The East European Plain is one of the largest plains on the planet. It covers four million square kilometers, fully or partially affecting the territories of ten states. What is the relief and climate of the East European Plain? You will find all the details about it in our article.
Geography of the East European Plain
The relief of Europe is very diverse - there are mountains, and plains, and swampy lowlands. Its largest orographic structure in terms of area is the East European Plain. From west to east, it stretches for about a thousand kilometers, and from north to south - more than 2.5 thousand kilometers.
Due to the fact that most of the plain is located on the territory of Russia, it received the name Russian. With an eye to the historical past, it is also often called the Sarmatian Plain.
It starts from the Scandinavian mountains and the coast of the B altic Sea and stretches to the foothills of the Uralmountains Its southern border of the plain runs near the Southern Carpathians and Staraya Planina, the Crimean Mountains, the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea, and the northern edge runs along the shores of the White and Barents Seas. On the territory of the East European Plain there is a significant part of Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus. It also includes Kazakhstan, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland.
Relief and geological structure
The outlines of the plain almost completely coincide with the ancient East European platform (only a small area in the south lies on the Scythian plate). Due to this, there are no significant uplifts in its relief, and the average height is only 170 meters. The highest point reaches 479 meters - this is the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland, which is located in the Urals.
The tectonic stability of the plain is also connected with the platform. It never finds itself at the epicenter of volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. All the fluctuations of the earth's crust that occur here are low-level and are only echoes of the unrest of the mountainous regions nearby.
However, this area was not always calm. The relief of the East European Plain was formed by very old tectonic processes and glaciations. In the south, they occurred much earlier, so their traces of consequences have long been smoothed out by active climatic processes and water erosion. In the north, traces of the past glaciation are most clearly visible. They are manifested by sandy lowlands, winding bays of the Kola Peninsula, which cut deep into the land, and also in the form of a largethe number of lakes. In general, the modern landscapes of the plain are represented by a number of uplands and lacustrine-glacial lowlands, alternating with each other.
Mineral resources
The ancient platform at the base of the East European Plain is represented by crystalline rocks, which are overlain by a sedimentary layer of different ages, lying in a horizontal position. In the area of the Ukrainian and B altic shields, rocks come out in the form of low cliffs and rapids.
The territory of the plain is rich in various minerals. Its sedimentary cover contains deposits of limestone, chalk, slates, phosphorites, sand and clay. Oil shale deposits are located in the B altic region, s alt and gypsum are mined in the Cis-Urals, and oil and gas are mined in Perm. Large deposits of coal, anthracite and peat are concentrated in the Donbas basin. Brown and hard coal is also mined in the Dnepropetrovsk basin of Ukraine, in the Perm and Moscow region in Russia.
The crystalline shields of the plain are composed mainly of metamorphic and igneous rocks. They are rich in gneisses, shales, amphibolites, diabase, porphyrite, and quartzite. Raw materials for the production of ceramics and stone building materials are mined here.
One of the most "fertile" areas is the Kola Peninsula - a source of a large amount of metal ores and minerals. Iron, lithium, titanium, nickel, platinum, beryllium, various micas, ceramic pegmatites, chrysolite, amethyst, jasper, garnet, iolite and other minerals are mined within it.
Climate
The geographical location of the East European Plain and its low relief largely determine its climate. The Ural Mountains near its outskirts do not allow air masses to pass from the east, so throughout the year it is influenced by winds from the west. They form over the Atlantic Ocean, bringing moisture and warmth in winter, and rainfall and coolness in summer.
Due to the lack of mountains in the north, winds from the south of the Arctic also easily penetrate deep into the plain. In winter, they bring cold continental air masses, low temperatures, frosts and light snow. In summer, they bring drought and cold spells with them.
During the cold season, temperatures are highly dependent on the incoming winds. In summer, on the contrary, the climate of the East European Plain is most powerfully influenced by solar heat, so temperatures are distributed in accordance with the geographical latitude of the area.
In general, the weather conditions in the plains are very unstable. Atlantic and Arctic air masses over it often replace each other, which is accompanied by a constant alternation of cyclones and anticyclones.
Natural areas
The East European Plain is located mainly within the temperate climate zone. Only a small part of it in the far north lies in the subarctic zone. Due to the flat relief, latitudinal zonality is very clearly traced on it, which manifests itself in a smooth transition from the tundra in the north to arid deserts on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Tundra, covered with dwarf trees and shrubs, is found only in the extreme northern territories of Finland and Russia. Below it is replaced by taiga, the zone of which expands as it approaches the Urals. Mostly coniferous trees grow here, such as larch, spruce, pine, fir, as well as grasses and berry bushes.
After the taiga, the zone of mixed and deciduous forests begins. It covers the entire B altic, Belarus, Romania, part of Bulgaria, a vast part of Russia, the north and northeast of Ukraine. The center and south of Ukraine, Moldova, the northeast of Kazakhstan and the southern part of Russia are covered by the forest-steppe and steppe zone. The lower reaches of the Volga and the shores of the Caspian Sea cover deserts and semi-deserts.
Hydrography
The rivers of the East European Plain flow both north and south. The main watershed between them runs through Polesie, Northern Uvals and the Valdai Upland. Some of them belong to the Arctic Ocean basin, and flow to the Barents, White and B altic Seas. Others flow south, emptying into the Caspian Sea and the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The longest and deepest river of the plain is the Volga. Other significant watercourses are the Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Pechora, Northern and Western Dvina, Southern Bug, Neva.
There are also many swamps and lakes in the East European Plain, but they are not evenly distributed. They are very densely distributed in the northwestern part, but in the southeast they are practically absent. On the territory of the B altic States, Finland, Polissya, Karelia and the Kola Peninsulareservoirs of glacial and moraine type were formed. In the south, in the region of the Caspian and Azov lowlands, there are estuary lakes and s alt marshes.
Lamb foreheads
Despite the relatively flat terrain, there are many interesting geological formations within the East European Plain. Such, for example, are the rocks "Sheep foreheads", which are found in Karelia, on the Kola Peninsula and in the Northern Ladoga region.
They are projections on the surface of rocks that were smoothed during the convergence of an ancient glacier. Rocks are also called "curly". Their slopes in places where the glacier moved are polished and smooth. The opposite slopes, on the contrary, are steep and very uneven.
Zhiguli Mountains
Zhiguli are the only mountains on the plain that were formed as a result of tectonic processes. They are located in the southeastern part, in the region of the Volga Upland. These are young mountains that continue to grow, growing by about 1 centimeter every hundred years. Today, their maximum height reaches 381 meters.
The Zhiguli mountains are composed of dolomites and limestones. There are also oil deposits within them. Their slopes are covered with forests and forest-steppe vegetation, among which there are also endemic species. Most of it is included in the Zhiguli Nature Reserve and is closed to the public. The site, which is not under protection, is actively visited by tourists and skiers.
Belovezhskayaforest
There are many nature reserves, sanctuaries and other protected areas within the East European Plain. One of the oldest formations is the National Park Belovezhskaya Pushcha, located on the border of Poland and Belarus.
Here, a large area of relic taiga has been preserved - a primary forest that existed in this area in prehistoric times. It is assumed that this is what the forests of Europe looked like millions of years ago.
On the territory of Belovezhskaya Pushcha there are two vegetation zones, and coniferous forests are closely adjacent to mixed broad-leaved ones. The local fauna is represented by fallow deer, mouflon, reindeer, tarpan horses, bears, minks, beavers and raccoon dogs. The pride of the park is bison, which are saved here from complete extinction.
