Which tectonic structure is confined to the Russian Plain? Tectonics and relief of the Russian Plain

The vast forest zone from the Pechora and Karelian taiga stretching to the oak groves of the middle belt, which includes steppe grain granaries and pastures of the tundra, is the whole territory - nothing more than the Russian plain. The map of our country is confirmed by the fact that a large number of cities and towns are located on these lands, and consequently they are most densely populated.

The Russian, or Eastern European plain has seen more than a thousand-year history of Russia. It served as a field for liberation battles, through it went the Tatar-Mongols, the troops of Napoleon and Hitler. It was on this plain that grandiose revolutionary events unfolded. Here the main construction of socialist society was going on. And till now this territory is an important economic part of Russia.

Geography

The East European Plain is located on a vast territory. By its area, it is second only to the Amazon. Its lands start from the coast of the Baltic and stretch to the mountain ranges of the Urals, from the White and the Barents Sea to the Caspian and the Azov.

The geographical position of the Russian Plain is such that it has access to two oceans.

In the north-western part this territory is limited to the Scandinavian mountains. In the south-west and west it reaches the ridges of Central Europe and the Carpathians. What other mountains are on the border of the territory occupied by the Russian Plain? The map indicates the Caucasus Ranges located in the southeast, the Ural Mountains and the Mogodzhary Mountains in the east. In addition, the territory of the Russian plain ends at the northern foot of the Crimean mountains in the Crimean peninsula. The whole area is four million square meters. It is more than two and a half thousand kilometers from the south to the north and one thousand from the east to the west.

The geographical position of the Russian Plain is such that its considerable territories are within the Russian Federation. In addition, there are such countries as Latvia and Belarus, Estonia and Lithuania, Ukraine and Moldova, Poland and Finland, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as Kazakhstan.

Relief

On the territory of the East European Plain are elevations, the maximum height of which is from 200 to 300 meters above sea level. There are also lowlands with large rivers flowing on them. The greatest height of the plain is observed in the Urals, as well as in the Bugulminsko-Veremeyevskaya Upland. Here it reaches a mark of 479 m. The average level of elevation throughout the plain is 170 m.

Description and classification of external features of the relief deals with orography. This is one of the sections that includes geography. The Russian plain, according to the features described by orography, is divided into three bands - the central, northern and southern ones. In the first of them on the Russian Plain you can see such elevations: Privolzhsky, Central Russian, Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya, as well as Shared Syrt. They are separated from each other by the Low Volga region and the Oka-Don lowland.

Middle band

The relief of the Russian plain in the northern belt is mostly low. Only here and there, in this territory alone, or small garlands, small elevations are scattered. In the direction from west to east and north-east, Smolensk-Moscow, as well as the Valdai heights and the zone of the Northern Uvaly, replace each other here. In their territories, there are watersheds between the Arctic, North, Atlantic, as well as inland inland Aral-Caspian basins. It is noteworthy that from the Northern Uval Mountains to the Barents and White Seas, there is a slight decrease in the territory of the plain.

In the third, southern strip there are numerous lowlands. Among them are the Black Sea, Caspian and other. They are divided by low elevations (Stavropol, Ergeni, etc.).

Classification of tectonic structures

In the earth's crust are large areas, the boundaries of which are deep faults. These are the tectonic structures. They are studied by a separate geological science. Its name is tectonics. This discipline identifies two of the largest structures that are located in the earth's crust. This platform, as well as mobile belts. The first of these are stable areas with a flat surface. The platforms lie in the places of the already destroyed folded structures. In this case they have a two-layer structure. So, in the lower part of the platform there is a crystalline foundation, which is made up of ancient hard rocks. Above this layer is a sedimentary cover. Participation in its formation was accepted by later deposits. Tectonics distinguishes on the platform plates and shields. The first of them represent those zones where the foundation lies entirely at depth, covered by a sedimentary cover. The shields are parts of a crystalline basement raised above the ground. There is also a sedimentary cover. However, it is not continuous and low-power.

As for the mobile belt, it represents an elongated section in the earth's crust, in the zone of which educational processes are continuing up to the present time.

Based on this classification, which tectonic structure is confined to the Russian Plain? Of course, to the first group, that is, to the platforms.

History of occurrence

The basis of the Russian Plain is the ancient platform. That is why the relief of this region consists mainly of lowlands. Many natural factors have influenced the formation of such a vast territory. It's the wind, the water and the glacier.

The foundation of the East European platform is at various depths. Only between Karelia and the Kola Peninsula, it comes to the surface of the earth. In this zone there is the so-called Baltic Shield. He is connected with the origin of Khibin, located on the Kola Peninsula. On the rest of the territory, the foundation covers the sedimentary cover, which has different power.
All the elevations that are on the East European Plain are formed either by the deflections of the platform, either under the influence of the glacier, or when raising the foundation.

The influence of tectonic plates on the landscape

The Russian plain has a typical platform relief. At the same time, all its lowlands and hills are of tectonic origin. What are the features of this platform? Which tectonic structure is confined to the Russian Plain?

On the entire territory under consideration, a flat relief predominates. And it's all thanks to the tectonic structure that the platform of the plain has. All unevenness of the foundation led to the formation of the largest lowlands and some highlands. For example, the Voronezh uplift of the foundation caused the emergence of the Central Russian Upland. The lowering of the platform led to the appearance of the Pechersky and Caspian lowlands.

The tectonic structure of the Russian Plain in most of the territory is represented by a plate with a Precambrian crystalline base. The southern zones are located on the northern edge of the Scythian plate, lying on the Paleozoic folded foundation. This structure and gives a more accurate answer to the question of which tectonic structure is confined to the Russian Plain. And the boundary between these two slabs on the terrain is not reflected in any way.

The structure of the tectonic sequence

Despite the fact that the general character of the territory under consideration is flat, there are both lowlands and highlands in its relief. An explanation for this can be found in the tectonic features of the Russian Plain. The fact is that its structure has a heterogeneous character and unequal manifestations of modern educational movements. In more detailed consideration, it turns out that the platform underlying the Russian Plain consists of smaller elements. They are:
- shields;
- Anteclases, which are zones of shallow bedding of the foundation;
- syneclises, which are those regions, the gley pre-Cambrian foundation is at great depth.

Anteclise

The largest of these elements are located in the central part of the Russian plate. This is the Volga-Urals and Voronezh anteclises. In the first of them there are major uplifts (vaults) and hollows. At the same time, the thickness of the sedimentary cover is about 800 meters.

The territory of the Voronezh anteclise smoothly descends in the direction to the north. On the surface of its basement are thin in thickness deposits of the Carboniferous, Devonian and Ordovician. On a steeper southern slope there are rocks of Paleogene and Cretaceous. Is located here and carbon.

Syneclise

The oldest and most complex element in its composition is the Moscow Zone. Here the crystalline basement lies in the earth's crust at great depth. At the heart of the Moscow syneclise are avlakogeny, the filling of which are the powerful strata of the Riphean. Above these layers is a sedimentary cover, represented by various rocks from the Cambrian to the Cretaceous.

In the Neogene-Quaternary period, the Moscow syneclise underwent uneven elevation. This affected the terrain, where there were such highlands as the Valdai and Smolensk-Moscow, as well as lowlands - the North Dvinskaya and Verkhnevolzhskaya.

On the East European Plain is located one more large syneclise - Pechora. It occupies a wedge-like territory in the northeastern part of the Russian plate. Its block uneven foundation is located at different depths, reaching in the eastern area from 5000 to 6000 meters. The filling of this syneclise is provided by thick strata of Paleozoic rocks, which are overlapped by Mesozoic-Cenozoic deposits.

Minerals

So, we decided on the tectonic structure of the Russian Plain, what is its geological history. Due to the long period of its formation, this ancient platform represents a powerful geostructure. In it there are inexhaustible stocks of minerals. Thus, iron ore deposits are found in the basement of the platform. They are in the zone of the Kursk magnetic anomaly. In the sedimentary cover of the platform, deposits of coal were found. They are being developed in the eastern part of Donbass and in the Moscow Region basin. The Mesozoic and Paleozoic deposits contain gas and oil reserves. This is the Ural-Volga basin. Not far from Syzran, oil shale was discovered . In the depths of the Russian Plain there are many various building materials - limestone and gravel, clay, etc. Brown sediments, bauxites, salts and phosphorites are found in the sedimentary cover.

Variety of natural areas

As we already know, the Russian Plain is located on a vast territory. That is why it is characterized by a pronounced variety of climate. The natural areas of the Russian Plain are represented in all their diversity. In the Far North there are tundra with its low-power and poor vegetation, growing on humus-peaty soils. Summer in these parts is cold, with high air humidity, increasing due to the proximity of the Arctic Ocean.

A little south of this area is the zone of forest-tundra. Next is the middle belt of the Russian Plain. It is covered with forests. In its northern part, dark coniferous taiga predominates, growing on boggy podzolic soils. In the direction to the south appear mixed massifs, followed by broad-leaved forests of oak, maple and linden.

The natural areas of the Russian Plain in the southern part are represented by forest-steppes and steppes. These are areas with fertile, as a rule, chernozem soils, which have grassy vegetation.

Scanty lands

The extreme southeast of the East European Plain is located in the Caspian lowland. Under the influence of dry climate, a semi-desert zone formed on chestnut soils. In some places, there are also deserts. These are zones of serozems, solonetzes and solonchaks.

Conclusion

How more fully and in detail can the Russian Plain be studied? The table, in which various indicators (tectonic structure, natural zones, climate, etc.) are introduced, should be carefully considered. This is a wonderful visual aid, which can provide invaluable assistance in understanding and studying the necessary material.