Surface type of the East European Plain. Central regions of the Russian plain

The article reveals the relief features of the East European Plain. Indicates coincidences with landscapes characteristic of the Russian Plain. The material explains why seismological or volcanic manifestations are not so characteristic of this territory.

Relief of the East European Plain

The Russian Plain, located on the East European Plate, is formed by peaks whose height above sea level is 200-300 m.

It almost completely coincides with the East European Platform, and this allows us to assert that the relief of the Russian Plain is identical to the East European plain relief formation.

Rice. 1. Russian Plain on the map.

The formation of the relief of the Russian Plain is mainly explained by its belonging to the Russian Platform plate and is characterized by an extremely stable regime and low amplitude of current tectonic movements.

The average height is 170 m, and the maximum is 479 m. It is localized in the Ural part. The following areas are distinguished within the plain:

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central;
northern;
southern

The central part is represented by a strip of successive highlands and lowlands of significant size.

The complete absence or insignificance of such natural manifestations as earthquakes or volcanism can rightly be considered features that are characteristic of these territories.

The northern region is represented by low plains with minor elevations. These are the watersheds of two oceans.

The southern plain region is occupied by lowlands.

Within the Borders Russian territory only the Caspian lowland can be noted.

Rice. 2. Caspian lowland on the map.

The relief of the East European Plain is represented by a platform type. This is due to tectonic specificity, which is characterized by heterogeneity of structure. Largest forms Hills and lowlands distributed on the flat plane owe their appearance to tectonic processes.

The Russian Plain is one of the largest plains in the world by area. Among all the plains of Russia, only it opens to two oceans.

Glaciers had a significant impact on the formation of the flat relief. They participated in the creation of moraine and outwash type plains.

Minerals

The natural resources of the territory are represented for the most part by the largest iron ore deposits, among which is the Kursk magnetic anomaly.

Rice. 3. Kursk magnetic anomaly on the map.

The deposit's reserves correspond to 57.3% of all ore reserves of the state. The ore rock occurs in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The nature of the occurrence of fossils makes it possible to carry out mining open method, which has a significant impact on the nature of the black earth zone of the Russian Plain.

Chemical raw materials on the Russian Plain are represented by phosphorites, potassium and rock salts. The construction orientation of the fossils is expressed by chalk formations, marl, cement and fine-grained sands.

Kaolin clays are used in the porcelain and earthenware industry. Basically, they are mined in the Tver and Moscow regions.

On the territory of the plain there are deposits of hard and brown coal.

What have we learned?

We found out what natural resources the area in question is rich in. We found out what percentage of the iron ore reserves located in the Kursk magnetic anomaly falls on the state. They clarified what was the main reason in the process of relief formation of the East European Plain. We found out which of the flat areas directly faces two oceans.

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East European Plain (Russian Plain)- plain in Eastern Europe, component European Plain. It extends from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the Ural Mountains, from the Barents and White Seas to the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. In the northwest it is limited by the Scandinavian mountains, in the southwest by the Sudetenland and other mountains of central Europe, in the southeast by the Caucasus, and in the west the conventional border of the plain is the Vistula River. Is one of largest plains globe. Total length The plain from north to south is more than 2.7 thousand kilometers, and from west to east - 2.5 thousand kilometers. Area - over 4 million square meters. km. . Since most of the plain is located within Russia it is also known as Russian Plain.

In addition to Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria are located entirely or partially on the territory of the plain.

Relief and geological structure

The East European Plain consists of highlands with heights of 200-300 m above sea level and lowlands through which large rivers flow. The average height of the plain is 170 m, and the highest - 479 m - is on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland in the Cis-Urals.

According to the characteristics of orographic features within the East European Plain, three stripes are clearly distinguished: central, northern and southern. Through central part The plain is traversed by a strip of alternating large hills and lowlands: Central Russian, Volga, Bugulmin

To the north of this strip, low plains predominate, on the surface of which smaller hills are scattered in garlands and individually. From west to east-northeast, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai Uplands and Northern Uvals stretch here, replacing each other. They mainly pass through the watersheds between the Arctic, Atlantic and internal drainless Aral-Caspian basins. From the Northern Uvals the territory descends to the White and Barents Seas
The southern part of the East European Plain is occupied by lowlands (Caspian, Black Sea, etc.), separated by low hills (Ergeni, Stavropol Upland).

Almost all large hills and lowlands are plains of tectonic origin.

At the base of the East European Plain lie Russian stove with Precambrian crystalline basement, in the south the northern edge Scythian plate with a Paleozoic folded basement. The boundary between the plates is not expressed in the relief. On the uneven surface of the Precambrian foundation of the Russian plate there are strata of Precambrian (Vendian, in places Riphean) and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks. Their thickness varies (from 1500-2000 to 100-150 m) and is due to the unevenness of the foundation topography, which determines the main geostructures of the plate. These include syneclises - areas of deep foundation (Moscow, Pechora, Caspian, Glazovskaya), anteclises - areas of shallow foundation (Voronezh, Volga-Ural), aulacogens - deep tectonic ditches (Kresttsovsky, Soligalichsky, Moscow, etc.), protrusions Baikal basement - Timan.

Glaciation greatly influenced the formation of the relief of the East European Plain. This impact was most pronounced in the northern part of the plain. As a result of the passage of the glacier through this territory, many lakes arose (Chudskoye, Pskovskoye, Beloe and others). In the southern, southeastern and eastern parts, which were subject to glaciations in an earlier period, their consequences were smoothed out by erosion processes.

Climate

The climate of the East European Plain is influenced by the features of its relief, geographical location in temperate and high latitudes, as well as neighboring territories (Western Europe and Northern Asia), the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, a significant extent from west to east and from north to south. The total solar radiation per year in the north of the plain, in the Pechora basin, reaches 2700 mJ/m2 (65 kcal/cm2), and in the south, in the Caspian lowland, 4800-5050 mJ/m2 (115-120 kcal/cm2).

The smoothed relief of the plain promotes the free transfer of air masses. The East European Plain is characterized by westerly transport of air masses. In summer, Atlantic air brings coolness and precipitation, and in winter - warmth and precipitation. When moving east, it transforms: in summer it becomes warmer and drier in the ground layer, and in winter it becomes colder, but also loses moisture. During the cold season of various parts The Atlantic brings from 8 to 12 cyclones to the East European Plain. When they move to the east or northeast, a sharp change in air masses occurs, promoting either warming or cooling. With the arrival of southwestern cyclones, warm air from subtropical latitudes invades the south of the plain. Then in January the air temperature can rise to 5°-7°C. The overall continental climate increases from the west and northwest to the south and southeast.

In summer almost everywhere on the plain the most important factor in the temperature distribution is solar radiation, therefore isotherms, unlike in winter, are located mainly in accordance with geographical latitude. In the far north of the plain, the average July temperature rises to 8°C. The average July isotherm of 20°C goes through Voronezh to Cheboksary, approximately coinciding with the border between forest and forest-steppe, and the Caspian lowland is crossed by an isotherm of 24°C.

In the north of the East European Plain, more precipitation falls than can evaporate under given temperature conditions. In the south of the northern climate region, the moisture balance approaches neutral (atmospheric precipitation is equal to the amount of evaporation).

Relief has an important influence on the amount of precipitation: on the western slopes of the hills, 150-200 mm more precipitation falls than on the eastern slopes and the lowlands shaded by them. In the summer, at the elevations of the southern half of the Russian Plain, the frequency of rainy weather types almost doubles and at the same time the frequency of dry weather types decreases. In the southern part of the plain, maximum precipitation occurs in June, and in the middle zone - in July.

In the south of the plain, annual and monthly precipitation amounts fluctuate sharply, with wet years alternating with dry ones. In Buguruslan (Orenburg region), for example, according to observations over 38 years, the average annual precipitation is 349 mm, the maximum annual precipitation is 556 mm, and the minimum is 144 mm. Droughts are a common occurrence in the south and southeast of the East European Plain. Drought can occur in spring, summer or autumn. Approximately one year out of three is dry.

In winter, snow cover forms. In the northeast of the plain, its height reaches 60-70 cm, and its duration is up to 220 days a year. In the south, the height of the snow cover decreases to 10-20 cm, and the duration of occurrence is up to 60 days.

Hydrography

The East European Plain has a developed lake-river network, the density and regime of which change following climatic conditions from north to south. In the same direction, the degree of swampiness of the territory changes, as well as the depth and quality of groundwater.

Rivers

Most rivers of the East European Plain have two main directions - northern and southern. Northern sloping rivers flow to the Barents, White and Baltic seas, southern sloping rivers flow to the Black, Azov and Caspian seas.

The main watershed between the rivers of the northern and southern slopes extends from west-southwest to east-northeast. It passes through the swamps of Polesie, the Lithuanian-Belarusian and Valdai Uplands, and the Northern Uvals. The most important watershed junction lies on the Valdai Hills. Here, in close proximity, lie the sources of the Western Dvina, Dnieper and Volga.

All rivers of the East European Plain belong to the same climatic type - predominantly snow-fed with spring floods. Despite belonging to the same climatic type, the rivers of the northern slope are significantly different in their regime from the rivers of the southern slope. The former are located in the region of positive moisture balance, in which precipitation prevails over evaporation.

With an annual precipitation of 400-600 mm in the north of the East European Plain in the tundra zone, actual evaporation from the earth's surface is 100 mm or less; in the middle zone, where the evaporation ridge passes, 500 mm in the west and 300 mm in the east. As a result, the river flow here accounts for from 150 to 350 mm per year, or from 5 to 15 l/sec per square kilometer of area. The runoff ridge passes through the interior regions of Karelia (northern coast of Lake Onega), the middle reaches of the Northern Dvina and the upper reaches of the Pechora.

Due to the large flow of rivers of the northern slope (Northern Dvina, Pechora, Neva, etc.) there is a lot of water. Occupying 37.5% of the area of the Russian Plain, they provide 58% of its total flow. The high water supply of these rivers is combined with a more or less uniform distribution of flow across the seasons. Although snow nutrition comes first for them, causing floods in the spring, rain and ground types of nutrition also play a significant role.

The rivers of the southern slope of the East European Plain flow under conditions of significant evaporation (500-300 mm in the north and 350-200 mm in the south) and a small amount of precipitation in comparison with the rivers of the northern slope (600-500 mm in the north and 350-200 mm in the south), which leads to a reduction in runoff from 150-200 mm in the north to 10-25 mm in the south. If we express the flow of rivers of southern slopes in liters per second per square kilometer of area, then in the north it will be only 4-6 liters, and in the southeast less than 0.5 liters. The small size of the flow determines the low water content of the rivers of the southern slope and its extreme unevenness throughout the year: the maximum flow occurs in short period spring flood.

Lakes

Lakes are distributed extremely unevenly on the East European Plain. They are most abundant in the well-moistened northwest. The southeastern part of the plain, on the contrary, is almost devoid of lakes. It receives little precipitation and also has a mature erosional topography, devoid of closed basin forms. On the territory of the Russian Plain, four lake regions can be distinguished: the region of glacial-tectonic lakes, the region of moraine lakes, the region of floodplain and suffusion-karst lakes, and the region of estuary lakes.

Region of glacial-tectonic lakes

Glacial-tectonic lakes are common in Karelia, Finland and the Kola Peninsula, forming a real lake country. In Karelia alone there are almost 44 thousand lakes with an area ranging from 1 hectare to several hundred and thousand square kilometers. The lakes in this area, often large, are scattered across tectonic depressions, deepened and processed by the glacier. Their shores are rocky, composed of ancient crystalline rocks.

Region of moraine lakes Region of floodplain and suffusion-karst lakes

The interior central and southern regions of the East European Plain cover the area of floodplain and suffusion-karst lakes. This area lies outside the boundaries of glaciation, with the exception of the north-west, which was covered by the Dnieper glacier. Due to the well-defined erosional topography, there are few lakes in the region. Only floodplain lakes along river valleys are common; Small karst and suffosion lakes are occasionally found.

Region of estuary lakes

The area of estuary lakes is located on the territory of two coastal lowlands - the Black Sea and Caspian. At the same time, estuaries here mean lakes of various origins. The estuaries of the Black Sea lowland are sea bays (formerly river mouths), fenced off from the sea by sand spits. The estuaries, or ilmens, of the Caspian lowland are weakly formed depressions, which in the spring are filled with water from the rivers flowing into them, and in the summer they turn into swamps, salt marshes or haylands.

The groundwater

Groundwater is distributed throughout the East European Plain, forming the East European platform artesian region. The foundation depressions serve as reservoirs for the accumulation of water from artesian basins of various sizes. Within Russia, three artesian basins of the first order are identified here: Central Russian, Eastern Russian and Caspian. Within their boundaries there are artesian basins of the second order: Moscow, Sursko-Khopyorsky, Volga-Kama, Pre-Ural, etc. One of the largest is the Moscow basin, confined to the syneclise of the same name, which contains pressure waters in fractured carbonaceous limestones.

With depth chemical composition and groundwater temperatures change. Fresh waters have a thickness of no more than 250 m, and with depth their mineralization increases - from fresh hydrocarbonate to brackish and saline sulfate and chloride, and below - to chloride, sodium brines and in the deepest places of the basin - to calcium-sodium brines. Temperatures rise and reach a maximum of about 70°C at depths of 2 km in the west and 3.5 km in the east.

Natural areas

On the East European Plain there are almost all types of natural zones found in Russia.

The most common natural areas (from north to south):

Tundra (northern Kola Peninsula)
Taiga - Olonets Plain.
Mixed forests - Central Berezinskaya Plain, Orsha-Mogilev Plain, Meshcherskaya Lowland.
Broad-leaved forests (Mazowieckie-Podlasie Lowland)
Forest-steppe - Oka-Don Plain, including the Tambov Plain.
Steppes and semi-deserts - the Black Sea Lowland, the Cis-Caucasian Plain (Prikubanskaya Lowland, Chechen Plain) and the Caspian Lowland.

Natural territorial complex of the plain

The East European Plain is one of the large natural territorial complexes (NTC) of Russia, the features of which are:

large area: second largest plain in the world;
rich resources: PTK has land rich in resources, for example: minerals, water and plant resources, fertile soil, many cultural and tourism resources;
historical significance: many important events in Russian history took place on the plain, which is undoubtedly an advantage of this zone.

The largest cities in Russia are located on the plain. This is the center of the beginning and foundation of Russian culture. Great writers drew inspiration from the beautiful and picturesque places of the East European Plain.

The variety of natural complexes of the Russian Plain is great. These include flat coastal lowlands covered with shrub-moss tundra, and hilly-moraine plains with spruce or coniferous-broad-leaved forests, and vast swampy lowlands, erosion-dissected forest-steppe uplands and floodplains overgrown with meadows and shrubs. The largest complexes of the plain are natural zones. The relief and climate features of the Russian Plain determine a clear change in natural zones within its boundaries from northwest to southeast, from tundra to temperate deserts. The most complete set of natural zones can be seen here compared to other large natural areas of our country. The northernmost regions of the Russian Plain are occupied by tundra and forest-tundra. The warming influence of the Barents Sea is manifested in the fact that the strip of tundra and forest-tundra on the Russian Plain is narrow. It expands only in the east, where the severity of the climate increases. On the Kola Peninsula the climate is humid, and winters are unusually warm for these latitudes. The plant communities here are also unique: shrub tundra with crowberry gives way to birch forest-tundra to the south. More than half of the plain's territory is occupied by forests. In the west they reach 50° N. latitude, and in the east - up to 55° N. w. There are zones of taiga and mixed and deciduous forests. Both zones are heavily swamped in the western part, where rainfall is high. In the taiga of the Russian Plain, spruce and pine forests are common. The zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests gradually thins out to the east, where the continental climate increases. Most of this zone is occupied by the PTC of moraine plains. Picturesque hills and ridges with mixed coniferous-deciduous forests that do not form large tracts, with meadows and fields alternate with monotonous sandy, often swampy lowlands. There are many small lakes filled with clear waters and intricately winding rivers. AND great amount boulders: from large ones, the size of a truck, to very small ones. They are everywhere: on the slopes and tops of hills and hills, in lowlands, on arable lands, in forests, river beds. To the south, the sandy plains left after the retreat of the glacier appear - woodlands. On the poor sandy soils broad-leaved forests do not grow. Pine forests dominate here. Large areas of woodlands are swampy. Lowland grass swamps predominate, but high sphagnum swamps are also found. A forest-steppe zone stretches along the edge of the forests from the west to the northeast. In the forest-steppe zone, hills and low plains alternate. The hills are dissected by a dense network of deep gullies and ravines and are better moistened than the low plains. Before human intervention, they were covered primarily by oak forests on gray forest soils. Meadow steppes on chernozems occupied smaller areas. The low plains are poorly dissected. There are many small depressions (depressions) on them. In the past, meadow mixed-grass steppes on black soil dominated here. Currently, large areas in the forest-steppe zone are plowed. This causes increased erosion. The forest-steppe gives way to the steppe zone. The steppe stretches out as a wide, vast plain, often completely flat, in places with mounds and small hills. Where areas of virgin steppe have been preserved, at the beginning of summer it appears silvery from the flowering feather grass and is agitated like the sea. Currently, fields are visible everywhere as far as the eye can see. You can drive tens of kilometers and the picture will not change. In the extreme southeast, in the Caspian region, there are zones of semi-deserts and deserts. The moderate continental climate determined the dominance of spruce forests in the forest-tundra and taiga of the Russian Plain, and oak forests in the forest-steppe zone. The increase in continentality and aridity of the climate is reflected in a more complete set of natural zones in the eastern part of the plain, a shift in their boundaries to the north and the pinching out of the zone of mixed and broad-leaved forests.

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Notes

Literature

Lebedinsky V.I. Volcanic crown of the Great Plain. - M.: Nauka, 1973. - 192 p. - (The present and future of the Earth and humanity). - 14,000 copies.
Koronkevich N. I. Water balance of the Russian Plain and its anthropogenic changes / USSR Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 208 p. - (Problems of constructive geography). - 650 copies. - ISBN 5-02-003394-4.
Vorobyov V. M. Portage routes on the Main watershed of the Russian Plain. Tutorial. - Tver: Slavic World, 2007. - 180 p., ill.

An excerpt characterizing the East European Plain

“So, so,” Bagration said, thinking something, and drove past the limbers to the outermost gun.
While he was approaching, a shot rang out from this gun, deafening him and his retinue, and in the smoke that suddenly surrounded the gun, the artillerymen were visible, picking up the gun and, hastily straining, rolling it to its original place. The broad-shouldered, huge soldier 1st with a banner, legs spread wide, jumped towards the wheel. The 2nd, with a shaking hand, put the charge into the barrel. A small, stooped man, Officer Tushin, tripped over his trunk and ran forward, not noticing the general and looking out from under his small hand.
“Add two more lines, it will be just like that,” he shouted in a thin voice, to which he tried to give a youthful appearance that did not suit his figure. - Second! - he squeaked. - Smash it, Medvedev!
Bagration called out to the officer, and Tushin, with a timid and awkward movement, not at all in the way the military salutes, but in the way the priests bless, placing three fingers on the visor, approached the general. Although Tushin’s guns were intended to bombard the ravine, he fired with fire guns at the village of Shengraben, visible ahead, in front of which large masses of the French were advancing.
No one ordered Tushin where or with what to shoot, and he, after consulting with his sergeant major Zakharchenko, for whom he had great respect, decided that it would be good to set the village on fire. "Fine!" Bagration said to the officer’s report and began to look around the entire battlefield opening before him, as if thinking something. WITH right side The French came closest. Below the height at which the Kiev regiment stood, in the ravine of the river, the soul-grabbing rolling chatter of guns was heard, and much to the right, behind the dragoons, a retinue officer pointed out to the prince the French column encircling our flank. To the left, the horizon was limited to a nearby forest. Prince Bagration ordered two battalions from the center to go to the right for reinforcements. The retinue officer dared to notice to the prince that after these battalions left, the guns would be left without cover. Prince Bagration turned to the retinue officer and looked at him silently with dull eyes. It seemed to Prince Andrei that the retinue officer’s remark was fair and that there was really nothing to say. But at that time an adjutant from the regimental commander, who was in the ravine, rode up with the news that huge masses of French were coming down, that the regiment was upset and was retreating to the Kyiv grenadiers. Prince Bagration bowed his head as a sign of agreement and approval. He walked to the right and sent an adjutant to the dragoons with orders to attack the French. But the adjutant sent there arrived half an hour later with the news that the dragoon regimental commander had already retreated beyond the ravine, for strong fire was directed against him, and he was losing people in vain and therefore hurried the riflemen into the forest.
- Fine! – said Bagration.
While he was driving away from the battery, shots were also heard in the forest to the left, and since it was too far to the left flank to arrive on time himself, Prince Bagration sent Zherkov there to tell the senior general, the same one who represented the regiment to Kutuzov in Braunau to retreat as quickly as possible beyond the ravine, because the right flank will probably not be able to hold the enemy for long. About Tushin and the battalion covering him were forgotten. Prince Andrei carefully listened to the conversations of Prince Bagration with the commanders and to the orders given to them and was surprised to notice that no orders were given, and that Prince Bagration only tried to pretend that everything that was done by necessity, chance and the will of private commanders, that all this was done, although not on his orders, but in accordance with his intentions. Thanks to the tact shown by Prince Bagration, Prince Andrei noticed that, despite this randomness of events and their independence from the will of their superior, his presence did an enormous amount. The commanders, who approached Prince Bagration with upset faces, became calm, the soldiers and officers cheerfully greeted him and became more animated in his presence and, apparently, flaunted their courage in front of him.

Prince Bagration, having reached the highest point of our right flank, began to descend downwards, where rolling fire was heard and nothing was visible from the gunpowder smoke. The closer they descended to the ravine, the less they could see, but the more sensitive the proximity of the real battlefield became. They began to meet wounded people. One with a bloody head, without a hat, was dragged by two soldiers by the arms. He wheezed and spat. The bullet apparently hit the mouth or throat. Another, whom they met, walked cheerfully alone, without a gun, groaning loudly and waving his hand in fresh pain, from which blood flowed, like from a glass, onto his overcoat. His face seemed more frightened than suffering. He was wounded a minute ago. Having crossed the road, they began to descend steeply and on the descent they saw several people lying down; They were met by a crowd of soldiers, including some who were not wounded. The soldiers walked up the hill, breathing heavily, and, despite the appearance of the general, they talked loudly and waved their hands. Ahead, in the smoke, rows of gray greatcoats were already visible, and the officer, seeing Bagration, ran screaming after the soldiers walking in a crowd, demanding that they return. Bagration drove up to the rows, along which shots were quickly clicking here and there, drowning out the conversation and shouts of command. The entire air was filled with gunpowder smoke. The soldiers' faces were all smoked with gunpowder and animated. Some hammered them with ramrods, others sprinkled them on the shelves, took charges out of their bags, and still others shot. But who they shot at was not visible due to the gunpowder smoke, which was not carried away by the wind. Quite often pleasant sounds of buzzing and whistling were heard. "What it is? - thought Prince Andrei, driving up to this crowd of soldiers. – It can’t be an attack because they don’t move; there can be no carre: they don’t cost that way.”
A thin, weak-looking old man, a regimental commander, with a pleasant smile, with eyelids that more than half covered his senile eyes, giving him a meek appearance, rode up to Prince Bagration and received him like the host of a dear guest. He reported to Prince Bagration that there was a French cavalry attack against his regiment, but that although this attack was repulsed, the regiment lost more than half of its people. The regimental commander said that the attack was repulsed, coining this military name for what was happening in his regiment; but he himself really did not know what was happening in those half an hour in the troops entrusted to him, and could not say with certainty whether the attack was repulsed or his regiment was defeated by the attack. At the beginning of the action, he only knew that cannonballs and grenades began to fly throughout his regiment and hit people, that then someone shouted: “cavalry,” and our people began to shoot. And until now they were shooting not at the cavalry, which had disappeared, but at the foot French, who appeared in the ravine and fired at ours. Prince Bagration bowed his head as a sign that all this was exactly as he wished and expected. Turning to the adjutant, he ordered him to bring two battalions of the 6th Jaeger, which they had just passed, from the mountain. Prince Andrei was struck at that moment by the change that had occurred in the face of Prince Bagration. His face expressed that concentrated and happy determination that happens to a man who is ready to throw himself into the water on a hot day and is taking his final run. There were no sleep-deprived dull eyes, no feignedly thoughtful look: round, hard, hawk-like eyes looked forward enthusiastically and somewhat contemptuously, obviously not stopping at anything, although the same slowness and regularity remained in his movements.
The regimental commander turned to Prince Bagration, asking him to move back, since it was too dangerous here. “Have mercy, your Excellency, for God’s sake!” he said, looking for confirmation at the retinue officer, who was turning away from him. “Here, if you please see!” He let them notice the bullets that were constantly screeching, singing and whistling around them. He spoke in the same tone of request and reproach with which a carpenter says to a gentleman who has taken up an ax: “Our business is familiar, but you will callus your hands.” He spoke as if these bullets could not kill him, and his half-closed eyes gave his words an even more convincing expression. The staff officer joined the admonitions of the regimental commander; but Prince Bagration did not answer them and only ordered to stop shooting and line up in such a way as to make room for the two approaching battalions. While he was speaking, as if with an invisible hand he was stretched from right to left, from the rising wind, a canopy of smoke that hid the ravine, and the opposite mountain with the French moving along it opened before them. All eyes were involuntarily fixed on this French column, moving towards us and meandering along the ledges of the area. The shaggy hats of the soldiers were already visible; it was already possible to distinguish officers from privates; one could see how their banner fluttered against the staff.
“They are going nicely,” said someone in Bagration’s retinue.
The head of the column had already descended into the ravine. The collision was supposed to happen on this side of the descent...
The remnants of our regiment, which was in action, hastily formed and retreated to the right; from behind them, dispersing the stragglers, two battalions of the 6th Jaeger approached in order. They had not yet reached Bagration, but a heavy, ponderous step could already be heard, beating in step with the entire mass of people. From the left flank, walking closest to Bagration was the company commander, a round-faced, stately man with a stupid, happy expression on his face, the same one who ran out of the booth. He, apparently, was not thinking about anything at that moment, except that he would pass by his superiors like a charmer.
With a sporty complacency, he walked lightly on his muscular legs, as if he were swimming, stretching out without the slightest effort and distinguished by this lightness from the heavy step of the soldiers who followed his step. He carried a thin, narrow sword taken out at his foot (a bent sword that did not look like a weapon) and, looking first at his superiors, then back, without losing his step, he turned flexibly with his whole strong figure. It seemed as if all the forces of his soul were aimed at the best way pass by the authorities, and, feeling that he was doing this job well, he was happy. “Left... left... left...”, he seemed to say internally after every step, and according to this rhythm, with variously stern faces, a wall of soldier figures, weighed down with backpacks and guns, moved, as if each of these hundreds of soldiers was mentally saying, every step of the way: “ left... left... left...". The fat major, puffing and staggering, walked around the bush along the road; the lagging soldier, out of breath, with a frightened face for his malfunction, was catching up with the company at a trot; the cannonball, pressing the air, flew over the head of Prince Bagration and his retinue and to the beat: “left - left!” hit the column. “Close!” came the swaggering voice of the company commander. The soldiers circled around something in the place where the cannonball fell; an old cavalier, a flank non-commissioned officer, falling behind near the dead, caught up with his line, jumped, changed his foot, fell into step and looked back angrily. “Left... left... left...” seemed to be heard from behind the threatening silence and the monotonous sound of feet simultaneously hitting the ground.
- Well done, guys! - said Prince Bagration.
“For the sake of... wow wow wow wow!...” was heard through the ranks. The gloomy soldier walking on the left, shouting, looked back at Bagration with such an expression as if he was saying: “we know it ourselves”; the other, without looking back and as if afraid to have fun, with his mouth open, shouted and walked by.
They were ordered to stop and take off their backpacks.
Bagration rode around the ranks passing by and dismounted from his horse. He gave the Cossack the reins, took off and gave his cloak, straightened his legs and adjusted the cap on his head. The head of the French column, with officers in front, appeared from under the mountain.
"With God blessing!" Bagration said in a firm, audible voice, turned for a moment to the front and, slightly waving his arms, with the awkward step of a cavalryman, as if working, he walked forward along the uneven field. Prince Andrei felt that some irresistible force was pulling him forward, and he experienced great happiness. [Here occurred the attack about which Thiers says: “Les russes se conduisirent vaillamment, et chose rare a la guerre, on vit deux masses d"infanterie Mariecher resolument l"une contre l"autre sans qu"aucune des deux ceda avant d "etre abordee"; and Napoleon on the island of St. Helena said: "Quelques bataillons russes montrerent de l"intrepidite." [The Russians behaved valiantly, and a rare thing in war, two masses of infantry marched decisively against each other, and neither of the two yielded until the clash." Napoleon's words: [Several Russian battalions showed fearlessness.]
The French were already getting close; Already Prince Andrei, walking next to Bagration, clearly distinguished the baldrics, red epaulettes, even the faces of the French. (He clearly saw one old French officer, who, with twisted legs in boots, was hardly walking up the hill.) Prince Bagration did not give a new order and still walked silently in front of the ranks. Suddenly, one shot cracked between the French, another, a third... and smoke spread through all the disorganized enemy ranks and gunfire crackled. Several of our men fell, including the round-faced officer, who was walking so cheerfully and diligently. But at the same instant the first shot rang out, Bagration looked back and shouted: “Hurray!”
“Hurray aa aa!” a drawn-out scream echoed along our line and, overtaking Prince Bagration and each other, our people ran down the mountain in a discordant, but cheerful and animated crowd after the upset French.

The attack of the 6th Jaeger ensured the retreat of the right flank. In the center, the action of the forgotten battery of Tushin, who managed to light Shengraben, stopped the movement of the French. The French put out the fire, carried by the wind, and gave time to retreat. The retreat of the center through the ravine was hasty and noisy; however, the troops, retreating, did not mix up their commands. But the left flank, which was simultaneously attacked and bypassed by the superior forces of the French under the command of Lannes and which consisted of the Azov and Podolsk infantry and Pavlograd hussar regiments, was upset. Bagration sent Zherkov to the general of the left flank with orders to immediately retreat.
Zherkov smartly, without removing his hand from his cap, touched his horse and galloped off. But as soon as he drove away from Bagration, his strength failed him. An insurmountable fear came over him, and he could not go where it was dangerous.
Having approached the troops of the left flank, he did not go forward, where there was shooting, but began to look for the general and commanders where they could not be, and therefore did not convey the order.
The command of the left flank belonged by seniority to the regimental commander of the very regiment that was represented at Braunau by Kutuzov and in which Dolokhov served as a soldier. The command of the extreme left flank was assigned to the commander of the Pavlograd regiment, where Rostov served, as a result of which a misunderstanding occurred. Both commanders were very irritated against each other, and while things had been going on on the right flank for a long time and the French had already begun their offensive, both commanders were busy in negotiations that were intended to insult each other. The regiments, both cavalry and infantry, were very little prepared for the upcoming task. The people of the regiments, from soldier to general, did not expect battle and calmly went about peaceful affairs: feeding horses in the cavalry, collecting firewood in the infantry.
“He is, however, older than me in rank,” said the German, a hussar colonel, blushing and turning to the adjutant who had arrived, “then leave him to do as he wants.” I cannot sacrifice my hussars. Trumpeter! Play retreat!
But things were getting to a point in a hurry. The cannonade and shooting, merging, thundered on the right and in the center, and the French hoods of the Lannes riflemen had already passed the mill dam and lined up on this side in two rifle shots. The infantry colonel walked up to the horse with a trembling gait and, climbing onto it and becoming very straight and tall, rode to the Pavlograd commander. The regimental commanders gathered with polite bows and with hidden malice in their hearts.
“Again, Colonel,” said the general, “I cannot, however, leave half the people in the forest.” “I ask you, I ask you,” he repeated, “to take a position and prepare to attack.”
“And I ask you not to interfere, it’s not your business,” the colonel answered, getting excited. - If you were a cavalryman...
- I’m not a cavalryman, colonel, but I’m a Russian general, and if you don’t know this...
“It’s very well known, Your Excellency,” the colonel suddenly cried out, touching the horse, and turning red and purple. “Would you like to put me in chains, and you will see that this position is worthless?” I don't want to destroy my regiment for your pleasure.
- You are forgetting yourself, Colonel. I do not respect my pleasure and will not allow anyone to say this.
The general, accepting the colonel's invitation to the tournament of courage, straightened his chest and frowned, rode with him towards the chain, as if all their disagreement was to be resolved there, in the chain, under the bullets. They arrived in a chain, several bullets flew over them, and they stopped silently. There was nothing to see in the chain, since even from the place where they had previously stood, it was clear that it was impossible for the cavalry to operate in the bushes and ravines, and that the French were going around the left wing. The general and the colonel looked sternly and significantly, like two roosters preparing for battle, at each other, waiting in vain for signs of cowardice. Both passed the exam. Since there was nothing to say, and neither one nor the other wanted to give the other a reason to say that he was the first to escape from the bullets, they would have stood there for a long time, mutually testing their courage, if at that time in the forest, almost behind them, there had not been the crackle of guns and a dull merging cry were heard. The French attacked soldiers who were in the forest with firewood. The hussars could no longer retreat along with the infantry. They were cut off from the retreat to the left by a French chain. Now, no matter how inconvenient the terrain was, it was necessary to attack in order to pave a path for ourselves.
The squadron where Rostov served, who had just managed to mount the horses, was stopped facing the enemy. Again, as on the Ensky Bridge, there was no one between the squadron and the enemy, and between them, dividing them, lay the same terrible line of uncertainty and fear, as if the line separating the living from the dead. All people felt this line, and the question of whether or not they would cross the line and how they would cross the line worried them.
A colonel drove up to the front, angrily answered the officers’ questions and, like a man desperately insisting on his own, gave some kind of order. No one said anything definite, but rumors of an attack spread throughout the squadron. The formation command was heard, then the sabers screeched as they were taken out of their scabbards. But still no one moved. The troops on the left flank, both infantry and hussars, felt that the authorities themselves did not know what to do, and the indecisiveness of the leaders was communicated to the troops.
“Hurry, hurry,” thought Rostov, feeling that the time had finally come to experience the pleasure of attack, about which he had heard so much from his comrades of the hussars.
“With God, you fuckers,” Denisov’s voice sounded, “ysyo, magician!”
In the front row the rumps of horses swayed. The rook pulled the reins and set off himself.
On the right, Rostov saw the first ranks of his hussars, and even further ahead he could see a dark stripe, which he could not see, but considered the enemy. Shots were heard, but in the distance.
- Increase the trot! - a command was heard, and Rostov felt his Grachik giving in with his hindquarters, breaking into a gallop.
He guessed his movements in advance, and he became more and more fun. He noticed a lone tree ahead. At first this tree was in front, in the middle of that line that seemed so terrible. But we crossed this line, and not only was there nothing terrible, but it became more and more fun and lively. “Oh, how I will cut him,” thought Rostov, clutching the hilt of the saber in his hand.
- Oh oh oh ah ah!! - voices boomed. “Well, now whoever it is,” thought Rostov, pressing Grachik’s spurs in, and, overtaking the others, released him into the entire quarry. The enemy was already visible ahead. Suddenly, like a wide broom, something hit the squadron. Rostov raised his saber, preparing to cut, but at that time the soldier Nikitenko, galloping ahead, separated from him, and Rostov felt, as in a dream, that he continued to rush forward with unnatural speed and at the same time remained in place. From behind, the familiar hussar Bandarchuk galloped up at him and looked angrily. Bandarchuk's horse gave way, and he galloped past.
"What is this? Am I not moving? “I fell, I was killed...” Rostov asked and answered in an instant. He was already alone in the middle of the field. Instead of moving horses and hussars' backs, he saw motionless earth and stubble around him. Warm blood was underneath him. “No, I’m wounded and the horse is killed.” The rook stood up on his front legs, but fell, crushing the rider's leg. Blood was flowing from the horse's head. The horse was struggling and could not get up. Rostov wanted to get up and fell too: the cart caught on the saddle. Where ours were, where the French were, he didn’t know. There was no one around.
Freeing his leg, he stood up. “Where, on which side was now the line that so sharply separated the two armies?” – he asked himself and could not answer. “Has something bad happened to me? Do such cases happen, and what should be done in such cases? - he asked himself getting up; and at that time he felt that something unnecessary was hanging on his left numb hand. Her brush was like someone else's. He looked at his hand, searching in vain for blood on it. “Well, here are the people,” he thought joyfully, seeing several people running towards him. “They will help me!” Ahead of these people ran one in a strange shako and a blue overcoat, black, tanned, with a hooked nose. Two more and many more were running behind. One of them said something strange, non-Russian. Between the rear similar people, in the same shakos, stood one Russian hussar. They held his hands; his horse was held behind him.
“That's right, our prisoner... Yes. Will they really take me too? What kind of people are these? Rostov kept thinking, not believing his eyes. “Really the French?” He looked at the approaching French, and, despite the fact that in a second he galloped only to overtake these French and cut them down, their proximity now seemed so terrible to him that he could not believe his eyes. "Who are they? Why are they running? Really to me? Are they really running towards me? And for what? Kill me? Me, whom everyone loves so much? “He remembered the love of his mother, family, and friends for him, and the enemy’s intention to kill him seemed impossible. “Or maybe even kill!” He stood for more than ten seconds, not moving and not understanding his position. The leading Frenchman with a hooked nose ran up so close that the expression on his face could already be seen. And the heated, alien physiognomy of this man, who with a bayonet at his advantage, holding his breath, easily ran up to him, frightened Rostov. He grabbed the pistol and, instead of shooting from it, threw it at the Frenchman and ran towards the bushes as fast as he could. He ran not with the feeling of doubt and struggle with which he went to the Ensky Bridge, but with the feeling of a hare running away from dogs. One inseparable feeling of fear for his young, happy life took over his entire being. Quickly jumping over boundaries, with the same swiftness with which he ran while playing burners, he flew across the field, occasionally turning around his pale, kind, young face, and a cold of horror ran down his back. “No, it’s better not to look,” he thought, but, running up to the bushes, he looked back again. The French fell behind, and even at that moment he looked back, the one in front had just changed his trot to a walk and, turning around, shouted loudly to his rear comrade. Rostov stopped. “Something is wrong,” he thought, “it can’t be that they wanted to kill me.” Meanwhile, his left hand was so heavy, as if a two-pound weight was hung from it. He couldn't run any further. The Frenchman also stopped and took aim. Rostov closed his eyes and bent down. One and another bullet flew, buzzing, past him. He gathered his last strength and took left hand to the right and ran to the bushes. There were Russian riflemen in the bushes.

Infantry regiments, taken by surprise in the forest, ran out of the forest, and companies, mingling with other companies, left in disorderly crowds. One soldier, in fear, uttered the most terrible and meaningless word in war: “cut off!”, and the word, along with a feeling of fear, was communicated to the entire mass.
- We went around! Cut off! Gone! - shouted the voices of those running.
The regimental commander, at that very moment when he heard shooting and a scream from behind, realized that something terrible had happened to his regiment, and the thought that he, an exemplary officer who had served for many years, was innocent of anything, could be guilty before his superiors in an oversight or lack of discretion, so struck him that at that very moment, forgetting both the recalcitrant cavalryman colonel and his general importance, and most importantly, completely forgetting about the danger and the sense of self-preservation, he, grabbing the pommel of the saddle and spurring his horse, galloped towards the regiment under a hail of bullets showered him, but happily missed him. He wanted one thing: to find out what was the matter, and to help and correct the mistake at all costs, if it was on his part, and not to be blamed for him, who had served for twenty-two years, an unnoticed, exemplary officer.

A plain is a type of relief that is a flat, vast space. More than two-thirds of Russia's territory is occupied by plains. They are characterized by a slight slope and slight fluctuations in terrain heights. A similar relief is found on the bottom of sea waters. The territory of the plains can be occupied by any: deserts, steppes, mixed forests, etc.

Map of the largest plains in Russia

Most of The country is located on a relatively flat type of terrain. Favorable ones allowed a person to engage in cattle breeding, build large settlements and roads. It is easiest to carry out construction activities on the plains. They contain many minerals and others, including, and.

Below are maps, characteristics and photos of landscapes of the largest plains in Russia.

the East European Plain

East European Plain on the map of Russia

The area of the East European Plain is approximately 4 million km². The natural northern border is the White and Barents Seas; in the south, the lands are washed by the Azov and Caspian Seas. The Vistula River is considered the western border, and the Ural Mountains - the eastern.

At the base of the plain lies the Russian platform and the Scythian plate; the foundation is covered by sedimentary rocks. Where the base is raised, hills have formed: the Dnieper, Central Russian, and Volga. In places where the foundation is deeply sunk, lowlands occur: Pechora, Black Sea, Caspian.

The territory is located at moderate latitude. Atlantic air masses penetrate the plain, bringing with them precipitation. The western part is warmer than the east. Minimum temperature January is -14˚C. In summer, the air from the Arctic gives coolness. The largest rivers flow south. Short rivers, Onega, Northern Dvina, Pechora, are directed to the north. The Neman, Neva and Western Dvina carry water in a westerly direction. In winter they all freeze. In spring, floods begin.

Half of the country's population lives on the East European Plain. Almost all forest areas are secondary forest, there are a lot of fields and arable lands. There are many mineral deposits in the area.

West Siberian Plain

West Siberian Plain on the map of Russia

The area of the plain is about 2.6 million km². The western border is the Ural Mountains, in the east the plain ends with the Central Siberian Plateau. The Kara Sea washes the northern part. The Kazakh small sandpiper is considered the southern border.

The West Siberian plate lies at its base, and sedimentary rocks lie on the surface. The southern part is higher than the northern and central. The maximum height is 300 m. The edges of the plain are represented by the Ket-Tym, Kulunda, Ishim and Turin plains. In addition, there are the Lower Yisei, Verkhnetazovskaya and North Sosvinskaya uplands. Siberian ridges are a complex of hills in the west of the plain.

The West Siberian Plain lies in three regions: arctic, subarctic and temperate. Due to low pressure, Arctic air penetrates the territory, and cyclones are actively developing in the north. Precipitation is unevenly distributed, with the maximum amount falling in the middle part. Most precipitation falls between May and October. In the southern zone, thunderstorms often occur in summer.

The rivers flow slowly, and many swamps have formed on the plain. All reservoirs are flat in nature and have a slight slope. The Tobol, Irtysh and Ob originate in mountainous areas, so their regime depends on the melting of ice in the mountains. Most reservoirs have a northwestern direction. In spring there is a long flood.

Oil and gas are the main riches of the plain. In total there are more than five hundred deposits of combustible minerals. In addition to them, in the depths there are deposits of coal, ore and mercury.

The steppe zone, located in the south of the plain, is almost completely plowed. Fields of spring wheat are located on black soil. Plowing, which lasted for many years, led to the formation of erosion and dust storms. In the steppes there are many salt lakes, from which table salt and soda are extracted.

Central Siberian Plateau

Central Siberian Plateau on the map of Russia

The area of the plateau is 3.5 million km². In the north it borders on the North Siberian Lowland. The Eastern Sayan Mountains are a natural border in the south. In the west, the lands begin at the Yenisei River, in the east they end at the Lena River valley.

The plateau is based on the Pacific lithospheric plate. Because of it, the earth's crust rose significantly. The average heights are 500 m. The Putorana plateau in the north-west reaches 1701 m in height. The Byrranga Mountains are located in Taimyr, their height exceeds a thousand meters. In Central Siberia there are only two lowlands: North Siberian and Central Yakut. There are many lakes here.

Most of the territories are located in the Arctic and subarctic zones. The plateau is fenced off from warm seas. Due to the high mountains, precipitation is distributed unevenly. They fall in large numbers in the summer. The earth cools greatly in winter. The minimum temperature in January is -40˚C. Dry air and lack of winds help to endure such difficult conditions. During the cold season, powerful anticyclones form. There is little precipitation in winter. In summer, cyclonic weather sets in. The average temperature during this period is +19˚C.

The largest rivers, the Yenisei, Angara, Lena, and Khatanga, flow through the lowland. They cross rifts earth's crust, therefore they have many rapids and gorges. All rivers are navigable. Central Siberia has enormous hydropower resources. Most of the major rivers are located in the north.

Almost the entire territory is located in the zone. The forests are represented by larch trees, which shed their needles for the winter. Pine forests grow along the Lena and Angara valleys. The tundra contains shrubs, lichens and mosses.

Siberia has a lot of mineral resources. There are deposits of ore, coal, and oil. Platinum deposits are located in the southeast. There are salt deposits in the Central Yakut Lowland. There are graphite deposits on the Nizhnyaya Tunguska and Kureyka rivers. Diamond deposits are located in the northeast.

Due to difficult climatic conditions, large settlements are located only in the south. Human economic activity is concentrated in the mining and logging industries.

Azov-Kuban Plain

Azov-Kuban Plain (Kuban-Azov Lowland) on the map of Russia

The Azov-Kuban Plain is a continuation of the East European Plain, its area is 50 thousand km². The Kuban River is the southern border, and the northern one is the Yegorlyk River. In the east, the lowland ends in the Kuma-Manych depression, the western part opens to the Sea of Azov.

The plain lies on the Scythian plate and is a virgin steppe. The maximum height is 150 m. The large rivers Chelbas, Beysug, Kuban flow in the central part of the plain, and there is a group of karst lakes. The plain is located in the continental belt. Warm ones soften the local climate. In winter, temperatures rarely drop below -5˚C. In summer the thermometer shows +25˚C.

The plain includes three lowlands: Prikubanskaya, Priazovskaya and Kuban-Priazovskaya. Rivers often flood populated areas. There are gas fields in the territory. The region is famous for its chernozem fertile soils. Almost the entire territory has been developed by humans. People grow cereals. The diversity of flora has been preserved only along rivers and in forests.

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September 13, 2012

The most valuable thing any country owns is its territory along with the population living there. As for our country, as you know, it occupies 1/6 of the land surface, being the largest state in the world. The territory where our people live is called the East European Plain and is the second largest in area after the Amazon, located in South America. In the northwestern part, our plain is limited by the Scandinavian mountains, and from the north it is washed by the waters of the Barents and White Seas. As for the southwestern part, the border here is the Sudetenland region of the Czech Republic, as well as the mountains of Central Europe. From the south it is limited by the waters of Azov. Black and Caspian seas. In the east, the Russian Plain, as it is often called in our country, is closed by the Ural Mountains. In general, the East European Plain has a length from north to south of about 2.8 thousand kilometers, and from east to west - about 1.2 thousand.

Most of its territory is dominated by a gently flat type of relief, where most of the natural resources of our state are located. Big advantage For all of us, it is also the fact that our plain is almost completely combined with the Eastern European platform, as a result of which significant natural disasters and catastrophes associated with earthquakes, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions and so on extremely rarely occur here. In some places there are small hills and plateaus, the height of which can reach up to 1000 meters in some places. It is noteworthy that during the last ice age, the Baltic Shield was the center of glaciation, as evidenced by some forms of preserved relief that bear the imprint of glaciation.

The East European Plain has its own platform deposits, which lie horizontally, making up hills and lowlands that form the topography of the overall surface. It is noteworthy that in some places such a folded foundation comes to the surface, sometimes forming ridges and hills. Examples of such places are the Timan Ridge and the Central Russian Upland, while in other places the terrain is mostly calm. On average, the height of the plain above sea level is 170 meters, but there are also places where the lowlands are 30-40 meters below sea level. Many coastal lowlands, many thousands of years ago, partially sank under the water of the washed seas, as a result of which, as a result of water erosion, the relief was slightly adjusted. Examples of such lowlands are the Caspian and Black Sea lowlands, where one can observe a characteristic slope towards the world ocean.

The East European Plain is rich in deep rivers, which belong to the basins of two oceans: the Atlantic (Neva and Western Dvina), as well as the Arctic (Pechora, Northern Dvina). Other rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, which has no connection with the world's oceans, having a closed water area. Here flows not only the most famous, but also the longest river in Europe, glorified in songs - the Volga.

The mineral resources of the East European Plain are rich in oil and coal reserves, but as a result of intensive mining, a gradual depletion of these natural resources is already observed today. The main part of the country's energy resources comes from the Siberian zone, which has the largest oil deposits in the world. If speak about natural areas of this plain, then most of it is located in the zone temperate climate, which contains both coniferous and mixed forests. In general, forest reserves on the territory of the Russian Plain are also quite extensive.

Summarizing all of the above, it should be said that the geographical position of the East European Plain is very favorable, since it has the most favorable conditions for human habitation. The absence of natural disasters, as well as extreme heat, and a good climate led to the emergence of centers of civilization and cultural development modern people. It is for this reason that we should be grateful to nature for endowing our country with such wonderful living conditions and rich natural resources.

Source: fb.ru

Current

East European (aka Russian) has the second largest area in the world, second only to the Amazonian lowland. It is classified as a low plain. From the north the area is washed by the Barents and White Seas, in the south by the Azov, Caspian and Black Seas. In the west and southwest, the plain is adjacent to the mountains of Central Europe (Carpathians, Sudetes, etc.), in the northwest – with the Scandinavian mountains, in the east – with the Urals and Mugodzhary, and in the southeast – with the Crimean mountains and Caucasus.

The length of the East European Plain from west to east is approximately 2500 km, from north to south – about 2750 km, and its area is 5.5 million km². The average height is 170 m, the maximum was recorded in the Khibiny Mountains (Mount Yudychvumchorr) on the Kola Peninsula - 1191 m, minimum height noted on the coast of the Caspian Sea, it has a minus value of -27 m. The following countries are located entirely or partially on the territory of the plain: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Estonia.

The Russian Plain almost completely coincides with the East European Platform, which explains its relief with a predominance of planes. This geographical location is characterized by very rare manifestations of volcanic activity.

Such a relief was formed due to tectonic movements and faults. Platform deposits on this plain lie almost horizontally, but in some places they exceed 20 km. The hills in this area are quite rare and mainly represent ridges (Donetsk, Timan, etc.), in these areas the folded foundation protrudes to the surface.

Hydrographic characteristics of the East European Plain

In terms of hydrography, the East European Plain can be divided into two parts. Most of the waters of the plain have access to the ocean. The western and southern rivers belong to the Atlantic Ocean, and the northern ones belong to the Arctic Ocean. Of the northern rivers on the Russian Plain there are: Mezen, Onega, Pechora and Northern Dvina. Western and southern water flows flow into the Baltic Sea (Vistula, Western Dvina, Neva, Neman, etc.), as well as into the Black Sea (Dnieper, Dniester and Southern Bug) and Azov Sea (Don).

Climatic characteristics of the East European Plain

The East European Plain is dominated by a temperate continental climate. Summer average recorded temperatures range from 12 (near the Barents Sea) to 25 degrees (near the Caspian Lowland). The highest average temperatures in winter are observed in the west, where in winter about -