What is the form of the West Siberian Plain. Physical Geography - Western Siberia (West Siberian Plain)

Features of the geographical position of Western Siberia

Remark 1

To the east of the Ural Mountains lie 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 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 $3$ million km$²$.

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

• insignificant fluctuation of heights in such a vast territory;
• the length from north to south and an almost flat relief led to a clear change in natural zones with latitude (classical latitudinal zonality);
• formation largest areas swamps in the taiga and landscapes of salt accumulation in the steppe zone;
• a transitional climate is formed from the temperate continental of the Russian Plain to the sharply continental of 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 epihercynian. The crystalline basement of the slab contains metamorphosed rocks. The foundation sinks towards the center of the slab. general power sedimentary cover exceeds $4$ km (in some areas - up to $6-7$ km).

As already mentioned, the foundation of the slab was formed as a result of the Hercynian orogeny. Further there was a peneplenization (leveling of a relief by means of erosive processes) of the ancient mountainous country. In the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, troughs form in the center, and the foundation was flooded by the sea. Therefore, it is covered with a significant thickness of Mesozoic deposits.

Later, during 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 the stratum prevailed. sedimentary rocks. Sedimentation continued into the Cenozoic. During the Ice Age, the north of the plain was under the thickness of the glacier. After its melting, a significant area of ​​Western Siberia was covered with moraine deposits.

Characteristics of the relief of Western Siberia

As already noted, geological history led to 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.

Large relief elements on the territory of the plain are:

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

In general, the West Siberian Plain has the form of an amphitheater, open to the Arctic Ocean. Plateau and upland areas predominate in the western, southern and eastern periphery. Lowlands prevail in the central regions and in the north. The lowlands are represented by:

• Kandinsky;
• Nizhneobskaya;
• Nadymskaya;
• Purskoy.

Among the plateau, the Ob plateau stands out. And the elevations are presented:

• Severo-Sosvinskaya;
• Turin;
• Ishimskaya;
• Chulym-Yenisei 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 rock layers and changes the course of physical and geographical processes. erosion processes are intensifying. In the south during development Agriculture is applied to the soil a large number of minerals. Chemical erosion develops. It is necessary to take a balanced approach to the development of the nature of Siberia.

There are two great plains in Eurasia. The one in the east stretches from the mountains of southern Siberia to eternal ice Kara Sea, from the Yenisei to the Urals. The boundless and incredible riches of nature - this is it, the West Siberian Plain.

Borders and area

Western Siberia is an incredibly vast territory. From the Arctic Ocean it stretches for 2.5 thousand kilometers to the steppes of Kazakhstan, from the Urals to the Yenisei it extends for 1.5 thousand kilometers. Almost 80% of all Siberia is located on a plain, consisting of two flat depressions in the form of bowls and full of wetlands. These depressions are separated from each other by the Siberian Ridges, raised up to 175-200 meters. In the southeast, the height of the West Siberian Plain gradually rises, the foothills of Salair, Gornaya Shoria, Altai and Kuznetsk Alatau appear. The area of ​​this great plain is more than 2.4 million square kilometers.

Geological development

The western part of the Siberian Plain was formed back in the Precambrian. Gradually evolving during the Paleozoic, folded structures formed along the edges of the platform. Docking with other parts of the mainland, they formed a single area. However, such a "patchwork" origin gives reason to interpret the nature of the plate in two ways. Quite often, given the facts, it is called heterogeneous, but at the same time, bearing in mind that most of the plain was formed in the Paleozoic, it is considered epipaleozoic. And then, bearing in mind the main role of the Hercynian folding, the plate is called epi-Hercynian.

Simultaneously with the formation of the foundation, starting from the Paleozoic and ending with the Early Jurassic, a cover of the future plain was created. The formation of the cover was completely completed by the Meso-Cenozoic. This not only blocked the border zones of folded structures, but also, thus, significantly increased the area of ​​the plate.

Geographic zoning

The West Siberian Plain includes five zones: tundra, forest-tundra, steppe, forest-steppe and forest. In addition, it includes mountainous and low-mountainous regions. Probably, in no other place is it possible to trace such a correct manifestation of zonal natural phenomena, like here.

Tundra occupies the north of the Tyumen region, which occupied Yamal and the Gydan Peninsula. Its area is 160 thousand square kilometers. The tundra is completely covered with moss and lichen, interspersed with hypnum-grass, lichen-sphagnum, and large-hilly marsh landscape.

forest tundra runs from the tundra to the south in an almost flat strip of 100-150 kilometers. As a kind of transitional area from the tundra to the taiga, it looks like a mosaic of swamps, shrubs and light forests. Crooked larches grow in the north of the zone, located in river valleys.

forest zone occupies a strip of about a thousand kilometers. The north and middle of Tyumen, the Tomsk region, the north of the Novosibirsk and Omsk regions fit into this strip. The forest is divided into northern, southern and middle taiga and birch-aspen forests. Most of it is wood with dark needles - Siberian fir, spruce and cedar.

forest-steppe located near deciduous forests. The main representatives of the zone are meadows, swamps, salt marshes and small areas of forests. The forest-steppe is rich in birch and aspen.

Steppe covered the south of the Omsk region, the west of Altai and the southwest of the Novosibirsk region. The zone is represented by ribbon pine forests.

The rather significant height of the West Siberian Plain in the highlands makes it possible to develop altitudinal zonation. The main place here is given to forests. In addition, there is black taiga, which is characteristic of the mountains of Siberia. In the middle of this taiga there is a "linden island" - a forest area of ​​150 square kilometers. Most scientists consider this site as a tertiary vegetation.

Geology and orography

In places where the West Siberian Plain is located, the West Siberian Plate is considered the basis. This plate is based on the Paleozoic basement, which is currently located at a depth of about 7 kilometers. The most ancient rocks come to the surface only in mountainous areas and are hidden in other places by sedimentary rocks. The West Siberian Plain is a rather young submerging platform. The magnitude and rate of subsidence of different sections vary greatly, and therefore the thickness of the cover of loose deposits is also very diverse.

The nature, quantity and size of icing in antiquity is still not really clear. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that to the north of 60 degrees the entire part of the plain was occupied by glaciers. It is the small number of glaciers that explains the fact that their melting did not leave large moraine accumulations.

Natural resources

Since the plate cover is formed by sedimentary rocks, a large number of fossils cannot be expected here. There are only exogenous deposits - the so-called sedimentary fossils. Among them you can see oil in the south of the plain, gas in the north, coal, peat, iron ore, evaporites.

Climate

The West Siberian Plain, whose geographical position provides it with such an opportunity, has very interesting climatic characteristics. The fact is that the plain is located almost at the same distance from both the Atlantic and the center of Eurasian continentality. Most of the plain has a temperate continental climate. Due to its northern openness, Western Siberia receives a large amount of arctic masses, bringing cold in winter and not allowing summer to fully manifest itself. Thus, the January temperature from south to north ranges from -15 to -30 degrees, while in July - from +5 to +20. The largest temperature difference - 45 degrees - is observed in the north-east of Siberia.

Reasons for the severity of the climate

Such a rather harsh climate has formed for several reasons.

The West Siberian Plain is located mostly in temperate latitudes, which causes a rather small amount of solar radiation that enters the territory.

Considerable remoteness from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans made it possible to develop a continental climate.

The flat terrain of the West Siberian Plain allows much Arctic air to go further south than in other regions, while allowing warm currents from Central Asia and Kazakhstan to reach deep north.

Mountains that fenced off the plain from the west from the air currents of the Atlantic and from the southeast from Central Asia.

Relief

The West Siberian Plain has long been considered an "exemplary" lowland plain. The reason for this is the fact that on almost the entire surface its absolute height is below 200 meters. Above this there are only small areas. For a long time on the maps, the entire plain was painted in a uniform color, not taking into account these small rises in height. However, upon closer examination, it became clear that the orography is not so simple. Plains with a height of more than 100 meters are very clearly distinguished.

biodiversity

The West Siberian Plain is located in such climatic conditions, which contribute to the formation of too little diversity for such large areas. The poor choice of higher plants is especially noticeable. On average, the flora in this region is poorer by almost 1.5 times compared to neighboring regions. This difference is especially noticeable in the taiga and tundra zones. The nature of Western Siberia is the most diverse for the region.

The reason for such a limited flora is the same glaciation, which turned out to be devastating for the region. In addition, mountain rephigia, which could feed the migration flow, are at a sufficient distance.

Animal world

Despite the considerable length of the West Siberian Plain, the fauna here also cannot boast of diversity. The only exception can be considered only Western Siberia, on the territory of which a fairly large number of different animals live. For example, more than 80 species of mammals from four main orders have been identified in this area. Of this set, 13 species are common with Eastern Siberia, 16 - with the European part of Russia, 51 - common to the entire territory of Eurasia. There are no unique animals that would live only where the West Siberian Plain is located.

Inland waters

Rivers The West Siberian Plain mainly belong to the Kara Sea basin. All of them, for the most part, feed on melting snow, thus referring to the West Siberian type inside. annual runoff. High water in this type is more extended in time, but at the same time, the water discharge in this period is practically indistinguishable from the rest of the time. The reason for this is the natural regulation of runoff. Accordingly, the stock in summer time It is replenished with the waters of floodplains and marshes, in which flood water was “saved”. AT winter period only the ground way of saturating the water remains, which almost catastrophically reduces the oxygen content in the water. For this reason, the fish that live in the rivers are forced to accumulate in the whirlpools, which is why they are almost constantly in a state of drowsiness.

The groundwater The region is part of the West Siberian hydrogeological basin. The characteristics of these waters fully correspond to the zonal distribution. Given the direction of the West Siberian Plain, it becomes clear that most of these waters are almost on the surface, while remaining very cold. However, when moving south, it becomes clear that the depth of the waters, their temperature, and saturation with minerals also increase. The water in the south is saturated with calcium, sulfate, chlorides. In the very south, there are so many of these compounds in the water that its taste becomes salty and bitter.

swamps with the existing low-lying relief, they are one of the dominant components of the water masses of the plain. Their area and the degree of swampiness are very large. Some researchers believe that the swamps of the region are aggressive, not only remaining in their original form, but also gradually growing, capturing more and more new territories. This process is currently irreversible.

Administrative division

The West Siberian Plain, whose geographical position implies a rather diverse administrative use, has hosted many regions and territories. So, these are Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk, Kemerovo regions. Partially, this also includes Sverdlovsk, Kurgan and Chelyabinsk region. In addition, parts of the Krasnoyarsk and Altai Territories are located on the plain. The largest city is Novosibirsk, it has about 1.5 million inhabitants. The city is located on the Ob River.

Economic use

On the territory of Western Siberia, the most developed industries are the mining and timber industries. Today, this territory supplies more than 70% of all oil and natural gas produced in our country. Coal - more than 30% of the all-Russian production. And about 20% of the wood harvested by our country.

In Western Siberia today there is a huge oil and gas production complex. In the thickness of sedimentary rocks are the largest deposits of natural gas and oil. The area of ​​land rich in these minerals is more than two million square kilometers. Until the 60s, the landscapes of Siberia were almost unaffected by industry, but at present they are dotted with pipelines, power lines, drilling sites, roads, spoiled by spills of oil products, killed by burning, blackened by soaked forests that arose as a result of the use of outdated technologies in transportation and production fossils.

Do not forget that this region, like no other, is rich in rivers, swamps and lakes. This increases the rate of spread of chemical pollution that enters the Ob from small sources. Further, the river takes them out to sea, bringing death and destroying entire ecosystems, even those far removed from the mining complex.

In addition, the plains of the Kuznetsk mountain region are rich in deposits hard coal. Mining in this region is about 40% of all coal reserves in our country. The largest coal mining centers are Prokopyevsk and Leninsk-Kuznetsky.

Thus, the West Siberian Plain is not only a refuge for many species of plants and animals, but also plays a huge role in the economic and industrial life of our country. Without huge reserves of natural resources, which are the source of production of products necessary for human life, people would simply not be able to live in such a harsh and not very livable climate.

The authors of all physical-geographical zoning schemes single out Western Siberia with an area of ​​about 3 million sq. km. equally. Its boundaries coincide with the contours of the Epipaleozoic West Siberian plate. The geomorphological boundaries are also clearly defined, coinciding mainly with the isohypse of 200 m, and in the north with the coastline of the bays (bays) of the Kara Sea. Conventionally, only the borders with the North Siberian and Turan plains are drawn.

Geological development and structure. In the Precambrian, the small West Siberian platform and the foundation of the western part were formed. Siberian platform(approximately to the line coinciding with the bed of the river Taz). The Ural geosyncline formed between the East European and West Siberian platforms, and the Yenisei geosyncline between the Siberian platforms. During their evolution in the Paleozoic, folded structures were formed along the outskirts of the West Siberian Platform: Baikalids west of the Yenisei Ridge, Salairids north of the Kuznetsk Alatau, Caledonides north of the western part of the Kazakh Upland. These disparate structures were united by Hercynian folded areas, which, moreover, directly merged with the Hercynides of the Urals, Western (Rudny) Altai, and the eastern part of the Kazakh Upland. Thus, the nature of the West Siberian Plate can be understood in two ways. Given the “patchwork” of its foundation, it is often called heterogeneous but since most of it was formed in the Paleozoic, the plate is considered epipaleozoic. Noting the decisive role of the Hercynian folding, the slab is piled epihercynian.

Along with the long processes of basement formation, in the Paleozoic (as well as the Triassic and Early Jurassic), the cover was formed for an equally long time. In this regard, the Paleozoic-Early Jurassic strata deposited on top of folded structures are usually distinguished into a special, “intermediate” or “transitional” stage (or complex), which geologists attribute either to the basement or to the cover. It is believed that the real cover was formed only in the Meso-Cenozoic (beginning from the middle of the Jurassic). The deposits of the cover overlapped the border zones of neighboring folded structures (the Siberian Platform, salairides of the Kuznetsk Alatau, Caledonides and Hercynides of the Rudny Altai, Kazakhstan, and the Urals) and noticeably expanded the territory of the West Siberian Plate.

crystalline folded foundation The plate consists of ancient (Precambrian and Paleozoic) metamorphic (crystalline schists, gneisses, granite-gneisses, marbles), volcanogenic and sedimentary rocks. All of them are crumpled into complex folds, broken into blocks by faults, cut through by intrusions of acidic (granitoids) and basic (gabbroids) composition. The relief of the foundation surface is very complex. If we mentally remove the deposits of the cover, a sharply dissected surface of the mountain structure will be exposed with height amplitudes of 1.5 km in the peripheral parts and much greater in the north of the axial zone. The depths of the foundation naturally increase towards the axial zone and within this zone in a northerly direction - from -3 to -8 ... -10 km, according to some data, even more. The ancient West Siberian platform is fragmented into many blocks, most of which are deeply subsided, and some (for example, the Berezovsky block) are relatively uplifted and can be traced on the surface (the Berezovskaya Upland with maximum absolute heights of over 200 m). The margins of the West Siberian Plate correspond to the slopes of neighboring folded structures, which are a kind of “shields”. In the inner parts of the plate there are syneclises (Omsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Tazov and others), separated uplifts ( Vasyugan) and vaults(Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk and others). Within the Kemerovo region there is a part Teguldet depression with depths down to –2.5 km, strongly resembling the Minusinsk depression.

“Intermediate floor It consists of weakly dislocated and weakly metamorphosed strata of Paleozoic rocks overlying the basement of pre-Hercynian age (they are absent within the Hercynian structures), as well as Triassic trap rocks and coal-bearing terrigenous rocks of the Early Jurassic. At the end of the Permian and Triassic, an extensive zone of lithospheric extension arose in Siberia. It covered the Tunguska syneclise of the Siberian platform and the submeridional zones between the Urals and the Irtysh and Poluy rivers, as well as between 74 and 84 degrees E. Numerous alternating grabens and horsts appeared, linearly elongated in the submeridional direction (“key structure”). The trap magmatism covered almost the entire West Siberian Plate (and the neighboring Tunguska syneclise). In recent decades, forecasts have been made regarding a high degree of oil and gas content of the “intermediate” stage.

Case It is composed of horizontally occurring strata of Meso-Cenozoic sandy-argillaceous rocks. They have a variegated facies composition. Almost until the end of the Paleogene, maritime conditions prevailed in the north, to the south they were replaced by lagoonal ones, and in the extreme south - by continental ones. From the middle of the Oligocene, the continental regime spread everywhere. Sedimentation conditions changed directionally. A warm and humid climate persisted until the end of the Paleogene, there was luxurious vegetation. In the Neogene, the climate became noticeably cooler and drier. In the strata of the Jurassic and, to a lesser extent, the Cretaceous age, a huge mass of organic matter accumulated. The organic matter dispersed in the sandy-clayey material sank into the depths of the earth's crust, where it was exposed to high temperatures and petrostatic pressure, which stimulated the polymerization of hydrocarbon molecules. At relatively shallow depths (up to about 2 km), long hydrocarbon chains arose, which led to the formation of oil. At great depths, on the contrary, only gaseous hydrocarbons were formed. Therefore, the main oil-bearing fields tend to the southern part of the West Siberian Plate with relatively small cover thicknesses, and the gas fields tend to the northern regions with the maximum depths of the basement.

Dispersed in the form of an insignificant admixture, hydrocarbons slowly rise to the earth's surface, most often reach the atmosphere and are destroyed. The existence of reservoirs (sandy and other rocks with a certain porosity) and seals (argillaceous, impermeable rocks) contribute to the preservation and concentration of hydrocarbons in large deposits.

Minerals. In the conditions of the cover of the West Siberian Plate composed of sedimentary rocks, only exogenous deposits are widespread. Sedimentary fossils dominate, and among them are caustobioliths (oil in the southern part of the plain; the largest field is Samotlor; gas in the northern part - Urengoy in the Pur river basin, Yamburg on the Taz Peninsula, Arctic on Yamal; brown coal - Kansk-Achinsk basin; peat, brown iron ore - Bakchar; evaporites of Kulunda and Baraba).

Relief. Orography and morphometry. The West Siberian Plain is considered an “ideal” lowland plain: its absolute heights are almost everywhere below 200 m. This level is exceeded only by tiny areas of the North Sosvinskaya Upland (including the Berezovskaya Upland), the Belogorsky Continent (the right bank of the Ob to the north of the mouth of the Irtysh), the eastern section of the Siberian Uvals ; more extensive uplands are located in the foothills of Altai, the Kazakh hills, and the Urals. Long time on hypsometric maps of West Siberian plain painted over uniformly green color. A detailed study revealed, however, that the orography of the region is no less complex than within the East European Plain. Plains with heights of more than 100 m (“highlands”) and less than 100 m (lowlands) are clearly distinguished. The most famous “hills” are: Siberian Ridges, Nizhneeniseiskaya, Vasyuganskaya, Barabinskaya, Kulundinskaya, (Pri) Chulymskaya; lowlands: Surgut Polissya, Kondinskaya, Severoyamalskaya, Ust-Obskaya.

Morphostructure. The morphostructure of the accumulative plain clearly predominates. Only along the outskirts, especially in the southwest, south, southeast, there are denudation plains, including inclined stratified plains.

Major events of the Pleistocene. The entire territory of Western Siberia was affected to some extent by glaciation on natural conditions, including morphosculpture. Ice came from the Ural-Novaya Zemlya and Taimyr-Putoransk centers, which were significantly inferior to the scale of the Kola-Scandinavian center. Three epochs of glaciation are most recognized: the maximum Samarovo (the first half of the Middle Pleistocene), the Taz (the second half of the Middle Pleistocene), and the Zyryanovsk (Upper Pleistocene). Synchronously with glacials appeared boreal transgressions covering much larger areas than northeast e European Russia. At least in the northern part of Western Siberia, the glaciers were shelf glaciers and “floated”, carrying moraine material with ice. A similar picture is still observed in the waters of the Kara Sea, which is a natural continuation of the West Siberian Plain. Integumentary land glaciers operated south of the Siberian Ridges.

As now, the largest rivers flowed in accordance with the slope of the surface to the north, i.e. towards the glacier. The glacial tongue acted as a dam, to the south of which periglacial lakes (Purovskoye, Mansiyskoye, etc.) were formed, into which melted waters of the glacier also entered. This explains the much greater than in Eastern Europe, the role of hydroglacial deposits, and among them - outwash sands and plains.

Excessive water inflow into the periglacial lakes overwhelmed them, led to the “splashing” of water both to the north (which led to the formation of underwater runoff troughs, for example, the St. plains). Lake and river accumulation proceeded intensively here. But even these reservoirs overflowed, excess water flowed through the Turgai Strait into the lakes-seas of the Black Sea-Balkhash system.

In the extreme south of Western Siberia, fine silty material was transported to the far margins of the periglacial zone mainly by flowing waters, rarely by wind. Accumulating in arid climate conditions, it created strata of loess-like, mantle loams and loesses. Thus, it is possible to distinguish a number of zones of relict relief formation of the West Siberian Plain, successively replacing each other in a southerly direction: a. boreal-marine accumulation (Yamal, territories adjacent from the south and east to the Ob, Taz and Gydan bays); b. glacial accumulation (peripheral areas of the Subpolar Urals and Putorana); in. water-glacial accumulation (mainly glacial-lake - up to the parallel of the Irtysh mouth); the city of terminal moraines of the Samarovsky glacier (up to 59 degrees N), overlain by hydroglacial deposits of the Taz and Zyryanovsky glaciers; e. glacial-lake accumulation; e. river and “normal” lake accumulation; well. loess formation.

Zoning of modern relief formation and types of morphosculpture. The Pleistocene relief is intensively reworked by modern agents. In the south direction, the following zones are distinguished: a. sea ​​relief; b. cryogenic morphosculpture; in. fluvial morphosculpture, arid relief formation.

The strongest indentation of the coastline and the low flat relief of coastal territories significantly increase the area marine relief formation. The littoral zone, flooded by the sea at high tide and released at low tide, is very wide. A certain role is played by wind surges on flat coastal areas and the effect of the sea on the supralittoral zone lying above the littoral zone. Particularly stand out layden up to several kilometers wide thermoabrasive dynamically developing coasts and low, but vast sea terraces.

cryogenic the relief is widespread in the north, from the tundra to the northern taiga subzone, inclusive. Polygonal soils, hydrolaccoliths, and heaving mounds are especially widely developed. The most significant role is played fluvial processes and forms: valley-watershed relief; in the southern regions of Western Siberia, ravines are developed in a cloak of loess-like loams and other rocks. There are large ravines, for example, in the city limits and in the vicinity of the city of Novosibirsk. In the steppe zone is manifested arid relief formation(steppe suffusion subsidence and deflationary saucers, less often primitive accumulative sand forms).

Because relics and modern forms relief are superimposed on each other, it is necessary to identify a number of “total” geomorphological zones.

Climate The West Siberian Plain is continental (with a continentality index of 51 - 70%). It occupies a natural place in the series of increasing the degree of continentality in the east direction: transitional from oceanic to continental (Fennoscandia) - temperate continental (Russian Plain) - continental (Western Siberia). The most important reason for this regularity is the weakening of the climate-forming role of the Atlantic in the channel of the western transport of air masses and the gradually increasing processes of their transformation. The essence of these processes is as follows: an increase in the severity of winters at practically the same summer temperatures and the resulting increase in the amplitudes of air temperature fluctuations; a decrease in the amount of precipitation and a clearer expression of the continental regime of precipitation (summer maximum and winter minimum).

As in the Urals (and for the same reasons, see the corresponding section of the manual), cyclonic weather prevails throughout the year in the northern part of the plain, and anticyclonic weather prevails in the southern part. In addition, the vast size of the territory determines the zonality of other climatic characteristics. The indicators of heat supply vary greatly, especially in the warm part of the year. As in the Russian Plain (see the corresponding section), there is a thickening of summer isotherms in the northern part (from 3 degrees on the Arctic coast to 16 degrees under the 64th parallel) and their rarefaction (up to 20 degrees under the 53rd parallel) in the southern part of the West Siberian Plain. The same can be said about the distribution of precipitation (350 mm on the coast of the Kara Sea - 500–650 mm in the middle zone - 300–250 mm in the south) and moisture (from a sharp excess - dryness indices of 0.3 - in the tundra to an optimum - close to 1 in the forest-steppes - and weak deficiency - up to 2 - in the steppe zone). In accordance with the above regularities, the degree of continentality of the climate of the plain increases in a southerly direction.

The large extent of the plain from west to east also influences. The decrease in average January temperatures in this direction in the northern part of the West Siberian Plain (from -20 to -30 degrees) has already been mentioned. In the middle zone of the region, a decrease in the amount of precipitation in the western part due to the impact of the barrier role of the Urals and an increase in the eastern part, in front of the barrier of the Central Siberian Plateau, is very indicative. In the same direction, the degree of continentality and severity of the climate increases.

In Western Siberia, typical Siberian features of the climate are manifested. These include, first of all, the general severity of winters, or at least their individual time periods: average January temperatures are in the range of -18 ... -30 degrees; on the Russian Plain, only the extreme northeast approaches such temperatures. A feature of Siberian weather is the wide distribution of temperature inversions, despite the flatness of the region's relief. This is facilitated in part by the specificity of the air masses overcoming the Ural barrier (see the relevant section), and in part by the abundance of flat orographic basins. Characteristic for the climate of Western Siberia is the instability of the weather of the transitional seasons of the year and the high probability of frosts at this time.

It should be noted the sharp differences between the weather of the European part and Siberia. With increased cyclonic activity to the west of the Urals in Siberia, the probability of anticyclone dominance is high; in summer there is a predominance of cool rainy weather in the Russian Plain and hot dry weather in Siberia; mild snowy winters of the Russian Plain correspond to frosty winters with little snow in Siberia. The inverse relationship of weather takes place with a diametrically opposite change in the features of the baric field of the Russian Plain and Siberia.

Inland waters. rivers, related mainly to the Kara Sea basin (basins of the Ob, Pura, Taz, Nadym, Messoyakha and a number of small rivers), are predominantly snow-fed and belong to the West Siberian type of intra-annual runoff. It is characterized by a flood extended in time (over 2 months), but the excess of water discharge during the flood period over the annual average is small (4-5 times). The reason for this is the natural regulation of runoff: excess water during the flood is absorbed by very capacious floodplains and swamps. Accordingly, the summer low water is relatively weakly expressed, since the summer runoff is replenished at the expense of water “saved” during the flood. But the winter low water is characterized by very low flow rates, since there is only one very weakened source of power - groundwater. During this period, the content of oxygen catastrophically decreases in the rivers: it is spent on the processes of oxidation of organic substances contained in the water, and it does not penetrate well under the ice layer. Fish accumulate in pools, form dense mass accumulations, and are in a sleepy state.

The groundwater form a single system - the West Siberian hydrogeological basin (see its description in the general review). Their characteristics are subject to zonal distribution. In the polar and subpolar parts of the plain, groundwater lies almost on the surface, it is cold and practically does not contain mineral (gyrocarbonates, silica) impurities. In this zone, the formation of groundwater is strongly influenced by permafrost; in the northern half of Yamal and Gydan, they are continuous, and to the south - insular. In the middle lane, as you move south, the depths of occurrence, temperature, and the degree of mineralization of the waters consistently increase. Calcium compounds appear in the composition of the solutions, then sulfates (gypsum, mirabilite), Na and K chlorides. Finally, in the extreme south of the plains, sulfates and chlorides play a leading role, so the water acquires a bitter and salty taste.

swamps in the conditions of a flat low-lying relief, which greatly complicates the drainage of soils and soils, they become one of the leading components of landscapes. The swamp areas and the degree of swampiness are very large (50 - 80%). Many researchers consider swamps to be aggressive natural habitats, capable not only of self-preservation, but also of constant expansion at the expense of forest landscapes. This becomes possible due to a directed increase in the degree of hydromorphism of forest PTCs due to the accumulation of water (excess moisture, poor drainage) and organic matter (peat). This process is irreversible, at least in the modern era.

Zoning is observed in the distribution of swamps. Tundra swamps develop on permafrost and polygonal soils, they are frozen and contain mainly mineral substances. Within the forest-tundra and forest zone, upland oligotrophic bogs with a convex surface and a predominance of sphagnum and sedge prevail in the vegetation. In the subtaiga zone, on raised and mesotrophic transitional bogs, often hummocky, with a flat surface, green mosses and marsh grasses are mixed with sphagnum and sedges. In the more southern areas, the predominance passes to low-lying hummocky eutrophic bogs with a concave surface and rich vegetation.

Lakes. Myriads of small thermokarst lakes (Yambuto, Neito, Yaroto, etc.) are scattered in the northern third of the West Siberian Plain. Medium-sized lakes of various genesis are very numerous in the middle zone (Piltanlor, Samotlor, Kantlor, etc.). Finally, the largest and relatively small relict often saline lakes are located in the south, within the Baraba, Kulunda, Ishim and other plains (Chany, Ubinskoe, Seletteniz, Kyzylkak, etc.). They are complemented by small saucer-shaped lakes of suffusion-subsidence genesis.

The structure of latitudinal zonality. The flatness of the surface of Western Siberia determines the ideal manifestation of the latitudinal zonality of the distribution of most of the components of nature. However, the dominance of hydromorphic intrazonal landscapes (swamps, floodplains, riverine spaces), on the contrary, makes it difficult to identify zones.

zonal spectrum, due to the large length of the plain along the meridian, it is extensive: three tundra subzones, two forest-tundra subzones, northern, middle and southern taiga, subtaiga, two forest-steppe subzones, two steppe subzones. This speaks in favor of recognition structure complexity zoning.

Outlines (“geometry”) of zones. In Western Siberia, the forest zone is narrowed. Its northern border is shifted to the south, especially in comparison with Central Siberia. Usually they talk about two reasons for this shift - geological and geomorphological (poor drainage of the surface, which does not create conditions for the development of the root system of trees) and climatic (insufficient heat supply and sharply excessive moisture in summer). The southern borders of the taiga and subtaiga, on the contrary, are shifted to the north under the influence of insufficient moisture for woody vegetation. The forest-steppe and steppe zones are also shifted to the north for the same reason.

Qualitative specifics of the West Siberian provinces of the zones. Tundra. To the north of the 72nd parallel there is a subzone of arctic tundra with scarce soil and vegetation cover confined to frost cracks (mosses, lichens, cotton grass, partridge grass on arctic tundra gleyed soils). Between the 72nd and 70th parallels, there is a subzone of moss-lichen tundra with an admixture of wild rosemary, cranberries, blueberries and other shrubs, as well as cotton grass. The shrub tundra subzone is dominated by shrub birch, willow, and alder on tundra-gley soils. In general, the zone is called permafrost-tundra; swamps and thermokarst lakes play a significant role. Tundra fauna with ungulate and Ob lemmings is characteristic.

forest tundra stretches in a narrow (50 - 150 km) intermittent strip in the west of the plain to the south, in the east north of the Arctic Circle. Against the background of the southern tundra, there are sparse and woodlands of Siberian larch and spruce on gley-podzolic soils.

Taiga (forested area). The dark coniferous taiga of spruce Picea obovata, fir Abies sibirica, cedar Pinus sibirica predominates; there is an admixture of Siberian larch Larix sibirica, and pine forests form extensive areas, especially in the western part of the plain. The degree of swampiness reaches a maximum. The soils are podzolic, often swampy and gleyed.

AT northern subzone(up to 63 - 61 degrees north latitude in the south), the forests are oppressed and sparse. Mosses and sphagnum grow under their canopy, shrubs play a lesser role. Continuous permafrost is almost ubiquitous. Significant areas are occupied by swamps and meadows. Dark coniferous and light coniferous taiga play almost the same role. Middle taiga subzone reaches in the south to 58 - 59 degrees north latitude. It is clearly dominated by dark coniferous taiga. Forests of good quality, with a developed shrub layer. Permafrost is insular. The swamps reach their maximum distribution. Southern subzone has a more elevated and dissected relief. There is no permafrost. The southern border of the taiga approximately coincides with the 56th parallel. Spruce-fir forests dominate with a significant admixture of small-leaved species, pine and cedar. Birch forms large massifs - belniki or white taiga. In it, the trees let in more light, which favors the development of the grassy layer. Soddy-podzolic soils predominate. Waterlogging is great, especially in Vasyugan. The southern taiga subzone enters the Kemerovo region in two sections.

Subtaiga zone of small-leaved West Siberian forests stretches in a narrow strip from the Middle Urals to the Kemerovo region, within which it occupies the interfluve of the Yaya and Kiya rivers. Birch forests stand out more often (warty birch, downy birch, Krylova and others), less often aspen-birch forests on gray forest and soddy-podzolic soils.

forest-steppe forms a relatively narrow strip stretching from the Southern and Middle Urals in the west to the foothills of the Altai, Salair and the Chulym River in the east; the eastern section of the zone is called the Mariinsky forest-steppe and is located within the Kemerovo region. Forest tracts (splits) of warty birch or birch and aspen grow on gray forest, often solodized or podzolized soils. They alternate with meadow steppes or steppe meadows of mesophilic grasses (meadow grass meadow, reed grass, steppe timothy grass), rich herbs and legumes (titan, clover, mouse peas) on leached and podzolized chernozems. The northern and southern subzones are distinguished with a forest cover of 20–25% and 4–5%, respectively (theoretically, more or less than 50%). The average plowing of the zone is 40%, pastures and hayfields occupy 30% of the total area.

Steppe the southern outskirts of the West Siberian Plain reaches the foothills of Altai in the east; to the east, in the pre-Salair part of the Kemerovo region, there is a small isolated “island” of the zone, called the “steppe core” of the Kuznetsk basin. Strictly speaking, it belongs to the Altai-Sayan mountainous country, but differs little from the West Siberian steppes. In the northern subzone, forb-cereal steppes grow on ordinary chernozems. The southern subzone of feather grass-fescue (cereal) steppes develops on southern low-humus chernozems and dark chestnut soils. Halophytes grow (or even dominate) on solodized soils and solonetzes. Plots of natural virgin steppes are practically absent.

Physical-geographical zoning. The ideally expressed flatness of the territory makes Western Siberia a standard for the physical and geographical zoning of the plains. In all variants of the zoning scheme of the USSR and Russia, this physical-geographical country stands out equally, which indicates the objectivity of its selection. Morphostructural (the predominance of an accumulative plain), geostructural (a single geostructure of a young plate), macroclimatic (dominance of a continental climate) criteria for the isolation of a physical and geographical country are understood by all authors of zoning schemes in the same way. The specificity of the structure of the latitudinal zonality of the West Siberian Plain is unique, individual and sharply contrasts with the dominance of the altitudinal zonality of the neighboring mountainous countries (the Urals, the Kazakh hills, Altai, Kuznetsk Alatau) and the combination of altitudinal and zonal patterns of Central Siberia.

Units second rank - physical and geographical areas- allocated according to the zonal criterion. Each of the regions is a segment of the complex zone within Western Siberia. The allocation of such zones can be carried out with varying degrees of generalization, which leads to inconsistency in their number. This manual recommends the identification of three zones and their respective areas, listed in the following text.

A. The area of ​​marine and moraine plains of the tundra and forest-tundra zones.

B. Region of moraine and outwash plains of the forest zone.

B. The area of ​​accumulative and denudation plains of the forest-steppe and steppe zones.

In all areas, using the genetic criterion, physical geographical provinces- units third rank. The essence of the criterion is disclosed in the relevant sections of the general review and in the coverage of the problem of zoning the Russian Plain (see Book 1 of this manual).

WESTERN SIBERIAN PLAIN (West Siberian Lowland), one of largest plains the globe. It is located in the northern part of Asia, in Russia and Kazakhstan. The area is over 3 million km2, including 2.6 million km2 in Russia. The length from west to east is from 900 km (in the north) to 2000 (in the south), from north to south up to 2500 km. In the north it is washed by the Arctic Ocean; in the west it borders on the Urals, in the south - on the Turgai plateau and the Kazakh hills, in the southeast - on the mountains of Southern Siberia, in the east - along the valley of the Yenisei River with the Central Siberian plateau.

Relief. It is a low accumulative plain with a rather uniform relief, various forms permafrost (common up to 59 ° north latitude), increased swampiness and developed in the south in loose rocks and soils by ancient and modern salt accumulation. Heights of about 150 m predominate. In the north, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdistribution of marine accumulative and moraine plains, the general flatness of the territory is disturbed by moraine gently sloping and hilly-sloping (North-Sosvinskaya, Lyulimvor, Verkhne-, Srednetazovskaya, etc.) elevations 200-300 m high, the southern border of which runs about 61-62 ° north latitude; they are horseshoe-shaped covered from the south by flat-topped elevations Belogorsky Continent, Siberian Uvaly, etc. In the northern part, permafrost exogenous processes(thermal erosion, heaving of soils, solifluction), on sandy surfaces - deflation, on swamps - peat accumulation. There are numerous ravines on the plains of the Yamal and Gydansky peninsulas and on the moraine uplands. To the south, the area of ​​moraine relief is adjoined by flat lacustrine-alluvial lowlands, the lowest (height 40-80 m) and swampy of which are Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya. The area not covered by the Quaternary glaciation (south of the line Ivdel - Ishim - Novosibirsk - Tomsk - Krasnoyarsk) is a weakly dissected denudation plain, rising (up to 250 m) to the Urals. In the interfluve of the Tobol and the Irtysh, there is an inclined, in places with ridges, lacustrine-alluvial Ishim plain (120-220 m) with a thin cover of loess-like loams and loess occurring on salt-bearing clays. It is adjacent to the alluvial Baraba lowland and Kulunda plain, where the processes of deflation and modern salt accumulation are developing. In the foothills of Altai there are the ridge-ridged Priobskoe plateau (height up to 317 m - the highest point of the West Siberian Plain) and the Chulym Plain. O geological structure and minerals, see the article The West Siberian Platform, with which the West Siberian Plain is geostructurally connected.

Climate. Continental climate prevails. Winter in the polar latitudes is severe and lasts up to 8 months (the polar night lasts almost 3 months), the average January temperatures are from -23 to -30 ° С; in the central part, winter lasts up to 7 months, average January temperatures are from -20 to -22 °С; in the south, where the influence of the Asian anticyclone intensifies, winters are shorter at the same temperatures (up to 5-6 months). Minimum temperature air -56 °С. In summer, the western transfer of Atlantic air masses predominates with intrusions of cold air from the Arctic in the north, and dry warm air masses from Kazakhstan and Central Asia in the south. In the north, summer is short, cool and humid with a polar day, in the central part it is moderately warm and humid, in the south it is arid and dry, with dry winds and dust storms. average temperature July increases from 5 °C to Far North up to 21-22 °С in the south. The duration of the growing season in the south is 175-180 days. Atmospheric precipitation falls mainly in summer. The wettest (400-550 mm per year) are the Kondinskaya and Sredneobskaya lowlands. To the north and south, the annual precipitation gradually decreases to 250 mm.

surface waters. There are more than 2,000 rivers in the West Siberian Plain belonging to the basin of the Arctic Ocean. Their total flow is about 1200 km 3 of water per year; up to 80% of the annual runoff occurs in spring and summer. The largest rivers are the Ob, Yenisei, Irtysh, Taz and their tributaries. The feeding of the rivers is mixed (snow and rain), the spring flood is extended, the low water is long summer-autumn and winter. The ice cover on the rivers lasts up to 8 months in the north, up to 5 months in the south. The total area of ​​lakes is more than 100 thousand km2. The largest lakes are located in the south - Chany, Ubinskoye, Kulundinskoye. In the north - lakes of thermokarst and moraine-glacial origin. There are many small lakes in the suffusion depressions (less than 1 km 2): on the Tobol-Irtysh interfluve - more than 1500, on the Baraba lowland - 2500, including fresh, salty and bitter-salty ones; there are self-sustaining lakes.

Landscape types. The uniformity of the relief of the vast West Siberian Plain determines the clearly pronounced latitudinal zonality of landscapes, although compared with the East European Plain natural areas here are shifted to the north. On the Yamal, Tazovsky and Gydansky peninsulas, in conditions of continuous permafrost, landscapes of arctic and subarctic tundra with moss, lichen and shrubs (dwarf birch, willow, alder) cover on gleyzems, peat-gleyzems, peat-podburs and soddy soils were formed. Polygonal mineral grass-hypnum bogs are widespread. The share of primary landscapes is extremely insignificant. To the south, tundra landscapes and swamps (mostly flat-hilly) are combined with larch and spruce-larch woodlands on podzolic-gley and peat-podzolic-gley soils, forming a narrow forest-tundra zone, transitional to the forest (forest-bog) zone of the temperate zone, represented by subzones of the northern, middle and southern taiga. Swampiness is common to all subzones: over 50% of the area of ​​the northern taiga, about 70% - middle, about 50% - southern. The northern taiga is characterized by flat and large-hummocky raised bogs, the middle taiga is characterized by ridge-hollow and ridge-lake bogs, the southern taiga is characterized by ridge-hollow, pine-shrub-sphagnum, transitional sedge-sphagnum and low-lying tree-sedge bogs. The largest marsh massif is the Vasyugan Plain. The forest complexes of different subzones, formed on slopes with different degrees of drainage, are peculiar. Northern taiga forest complexes on permafrost are represented by sparse and low-growing pine, pine-spruce and spruce-fir forests on gley-podzolic and podzolic-gley soils. The indigenous landscapes of the northern taiga occupy 11% of the area of ​​the West Siberian Plain. Common to the forest landscapes of the middle and southern taiga is the wide distribution of lichen and shrub-phagnum pine forests on sandy and sandy loamy illuvial-ferruginous and illuvial-humus podzols. On loams in the middle taiga, spruce-cedar forests with larch and birch forests are developed on podzolic, podzolic-gley, peat-podzolic-gley and gley peat-podzols. In the subzone of the southern taiga, on loams, there are spruce-fir small-grass forests and birch forests with aspen on sod-podzolic and sod-podzolic-gley (including those with a second humus horizon) and peat-podzolic-gley soils. Primary landscapes in the middle taiga occupy 6% of the area of ​​the West Siberian Plain, in the southern - 4%. The subtaiga zone is represented by park pine, birch and birch-aspen forests on gray, gray gley and soddy-podzolic soils (including those with a second humus horizon) in combination with steppe meadows on cryptogley chernozems, solonetsous in places. Indigenous forest and meadow landscapes are practically not preserved. Boggy forests turn into lowland sedge-hypnum (with ryams) and sedge-reed bogs (about 40% of the zone). For the forest-steppe landscapes of sloping plains with loess-like and loess covers on salt-bearing tertiary clays, birch and aspen-birch groves on gray soils and malts are typical in combination with forb-grass steppe meadows on leached and cryptogley chernozems, to the south - with meadow steppes on ordinary chernozems, in places solonetzic and saline. On the sands - pine forests. Up to 20% of the zone is occupied by eutrophic reed-sedge bogs. In the steppe zone, the primary landscapes have not been preserved; in the past, these were forb-feather grass steppe meadows on ordinary and southern chernozems, saline in places, and in the drier southern regions - fescue-feather grass steppes on chestnut and cryptogley soils, gley solonetzes and solonchaks.

Environmental problems and protected natural areas. In areas of oil production due to pipeline breaks, water and soil are polluted with oil and oil products. In forestry areas - overcutting, swamping, the spread of silkworms, fires. In agrolandscapes, there is an acute problem of lack of fresh water, secondary salinization of soils, destruction of soil structure and loss of soil fertility during plowing, drought and dust storms. In the north - degradation of reindeer pastures, in particular due to overgrazing, which leads to a sharp reduction in their biodiversity. Equally important is the problem of preserving hunting grounds and places. natural habitat fauna.

Numerous reserves, national and natural parks have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. Among the largest reserves are: in the tundra - the Gydansky reserve, in the northern taiga - the Verkhnetazovsky reserve, in the middle taiga - the Yugansky reserve, etc. A national park - Priishimsky Bory - has been created in the sub-taiga. Natural parks are also organized: in the tundra - Deer streams, in the northern taiga - Numto, Siberian Uvaly, in the middle taiga - Kondinsky lakes, in the forest-steppe - Bird's harbor.

Lit.: Trofimov V. T. Patterns of spatial variability of engineering-geological conditions of the West Siberian plate. M., 1977; Gvozdetsky N. A., Mikhailov N. I. Physiography USSR: Asian part. 4th ed. M., 1987; ground cover and land resources of the Russian Federation. M., 2001.

The Russian Federation has one of the largest plains on the surface of the globe. In the north, it is bordered by the Kara Sea. In the south, it rubs off to the space of the Kazakh small sandpiper. The eastern part is the Central Siberian Plateau. The frontier in the west is ancient. The total area of ​​this flat space is almost 3 million kilometers.

In contact with

relief features

The territory where the West Siberian Plain is located was formed long ago and successfully survived all tectonic upheavals.

It is severely limited by officially recognized coordinates of extreme points:

• on the mainland space extreme eastern point becomes Cape Dezhnev, 169°42′ W. d.;
• in the north, Cape Chelyuskin (Russia) becomes such a point, 77 ° 43′ N. sh.;
• coordinates 60° 00′ s. sh. 100° 00′ E d.

uplands

The height above sea level of the space under consideration is characterized by minimal differences.

It has the shape of a shallow dish. Elevation differences vary from 50 (minimum) to more than 100 meters in low areas, prevailing heights up to 200-250 meters located on the southern, western and eastern outskirts. On the northern outskirts, the elevation of the landscape is about 100-150 meters.

This is due to the location of the plain on the space of the epi-Hercynian plate, the basis of which is the foundation created by the imposition of Paleozoic deposits. This plate began to form in the Upper Jurassic, the so-called Upper Jurassic.

During the formation of the surface layer of the planet, the flat terrain, having sank, turned into a lowland and became a sedimentation basin. The site is located on the site located between the Urals and the Siberian platform.

Averages

This space belongs to the number of large low-lying areas on the planet, to the type of accumulative plains, has an average height of 200 meters. Low-lying areas are located in the central part of the area, in the northern areas, on the borders of the Kara Sea. Almost half space is located at an altitude of less than 100 meters above sea level. This ancient part of the earth's space also has its own "heights", smoothed over billions of years since its creation. For example, the North Sosvinskaya Upland (290 meters). The Upper Taz Upland rises to 285 meters.

low-lying places

The surface has a concave shape with minimal heights in the central part. Average minimum height is 100 meters. The reading is carried out according to tradition from sea level.

Fully justifies the name "plain". Elevation differences in a colossal space are minimal.

This feature also forms the continental climate. Frosts in some areas can drop to -50 degrees Celsius. Such indicators are noted, for example, in Barnaul.

By absolute indicators this area also does not differ in large numbers. The absolute height here is only 290 meters. The parameters were fixed on the North Sosvenskaya Upland. In most of the plain, the figure is 100-150 meters.

This geographical feature occupies 1/7 of the Russian Federation. The plain stretches from the Kara Sea in the north to the Kazakh steppes in the south. In the west, it is limited by the Ural Mountains. The size is almost 3 million kilometers.

Characteristic

The general characteristic is based on the process of formation of the plain during the most ancient stages of the development of the planet and the long-term leveling of the surface during the passage of glacial masses. This explains the uniformity of the smoothed relief. Due to this, the space is strictly zoned. The north is distinguished by tundra, and south - steppe landscapes. The soil is minimally drained. Most of it is occupied by swampy forests and swamps directly. Such hydromorphic complexes occupy a large area, about 128 million hectares. The south of the plain is characterized large quantity spaces like different kinds solods, solonetzes and large solonchaks.

Note! The climate of the plain, due to its large area, ranges from temperate continental in the Russian Plain to sharply continental. This indicator is different in Central Siberia.

For a long time people lived on the West Siberian Plain. Novgorodians came here already in the 11th century. Then they reached the lower reaches of the Ob. Opening period for Russian state associated with the legendary Yermak's campaigns from 1581 to 1584. It was at this time that many discoveries of lands were made in Siberia. The study of nature was carried out and described in the 18th century during the Great Northern and academic expeditions. Development in these places continued in the following decades. It was related:

• with the resettlement of the peasantry from Central Russia in the 19th century;
• planning the construction of the Siberian railway

Detailed soil and geographical maps of this land were compiled. The active development of the territories continued in the years after the change state power in 1917 and beyond.

As a result, today it has become inhabited and mastered by man. Here are located such large regions of Russia as Pavlodar, Kustanai, Kokchetav regions, Altai region, western regions Krasnoyarsk Territory, eastern territories Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions.

About 150 years ago, the role of Siberia finally took shape as a kind of bridge between the European part of Russia and its eastern part. In our time, the role of this territory as an economic bridge, especially with the construction of the Baikal-Amur Mainline, has finally taken shape, using all types of transport for development.

Note! The active development of the territories is largely associated with large volumes of deposits: natural gas, oil, brown coal, iron ore and many others.

Contributed to the successful development of the territory big number large, which are mostly navigable, especially such giants as Ob, Irtysh, Yenisei. Nowadays, rivers are convenient transportation routes, they are used to generate energy, which makes it possible to provide high level quality of life of the population of the regions.

Age indicator

The basis of a smooth and even flat surface to the east of the Ural Mountains is a plate formed during the Paleozoic period. According to the parameters of the formation of the planet's surface, this plate is quite young. Over millions of years of formation, the surface of the plate was covered with Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits.

According to their characteristics, they belong to the type of sea and sand- clay deposits. The layer thickness is up to 1000 meters. In the southern part, deposits in the form of loess reach a thickness of 200 meters and were formed due to the presence of areas of formation of lake deposits in these areas.