Types of solid non-metallic minerals RT. Minerals of the Republic of Tatarstan

Republic of Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan is a subject of the Russian Federation, according to the Constitution of Russia - a republic. It is part of the Volga Federal District. It was formed on the basis of the Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of May 27, 1920 as an autonomous Tatar Socialist Soviet Republic.

The capital is the city of Kazan. It borders on the Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, Orenburg regions, Bashkortostan, Mari El, the Udmurt Republic, Chuvashia.

Tatarstan is located in the center of the Russian Federation on the East European Plain, at the confluence of two major rivers - the Volga and the Kama. Kazan is located 797 km east of Moscow. The length of the territory of the Republic is 290 km from north to south and 460 km from west to east.

The territory of the republic is a plain in the forest and forest-steppe zone with small hills on the right bank of the Volga and the south-east of the republic. 90% of the territory lies at an altitude of no more than 200 m above sea level.

More than 16% of the territory of the republic is covered with forests, consisting of mainly deciduous trees (oak, linden, birch, aspen), conifers are represented by pine and spruce. The local fauna is represented by 430 species of vertebrates and hundreds of species of various invertebrates.

Minerals

The main resource of the subsoil of the republic is oil. The republic has 800 million tons of recoverable oil; the estimated reserves are over 1 billion tons.

In Tatarstan, 127 fields have been explored, including more than 3,000 oil deposits. Here is the second largest deposit in Russia and one of the largest in the world - Romashkinskoye, located in the Leninogorsk region of Tatarstan. Among the large deposits, Novoelkhovskoye and Sausbashskoye, as well as the middle Bavlinskoye deposit, stand out. Along with oil, associated gas is produced - about 40 m^(3) per 1 ton of oil. Several minor deposits of natural gas and gas condensate are known.

108 coal deposits have been discovered on the territory of Tatarstan. At the same time, only coal deposits associated with the South Tatar, Melekessky and North Tatar regions of the Kama coal basin can be used on an industrial scale. The depth of coal occurrence is from 900 to 1400 m.

Other minerals

In the bowels of the republic there are also industrial reserves of limestone, dolomites, building sand, clay for the production of bricks, building stone, gypsum, sand and gravel mixture, peat, as well as promising reserves of oil bitumen, brown and hard coal, oil shale, zeolites, copper, bauxite . The most important are zeolite-containing rocks (about half of the non-metallic reserves of the republic), carbonate rocks (about 20%), clay rocks (also about 30%), sand and gravel mixture (7.7%), sands (5.4%), gypsum (1.7%). 0.1% is occupied by phosphorites, iron oxide pigments and bituminous rocks

MBOU "Secondary school No. 9

with in-depth study of the English language"

Novo-Savinovsky district of Kazan

Minerals

Republic of Tatarstan

The work was completed by: a student of the 7th grade

Sergeev Daniil

Supervisor:

chemistry and science teacher

Chekunkova E.V.

Kazan, 2013

1. Introduction

1. Introduction

The nature of Tatarstan is amazing and diverse. Its landscape perfectly combines heroic oak forests and pine groves, fields and meadows and abundant rivers. It is also rich in various natural resources, which, of course, arouses interest in studying their significance, well-being and volume.

Efficient use of mineral resources is one of the necessary conditions for sustainable socio-economic development, competitiveness of the republic and improvement of the well-being of its citizens. Of primary importance is the expansion of the resource base of oil, natural bitumen, scarce and liquid types of solid non-metallic minerals, and high-quality groundwater. In this regard, the task of attracting investments for the search, exploration and development of mineral deposits is relevant.

Purpose of the work: to show the Republic of Tatarstan as a structural unit with a natural resource potential and participating in the territorial division of labor and interregional integration.

— characterize the Republic of Tatarstan;

– to study the mineral resources of the Republic of Tatarstan;

- .tell about the problems and prospects of oil production and exploration.

As a result of the study of literature, maps, natural minerals of the Republic of Tatarstan were analyzed.

2. Brief description of the Republic of Tatarstan

The Republic of Tatarstan is located in the east of the East European Plain along the middle course of the Volga River, in the interfluve of the Volga and Kama, at the junction of Central Russia and the Ural-Volga region. The length of the republic from north to south is 290 km, from west to east - 460 km. [Appendix 1]

The main part of the territory of Tatarstan (about 90%) is below 200 meters above sea level. Only in the southeast, where the Bugulma and Shugurovskoye plateaus are located, does it rise. The highest point of Tatarstan with an absolute height of 367 meters is also located there. There are separate elevated areas on the watershed of the Vyatka and Kama and along the Volga River - on the Volga Upland. The lowest areas are typical for the Vyatka and Kama valleys.

Within the republic, the geological foundation is located at great depths and is covered everywhere by a thickness of sedimentary rocks with a thickness of about two thousand meters, so the oldest crystalline formations lie almost horizontally and nowhere come to the surface. Among the sedimentary rocks, sandy-argillaceous formations, limestones, dolomites, gypsums and anhydrides are of the greatest importance. Mineral resources located on its territory are associated with such features of the formation and structure of the subsoil of the republic. All types of minerals known in the Republic of Tatarstan are in layers of sedimentary origin. The layers of sedimentary rocks of the Paleozoic era are the richest; deep enough.

Tatarstan is one of the few regions of the European part of Russia that has a fairly significant mineral and raw material potential - reserves of oil, natural bitumen, coal, solid non-metallic minerals, fresh and mineral groundwater, which play an important role in strengthening and developing the economy of the republic and the country, in improving the well-being of Russians. The basis of this strategic resource of the economy for many decades has been oil, in terms of which Tatarstan steadily ranks second among the subjects of the Russian Federation. Its main deposits are confined to deposits of the Devonian and Carboniferous geological systems. The republic also has industrial reserves of limestone, dolomites, building sand, clay for the production of bricks, building stone, gypsum, sand and gravel, and peat. There are promising reserves of oil bitumen, brown and hard coal, oil shale, zeolites, copper, and bauxite.

3. Minerals of the Republic of Tatarstan

The most valuable wealth of the bowels of the Republic of Tatarstan is oil. The raw material base of the oil industry of the republic is connected with the Volga-Ural oil and gas province, located in its eastern part.

All developed oil fields are concentrated on the South Tatar arch, the southeastern slope of the North Tatar arch and the eastern side of the Melekes depression. The main oil and gas complexes are located in the lower parts of the sedimentary cover (depths from 0.6 to 2 km) in the stratigraphic range from the Middle Devonian to the Middle Carboniferous. Productive oil deposits are confined to the Eifelian-Lower Frasnian terrigenous, Upper Frasnian-Tournaisian carbonate, Visean terrigenous, Oka-Bashkirian carbonate, Vereya and Kashira-Gzhel terrigenous-carbonate oil and gas complexes.

The degree of exploration of the initial total oil resources is 95.65%. The degree of depletion of the initial recoverable oil reserves is 80.4%.

The first industrial oil field (Shugurovskoye) was discovered in 1943, and regular production began in 1946. The maximum oil production (100 million tons or more per year) was achieved in the late 1960s. Until the end of the 1970s, Tataria was the largest supplier of oil in the USSR (the share in the all-Union production was about 30%). In total, about 2.8 billion tons of oil have been received from the bowels of the republic since the beginning of oil production.

Commercial oil-bearing capacity of 26 and prospective oil-bearing capacity of 6 stratigraphic horizons have been proven in the republic, 127 oil fields have been discovered, uniting about 3,000 oil deposits. In terms of initial reserves, the deposits are distributed as follows: Romashkinskoye - unique (with reserves of more than 300 million tons) [Appendix 2]; Novo-Elkhovskoye, Bavlinskoye, Pervomayskoye, Bondyuzhskoye, Yelabuga, Sabanchinskoye are the largest and largest (with reserves of 30-300 million tons). The remaining deposits contain recoverable reserves of less than 30 million tons and belong to the group of medium and small ones.

The discovery and development of oil fields in Tatarstan served as a powerful impetus for the rapid development of many of its regions. [Annex 3 and 4]

Oil production in the republic, as well as in the entire Volga-Ural oil and gas province, is at the stage of natural decline.

However, over ten years there has been a steady trend of its increase from 25.6 to 30.7 million tons. Stabilization and growth of production were achieved through the use of efficient technologies for the development of producing fields using in-loop waterflooding, the introduction of hard-to-recover reserves into active development, the widespread introduction of hydrodynamic methods for enhanced oil recovery, and the prompt inclusion of new fields in development.

The development of modern industry is unthinkable without the use of oil, which is rightly called "black gold". More than 2,000 different products are derived from oil.

Table. The most important products derived from oil

Oil

What is oil? It is a liquid fossil fuel, mostly dark brown or greenish brown in color. Oil is a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons. It consists mainly of carbon atoms - C (84-85%) and hydrogen - H (12-14%). Combining with each other, carbon and hydrogen form various hydrocarbons. The simplest of them contain the least amount of carbon. The more carbon in a hydrocarbon molecule, the greater its weight and the more complex the structure. Each type of hydrocarbon differs from another type in its physical and chemical properties. For example, if oil is heated to 150°C, the lowest-boiling, lightest hydrocarbons will be released from it. Heating oil up to 300°C, we will get a kerosene fraction, etc. By separating various hydrocarbons from oil, changing and processing them, we obtain a variety of products that are so necessary for our national economy.

3.2. Natural gas

Natural combustible gas is the second most important type of minerals in Tatarstan. Usually it is a satellite of oil deposits, with which it is formed. Due to its lightness, gas occupies the most elevated parts of the fields. Below it is oil and even below it is water. In a dissolved state, the gas is also contained in the oil itself.

Co-occurring with oil, gas often serves as a driving force that lifts oil from underground to the surface and causes wells to flow. In such fields, it is more expedient to store gas in layers, therefore, only that part of it that comes out with oil is used. Natural gas also forms independent industrial accumulations. To extract it, just as in oil production, the field is drilled. Steel pipes are lowered into the drilled wells, which are connected to the main gas pipeline with special devices.

What is natural combustible gas made of? Like oil, it is represented mainly by hydrocarbons. However, unlike oil, hydrocarbons here have the simplest structure. This is mainly methane (CH 4) - swamp gas and other hydrocarbons. As impurities in gases, there are also nitrogen (N), carbon dioxide (CO 2), sometimes hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) and inert gases: helium (He), argon (Ar), xenon (Xe), etc.

Natural combustible gas is the most valuable and cheapest type of fuel, its calorific value is higher than all other types of fuel: it ranges from 7.5 to 12 thousand kilocalories. One cubic meter of gas replaces three kilograms of coal, or a liter of fuel oil, or five kilograms of firewood. It makes it possible to achieve a high efficiency of boilers, industrial furnaces. For example, when cooking on a wood-fired stove, 15% of the heat is used, the rest of the heat is used to heat the bricks. A gas stove uses 65% of the heat. In addition, the gas burns without the formation of soot. But natural gas is not only a fuel. Having in its composition a number of valuable compounds, it is the most important raw material for the chemical industry. The gas can be used to produce acetylene, which serves as a raw material for the production of synthetic rubber, acetic acid, ethyl alcohol, etc. Soot obtained from gas is one of the types of pure carbon - it is a valuable product for the rubber, paint and printing industries. For example, adding carbon black to rubber increases its strength by 25-30%. Methyl alcohol is made from methane. The gas obtained together with oil has a large percentage of heavy hydrocarbons and, passed through special installations, emits gasoline, gas gasoline.

Natural coals are black or brownish-black solid combustible substances of various densities. They were formed in the earth's crust due to the decomposition of plant clusters, which occurred without air access and under significant pressure from the overlying sedimentary layers. The most widely used coal and brown coal. [Annex 5]

The Republic of Tatarstan has significant resources of fossil coal. 108 coal deposits are known in the deposits of the Frasnian, Visean, Kazanian and Akchagyl stages. [Appendix 6] Only deposits of Visean coal [Appendix 7], confined to the South Tatar (75 deposits), Melekessky (17) and North Tatas (3 deposits) regions of the Kama coal basin, can be of industrial importance. Coal deposits occur at a depth of 900 to 1400 m and are confined to karst and erosion-karst incisions in the Early Visean paleorelief. The number of coal seams in cuts is 1-3. Of these, the most stable upper stratum is the "Main", whose thickness varies from 1 to 40 m. The degree of metamorphism of the Visean coals corresponds to the Carboniferous, less often brown coal group. According to the grade composition, coals are predominantly long-flame vitrinite (stone grade D). Their ash content is in the range of 15-26%, the yield of volatile substances is 41-48%, the sulfur content is 3.1-4.2%, the calorific value is 29.9-31.4 MJ / kg. In accordance with GOST 25543-88, coal can be used in the energy sector, for domestic needs.

Coals from a number of Visean deposits have a high yield of volatile substances and are suitable for development by underground gasification technologies (UCG). In the conditions of depletion of oil reserves, the coal resource base of the Republic of Tatarstan can be considered as a distant strategic reserve of the fuel and energy complex.

3.4. Solid non-metallic minerals

Solid non-metallic minerals are the third most important mineral wealth of Tatarstan.

On the territory of the republic, 1100 deposits and manifestations of solid non-metallic minerals have been identified and explored, the vast majority of which are common. The republican balance includes more than 250 deposits of 18 types of non-metallic mineral raw materials, of which 60% are involved in exploitation.

By types of raw materials, the cost of the mineral resource potential is distributed as follows:

the first place by a wide margin is occupied by zeolite-containing rocks (48.2%);

the second - carbonate rocks (18.9%), of which for the production of lime ameliorants - 11.9%, building stone - 5.9%;

third - clay rocks (18.0%), of which expanded clay and brick - 13.9%;

fourth - sand and gravel materials (7.7%);

fifth - sands (5.4%), of which construction and silicate - 3.3%;

sixth - gypsum (1.7%).

The share of phosphorites, iron oxide pigments and bituminous rocks is 0.1%.

Deposits of solid non-metallic minerals on the territory of the republic are unevenly distributed, which is largely due to the location of enterprises in the building materials industry that consume mineral resources.

Building lime is produced at the Kazan Plant of Silicate Wall Materials and the Naberezhnye Chelny Plant of Building Materials. Gypsum stone is processed at the Arakcha gypsum plant from raw materials supplied from the Kamsko-Ustyinsky gypsum mine.

Phosphate and lime fertilizers are produced by OAO Holding Company Tatagrokhimservis. He is developing the Syundyukovskoye phosphorite deposit, on the basis of which an enterprise for the production of phosphate meliorant is organized with a design capacity of 30 thousand tons / year. The extraction of carbonate rocks for the production of limestone flour is carried out in 25 districts of the republic (Matyushinsky, Krasnovidovsky and other quarries).

Almost 80% of gravel and sand and gravel mixtures, a significant part of gypsum stone, bentonite clay and bento powder, over 95% of wall materials, crushed stone, building and molding sand, porous aggregates, building and technological lime are sold on the domestic market of mineral raw materials.

Gypsum stone (80% of production), gravel and enriched sand and gravel mixture (up to 20%), bentopowder and bentonite clays are exported in significant volumes outside the republic. In the structure of imports, cement (up to 45%), phosphate and potash fertilizers (28%), wall materials, high-strength crushed stone and window glass occupy a leading position.

3.5. bitumen

Bitumens are solid or viscous-liquid natural products, which are a complex mixture of various hydrocarbons. The clean, brittle, high-melting varieties are commonly referred to as asphalts. In engineering, bitumen is also referred to as the end products of oil refining. Within Tatarstan, bitumens are widespread in a number of regions of the Trans-Kama region and along the right bank of the Volga.

By their origin, the natural bitumens of Tatarstan are products of the oxidation of oil that has risen from the depths along the cracks to the overlying deposits. On the territory of the Trans-Kama region and the right bank of the Volga, bitumens are found in formations of various ages.

450 deposits and deposits of natural bitumen have been discovered, concentrated at depths of up to 400 m. The total value of all captive and explored reserves is 294 million tons. The predicted resources of bitumen in the republic are estimated at 2 to 7 billion tons, which is 36% of Russia's resources and reserves. There are 12 bitumen deposits on the state balance of minerals (Mordovo-Karmalskoye, Ashalchinskoye, Podlesnoye, Studeno-Klyuchevskoye, Olimpiadovskoye, Krasnopolyanskoye, Yuzhno-Ashalchinskoye, Utyamyshskoye, Averyanovskoye and Gryadinskoye) with recoverable reserves of B + C 1 + C 2 categories in the amount of 26273 thousand . tons.

The Republic of Tatarstan has the largest natural bitumen resource potential in Russia. The prospects for their development are increasing due to the possibility of obtaining energy carriers from them, alternative to fuel oil and natural gas. Today, the most important task of developing the bitumen potential is to attract investment in the development of these deposits and the introduction of new effective methods to increase the extraction of bitumen. [Annex 8]

Peat is an accumulation of plant residues subjected to peat, i.e. incomplete decomposition in marsh conditions, with a lack of oxygen in the air. The accumulation of peat masses continues at the present time.

To date, more than a thousand peat deposits have been discovered on the territory of Tatarstan, occupying an area of ​​​​over 30 thousand hectares, with large reserves of wet mass. [Annex 9]

The peatlands of Tatarstan in their predominant mass are of the lowland type. At present, there are a number of large peat extraction sites on the territory of Tatarstan, the productivity of which is several tens of thousands of teins per year. The extracted peat is almost entirely used as fuel. Partially, it is used to improve clay solutions and industrial water used in drilling oil wells.

The introduction of the simplest mechanization, both in industrial and agricultural peat extraction, will contribute to a rapid increase in peat production and turn it into the cheapest fuel, building and chemical local raw materials.

3.7. Clay raw materials

Among the surface deposits, clays, loams and other clay formations are widely used in Tatarstan, which are widely used in many areas of the national economy.

Clays are plastic rocks composed predominantly of particles smaller than 0.01 mm in size. Coarse-grained plastic rocks, in which there are fewer such particles, are called silts or loams. Clays that are not plastic and do not soak in water are called mudstones. Quaternary clays and loams are fusible, their melting point does not exceed 1250-1300°C, they serve as raw materials for the production of conventional bricks and tiles. Several dozen plants operate on their basis in Tatarstan. The production of other types of building materials, such as special types of bricks, tiles, bridge clinker, facing materials, cement, etc., places higher demands on the quality of clay raw materials. The number of deposits of such raw materials is more limited.

On the territory of the republic, bleaching, refractory clays of the Pliocene age, with a melting point of up to 1400 ° C, are also widely used. Currently, these clays are widely used in the oil industry in the manufacture of solutions required for drilling oil wells. For these purposes, several tens of thousands of tons of clay from the Yamashinsky deposit, located 2 km from the regional center of Yamashi, are used annually.

Research has established that Pliocene clays can find very wide application in a number of sectors of the national economy. In particular, they can be used as:

chemical raw materials in the leading processes of the oil refining industry, as well as adsorbents in the paint and varnish, alcohol and oil and fat industries;

fillers in the leather industry and fat substitutes in the soap, textile and fur industries;

construction raw materials for the manufacture of large ceramic blocks, silicate-aluminate bricks, ceramic pipes with a porous shard, various facing materials (slabs, tiles), expanded clay blocks and gravel (used for the production of lightweight concrete), mineral wool, fibrobituminous, thermal insulation products, high-grade cement ;

molding lands for the needs of the local foundry;

water softeners.

Gypsum is one of the most valuable building materials. Gypsum is a dihydrate calcium sulphate salt having a pure chemical composition CaSO4 2H2O.

In nature, gypsum is formed in various ways. It is deposited in large quantities in drying sea and lagoon basins. At the same time, anhydrite (anhydrous gypsum) and a number of other salts precipitate along with it. The formation of gypsum is often associated with hydration (addition of water of crystallization) of anhydrite. Small deposits of gypsum can also be formed in other ways - by separating it from magmatic waters.

The most important property of building gypsum is also the speed of its setting and hardening in air, which makes it possible to conduct a highly productive building process. Suffice it to say that during the day gypsum increases 40-50% of its final strength. All these qualities and determine its wide application in a wide variety of areas of construction.

Gypsum is used in raw and burnt form:

50-52% of the mined gypsum stone is used to produce gypsum binders for various purposes, obtained by firing natural gypsum,

44% of gypsum - in the production of Portland cement, where gypsum is used as an additive (3-5%) to control the setting time of cement, as well as for the production of special cements: gypsum-alumina expanding cement, tension cement, etc.

2.5% of gypsum is consumed by agriculture in the production of nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium sulfate) and for gypsuming saline soils;

non-ferrous metallurgy, gypsum is used as a flux, mainly in nickel smelting,

in paper production - as a filler, mainly in the highest grades of writing papers.

In some countries, gypsum is used to produce sulfuric acid and cement.

The ability of gypsum to be easily processed, to accept polishing well and usually high decorative properties make it possible to use it as a marble imitator in the production of facing slabs for interior decoration of buildings and as a material for various handicrafts.

Currently, about 40 gypsum deposits are known in the territory of Tatarstan, which have one or another industrial significance. The largest of them are located on the right bank of the Volga in the area from Kamskoye Ustye to Antonovka and near the village of Syukeyevo.

The largest deposits - Kamsko-Ustyinskoye - are located 6-7 km above the village. Kamskoye Mouth. [Annex 10]

The gypsum deposit near the village of Syukeyevo is also among the largest. Significant industrial accumulations of gypsum are located on the right bank of the Kama, in the area of ​​the villages of Sorochi Gory and Shurany.

3.9. Building stone and lime

In any construction, large and small, a building stone for various purposes is absolutely necessary. For laying the foundations of buildings, rubble stone is needed. [Appendix11]

Limestones are called rocks consisting of carbonic lime, i.e., a chemical compound of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide) with calcium. Mineralogically, this compound belongs to the mineral calcite. Limestones are usually composed of small grains of calcium carbonate, which are chemically precipitated from the water of lakes or seas. At the same time, any other material also falls to the bottom, such as sand, or fragments of shells of various organisms, or whole shells. We can find all this in limestones. Sometimes shells or their fragments accumulate so much that they already make up the majority of the rock. Such limestones are called organogenic, that is, originating from organisms. Sometimes limestones are found, which are composed of many small balls the size of a poppy seed or a little more - millet grain. These are the so-called oolitic limestones. [Annex 12]

Together with limestones in Tatarstan, especially often in its western part, there are rocks similar to them, called dolomites. [Appendix 13] They are close to each other and in composition. Dolomites differ only in that they contain, in addition to calcium, another chemical element - magnesium (Mg). Dolomites are easily distinguished from limestones when exposed to weak hydrochloric acid. Limestones boil violently during this reaction, while this phenomenon is not observed in dolomites. Dolomites can be used in construction mainly for the same purposes as limestone.

Deposits of carbonate rocks in Tatarstan belong mainly to the deposits of the Kazanian stage. In total, over 600 deposits of carbonate rocks are known in the republic.

4. Prospects for oil production and exploration

The problem can be called the imperfection of the law on subsoil and the flat scale of the tax on the extraction of minerals.

Of great concern is also the completely vague and uncertain sources of funding for the program of geological study of the subsoil and the reproduction of the mineral resource base. Although, from the point of view of a market economy, the fact that the main tasks of studying the subsoil in licensed areas are assigned primarily to license holders is natural and normal. However, do not forget that for any subsoil user, the main thing is to extract and sell minerals. Therefore, the study of the bowels, first of all, is the task of the state.

Among the prospects, I would like to highlight the large deposits of bitumen in the territory. This is the future of the region. It is not for nothing that the issues of exploration and production of these minerals are under the constant control of the President and Government of the Republic of Tatarstan.

It should be remembered that the predicted resources of the western regions of Tatarstan are also estimated prospectively - in the amount of 700 million tons. Geochemical studies have revealed that the Carboniferous rocks of the west of Tatarstan are potentially oil-source, that is, they have not given up significant amounts of oil.

The west of Tatarstan is promising oil-bearing. At the Romashkinskoye field, the processes of oil replenishment from the underlying layers were revealed. All this gives grounds to assert that there will be enough oil in Tatarstan for the foreseeable future.

On their licensed areas, oil companies cope with the tasks in terms of production levels. The unallocated subsoil fund of the republic is located in the western part and is characterized by the geological and tectonic structure of the subsoil, which differs from the eastern regions where deposits are explored and developed. Therefore, to identify oil deposits in the west, it is necessary to apply new search methods. Hence the need to attract investment in the geological study of the subsoil simultaneously with the financing of science.

Effective relationships in the oil and gas complex are built as a result of a single balanced and competent policy pursued by the leadership of the Republic of Tatarstan in the field of environmental management.

5. Conclusion

I learned that our republic has rich natural resources. Tatarstan is one of the few regions of the European part of Russia that has a fairly significant mineral and raw material potential - reserves of oil, natural bitumen, coal, solid non-metallic minerals, fresh and mineral groundwater, which play an important role in strengthening and developing the economy of the republic and the country , in improving the well-being of Russians. The basis of this strategic resource of the economy for many decades has been oil, in terms of which Tatarstan steadily ranks second among the subjects of the Russian Federation. The republic also has industrial reserves of limestone, dolomites, building sand, clay for the production of bricks, building stone, gypsum, sand and gravel, and peat. There are promising reserves of oil bitumen, brown and hard coal, oil shale, zeolites, copper, and bauxite.

I am sure that these natural resources will be extracted and rationally used, investments will be attracted in the geological study of the bowels and new deposits of other minerals will be explored.

The materials of my work can be useful in geography lessons, in electives, and also help students prepare for conferences.

6. References

Atlas of the Republic of Tatarstan. PKO "Cartography". - Moscow, 2005.

Taisin A.S. Geography of the Republic of Tatarstan: Textbook for grades 8-9. – Kazan: Magarif, 2000.

Republic of Tatarstan. Statistical collection. — Kazan.: Karpol, 1997.

The following sites were used: www .wikipedia .org , www .google .ru , www .neft .tatcenter .ru , www .protown .ru .

7. Applications

Appendix 1 - General geographic map of the Republic of Tatarstan

Annex 2 - Romashkinskoye oil field

Annex 3 - Oil production near the city of Almetyevsk

Annex 4 - Kichuy oil refinery, Almetyevsk district

Annex 5 Hard coal and lignite

Annex 6 - Coal deposits

Annex 7 - Model of the structure of the Visean coal deposit

Annex 8 - Shugurovsky oil-bitumen plant

Annex 9 - Peat deposit

Annex 10 - Kamsko-Ustyinsky gypsum mine

Annex 11 - Rubble stone, building stone

Appendix 12 - Limestone, oolitic limestone

Annex 13 - Dolomite

Vladimir Khomutko

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How is oil produced in Kazan?

In Tatarstan, the first oil began to be produced during the Great Patriotic War, in 1943, after the discovery of the Shugurovskoye field.

A bit of history

The beginning of the last century (more precisely, the end of the 20s) was marked by cash during the period of industrialization. The rapid industrial growth, as well as a significant increase in the volume of capital industrial construction and related sectors of the economy, required significantly more oil and oil products than it was at that time. The main oil production at that time was concentrated in the Baku oil fields, but the volumes of black gold obtained there were not enough for the needs of the young Soviet country.

In addition, the proximity of this oil-bearing region to the border required the availability of reserve sources of oil in order to secure the country's energy resources in the event of a military conflict. The question arose about the formation of another oil energy base of the state, in addition to the one that existed at that time.

The first assumptions that there might be oil in the Volga region and in the Ural regions were made by the Soviet academician Ivan Gubkin. In 1932, a book written by him called “The Doctrine of Oil” was published, in which Gubkin, based on the geological data known at that time, hypothesized the existence of oil-bearing layers between the Volga and the Urals, including on the territory of modern Tatarstan. Oil exploration of the described regions began, and the results soon appeared positive.

In 1929, the expedition, led by Professor P.I. Preobrazhensky, discovered the first Zavolzhsky oil field, and already in 1932, another expedition, led by A.A. Blokhin, discovered another oil field in the vicinity of a Bashkir village called Ishembay fishing.

The development of the Ishembaevskoye field began, and in 1932, the first oil flowed from well number 702 from a depth of 680 meters. This field is considered to be the ancestor of the so-called "Second Baku" - the Volga-Ural oil province.

Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, 15 oil fields were discovered in the Trans-Volga region, but all of them were outside the territory of Tatarstan.

The first oil field in this republic was discovered when the war was in full swing. In 1943, the first Tatar oil came from the Shugurovskoye field. The daily debit of this fishery at that time was at a ridiculous level by today's standards - only 20 tons.

Three years after the end of the Great Patriotic War, a field was discovered on Tatar soil, in the vicinity of the village of Timyashevo, which entered the top ten largest Soviet oil fields. They called it Romashkinsky, and it was in 1948. Experts estimated its reserves at 12-15 billion barrels of black gold (or about two to two and a half billion tons).

The Romashkinskoye deposit is still the largest in this republic. Out of about thirty million tons of Tatar oil supplied for the needs of the domestic economy and for export, this field alone provides 50 percent.

The year 1952 was marked by the discovery of a new republican deposit, called Almetyevskoye. By the beginning of the 60s of the last century, a number of large black gold deposits were discovered in Tatarstan, such as Bavlinskoye, Yelabuga, Novoelkhovsko-Aktashskoye and Perovomayskoye.

These discoveries and the developments that followed them allowed the Volga-Ural oil province to turn from the "Second Baku" into the "First", since the exploration of oil-bearing reservoirs in Western Siberia was just beginning at that time.

In order to organize Tatar oil production, the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union in 1950, by its decree, created the production association Tatneft, which to this day remains the largest oil company in Tatarstan.

The production of this most important energy resource for the country in the republic is constantly growing. For comparison, here are some numbers.

In 1943, 4,200 tons of black gold were mined in Tatarstan, and in 1955 this figure increased to 13 million tons. The one hundred million mark of annual production was overcome in 1970. The historical maximum was reached in 1975, when Tataria gave the country 103.7 million tons of this hydrocarbon raw material.

However, after the easily accessible oil resources ran out, the volumes began to gradually decline.

In 1991, only 32 and a half million tons were mined. After that, the level of Tatar oil production stabilized and amounts to approximately 30 million tons of raw materials per year.

In the entire history of black gold mining in this republic, three billion tons of liquid hydrocarbons were produced, which accounted for almost half of the total volume of raw materials produced in the Volga-Ural oil-bearing region.

The famous and still operating oil pipeline "Druzhba" begins in Tatarstan, at the Almetyevskoye field.

This highway for the transportation of crude oil to the countries of Eastern Europe was built in four years - from 1960 to 1964. After the completion of construction, the export of Soviet oil doubled. In the period from 1969 to 1974, a parallel main oil pipeline called Druzhba-2 was built. To this day, both of these pipelines supply Tatar oil to foreign buyers.

Despite the fact that at present most of the black gold is mined in the fields of the West Siberian Russian region, the contribution of Tatar oilmen to the total treasury of domestic hydrocarbons is still very noticeable.

As we said earlier, the annual volume of oil production in the republic is at the level of thirty million tons.

The main part of the black Tatar gold is mined by the Tatneft Corporation (Kazan) mentioned above.

It is its structures that extract more than 80 percent of this valuable mineral in the republic. The rest is provided by about thirty smaller oil companies. One of such mining organizations is the joint Russian-American company Tatekh, which was registered back in 1990. As for the exploration work carried out in Tatarstan, they are almost completely concentrated in the hands of the above-mentioned Tatneft.

If we talk about the Tatar oil refining industry, then the largest republican enterprise for the production of marketable oil products from crude oil is the Nizhnekamsk Oil Refinery, whose capacity is 7 million tons of processed raw materials per year. This largest refinery produces all types of liquid petroleum fuels.

In addition to this processing giant, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, a major Russian consumer of Tatar hydrocarbon raw materials, is the leader of the domestic petrochemical industry in the production of synthetic rubber (more than one and a half million tons of this product per year).

Tatarstan is located on the East European Plain, at the confluence of the Volga and Kama, the largest rivers in Europe. Thanks to its favorable location and rich resources, the republic is one of the most economically developed regions of the country.

Bilingual Republic

The Republic of Tatarstan belongs to the Volga Federal District and borders in the west on the Chuvash Republic, in the east - on the Republic of Bashkortostan, in the north-west - on the Republic of Mari El, in the north - on the Udmurt Republic and the Kirov Region, in the south - on the Orenburg, Samara and Ulyanovsk regions.

The total area of ​​Tatarstan is 67,836 km², the length of the territory is 290 km from north to south and 460 km from west to east. The capital and largest city is Kazan (the distance to Moscow is 797 km). The Republic consists of 43 municipal districts and two urban districts (Kazan and Naberezhnye Chelny).

As a federal unit, the Republic of Tatarstan turns 90 this year: it was formed on May 27, 1920. Mintimer Shaimiev has been the permanent president since 1991.

In 2009, the population of Tatarstan amounted to 3768.6 thousand people, including urban - 2823.9 thousand people, rural - 944.7 thousand people. Representatives of 107 nationalities live here, the most numerous of them - 52.9% - are Tatars. Therefore, the Tatar language in the republic is declared the state language on a par with Russian.

The national flag of the Republic of Tatarstan is a rectangular panel with horizontal stripes of green, white and red, which denote rebirth, purity and strength, respectively. The coat of arms of Tatarstan depicts a winged white leopard - the patron saint of the republic. The image of this noble animal symbolizes at the same time fertility, forward movement, friendliness and readiness to defend one's interests.

At the confluence of major rivers

Most of the territory of Tatarstan is located at an altitude of no more than 200 m above sea level. The soils are very diverse and fertile - a third of them are various types of chernozems, which are concentrated mainly in the south of the republic.

The climate is temperate continental, approximately the same throughout the region. Tatarstan is characterized by moderately cold winters and hot summers. Sometimes there are droughts.

The main rivers are the Volga (the length within Tatarstan is 177 km) and the Kama (380 km). Of the major rivers, the tributaries of the Kama, the Vyatka and the Belaya, also flow through the territory of the republic. The total flow of these four rivers for the year is 234 billion m3 (97.5% of the total flow of all rivers of the republic). In total, the region has about 500 rivers over 10 km long and more than 8,000 lakes and ponds.

For various purposes, four large reservoirs have been created here: Kuibyshevskoye (the largest in Europe), Nizhnekamskoye, Zainskoye and Karabashskoye.

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The ecological situation in Tatarstan is generally considered satisfactory, but the cities of Kazan, Nizhnekamsk and Naberezhnye Chelny have a high level of air pollution. Among the largest sources of pollutant emissions, environmentalists name OAO Tatneft, OAO Nizhnekamskneftekhim and OAO Tatenergo.

Transport

In terms of transport, Tatarstan occupies a very advantageous position. The shortest transcontinental railway runs through the territory of the republic in the direction from west to east, as well as a railway linking the large industrial cities of the Volga region in the direction from northwest to south. During the navigation period, river transport serves 17 coastal regions of the republic. On the banks of the rivers there are such large industrial cities as Kazan, Naberezhnye Chelny, Nizhnekamsk, Chistopol, Zelenodolsk, Yelabuga.

The confluence of the shipping routes of the Volga and Kama provides a water connection with the northwestern, southern, northeastern and Ural industrial regions.

Motor roads are laid across the territory of Tatarstan in three directions: west - east, west - southeast and northwest - south, including the M-7 Volga highway, which is part of the road routes of the International Transport Corridor "West - East".

There are three airports in the republic: Kazan, Begishevo and Bugulma. The first two are international.

According to the Ministry of Transport and Roads of Tatarstan, the length of the means of communication of the transport system of the republic is: 21.0 thousand km of public roads, 843 km of serviced inland navigation routes, 848 km of public railways, 232 km of industrial railway transport. Air communication is carried out by 58 airlines.

Oil, coal, water

The main natural wealth of Tatarstan is oil. Along with oil, associated gas is produced - about 40 m³ for each ton of oil. Today, the volume of recoverable oil is estimated at 800 million tons. The predicted reserves are about 1 billion tons. A total of 127 oil fields have been discovered in Tatarstan. The largest of them, Romashkinskoye (Leninogorsk district), has been in operation for more than 60 years and annually produces 15 million tons of oil. In total, the republic produces about 32 million tons of oil per year. Large oil fields also include Novoelkhovskoye, Bavlinskoye, Pervomayskoye, Bondyuzhskoye, Yelabuga, Sobachinskoye. According to experts, the probable period of complete depletion of oil reserves is 30-40 years.

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There are 108 coal deposits on the territory of Tatarstan. True, not all of them can be used on an industrial scale. The most promising are those that belong to the South Tatar, Melekessky and North Tatar regions of the Kama coal basin. In addition, the region has industrial reserves of dolomites, limestone, oil shale, building sand and stone, clay, gypsum, and peat. There are promising reserves of oil bitumen, brown and hard coal, oil shale, zeolites, copper, and bauxite.

Significant reserves of groundwater have been identified - from highly mineralized to slightly brackish and fresh.

The Nizhnekamsk HPP was built on the Kama, which generates about 1.8 billion kWh per year, while its design capacity is 2.7 billion kWh per year.

Industry and agriculture

Tatarstan is considered one of the most economically developed regions of the country - largely due to oil reserves, as well as its location at the intersection of the most important highways. According to the Department of External Relations of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan, in terms of socio-economic indicators, the region is among the six best in the country along with Moscow, St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Yaroslavl regions. The economy is based on industry and agriculture.

In addition to the fuel and petrochemical industries (oil production, production of synthetic rubber, tires, polyethylene, etc.), the industrial profile of the republic is determined by mechanical engineering. It produces heavy trucks, helicopters, airplanes and aircraft engines, cars, compressors and oil and gas pumping equipment, river and sea vessels. The leadership of Tatarstan in the field of mechanical engineering is evidenced by the fact that every second truck that rolls off the assembly line in Russia is KamAZ. In addition, a quarter of all Russian tractors are produced in the republic.

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Excellent fertile lands contributed to the development of agriculture in Tatarstan. Agricultural lands occupy 61% of all lands of the republic. The region specializes in the cultivation of grain crops, sugar beets and potatoes, as well as in animal husbandry for meat and dairy, poultry, horse breeding, and beekeeping.

Despite the fact that Tatarstan has no state borders, the republic is actively developing economic relations with other countries. Trade relations with the region are supported by more than a hundred states.

According to the Expert rating agency, the investment rating of Tatarstan is 2B (moderate risk). Among the regions of Russia in terms of investment risk, the republic ranks fourth, in terms of investment potential - eighth. The smallest investment risk is financial, the largest is criminal.

Among the economic shortcomings of Tatarstan, specialists of the RA "Expert" note the lack of metal production, technological equipment for oil production, and many consumer goods.

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Special economic zone "Alabuga"

On December 21, 2005, on the territory of the Yelabuga region of the Republic of Tatarstan, by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 784, a special economic zone (SEZ) of the Alabuga industrial type was created. The goal is to assist the development of the economy of Tatarstan and Russia as a whole by creating the most favorable conditions for the implementation of investment projects in the field of industrial production by Russian and international companies.

The industrial and production focus of the SEZ includes the production of auto components, the full cycle of automobile production, the chemical and petrochemical industry, manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, aviation production, furniture production and much more. At the same time, we are not talking about the use of imported raw materials here - the practical task of the SEZ "Alabuga" is the organization of import-substituting industries from Russian raw materials.

The total territory of the SEZ is 20 km², it is divided into modules of 5, 10 and 20 hectares. Each module has all the necessary communications - roads, electricity, heat supply, gas, water, high-speed communication lines, etc. A railway line runs through the territory of the SEZ, which will serve the largest land plots with the help of branches leading directly to the future production buildings. At the moment, about 30 km of networks, 3 km of railways have been laid on the territory of the SEZ "Alabuga", 7 km of fences have been built. The local population is about a million people.

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Residents of the SEZ "Alabuga" are provided with solid tax benefits, including full exemption from property tax, as well as from payment of land and transport taxes for ten years.

- one of the largest and well-developed subjects of the Russian Federation. Over the long history of its existence, the republic has formed as an important geopolitical center of Russia between the areas of European and Asian cultures.

This was facilitated by a favorable economic and geographical position on the eastern borders of the European subcontinent, the proximity of the industrial Central Region and the Urals. Being at the crossroads of the largest transport systems in Russia, the region is connected with the raw material bases of Siberia, the agricultural regions of the Volga Federal District.

Modern Tatarstan is a large region with a complex diversified industry and developed agriculture. The Republic has a high educational and scientific potential.

Geographical position

Tatarstan is located in the center of the Russian Federation on the East European Plain, at the confluence of two major rivers - the Volga and the Kama. The extreme northern point is located near the village of Verkhniy Sardek, Baltasinsky district - 56o40.5′ N, the southern one is near the village of Khansverkino, Bavlinsky district - 53o58′ N, the western one is near the village of Tatarskaya Bezdna, Drozhzhanovsky district - 47o16′ E .d., eastern - near the village of Tynlamas, Aktanysh district - 54o17′ E. From west to east, the republic stretches for 450 km, and from south to north - for 285 km.

It borders in the north with the Kirov region, in the northeast - with the Republic of Udmurtia, in the east - with the Republic of Bashkortostan, in the southeast - with the Orenburg region, in the south - with the Samara region, in the southwest - with the Ulyanovsk region, in the west - with the Chuvash Republic, in the north-west - with the Mari Republic.

The total area of ​​Tatarstan is 67,836 km2, or 0.4% of the territory of the Russian Federation, and about 7% of the territory of the Volga Federal District.

Kazan is the capital of the republic, located 797 km east of Moscow.

Geological structure and minerals

The platform is based on a crystalline foundation from ancient Archean-Proterozoic rocks. From above, it is overlain by a thick cover of sedimentary rocks of marine and continental origin, 1500–2000 m thick.

Devonian rocks lie on the surface of the basement, below - terrigenous (sandstones, silts, mudstones), above - carbonate (limestones, dolomites with interlayers of gypsum and anhydrite). The thickness of the Devonian deposits is up to 700 m.

The territory of the republic is located in the east of the largest tectonic structure - the Russian platform, within the Volga-Ural anteclise. The main tectonic elements are the Tatar arch with the northern (Kukmorsky) and southern (Almetevsky) ledges, the Melekesskaya depression and the southern part of the Kazan-Kazhimsky trough. The western part of the territory belongs to the eastern slope of the Tokmovsky arch.

The predominant surface area of ​​the republic is composed of Upper Permian deposits.

Carbonate rocks (limestones and dolomites) predominate with interlayers of clays, sandstones, gypsum and anhydrites.

Mesozoic deposits are developed in the extreme south-west of the republic.

Rocks of the Carboniferous system (Carboniferous) lie above. Carbonate rocks (limestones and dolomites) predominate with interlayers of clays, sandstones, gypsum and anhydrites. The thickness of the sequence is from 600 to 1000 m. The Permian deposits are represented by the lower and upper sections. The Lower Permian rocks are represented by dolomites, limestones with interlayers of gypsum, anhydrites and marls. The greatest thickness of these deposits is in the east of the republic (up to 300 m), where they come out to the surface in some places.

The predominant surface area of ​​the republic is composed of Upper Permian deposits. They almost everywhere come to the surface in the river valleys, are opened by ravines. In the west of the republic, in the lower part, carbonate rocks of marine origin predominate - dolomites and limestones with gypsum interbeds.

Above lie continental formations - red-colored clays, sandstones and marls that make up the watershed surfaces. The thickness of the deposits reaches 280-350 m.

In the east, in the lower part, sandy-argillaceous rocks with interlayers of limestones and marls predominate, clayey-sandy deposits lie above, which are replaced by sandy, silty, clayey continental formations occurring on the highest watersheds with thin interlayers of marls, limestones and dolomites (photo). The total thickness of the deposits reaches 200-300 m.

Mesozoic deposits are developed in the extreme south-west of the republic. The formations of the Jurassic system are represented by clays, siltstones, marls with interlayers of sandstones, oil shales and phosphorite pebbles. The thickness reaches 70-80 m. Cretaceous deposits are gray, dark gray clays, sandstones with thin interlayers of phosphorites, marls, limestones, with a total thickness of up to 120-160 m.

Cenozoic deposits are represented by deposits of the Neogene and Quaternary system, which were formed in continental conditions. Neogene formations are confined to the valleys of large and medium-sized rivers. These are deposits composed of dark gray silty-argillaceous rocks with interlayers and lenses of sands and pebbles with a total thickness of 200-300 m.

The youngest Quaternary deposits everywhere cover the entire territory of the republic. In the valleys of the Volga and Kama, the thickness of alluvial deposits of the terrace complex reaches 70-120 m, their composition is predominantly sandy with interlayers of pebbles, clays, loams and sandy loams.

Slope deposits reach a thickness of 15-20 m at the bottom of the slopes, decreasing up the slope. On the watersheds, the thickness of the deposits is 1.5-2.0 m. The composition is predominantly loamy, sandy loamy with crushed stone.

Minerals

The most valuable are deposits of combustible and non-metallic minerals - oil, gas, bitumen, hard and brown coal, oil shale, peat, building stone, sand and gravel materials. Oil and associated gas are produced mainly in the Trans-Kama and Eastern Fore-Kama regions of the republic. The main deposits are confined to the lower stage of the Devonian and Carboniferous deposits, mostly small in terms of reserves. Large deposits include only Romashkinskoye, Novo-Elkhovskoye and Bavlinskoye. The oil is heavy, sour. Along with oil, associated gas is produced - a valuable chemical raw material.

Hard and brown coals have been explored in the Eastern Trans-Kama region of the republic, they lie at considerable depths - from 900 to 1200 m, which makes their extraction unprofitable.

Significant reserves of bitumen and bituminous rocks are confined to the Permian deposits - reserve sources for obtaining hydrocarbon raw materials, as well as deposits of gypsum, limestone, dolomite.

Among the minerals of the Mesozoic, the most important are oil shale, phosphorites, and zeolite-containing rocks. They are found in the southwestern regions of the republic in the Volga region. Small reserves and low quality limit the extraction of these types of minerals.

Deposits of bentonite clays, loams, sands, sand and gravel materials, building stone (rubble stone and crushed stone), and peat are confined to the Cenozoic deposits. They are widely distributed throughout the territory of the republic, they are sources of construction and mining raw materials.

Relief

The territory of the Republic of Tatarstan is a plain with uplands and lowlands, which were formed over a geologically long time. The average height of the territory of the Republic of Tatarstan is 150–160 m, 90% of the territory lies at an altitude of no more than 200 m above sea level. The highest heights are in the southeastern part of the republic within the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland. The highest point is 381 m. The minimum heights are confined to the left bank of the Volga and Kama rivers, the lowest mark is 53 m (the water line of the Kuibyshev reservoir).

The territory of the Republic of Tatarstan is divided into three parts by the Volga and Kama valleys - in the west, on the right bank of the Volga, the Pre-Volga region is distinguished, in the north, on the left bank of the Volga and the right bank of the Kama - Predkamye, in the south, southeast, on the left bank of the Kama - Zakamye.

The western part of the republic is the Volga Upland, the northern and eastern borders of which are washed by the Volga waters. The average height of the Pre-Volga region is 140 m, the maximum is 276 m (the upper reaches of the Bezdna River, the right tributary of the Sura, the Drozhzhanovsky district of the Republic of Tatarstan). The banks of the Volga are everywhere steep, indented by valleys of small rivers and ravines.

In the Predkamye, in the north-west of the republic, the southern end includes the southern end of the Vyatsky Uval upland. The highest heights here reach 235 m in the upper reaches of the Ilet and Shoshma rivers, the average height is 125 m. - 120 m, the average height of interfluve spaces is 140-160 m.

In the southeast of the republic, in the Eastern Trans-Kama region, the highest territory is observed - the Bugulmino-Belebeevskaya Upland with an average height of 175 m. Two high-altitude steps are well pronounced: 220-240 m and 300-320 m.

The low plains are formed by large rivers, the valleys of which were laid along tectonic faults and troughs. The largest area is occupied by the Zavolzhskaya lowland. It stretches along the left bank of the Volga in the form of a complex of terraces in a narrow strip to the confluence with the Kama, and then, expanding, forms the low-lying Western Trans-Kama region with leveled spaces 80-100 and 120-160 m high.

The Kama-Belskaya lowland corresponds to the valleys of the Kama and Belaya, Ika rivers with prevailing heights of 100-120 m.

The valleys of large and medium-sized rivers have a pronounced asymmetry of slopes, due to the displacement of the channels of these rivers to the right under the influence of the Coriolis force. Steep and high banks are composed of bedrock. On the gentler left slopes, there is a complex of river floodplain terraces.

Large landforms are complicated by river valleys of small rivers and streams, ravines, and beams. The asymmetry of the slopes of the valleys of small rivers is associated with uneven heating of slopes of different exposures in a cold periglacial climate. The slopes facing south and west are steeper.

The features of the relief make it possible to develop agriculture in all regions of the republic. However, human activity, as a result of which forests were reduced, which converted surface runoff into underground, and large areas of land were plowed up, contributed to the development of ravine and soil erosion.

Karst processes in Permian carbonate rocks, landslides on the slopes of river valleys composed of clays, and other small erosive landforms are widespread.

Climate

The climate of the republic is temperate continental. Summers are warm, winters are moderately cold. The duration of sunshine averages 1900 hours, the sunniest period is from April to August. The total solar radiation per year is approximately 3900 MJ/sq.m.

The climate is formed under the influence of the west-east transfer of air masses. Air masses from the Atlantic soften the climate, form cloudy weather with precipitation. Air from Siberia and the Arctic brings a significant cooling during the cold period.

The warmest month of the year is July with average temperatures of 18-20 °C, the coldest is January (-13, -14 °C). The absolute minimum temperature is -44, -48 °C (in Kazan -46.8 °C in 1942). The absolute maximum temperature is +40 °C. The absolute annual amplitude reaches 80-90 °C. The average annual temperature is approximately 2-3.1 °C.

The average amount of precipitation is from 460 to 520 mm. During the warm period of the year (above 0 °C), 65-75% of the annual precipitation falls. The maximum precipitation occurs in July (51-65 mm), the minimum - in February (21-27 mm). Some years are dry. The growing season is about 170 days.

Snow cover forms after mid-November and melts in the first half of April. The duration of the snow cover is 140-150 days a year, the average height is 35-45 cm. The maximum depth of soil freezing is 110-165 cm.

Climatic resources of individual regions of the republic are different. The Pre-Kama and Eastern Trans-Kama regions are relatively cold, but better moistened parts of the Republic of Tatarstan. Western Zakamye is a relatively warm region, but droughts are often observed. The Pre-Volga region of the Republic of Tatarstan has the best combination of climatic indicators. The climatic conditions of the republic are moderately favorable for agriculture.

Surface and ground water

The territory of the republic has an extensive river network, which belongs to the Volga-Kama basin. The total length of all rivers is about 22 thousand km, and their number is more than 3.5 thousand. The largest rivers are the Volga, Kama, Belaya, Vyatka, Ik.

They are transit, their sources are in other regions of the Russian Federation. Transit inflow of river waters is about 230 km3/year, and surface waters of local formation - 8-10 km3/year. The main part of the river network is made up of small rivers and streams. The total area of ​​the water surface is 4.5 thousand km2, or 6.5% of the entire territory of the republic.

The rivers of the republic have a mixed supply with a predominance of snow, which provides 60-80% of the annual flow. In second place is underground, in third - rain food.

The nature of nutrition determines the water regime of rivers. On all rivers, the spring flood is clearly distinguished by a sharp increase in water levels. The earliest (March 28-29) flood begins on the rivers of the south-west of the republic, ends in early May. The average duration is 30-60 days.

After the spring flood comes the summer low water, with low water levels, some rivers and streams dry up. At this time, the river is fed exclusively by groundwater. After intense and prolonged rains, the summer low water is interrupted by floods, on average 2-3 times.

In autumn, a slight rise in water is observed on the rivers, which is largely due to a decrease in evaporation from the surface of the basin. With the onset of cold weather, the rivers begin to freeze, ice formation forms. The thickness of the ice reaches 50-80 cm. During the winter, a steady low water is observed on the rivers, the lowest water levels and discharges are observed, food is supplied from groundwater.

The Volga is the largest river in the European part of Russia and the largest river in Europe. The total length of the Volga is 3530 km, the basin area is 1360 thousand km2. It originates on the Valdai Upland at an altitude of 228 m, from a spring in the village of Volgo-Verkhovye, Tver Region, and, flowing throughout Central Russia, flows into the Caspian Sea. In the republic, the Volga flows in its western part for 186 km. The right bank is high, forming picturesque cliffs and ledges. The left bank is gently sloping, occupied by floodplain terraces. The width near the city of Kazan is 3-6 km, in the area of ​​Kamskoye Ustye - up to 35 km. The main tributaries within the republic are the Kama and the Sviyaga.

The Kama is the leftmost tributary of the Volga. The length is 1805 km, the basin area is 507 thousand km2. The sources are located in the central part of the Verkhnekamsk Upland (in the northeast of Udmurtia). It enters the republic with its lower course (360 km), crossing it from the northeast to the southwest. It flows in a wide (up to 15 km) valley. The average water discharge at the mouth is 3500 m3/s.

Large tributaries of the Kama - Belaya, Vyatka, Ik.

Belaya - the left tributary of the Kama, flows from the South Ural Mountains. The total length of the river is 1430 km, on the territory of the republic - 50 km. The river bed is winding, the valley is wide. The average water consumption is 950 m3/s.

The Vyatka is the right tributary of the Kama, flows from north to south, the length is 1314 km (60 km in the republic), the basin area is 129 thousand km2. The current is slow, the channel is winding, a well-developed valley with a steep right bank, the left bank is gentle. There are a lot of riffles on the river. The average water consumption is 890 m3/s.

Ik is a large left tributary of the Kama, flowing downstream after the Belaya River, flows from south to north. Of the 598 km of its length, 483 km are located in Tatarstan, forming a natural border with the Republic of Bashkortostan. The average water consumption is 45.5 m3/s.

The right tributary of the Volga, the Sviyaga, flows through the pre-Volga region of the republic. Starts in the Ulyanovsk region. Length - 375 km (206 km - in the republic), basin area - 16700 km2. It flows from south to north parallel to the Volga. The river bed is winding, the width at low water is 20-30 m. The average water flow is 34 m3/s.

The basins of the Ileti, Kazanka, Mesha, as well as the right tributaries of the Lower Kama (Shumbut, Bersut) and the Lower Vyatka (Shoshma, Burets) are located in the Western Pre-Kama region. The largest is the Mesha River (271 km, average discharge 17.4 m3/s).

In the Eastern Pre-Kama region there are two middle rivers - Izh and Toima with sources in Udmurtia. In the Western Trans-Kama region, the largest rivers are the Bolshoi Cheremshan and Aktai, and in the Eastern Trans-Kama region, Stepnoy Zai and Sheshma.

The largest water bodies of Tatarstan are 4 reservoirs that provide the republic with water resources for various purposes. The Kuibyshev reservoir was created in 1955, the largest not only in Tatarstan, but also in Europe, it provides seasonal regulation of the flow of the Middle Volga, navigation, water supply and irrigation. The Nizhnekamsk reservoir was created in 1978 and provides daily and weekly redistribution to the hydroelectric complex. The Zainsky hydroelectric complex was established in 1963, it serves for the technical support of the state district power station. The Karabash reservoir was created in 1957 and serves to supply water to oil fields and industrial enterprises.

On the territory of the republic there are more than 8 thousand lakes, more than 7 thousand swamps. The most swampy is the northern part of the Eastern Trans-Kama region - the Kama-Belskaya lowland.

On the territory of the republic there are 731 hydraulic structures, 550 ponds, 115 treatment facilities, 11 protective dams.

The bowels of the republic are rich in groundwater - from highly mineralized to slightly brackish and fresh. Groundwater resources fully meet the needs of the population. There are 1.45 m3/day of fresh underground water per inhabitant.

A large number of springs - about 4 thousand. Many of them are equipped, they are places of pilgrimage ("holy keys").

The total reserves of mineral underground waters are 3.3 thousand m3/day.

Soils

The soils are very diverse - from soddy-podzolic and gray forest soils in the north and west to various types of chernozems in the south of the republic (32% of the area). On the territory of the region there are especially fertile powerful chernozems, and gray forest and leached chernozems prevail.

There are three soil regions on the territory of Tatarstan:

Severny (Pridkamye) - the most common are light gray forest (29%) and sod-podzolic (21%), located mainly on the watershed plateaus and upper parts of the slopes. 18.3% percent is occupied by gray and dark gray forest soils. Soddy soils are found on uplands and hills. 22.5% is occupied by eroded soils, floodplain - 6-7%, marsh - about 2%. In a number of districts (Baltasinsky, Kukmorsky, Mamadyshsky), soil erosion is strong, which affects up to 40% of the territory.

Western (Pre-Volga region) - forest-steppe soils (51.7%), gray and dark gray (32.7%) prevail in the northern part. A significant area is occupied by podzolized and leached chernozems. High areas of the region are occupied by soddy-podzolic and light gray soils (12%). Floodplain soils occupy 6.5%, marsh soils - 1.2%. In the south-west of the region, chernozems are common (leached soils predominate).

Southeastern (Zakamie) - west of Sheshma, leached and ordinary chernozems predominate, the right bank of the Small Cheremshan is occupied by dark gray soils. Gray forest and chernozem soils predominate to the east of Sheshma, and leached chernozems dominate in the northern part of the region.

The main part of the territory of the republic is represented by agricultural land. Chernozems are the most fertile. They occupy 40% of arable land. Water and wind erosion, intensive agriculture contribute to the decrease in land fertility.

Flora and fauna

The territory of the republic in the north of the Kama region enters the taiga zone. Most of the Cis-Kama region, the Volga region, the northern part of the Trans-Kama region is located in the zone of deciduous forests, the south of the Cis-Volga region and most of the Trans-Kama region are in the forest-steppe zone.

Only about 17% of the republic's territory is covered with forests. The forests are dominated by deciduous species (oak, linden, birch and aspen), coniferous species are represented mainly by pine and spruce.

The taiga zone is represented by two subzones: the southern taiga zone, with a predominance of coniferous tree species in the forests, and the subtaiga zone, with mixed broad-leaved-coniferous forests. Spruce and fir are typical for the forest north of the Volga region, to the south they are replaced by broad-leaved species, especially oak and linden, which is included in the second tier along with elm and Norway maple. Hazel, warty euonymus and other shrubs grow in the undergrowth. Where there are few of them, lush oak forbs develop; there are also mossy places where green mosses are combined with fern thickets.

To the south, natural forests become smaller, the number of broad-leaved species in them increases, linden and oak predominate. Pine forests with oak and linden are found on light sandy loam deposits and sands.

In the southern forest-steppe, starting on the left bank of the Volga south of the Kama River, and on the right bank south of the outskirts of the Kuibyshev reservoir, the amount of heat increases. Here, drier soddy meadow steppes are more common, with a predominance of feather grass, thin-legged, and fescue.

Tatarstan is located on the border of two zoogeographic zones - forests and steppes. There is a wide variety of species - more than 400 vertebrates and more than 270 birds.

In addition to the wolf, fox, common hedgehog, common for the European part of Russia, elks are found here (in the north), occasionally there are bears, lynxes, pine martens and ermines. Siberian species – Siberian weasel and chipmunk – penetrate here from the northeast. Of the common forest rodents, there are hare, squirrel living in tall pine and mixed forests, and dormouse, usually living in oak forests with dense undergrowth. Among mammals there are also waterfowl, such as desman, otter, mink, muskrat.

In the forest-steppe, in addition to the steppe, there are also numerous species of forest animals living in oak forests and pine forests. The steppe fauna of the Middle Volga region is represented by the jerboa, marmot, mole voles, hare, steppe polecat and others.

Many migratory birds nest in the republic and live here temporarily. As among animals, among birds there is also a mutual penetration of the forest and the steppe. The three-toed woodpecker, black grouse, capercaillie, eagle owl, eared owl, tawny owl and hazel grouse are adjacent to the black swift, partridge - gray and white, bustard and lark - field and forest. Inhabitants of reservoirs are numerous: lake gull, Volgar, or steamboat gull, river tern, as well as swans, geese, ducks, dives and mergansers. Feathered predators - peregrine falcon, hawk, upland buzzard, tuvik, griffon vulture, black vulture, steppe eagle, golden eagle, kite, marsh harrier and others - a total of 28 species.

Specially protected natural areas

Specially Protected Natural Territories (PAs) have been created in the republic to preserve natural complexes. According to the state cadastre of protected areas in the republic, their total number is 163, including the largest of them - the Volga-Kama State Natural Biosphere Reserve, the Nizhnyaya Kama National Park, as well as 25 state nature reserves and 135 natural monuments with a total area of ​​137.8 thousand ha, or 2% of the total area of ​​the republic.

To preserve the diversity of flora and fauna on the territory of the republic, the Volga-Kama Reserve was founded in 1960. It is located in the Western Predkamye, includes two isolated areas: Raifsky (in the Zelenodolsk region, 25 km northwest of Kazan) and Saralovsky (in the Laishevsky region, on the left bank of the Volga, 60 km south of Kazan). Its area is 8 thousand hectares (more than 7 thousand hectares are covered with forests, 58 hectares are occupied by meadows, 62 hectares are reservoirs).

The relief of the Raifa area is mostly flat. The beautiful Raifa Lake, into which the Sumka River flows, has been preserved. The relief of the Saralovsky area is characterized by significant fluctuations in absolute heights (from 50 m to 140 m).

The flora of the reserve consists of more than 800 species. Of particular interest is the dendrological garden located in the Raifa forestry. It contains plants from almost all continents. The reserve also protects 55 species of mammals, 195 species of birds and 30 species of fish (the coastal shallow waters are rich spawning grounds).

The vegetation on the Raifa site is bicentennial mixed coniferous-broad-leaved forests (with a predominance of pine), characteristic of the central zone of the European part of Russia, there are also oak, linden, spruce, birch, and aspen. The southern border of the distribution of spruce and fir in the European part of Russia passes along the Raifsky site. About 570 species of vascular plants have been registered in the Raifa area, rare species include single-leaved pulp, tuberous calypso, sedges: chaff, tangled, two-seeded.

More than 90% of the Saralovsky section is covered with forest; mainly pine and linden. The most interesting are pine woodlands on sandy hills, where Siberian bluebell, sleep-grass, Marshall's wormwood, Polissya fescue, sandy astragalus, spiked speedwell penetrate. Of the rare species, there are feathery feather grass, squat sedge. Many species are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The fauna of the reserve is very rich. There are 21 species of rodents: flying squirrel, common squirrel, river beaver, garden and forest dormouse, red-backed vole, yellow-throated mouse, European hare and white hare. Six species of insectivores have been registered: common hedgehog, mole, shrew. Occasionally there are a wolf, a bear, a lynx, an ermine, a roe deer, a reddish ground squirrel, a hamster; fox and elk, badger, raccoon dog, weasel, American mink, pine marten are common.

Birds are numerous: black grouse, hazel grouse, gray partridge, quail, turtledove, wood pigeon, rock dove, corncrake, gray heron, woodcock, snipe; less often capercaillie, gray crane. Of the owls, the Tawny Owl, the boreal and passerine owls live, of the predatory ones - the golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, peregrine falcon, hobby falcon, black kite.

The Nizhnyaya Kama National Park was established in 1991 to preserve and restore the unique natural complex of the richest floristically and typologically forested areas and floodplain meadow communities of the Republic of Tatarstan and use them for scientific, recreational, educational and cultural purposes.

The park is located in the north-east of the Republic of Tatarstan within the Eastern Pre-Kama and Eastern Trans-Kama regions, in the valley of the Kama River and its tributaries Toima, Kriushi, Tanaika, Shilninka. Administratively, the territory of the park is located within two administrative districts - Tukaevsky and Yelabuga. The area of ​​the national park is 26.6 thousand hectares.

Of the local climatic factors, it is worth noting the structural features of the relief and the presence on the territory of a large water basin - the Nizhnekamsk reservoir. The surface of the territory is slightly wavy, dissected by valleys of small rivers and streams, a network of ravines and ravines. The position of the park on the border of three natural subzones (broad-leaved-spruce and broad-leaved forests, meadow steppes) determined the diversity of natural landscape complexes and flora of the park.

The flora of the national park is represented by more than 650 species of higher vascular plants, the basis of which are forest (boreal, upland, nemoral) species growing in forested and forested ecotopes; as well as plants of upland and floodplain meadows, which are confined to watersheds and the valley of the Kama River, to the valleys of small rivers.

Also, about 100 species of lichens, more than 50 species of mosses, more than 100 species of macromycetes grow in the park.

Feather grass growing in the park, red pollenhead are listed in the Red Book of Russia; 86 species of plants present in the flora of the national park are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan.

The fauna of the park as a whole is typical for the east of the middle zone of the European part of Russia. Mammals are represented by 42 species. Among them are the typical inhabitants of the forest: elk, roe deer, wild boar, lynx, badger, pine marten, squirrel, weasel; and inhabitants of reservoirs and their coastal part: beaver, muskrat, otter, raccoon dog. The water bat, brown ear bat, forest bat, forest mouse and chipmunk living in the national park are rare species and are listed in the Red Book of the Republic of Tatarstan. The avifauna is quite diverse (more than 190 species, including 136 nesting species). Most of the species are forest, open space and wetland species.

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State structure and population

Tatarstan is a republic within the Russian Federation. The head of state and the highest official of the Republic of Tatarstan is the President. He heads the system of executive bodies of state power in the republic and manages the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers - the executive and administrative body of state power. The Cabinet of Ministers is responsible to the President. The candidacy of the Prime Minister is approved by the Parliament of Tatarstan at the proposal of the President.