Geographical location of the Urals: specifics and features

According to the encyclopedias, the Ural Mountains are a system that separates the East European and West Siberian Plains. Its length exceeds 2000 km, and according to some data, it is even more than 2500 km (if we take into account the ridges of Mugodzhary in the south and Pai-Khoi in the north). The width of the mountain system is 40-200 km.

general characteristics

The Ural mountains are considered to be one of the oldest on our planet. That is why they are lower than the Andes or Tibet. The age of the Urals has more than 600 million years. During this rather long period, under the influence of rains, winds and landslides, the ridges managed to collapse significantly. The geographical position of the Urals is very specific, both from a political and economic point of view. But about this below. This area is very rich in minerals, here there are deposits of copper, titanium, magnesium, oil, coal, bauxite, etc. The total number of scientists is about sixty important ores and minerals.

History of the discovery

According to official history, the Ural Mountains were discovered in ancient times. At the same time, scientists refer to written references to them in Greek texts. They speak of the mountains of Ripaian (or Riphean), Imaus and Hyperborean. Today it is impossible to establish which part of the Urals was spoken by scholars of Rome and ancient Greece, because their narratives are abundantly intertwined with various tales, legends, and even frank stories. They themselves have never been in these places, and heard about them from the third mouth. However, if we believe the legends of the peoples living in the Urals, people inhabited this territory long before the rise of ancient Greece. Later Arab sources will tell about the country of Ugra, where the people of the Jurassic. Also to the Urals scientists include descriptions of such countries as Bulgaria, Vis, Yajudzhiya, Majudzhiya, etc. All Arab sources say that these territories are inhabited by very ferocious people, therefore they are closed to travelers. In addition, they mention the harsh climate of these countries, which can also be interpreted in favor of the Urals. However, despite these facts, Arab merchants flocked here like flies for honey, and this is explained by the abundance of furs and also the salt. These goods can be called the main currency of the Middle Ages, they were quoted no less than precious stones and gold. Russian sources claim that, beginning with the 12th-13th centuries, our pioneers appeared in these places, which gave the local mountains the name Kamen. And since the 17th century, with the light hand of V. Tatishchev, they were named after the Ural.

Europe or Asia

Now let's consider what are the features of the geographical position of the Urals. This ridge is the conventional border of Europe and Asia, the two largest structures of the earth's crust, as well as the largest freshwater basins. The geographical position of the Urals is truly unique, it can be compared with the Great Wall of China, only this wall was erected by nature itself. It divided peoples with opposing cultures: the eastern and western mentality. Although in this case it is difficult to determine what is primary. Either the "stone curtain" allowed to develop two cultures separately, protecting them from each other, or both nations had a common history and philosophical values, and later the European part of the continent was influenced from outside, and everything changed radically. All values turned upside down: white became black, and black - white ... In this case, this ancient ridge saved the eastern peoples from the external enemy for the time being. However, in the world of globalization, no stone barrier can stop the "democratic values" and liberalism imposed by European culture. How do they say in advertising? If you do not use the powder "Tide", then we go to you? .. As you can see, the unique geographical position of the Urals has not only a political and economic background, but also a cultural one.

The Cradle of Peoples

The Urals region is the second largest city in terms of the number of cities, population, and economic power. The geographical position of the Urals contributed to the fact that it became a natural boundary for numerous migration waves. Thus, the Russian pioneers, moving to the east, tried to search for low areas with convenient passages in the "Stone Belt", and the steppe peoples from the Asian part of the continent, seeking to the west and encountering this natural obstacle, were forced to circle it from the south. And many of them even settled at the foot of the Ural Mountains. This explains the ethnic diversity of the region. The Urals became a cradle for many nationalities. It was from here that the peoples of the Ural-Yukagir language family dispersed throughout the Northern Eurasia . Today, the Russian population is predominant here - 80%, but in the Urals region there are also Bashkirs, Tatars, Udmurts, Chuvashes, Mordvins, Mari, Komi-Permyaks, etc.

Let's look at the map

The economic and geographical position of the Urals is unique, since it is located on the border of the economically developed (European) part of the continent and the raw (eastern) one. As a result, this region was entangled in the web of roads and railways, pipelines and power lines. All these transport highways connect the Urals with the Volga, Volgo-Vyatka and West Siberian regions of our country, as well as with Kazakhstan. It should be understood that the territory of the Ural Mountains and the Ural region do not exactly coincide. Let's see what is meant by this. Thus, the mountain ranges of the Polar and Polar regions have not been included in its composition, which can not be said of the foothill plains of the Urals (this is the eastern edge of the East European Plain) and the Trans-Ural region (the western edge of the West Siberian lowland).

All-Russian Forge

The Urals is considered one of the oldest mining areas of our planet. And this is not accidental, because there are deposits of semiprecious and precious stones, alexandrite and aquamarine, garnets and sapphires, emeralds and rubies, topazes and rock crystal, malachite and jasper. The eastern slopes of the Ural Mountains, which are represented by magmatic rocks, are very rich in various ore minerals. Thus, thanks to the open deposits of non-ferrous and ferrous metals, the industry of the Urals was laid and developed here. Copper, iron, chrome, nickel, cobalt, aluminum, zinc ore, platinum, gold - this is not a complete list of the natural pantry, concentrated in these mountains. It should be noted that the Urals ridge is divided into five parts. Let us consider briefly each of them.

Geographical location of the Polar Urals

This part of the mountain range is located on the territory of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District and the Komi Republic. The border of the regions passes along the main watershed, which separates the basins of the Ob River (in the east) and Pechora (in the west). The runoff of the northern slopes falls on the Baydarak Bay of the Arctic Ocean. In the Polar Urals, ridges predominate with heights of 800-1200 m, and individual peaks (Mount Payer) reach 1500 m. Actually, this area originates from the low summit of Konstantinov Kamen (total 492 m). In the south, the mountains increase substantially - up to 1350 m. The maximum heights are concentrated in the southern part (about 65 ° N), here the peak Narodnaya (1894 m) rises - this is the highest point of the whole Urals.

From the same latitude the Polar Urals extends considerably - up to 125 km - and disintegrates into 5-6 parallel ridges. In the south of this region, far to the west in the direction of Pechora, the Sablya mountain massif (1425 m) advanced.

Subpolar Urals Mountains

This region begins from the Saber massif, and ends with the top of Konzhakovskiy Kamen, whose height is 1569 m. The whole area stretches strictly along the 59 ° N meridian. Which determines its geographical location. The circumpolar Ural consists mainly of two longitudinal ridges. The east is a watershed, it is known as the Belt Stone. The western range is known for the two-headed mountain Telpos-Iz, or the Stone of the Winds. Its height is 1617 m. Alpine forms of relief in the Subpolar Urals are not widespread, most of the peaks have the shape of a dome.

Geographical location of the Middle Urals

This area is characterized by the lowest peaks. It lies between 59 and 56 degrees north latitude. Strictly the meridional strike of the mountain belt here is replaced by the southeast. Together with the Southern, the Middle Urals forms a giant arc, which is turned with a convex side in the east direction, and skirting the Ufa plateau (the eastern ledge of the Russian platform). Its northern border is the mountains Konzhakovskiy Kamen and Kosvynsky Kamen, and the southern - Mount Utah (Chelyabinsk region). On average, their height does not exceed 800 meters. From the west to the mountains of the Middle Urals there is a hilly Cis-Ural region. In the climatic relation this region is more favorable for the person, than the Subpolar. Here longer and warmer summer. The average temperature in July in the foothills is 16-18 °. The foot of the mountains in the north are covered by the southern taiga, and in the south - by the forest-steppe.

Southern Urals

The peculiarity of this region is that here the mountains have again grown substantially. For example, the top of Iremel rises to 1,582 m, and the height of Yamanatau is 1640 m. The geographical position of the Southern Urals is as follows: the ridge originates from the top of Jurm in the north and extends to the latitude part of the Ural River in the south. The watershed ridge of Uraltau is shifted in an easterly direction. Here the average relief type prevails. In the east, the axial part passes into the Transural, lower and smoothed plain. The climate here is warmer than in the middle. Summer is dry with dry winds. The average temperature in July in the foothills is 20-22 °.

Finally

Specificity of the geographical position of the Urals lies in the fact that it is located on the border of the Asian and European parts of our country. In addition, the features of the geological development of this ridge affected the exceptional wealth of its mineral resources. A large length, altitude zonality, the difference between the eastern and western parts of the Urals, the different directions of economic development of this region have determined the enormous variety of economic and natural landscapes of the region.