them according to existing types, let us define the term itself. In principle, the word itself already contains the answer to the question of what plains are. These are flat areas on the bottom of the oceans or on the surface of the Earth, often occupying huge areas. The largest plain on our planet is the Amazon Lowland in South America.

The plains differ from each other in geological structure, relief nature and height. Briefly, geologists explain their appearance on land this way: once in prehistoric times, mountains rose in the place where the plains are now, then over a long period these mountains were destroyed by earthquakes until they were almost completely leveled.

At first glance, it may seem that the plains are almost flat spaces. In fact, their relief is complex and diverse. Thus, in some areas of the Earth the plains are indeed almost flat, for example, in the semi-deserts north of the Caspian Sea; in other places their surface is crossed by ridges, hills and ridges - hills with gentle slopes. Such a hilly plain is, for example, the East European one.

Classification of plains by absolute height

It is not difficult to describe a plain, because, as we have already found out, this term means a vast expanse of land with a flat or hilly topography. All plains, depending on the height at which they are located relative to sea level, are divided into several types.

• The first is the lowlands. They can be located either below sea level, like the Caspian, or their height does not exceed 200 meters above sea level, like, for example, the West Siberian. Where the earth's crust sags, there are coastal plains. One of these places is the Padana Lowland, on which the city of Venice is located.
• Uplands are the next type of plains. Their height above sea level ranges from 200 to 500 meters. Uplands are a mixture of hilly and flat areas, such as the Central Plains of North America.
• The highest plains on Earth are plateaus with flat or hilly terrain, located at altitudes from 500 m to 1 km and above. An example of a plateau is the Anatolian in Turkey or the Altiplano in South America.

the East European Plain

The second largest plain in the world is the East European Plain, which is also called Russian. It extends from the White Sea coast in the north to the Caspian coast in the south. The Russian Plain belongs to the type of hills, since its average height above sea level reaches 170 m.

In most of its part the climate is temperate continental, only in the far north is it subarctic. Despite urbanization, almost half of the territory of the East European Plain is covered by forests, and in some of its areas the Askania Nova, Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Vodlozersky National Park, etc. reserves have been created.

West Siberian Plain

Between the Central Siberian Plateau and the Ural Mountains is the West Siberian Plain - the third in area after the Amazon and Russian. Its main feature is its very smooth terrain. The climate throughout its territory is continental with sharp drop temperatures and unstable weather.

The Siberian Plain is rich in mineral resources. In addition to gas and oil, iron ore, peat, and brown coal are mined here. On the territory of the plain there are about a million lakes of various sizes and several vegetation zones: tundra, forest-tundra, forest-steppe, forest swamps and steppe.

Severe swampiness of large areas is another distinguishing feature Siberian Plain. This is due to several reasons: permafrost, low temperatures, flat relief, excessive moisture.

In conclusion, we note that the relief of the plains is the most convenient for economic activity and life, therefore their territories have been significantly changed by humanity.