The European South includes one economic region - the North Caucasus.

Economic and geographical position of the region

Natural resource potential

a) Naturally, the North Caucasus region is divided into two parts: flat and mountainous. - these are young mountains where the mountain-building process has not yet been completed, so the introduction of magma produces deposits of non-ferrous metal ores, especially tungsten-molybdenum (Kabardino-Balkaria) and lead-zinc ( North Caucasus). On the flat part of the region, coal is located in sedimentary covers.

IN agro-industrial complex , which accounts for about 50% of the region’s production, all 3 links are developed. 80% of the country's grain harvesters (Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog), machines for cultivating grapes, tobacco and equipment for . Agriculture in the western part specializes in the cultivation of wheat (Krasnodar and Stavropol territories), sunflowers, tobacco, rice, sugar beets and grapes (Lower Don). Among the industries developed here are meat and dairy cattle breeding, pig farming (using waste from sugar production and grain production) and poultry farming. To the east, due to great dryness, sugar beets are not grown, less corn is grown, pig farming is replaced by sheep farming (plains of Dagestan). On the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus there is a subtropical farm where tea, tobacco, and citrus fruits are grown. The food industry is engaged in the processing of agricultural products. Industries Food Industry The North Caucasus economic region includes a dairy, sugar, fruit and vegetable canning, winemaking and many others.

For The region is characterized by the development of metal-intensive industries: production of electric locomotives (Novocherkassk), power engineering (Volgodonsk, Atommash plant). Favorable conditions for the development of these industries are determined by the proximity of the metallurgical base and convenient transport connections.

Fuel and energy complex is provided with its own raw materials: coal is mined in the Eastern Donbass (Rostov region), oil and gas are mined in the foothills of the Caucasus region. The rivers of the region have significant hydro resources.

The resort economy of the Black Sea coast (Sochi, Anapa, Tuapse) and the Stavropol Territory (Kislovodsk, Pyatigorsk, Mineralnye Vody) is acquiring national importance.

In the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, artistic crafts have long existed.

The European South is an economic region whose territory coincides with the territory of the South federal district administrative-territorial division of the country; 3.5% of the territory and 14.9% of the country's population. It ranks 7th and last in the country in terms of gross regional product (GRP) per capita. Natural resource potential. The southern economic region is located between three seas (Black, Azov, Caspian) and the Main Caucasus Range. According to natural conditions, the North Caucasus can be divided into three zones: steppe, foothills and mountain. The climate of the region is very diverse. With the exception of high mountain areas, summers here are very warm. There are significant differences in the distribution of atmospheric moisture and water resources. Most precipitation falls in the foothills of the Black Sea coast. The water resources of the region are the waters of the rivers in the basins of the Black, Azov and Caspian seas - the Volga, Don, Kuma, Kuban, Terek, Sulak. Although water resources are significant, they are distributed unevenly throughout the territory. The soils of the Caucasus region are highly fertile. In the depths of the mountains and plains of the European South there are many different minerals. Fuel and energy resources are represented by coal, as well as oil and natural gas, whose reserves are last years decreased sharply. The region has significant resources of non-ferrous and rare metal ores. Within the region there are unique deposits of tungsten-molybdenum ores in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia. Deposits of lead-zinc ores are concentrated in North Ossetia. Copper deposits have been explored in Karachay-Cherkessia and Dagestan. There are large deposits of mercury in the Krasnodar Territory and North Ossetia. The area is endowed with non-metallic minerals. The recreational resources of the area are unique. Mild climate, abundance of mineral springs and healing mud, warm sea ​​waters create rich opportunities for treatment and recreation. The mountainous regions of the North Caucasus with their unique landscape have all the necessary conditions for the development of mountaineering and tourism, the organization of ski resorts of international importance. Population and labor resources. The European South is the most multinational economic region in Russia. There are 30 nationalities living in Dagestan alone. The most numerous are Russians and Ukrainians. The most numerous indigenous nationalities of the region now form independent republics: Adygea, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkarian, Karachay-Cherkess, North Ossetia, Ingush and Chechen, Kalmykia. The population potential is quite large. The urban population predominates in the region - over 65%. The population of the region is distinguished by extreme diversity in the level of education, qualification resources, work culture of workers and builders, scientific, technical and humanitarian specialists. The population is unevenly distributed. In some regions of the region the unemployment rate is extremely high.

Objective of the lesson: evaluate the economics - geographical position North Caucasus, identify the features of natural conditions and natural resources of the region, and find out under the influence of what factors recreational, natural conditions and resources of the European South.

Rostov Region Krasnodar Territory Stavropol Territory Adygea Karachay-Cherkessia Kabardino-Balkaria North Ossetia Ingushetia Chechnya Dagestan Black Sea Caspian Sea Sea of ​​Azov

If an area borders on other states, then it has ………….. Position Compared to other areas, relative to the sides of the horizon, this area is …….? What natural boundaries does the area have? Transport position. Is the area rich in natural resources? Which ones?

“I’ve been to the mountains before, I’ve partially seen the Bavarian Alps, the mountains in Colorado and many other places, but I’ve never felt so helpless on Earth... The Caucasus Mountains... look like a separate world in their impregnable splendor. Battlements and towers, saddles and minarets, all of this is made of snow, and we, strangers, are now beginning to understand what Pushkin, Lermontov and Tolstoy wrote under the first impression of this mystical splendor.” Knut Hamsun

The European South is the southernmost region in Russia, which shares into mountainous and flat parts and has seaside location: in the east it is washed by the Caspian Sea, and in the west by the Black and Azov Seas. North Caucasus borders in the north with Ukraine, the Central Black Earth region and the Volga region, and in the south with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Transport network well developed on the plains, in the mountains railways are absent, they pass only along the coast: Tuapse, Sochi, Sukhumi, Makhachkala, Derbent, Baku. A road to Tbilisi, the former Georgian Military Road, was laid across the main ridge.

Natural monument in Adygea

On the southwestern outskirts of the village of Kamennomostsky there is a famous Khadzhokh Gorge, she is called " Noise" At a depth of 35-40 m in a gloomy gorge, 6-7 m wide, and in places up to 2 m, foaming and swirling with terrible force, it carries its waters Belaya River. On the steep, almost bare limestone walls of the canyon one can see depressions-niches, the result of centuries-old work of water (Fig. 2).

Rice. 2. Khadzhokh Gorge ()

The length of the gorge is 350-400 m. Throughout its entire length, the river furiously hits the wall, only to bounce off with even greater force and run into another. The water boils and foams, like in a cauldron, breaking into tiny splashes and finally breaking out of the tight stone captivity, slowing down and freely spilling up to 50-60 m along the valley.

Georgian Military Road

The road running from Vladikavkaz to Tiflis is known under this name (Fig. 3). During the construction of the Georgian Military Road we had to fight both nature and mountain tribes. Huge pieces of rock were broken off in order to make the descent more gentle. In places where the cliffs were almost vertical, an artificial wall was built and the voids were filled with rock. The fight against nature continues to this day (Fig. 4).

Rice. 3. Georgian Military Road ()

Rice. 4. Georgian Military Road ()

Glaciers descending from the top of Kazbek cause landslides: the most dangerous of the 8 glaciers of Kazbek is Devdoraki. To prevent blockages, horizontal platforms or stone galleries are built on the mountain slopes; but these measures are not possible everywhere; Such a measure is not applicable to the steep cliffs of the Baydar Gorge. Currently, the Georgian Military Road is a wide highway running along the Terek and Aragva gorges and the watershed between them. Between Vladikavkaz and Tiflis there are 11 stations, of which 4 lie on the northern slope of the mountains and 7 are behind the pass. The length of the road is 208 km. The Georgian Military Road is described in several literary works, for example, in “Hero of Our Time” by M.Yu. Lermontov or in the novel “12 Chairs” by I. Ilf and E. Petrov.

The relief of this economic region is flat in the north and mountainous in the south. Caucasus- these are young high folded mountains (Fig. 5).

Rice. 5. Caucasus Mountains ()

Mountain building is still ongoing here. The Caucasus Mountains have three parts: Skalisty, Side and Main ranges. Within the Central Caucasus there are the most high peaks Russia: the double-headed Elbrus (5642 m) (Fig. 6), which is an extinct volcano, and Kazbek (5033 m) (Fig. 7).

Rice. 6. Mount Elbrus ()

Rice. 7. Mount Kazbek ()

There are also mountains Mashuk and Beshtau. Climate This territory is temperate, with warm, long summers and heavy rainfall. In summer, this region receives 1.5 times more solar radiation than the central part of Russia. Particularly large amounts of precipitation fall in the western territories. This is due to the fact that moist warm air masses come here from the Atlantic. This area - the western territory of the foothills of the Caucasus - is most favorable for development Agriculture, especially crop production, because summer lasts 11 months. But the eastern parts of this region, where the Caspian lowland is located, are characterized by a hot and dry climate. In summer and autumn there are often droughts, which are accompanied by hot winds and dust storms. The climate in the highlands differs from the foothills. Here, with altitude, the air temperature decreases and permanent or temporary winds such as foehn or bora are formed. Föhn- a strong, warm and dry wind blowing from the mountains to the valley, usually blows in autumn, winter and spring, under its influence snow melts in the mountains.

Climate of the North Caucasus- temperate continental, and on the Black Sea coast - subtropical. In winter, the climate is characterized by cold with snow cover, and in summer - heat with thunderstorms and hair dryers. There is a lot of heat on the plains of the North Caucasus. Here, average July temperatures are more than 20 °C, and summer lasts about 5 months. Average January temperatures range from -10 to +6 °C, and winter lasts only 3 months. The rest of the year is occupied by spring and autumn.

North Caucasian mountain rivers: Don, Kuban (Fig. 8), Terek - used for irrigation and water resources.

Rice. 8. Kuban River ()

Mountain rivers differ from lowland rivers in the nature of their flow: they are, first of all, stormy and rapids. The main source of nutrition for such rivers is melted glacial and snow waters, so mountain rivers are transparent and very cold water. Only in the lower reaches do large rivers such as the Kuban or Terek have a calm flow. Here are located plavni- vast wetlands covered with reeds or reeds. The soils in the region are fertile, black soils. The thickness of the humus layer reaches 2 m. Chestnut soils are observed in the southeast. The steppes in the west gradually turn into dry steppes and semi-deserts. Found in the mountains altitudinal zone, or altitudinal zonation- a natural change in natural conditions and landscapes in the mountains as altitude increases.

Altitudinal zone of the Caucasus

Caucasus- a vast territory between the Black, Azov and Caspian seas with an area of ​​440 thousand km 2. Natural conditions The Caucasus varies from subtropics in the lowlands of Transcaucasia to the eternal snow and ice of the Greater Caucasus. Dombay- the top of the western part of the Main, or Watershed Range of the Greater Caucasus (Fig. 9).

Rice. 9. Peak Dombay ()

The peak, whose height is 4046 m, is located at the source of the Teberda River. The peaks are covered with eternal snow and glaciers. The Western Caucasus is part mountain system Greater Caucasus.

Rice. 10. Nature of the mountainous Caucasus ()

Mountain-forest and mountain-meadow landscapes dominate here (Fig. 10). Alpine meadows rich in herbs have served cattle breeders as summer pastures from time immemorial. Flowering rhododendron- one of the plants of alpine meadows (Fig. 11).

Rice. 11. Rhododendron ()

Bushes, depending on the type, reach a height of 30-40 cm to 2-3 m. In total, there are more than 12 varieties in the world. From the base of the Caucasus Mountains to the top, the natural zones change as follows: first, dry steppe and semi-deserts, then forest and steppes, mountain forest belt, subalpine and alpine meadows, and the peaks are covered with snow and glaciers.

The region's territory is rich in resources. Coal Donbass High Quality It is mined underground, its cost is high, but reserves are being depleted. Gas is produced in the Stavropol Territory, oil - in the area of ​​Grozny and Makhachkala, tungsten-molybdenum ores - in Kabardino-Balkaria (Fig. 12).

Rice. 12. Map of natural resources of the North Caucasus ()

Ciscaucasia is located in the steppe zone, has fertile soil- black soil. Rivers: Kuban, Don, Terek - are used for irrigation. The region is also rich in recreational resources. On the Black Sea coast there are famous resort cities: Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik. The Elbrus region is an area of ​​mountaineering and skiing. In the cities of Essentuki, Pyatigorsk, Zheleznogorsk, Kislovodsk there are sanatoriums with therapeutic mineral waters(Fig. 13).

Rice. 13. Recreational resources North Caucasus ()

Bibliography

1. Customs E.A. Geography of Russia: economy and regions: 9th grade, textbook for students of general education institutions. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2011.

2. Fromberg A.E. Economic and social geography. - 2011, 416 p.

3. Atlas of economic geography, grade 9. - Bustard, 2012.

2. Internet portal "nationalsecurity.ru" ()

Homework

1. Tell us about the geographical location of the North Caucasus.

2. Tell us about natural resources and recreation of the Caucasus.

3. Prepare a report on the relief and climate of the European south of Russia.

Despite big sizes and a significant variety of natural conditions, this territory has a number of common features (flat terrain, general climate, etc.), allowing it to be considered as a single hydrographic area. This commonality in hydrographic terms is manifested in the river network belonging to the same Black Sea-Caspian slope.

Natural conditions of the European part of Russia

The significant extent of the region from north to south and the flat nature of the terrain determine the manifestation of a clearly defined zonality of natural conditions, consisting in a natural change of geographical landscapes in the direction from north to south.

The entire northern part of the region, located north of the line passing approximately through Kazan - Ufa, belongs to the forest zone. Its southwestern part is represented by mixed forests, deciduous and coniferous, and the northeastern part by coniferous forests (taiga subzone).

To the south of the forest zone there is a wide strip of forest-steppe, which is a transitional area between the forest in the north and the steppe in the south. The unique landscape of the forest-steppe alternates between large tracts of forest and vast steppe spaces. Even further south are the steppes, mostly flat treeless spaces occupied by arable land and meadows. They cover the entire south right up to the coast of the Black and Azov Seas. The extreme southeast (Caspian lowland) is a semi-desert, that is, an area transitioning from steppes to deserts. Along with areas of feather-grass-wormwood steppes, there are significant areas of blown sand, devoid of vegetation. The soils and soils are highly saline, there are many solonetzes, salt marshes and salt lakes.

Relief of the European part of Russia

By the nature of the relief, the area is a hilly plain - part of the East European Plain - with heights usually not exceeding 200 m above sea level. In the east, the plain is bordered by the Ural ridge, the highest points of which reach 1640 m above sea level. Against the general background of the plain in the northern part of the region, the Valdai Upland (up to 321 m) stands out, which is the area where the main rivers of the European part of Russia and a number of Western countries originate.

In the central part there is the Central Russian Upland; the watershed spaces here rise to a height of 250-300 m. To the south of it, the Donetsk Ridge stands out sharply with heights reaching 370 m.

From Nizhny Novgorod The Volga Upland stretches to St. Petersburg (heights up to 300-384 m), steeply falling to the Volga valley and making up its high right bank. As if its direct continuation to the south of St. Petersburg is Ergeni.

To the east of the Lower Volga, the High Trans-Volga region stands out, directly adjacent to the Middle and Southern Urals and merging with its foothills. The region is also characterized by the presence of extensive lowlands.

Finally, the entire southeast is occupied by a vast depression adjacent to the Caspian Sea and called the Caspian Lowland. Bounded from the north and west by the ledges of General Syrt, the Volga Upland and Ergeni, the lowland has an almost flat surface and is located below ocean level; relatively recently (during the era of the Khvalynsk transgression) it was the bottom of the Caspian Sea, the level of which was significantly higher than the modern one.

The geological structure of the region, like the entire East European Plain, is characterized by the deep occurrence of an ancient crystalline platform. Almost everywhere, bedrock (granites, gneisses, etc.) are deeply hidden under later sediments (mainly under Silurian and Devonian limestones and younger Tertiary sediments), and only in the Urals, within the Volyn-Podolsk plateau, as well as the Azov upland and Donetsk Ridge, they lie shallow and in some places reach the surface. The protrusion of the ancient crystalline foundation, which forms the basis of the Volyn-Podolsk and Azov uplands, is called the Azov-Podolsk block, or the Ukrainian crystalline plate. In the lower part it is crossed by the Dnieper, which here formerly formed the famous Dnieper rapids, now flooded by the Dnieper Hydroelectric Reservoir named after. V.I.Lenin. The bedrock ancient crystalline rocks also lie relatively shallowly in the direction from Kursk to the southeast - to the middle Don, where granite outcrops occur in places. This ledge was called the Voronezh block.

Within the Central Russian Upland, Paleozoic limestones occur close to the surface in a number of places. The karst phenomena common here (depressions, sinkholes, etc.) are associated with them. In the region of the High Trans-Volga region, in the strip adjacent to the Urals, karst is also widespread, due to the presence of Permian limestones, dolomites and gneisses.

In the northern part of the region, in the basins of the upper Dnieper, Upper Volga and Kama, glacial deposits lie everywhere on the surface. The glacier during the period of its maximum development, as is known, in two powerful tongues that skirted the Central Russian Upland, descended far to the south, right up to the city of Kiev (Dnieper tongue) and the mouth of the river. Ursa. The most recent traces of the accumulative and erosive activity of the glacier were preserved only to the north of the border of the last glaciation, which ran from Belarus to the city of Smolensk and further through the city of Shcherbakov (formerly Rybinsk) to the mouth of the river. Vagi (Northern Dvina basin).

In the southern part of the region, outside the boundaries of the Quaternary glaciation, loess deposits became widespread, with their characteristic silty structure, which is very easy to erode.

Climate of the European part of Russia

The climatic conditions of the region have some general features, allowing us to attribute the climate to the boreal type, characterized by signs of continentality: warm summer and cold snowy winter. However, the large extent of the region in the latitudinal and meridional directions causes significant differences in the climatic conditions of its individual parts: north and south, west and east. In the direction from north to south, the climate becomes warmer, and from west to east, as you move away from Atlantic Ocean, - increasingly continental.

These climatic differences are clearly manifested in changes in the geographical landscape from taiga in the north and mixed forests in the northwest to steppes and semi-deserts in the south and southeast. An important role is played by a strip of high atmospheric pressure (barometric axis of the continent), passing from the city of Uralsk through the Voronezh and Kharkov regions to Central Bessarabia. The center line of the high pressure zone corresponds quite well to the northern border of the steppe, separating the latter from the forest-steppe strip. The barometric axis plays the role of the wind divide and climate divide. To the north of it, westerly and southwestern winds predominate, to the south - eastern and northeastern. The former bring quite a lot of moisture from the Atlantic Ocean, the latter are associated with the movement of continental air masses and, in addition, come from cold places to warmer ones, which is why they are drier. Regions lying north of the climate division line are characterized by frequent weather changes and the passage of cyclones with heavy precipitation, while in the southern and especially southeastern parts of the region anticyclonic weather prevails.

The average annual air temperature within the region varies from 1-3° in the northeast to 10° in the southwest; the average air temperature of the warmest month - July - from 17-18° in the north-west rises to 25° in the south-east, and finally, the average temperature in January from -15, -18° in the north-east increases to -3 ° in the southwest.

In the northern part of the region, precipitation falls up to 650 mm per year; to the south and especially to the southeast their number decreases sharply, amounting to 300 mm per year on the Black Sea coast and 200 mm or less per year in the Caspian lowland. Consequently, the basins of the Kama, Upper Volga and upper Dnieper are relatively better irrigated. The greatest amount of precipitation falls in the summer months, with a maximum in the north in July and in the south in June. From a hydrological point of view, precipitation that falls in the form of snow is important, due to the melting of which the main volume of river flow in the region is formed. The duration of the snow cover, its thickness and the amount of water reserves in the snow vary greatly across the territory. The heaviest snow cover is observed in the north (Upper Volga basin) and especially in the northeast (Kama basin); The duration of snow cover here reaches 200 days. To the south, the thickness of the snow decreases sharply; in the Black Sea and Caspian steppes, the duration of its occurrence is about 40 days.

In general, therefore, the region is characterized by a change in climatic conditions from north to south towards increasing dryness: from the climate of the forest zone, characterized by excessive moisture, large amounts of precipitation to relatively high humidity air, with low evaporation losses, to the climate of the forest-steppe zone, which is a transitional region, and even further south - to the climate of steppes and semi-deserts, where there is little precipitation, the air is dry and relative evaporation losses are very high.

Differences in climatic conditions are manifested not only in the varying density of the river network and the nature of the river regime, but also in the degree of swampiness of the area. The northern part of the region - the forest zone - is characterized by significant swampiness and widespread raised (moss or sphagnum) bogs occupying watershed spaces. In the forest-steppe zone, the distribution of swamps is sharply reduced; Here, swamps are mainly located in river valleys. In the steppe zone, swamps are rare and are found exclusively in conditions of local excess moisture - in river floodplains.