The Russian or East European Plain is located on the East European Platform, the foundation of which extends to the northern borders. In the east, the platform reaches the western slope of the Ural Mountains, and in the south and southwest it is limited by the mountains of the Caucasus, Crimea, and the Carpathian Mountains of the Alpine orogeny. The main geostructures of the platform are syneclises– areas of deep foundation, anteclises– areas of shallow foundation, aulacogens– deep tectonic ditches.

Separate parts of the platform sank in the Lower Paleozoic, as a result of which the Baltic and Ukrainian shields, the Voronezh ledge and the Oka-Volga anteclise became isolated. The Baltic and Moscow syneclises separated the platform uplifts. Also large elements of the platform are the Saratov-Ryazan syneclise and the Kama-Pechora syneclise. The East European Platform has a Precambrian crystalline basement, and in the south, the northern edge of the Scythian plate has a Paleozoic folded basement. On the Precambrian foundation of the platform there are strata of Precambrian and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks with slightly disturbed occurrence.

One of the oldest and most complex internal structures of the East European Platform is Moscow syneclise, Central Russian and Moscow aulacogens, which are filled with Riphean strata. During the Quaternary period, uneven uplifts occurred here, which in the relief were indicated by large hills.

Pechora syneclise passes in the northeast of the platform between the Timan Ridge and the Urals. Its block foundation in the east descends to a depth of $5-$6 thousand meters. The syneclise is filled with thick strata of Paleozoic rocks, overlain by Meso-Cenozoic deposits.

In the center of the platform there are large anteclises - Voronezh and Volga-Ural. They are separated by the Pachelma aulacogen. To the north, the Voronezh anteclise gently descends into the Moscow syneclise. Sediments low power, represented by Ordovician, Devonian and Carboniferous rocks, cover its foundation, and on the steep southern slope there are Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Paleogene rocks. Large uplifts and depressions (arches and aulacogens) form the Volga-Ural anteclise. The sedimentary cover of the arches has a thickness of at least $800$ m.

Caspian regional syneclise. The crystalline basement of this vast area is deeply immersed, reaching up to $20$ km. The syneclise is an ancient structure and is bounded on all sides by flexures and faults. Its outlines are angular. The Ergeninsky and Volgograd flexures frame it from the west, and in the north - the flexures of General Syrt. Further subsidence to $500$ m occurred in the Neogene-Quaternary time, accompanied by the accumulation of a thick layer of marine and continental sediments.

On south part of the East European Plain lies on the Scythian Epihercynian Plate.

Relief of the East European Plain

The Russian Plain, located on the East European Platform, is formed by hills whose height above sea level is $200$-$300$ m. Its average height is $170$ m, and its maximum is $479$ m, located in the Ural part on the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland. If we talk about the features of the orographic pattern, then within the plain we can distinguish the central, northern, and southern parts.

Central part is represented by a strip of alternating large uplands and lowlands - the Central Russian, Volga, Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya uplands and the General Syrt. They are separated by the Oka-Don lowland and the Low Volga region. Here the Volga and Don flow in a southern direction.

IN northern part The relief consists of low plains with scattered small hills. Replacing each other, the Smolensk-Moscow, Valdai Uplands and Northern Uvaly stretch in the north-east direction. These are peculiar watersheds between two oceans and an internal closed basin. Toward the White and Barents Seas from the Northern Uvals, the territory of the plain decreases, as evidenced by the Onega, Northern Dvina, and Pechora rivers flowing to the north.

Southern part The plains are occupied by lowlands, but within Russian territory only the Caspian Lowland can be called.

Note 1

Relief Eastern European plain typically platform, predetermined by its tectonic features, i.e. heterogeneity of the structure, as evidenced by the presence of deep faults, ring structures, aulacogens, anteclises, syneclises and the unequal manifestation of recent tectonic movements.

The large hills and lowlands of the East European Plain are of tectonic origin. They were formed as unified territories in morphostructural, orographic and genetic terms. The formation of the relief of the plain was significantly influenced by glaciers - Okskoye, Dnieper, Valdayskoye. Glaciers participated in the creation of moraine and outwash plains. The moraine relief, eroded by the waters of the Dnieper glacier, has not survived to our time

Minerals of the East European Plain

The geological history of the ancient platform influenced the formation of minerals.

The largest deposit was discovered on the plain iron ores– Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA). The deposit's reserves are estimated at $31.9 billion tons, which is $57.3% of the country's total ore reserves. The ore occurs mainly in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. KMA ores contain $41.5% iron, which is higher than the average for Russia. Ore is mined at the Mikhailovskoye, Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, and Gubkinskoye deposits. Small ore reserves are noted in the Tula and Oryol regions. Close location to the surface of the earth allows for mining open method, which has a huge impact on the nature of the chernozem zone of the Russian Plain, namely, it leads to the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares of chernozem soil.

Reserves have been explored within the Belgorod region bauxite– Vislovskoye field. Alumina content is estimated at $20$-$70$%.

Chemical raw materials on the Russian Plain it is represented by phosphorites in the Moscow region, potassium, rock salts of the Verkhnekamsk basin and the Iletsk deposit in the Orenburg region. The salts of lakes Elton and Baskunchak are also known.

Reserves construction raw materials, represented by chalk, marl, cement, fine-grained sand, are common in the Belgorod, Bryansk, Moscow, and Tula regions. High-quality cement marls are known in the Saratov region. Glass sands in the Ulyanovsk region, in the Orenburg region there is an asbestos deposit. Quartz sands Bryansk and Vladimir regions are used for the production of artificial quartz, glass, and crystal glassware. Kaolin clays from the Tver and Moscow regions are used to operate the porcelain and faience industry.

There are deposits on the territory of the East European Plain hard and brown coals. They are extracted in the Pechora, Donetsk, and Moscow basins. Brown coals of the Moscow region are used as chemical raw materials and as technological fuel for the ferrous metallurgy of the region.

Within the Volga-Ural and Timan-Pechora oil and gas regions they produce oil and natural gas . There are also gas condensate fields in the Astrakhan and Orenburg regions.

Oil shale known in the Leningrad, Pskov regions, in the Middle Volga region and in the north of the Caspian lowland.

Significant reserves peat, which is of significant importance in the fuel balance of some regions of the plain. Only within Central federal district its reserves amount to $5 billion tons. There are peat deposits in Kirov and Nizhny Novgorod regions and in the Republic of Mari El.

Deposits discovered in the Arkhangelsk region diamonds.

Note 2

Compared to other physical-geographical countries of Russia, the East European Plain has been inhabited for a long time and has a high population density and the greatest development, which means that it has undergone significant anthropogenic changes.

The East European Plain is part of the East European Platform. This is an ancient and stable block bordering the In the east, the platform is framed by the Urals. The tectonic structure of the East European Plain is such that in the south it is adjacent to the Mediterranean fold belt and the Scythian plate, which occupies the space of the Ciscaucasia and Crimea. The border with it runs from the mouth of the Danube, along the Black and Azov Seas.

Tectonics

More ancient and hard Permian and Carboniferous limestones come to the surface on the banks of the Samarskaya Luka. Among the sediments, hard sandstones should also be highlighted. The crystalline foundation of the Volga Upland is lowered to great depths (about 800 meters).

The closer to the Oka-Don lowland, the more the surface decreases. The Volga slopes are steep and dissected by numerous ravines and gullies. Because of this, a very rough terrain has formed here.

and Oksko-Donskaya lowland

General Syrt is another important component relief that distinguishes the East European Plain. Photos of this region on the border of Russia and Kazakhstan show an area of ​​chernozem, chestnut soils and solonchaks, prevailing on watersheds and river valleys. Common Syrt begins in the Volga region and extends 500 kilometers to the east. It is mainly located in the area between the Big Irgiz and Small Irgiz rivers, adjoining the Southern Urals in the east.

Between the Volga and Central Russian Uplands is the Oka-Don Lowland. Its northern part is also known as Meshchera. The northern border of the lowland is Oka. In the south, its natural boundary is the Kalach Upland. An important part of the lowland is the Oksko-Tsninsky shaft. It stretches through Morshansk, Kasimov and Kovrov. In the north, the surface of the Oka-Don lowland was formed from glacial deposits, and in the south its basis is sand.

Valdai and Northern Uvaly

The vast East European Plain lies between the Atlantic and North Arctic oceans. The basins of the rivers flowing into them begin at its highest point - 346 meters. Valdai is located in the Smolensk, Tver and Novgorod regions. It is distinguished by hilly, ridge and moraine relief. There are many swamps and lakes here (including Seliger and the Upper Volga lakes).

The northernmost part of the East European Plain is the Northern Uvaly. They occupy the territory of the Komi Republic, Kostroma, Kirov and Vologda regions. The hills consisting of hills gradually decrease in a northerly direction until they abut the White and Barents Seas. Its maximum height is 293 meters. Northern Uvaly is the watershed of the Northern Dvina and Volga basin.

Black Sea Lowland

In the southwest, the East European Plain ends in the Black Sea Lowland, located on the territory of Ukraine and Moldova. On one side it is limited by the Danube Delta, and on the other by the Azov River Kalminus. The Black Sea lowland consists of Neogene and Paleogene sediments (clays, sands and limestones). They are covered with loams and loess.

The lowland is crossed by the valleys of several rivers: the Dniester, the Southern Bug and the Dnieper. Their banks are characterized by steepness and frequent landslides. There are many estuaries on the sea coast (Dniester, Dnieper, etc.). Another recognizable feature is the abundance of sand bars. The Black Sea lowland is dominated by a steppe landscape with dark chestnut and chernozem soils. This is the richest agricultural granary.

This physical geographical country with an area of ​​about 4 million square meters. km. – the largest within Russia. The geographical literature has established the idea of ​​the coincidence of the boundaries of the Russian Plain and the East European Platform. The boundaries of the latter run in the west along the line: the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula - the mouth of the Danube - the Perekop Isthmus - the lower reaches of the Seversky Donets - the Volga delta - Mugodzhary; in the east - along the western foot of the Urals. Administrative boundaries divide the territory of the Russian Plain into foreign and Russian parts. We have to study part of the East European Plain within the borders of the former USSR.

Helogical development. This part of the Russian Plain is based on two geostructures of the second rank: the Russian Plate and the Ukrainian Shield. Like the Baltic shield, they survived the nuclear, protoplatform and platform-geosynclinal epochs of development (see the corresponding section). In the Phanerozoic, the development of the Russian plate was very different from the genesis of shields. Her foundation complex orthogonal and diagonal fault systems was divided into many blocks that experienced differentiated subsidence. Already in the Precambrian, a large number of narrow linearly elongated rift-like structures, called aulacogens by N.S. Shatsky, were formed along the faults. In the Riphean, volcanogenic and sedimentary strata began to accumulate on their bottoms. In the Phanerozoic, sedimentation covered the entire area of ​​the geostructure, regardless of the relief of the foundation—the formation of a cover and the transformation of the geostructure into a two-story (slab) structure took place. The processes of transformation of the foundation also continued actively.

The development of aulacogens followed two paths: conservation or degeneration into syneclises or exagonal depressions (see the corresponding section general overview). The surface of the basement was flooded by shallow epiplatform seas, at the bottom of which sedimentation successively occurred. Transgressions of the seas never covered the entire surface of the Russian plate at the same time. In the early Paleozoic (Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian) they timidly penetrated far north o-west of the plate, forming sandy-clayey layers (not cemented!) of Glint. The Devonian seas covered much larger areas in the northwest (the main Devonian field). Marine and lagoonal facies of the Carboniferous period cover the Moscow region from the north-west and south. Lagoonal sediments of the Permian period filled the northeast of the Russian plate and the structures of the Cis-Ural foredeep (the main Permian field). Thus, the Paleozoic transgressions covered the northern strip of the Russian plate, successively passing along it from west to east.

In the Mesozoic, the maximum transgressions shifted to the middle zone of the plate. Triassic lagoonal facies superimposed on Permian deposits, moving especially strongly into the middle zone in the pre-Ural part of the structure. Jurassic deposition reflected further reduction of lagoons in middle lane. During the Cretaceous period, marine and lagoonal deposits spread over vast areas, especially in the western middle zone. In the Cenozoic, the maximum transgressions covered the south of the Russian plate, successively moving from west to east.

Geotectonic structure . Lower structural floor Russian plate and Ukrainian shield similar to the foundation of the Baltic Shield (see the corresponding section). The plate includes geostructures of the third rank: syneclises (Moscow, Baltic, Black Sea), exagonal depressions (Caspian, Pechora), anteclises (Volga-Ural, Voronezh, Belorussian and similar slopes of neighboring shields - the Baltic and Ukrainian). The thickness of the cover within the anteclises is small (the minimum within the Voronezh anteclise is 40 m), in syneclises it reaches 2–3 km, in exagonal depressions – 9–25 km. ABOUT fundamental differences syneclises and exagonal depressions, see the corresponding section of the general overview. On the surface Ukrainian shield There is a thin cover of Paleogene and Neogene sediments, so the basement rocks are exposed only in the valleys of large rivers. Structures Timan uplift similar to shields, but they developed in folded complexes of the Riphean and underwent folding in the Baikal era. The East European Platform forms a significant part of the Eurasian lithospheric plate, which experienced virtually no significant horizontal movements.

Relief. Orography and hypsometry . The ancient relief of the Russian Plain has not been preserved due to its rapid variability. The modern relief was formed under the influence of the latest tectonics. Very weak, weak, and less often moderate uplifts predominated. In the Caspian, Pechora, and Black Sea lowlands, weak subsidence was observed. This differentiation of the latest movements, with their overall low intensity, determined the universal distribution of plains of different altitudinal levels. In the northern strip of the Russian Plain, lowlands predominate: Pechora and Dvinsko-Mezen (against the general lowland background of which small hills up to 275 - 300 m high are scattered). They are separated by the uplands of Timan and Kanin Kamen, 200–300 m high. In the extreme west there is the complexly dissected Baltic Plain, against the low-lying background of which the low (maximum 145–300 m) uplands stand out: Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zhamait.

In the middle zone, highlands and lowlands alternate. Along the Northern Uvals, Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Belorussian and smaller uplands, the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya ridge, there is a watershed of rivers of the northern and southern directions. Lowland woodlands alternate with them - Vyatsko-Kama, Unzhensko-Vetluzhskoye, Meshcherskoye, Pripyatsko-Dnieper. To the south, meridionally oriented elevations alternate: High Trans-Volga region (General Syrt and Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya); Privolzhskaya and Ergeni; Central Russian and Donetsk Ridge; Volyn, Dnieper, Podolsk, Kodri and lowlands: Low Trans-Volga region, Oksko-Don, Dnieper. At one time, such alternation led to the emergence of the doctrine of the undulating nature of the relief.

In the south of the Russian Plain, dominance again passes to the low-lying plains (Caspian, Kumo-Manych depression, Black Sea and North Crimean). The highest altitudes, close to 500 m, are reached in areas adjacent to the Carpathians; the minimum altitude is observed on the shores of the Caspian Sea and is 26 m below sea level. The average altitude of the Russian Plain is estimated at 170 m.

Morphostructure. The morphostructure of the strata plains clearly predominates on the horizontally and subhorizontally lying layers of the cover of the Russian plate. In the peripheral areas of the East European Plain, flat (no more than 3–5 degrees) monoclinal bedding of layers predominates; alternation of weak and armoring layers is often observed. This leads to the formation of monoclinal-layered plains with widespread asymmetrical ridges - questa. The classic ones are the cuestas of the northwestern part of the Russian Plain. Along the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga, cuestas called Glint (or Baltic-Ladoga ledge) were formed on strata of Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian age. Cuestas are also developed within the main Devonian field and in the Carboniferous zone.

In the central regions of the Russian Plain, the horizontal occurrence of strata prevails, in which formation-denudation hills have formed (Central Russian, Volga and others). When alternating weak and armoring layers, multi-tiered-stratal plains with stepped relief are formed. Accumulative plains arose within the low-lying plains, the largest of which are the Caspian, Black Sea, Pechora, Oksko-Donskaya. On the Dnieper Upland, where crystalline rocks of the basement of the Ukrainian shield lie under a thin cover, the morphostructure of a semi-buried basement plain has formed. Within the Timan and Donetsk ridges, structural-denudation ridge uplands similar to the basement plains were formed.

The influence of anthropogene events on the relief. Pleistocene glaciation . Along with the Alps and North America The Russian Plain was a kind of testing ground for the study of the Pleistocene. A number of study methods have been proposed, among which stratigraphic and paleontological ones are of particular importance. The stratigraphic method involves a detailed study and comparison of geological sections of the Pleistocene and, above all, moraines, fluvioglacial deposits, and in the periglacial region - loess and loam. Among the paleontological remains big role played by plant remains, which are usually divided into two complexes. Complex dryad flora is typical for glacial ones. For it, the remains of polar willow and birch, partridge grass or dryad grass, club mosses, diatoms and other frost-resistant representatives are common. Typical for interglacials Brazenieva flora (water lily, yew, hornbeam, fossil hazel, linden, holly, forest grape).

Okskoe glaciation covered large areas, its southern border was located only slightly north of the border of maximum glaciation. The glacier moved a particularly large amount of loose, often sandy, material and leveled the surface. Maximum Dnieper the glacier in the southern regions of the Russian Plain had a thickness of no more than 500 - 700 m (in the center – 4900 m), since it could not cover the Central Russian Upland. Its distant penetration to the south was facilitated by the previous leveling of the surface made by the Oka glacier, the relatively “high” temperature of the ice and, as a result, the plasticity and strong watering of the ice. The huge mass of the glacier “pushed” the earth’s crust by about 1 km, and when the ice moved, it created glaciodislocations. At the southern border, the pressure of the glacier has weakened greatly, the terminal moraines are thin, but the scale of water-glacial deposits is significant. During Moscow glaciation, the glacier under the influence of the Valdai Hills was divided into two large tongue, one of which moved to the south, the other to the southeast. The Valdai glacier developed in conditions of a particularly harsh climate, so the ice was hard and low-plasticity, glacier advancement was minimal, but gouging was exacerbated, moraine deposits were enriched with boulders, and moraine relief forms were most clearly expressed.

In the periglacial zone, permafrost became widespread in the Pleistocene. During the era of maximum glaciation, its southern border reached the lower reaches of the Volga, Don and Dnieper. In the Holocene, it quickly degraded within 1–1.5 thousand years. Relict forms of cryogenic relief have been preserved - traces of fissure-polygonal formations, “wedges” of ice wedges, thermokarst depressions and others. Aeolian forms were widespread, relics of which are present in the modern topography: on the outwash plains of woodlands - sandy formations (dunes, ridges), from the latitude of Moscow to the coasts south seas– smoothed relief in loess deposits. In the latter, in the Pleistocene, a valley-gully relief was already formed.

Evolution of the Black Sea–Caspian Basin . Under the influence of rhythmic climate changes and tectonic movements, the following transgressions appeared in the south of the Russian Plain (see Table 2).

Table 2. Transgressions of the Black Sea-Caspian basin in the Pleistocene.

Considering physical card Russia, I noticed that of the two plains, the Western Siberian is more colored green, which indicates the evenness of the relief, while the Eastern European has complex shape: covered with ridges, hills, ridges. Apparently, the process of relief formation in this territory is relatively interesting.

Relief of the East European Plain

Before talking about the processes that determined the appearance of the plain, it is worth considering their results. Analyzing the image in the atlas, I noticed that all the hills in the south stretch submeridally in two chains: the first is the Central Russian, Smolensk-Moscow and Valdai hills, the second is the Volga, General Syrt.

The northern area on the map resembles the skin of a leopard: many small hills. Large formations of the territory: mountains and plateaus of the Kola Peninsula and smoothed hills - the Timan Ridge and Northern Uvaly.

The flatness of forms, perhaps, is observed only in the area between my native Volgograd and Stavropol, from the shores of the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. In the center of the Russian Plain you can still see a patch of calm relief.

Processes of plain relief formation

The course of relief formation was influenced by the following points:

1. Neotectonic movements.
2. Glaciation.
3. Tectonic structure.
4. Anthropogenic factor.

At the heart of the territory is the Russian Platform, which implies a flat landscape. However, the cover of the mentioned platform is composed of sediments from four eras, so its foundation is characterized by unevenness. In this area, the structure contains zones of subsidence and uplift. Tectonic movements of the Caucasus and the Urals raised the sedimentary deposits of the plates. And the Pechora and Caspian lowlands are descending.

Three glaciations occurred on the territory of the Russian Plain. The relief was extremely intensely influenced by snowfields during the period of decreasing glaciation. The passage of the glacier results in lakes in the north of the plain.

The ancient platform contains many mineral deposits that are now being actively developed. In this way a person changes the relief.

It is located in western Russia from the borders with Ukraine and Belarus to the Urals. The plain is based on an ancient platform, so the topography of this natural area is generally flat. Great value in the formation of such a relief were external destructive processes: the activity of wind, water, and glacier. The average height of the Russian Plain ranges from 100 to 200 m above sea level. The foundation of the Russian Platform lies at varying depths and comes to the surface only on the Kola Peninsula and Karelia. The Baltic Shield is formed here, with which the origin of the Khibiny on the Kola Peninsula is associated. In the rest of the territory, the foundation is covered by a sedimentary cover, varying in thickness. The origin of the hills on the Russian Plain is explained by many reasons: the activity of the glacier, the deflection of the platform, and the raising of its foundation. The northern part of the plain was covered by an ancient glacier. The Russian Plain is almost entirely located within a temperate climate. Only the far north has a subarctic climate. Continentality on the plain increases to the east and especially to the southeast. Precipitation is brought by westerly winds (all year round) from the Atlantic. Compared to other large plains in our country, it receives the most rainfall. In the zone of maximum moisture there are the sources of large rivers of the Russian Plain: the Volga, Northern Dvina. The northwest of the plain is one of the lake regions of Russia. Along with large lakes - Ladoga, Onega, Chudskoye, Ilmensky - there are a lot of small lakes, mainly of glacial origin. In the south of the plain, where cyclones rarely pass, there is less precipitation. In summer there are often droughts and hot winds. All rivers of the Russian Plain are fed predominantly by snow and rain and spring floods. The rivers of the north of the plain are more abundant than those of the south. Groundwater plays a significant role in their nutrition. The southern rivers are low-water, and the share of groundwater in them is sharply reduced. All rivers of the Russian Plain are rich in energy resources. The features of the relief and climate of the Russian Plain determine a clear change in natural zones within its borders from north-west to south-east from the tundra to the deserts of the temperate zone. The most complete set of natural zones can be seen here compared to other natural areas of the country. The Russian Plain has been inhabited and developed by humans for a long time. 50% of Russia's population lives here. 40% of hayfields and 12% of pastures in Russia are also located here. In the depths of the plain there are iron deposits (KMA, deposits of the Kola Peninsula), coal(Pechora basin), brown coal(Moscow basin), apatites of the Kola Peninsula, potassium salts and rock salts, phosphates, oil (Volga-Ural basin). Timber is being harvested in the forests of the Russian Plain. Since forests have been cut down for centuries, in many central and western regions the composition of the forest stand has been greatly changed. Many secondary small-leaved forests have appeared. The main areas of the most fertile soils- chernozems. They are almost completely open. They grow wheat, corn, sunflowers, millet and other crops. There are large areas of arable land and forested areas. Rye and barley, potatoes and wheat, flax and oats are grown here.