The relief of the Russian Plain is more diverse in the northwest, in the region of the last glacier. The main terminal moraine belt enters here from the southwest. It stretches to Lake Onega and further - to the lower reaches of the Northern Dvina and to the Mezen Bay. It is characterized by a hilly-morainic relief with many lakes. The heights of the Valdai, Veps and other uplands of the main belt in the Carboniferous Plateau reach 300 m.

To the west of the main belt, moraine ridges are located in the form of discontinuous hills; characteristic are kams and flat low-lying plains - Volkhovsko-Ilmenskaya and others. During the retreat of the glacier, huge dammed lakes formed in these areas. The deepest sections of the ancient lake basins are now occupied by large lakes - Ilmen, Chudskoye and Pskovskoye. A flat limestone Ordovician plateau stretches along the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, on which karst is developed.

A different relief was formed in the area between the main terminal moraine belt and Timan. The landforms created here by the early glaciations are eroded. Interfluve plateaus have a flat and undulating surface. Spacious lowlands with river valleys of the Northern Dvina and other rivers, dividing the plateau, merge in the north with the coastal lowland. The ancient Timan ridge is poorly expressed in the relief: it consists of several flat ridges - "stones" with hilly remnants of hard rocks. The northwestern extension of Timan is the low and flat Pae Range on the Kanin Peninsula. In the southeast, Timan comes close to the spurs of the Urals - Polyudov stone. The Pechora basin between the Timan and the Urals is characterized by undulating, in places hilly plains, dissected by lowlands with river valleys. On the Bolshezemelskaya and Malozemelskaya plains there are moraine hills and ridges - Musyurs.

The relief of the Polar and Northern Urals is extremely diverse. Mountain ranges and massifs are separated there by deep tectonic depressions and river valleys. Glaciation in the Urals was accompanied by the formation of pointed ridges, troughs, the accumulation of moraine and water-glacial deposits in valleys and at the foot of mountains, and the smoothing of slopes.

The highest peaks of the Northern Urals are characterized by sharp (alpine) forms: narrow ridges, peaks. As a result of frosty weathering, placers (kurums) of large stone blocks and rock fragments near the peaks and on the slopes of high ridges are very typical for the Ural Mountains. There are no sharp fluctuations in elevation on the western slope of the Urals, the summit surfaces are wavy in nature, descending, the mountains are replaced in the foothills by wide quartzite uplands - parmas.

The climate features of the European North are primarily due to the position of the region in the temperate and cold zones in the north-west of Eurasia and the large extent of the region from south to north, as well as from east to west on both sides of the Arctic Circle.

From south to north, according to the seasons of the year, the conditions of illumination and heating of the earth's surface by the sun's rays change especially strongly in the European North - the length of the day and the height of the sun above the horizon, which determine the influx of solar energy (radiation). The midday height of the sun above the horizon on the southern edge of the European North reaches on the day of the summer solstice, June 22, almost 58 °, and the duration of the day is 18 hours. To the north of here, the sun's height decreases, and the length of the day increases, the nights become shorter. Approximately from the latitude of Leningrad, the sun hides behind the horizon shallowly and briefly, so that the evening dawn merges with the morning, and white nights reign from late April to mid-August.

At the Arctic Circle on June 22, the day lasts around the clock. Under 70 ° with. sh. the sun does not set from May 20 to July 23, and on Franz Josef Land - over four months. During this period of the polar day, the sun here, not rising high above the horizon, "walks in a circle."

The polar day and beyond the polar circle are preceded by bright, twilight nights; at 70° N sh. they start already on March 30, and after the polar day they continue until September 12.

With the end of bright nights, the days become shorter and the height of the midday sun decreases. In the middle of winter, even in the south of the region, the sun rises only to 11 °, and the day lasts only 6 hours and 30 minutes.

At the Arctic Circle and north of it, the sun does not appear above the horizon at all.

The duration of the polar night, as well as the polar day, is not the same in different latitudes (at the Arctic Circle - 24 hours, at 70 ° N - 64 days, on Franz Josef Land - more than 130 days). In the winter months, the influx of solar heat in the European North is small everywhere, and where the polar night reigns, its flow completely stops.

In general, for the year at the southern border of the European North, the influx of solar energy by "/h, on the coast of the Barents Sea is almost half and in the Far North in the Arctic almost 2 times less than in the south of the Russian Plain, off the coast of the Black Sea.

Atmospheric circulation has a great influence on the climate. In the European North, these influences are very pronounced due to the position of the territory in the north-west of Eurasia - in the zone of active cyclonic activity and frequent changes in air masses, different in their place of formation, temperature and humidity.

Throughout the year, western air currents prevail here. Cyclones move mainly from the North Atlantic to the Barents Sea. Cyclonic activity is especially intense in autumn and winter. In winter, the entry of warm and humid Atlantic air is accompanied by warming, snowfalls, and during thaws, sometimes rain. In summer, when cool air comes in from the west, temperatures drop, cloudiness increases, and heavy rains fall. Moving over land further to the east, humid Atlantic air is converted into continental air (it cools in winter and warms up in summer).

From the northeast, from the side of the Kara Sea, less often from the northwest or from the north, Arctic air invades the territory of the European North. Arctic air coming from the northeast forms above the ice. This "Kara" Arctic air is much colder and drier than the Arctic air coming from the northwest and passing a long way over the relatively warm waters of the ocean. The intrusion of arctic air occurs more often in summer, but it brings strong drops in air temperature in winter, especially in the second half and at the end of winter. With the advent of arctic air, frosty weather sets in in winter, and cool in summer.

Moving inland, the Arctic air warms up and transforms into continental air. In winter from the east, and in summer from the southeast, continental air from temperate latitudes enters the European North. In winter it is very cold and dry, in summer it is dry and warm.

Spreading, it brings clear, frosty weather in winter, dry and warm in summer.

Sometimes in the summer, from the southwest, maritime subtropical air, warm and very humid, spreads to the territory of the European North. It covers mainly only the southwestern regions. With the advent of this air, heavy rains fall, but then, usually for a short time, clear, warm or even hot weather sets in. Even more rarely, and only in summer, continental dry and hot tropical air comes from Central Asia and other southeastern regions.

It brings briefly very warm, dry, windless weather.

Huge masses of heat coming with the Atlantic air cause a positive temperature anomaly characteristic of the European North (the average air temperatures here are higher than the average for these latitudes).

Frequent changes in air masses, as well as cyclones, cause unstable weather typical of the European North.

The winds here are also changeable. In the northern strip of this region, northern winds dominate in summer, and southern and southwestern winds dominate in winter.

The coldest month almost everywhere in the European North is January (in the southwest and extreme northwest - February). The lowest average temperatures in January (-22°) are observed in the northeast of the mainland of the European North and on the eastern side of Novaya Zemlya, the highest (-6°) and slightly higher - in the southwestern regions and under the warming influence of the sea in the far north -west, in the coastal strip of the Kola Peninsula.

The absolute minimum temperature in areas far from the sea reaches -55° in the European North and is below -35, -40° everywhere.

The warmest month in the European North is July. The average July temperatures are highest in the south (+18, +19°), the lowest - in the northeast of the continental part of the European North (+8°). Temperatures are even lower on the islands of Novaya Zemlya (+5°) and on Franz Josef Land (0°). The highest (maximum) daily temperatures (above +36°) were observed in July in different parts of the European North.

The duration of the period with stable temperatures above +5°, which determine the timing of sowing and harvesting crops, within the temperate zone varies in the European North from 180-150 days in the south, to 110-80 days in the north. The possibilities of growing agricultural plants also depend on the availability of heat during the growing season.

The indicator of security is the sum of stable average temperatures above 10 °. In the southern regions of the European North, the sums of temperatures above +10° reach almost 2000°, which is sufficient for ripening even late varieties of wheat, potatoes, tomatoes, and flax for fiber. In the northern zone, the sum of temperatures drops to 750-500 °, however, it makes it possible to grow potatoes, vegetables and some grains.

Atlantic air coming from the west brings not only heat, but also a lot of moisture. The annual amount of precipitation on the plains of the European North reaches an average of 500 - 700 mm, in the extreme northeast - only 300 mm, in the mountains of the Urals - more than 800 mm.

Rains and snowfalls are frequent - up to 160 - 200 days a year. Rains are predominantly heavy, drizzling. Summer showers are rare. Although precipitation occurs most often in autumn and winter, most of it occurs during the warm season.

Snow cover within the European North is long, on average 120 days, and in the northeast even 250 days. In the mountains of the Kola Peninsula and the Urals, snow spots remain for several years.

The northern island of Novaya Zemlya, the islands of Franz Josef Land and Victoria Land are almost entirely covered with a thick layer of ice and snow. There are also small glaciers in the Urals.

In the western regions of the European North, due to thaws, the snow is compacted and the thickness of the snow cover is less (30 cm) than in the east (70 - 100 cm).

Due to the considerable thickness of the snow cover, the soils of the European North do not freeze deeply and not strongly, the temperatures of frozen soils are usually only slightly below 0 °. Nevertheless, in the Far North, a layer of permafrost (permafrost) lies already at an insignificant depth. It is more widespread in the east, where the continentality of the climate increases, and less in the west, but nowhere does it form a continuous shell.

A characteristic feature of the climate of the European North is the constant high relative humidity of the air (average 75 - 90%). At low air temperatures and high humidity, evaporation is low everywhere.

Differences in the climate of the European North are reflected in the timing of the onset, duration and temperatures of the seasons.

Winter is the time of the year with daily air temperatures below -5°, stable snow cover.

It begins first in the northeast (at the end of October), and later in the southwest (on average, in the first half of November); winter in the west, and especially in the southwest, is usually mild, with thaws, cloudy, less often frosty, in the east it is more stable, cold and clear, and beyond the Arctic Circle it is dark and twilight, with strong winds and frequent blizzards, with storms at sea . In the extreme northeast, there are up to 100 days with snowstorms. Winds and blizzards are also common in other parts of the European North during intrusions of arctic air masses, when mild cyclonic weather often changes to a thaw, anticyclonic clear, sunny, bright from shining snow, windless and cold weather.

But year after year it does not happen: some winters were with long frosty weather, others with frequent thaws.

Spring begins in the European North almost everywhere in March, in the Far North - in April, and in the northeast - even at the end of April. In March (to the north - in April), announcing the onset of spring, rooks are the first to arrive, in the Far North - snow bunting. In April, a bear leaves its den, waterfowl arrive, and a stork comes to the south-west. In April (to the north - in early May), the first butterflies fly out - urticaria, snowdrops bloom - blueberry, anemone; in the southwest at the beginning of May (in the east - at the end) the first cuckoo is heard, the birch begins to turn green (in the Far North in June), the first song of the nightingale is heard; in the south-west in May (to the north - in June), bird cherry, lilac bloom, winter rye begins to ear. In spring, the influence of the Atlantic weakens, cloudiness decreases, the day becomes longer, the sun rises higher, shines brighter.

With the heating of surface air during the day above zero degrees, there are thaws, and at night it freezes and the snow freezes, an ice crust forms on it - crust. Arctic air intrusions become more frequent, especially in May. In this regard, there are returns of cold weather, when frosts are possible.

The northern spring is protracted and proceeds in different ways. There were years when in Leningrad, for example, on May 1, people went to a festive demonstration in summer clothes, but it happened that on that day the temperature dropped below 0 ° C or a gale was blowing, it was sleet and raining.

Only in June (south of 65 ° N) and July (north of this parallel) does summer come, moderately warm or cool. At this time, lilac blossoms in the southwestern regions of the European North.

The real, full summer comes later, in the second half of June - early July, when the average daily temperatures rise above -15 °, blueberries and raspberries ripen, the number of edible mushrooms increases in the forests, and haymaking takes place. But north of the 65th parallel, summer is very cool and there is no period with temperatures above 15 ° at all.

In the extreme northeast and on the polar islands, the average air temperature in all summer months is below -\-10 °.

The entry of warm air from the south sometimes raises the temperature to +30. + 35 ° (even on Novaya Zemlya it is above + 20 degrees). On the contrary, the entry of arctic air greatly lowers the temperature (to -2°, in the northeast to -5°).

Frosts are possible almost everywhere in June and August, and in the east, in the northern strip, even in July. Cyclones in summer come more often than in spring, cloudiness increases (especially in the second half), the amount of precipitation increases, there are thunderstorms and showers.

A sign of autumn - yellowing of birch leaves - is noticeable everywhere in the European north already at the end of August. But autumn really comes in September. Arctic air comes less often in autumn, but it gets colder; cyclonic activity intensifies, cloudiness increases. During the period of golden autumn, in September and in the first half of October, with the entry of warm air, "Indian summer" is briefly established - dry, sunny, warm weather.

In deep autumn, until the first snow, the days quickly shorten, cloudiness increases even more, rainy weather happens more often, the departure of waterfowl ends, and rooks fly away. Drizzling rains are replaced by snowfalls, and before the beginning of winter, during the "pre-winter" period, in November, snow cover appears and disappears again.

But in other years already in September (and in some areas in the north and east in August) there were frosts up to -6 ° in the southwest and -18 ° in the east.

The East European Plain is located on the territory of the eastern part of Europe, and includes 10 countries at once, but most of it is located in the west of Russia, which is why its second official name is the Russian Plain.

Figure 1. Climate of the Russian Plain. Author24 - online exchange of student papers

The climate of this area directly depends on several key factors:

geographical position;
the proximity of the ocean;
relief.

Radiation plays a central role in the formation of climatic processes in the Russian Plain. Advection is also essential. The continentality of this area increases mainly to the east, and the absence of mountains in the west and north contributes to the rapid penetration of arctic maritime air from temperate latitudes. The transformed air masses reach the Urals, and the air from the Arctic comes from the Kara and Barents Seas.

Researchers and geographers define the Russian Plain as a physical and geographical state, and the basis for its elevation to this rank is:

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an elevated, hilly and stratal plain formed on the plate of the ancient East European Platform;
continental-Atlantic, insufficiently humid and predominantly temperate climate, which is formed in full under the influence of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans;
clearly defined main natural zones, the structures of which were greatly influenced by neighboring territories and flat relief.

Interestingly, when dividing the Russian Plain into large-scale natural complexes, two approaches were taken into account - azonal and zonal. Within the area under consideration, continental air dominates, and the effect of advection is most noticeable in winter than in summer.

The cyclonic functional manifests itself most actively in winter along the entire Arctic front, which is often located in the north of the plain, but often shifts to the Black Sea coast. In the summer half of the year, three zones of cyclone activity are formed at once. The first zone is observed across the Arctic front, the second zone acts on polar-frontal occlusions, and the third zone occupies a whole strip from the Crimea to the Middle Volga.

Northern climatic region

The northern climatic region is located not far from the northern zone of high atmospheric pressure, therefore, it is characterized by the dominance of western moist winds throughout the year. The western transformation of air masses prevailing in this zone increases due to the systematic recurrence of cyclones of the polar and arctic fronts.

Remark 1

In the formation of climatic phenomena in the Northern region, the Arctic air plays a huge role, which is gradually transformed when moving south. Sometimes at the height of summer, hot tropical air comes in from the south.

It should be noted that sometimes continental tropical air can form in the south of the Northern Region, which acts under the influence of polar air. However, such a phenomenon can only be observed in anticyclonic weather, so the last time the transformation of polar air masses was recorded in 1936 near Moscow.

Winters in this climate zone are snowy and cold. In the northeast, the average January temperature reaches -15-20°C, and the snow cover, which is 70 cm high, pleases local residents up to 220 days a year. Winters are much milder in the south-western region: the average air temperature in winter does not fall below -10 °, and the duration of the white ice sheet is reduced to 4 months a year.

The entire territory of the Northern Region belongs to the subarctic, arctic and temperate climatic zones. These natural zones with forest-tundra and tundra climate types cover the coast of the Barents Sea and the islands of the Arctic. The temperate belt here has two types of terrain - taiga and mixed forests.

Southern climatic region

The southern climatic region extends along the southern band of high atmospheric pressure. The direction of air masses in this area is not stable, since the westerly winds prevailing in the warm season transform into southeast cold winds in winter.

Remark 2

Under conditions of constant anticyclones, the processes of movement of air masses intensify, as a result of which the western moist air is quickly transformed into temperate continental.

In summer, all processes of transformation of the polar air in the territory of the Southern Region end with the formation of a tropical climate.

From the side of the Mediterranean Sea tropical sea air gradually enters in a transformed form. The systematic recurrence of temperate tropical cyclones in summer sharply distinguishes the southern region of the Russian Plain from the northern one, where tropical air masses are observed only as exceptions.

The absence of sharp contrasts between the polar and continental tropical air is explained by the passivity of the cyclones that originate here and the low humidity of the moving air masses, which ultimately does not provide the required amount of precipitation.

Such a ratio of moisture and heat in the south of the Russian Plain is an unfavorable element for agriculture, which needs stable moisture. A prolonged absence of precipitation automatically causes drought - one of the most peculiar and characteristic phenomena of the southern climatic region.

Climatic features of the nature of the Russian Plain

On the Russian Plain, one can observe such natural zones: forest-tundra and tundra, forest-steppe, forest, steppe, semi-desert and desert. The tundra and forest-tundra zones are moderately cold and humid climatic processes and occupy the entire coast of the Barents Sea. The tundra completely covers the Kanin Peninsula, and then its border goes to the Polar Urals and Naryan-Mar.

The forest-steppe in the zone of the Russian Plain is characterized by humid and warm weather, since it is simultaneously affected by the non-freezing part of the Barents Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. In winter, a minimum of passing cyclones can be observed here. This is clearly reflected in the division of the annual amount of all precipitation that formed permafrost (from 0° to -3°), which has now been transformed into glacial, marine, deltaic, river and lake deposits.

Definition 1

The forest zone is a moderately humid and warm zone of the Russian Plain, which extends south of the forest tundra in a strip of 1000-1200 km.

The forest zone of the East European Plain is conventionally divided by researchers into two subzones: mixed forests and taiga. The taiga of the Russian Plain is very different from the Siberian one, since its geographical position is determined by the history of the development of this territory. The proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the warmest zone of the Arctic determined the growth of powerful multiple ice sheet and temperate continental climate, which promotes the spread of animals and European plants over the plain.

Taking into account all the features of the radiation regime and the universal circulation of the atmosphere, it is necessary to distinguish two main climatic zones on the territory of the Russian Plain - temperate and subarctic, and within their boundaries - five climatic zones. In all areas, an increase in the continentality of the climate from west to east is observed. Differences in the climate of the East European area directly affect the nature of vegetation and the presence of pronounced soil zoning.

East European (Russian) Plain- one of the largest plains in the world. Among all the plains of our Motherland, only it goes to two oceans. Russia is located in the central and eastern parts of the plain. It stretches from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Azov and Caspian.

Features of the relief of the Russian Plain

The East European Uplifted Plain consists of uplands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands along which large rivers flow. The average height of the plain is 170 m, and the highest - 479 m - on Bugulma-Belebeev Upland in the Ural part. Maximum mark Timan Ridge somewhat smaller (471 m).

According to the features of the orographic pattern within the East European Plain, three bands are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. A strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands passes through the central part of the plain: Central Russian, Volga, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya uplands and Common Syrt divided Oka-Don lowland and the Low Trans-Volga region, along which the Don and Volga rivers flow, carrying their waters to the south.

To the north of this strip, low plains predominate. Large rivers flow through this territory - Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora with numerous high-water tributaries.

The southern part of the East European Plain is occupied by lowlands, of which only the Caspian is located on the territory of Russia.

The climate of the Russian Plain

The climate of the East European Plain is influenced by its position in temperate and high latitudes, as well as neighboring territories (Western Europe and North Asia) and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The climate is temperate in terms of thermal regime and medium humidity with increasing continentality towards the south and east. The average monthly temperature in January varies from - 8° in the west to - 11°C in the east, the July temperature ranges from 18° to 20°C from northwest to southeast.

All year round the East European Plain is dominated by western air mass transport. Atlantic air brings coolness and rainfall in summer, and warmth and rainfall in winter.

Differences in the climate of the East European Plain affect the nature of the vegetation and the presence of a fairly clearly expressed soil-vegetation zonality. Soddy-podzolic soils are replaced to the south by more fertile ones - a variety of chernozems. The natural and climatic conditions are favorable for active economic activity and population living.

Resources of the Russian Plain

The value of the natural resources of the Russian Plain is determined not only by their diversity and richness, but also by the fact that they are located in the most populated and developed part of Russia.

THE EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN, The Russian Plain, one of the largest plains in the world, within which are the European part of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, as well as most of Ukraine, the western part of Poland and the eastern part of Kazakhstan. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south - 2500 km. The area is over 4 million km 2. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the valley of the Vistula River); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudet and others) and the Carpathians; in the south it goes to the Black, Azov and Caspian seas, to the Crimean mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east, it is bounded by the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include V.-E. R. the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia, others refer this territory to Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.

Relief and geological structure

V.-E. R. geostructurally corresponds in general to the Russian plate of the ancient East European platform, in the south - northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform .

Complex relief V.-E. R. characterized by small fluctuations in altitude (average height is about 170 m). The highest heights are noted on the Podolsk (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) and Bugulma-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) uplands, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level - the lowest point in Russia) is located on the Caspian lowland, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

On V.-E. R. two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern extra-morainic with erosion landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small uplands (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). To the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechora and others). There are also a number of large uplands - the tundra, among them - the Lovozero tundra, etc.

In the northwest, in the area of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief prevails: hilly and ridge-moraine, depression with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.), the so-called lake area. To the south and east, in the area of distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating secondary moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; there are basins of lowered lakes. Moraine-erosion uplands and ridges (Belarusian Ridge, Smolensk-Moscow Upland, and others) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial, and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Upper Volga, and others). In some places, karst landforms are developed (the White Sea-Kuloi plateau, etc.). Ravines and gullies are more common, as well as river valleys with asymmetric slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, woodlands (Polesskaya lowland, etc.) and opolye (Vladimirskoye, Yuryevskoye, etc.) are typical.

In the north, insular permafrost is widespread in the tundra, in the extreme northeast - continuous permafrost up to 500 m thick and with temperatures from -2 to -4 °C. To the south, in the forest-tundra, the thickness of permafrost decreases, its temperature rises to 0 °C. Permafrost degradation, thermal abrasion on sea coasts with destruction and retreat of coasts up to 3 m per year is noted.

For the southern extra-morainic region V.-E. R. characterized by large uplands with erosion ravine-gully relief (Volyn, Podolsk, Pridneprovsk, Azov, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulma-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains belonging to the area of the Dnieper and Don glaciation (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Wide asymmetric terraced river valleys are characteristic. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called "saucers", formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits and bedrocks come to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathering remnants of bizarre shapes - shikhans. In the south and southeast, flat coastal accumulative lowlands are typical (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).

Climate

Far North V.-E. The river, which is located in the subarctic zone, has a subarctic climate. Most of the plain, located in the temperate zone, is dominated by a temperate continental climate with the dominance of western air masses. As the distance from the Atlantic Ocean to the east increases, the continentality of the climate increases, it becomes more severe and dry, and in the southeast, in the Caspian Lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold winters with little snow. The average January temperature ranges from -2 to -5 °C in the southwest and drops to -20 °C in the northeast. The average temperature in July increases from north to south from 6 to 23–24 °C and up to 25.5 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern part - insufficient and meager, reaching arid. The most humid part of V.-E. R. (between 55–60°N) receives 700–800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600–700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (up to 300–250 mm in the tundra) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (up to 200–150 mm in the semi-desert and desert). The maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (10–20 cm thick) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (60–70 cm thick) in the northeast. In the forest-steppe and steppe, frosts are frequent, droughts and dry winds are characteristic; in the semi-desert and desert - dust storms.

Inland waters

Most of the rivers V.-E. R. belongs to the basins of the Atlantic and North. Arctic Oceans. The Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; the Dnieper, Dniester, Southern Bug carry their waters to the Black Sea; in the Sea of Azov - Don, Kuban, etc. The Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; to the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc. The Volga, the largest river in Europe, as well as the Urals, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Maly Uzen, etc. belong to the basin of internal flow, mainly the Caspian Sea. spring flood. In the southwest of the E.-E.r. rivers do not freeze every year; in the northeast, freeze-up lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10–12 l/s per km2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing the East-E. R. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester, and others have been transformed into cascades of large reservoirs (Rybinsk, Kuibyshev, Tsimlyansk, Kremenchug, Kakhovskoe, and others).

There are numerous lakes of various genesis: glacial-tectonic - Ladoga (area with islands 18.3 thousand km 2) and Onega (area 9.7 thousand km 2) - the largest in Europe; morainic - Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloe, etc., estuary (Chizhinsky floods, etc.), karst (Okonskoe Vent in Polissya, etc.), thermokarst in the north and suffusion in the south of V.-E. R. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.

natural landscapes

V.-E. R. - a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of natural landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone, and only the northern part is in the subarctic zone. In the north, where permafrost is common, small areas with expansion to the east are occupied by the tundra zone: typical moss-lichen, grass-moss-shrub (lingonberry, blueberry, crowberry, etc.) and southern shrub (dwarf birch, willow) on tundra- gley and bog soils, as well as on dwarf illuvial-humus podzols (on sands). These are landscapes that are uncomfortable for living and have a low ability to recover. To the south, a forest-tundra zone with undersized birch and spruce sparse forests stretches in a narrow strip, in the east - with larch. This is a pasture zone with technogenic and field landscapes around rare cities. About 50% of the territory of the plain is occupied by forests. Zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, and in the east - with the participation of fir and larch) European taiga, swampy in places (from 6% in the southern to 9.5% in the northern taiga), on gley-podzolic (in the northern taiga), podzolic soils and the podzols are expanding towards the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-broad-leaved (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils, which extends most widely in the western part. Pine forests on podzols are developed along the river valleys. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests stretches on gray forest soils; forests wedged out to the Volga valley and have an insular character of distribution in the east. The subzone is represented by forest-field-meadow natural landscapes with a forest cover of only 28%. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, which occupy 50–70% of the forest area. The natural landscapes of the opal areas are peculiar - with plowed flat areas, the remains of oak forests and a ravine-beam network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals, a forest-steppe zone stretches with oak forests (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-grass meadow steppes (some sections are preserved in reserves) on black soil, which make up the main fund of arable land. The share of arable land in the forest-steppe zone is up to 80%. Southern part of V.-E. R. (except the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which are replaced to the south by fescue-feather grass dry steppes on dark chestnut soils. Most of the Caspian lowland is dominated by grass-wormwood semi-deserts on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and sagebrush-saltwort deserts on brown soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.

Ecological situation

V.-E. R. has been mastered for a long time and significantly changed by man. Many natural landscapes are dominated by natural-anthropogenic complexes, especially in the steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and broad-leaved forests (up to 75%). Territory V.-E. R. highly urbanized. The most densely populated areas (up to 100 people/km 2) are the zones of mixed and broad-leaved forests of the Central region of V.-E. r., where territories with a relatively satisfactory or favorable ecological situation occupy only 15% of the area. Particularly tense environmental situation in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Voronezh, etc.). In Moscow, emissions into the atmospheric air amounted (2014) to 996.8 thousand tons, or 19.3% of the emissions of the entire Central Federal District (5169.7 thousand tons), in the Moscow Region - 966.8 thousand tons (18. 7%); in the Lipetsk region, emissions from stationary sources reached 330 thousand tons (21.2% of the district's emissions). In Moscow, 93.2% are emissions from road transport, of which carbon monoxide accounts for 80.7%. The largest amount of emissions from stationary sources was noted in the Komi Republic (707.0 thousand tons). The share of residents (up to 3%) living in cities with high and very high levels of pollution is decreasing (2014). In 2013, Moscow, Dzerzhinsk, Ivanovo were excluded from the priority list of the most polluted cities of the Russian Federation. Foci of pollution are typical for large industrial centers, especially for Dzerzhinsk, Vorkuta, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Oil products contaminated (2014) soils in the city of Arzamas (2565 and 6730 mg / kg) of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Chapaevsk (1488 and 18034 mg /kg) Samara region, in the regions of Nizhny Novgorod (1282 and 14,000 mg/kg), Samara (1007 and 1815 mg/kg) and other cities. Spills of oil and oil products as a result of accidents at oil and gas production facilities and main pipeline transport lead to a change in soil properties - an increase in pH to 7.7–8.2, salinization and the formation of technogenic solonchaks, and the appearance of microelement anomalies. In agricultural areas, soils are contaminated with pesticides, including banned DDT.

Numerous rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are heavily polluted (2014), especially in the center and south of East-East. r., including the rivers Moscow, Pakhra, Klyazma, Myshega (Aleksin), Volga, etc., mainly within the cities and downstream. Fresh water intake (2014) in the Central Federal District amounted to 10,583.62 million m3; the volume of household water consumption is the largest in the Moscow region (76.56 m 3 / person) and in Moscow (69.27 m 3 / person), the discharge of polluted wastewater is also maximum in these subjects - 1121.91 million m 3 and 862 .86 million m 3, respectively. The share of polluted wastewater in the total volume of discharges is 40–80%. The discharge of polluted waters in St. Petersburg reached 1054.14 million m 3 or 91.5% of the total volume of discharges. There is a shortage of fresh water, especially in the southern regions of V.-E. R. The problem of waste disposal is acute. In 2014, 150.3 million tons of waste were collected in the Belgorod Region - the largest in the Central Federal District, as well as disposed waste - 107.511 million tons. Leningrad region over 630 quarries with an area of more than 1 hectare. Large quarries remain in the Lipetsk and Kursk regions. The main areas of logging and timber processing industry are located in the taiga, which are powerful pollutants of the natural environment. There are clear cuttings and over-cutting, littering of forests. The proportion of small-leaved species is growing, including in the place of former arable lands and hay meadows, as well as spruce forests, which are less resistant to pests and windfalls. The number of fires has increased, in 2010 more than 500 thousand hectares of land burned. Secondary swamping of territories is noted. The number and biodiversity of the animal world is declining, including as a result of poaching. In 2014, 228 ungulates were poached in the Central Federal District alone.

For agricultural lands, especially in the southern regions, soil degradation processes are typical. The annual washout of soils in the steppe and forest-steppe is up to 6 t/ha, in some places 30 t/ha; the average annual loss of humus in soils is 0.5–1 t/ha. Up to 50–60% of the lands are prone to erosion, the density of the ravine network reaches 1–2.0 km/km2. The processes of siltation and eutrophication of water bodies are growing, and the shallowing of small rivers continues. Secondary salinization and flooding of soils is noted.

Specially protected natural areas

Numerous nature reserves, national parks and reserves have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. In the European part of Russia there are (2016) 32 reserves and 23 national parks, including 10 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central Forest, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Astrakhan Nature Reserve(1919), Askania-Nova (1921, Ukraine), Bialowieza Forest(1939, Belarus). Among the largest reserves is the Nenets Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2), and among the national parks - the Vodlozersky National Park (4683.4 km 2). Native taiga plots "Virgin Komi Forests" and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the list world heritage. There are many nature reserves: federal (Tarusa, Kamennaya steppe, Mshinsky swamp) and regional ones, as well as natural monuments (Irgiz floodplain, Rachey taiga, etc.). Natural parks have been created (Gagarinsky, Eltonsky, etc.). The share of protected areas in different subjects varies from 15.2% in the Tver region to 2.3% in the Rostov region.

The East European Plain is located in the eastern part of Europe, and there are 10 countries on its territory, but most of it is located in the west of Russia, which is why its second name is the Russian Plain. The climate of the Russian Plain depends on several factors: geographical location, topography, proximity to the ocean. So in what climatic zones is the Russian Plain located?

general information

The East European Plain is one of the largest plains on the planet. Its area occupies more than 4 million square meters. km. The Russian Plain is bounded in the north by the Arctic Ocean, in the south by the Caspian and Black Seas, the Caucasus Mountains, in the east by the Urals, in the west by the state border of Russia. The whole plain can be divided into 3 parts: central, southern and northern. The central strip is distinguished by large uplands and lowlands. So, for example, the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, located just in the central part, is the highest point of the plain. Its height is 479 meters.

Rice. 1. Bugulma-Belebeevskaya upland.

Of all the plains of Russia, only the Russian Plain has access to two oceans at once - the Arctic and the Atlantic.

Climate of the East European Plain

Most of the plain lies in the temperate climate zone. It is formed under the influence of air masses brought from the Atlantic Ocean. This type of climate in the East European Plain is characterized by fairly cold winters and warm summers. Depending on the area, the average temperature in summer varies from +12 degrees (for example, the coast of the Bering Sea) to +24 (for example, in the Caspian lowland). The average January temperature varies from -8 degrees in the western part to -16 degrees in the Cis-Urals.

Rice. 2. East European Plain on the map.

The Russian Plain is subject to the western transfer of air masses. Due to the smooth relief of the plain, the transfer of air masses occurs freely. Westward air mass transfer is the movement of air from west to east. The Atlantic air brings coolness and rainfall in summer, and warmth and rainfall in winter.

A frequent occurrence in the cold season is the arrival of cyclones. During this time, from 8 to 12 cyclones can come to the Russian Plain.

What have we learned?

The East European Plain is characterized by a temperate continental climate. That is, in most of the territory, winters are cold, and summers are warm. The plain is characterized by cyclones, and it is also subject to the influence of western transport.

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