Eastern side of the Ural mountains. Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak “On the Chusovaya River. Video: Southern Ural

The Ural Mountains are a ridge on the border of Europe and Asia, as well as a natural border within Russia, to the east of which are Siberia and Far East, and to the west is the European part of the country.

BELT MOUNTAINS

In the old days, for travelers approaching the Urals from the east or west, these mountains really seemed like a belt that tightly intercepted the plain, dividing it into the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals.

The Ural Mountains are a mountain range on the border of Europe and Asia, stretching from north to south. In geography, it is customary to divide these mountains according to the nature of the relief, natural conditions and other features in Pai-Khoi, Polar Urals, Subpolar.

Northern, Middle, Southern Urals and Mugod-zhary. It is necessary to distinguish between the concepts of the Ural Mountains and the Urals: in a broader sense, the territory of the Urals includes the areas adjacent to the mountain system - the Urals, Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals.

Relief Ural mountains- This main watershed ny ridge and several side ridges separated by wide depressions. In the Far North there are glaciers and snowfields, in the middle part there are mountains with flattened peaks.

The Ural Mountains are old, about 300 million years old, and have been noticeably eroded. The highest peak is Mount Narodnaya, approximately two kilometers high.

The watershed of large rivers runs along the mountain ridge: the rivers of the Urals belong mainly to the basin of the Caspian Sea (Kama with Chusovaya and Belaya, Ural). Pechora, Tobol, etc. belong to the system of one of largest rivers Siberia - Ob. There are many lakes on the eastern slope of the Urals.

The landscapes of the Ural Mountains are predominantly forest; there is a noticeable difference in the nature of vegetation on different sides of the mountains: on the western slope there are mainly dark coniferous, spruce-fir forests (in the Southern Urals - in some places mixed and broad-leaved), on the eastern slope there are light coniferous pine-larch forests. In the south there is forest-steppe and steppe (mostly plowed).

The Ural Mountains have long been of interest to geographers, including from the point of view of their unique location. In the era Ancient Rome These mountains seemed so distant to scientists that they were seriously called Riphean, or Riphean: literally translated from Latin - “coastal”, and in an expanded sense - “mountains at the edge of the earth”. They received the name Hyperborean (from the Greek “extreme northern”) on behalf of the mythical country of Hyperborea; it was used for a thousand years, until in 1459 the world map of Fra Mauro appeared, on which the “end of the world” was shifted beyond the Urals.

It is believed that the mountains were discovered by the Novgorodians in 1096, during one of the campaigns to Pechora and Ugra by a squad of Novgorod ushkuiniks, who were engaged in fur fishing, trade and collection of yasak. The mountains did not receive any name then. At the beginning of the 15th century. Russian settlements appear on the upper Kama - Anfalovsky town and Sol-Kamskaya.

First famous name these mountains are contained in documents from the turn of the 15th-16th centuries, where they are called Stone: so in Ancient Rus' called any large rock or cliff. On the “Big Drawing” - the first map of the Russian state, compiled in the second half of the 16th century. - The Urals are designated as Big Stone. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. the name Belt appears, reflecting geographical location mountains between two plains. There are such variant names as Big Stone, Big Belt, Stone Belt, Stone of the Big Belt.

The name “Ural” was originally used only for the territory of the Southern Urals and was taken from the Bashkir language, in which it meant “height” or “elevation.” By the middle of the 18th century. the name “Ural Mountains” is already applied to the entire mountain system.

ENTIRE PERIODAL TABLE

This figurative expression is resorted to whenever it is necessary to give a short and colorful description natural resources Ural mountains.

The antiquity of the Ural Mountains created unique conditions for the development of mineral resources: as a result of long-term destruction by erosion, the deposits literally came to the surface. The combination of energy sources and raw materials predetermined the development of the Urals as a mining region.

Since ancient times, the mining of iron, copper, chrome and nickel ores, potassium salts, asbestos, coal, precious and semi-precious stones - Ural gems - has been carried out here. From the middle of the 20th century. development in progress oil and gas fields.

Russia has long developed the lands adjacent to the Ural Mountains, occupying Komi-Permyak towns, annexing Udmurt and Bashkir territories: in the middle of the 16th century. After the defeat of the Kazan Khanate, most of Bashkiria and the Kama part of Udmurtia voluntarily became part of Russia. Special role The Ural Cossacks played a role in consolidating Russia in the Urals, receiving the highest permission to engage in free arable farming here. The Stroganov merchants laid the foundation for the targeted development of the riches of the Ural Mountains, having received from Tsar Ivan IV a grant of grant for the Ural lands “and what lies in them.”

IN early XVIII V. Large-scale factory construction began in the Urals, driven by the needs of both economic development country, and the needs of military departments. Under Peter I, copper smelters and iron foundries were built here, and subsequently large industrial centers were formed around them: Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Nizhny Tagil, Zlatoust. Gradually, the Ural Mountains found themselves in the center of the largest mining region in Russia, along with Moscow and St. Petersburg.

During the Soviet era, the Urals became one of the industrial centers of the country, the most famous enterprises being the Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (Uralmash), the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ), and the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant (Magnitka). During the Great Patriotic War was taken to the Urals industrial production from the German-occupied territories of the USSR.

In recent decades, the industrial importance of the Ural Mountains has noticeably decreased: many deposits are almost exhausted, the level of pollution environment quite big.

The bulk of the local population lives in the Ural economic region and in the Republic of Bashkortostan. In the more northern regions, belonging to the North-Western and West Siberian economic regions, the population is extremely sparse.

During the industrial development of the Ural Mountains, as well as the plowing of the surrounding lands, hunting and deforestation, the habitats of many animals were destroyed, and many species of animals and birds disappeared, among them the wild horse, saiga, bustard, little bustard. Herds of deer that previously grazed throughout the Urals have now migrated deeper into the tundra. However, thanks to the measures taken to protect and reproduce the fauna of the Urals, it was possible to preserve brown bear, wolf, wolverine, fox, sable, ermine, and lynx in the reserves. Where it has not yet been possible to restore populations of local species, acclimatization of introduced individuals is being successfully carried out: for example, in the Ilmensky Nature Reserve - sika deer, beaver, deer, raccoon dog, American mink.

ATTRACTIONS OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS

Natural:

■ Pechora-Ilychsky, Visimsky, “Basegi”, South Ural, “Shulgan-Tash”, Orenburg steppe, Bashkirsky reserves, Ilmensky mineralogical reserve.

■ Divya, Arakaevskaya, Sugomakskaya, Kungurskaya Ice and Kapova caves.

■ Rocky outcrops of the Seven Brothers.

■ Devil's Settlement and Stone Tents.

■ Bashkir national park, Yugyd Va National Park (Komi Republic).

■ Hoffmann Glacier (Saber Ridge).

■ Azov-mountain.

■ Alikaev Stone.

■ Natural park Oleniy Ruchi.

■ Blue Mountains Pass.

■ Rapid Revun (Iset River).

■ Zhigalan waterfalls (Zhigalan River).

■ Alexandrovskaya Sopka.

■ Taganay National Park.

■ Ustinovsky Canyon.

■ Gumerovskoe Gorge.

■ Red Key spring.

■ Sterlitamak shihans.

■ Krasnaya Krucha.

■ The Sterlitamak shikhans in Bashkiria are ancient coral reefs that formed at the bottom of the Perm Sea. This amazing place is located near the city of Sterlitamak and consists of several high cone-shaped hills. A unique geological monument whose age is more than 230 million years.

■ The peoples of the Urals still use the names of the Urals in their languages: Mansi - Nyor, Khanty - Kev, Komi - Iz, Nenets - Pe or Igarka Pe. In all languages ​​it means the same thing - “stone”. Among Russians who have long lived in the north of the Urals, a tradition has been preserved of also calling these mountains Kamen.

■ The bowls of the St. Petersburg Hermitage are made from Ural malachite and jasper, as well as the interior decoration and altar of the St. Petersburg Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

■ Scientists have not yet found an explanation for the mysterious natural phenomenon: the Uvildy, Bolshoi Kisegach and Turgoyak lakes have unusually clear water in the Ural lakes. In neighboring lakes it is completely muddy.

■ The top of Mount Kachkanar is a collection of bizarrely shaped rocks, many of which have proper names. The most famous of them is Camel Rock.

■ In the past, the richest deposits of high-quality iron ore of the Magnitnaya, Vysoka and Blagodat mountains, known throughout the world and included in all geology textbooks, are now either demolished or turned into quarries hundreds of meters deep.

■ The ethnographic appearance of the Urals was created by three streams of migrants: Russian Old Believers who fled here in the 17th-18th centuries, peasants from the European part of Russia transferred to the Ural factories (mainly from the modern Tula and Ryazan regions) and Ukrainians brought in as additional labor force V early XIX V.

■ In 1996, the Yugyd Va National Park, together with the Pechora-Ilychsky Nature Reserve, with which the park borders in the south, was included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites under the name “Virgin Komi Forests”.

■ Alikaev Stone - a 50-meter rock on the Ufa River. The second name of the rock is Maryin Rock. The TV movie “Shadows Disappear at Noon” - about life in the Ural outback - was filmed here. It was from the Alikaev stone, according to the plot of the film, that the Menshikov brothers threw off the collective farm chairman Marya Krasnaya. Since then, the stone has a second name - Maryin Rock.

■ Zhigalan waterfalls on the Zhigalan River, on the eastern slope of the Kvarkush ridge, form a cascade 550 m long. With a river length of about 8 km, the height difference from source to mouth is almost 630 m.

■ Sugomakskaya Cave is the only cave in the Ural Mountains, 123 m long, formed in marble rock. There are only a few such caves in Russia.

■ The Red Key spring is the most powerful water source in Russia and the second largest in the world after the Fontaine de Vaucluse spring in France. The water flow of the Krasny Klyuch spring is 14.88 m3/sec. A landmark of Bashkiria with the status of a hydrological natural monument of federal significance.

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Location: between the East European and West Siberian plains.
• Geographical division: Pai-Khoi ridge. Polar Urals (from Konstantinov Kamen to the headwaters of the Khulga River), Subpolar Urals (the section between the Khulga and Shchugor rivers), Northern Urals(Howl) (from the Shchugor River to Kosvinsky Kamen and Mount Oslyanka), Middle Urals(Shor) (from Mount Oslyanka to the Ufa River) and the Southern Urals (the southern part of the mountains below the city of Orsk), Mugodzhary (Kazakhstan).
• Economic regions: Ural, Volga, North-Western, West Siberian.
• Administrative affiliation: Russian Federation(Perm, Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kurgan, Orenburg, Arkhangelsk and Tyumen region, Udmurt Republic, Republic of Bashkortostan, Komi Republic), Kazakhstan (Aktobe region).
• Major cities: Ekaterinburg - 1,428,262 people. (2015), Chelyabinsk - 1,182,221 people. (2015), Ufa - 1,096,702 people. (2014), Perm - 1,036,476 people. (2015), Izhevsk - 642,024 people. (2015), Orenburg-561,279 people. (2015), Magnitogorsk - 417,057 people. (2015), Nizhny Tagil - 356,744 people. (2015), Kurgan - 326,405 people. (2015).
• Languages: Russian, Bashkir, Udmurt, Komi-Permyak, Kazakh.
• Ethnic composition: Russians, Bashkirs, Udmurts, Komi, Kazakhs.
• Religions: Orthodoxy, Islam, traditional beliefs. Monetary unit: ruble, tenge.
• Rivers: the Caspian Sea basin (Kama with Chusovaya and Belaya, Ural), the Arctic Ocean basin (Pechora with Usa; Tobol, Iset, Tura belong to the Ob system).
• Lakes: Tavatui, Argazi, Uvildy, Turgoyak, Bolshoye Shchuchye.

CLIMATE

• Continental.
• Average January temperature: from -20°С (Polar Urals) to -15°С (Southern Urals).
• Average July temperature: from + 9°C (Polar Urals) to +20°C (Southern Urals).
• Average annual precipitation: Subpolar and Northern Urals - 1000 mm, Southern Urals - 650-750 mm. Relative humidity: 60-70%.

ECONOMY

• Minerals: iron, copper, chromium, nickel, potassium salts, asbestos, coal, oil.
• Industry: mining, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, heavy engineering, chemical and petrochemical, fertilizers, electrical engineering.
• Hydroelectric power: Pavlovskaya, Yuma-guzinskaya, Shirokovskaya, Iriklinskaya hydroelectric power stations. Forestry.
• Agriculture: crop farming (wheat, rye, garden crops), livestock farming (cattle, pig farming).
• Traditional crafts: artistic processing of Ural gems, knitting of Orenburg down scarves.
• Services: tourism, transport, trade.

Ural Mountains- the mountain range that crosses Russia from north to south is the border between two parts of the world and the two largest parts (macroregions) of our country - European and Asian.

Geographical location of the Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains stretch from north to south, mainly along the 60th meridian. In the north they bend towards the northeast, towards the Yamal Peninsula, in the south they turn towards the southwest. One of their features is that the mountainous area expands as you move from north to south (this is clearly visible on the map on the right). In the very south, in the region of the Orenburg region, the Ural Mountains connect with nearby elevations, such as General Syrt.

No matter how strange it may seem, the exact geological border of the Ural Mountains (and therefore the exact geographical border between Europe and Asia) still cannot be accurately determined.

The Ural Mountains are conventionally divided into five regions: Polar Urals, Subpolar Urals, Northern Urals, Middle Urals and Southern Urals.

To one degree or another, part of the Ural Mountains is captured by the following regions (from north to south): Arkhangelsk region, Komi Republic, Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Perm Territory, Sverdlovsk region, Chelyabinsk region, Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg region, as well as part of Kazakhstan.

Professor D.N. Anuchin wrote in the 19th century about the diversity of landscapes in the Urals:

“From the Konstantinovsky stone in the north to the Mugodzharsky mountains in the south, the Urals shows different latitudes different character. Wild, with rocky peaks in the north, it becomes forested, with more rounded outlines in the middle part, again acquiring rockiness in the Kyshtym Urals, and especially near Zlatoust and further, where the high Iremel rises. And these lovely lakes of the Trans-Urals, bordered on the west by a beautiful line of mountains. These rocky shores of Chusovaya with its dangerous “fighters”, these Tagil rocks with their mysterious “pisanians”, these beauties of the southern, Bashkir Urals, how much material they provide for a photographer, painter, geologist, geographer!

Origin of the Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains have a long and complex history. It begins back in the Proterozoic era - such an ancient and little-studied stage in the history of our planet that scientists do not even divide it into periods and eras. Approximately 3.5 billion years ago, a gap occurred at the site of future mountains earth's crust, which soon reached a depth of more than ten kilometers. Over the course of almost two billion years, this rift widened, so that about 430 million years ago an ocean up to a thousand kilometers wide was formed. However, soon after this a rapprochement began lithospheric plates; The ocean disappeared relatively quickly, and mountains formed in its place. This happened about 300 million years ago - this corresponds to the era of the so-called Hercynian folding.

New large uplifts in the Urals resumed only 30 million years ago, during which the Polar, Subpolar, Northern and Southern parts of the mountains were raised by almost a kilometer, and the Middle Urals by about 300-400 meters.

Currently, the Ural Mountains have stabilized - there are no major movements of the earth's crust observed here. However, to this day they remind people of their active history: from time to time earthquakes occur here, and very large ones (the strongest had an amplitude of 7 points and was recorded not so long ago - in 1914).

Features of the structure and relief of the Urals

From a geological point of view, the Ural Mountains are very complex. They are formed by rocks of various types and ages. In many ways, the features of the internal structure of the Urals are related to its history, for example, traces of deep faults and even sections of oceanic crust are still preserved.

The Ural Mountains are medium and low in height, the highest highest point- Mount Narodnaya in the Subpolar Urals, reaching 1895 meters. In profile, the Ural Mountains resemble a depression: the highest ridges are located in the north and south, and middle part does not exceed 400-500 meters, so when crossing the Middle Urals, you may not even notice the mountains.

View of the Main Ural Range in the Perm Territory. Photo by Yulia Vandysheva

We can say that the Ural Mountains were “unlucky” in terms of height: they were formed during the same period as Altai, but subsequently experienced much less strong uplifts. The result is that the highest point in Altai, Mount Belukha, reaches four and a half kilometers, and the Ural Mountains are more than two times lower. However, this “elevated” position of Altai turned into a danger of earthquakes - the Urals in this regard are much safer for life.

Despite the relatively low altitudes, the Ural ridge serves as a barrier on the way air masses, moving mainly from the west. There is more precipitation on the western slope than on the eastern slope. In the mountains themselves, the nature of the vegetation clearly shows altitudinal zonation.

Typical vegetation of the mountain tundra belt in the Ural Mountains. The picture was taken on the slope of Mount Humboldt (Main Ural Range, Northern Urals) at an altitude of 1310 meters. Photo by Natalya Shmaenkova

The long, continuous struggle of volcanic forces against the forces of wind and water (in geography, the former are called endogenous, and the latter - exogenous) created a huge number of unique natural attractions in the Urals: rocks, caves and many others.

The Urals are also famous for their huge reserves of minerals of all types. These are, first of all, iron, copper, nickel, manganese and many other types of ores, building materials. The Kachkanar iron deposit is one of the largest in the country. Although the metal content in the ore is low, it contains rare but very valuable metals - manganese and vanadium.

In the north, in the Pechora coal basin, hard coal is mined. There are also precious metals in our region - gold, silver, platinum. Undoubtedly, Ural precious and semi-precious stones are widely known gems: emeralds mined near Yekaterinburg, diamonds, gems from the Murzinsky strip, and, of course, Ural malachite.

Unfortunately, many valuable old deposits have already been developed. "Magnetic mountains" containing large reserves iron ore, turned into quarries, and reserves of malachite have been preserved only in museums and in the form of separate inclusions on the site of old mining - it is hardly possible to find even a three-hundred-kilogram monolith now. Nevertheless, these minerals largely ensured the economic power and glory of the Urals for centuries.

Film about the Ural Mountains:

The Urals stretch in a meridional direction for 2000 km from north to south - from the Arctic islands of Novaya Zemlya to the sun-scorched deserts of the Turan Plain. In the Cis-Urals a conditional geographical boundary between Europe and Asia. The Ural Mountains are located in the inland boundary zone of the earth's crust between the ancient Russian platform and the young West Siberian plate. The folds of the earth's crust that lie at the base of the Ural Mountains were formed during the Hercynian orogeny. Mountain formation was accompanied by intense processes of volcanism and metamorphism of rocks, so in the depths of the Urals numerous minerals were formed - ores of iron, polymetals, aluminum, gold, platinum. Then, for a long time - in the Mesozoic and Paleogene - processes of destruction and leveling of the Hercynian mountains took place. Gradually the mountains subsided and turned into hilly hills. In Neogene-Quaternary times, the ancient folded structures lying at its base split into blocks that rose to different heights. Thus, the former fold mountains turned into folded block mountains. There has been a rejuvenation of the ancient destroyed mountains. Nevertheless, the modern ridges of the Urals are predominantly low. In the north and south they rise to 800-1000 m. The highest peak of the Urals is Mount Narodnaya (1894 m). In the middle part, the height of the ridges does not exceed 400-500 m. Railways pass through the low passes of this part of the Urals, along which trains move between the European and Asian parts of Russia.

The uneven uplift of blocks of the earth's crust led to differences in the heights of mountain ranges, their external forms. According to the relief features, the Urals are divided into several parts. The Polar Urals stretches along four ridges, gradually rising from the Pai-Khoi hills to 1500 m. The ridges of the Subpolar Urals have many sharp peaks. The Northern Urals consists of two elongated parallel ridges that rise to 800-1000 m. The western of these two ridges has flat tops. The eastern slope of the Urals drops steeply towards the West Siberian Lowland. The Middle Urals are the lowest part of the entire Urals: the dominant heights are about 500 m. However, individual peaks here rise to 800 m. The Southern Urals are the widest, dominated by foothill plateaus. Mountain tops are often flat.

The distribution of mineral resources in the Urals is determined by its peculiarities geological structure. In the west, in the Cis-Ural trough, sedimentary strata of limestone, gypsum and clay accumulated, which were associated with significant deposits of oil, potassium salts and coal. In the central part of the Urals, metamorphic rocks of the internal folds of the mountains appeared on the surface - gneisses, quartzites and shales, broken by tectonic faults. Igneous rocks intruded along faults led to the formation of ore minerals. Among them, the most important role belongs to the ores of iron, polymetals, and aluminum. On the basis of iron ore deposits, a large iron ore plant and the city of Magnitogorsk were built during the first five-year plans. The eastern slope of the Urals is composed of a variety of geological rocks - sedimentary, metamorphic and volcanic, therefore the minerals are very diverse. These are ores of iron, non-ferrous metals, aluminum, deposits of gold and silver, precious and semi-precious stones, asbestos.

The Urals are a climatic divide between the temperate continental climate of the East European Plain and the continental climate of Western Siberia. Despite their relatively low altitude, the Ural Mountains influence the climate of our country. Throughout the year, moist air masses brought by cyclones from outside penetrate into the Urals. Atlantic Ocean. As air rises along the western slope, the amount of precipitation increases. The descent of air along the eastern slope is accompanied by its drying out. Therefore, on the eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, precipitation falls 1.5-2 times less than on the western slopes. The western and eastern slopes differ in both temperatures and weather patterns. Average January temperatures vary from -22° in the north to -16° C in the south. On the western slope, winter is relatively mild and snowy. On the eastern slope there is little snowfall, and frosts can reach -45° C. Summer in the north is cool and rainy, in most of the Urals it is warm, and in the south it is hot and dry.

Many rivers originate in the Urals. The largest among them flow to the west. These are Pechora, Kama, Belaya, Ufa. Ishim flows to the east, and the Ural to the south. On the meridional sections, rivers flow calmly through wide valleys in basins between ridges. In latitudinal sections they rush rapidly across ridges along tectonic faults along narrow rocky gorges with many rapids. The alternation of narrow gorges and wide sections of valleys gives the rivers amazing diversity and beauty and is conducive to the construction of reservoirs. In the Urals there is a very great need for water, which is needed in large quantities for numerous industrial enterprises and cities. However, many rivers are heavily polluted by wastewater from industrial enterprises and cities and need to be cleaned up. The economic importance of the rivers of the Urals and the Urals is great and varied, although their role in shipping and energy is not so great. The hydropower reserves of the Ural rivers are below the national average. The average annual power of the middle rivers of the Urals is about 3.5 million kW. The Kama basin is the richest in hydropower. A number of large hydroelectric power plants have been built here. Among them are the Kama and Votkinsk hydroelectric power stations. The largest reservoir of the Kamskaya hydroelectric station stretches for 220 km. A hydroelectric power station of significant capacity was built on the river. Ufa. Despite the abundance of rivers in the Urals, only a few of them are suitable for navigation. This is primarily Kama, Belaya, Ufa. In the Trans-Ural region, ships sail along the Tobol, Tavda, and to high waters along Sosva, Lozva and Tura. For shallow-draft vessels, the Urals below Orenburg are also navigable.

To improve water supply, ponds and reservoirs have long been built on the rivers of the Urals. These are the Verkhne-Isetsky and city ponds in Yekaterinburg, Nizhne-Tagilsky and others. Reservoirs have also been created: Volchikhinskoye on Chusovaya, Magnitogorskoye and Iriklinskoye in the Urals.

Numerous lakes, of which there are more than 6 thousand, are used for industrial, agricultural, recreation and tourism purposes.

The Urals crosses several natural areas. Along its peaks and upper slopes they are shifted to the south. On Polar Urals Mountain tundras are widespread. To the south, on the western slopes, in conditions of high moisture, dark coniferous spruce-fir forests dominate, while on the eastern slopes - pine and cedar forests. In the Southern Urals, on the western slope there are coniferous-deciduous forests; to the south they are replaced by linden and oak forest-steppe. On the eastern slope of the Southern Urals there is a birch-aspen forest-steppe. In the extreme south of the Urals and in the low Mugodzhary mountains there are dry steppes and semi-deserts.

“The stone belt of the Russian Land” - this is how the Ural Mountains were called in the old days. Indeed, they seem to be girding Russia, separating European part from Asian. Mountain ranges stretching for more than 2,000 kilometers do not end at the shores of the Arctic Ocean. They only submerge in the water for a short time and then “emerge” - first on the island of Vaygach. And then on the archipelago New Earth. Thus, the Urals extends to the pole another 800 kilometers.

The “stone belt” of the Urals is relatively narrow: it does not exceed 200 kilometers, narrowing in places to 50 kilometers or less. These are ancient mountains that arose several hundred million years ago, when fragments of the earth’s crust were welded together with a long, uneven “seam.” Since then, although the ridges have been renewed by upward movements, they have been increasingly destroyed. The highest point of the Urals, Mount Narodnaya, rises only 1895 meters. Peaks beyond 1000 meters are excluded even in the most elevated parts.

Very diverse in height, relief and landscapes, the Ural Mountains are usually divided into several parts. The northernmost, wedged into the waters of the Arctic Ocean, is the Pai-Khoi ridge, the low (300-500 meters) ridges of which are partially submerged in glacial and marine sediments of the surrounding plains.

The Polar Urals are noticeably higher (up to 1300 meters or more). Its relief contains traces of ancient glacial activity: narrow ridges with sharp peaks (carlings); Between them lie wide, deep valleys (troughs), including through ones. According to one of them, the Polar Urals crosses railway, going to the city of Labytnangi (on the Ob). In the Subpolar Urals, which are very similar in appearance, the mountains reach their maximum heights.

In the Northern Urals, there are separate massifs of “stones” that noticeably rise above the surrounding low mountains - Denezhkin Kamen (1492 meters), Konzhakovsky Kamen (1569 meters). Here the longitudinal ridges and the depressions separating them are clearly defined. The rivers are forced to follow them for a long time before they gain the strength to escape from the mountainous country through a narrow gorge. The peaks, unlike the polar ones, are rounded or flat, decorated with steps - mountain terraces. Both the peaks and the slopes are covered with the collapse of large boulders; in some places, remnants in the form of truncated pyramids (locally called tumpas) rise above them.

In the north you can meet the inhabitants of the tundra - reindeer in the forests, bears, wolves, foxes, sables, stoats, lynxes, as well as ungulates (elk, deer, etc.).

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Scientists are not always able to determine when people settled in a particular area. The Urals are one such example. Traces of the activity of people who lived here 25-40 thousand years ago are preserved only in deep caves. Several sites found ancient man. Northern (“Basic”) was located 175 kilometers from the Arctic Circle.

The Middle Urals can be classified as mountains with a large degree of convention: in this place of the “belt” a noticeable failure has formed. There are only a few isolated gentle hills no higher than 800 meters left. The plateaus of the Cis-Urals, belonging to the Russian Plain, freely “flow” across the main watershed and pass into the Trans-Urals plateau - already within Western Siberia.

Near the Southern Urals, which has a mountainous appearance, parallel ridges reach their maximum width. The peaks rarely overcome the thousand-meter mark (the highest point is Mount Yamantau - 1640 meters); their outlines are soft, the slopes are gentle.

The mountains of the Southern Urals, largely composed of easily soluble rocks, have a karst topography - blind valleys, craters, caves and failures formed when arches collapse.

The nature of the Southern Urals differs sharply from the nature of the Northern Urals. In summer, in the dry steppes of the Mugodzhary ridge, the earth warms up to 30-40`C. Even a weak wind raises whirlwinds of dust. The Ural River flows at the foot of the mountains along a long depression in the meridional direction. The valley of this river is almost treeless, the current is calm, although there are rapids.

In the Southern steppes you can find ground squirrels, shrews, snakes and lizards. Rodents (hamsters, field mice) have spread to the plowed lands.

The landscapes of the Urals are diverse, because the chain crosses several natural zones - from the tundra to the steppes. Altitudinal zones are poorly expressed; Only the largest peaks, in their bareness, differ noticeably from the forested foothills. Rather, you can perceive the difference between the slopes. Western, also “European”, are relatively warm and humid. They are inhabited by oaks, maples and other broad-leaved trees, which no longer penetrate the eastern slopes: Siberian and North Asian landscapes dominate here.

Nature seems to confirm man’s decision to draw the border between parts of the world along the Urals.

In the foothills and mountains of the Urals, the subsoil is full of untold riches: copper, iron, nickel, gold, diamonds, platinum, precious stones and gems, coal and rock salt... This is one of the few areas on the planet where mining began five thousand years ago and will exist for a very long time.

GEOLOGICAL AND TECTONIC STRUCTURE OF THE URAL

The Ural Mountains were formed in the area of ​​the Hercynian fold. They are separated from the Russian Platform by the Pre-Ural foredeep, filled with sedimentary strata of the Paleogene: clays, sands, gypsum, limestones.

The oldest rocks of the Urals - Archean and Proterozoic crystalline schists and quartzites - make up its watershed ridge.

To the west of it are folded sedimentary and metamorphic rocks of the Paleozoic: sandstones, shales, limestones and marbles.

In the eastern part of the Urals, igneous rocks of various compositions are widespread among the Paleozoic sedimentary strata. This is associated with the exceptional wealth of the eastern slope of the Urals and Trans-Urals in a variety of ore minerals, precious and semi-precious stones.

CLIMATE OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS

The Urals lie in the depths. continent, located at a great distance from the Atlantic Ocean. This determines the continental nature of its climate. Climatic heterogeneity within the Urals is associated primarily with its large extent from north to south, from the shores of the Barents and Kara seas to the dry steppes of Kazakhstan. As a result, the northern and southern regions of the Urals find themselves in different radiation and circulation conditions and fall into different climatic zones - subarctic (up to the polar slope) and temperate (the rest of the territory).

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The mountain belt is narrow, the heights of the ridges are relatively small, so the Urals do not have their own special mountain climate. However, meridionally elongated mountains quite significantly influence circulation processes, playing the role of a barrier to the dominant westerly transport of air masses. Therefore, although the climates of the neighboring plains are repeated in the mountains, but in a slightly modified form. In particular, at any crossing of the Urals in the mountains there is a climate more northern regions than on the adjacent plains of the foothills, i.e., the climatic zones in the mountains are shifted to the south compared to the neighboring plains. Thus, within the Ural mountainous country, changes in climatic conditions are subject to the law of latitudinal zonation and are only somewhat complicated by altitudinal zonation. There is a climate change here from tundra to steppe.

Being an obstacle to the movement of air masses from west to east, the Urals serves as an example of a physical-geographical country where the influence of orography on climate is quite clearly manifested. This impact is primarily manifested in better moisture on the western slope, which is the first to encounter cyclones, and the Cis-Urals. At all crossings of the Urals, the amount of precipitation on the western slopes is 150 - 200 mm more than on the eastern.

The greatest amount of precipitation (over 1000 mm) falls on the western slopes of the Polar, Subpolar and partially Northern Urals. This is due to both the height of the mountains and their position on the main paths of Atlantic cyclones. To the south, the amount of precipitation gradually decreases to 600 - 700 mm, increasing again to 850 mm in the highest part of the Southern Urals. In the southern and southeastern parts of the Urals, as well as in the far north, the annual precipitation is less than 500 - 450 mm. Maximum precipitation occurs during the warm period.

In winter, snow cover sets in in the Urals. Its thickness in the Cis-Ural region is 70 - 90 cm. In the mountains, the snow thickness increases with height, reaching 1.5 - 2 m on the western slopes of the Subpolar and Northern Urals. Snow is especially abundant in the upper part of the forest belt. There is much less snow in the Trans-Urals. In the southern part of the Trans-Urals its thickness does not exceed 30 - 40 cm.

In general, within the Ural mountainous country, the climate varies from harsh and cold in the north to continental and fairly dry in the south. There are noticeable differences in climate mountainous areas, western and eastern foothills. The climate of the Cis-Urals and the western slopes of the rop is, in a number of ways, close to the climate of the eastern regions of the Russian Plain, and the climate of the eastern slopes of the rop and the Trans-Urals is close to the continental climate of Western Siberia.

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The rugged terrain of the mountains determines a significant diversity of their local climates. Here, temperatures change with altitude, although not as significant as in the Caucasus. In summer, temperatures drop. For example, in the foothills of the Subpolar Urals, the average July temperature is 12 C, and at altitudes of 1600 - 1800 m - only 3 - 4 "C. In winter, cold air stagnates in the intermountain basins and temperature inversions are observed. As a result, the degree of continental climate in the basins is significantly higher than on mountain ranges. Therefore, mountains of unequal height, slopes of different wind and solar exposure, mountain ranges and intermountain basins differ from each other in their climatic features.

Climatic features and orographic conditions contribute to the development of small forms of modern glaciation in the Polar and Subpolar Urals, between 68 and 64 N latitudes. There are 143 glaciers here, and their total area is just over 28 km2, which indicates the very small size of the glaciers. It is not without reason that when speaking about modern glaciation of the Urals, the word “glaciers” is usually used. Their main types are steam (2/3 total number) and leaning (sloping). There are Kirov-Hanging and Kirov-Valley. The largest of them are the IGAN glaciers (area 1.25 km2, length 1.8 km) and MSU (area 1.16 km2, length 2.2 km).

The area of ​​distribution of modern glaciation is the highest part of the Urals with the widespread development of ancient glacial cirques and cirques, with the presence of trough valleys and peaked peaks. Relative heights reach 800 - 1000 m. The Alpine type of relief is most typical for ridges lying to the west of the watershed, but cirques and cirques are located mainly on the eastern slopes of these ridges. The greatest amount of precipitation falls on these same ridges, but due to blizzard transport and avalanche snow coming from steep slopes, snow accumulates in negative forms leeward slopes, providing food for modern glaciers, which exist thanks to this at altitudes of 800 - 1200 m, i.e. below the climatic limit.

WATER RESOURCES

The rivers of the Urals belong to the basins of the Pechora, Volga, Ural and Ob, i.e., the Barents, Caspian and Kara seas, respectively. The amount of river flow in the Urals is much greater than on the adjacent Russian and West Siberian plains. Mountainous terrain, an increase in precipitation, and a decrease in temperature in the mountains favor an increase in runoff, so most of the rivers and streams of the Urals are born in the mountains and flow down their slopes to the west and east, to the plains of the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals. In the north, the mountains are the watershed between river systems Pechora and Ob, to the south - between the basins of the Tobol, which also belongs to the system of the Ob and Kama - the largest tributary of the Volga. The extreme south of the territory belongs to the Ural River basin, and the watershed shifts to the Trans-Ural plains.

Snow (up to 70% of flow), rain (20 - 30%) and groundwater (usually no more than 20%) take part in feeding rivers. The participation of groundwater in feeding rivers in karst areas increases significantly (up to 40%). An important feature of most rivers of the Urals is the relatively small variability of flow from year to year. The ratio of the runoff of the wettest year to the runoff of the leanest year usually ranges from 1.5 to 3.

Lakes in the Urals are distributed very unevenly. The largest number of them is concentrated in the eastern foothills of the Middle and Southern Urals, where tectonic lakes predominate, in the mountains of the Subpolar and Polar Urals, where tarn lakes are numerous. Suffusion-subsidence lakes are common on the Trans-Ural Plateau, and karst lakes are found in the Cis-Urals. In total, there are more than 6,000 lakes in the Urals, each with an area of ​​more than 1 ra, their total area is over 2,000 km2. Small lakes predominate; there are relatively few large lakes. Only some lakes in the eastern foothills have an area measured in tens of square kilometers: Argazi (101 km2), Uvildy (71 km2), Irtyash (70 km2), Turgoyak (27 km2), etc. In total, more than 60 large lakes are concentrated in the Iset River basin total area about 800 km2. All large lakes are of tectonic origin.

The most extensive lakes in terms of water surface are Uvildy and Irtyash.

The deepest are Uvildy, Kisegach, Turgoyak.

The most capacious are Uvildy and Turgoyak.

The cleanest water is in lakes Turgoyak, Zyuratkul, Uvildy (the white disk is visible at a depth of 19.5 m).

In addition to natural reservoirs, in the Urals there are several thousand reservoir ponds, including more than 200 factory ponds, some of which have been preserved since the times of Peter the Great.

Great value water resources rivers and lakes of the Urals primarily as a source of industrial and domestic water supply to numerous cities. The Ural industry consumes a lot of water, especially metallurgical and chemical industries, therefore, despite the seemingly sufficient amount of water, there is not enough water in the Urals. A particularly acute water shortage is observed in the eastern foothills of the Middle and Southern Urals, where the water content of rivers flowing from the mountains is low.

Most of the rivers of the Urals are suitable for timber rafting, but very few are used for navigation. Belaya, Ufa, Vishera, Tobol are partially navigable, and in high water - Tavda with Sosva and Lozva and Tura. The Ural rivers are of interest as a source of hydropower for the construction of small hydroelectric power stations on mountain rivers, but are still little used. Rivers and lakes are wonderful vacation spots.

MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE URAL MOUNTAINS

Among natural resources A prominent role in the Urals belongs, of course, to the riches of its subsoil. Deposits of raw ore are of the most important importance among mineral resources, but many of them were discovered a long time ago and have been exploited for a long time, therefore they are largely depleted.

Ural ores are often complex. Iron ores contain impurities of titanium, nickel, chromium, vanadium; in copper - zinc, gold, silver. Most of the ore deposits are located on the eastern slope and in the Trans-Urals, where igneous rocks abound.

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The Urals are, first of all, vast iron ore and copper provinces. More than a hundred deposits are known here: iron ore (Vysokaya, Blagodati, Magnitnaya mountains; Bakalskoye, Zigazinskoye, Avzyanskoye, Alapaevskoye, etc.) and titanium-magnetite deposits (Kusinskoye, Pervouralskoye, Kachkanarskoye). There are numerous deposits of copper-pyrite and copper-zinc ores (Karabashskoye, Sibaiskoye, Gaiskoye, Uchalinskoye, Blyava, etc.). Among other non-ferrous and rare metals, there are large deposits of chromium (Saranovskoye, Kempirsayskoye), nickel and cobalt (Verkhneufaleyskoye, Orsko-Khalilovskoye), bauxite (the Red Cap group of deposits), Polunochnoye deposit of manganese ores, etc.

There are very numerous placer and primary deposits of precious metals: gold (Berezovskoye, Nevyanskoye, Kochkarskoye, etc.), platinum (Nizhnetagilskoye, Sysertskoye, Zaozernoye, etc.), silver. Gold deposits in the Urals have been developed since the 18th century.

Among the non-metallic minerals of the Urals, deposits of potassium, magnesium and table salt(Verkhnekamskoye, Solikamskoye, Sol-Iletskoye), coal (Vorkuta, Kizelovsky, Chelyabinsk, South Ural basins), oil (Ishimbayskoye). Deposits of asbestos, talc, magnesite, and diamond placers are also known here. In the trough near the western slope of the Ural Mountains, minerals of sedimentary origin are concentrated - oil (Bashkortostan, Perm region), natural gas (Orenburg region).

Mining is accompanied by rock fragmentation and air pollution. Rocks extracted from the depths, entering the oxidation zone, enter into various chemical reactions with atmospheric air and water. Products chemical reactions enter the atmosphere and water bodies, polluting them. Ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, the chemical industry and other industries contribute to the pollution of atmospheric air and water bodies, so the state of the environment in the industrial areas of the Urals is of concern. The Urals are the undoubted “leader” among Russian regions in terms of environmental pollution.

PRECIOUS STONES

The term "gems" can be used extremely broadly, but experts prefer a clear classification. The science of gemstones divides them into two types: organic and inorganic.

Organic: Stones are created by animals or plants, for example, amber is fossilized tree resin, and pearls are matured in mollusk shells. Other examples include coral, jet and tortoiseshell. Bones and teeth of land and sea animals were processed and used as material for making brooches, necklaces and figurines.

Inorganic: durable, naturally occurring minerals with permanent chemical structure. Most gemstones are inorganic, but of the thousands of minerals extracted from the depths of our planet, only about twenty are awarded the high title of "gem" - for their rarity, beauty, durability and strength.

Most gemstones occur in nature in the form of crystals or crystal fragments. To get a closer look at the crystals, just sprinkle a little salt or sugar on a piece of paper and look at them through a magnifying glass. Each grain of salt will look like a small cube, and each grain of sugar will look like a miniature tablet with sharp edges. If the crystals are perfect, all their faces are flat and sparkle with reflected light. These are typical crystalline forms of these substances, and salt is indeed a mineral, and sugar is a substance of plant origin.

Almost all minerals form crystal facets if in nature they had the opportunity to grow in favorable conditions, and in many cases, when purchasing gemstones in the form of raw materials, you can see these facets partially or completely. The edges of crystals are not a random play of nature. They appear only when the internal arrangement of atoms has a certain order, and provide great information about the geometry of this arrangement.

Differences in the arrangement of atoms within crystals cause many differences in their properties, including such as color, hardness, ease of splitting, and others that the hobbyist must take into account when processing stones.

According to the classification of A.E. Fersman and M. Bauer, groups of precious stones are divided into orders or classes (I, II, III) depending on the relative value of the stones combined in them.

Precious stones of the first order: diamond, sapphire, ruby, emerald, alexandrite, chrysoberyl, noble spinel, euclase. These also include pearls - a precious stone of organic origin. Clean, transparent, even, thick stones are highly valued. Poorly colored, cloudy, with cracks and other imperfections, stones of this order may be valued lower than precious stones of the second order.

Precious stones of the 2nd order: topaz, beryl (aquamarine, sparrowite, heliodor), pink tourmaline (rubellite), phenacite, demantoid (Ural chrysolite), amethyst, almandine, pyrope, uvarovite, chrome diopside, zircon (hyacinth, yellow and green zircon), noble opal With exceptional beauty of tone, transparency and size, the listed stones are sometimes valued along with first-order precious stones.

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III order gemstones: turquoise, green and polychrome tourmalines, cordierite, spodumene (kunzite), dioptase, epidote, rock crystal, smoky quartz (rauchtopaz), light amethyst, carnelian, heliotrope, chrysoprase, semi-opal, agate, feldspars (sunstone , moonstone), sodalite, prehnite, andalusite, diopside, hematite (bloodstone), pyrite, rutile, amber, jet. Only rare species and specimens have high cost. Many of them are so-called semi-precious in terms of their use and value.

The Urals have long amazed researchers with the abundance of minerals and its main wealth - minerals. There is so much to be found in the underground storerooms of the Urals! Extraordinary-sized hexagonal rock crystals, amazing amethysts, rubies, sapphires, topazes, wonderful jaspers, red tourmaline, the beauty and pride of the Urals - green emerald, which is valued several times more expensive than gold.

The most “mineral” place in the region is Ilmen, where more than 260 minerals and 70 rocks were discovered. About 20 minerals were discovered here for the first time in the world. The Ilmen Mountains are a real mineralogical museum. Here you can find such precious stones as: sapphire, ruby, diamond, etc., semi-precious stones: amazonite, hyacinth, amethyst, opal, topaz, granite, malachite, corundum, jasper, sun, moon and Arabic stone, rock crystal, etc. .d.

Rock crystal is a colorless, transparent, usually chemically pure, almost impurity-free variety of low-temperature modification of quartz - SiO2, crystallizing in the trigonal system with a hardness of 7 and a density of 2.65 g/cm3. The word “crystal” itself comes from the Greek word “krystallos”, which means “ice”. Scientists of antiquity, starting with Aristotle and including the famous Pliny, were convinced that “in the fierce Alpine winter, ice turns into stone. The sun is then unable to melt such a stone...”. And not only the appearance, but also the ability to always remain cool contributed to the fact that this opinion lasted in science until the end of the 18th century, when the physicist Robert Boyle proved that ice and crystal are completely different substances by measuring specific gravity both. Internal structure ROCK CRYSTAL is often complicated by twin intergrowths, which significantly impair its piezoelectric homogeneity. Large pure single crystals are rare, mainly in the voids and cracks of metamorphic shales, in the voids of hydrothermal veins of various types, as well as in chamber pegmatites. Homogeneous transparent single crystals are the most valuable technical raw materials for optical instruments(spectrograph prisms, lenses for ultraviolet optics, etc.) and piezoelectric products in electrical and radio engineering.

Rock crystal is also used for the manufacture of quartz glass (low-grade raw material), in artistic stone-cutting and for jewelry. Rock crystal deposits in Russia are concentrated mainly in the Urals. The name emerald comes from the Greek smaragdos or green stone. In ancient Rus' it is known as smaragd. Emerald occupies a privileged place among precious stones; it has been known since ancient times and was used both as decoration and in religious rites.

Emerald is a variety of beryl, a silicate of aluminum and beryllium. Emerald crystals belong to the hexagonal system. to his green emerald is due to chromium ions, which replaced crystal lattice part of aluminum ions. This gemstone is rarely found in the form of flawless crystals; as a rule, emerald crystals are severely damaged. Known and valued since antiquity, it is used for inserts into the most expensive jewelry, usually processed with a step cut, one of the varieties of which is called emerald.

Quite a few very large emeralds are known, which received individual names and were preserved in their original form, although the largest of them famous by the masses The 28,200 g, or 141,000 carat, found in Brazil in 1974, as well as the 4,800 g or 24,000 carat found in South Africa, were sawn and faceted for insertion into jewelry.

In ancient times, emeralds were mined mainly in Egypt, in the mines of Cleopatra. Precious stones from this mine ended up in the treasuries of the richest rulers ancient world. It is believed that the Queen of Sheba adored emeralds. There is also a legend that Emperor Nero watched gladiator battles through emerald lenses.

Emeralds of significantly better quality than the stones from Egypt were found in dark mica schists along with other beryllium minerals - chrysoberyl and phenacite on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains near the Tokovaya River, approximately 80 km east of Yekaterinburg. The deposit was accidentally discovered by a peasant in 1830, after noticing several green stones among the roots of a fallen tree. Emerald is one of the stones associated with the Supreme Spirit. It is believed that it brings happiness only to a pure but illiterate person. The ancient Arabs believed that a person who wears an emerald does not have terrible dreams. In addition, the stone strengthens the heart, eliminates troubles, has a beneficial effect on vision, and protects against seizures and evil spirits.

In ancient times, emerald was considered a powerful talisman of mothers and sailors. If you look at a stone for a long time, then in it, like in a mirror, you can see everything secret and discover the future. This stone is credited with a connection with the subconscious, the ability to turn dreams into reality, penetrate secret thoughts, and was used as a remedy for poisonous snake bites. It was called the “stone of the mysterious Isis” - the goddess of life and health, patroness of fertility and motherhood. He acted as a symbol of the beauty of nature. The special protective properties of emerald are an active fight against the deceit and infidelity of its owner. If the stone cannot resist evil qualities, it may break.

DIAMOND is a mineral, a native element, found in the form of eight- and twelve-sided crystals (often with rounded edges) and their parts. Diamond is found not only in the form of crystals, it forms intergrowths and aggregates, among which there are: bead - fine-grained intergrowths, ballas - spherical aggregates, carbonado - very fine-grained black aggregates. The name of the diamond comes from the Greek "adamas" or irresistible, indestructible. The extraordinary properties of this stone have given rise to many legends. The ability to bring good luck is just one of the countless properties attributed to diamonds. Diamond has always been considered the stone of winners; it was the talisman of Julius Caesar, Louis IV and Napoleon. Diamonds first came to Europe in the 5th-6th centuries BC. At the same time, diamond gained its popularity as a precious stone relatively recently, only five hundred and a half years ago, when people learned to cut it. The first semblance of a diamond was owned by Karl the Bold, who simply adored diamonds.

Today, the classic brilliant cut has 57 facets, and provides the famous “game” of the diamond. Usually colorless or painted in pale shades of yellow, brown, gray, green, pink, extremely rarely black. Brightly colored transparent crystals are considered unique, given individual names and described in great detail. Diamond is similar to many colorless minerals - quartz, topaz, zircon, which are often used as its imitations. It is distinguished by its hardness - it is the hardest of natural materials (on the Mohs scale), optical properties, transparency for X-rays, luminosity in X-rays, cathode, ultraviolet rays.

Ruby gets its name from the Latin rubeus, or red. The ancient Russian names for the stone are yakhont and carbuncle. The color of rubies varies from deep pink to deep red with a purple tint. The most highly valued among rubies are the “pigeon’s blood” colored stones.

Ruby is a transparent variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminum oxide. The color of ruby ​​is red, bright red, dark red or violet red. The hardness of the ruby ​​is 9, the luster is glassy.

The first information about these beautiful stones dates back to the 4th century BC and is found in Indian and Burmese chronicles. In the Roman Empire, the ruby ​​was extremely revered, and was valued much higher than the diamond. In different centuries, Cleopatra, Messalina and Maria Stuart became connoisseurs of rubies, and the ruby ​​collections of Cardinal Richelieu and Marie de Medici were once famous throughout Europe.

Ruby is recommended for paralysis, anemia, inflammation, fractures and pain in joints and bone tissue, asthma, weakness of the heart, rheumatic heart disease, inflammation of the pericardial sac, inflammation of the middle ear, chronic depression, insomnia, arthritis, diseases of the spine, chronic inflammation of the tonsils, rheumatism. Ruby lowers blood pressure and helps cure psoriasis. Helps with exhaustion nervous system, relieves night terrors, helps with epilepsy. Has a tonic effect.

PLANT AND ANIMAL WORLD OF THE URAL

The flora and fauna of the Urals is diverse, but has much in common with the fauna of the neighboring plains. However, mountainous terrain increases this diversity, causing the appearance of altitudinal zones in the Urals and creating differences between the eastern and western slopes.

Glaciation had a great influence on the vegetation of the Urals. Before glaciation, more heat-loving flora grew in the Urals: oak, beech, hornbeam, and hazel. Remains of this flora are preserved only on the western slope of the Southern Urals. As you move south, the altitudinal zonation of the Urals becomes more complex. Gradually, the boundaries of the belts rise higher and higher along the slopes, and in their lower part, when moving to a more southern zone, a new belt appears.

To the south of the Arctic Circle, larch predominates in the forests. As it moves south, it gradually rises along the mountain slopes, forming the upper boundary of the forest belt. Larch is joined by spruce, cedar, and birch. Near Mount Narodnaya, pine and fir are found in the forests. These forests are located mainly on podzolic soils. There are a lot of blueberries in the grass cover of these forests.

The fauna of the Ural taiga is much richer than the fauna of the tundra. Elk, wolverine, sable, squirrel, chipmunk, weasel, flying squirrel, brown bear, reindeer, ermine, and weasel live here. Otters and beavers are found along the river valleys. New valuable animals have been settled in the Urals. The sika deer was successfully acclimatized in the Ilmensky Nature Reserve; muskrat, beaver, deer, muskrat, raccoon dog, American mink, and Barguzin sable were also resettled.

In the Urals, according to differences in altitude and climatic conditions, several parts are distinguished:

Polar Urals. The mountain tundra presents a harsh picture of stone placers - kurums, rocks and outcrops. Plants do not create a continuous cover. Lichens, perennial grasses, and creeping shrubs grow on tundra-gley soils. Animal world represented by arctic fox, lemming, white owl. Reindeer, white hare, partridge, wolf, ermine, and weasel live in both the tundra and forest zones.

The Subpolar Urals are distinguished by the highest ridge heights. Traces of ancient glaciation are more clearly visible here than in the Polar Urals. On the mountain crests there are stone seas and mountain tundra, which gives way to mountain taiga lower down the slopes. The southern border of the Subpolar Urals coincides with 640 N latitude. A natural national park has been formed on the western slope of the Subpolar Urals and adjacent areas of the Northern Urals.

The Northern Urals do not have modern glaciers; It is dominated by medium-high mountains, the mountain slopes are covered with taiga.

The Middle Urals are represented by dark coniferous taiga, which is replaced by mixed forests in the south and linden tracts in the southwest. The Middle Urals are the kingdom of mountain taiga. It is covered with dark coniferous spruce and fir forests. Below 500 - 300 m they are replaced by larch and pine, in the undergrowth of which grow rowan, bird cherry, viburnum, elderberry, and honeysuckle.

NATURAL UNIQUES OF THE URAL

Ilmensky ridge. The greatest height is 748 meters, it is unique for the richness of its subsoil. Among the nearly 200 different minerals found here, there are rare and rare ones not found anywhere else in the world. To protect them, a mineralogical reserve was created here back in 1920. Since 1935 this reserve has become comprehensive; now all nature is protected in the Ilmensky Reserve.

The Kungur Ice Cave is a magnificent creation of nature. This is one of the largest caves in our country. It is located on the outskirts of the small industrial city of Kungur, on the right bank of the Sylva River, in the depths of a stone mass - Ice Mountain. The cave has four tiers of passages. It was formed in the thickness of rocks as a result of the activity of groundwater, which dissolved and carried away gypsum and anhydrite. The total length of all 58 surveyed grottoes and transitions between them exceeds 5 km.

Environmental problems: 1) The Urals are the leader in environmental pollution (48% - mercury emissions, 40% - chlorine compounds). 2) Of the 37 polluting cities in Russia, 11 are located in the Urals. 3) Man-made deserts have formed around 20 cities. 4) 1/3 of the rivers are deprived biological life. 5) Every year 1 billion tons of rocks are extracted, of which 80% goes to waste. 6) A special danger is radiation pollution (Chelyabinsk-65 - plutonium production).

CONCLUSION

Mountains are a mysterious and still little known world, uniquely beautiful and full of dangers. Where else can you go from the scorching summer of the desert to the harsh winter of snow in a few hours, hear the roar of a madly roaring stream under the overhanging rocks in a gloomy gorge into which the sun never peeks. Pictures flashing outside the window of a carriage or car will never allow you to fully feel this formidable splendor...

There is no such density of tourist facilities as in the Bakhchisarai region anywhere in the world! Mountains and sea, rare landscapes and cave cities, lakes and waterfalls, secrets of nature and mysteries of history. Discovery and the spirit of adventure... Mountain tourism here is not at all difficult, but any trail delights with clean springs and lakes.

Adygea, Crimea. Mountains, waterfalls, herbs of alpine meadows, healing mountain air, absolute silence, snowfields in the middle of summer, the murmuring of mountain streams and rivers, stunning landscapes, songs around the fires, the spirit of romance and adventure, the wind of freedom await you! And at the end of the route are the gentle waves of the Black Sea.

They are a mountain system connecting the Eastern European and West Siberian Plain. The rows, which are located parallel, form a certain collection of mountain peaks, which is nicknamed the Ural Range. According to its geographical location, the Ural ridge originates from Novaya Zemlya, extends to the Kara Sea and reaches the space of the Ural-Caspian semi-deserts. It is impossible to observe a monotonous picture over the entire length of the ridge. Therefore this natural phenomenon is rightfully considered unique of its kind. The eastern side of the Ural Mountains became the border between two states, namely between Europe and Asia.

The mountains are considered the oldest around the globe. Each stone carries the weight of history, because it was they who saw the birth of the Earth, the development of civilizations and are silent about those mysteries that man has not yet been able to figure out. Proof of this great silence are the remains of some stones.

List of mountain peaks of the Chelyabinsk region

The great secret of existence is kept within the mountains in Chelyabinsk region. The list looks like this:

• (843 m).
• Big Stone.
• Merry Mountain (750.5 m).
• Second Kamennaya (761.9 m).
• The second hill (1198.9 m).
• Glinka (1065.1 m).
• Bare hill (1175 m).
• Naked Shishka (945.5 m).
• Dedyurikha.
• (724.5 m).
• Evgrafovskie mountains.
• Mount Elauda (1116 m).
• Pencil (610.9 m).
• Karatash (947.7 m);
• Leaf Mountain (630 m).
• Bear Mountain (797 m).
• Yurma (1003 m).

This is far from full list Chelyabinsk region. The main ones will be presented in this article.

Formation of the Ural ranges

On the eastern side of the Ural Mountains there is a small hill. Here you can observe the famous Karagay Mountains and the Kuybas Hill. It is these objects that all children study in geography lessons, but, of course, it is much more interesting to see all this majesty in person.

The mountains of the Chelyabinsk region in the western region are composed of rocks such as limestone and other very soft rocks. The mountains of the western region are rich in all kinds of karst formations. In these places you can see small craters and even large caves. These formations appeared thanks to water, it was she who paved these paths in soft limestone rocks. On the banks of the river there is a wonderful miracle of nature - cliffs that are washed by water and blown by the wind. Thanks to this influence, the breeds have acquired funny shapes that attract people's attention. The height of these cliffs can reach 100 m.

The highest mountain in the Chelyabinsk region

The highest mountain in the Chelyabinsk region is the peak of the mountain Peak called Big Nurgush. The height of the mountain is 1406 m.

In addition to the longest ridge, the Urenga is located in the Chelyabinsk region. Its length is 65 kilometers. In addition, there are 10 peaks on the ridge, the height of which reaches 1000 meters.

Mountain Pencil

Surprising is the fact that in the Chelyabinsk region is located the oldest mountain on the entire planet, which has the funny name Pencil. It is located in the Kusinsky district. For many, this fact is surprising. Chelyabinsk is truly a discovery in this area.

Pencil - the oldest mountain in the world

Scientists conducted large number research and came to the conclusion that Mount Karandash (Chelyabinsk region) is more than 4.2 billion years old. For example: when compared with the age of the Earth, which is 4.6 billion years old, the mountain is indeed considered the oldest.

Naturally, at the beginning of its existence the mountain was much higher. Such a huge amount of time, water, winds, sun, in the end, production played a role. The mountain has become much lower, now its height is only 610 meters. Of course, it is a great success that Mount Karandash (Chelyabinsk region) has survived to this day and scientists have the opportunity to study its age. After all, most mountains of the same age have long been destroyed, and there is no trace of them.

Unique rocks

The mountain itself is made of incredibly rare and ancient stone. Meet this breed in other places globe impossible, so the area is unique in its kind. The composition of the rock resembles the Earth's mantle; such a phenomenon is very difficult to encounter. Another interesting fact is that there is no organic matter in the composition; this phenomenon is unique to this mountain, which is why it is sometimes considered cosmic. This mountain became a silent witness to all the events that the long-suffering plane Earth had to endure.

It is also surprising that most residents of the city of Chelyabinsk do not even suspect that they live next to such a natural and historical monument. Moreover, the majority of Russian residents do not know about such a miracle of nature. But information about this mountain is available to everyone; scientists have published all the studies and scientific articles.
Climbing Mount Karandash is a great happiness, because from its height an incredible view opens up, where you can observe other mountains and ridges, the spectacle is worth attention.

Interestingly, there are several versions of the oldest mountains in the world. But most scientists agreed on the Ural Mountains, and it was this version that was accepted as official for everyone. That's why they teach it in schools. Residents of Ancient Rus' considered the Ural Mountains to be ordinary stone, and called them that. Not so long ago, similar mountains were found in Canada, which in their age almost correspond to Mount Karandash. Canadian scientists hastened to the conclusion and made their peaks the most ancient in the world, but this is their deep misconception.

Mount Cherry

The top of this mountain is also located in the Chelyabinsk region. Namely, in a small village called Vishnegorsk. The population of the town is small - about 5 thousand people. The northern peak of the mountain is called Karavay. It is located directly within the city. At the foot of the mountain there are mines and adits.
Magnificent lakes have formed in the quarries of the mountain. The only negative phenomenon was that some industries began to use these lakes for waste disposal, which has a very negative impact on the environmental situation. In winter, there is a ski resort on the slopes of the mountain where you can have a great time.

Cherry Mountain got its name from the wild cherry tree growing at its foot. A huge number of berries are harvested here every year.

Mount Jurma

Mount Yurma (Chelyabinsk region) is located in the northern part of the Southern Urals. Its height is 1003 meters. Some decline can be observed in this part of the central park. The mountain borders the hilly terrain of the northeastern region of the Chelyabinsk region. Low mountains are characterized by the presence of flat-topped embankments that are separated by valleys. On the southern slope, Mount Yurma connects with northern part Big Taganay Big log. Here you can find mixed forest areas. The dominant trees are maple, linden and mountain elm.

Previously, only broad-leaved forests grew in these places, but today they are replaced by fir taiga.

From the Bashkir language, Yurma is translated as “don’t go.” This is a kind of warning that climbing the mountain can be dangerous.

In these places, high humidity prevails, which forms condensation, as a result of which numerous clouds accumulate in the valley at dawn.

The mountains of the Chelyabinsk region are unique natural monuments that preserve the history of not only Russia, but the entire planet.