Uralsky district covers an area of more than 820 thousand km2. Within its borders are the republics of Udmurtia and Bashkortostan, Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk, Orenburg and Kurgan regions, Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug. Yekaterinburg is considered the capital of the region.
Climate
The natural conditions of the Urals change from north to south. This is due to the significant length along the meridian (in comparison with latitude). At the same time, the climatic zones of the tundra and taiga, mixed forest, forest-steppe and steppe are replaced. The Urals are divided into the Cis-Urals, the Trans-Urals and the Ural Range itself. In the central part, the Northern, Southern and Middle regions are distinguished. In general, the climate can be described as continental, but differing, however, in diversity. The air temperature in winter from west to east varies from -15 to -20 degrees, and in summer - from 15 (in the north) to 22 (in the south). Autumn and spring are quite cool. Winter is long, snow lies up to 140-250 days. The natural conditions of the territory are determined by the location relative to the plains of Eurasia, as well as the insignificant height and width of the ridges. Zonal changes are associated withlong distance from north to south. It has been established that 150-200 mm more precipitation falls on the western slope than on the eastern one. The lack of moisture is acutely felt in the southern part of the region, where drought occurs quite often. Meanwhile, it is here that the conditions for agricultural activities are most favorable. The southern part of the region is dominated by steppes and forest-steppes with a moderately warm climate. In the north, the soil cover needs high-quality reclamation work. There are about 800 swamps in the Perm Territory that require drainage. The main agricultural region is the river valley. Ural. In this part there are plowed chernozem steppes.
Peculiarities of economic development
The Ural region is located between Siberia and Kazakhstan, on the border of the Asian and European parts of the country. This location has a very favorable effect on the economic development of the territory. The natural conditions and resources of the Urals make it possible to provide a connection between the eastern and western economic zones, which have different economic specializations. The region ranks second in Russia in terms of industrial production.
Natural resources of the Urals
The history of the Urals begins in the 18th century. At that time, the economic and geographical position of the territory was not yet considered favorable. After some time, the EGP of the territory improved markedly. This was facilitated by the development of the transport network and the construction of roads. Highways pass through the district, which cross the entire territory of the country from the west toPacific Ocean. Fuel and raw materials are supplied to the Urals from the eastern regions. The western regions supply the products of manufacturing enterprises. The natural resources of the Urals, the table of which will be given below, are very diverse. About 1000 types of mineral raw materials, about 12 thousand pools of minerals have been discovered here. In the Urals, 48 out of 55 elements from the periodic table are mined, which are of great importance for the national economic complex. On the territory of the region there are deposits of oil, table and potash s alt, limestone, gas. Brown coal, oil shale and other natural resources are mined here. The Ural Mountains are rich in precious stones, non-ferrous and ferrous metals.
FEC
Fuel natural resources of the Ural Federal District are presented in a wide variety. Oil fields are located mainly in the Orenburg region. and the Perm Territory, in Udmurtia and Bashkortostan. Relatively recently, gas was discovered in the area. The base of the gas chemical complex was the Orenburg field. It is considered the largest in the European part of the Russian Federation. In some areas, open-pit coal mining is carried out, since it is quite close to the surface. It should be noted that the reserves of this raw material are relatively small - about 4 billion tons. Of these, about 75% is brown coal. Fuel natural complexes and natural resources of the Urals have energy value. This, in particular, applies to the Kizelsky and Chelyabinsk deposits of hard and brown coal. BetweenHowever, as experts note, many basins today are largely worked out, and most of the raw materials come from other areas.
Iron ore
These natural resources of the Urals are represented by titanomagnetites, magnetites, siderites, etc. In total, about 15 billion tons of iron ores occur in the region. In terms of production volume, the territory is second only to the Central Chernozem region. However, own production satisfies only 3/5 of the needs of the territory. At present, rich ores of the Magnitogorsk, Tagil-Kushvim and other basins have already been worked out. Today, the development of the Bakal and Kachkanar groups of deposits is underway. The most promising raw materials for metallurgy are titanomagnetites. They occur in the Kachkanar group of basins. Siderites are present in the Bakal deposits. Unique chromium-nickel ores were found in the Orsk-Khalilovskaya group of basins.
Non-ferrous metals
These natural resources of the Urals are presented in a huge variety. In terms of their production, the region is second only to Kazakhstan. The main deposits of copper ores are located in the Gaisky, Blyavinsky, Degtyarsky, Kirovgradsky and other basins. Nickel reserves are present in the Rezhsky, Buruktalsky, Orsky, Ufaleysky basins. The natural resources of the Urals also include zinc (copper-zinc) ores. The Gayskoye deposit was discovered relatively recently. Pyrite ores with a high content of copper were found here. They also contain sulfur (up to 50%), zinc, silver, gold, and rare metals. all ores,present in the Urals, as a rule, are multicomponent. Due to this, their production is very profitable.
Other metals
Large reserves of bauxite are concentrated in the North Urals basin (in the deposits of Sosvinskoye, Krasnaya Shapochka, etc.). However, many reserves today are already on the verge of depletion. The Ural region contains 27% of the total explored deposits of copper and ore bauxites, 12% of nickel, and 58% of zinc. Reserves of emeralds, alluvial diamonds, and rare metal ores have been discovered and are being developed.
S alts
Large reserves of this raw material have been discovered in the Urals. One of the world's largest s alt-bearing basins, the Verkhnekamsky, is located in the region. The balance reserves of the field are estimated at 172 billion tons. Large s alt-bearing basins are the Iletsk and Solikamsk.
Building and other materials
The natural resources of the Urals are also represented by large reserves of quartzites, clays, quartz sand, magnesites. There are deposits of asbestos, cement marl, marble, graphite, etc. The reserves of ornamental, semi-precious and precious stones are widely known. Among them are garnet, alexandrite, aquamarine, ruby, topaz, jasper, lapis lazuli, smoky crystal, malachite, emerald. The main volume of diamond reserves in the Urals is concentrated in the Perm Territory in the Vishera deposit. The region is in second place in the country in terms of production after Yakutia.
Forest
It occupies about 30 million hectares (more than 40% of the territory). shareconiferous forest - 14 million hectares. The main massifs are located in the northern part of the Urals. In the Perm Territory, forest covers about 68.9% of the territory. At the same time, in the Orenburg region. about 4.4% of tree plantations are present. The western slope of the ridge is covered mainly by spruces and firs, the eastern slope is covered by pines. The total timber reserve is estimated at 4.1 billion tons. Such species as larch, fir, pine and spruce are of particular value. Timber complex enterprises produce about 14% of commercial raw materials, 17% of sawn timber and about 16% of all paper in the country. Products are produced mainly for internal needs. Businesses are located in industrial areas.
Northern Territories
The natural resources of the polar Urals are represented by minerals, iron ores. Corundum, turquoise, ferrimolybdite, clinozoisite, rhodochrosite, etc. have been found here. The volumes of iron ores are estimated at millions of tons. There are deposits of manganese, bentonites, copper, chromium, and rare earth metals. The development of basins in the northern part of the Urals makes it possible to fill the shortage of raw materials in the region. In 2005-2006 studies were carried out, during which forecast and prospective basins were identified. The extraction of manganese, iron, chromium ore was planned. The projected volume of the latter is more than 300 million tons. It is expected to increase coal mining by 50% by 2020. This will help improve the energy situation in the state. In addition, mining of such minerals as gold, tungsten, phosphorites, lead, zinc, uranium, molybdenum, bauxite, tantalum,niobium, platinoids.
Natural resources of the Urals
The table below will help you better understand what we alth this region has. It contains the main categories of reserves located in the area.
| Resources | Major centers |
| S alts | Solikamskoe, Iletskoe, Verkhnekamskoe deposits |
| Forest | Perm Territory |
| Copper ores | Gaiskoye, Blyavinskoye, Degtyarskoye, Kirovgradskoye and other deposits |
| Diamonds | Vishera pool |
| Bauxites | Severouralskoye field |
| Nickel | Rezhsky, Buruktalsky, Orsky, Ufaleysky bass. |
| Pyrite ores | Gaiskoe field |
| Hard and brown coal | Kizel and Chelyabinsk basses. |
| Oil | Perm region. and Orenburg region, Udmurtia, Bashkortostan |
Water reserves
The river network of the region belongs to the basins of the Caspian (Ural and Kama rivers) and Kara (Tobol river) seas. Its total length is more than 260 thousand km. About 70 thousand rivers flow in the region. In the river basin Cams included 53.4thousand, r. Tobol - 10.86 thousand. As for groundwater, their specific value in terms of units. area – 115 m/day/km2, per capita – 5 m/day/person. They are concentrated mainly in the mountainous regions of the Urals. They occupy more than 30% of the area of the entire territory and include 39.1% of the total share of groundwater. The distribution of reserves is affected by the dependence of runoff on structural, hydrogeological, and lithological factors. The Cis-Urals is considered to be more endowed with water resources than the Trans-Urals. This situation is determined by climatic conditions. Mountain ranges trap masses of moist air coming from the Atlantic. Accordingly, unfavorable conditions for the formation of underground runoff are formed in these areas.
