The main river of the western Siberian plain. Western siberia

Features of the geographical location of Western Siberia

Remark 1

To the east of the Ural Mountains stretches the vast expanses of the Asian part of Russia. This territory has long been called Siberia. But due to the diversity of the tectonic structure, this territory was divided into several separate regions. One of them is Western Siberia.

The basis of Western Siberia is the West Siberian Plain. It is bounded in the west by the Ural Mountains, and in the east by the Yenisei River. In the north, the plain is washed by the waters of the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The southern borders approach the Kazakh Uplands and the Turgai Plateau. The total area of ​​the plain is about $ 3 mln. Km $ ² $.

The characteristic features of the West Siberian Plain are the following features:

• slight fluctuations in heights over such a vast territory;
• the length from north to south and the almost flat relief caused a clear change of natural zones with latitude (classical latitudinal zoning);
• formation of the largest areas of bogs in the taiga and landscapes of salt accumulation in the steppe zone;
• a transitional climate is formed from the temperate continental Russian Plain to the sharply continental Central Siberia.

The history of the formation of the plain

The West Siberian Lowland lies on the Upper Paleozoic plate. Sometimes this tectonic structure is also called epigercyn. The crystalline basement of the slab contains metamorphosed rocks. The foundation sinks to the center of the slab. The total thickness of the sedimentary cover exceeds $ 4 $ km (in some areas - up to $ 6-7 $ km).

As mentioned, the foundation of the slab was formed as a result of Hercynian orogeny. Further, peneplanation (leveling of the relief through erosion processes) of the ancient mountainous country took place. In the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, troughs formed in the center, and the foundation was flooded by the sea. Therefore, it is covered with a significant layer of Mesozoic deposits.

Later, in the era of the Caledonian folding, the southeastern part of the plain rose from the bottom of the sea. In the Triassic and Jurassic, the processes of denudation of the relief and the formation of a stratum of sedimentary rocks prevailed. Sedimentation continued in the Cenozoic as well. During the Ice Age, the north of the plain was under the thickness of the glacier. After its melting, moraine deposits covered a significant area of ​​Western Siberia.

Relief characteristics of Western Siberia

As already noted, geological history caused the formation of a flat relief on the territory of the West Siberian Plain. But a more detailed study of the physical and geographical features of the region showed that the orography of the territory is complex and diverse.

Major relief elements on the territory of the plain are:

• lowlands;
• sloping plains;
• hills;
• plateau.

In general, the West Siberian Plain has the shape of an amphitheater, open to the Arctic Ocean. Sites of plateaus and uplands prevail in the western, southern and eastern periphery. Lowlands prevail in the central regions and in the north. Lowlands are represented by:

• Kandinsky;
• Nizhneobskaya;
• Nadym;
• Purskoy.

The Priobskoe plateau stands out among the plateau. And the hills are represented:

• Severo-Sosvinskaya;
• Turin;
• Ishimskaya;
• Chulym-Yeniseiskaya and others.

In the relief, there are zones of glacial-marine and permafrost-solifluction processes (tundra and northern taiga), fluvioglacial forms of lacustrine-glacial plains (up to the middle taiga) and a zone of semiarid structural-denudation plateaus with erosion processes.

Remark 2

Currently, human economic activity plays an important relief-forming role. The development of Western Siberia is accompanied by the development of minerals. This causes changes in the structure of the reservoirs. rocks and changes the course of physical and geographical processes. erosion processes intensify. In the south during development Agriculture a large amount is introduced into the soil mineral substances... Chemical erosion develops. It is necessary to carefully consider the issues of the development of the nature of Siberia.

Huge territory Russian Federation is located on 2 continents - Europe and Asia, which border each other along the line of the Ural Mountains. In the west of the Asian part The Russian state, between the Ural Mountains and The Far East, the vastness of Siberia is located. According to tectonic boundaries and features geographic areas it is subdivided into several natural areas. In a more generalized form, Siberia is divided into 2 parts - Western and Eastern.

Basis of Western Siberia

The basic element of this region is the lowland, which is called the West Siberian Plain. This geographical feature accounts for approximately 80% of the entire geographical region, which is approximately equal to 3 million km². On the map, its borders resemble a trapezoid with a wide base (south) and a narrow top (north).

Plain boundaries

• From the west it is propped up by the mountain ridges of the Urals.
• On the opposite side limited by the Yenisei watershed.
• On the south side - the Kazakhstani small hills Sary-Arka and the foothills of the Altai Territory.
• The north of the lowland is outlined by the winding coast of the Kara Sea and its bays.

Specific traits

There are several features that most clearly characterize the West Siberian Plain:

• The fluctuation in heights has a very small amplitude (only 200 m) for such a large space.
• Natural and climatic zones in the north-south direction are widely covered, tied to latitudes and have distinct transitions, which is due to the large length and flat relief. This latitudinal zoning is called classical.
• The absence of slopes at the surface forms a large number of bog landscapes in the northern part of the lowland and landscapes of salt accumulation in the southern.
• The climate has a transitional character between temperate continental in the west and sharply continental in the east.

Geological structure

The tectonic plate on which the West Siberian Plain is located bears the name of the same name. The plate belongs to the Hercynian mountain building, characterized by the collapse of deposits into mountain folds - Hercynides. In accordance with the name of the era of tectogenesis, the plate is also called Hercynian or Epighercynian.

The basement of the plate was based on Paleozoic deposits, which, as a result of subsequent tectonic movements (folded dislocation), changed the initial structure of the bedding.

At the end of the Jurassic period, due to destruction and fractures, a huge section of the mountain formation sank below sea level. The result was the formation of a new basin, followed by sedimentation (sedimentation of particles).

In the last era of the Paleogene, a reverse movement occurred, the plate rose and got rid of the waters of the world's oceans. However, the alternating lowering and raising of the slab did not end there - it was repeated yet.

Therefore, on top of the basement Hercynides, a thick, leveling cover of loose substance, both marine and continental deposits of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic, was formed. Ice ages added moraine deposits to the northern part.

The average thickness of the sedimentary cover is more than 1 km, and in the lower parts of the basement, the thickness reaches 4 km.

Relief characteristics

Despite the scanty elevation difference, the plain still has a varied relief. That is, here you can observe the presence of both lowlands and hills. There are also sloping plains in the assortment of relief. There is also a fair amount of plateaus.

The north and center are mainly represented by low areas, among which the following lowlands can be noted:

• Nizhneobskaya, Nadymskaya and Purskaya in the north
• Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya in the center

The elevated areas are located mainly on 3 sides on the periphery, among which are:

• North Sosva Upland and Turin Inclined Plain in the west
• Ishim steppe, Chulym-Yenisei and Priobskoye plateau in the south
• Ket-Tym Upland in the east

Some changes in the relief in recent years have occurred as a result of human activities - mining and agriculture. As a result of the violation of the natural structure of rocks, as well as the chemicalization of the soil with fertilizers, erosion processes are accelerated.

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1. West Siberian lowland

2.

West Siberian lowland third in
the largest plain on our planet after
Amazonian and Russian. Its area is about 2.6
million
square
kilometers.
Length
West Siberian
lowlands from north to south (from the coast
The Kara Sea to the mountains of South Siberia and
semi-desert of Kazakhstan) is about 2.5
thousand kilometers, and from west to east (from
West Siberian Plain - the most
inhabited and developed (especially in the south) part of the Urals to the Yenisei) - 1.9 thousand kilometers.
Siberia. Within its limits are located
Tyumen, Kurgan, Omsk, Novosibirsk
and Tomsk regions, eastern regions
Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions,
a significant part of the Altai Territory, western
districts Krasnoyarsk Territory as well as northern and
north-eastern regions of Kazakhstan

3.

The surface of the West Siberian Lowland is flat with a fairly
a slight difference in height. However, the relief of the plain is sufficient
varied. The lowest parts of the plain (50-100 m) are located
mainly in its central and northern parts. Along the west, south and
the eastern outskirts stretch low (up to 200-250 m) elevations.
A pronounced strip of hills is formed in the inner part
plains Siberian Uvaly (average height - 140-150 m), extending from the west
from the Ob to the east to the Yenisei, and the Vasyugan plain parallel to them.
The foundation of the West Siberian plate is covered with a cover of loose marine and
continental rocks (clays, sandstones,) with a total thickness of over 1000 m (in
foundation depressions up to 3000-4000 m).
There are industrial deposits of oil and natural gas (West Siberian
oil and gas basin). In the area of ​​Khanty-Mansiysk, Krasnoselsky,
Salym and Surgut regions, in the layers of the Bazhenov formation at a depth of 2 km
there are the largest reserves of shale oil in Russia.

4.

The climate of Western Siberia is continental, rather severe.
4 main reasons have formed the climatic conditions of the territory:
1 reason - quantity solar radiation received by the territory;
2 reason - remoteness from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans caused
continentality
3 reason - the flatness of the territory, which allows you to penetrate
air masses from the north and south;
4 reason - the mountains fenced off Western Siberia from the Atlantic and
Central Asian air masses.
In the north, a climate with cold, windy winters and cool summers, with
moving from north to south, the continentality of the climate increases.
This is expressed in an increase in temperatures, a decrease in the amount
precipitation, a reduction in the duration of the transitional seasons of the year, due to
low temperatures here is excessive, and in the southern part there is a sufficient
humidification and in combination with low altitudes of the territory and weak
drainage leads to strong waterlogging - almost 70%.
The average January temperature decreases from -15 (C in the southwest to -30 (C
in the north-east of Western Siberia. Average temperature in July
increases from +5 (C in the north to +20 (C in the south.

5.

On the territory of the West Siberian Lowland
more than 2000 rivers flow. Their total length is about 250 thousand.
kilometers. The largest are Ob, Yenisei and
Irtysh. They are not only navigable but also
are used to generate energy. They eat in
mainly due to melt water and rain (in summer-autumn
period). There are also a large number of lakes here.
In the southern regions, they are filled with salt water. The West Siberian Lowland holds the world record for
the number of swamps per unit area (area
wetlands of about 800 thousand square meters
kilometers). The reasons for this phenomenon are
the following factors: excessive moisture, flat
relief, permafrost and the ability of peat,
abundant here, hold
significant mass of water.

6.

7.

Natural zones of the West Siberian Plain
Due to the large extent of the West Siberian Lowland with
north to south and the monotony of the relief in its aisles is present
five natural areas: tundra, forest-tundra, forest, forest-steppe and
steppe. There is enough in all areas large areas occupy lakes and
swamps. Broad-leaved and coniferous-deciduous forests here
absent, and the forest-steppe zone is rather insignificant.
A large area is occupied by the tundra zone, which is explained by the northern
the position of the West Siberian Plain.

To the south is
forest-tundra zone. As mentioned above, the forests in this area
mostly conifers.
The forest bog zone occupies about 60% of the territory of the West Siberian lowland. A strip of coniferous forests is followed by a narrow zone
small-leaved (mainly birch) forests. Forest-steppe zone
formed in conditions of flat relief. Lying here on
shallow depth groundwater cause great
the number of swamps. In the extreme southern part of the West Siberian
the lowland is the steppe zone, which for the most part
plowed up.

8.

Ancient glaciation strongly influenced the vegetation and animal world
Western Siberia. When the glacier retreated, the north of the plain was conquered
tundra and taiga, although before there were deciduous forests, in
which were inhabited by mammoths, woolly rhinos, giant deer. By
the remains of the trunks in the bogs can be judged that the forest border
was located several hundred kilometers north of the present
time.
The smallest diversity in all zonal areas of the Western
Plants differ in Siberia. On average, the flora of Western Siberia is poorer
in comparison with adjacent regions by about 1.5 times, especially large
a gap for the taiga and tundra zones. Higher relative
the fauna of Western Siberia is characterized by a variety. So, at four
the main orders of mammals in Western Siberia, there are 80
species. The fauna of birds is the most diverse, the main
some of whose species in Western Siberia are migratory. In general
the number of bird species Western Siberia in any zonal area
is not significantly inferior to adjacent regions, but in terms of waterfowl and
near-water surpasses them.

9.

The fauna of the plain is presented as
forest and steppe species. Here
there are elk, roe deer, wolf, etc.
Representatives of the world also meet
birds (ptarmigan, gull). In Northern Kazakhstan and forests
There were brown bears in Kostanai. Now their
no, apparently they went to safer
habitats. V last years rarely
Elk and Siberian roe deer are also encountered.
The reason for this is poaching. V
local rivers and lakes launched a muskrat,
brought from America. Gradually she
takes root. Favorable natural
conditions allow a large
the number of birds. In wide open spaces
water bodies there are swans, geese.

10.

A lot of minerals are found in the West Siberian Plain.
The Sokolovsko-Sarbaisky, Kacharsky deposits produce
iron ore. There is a mining and processing plant in the town of Rudny
combine. Large
reserves of nickel and coal. Deposits of chromite were explored,
bauxite, cobalt. There are many building materials.

11.

- Western Siberia is one of the largest
low plains the globe.
- Rich in a variety of natural resources.
- The climate is continental, rather harsh.
- Rich in rivers, lakes, swamps.
- The zoning of its nature is clearly expressed - from
tundra to the steppes.

12.

thanks for
Attention!

West Siberian lowland

English РусскийRules

Features of Western Siberia

The West Siberian lowland, or plain, is the third largest after the Russian plain in the world. Its area is about 2.6 million km2. From the harsh coast of the Kara Sea, it stretches to the foothills of the mountains of Southern Siberia and the semi-deserts of Kazakhstan for 2500 km, and from the Urals to the Yenisei - for 1900 km.

The boundaries of the plain are clearly defined natural boundaries: in the north - the coastline of the Kara Sea, in the south - the foothills of the Kazakh Upland, Altai, Salair and Kuznetsk Alatau, in the west - the eastern foothills of the Urals, in the east - the valley of the Yenisei River.

The huge West Siberian Lowland, almost entirely covered by a cover of anthropogenic sediments, is a young Epigercynian (Epipaleozoic) plate. This is the most significant oil and gas basin in Russia.

In the west, the plate borders are outcrops of Paleozoic rocks along the eastern slope of the Urals and Pai-Khoi, and further to the north along the coastline of Vaigach and Novaya Zemlya islands.

In the southwest, in the Turgai trough, the boundary with the Turan plate located to the south is conventionally drawn along the watershed of the Ubagana and Turgai rivers. The southern and southeastern borders are determined by the outcrops of the Paleozoic in the Kazakh and Altai-Sayan regions.

The eastern border of the plate is drawn along the river valley. Yenisei, along the outcrops of pre-Paleozoic and Paleozoic rocks. In the lower reaches of the river. The Yenisei border is completely arbitrary; it is usually carried out in an arc from the village. Dudinka to outcrops of Paleozoic rocks at the western end of Taimyr. Within the Kara Sea, the northern boundary of the plate has not yet been precisely established.

In the structure of the West Siberian plate, three structural levels are distinguished: geosynclinal, intermediate, and platform. In relation to the Meso-Cenozoic platform cover, the first two are usually considered as the basement.

Nowhere in the world can one find such a huge space with such a flat relief, as if sinking towards its center. Crossing the plain, you see boundless planes - not a hillock, not a slope. Such a relief was formed by loose river deposits and ancient glacial deposits, which covered the Paleozoic plate with a thick sedimentary cover (3-4 thousand m). Horizontal layering of sedimentary strata - main reason flat relief of the plain.

Affected the relief of the West Siberian Plain and glaciation. But the glacier here did not cross 60 degrees. north latitude.

In the south of the plain, during floods of rivers covered in ice in the north, lacustrine and river sediments - sands and loams - were deposited on colossal spaces.

Glaciation affected not only the relief, but also the flora and fauna of the West Siberian Plain. When the glacier retreated, the north of the plain was conquered by the tundra and taiga, although before there were deciduous forests in which mammoths, woolly rhinos, and giant deer lived. From the remains of trunks in the swamps, one can judge that the forest border was located several hundred kilometers to the north than at present.

The continentality of the climate in the vastness of the West Siberian Plain increases with movement from north to south. This is expressed in an increase in the annual amplitude of temperatures, a decrease in the amount of precipitation, a reduction in the duration of spring and autumn - the transitional seasons of the year.

At the junction of the air masses of the temperate zone with the tropical ones, cyclones appear, bringing rains. At the beginning of summer, this front operates in the south - the steppe zone receives moisture (about 300 mm per year). In July, hot air dominates the entire south of the plains, and cyclones move to the north, bringing precipitation to the taiga zone (500 mm per year). In August, the front reaches the tundra, where it drops up to 250 mm per year.

In winter, cyclones of the Arctic front operate at the junction of moderate and arctic air masses. This softens frosts in the north, but due to the high humidity and strong winds the harshness of the climate is manifested here even at lower frosts. The West Siberian Plain is rich in rivers, lakes, bogs, the distribution of which over the territory clearly shows dependence on the relief and on the zonal ratio of heat and moisture.

The largest river in the West Siberian Plain is the Ob with the Irtysh tributary. This is one of greatest rivers the world. In Russia, it ranks first in terms of length (5410 km) and basin area (2990 thousand km 2).

In addition to the Ob and Irtysh, among the large rivers of the region, one can name navigable ones: Nadym, Pur, Taz, and Tobol.

Among the numerous lakes, glacial lake basins that fill them predominate. In terms of the number of swamps, the West Siberian Plain is also a world record holder: nowhere in the world is there such a swampy territory with an area of ​​800 thousand km 2 as here. A classic example of boggy is Vasyugane - a geographical area lying in the interfluve of the Ob and Irtysh rivers. There are several reasons for the formation of such vast swampy areas: the presence of excessive moisture, flat terrain, permafrost, low air temperatures, the ability of peat, which prevails here, to retain water in quantities that are many times greater than the weight of the peat mass. The climate of Western Siberia is more continental and harsher than in the east of the European part of Russia, but milder than in the rest of Siberia. The large length of the plain from north to south allows several latitudinal zones to fit here - from the tundra in the north to the steppes in the south.

The enormous size of the West Siberian Plain and the flat relief make it possible to trace the latitudinal-zonal changes in natural landscapes especially well. The main distinguishing feature of the tundra is the severity of the climate. Adapting to the harsh conditions, tundra plants prepare wintering buds from autumn. Due to this, in the spring they are rapidly covered with leaves and flowers, and then bear fruit. In the tundra, there are many different plant foods, so many herbivorous birds nest here.

Forest-tundra is the first zone when moving to the south, where at least 20 days a year there is a summer thermal regime, when the average daily temperatures exceed 15? C. Here the tundra alternates with sparse and rather low trees. More than half of the territory of Western Siberia is occupied by forest and swamp zones. The interfluvial areas are dominated by swamps, and the slopes of river valleys and raised areas (manes) are occupied by taiga forests. In the northern part of the plain, spruce and cedar forests dominate, in the southern - spruce and cedar forests with an admixture of fir and birch. To the south of the taiga there is a zone of deciduous forests, which in Western Siberia stretches in a narrow strip from the Ural mountains to the Yenisei River.

The West Siberian forest-steppe stretches in a narrow strip from the Urals to the foothills of the Salair Ridge. The abundance of lake basins is a feature of this zone. The shores of the lakes are low, partly swampy or overgrown with pine forests. In the Kuldinsk pine forests live together with the steppe species, field pipit, jerboa - taiga species - flying squirrel, wood grouse.

This zone is characterized by large fertile soils where you can grow good harvests cereals and vegetables.

The natural resources of the West Siberian Plain are very diverse. Oil and gas reserves of such fields as Urengoy, Medvezhye, Surgut make Western Siberia one of the world leaders. 60% of the total peat reserves of Russia are also concentrated on its territory. The richest salt deposits are located in the south of the plain. The great wealth of Western Siberia is its water resources... Besides surface waters- rivers and lakes, - found huge reservoirs of groundwater. The biological resources of the tundra and forest-tundra are of great economic importance - this seemingly not rich zone with life. A significant amount of furs and game is caught in it, and there are many fish in its rivers and lakes. In addition, the tundra is the main reindeer breeding area. The taiga of Western Siberia has long been famous for the production of furs and timber.

With the ancients sedimentary rocks Triassic and Jurassic age, the total thickness of which is more than 800-1000 m, associated deposits brown coal... Its reserves in the Tyumen region are estimated at 8 billion tons.

However, the main wealth of Western Siberia is oil and gas deposits. It has been established that this plain is a uniquely rich oil and gas province of the Earth.

To date, more than 350 oil, gas and gas condensate fields have been explored. For the past 3 decades, Western Siberia has held the leading position in the production of oil and natural gas in Russia.

Searches in the depths of Western Siberia for "black gold" and "blue fuel" have revealed large reserves iron ore in the north of the Novosibirsk region. But these vast and varied riches are not easy to master. The nature has protected the oil and gas deposits of the region from humans by powerful swamps and permafrost soils. It is extremely difficult to build in the conditions of such soils. In winter, people. severe frosts, high air humidity, strong wind... In summer, numerous blood-sucking birds - gnats and mosquitoes - torment people and animals.

Western Siberia Map

General information about Western Siberia

Time in Western Siberia: in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, Tyumen region, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra time is 2 hours ahead of Moscow time. In Omsk Oblast, Tomsk Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast and the Altai Republic, time is 3 hours ahead of Moscow time. In the Kemerovo region, the time is 4 hours ahead of Moscow time.

Western Siberia is a region of Russia stretching 2500 km from the Arctic Ocean to the uplands of the Kazakh Upland and 1900 km from the Urals to the Yenisei. About 80% of the area of ​​Western Siberia is located within the West Siberian Plain, which gradually rises in the southeast, giving way to the foothills of Altai, Salair, Kuznetsk Alatau and Gornaya Shoria.

Western Siberia includes: Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous region, Tyumen region, Omsk region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra, Tomsk region, Novosibirsk region, Kemerovo region, Altai Territory, Altai Republic.

Languages ​​spoken in Western Siberia: Russian, Altai, Kazakh.

Territory Western Siberia: 3 561 165 km².

Borders Western Siberia: With Kazakhstan, With China, With Mongolia, with the Kurgan region, with the Sverdlovsk region, with the Komi Republic, with the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, with the Krasnoyarsk Territory, with the Republic of Khakassia, with the Republic of Tuva.

Largest cities Western Siberia: Tobolsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Nefteyugansk, Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Berdsk, Kemerovo, Prokopyevsk, Novokuznetsk, Barnaul, Biysk, Rubtsovsk.

Highest Mountain peaks Western Siberia: G.

Sinyukha (1 210 m), Upper Tooth (2 176 m), Aktru (4 075 m),

Argamdzhi (3 511 m), Belukha town (4 506 m), Kolji-khan town (1 992 m), Maashey-bash town (4 173 m), Muzdy-Bulak town (3 050 m), Sarlyk (2 506 m), Payer (1 499 m), Harnaurdy-Keu (1246 m).

Largest lakes Western Siberia: Saltaim, Tenis, Ik, Chany, Teletskoe, Aya.

Largest rivers Western Siberia: Ob, Ishim, Irtysh, Tobol, Katun.

International airports Western Siberia: Barnaul (Barnaul), Kemerovo (Kemerovo), Kogalym (Kogalym), Nizhnevartovsk (Nizhnevartovsk), Tolmachevo (Novosibirsk), Omsk-Central (Omsk), Surgut (Surgut), Bogashevo (Tomsk), Roshchino (Tyumen), Khanty- Mansiysk (Khanty-Mansiysk),

Population Western Siberia: 14.2 million people (Russians - 75%, Altai - 5%, Ukrainians - 3%, Tatars - 3%, Nenets - 2%, Kazakhs - 0.6%, Bashkirs - 0.4%, Azerbaijanis - 0.3%, others - 10 , 7%).

Population density Western Siberia: 8.68 people / km².

Religion Western Siberia: Christians - 73%, Muslims - 17%, Catholics - 9%, others - 1%.

GDP per capita in Western Siberia: 770,700 rubles.

Population below the poverty line v Western Siberia:15 %.

Unemployment v Western Siberia: 5 %.

Literacy Rate v Western Siberia: 99%.

West Siberian Plain(West Siberian Lowland) is one of the largest accumulative lowland plains in the world. It stretches from the shores of the Kara Sea to the steppes of Kazakhstan and from the Urals in the west to the Central Siberian Plateau in the east. The plain has the shape of a trapezoid tapering towards the north: the distance from its southern border to the northern reaches almost 2500 km, the width is from 800 to 1900 km, and the area is only slightly less than 3 million km 2. It occupies the entire western part of Siberia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Central Siberian Plateau in the east, where the regions of Russia and Kazakhstan are located. Geographical position The West Siberian Plain determines the transitional nature of its climate between the moderately continental Russian Plain and the sharply continental climate of Central Siberia. Therefore, the country's landscapes are distinguished by a number of peculiar features: the natural zones here are somewhat displaced to the north compared to the Russian Plain, there is no zone of broad-leaved forests, and landscape differences within the zones are less noticeable than on the Russian Plain.

Geological structure and history of development

The West Siberian Plain is located within the epigercynian West Siberian plate, the basement of which is composed of intensively dislocated and metamorphosed Paleozoic deposits, similar in nature to those of the Urals, and in the south of the Kazakh Upland. The formation of the main folded structures of the basement of Western Siberia, which have a predominantly meridional direction, belongs to the era of the Hercynian orogenesis. They are everywhere covered with a cover of loose marine and continental Meso-Cenozoic rocks (clays, sandstones, marls and the like) with a total thickness of over 1000 m (in the basement depressions up to 3000-4000 m). The youngest anthropogenic deposits in the south are alluvial and lacustrine, often covered by loesses and loess-like loams; in the north - glacial, sea and ice-sea (thickness in places up to 4070 m.).

The tectonic structure of the West Siberian plate is rather heterogeneous. However, even its large structural elements appear in the modern relief less clearly than tectonic structures Russian platform. This is explained by the fact that the relief of the surface of Paleozoic rocks, lowered to great depths, is leveled here by a cover of Meso-Cenozoic deposits, the thickness of which exceeds 1000 m, and in some depressions and syneclises of the Paleozoic basement - 3000-6000 m.

Significant changes in the conditions of accumulation of sedimentary deposits took place in the Neogene. Formations of rocks of Neogene age, which come to the surface mainly in the southern half of the plain, consist exclusively of continental lacustrine-river deposits. They were formed in the conditions of a sparsely dissected plain, first covered with rich subtropical vegetation, and later - with deciduous deciduous forests from the representatives of the Turgai flora (beech, walnut, hornbeam, lapina, etc.). In some places, there were areas of savannah, where giraffes, mastodons, hipparions, camels lived at that time.

The events of the Quaternary period had a particularly great influence on the formation of the landscapes of Western Siberia. During this time, the territory of the country experienced repeated subsidence and was still an area of ​​predominantly accumulation of loose alluvial, lacustrine, and in the north - marine and glacial deposits. The thickness of the Quaternary cover reaches 200-250 m in the northern and central regions.However, in the south, it noticeably decreases (in some places up to 5-10 m), and in the modern relief, the effects of differentiated neotectonic movements are clearly expressed, as a result of which swell-like uplifts have arisen, often coinciding with positive structures of the Mesozoic sedimentary cover.

Lower Quaternary deposits are represented in the north of the plain by alluvial sands filling the buried valleys. The alluvium base is sometimes located in them 200-210 m below the current level of the Kara Sea. Above them, in the north, preglacial clays and loams usually occur with fossil remains of tundra flora, which testifies to the noticeable cooling of Western Siberia that had already begun at that time. However, in the southern regions of the country, dark coniferous forests with an admixture of birch and alder prevailed.

The Middle Quaternary in the northern half of the plain was the era of marine transgressions and repeated glaciation. The most significant of them was Samarovskoe, the deposits of which compose the interfluve of the territory lying between 58-60 ° and 63-64 ° N. sh. According to the currently prevailing views, the cover of the Samarov glacier, even in the extreme northern regions of the lowland, was not continuous. The composition of the boulders shows that the sources of its food were the glaciers descending from the Urals to the Ob valley, and in the east - the glaciers of the Taimyr mountain ranges and the Central Siberian plateau. However, even during the period of maximum development of glaciation in the West Siberian Plain, the Ural and Siberian ice sheets did not adjoin one another, and the rivers of the southern regions, although they encountered a barrier formed by ice, found their way to the north in the interval between them.

The composition of the deposits of the Samarovskaya strata, along with typical glacial rocks, also includes marine and glacial-marine clays and loams formed on the bottom of the sea advancing from the north. Therefore, the typical forms of moraine relief are less pronounced here than on the Russian Plain. On the lacustrine and fluvioglacial plains adjacent to the southern edge of the glaciers, forest-tundra landscapes then prevailed, and in the extreme south of the country, loess-like loams formed, in which pollen of steppe plants (wormwood, kermek) was found. The marine transgression also continued in the post-Samarovo time, the deposits of which are represented in the north of Western Siberia by the Messovo sands and clays of the Sanchugov formation. In the northeastern part of the plain, moraines and glacial-marine loams of the younger Taz glaciation are widespread. The interglacial epoch, which began after the retreat of the ice sheet, in the north was marked by the spread of the Kazantsevo marine transgression, in the sediments of which in the lower reaches of the Yenisei and Ob rivers there are the remains of a more thermophilic marine fauna than the one currently inhabiting the Kara Sea.

The last, Zyryansk, glaciation was preceded by a regression of the boreal sea caused by uplifts in the northern regions of the West Siberian Plain, the Urals and the Central Siberian Plateau; the amplitude of these uplifts was only a few tens of meters. At the maximum stage of the development of the Zyryansk glaciation, the glaciers descended into the areas of the Yenisei plain and the eastern foot of the Urals to approximately 66 ° N. sh., where a number of stadial terminal moraines were left. In the south of Western Siberia at this time, there was a re-winding of sandy-clayey Quaternary deposits, the formation of aeolian landforms and the accumulation of loess-like loams.

Some researchers of the northern regions of the country also paint a more complex picture of the events of the Quaternary glaciation in Western Siberia. So, according to the geologist V.N. Sachs and geomorphologist G.I. Lazukov, glaciation began here in the Lower Quaternary and consisted of four independent epochs: Yarskaya, Samarovskaya, Tazovskaya and Zyryanskaya. Geologists S.A. Yakovlev and V.A. There are even six glaciations in the Zubakovs, attributing the beginning of the most ancient of them to the Pliocene.

On the other hand, there are supporters of a single glaciation of Western Siberia. Geographer A.I. Popov, for example, considers the deposits of the glacial epoch in the northern half of the country as a single water-glacial complex consisting of marine and glacial-marine clays, loams and sands containing inclusions of boulder material. In his opinion, there were no extensive ice sheets on the territory of Western Siberia, since typical moraines are found only in the extreme western (at the foot of the Urals) and eastern (near the ledge of the Central Siberian Plateau) regions. The middle part of the northern half of the plain during the glacial epoch was covered by the waters of the sea transgression; the boulders trapped in its sediments were brought here by icebergs that broke away from the edge of the glaciers, which descended from the Central Siberian Plateau. Geologist V.I. Gromov.

At the end of the Zyryansk glaciation, the northern coastal regions of the West Siberian Plain subsided again. The subsided areas were flooded by the waters of the Kara Sea and covered with marine sediments forming post-glacial sea terraces, the highest of which rises 50-60 m above the present level of the Kara Sea. Then, after the regression of the sea in the southern half of the plain, a new incision of rivers began. Due to the small slopes of the channel, lateral erosion prevailed in most of the river valleys of Western Siberia, the deepening of the valleys was slow, and therefore they are usually of considerable width, but shallow depth. On poorly drained interfluvial spaces, the processing of the ice age relief continued: in the north, it consisted in leveling the surface under the influence of solifluction processes; in the southern, non-glacial provinces, where more atmospheric precipitation fell, the processes of deluvial washout played an especially important role in the transformation of the relief.

Paleobotanical materials suggest that after the glaciation there was a period with a slightly drier and warmer climate than now. This is confirmed, in particular, by the finds of stumps and tree trunks in the sediments of the tundra regions of Yamal and the Gydan Peninsula at a distance of 300-400 km. north of the modern border of woody vegetation and widespread development in the south of the tundra zone of relict large hillocky peatlands.

At present, on the territory of the West Siberian Plain, there is a slow displacement of the boundaries of geographic zones to the south. Forests in many places are advancing on the forest-steppe, forest-steppe elements penetrate into the steppe zone, and the tundra is slowly displacing woody vegetation near the northern limit of sparse forests. True, in the south of the country man intervenes in the natural course of this process: by cutting down forests, he not only stops their natural advance on the steppe, but also contributes to the displacement of the southern border of the forests to the north.

Sources of

• Gvozdetsky N.A., Mikhailov N.I. Physical geography of the USSR. Ed. 3rd. M., "Thought", 1978.

Literature

• West Siberian Lowland. Essay on nature, M., 1963; Western Siberia, M., 1963.
• Davydova M.I., Rakovskaya E.M., Tushinsky G.K. Physical geography of the USSR. T. 1.M., Education, 1989.

West Siberian lowland the third largest plain on our planet after the Amazon and Russian. Its area is about 2.6 million square kilometers. The length of the West Siberian Lowland from north to south (from the coast to the mountains of southern Siberia and) is about 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from west to east (from to) - 1.9 thousand kilometers. The West Siberian Lowland is quite clearly bounded in the north by the coastline of the sea, in the south by the hills of Kazakhstan and mountains, in the west by the eastern foothills of the Urals, and in the east by the valley of the Yenisei River.

The surface of the West Siberian Lowland is flat with a rather insignificant height difference. Small hills are typical mainly for the western, southern and eastern outskirts. There, their height can reach about 250-300 meters. The northern and central regions are characterized by lowlands with a height of 50-150 meters above sea level.

Over the entire surface of the plain, there are flat areas of interfluves, as a result of which they are significantly swampy. In the northern part there are sometimes small hills and sandy manes. Quite impressive areas on the territory of the West Siberian Lowland are occupied by ancient hollows, the so-called woodlands. here they are mainly expressed by rather shallow troughs. Only some of the most large rivers flow in deep (up to 80 meters) valleys.

Yenisei river

The glacier also influenced the relief of Western Siberia. It mainly affected the northern part of the plain. At the same time, water accumulated in the center of the lowland, as a result of which a fairly flat plain was formed. In the southern part, there are slightly elevated sloping plains with many shallow basins.

More than 2000 rivers flow on the territory of the West Siberian Lowland. Their total length is about 250 thousand kilometers. The largest are. They are not only navigable, but also used to generate energy. They feed mainly on melt water and rains (in the summer-autumn period). There are also a large number of lakes here. In the southern regions, they are filled with salt water. The West Siberian Lowland holds the world record for the number of wetlands per unit area (the area of ​​wetlands is about 800 thousand square kilometers). The reasons for this phenomenon are the following factors: excessive moisture, flat terrain, and the ability of peat, which is present in large quantities, to retain a significant mass of water.

Due to the large extent of the West Siberian Lowland from north to south and the monotony of the relief, there are many natural zones in its aisles. In all zones, large areas are occupied by lakes and swamps. they are absent here, and the zone is rather insignificant.

A large area is occupied by the zone, which is explained by the northern position of the West Siberian Plain. To the south is the forest-tundra zone. As mentioned above, the forests in this area are mostly coniferous. The forest bog zone occupies about 60% of the territory of the West Siberian lowland. A strip of coniferous forests is followed by a narrow zone of small-leaved (mainly birch) forests. The forest-steppe zone is formed in conditions of a flat-level relief. The groundwater lying here at a shallow depth is the reason a large number swamps. It is located in the extreme southern part of the West Siberian Lowland, which is mostly plowed up.

In the flat southern regions of Western Siberia, a variety of manes are introduced - sandy ridges 3-10 meters in height (sometimes up to 30 meters), covered with a pine forest, and groves - birch and aspen groves, which are scattered among the steppes.