The height of the Russian plain. East European Plain: main characteristics

The East European Plain is second in size only to the Amazon Lowland, located in South America. The second largest plain on our planet is located on the Eurasian continent. Most of it is located in the eastern part of the continent, the smaller part is in the western part. Since the geographical location of the East European Plain is mainly in Russia, it is often called the Russian Plain.

East European Plain: its borders and location

From north to south the plain has a length of more than 2.5 thousand kilometers, and from east to west 1 thousand kilometers. Its flat terrain is explained by its almost complete coincidence with the East European Platform. This means that major natural phenomena do not threaten it; small earthquakes and flooding are possible. In the north-west the plain ends with the Scandinavian Mountains, in the south-west - the Carpathians, in the south - the Caucasus, in the east - the Mugodjars and the Urals. Its highest part is located in the Khibiny Mountains (1190m), the lowest is located on the Caspian coast (below sea level 28 m). Most of the plain is located in the forest zone, the southern and central parts are forest-steppe and steppe. The extreme south and eastern part is covered with desert and semi-desert.

East European Plain: its rivers and lakes

Onega, Pechora, Mezen, Northern Dvina are large rivers in the northern part that belong to the Arctic Ocean. The Baltic Sea basin includes such large rivers as the Western Dvina, Neman, and Vistula. The Dniester, Southern Bug, and Dnieper flow to the Black Sea. The Volga and Ural rivers belong to the Caspian Sea basin. The Don flows its waters towards the Sea of Azov. In addition to large rivers, there are several large lakes on the Russian Plain: Ladoga, Beloe, Onega, Ilmen, Chudskoye.

East European Plain: fauna

Animals of the forest group, arctic and steppe live on the Russian Plain. Forest fauna are more common. These are lemmings, chipmunks, gophers and marmots, antelopes, martens and forest cats, minks, black polecat and wild boar, garden, hazel and forest dormouse and so on. Unfortunately, man has caused significant damage to the fauna of the plain. Even before the 19th century, the tarpan (wild forest horse) lived in mixed forests. Today in Belovezhskaya Pushcha they are trying to preserve bison. There is the Askania-Nova steppe reserve, where animals from Asia, Africa and Australia live. And the Voronezh Nature Reserve successfully protects beavers. Moose and wild boars, previously completely exterminated, have reappeared in this area.

Minerals of the East European Plain

The Russian Plain contains many mineral resources that are of great importance not only for our country, but also for the rest of the world. First of all, these are the Pechora coal basin, Kursk magnetic ore deposits, nepheline and apathetic ores on the Kola Peninsula, Volga-Ural and Yaroslavl oil, brown coal in the Moscow region. No less important are the aluminum ores of Tikhvin and the brown iron ore of Lipetsk. Limestone, sand, clay and gravel are common throughout almost the entire plain. Table salt is mined in lakes Elton and Baskunchak, and potassium salt is mined in the Kama Cis-Ural region. In addition to all this, gas production is underway (Azov coast region).

In the West - . From the east the plain is bordered by mountains.

At the base of the plain lie large tectonic structures - the Russian and Scythian plates. In most of the territory, their foundation is deeply buried under thick sedimentary strata of different ages, lying horizontally. Therefore, flat terrain predominates on the platforms. In a number of places the foundation of the platform is raised. Large hills are located in these areas. The Dnieper Upland is located within. The Baltic shield corresponds to relatively elevated plains and, as well as low mountains. The raised foundation of the Voronezh anticlise serves as the core. The same rise of the foundation is found at the base of the highlands of the High Trans-Volga region. A special case is the Volga Upland, where the foundation lies at great depth. Here, throughout the Mesozoic and Paleogene, subsidence and accumulation of thick layers of sedimentary rocks occurred. Then, during the Neogene and Quaternary times, this section of the earth’s crust rose, which led to the formation of the Volga Upland.

A number of large hills were formed as a result of repeated Quaternary glaciations and the accumulation of material - morainic loams and sands. These are the Valdai, Smolensk-Moscow, Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya, Northern Uvaly hills.

Between the large hills there are lowlands in which the valleys of large rivers - the Dnieper, Don, etc.

Such high-water but relatively short rivers as the Onega carry their water to the north, and the Neva and Neman to the west.

The headwaters and beds of many rivers are often located close to each other, which in flat conditions facilitates their connection by canals. These are channels named after. Moscow, Volgo-, Volgo-Don, White Sea-Baltic. Thanks to the canals, ships from Moscow can sail along rivers, lakes and to the Black, Baltic and seas. That's why Moscow is called the port of five seas.

In winter, all rivers of the East European Plain freeze. In the spring, when the snow melts, floods occur in most parts. To retain and use spring water, numerous reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations have been built on rivers. The Volga and Dnieper turned into a cascade, used both for generating electricity and for shipping, irrigation, water supply to cities, etc.

A characteristic feature of the East European Plain is a clear manifestation of latitudinal variation. It is expressed more fully and clearly than on other plains of the globe. It is no coincidence that the law of zoning, formulated by the famous Russian scientist, was primarily based on his study of this particular territory.

The flatness of the territory, the abundance of minerals, a relatively mild climate, sufficient precipitation, a variety of natural conditions favorable for various industries - all this contributed to the intensive economic development of the East European Plain. Economically, this is the most important part of Russia. More than 50% of the country's population lives on it and two-thirds of the total number of cities and workers' settlements are located there. The densest network of highways and railways is located on the plain. Most of them - the Volga, Dnieper, Don, Dniester, Western Dvina, Kama - have been regulated and converted into a cascade of reservoirs. Over vast areas, forests have been cut down and landscapes have become a combination of forests and fields. Many forest areas are now secondary forests, where coniferous and broad-leaved species have been replaced by small-leaved trees - birch and aspen. The territory of the East European Plain contains half of the country's entire arable land, about 40% of hayfields, and 12% of pastures. Of all the large parts, the East European Plain is the most developed and changed by human activity.

The Russian Plain is also called the East European Plain. This is its physical-geographical name. The total area of this land area is 4 million km2. Only the Amazonian lowland is larger.

The East European Plain occupies a significant part of the territory of Russia. It starts off the coast of the Baltic Sea and ends near the Ural Mountains. From the north and from the south the plain is bordered by 2 seas at once. In the first case, these are the Barents and White Seas, in the second, the Caspian and Azov Seas. On different sides the plain is limited by mountain ranges. The situation is this:

The northwestern border is the Scandinavian Mountains;
Western and southwestern borders are the mountains of Central Europe and the Carpathians;
Southern border - Caucasus Mountains;
The eastern border is the Ural Mountains.

In addition, Crimea is located on the territory of the Russian Plain. In this case, the northern foothills of the Crimean Mountains act as the border.

Scientists have classified the East European Plain as a physical-geographical country due to the fact that it is characterized by the following features:

Placement on one of the slabs of the same name plain of a platform, which, unlike the others, is slightly raised;
Located in a temperate climate zone, as well as a small amount of precipitation. This is a consequence of the influence of two oceans, the first of which is the Atlantic, the second is the Arctic;
The presence of a clear natural zonation, which is explained by the flatness of the relief.

The plain described is divided into two other plains, namely:

Basement-denudation, occupying the Baltic crystalline shield;
Eastern European, located on two plates at once: Scythian and Russian.

The crystalline shield has a unique relief. It was formed during continental denudation, which lasted more than one thousand years. Certain features were obtained by the relief as a result of tectonic movements that occurred in modern times. As for the past, in the Quaternary period the center of the glacier was located on the site of the modern Baltic crystalline shield. It is for this reason that the local terrain is glacial.

Platform deposits, which are part of the Russian Plain, represent a kind of cover, located in a horizontal position. Thanks to them, two types of hills and lowlands were formed. The first of them are formation-denudation, and the second are accumulative. In some areas of the plain there are projections of folded foundations. They are represented by basement-denudation hills and ridges: Donetsk, Timan, etc.

If we take into account the average statistical indicator, the height of the East European Plain above sea level is 170 meters. This indicator is lowest on the shores of the Caspian Sea, and highest on the hills. For example, the Podolsk Upland is located 417 meters above sea level.

Settlement of the East European Plain

Some scientists are of the opinion that Eastern Europe was inhabited by the Slavs, but some researchers are convinced of the opposite. It is known for certain that Cro-Magnons settled on the Russian Plain approximately 30 thousand years BC. Outwardly, they slightly resembled Caucasians, and over time they became similar to modern people. The process of adaptation of Cro-Magnons took place in glacier conditions. In the 10th millennium BC, the climate became milder, so the descendants of the Cro-Magnons, called Indo-Europeans, began to develop territories located in the southeast of modern Europe. Where they were before is unknown, but there is reliable evidence that the settlement of this territory by Indo-Europeans occurred 6 thousand years BC.

The first Slavs appeared on European territory much later than the Indo-Europeans. Historians claim that their active settlement dates back to the 5th-6th centuries AD. For example, the Balkan Peninsula and the adjacent territories were occupied by the South Slavs. The Western Slavs moved from north to west. Many of them became the ancestors of modern Germans and Poles. Some settled on the Baltic Sea coast, while others settled in the Czech Republic. At the same time, serious changes occurred in primitive society. In particular, the community became obsolete, the clan hierarchy faded into the background, and associations began to take their place, becoming the first states.

The Slavs, without any apparent difficulty, settled the eastern lands of a large territory called Europe. At first, their relations with each other were based on the primitive communal system, and later on the tribal system. The number of settlers was small, so their tribes did not lack free land.

During the settlement process, the Slavs assimilated with representatives of the Finno-Ugric tribes. Their inter-tribal unions are considered the first semblance of states. At the same time, the climate of Europe has become warmer. This led to the development of agriculture and cattle breeding, but at the same time fishing and hunting continued to play an important role in the economic activities of primitive people.

A favorable set of circumstances for the colonists explains that the Eastern Slavs became the largest group of peoples, including Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians. If the settlement of the Slavs only began in the early Middle Ages, its “heyday” occurred in the 8th century. Simply put, it was at this time that the Slavic tribes were able to take a dominant position. Their neighbors were representatives of other nations. This has its pros and cons.

Speaking about the settlement of the Slavs, it should be noted that the main feature of this historical process is unevenness. First, the territories that were located near the route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” were developed, and only then the eastern, western and southwestern lands were colonized.

The settlement of the Slavs across the Russian Plain has a number of features. Among them it is necessary to highlight:

Significant influence of climate on the duration of colonization;
Dependence of population density on natural and climatic conditions. This means that the southern territories were populated more densely compared to the northern ones;
The absence of military conflicts caused by a lack of land;
Imposing tribute on other nations;
Complete assimilation of representatives of small tribes.

After the Slavic tribes occupied the East European Plain, they began to develop new types of economic activity, made adjustments to the existing social system and created the preconditions for the creation of the first states.

Modern exploration of the East European Plain

Many famous scientists have studied the East European Plain. In particular, a huge contribution to the development of science was made by mineralologist V.M. Severgin.

In the early spring of 1803, Severgin was studying the Baltic states. While conducting research, he noticed that in the southwest direction from Lake Peipsi the terrain becomes more hilly. Subsequently, Vasily Mikhailovich made a multi-stage transition. First he walked from the Gauja River to the Neman, and then to the Bug. This allowed him to establish that the area was either hilly or elevated. Realizing that such an alternation is a pattern, Severgin unmistakably determined its direction, going from southwest to northeast.

The territory of Polesie was studied by scientists no less closely. In particular, numerous studies began after the lands on the right bank of the Dnieper “opened up”, which led to a decrease in the number of meadows. So, in 1873 the Western Expedition was organized. A group of scientists led by topographer I.I. Zhilinsky planned to study the characteristics of local swamps and determine the best ways to drain them. Over time, the expedition members were able to draw up a map of Polesie, studied lands with a total area of more than 100 thousand km2 and measured about 600 heights. The information obtained by Zhilinsky allowed A.A. Tillo will continue his colleague’s endeavors. This led to the appearance of the hypsometric map. It served as clear evidence that Polesie is a plain with elevated borders. In addition, it was found that this region is rich in rivers and lakes. There are approximately 500 of the former, and 300 of the latter. The total length of both exceeds 9 thousand kilometers.

Later, G.I. studied Polesie. Tanfilyev. He established that the destruction of swamps will not cause shallowing of the Dnieper. P.A. came to the same conclusion. Tutkovsky. The same scientist modified the map created by Tillo, adding several hills to it, among which the Ovruch Ridge should be highlighted.

E.P. Kovalevsky, being an engineer at one of the factories in Lugansk, devoted himself to studying the Donetsk Ridge. He conducted a lot of research and determined that the ridge is a pool of enormous size. Later, Kovalevsky was recognized as the discoverer of Donbass, because It was he who created his first geological map and suggested that the region was rich in minerals.

In 1840, the famous geologist R. Murchison came to Russia. Together with domestic scientists, he explored the coast of the White Sea. As a result of the work carried out, many rivers and hills were studied, which were later plotted on maps.

V.V. studied the southern part of the Russian Plain. Dokuchaev, who was later recognized as the “father” of Russian soil science. This scientist found that part of Eastern Europe is occupied by a unique zone, which is a mixture of black soil and steppe. In addition, in 1900, Dokuchaev drew up a map on which he divided the plain into 5 natural zones.

Over time, the interest of scientists in the East European Plain has not weakened. This led to the organization of many expeditions and various studies. Both of them allowed us to make many scientific discoveries, as well as create new maps.

THE EAST EUROPEAN PLAIN, The Russian Plain is one of the largest plains on the globe, within which are the European part of Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, as well as most of Ukraine, western Poland and eastern Kazakhstan. The length from west to east is about 2400 km, from north to south – 2500 km. Area over 4 million km 2. In the north it is washed by the White and Barents Seas; in the west it borders on the Central European Plain (approximately along the Vistula River valley); in the southwest - with the mountains of Central Europe (Sudetes, etc.) and the Carpathians; in the south it reaches the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas, the Crimean Mountains and the Caucasus; in the southeast and east - limited to the western foothills of the Urals and Mugodzhary. Some researchers include V.-E. R. the southern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia, others classify this territory as Fennoscandia, the nature of which differs sharply from the nature of the plain.

Relief and geological structure

V.-E. R. geostructurally corresponds in general to the ancient Russian plate East European Platform, in the south - northern part of the young Scythian platform, in the northeast - southern part of the young Barents-Pechora platform .

Complex relief of V.-E. R. characterized by slight fluctuations in height (average height about 170 m). The highest altitudes are observed on the Podolsk (up to 471 m, Mount Kamula) and Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya (up to 479 m) elevations, the lowest (about 27 m below sea level - the lowest point in Russia) is located on the Caspian Lowland, on the coast of the Caspian Sea.

On E.-E. R. Two geomorphological regions are distinguished: the northern moraine with glacial landforms and the southern non-moraine with erosive landforms. The northern moraine region is characterized by lowlands and plains (Baltic, Upper Volga, Meshcherskaya, etc.), as well as small hills (Vepsovskaya, Zhemaitskaya, Khaanya, etc.). In the east is the Timan Ridge. The far north is occupied by vast coastal lowlands (Pechorskaya and others). There are also a number of large hills - tundras, among them - the Lovozero tundras and others.

In the north-west, in the area of distribution of the Valdai glaciation, accumulative glacial relief predominates: hilly and ridge-moraine, western with flat lacustrine-glacial and outwash plains. There are many swamps and lakes (Chudsko-Pskovskoe, Ilmen, Upper Volga lakes, Beloe, etc.), the so-called lake district. To the south and east, in the area of distribution of the more ancient Moscow glaciation, smoothed undulating secondary moraine plains, reworked by erosion, are characteristic; There are basins of drained lakes. Moraine-erosive hills and ridges (Belarusian ridge, Smolensk-Moscow upland, etc.) alternate with moraine, outwash, lacustrine-glacial and alluvial lowlands and plains (Mologo-Sheksninskaya, Verkhnevolzhskaya, etc.). In some places, karst landforms are developed (Belomorsko-Kuloiskoe plateau, etc.). More often there are ravines and gullies, as well as river valleys with asymmetrical slopes. Along the southern border of the Moscow glaciation, typical areas are Polesye (Polesskaya Lowland, etc.) and Opole (Vladimirskoye, Yuryevskoye, etc.).

In the north, island permafrost is common in the tundra, while in the extreme northeast there is continuous permafrost up to 500 m thick and temperatures from –2 to –4 °C. To the south, in the forest-tundra, the thickness of the permafrost decreases, its temperature rises to 0 °C. There is permafrost degradation and thermal abrasion on sea coasts with destruction and retreat of the shores up to 3 m per year.

For the southern non-moraine region of V.-E. R. characterized by large hills with erosive gully-gully relief (Volynskaya, Podolskaya, Pridneprovskaya, Priazovskaya, Central Russian, Volga, Ergeni, Bugulminsko-Belebeevskaya, General Syrt, etc.) and outwash, alluvial accumulative lowlands and plains related to the area of the Dnieper and Don glaciations (Pridneprovskaya, Oksko-Donskaya, etc.). Characterized by wide asymmetrical terraced river valleys. In the southwest (the Black Sea and Dnieper lowlands, the Volyn and Podolsk uplands, etc.) there are flat watersheds with shallow steppe depressions, the so-called “saucers,” formed due to the widespread development of loess and loess-like loams. In the northeast (High Trans-Volga region, General Syrt, etc.), where there are no loess-like deposits and bedrock comes to the surface, the watersheds are complicated by terraces, and the peaks are weathered remains of bizarre shapes - shikhans. In the south and southeast, flat coastal accumulative lowlands are typical (Black Sea, Azov, Caspian).

Climate

Far north of V.-E. The river, which is located in the subarctic zone, has a subarctic climate. Most of the plain, located in the temperate zone, is dominated by a temperate continental climate with the dominance of western air masses. As you move away from the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the continental climate increases, it becomes more severe and drier, and in the southeast, on the Caspian Lowland, it becomes continental, with hot, dry summers and cold, little snowy winters. The average January temperature ranges from –2 to –5 °C in the southwest and drops to –20 °C in the northeast. The average July temperature increases from north to south from 6 to 23–24 °C and up to 25.5 °C in the southeast. The northern and central parts of the plain are characterized by excessive and sufficient moisture, the southern part is characterized by insufficient and meager moisture, reaching the point of aridity. The most moist part of V.-E. R. (between 55–60° N) receives 700–800 mm of precipitation per year in the west and 600–700 mm in the east. Their number decreases to the north (in the tundra to 300–250 mm) and to the south, but especially to the southeast (in the semi-desert and desert to 200–150 mm). Maximum precipitation occurs in summer. In winter, snow cover (thickness 10–20 cm) lies from 60 days a year in the south to 220 days (thickness 60–70 cm) in the northeast. In the forest-steppe and steppe, frosts are frequent, droughts and hot winds are typical; in semi-deserts and deserts there are dust storms.

Inland waters

Most of the rivers of V.-E. R. belongs to the Atlantic and Northern basins. Arctic Oceans. The Neva, Daugava (Western Dvina), Vistula, Neman, etc. flow into the Baltic Sea; the Dnieper, Dniester, and Southern Bug carry their waters to the Black Sea; Don, Kuban, etc. flow into the Sea of Azov. Pechora flows into the Barents Sea; to the White Sea - Mezen, Northern Dvina, Onega, etc. The Volga, the largest river in Europe, as well as the Ural, Emba, Bolshoi Uzen, Maly Uzen, etc. belong to the internal drainage basin, mainly of the Caspian Sea. All rivers are predominantly snow-fed with spring flood. In the southwest of the E.-E.r. rivers do not freeze every year; in the northeast, freeze-up lasts up to 8 months. The long-term runoff modulus decreases from 10–12 l/s per km 2 in the north to 0.1 l/s per km 2 or less in the southeast. The hydrographic network has undergone strong anthropogenic changes: a system of canals (Volga-Baltic, White Sea-Baltic, etc.) connects all the seas washing East-Europe. R. The flow of many rivers, especially those flowing to the south, is regulated. Significant sections of the Volga, Kama, Dnieper, Dniester and others have been transformed into cascades of large reservoirs (Rybinskoye, Kuibyshevskoye, Tsimlyanskoye, Kremenchugskoye, Kakhovskoye, etc.).

There are numerous lakes of various genesis: glacial-tectonic - Ladoga (area with islands 18.3 thousand km 2) and Onega (area 9.7 thousand km 2) - the largest in Europe; moraine - Chudsko-Pskovskoye, Ilmen, Beloye, etc., estuary (Chizhinsky spills, etc.), karst (Okonskoe vent in Polesie, etc.), thermokarst in the north and suffosion in the south of V.-E. R. etc. Salt tectonics played a role in the formation of salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Aralsor, Inder), since some of them arose during the destruction of salt domes.

Natural landscapes

V.-E. R. – a classic example of a territory with a clearly defined latitudinal and sublatitudinal zonality of natural landscapes. Almost the entire plain is located in the temperate geographical zone and only the northern part is in the subarctic. In the north, where permafrost is common, small areas expanding to the east are occupied by the tundra zone: typical moss-lichen, grass-moss-shrub (lingonberry, blueberry, crowberry, etc.) and southern shrub (dwarf birch, willow) on the tundra- gley and bog soils, as well as on dwarf illuvial-humus podzols (on sands). These are landscapes that are uncomfortable to live in and have a low ability to recover. To the south there is a narrow strip of forest-tundra with low-growing birch and spruce forests, and in the east - with larch. This is a pastoral zone with man-made and field landscapes around rare cities. About 50% of the plain's territory is occupied by forests. Zone of dark coniferous (mainly spruce, and in the east - with the participation of fir and larch) European taiga, swampy in places (from 6% in the southern to 9.5% in the northern taiga), on gley-podzolic (in the northern taiga), podzolic soils and podzols expands to the east. To the south there is a subzone of mixed coniferous-deciduous (oak, spruce, pine) forests on soddy-podzolic soils, which extends most widely in the western part. Along the river valleys there are pine forests growing on podzols. In the west, from the coast of the Baltic Sea to the foothills of the Carpathians, there is a subzone of broad-leaved (oak, linden, ash, maple, hornbeam) forests on gray forest soils; forests wedge out towards the Volga valley and have an island distribution in the east. The subzone is represented by forest-field-meadow natural landscapes with forest cover of only 28%. Primary forests are often replaced by secondary birch and aspen forests, occupying 50–70% of the forest area. The natural landscapes of opolis are unique - with plowed flat areas, remnants of oak forests and a ravine-beam network along the slopes, as well as woodlands - swampy lowlands with pine forests. From the northern part of Moldova to the Southern Urals there is a forest-steppe zone with oak groves (mostly cut down) on gray forest soils and rich forb-grass meadow steppes (some areas are preserved in nature reserves) on chernozems, which make up the main fund of arable land. The share of arable land in the forest-steppe zone is up to 80%. Southern part of V.-E. R. (except in the southeast) is occupied by forb-feather grass steppes on ordinary chernozems, which give way to the south by fescue-feather grass dry steppes on dark chestnut soils. In most of the Caspian Lowland, cereal-wormwood semi-deserts predominate on light chestnut and brown desert-steppe soils and wormwood-salote deserts on brown soils in combination with solonetzes and solonchaks.

Ecological situation

V.-E. R. mastered for a long time and significantly changed by man. In many natural landscapes, natural-anthropogenic complexes dominate, especially in steppe, forest-steppe, mixed and deciduous forests (up to 75%). Territory of V.-E. R. highly urbanized. The most densely populated zones (up to 100 people/km 2) are the zones of mixed and broad-leaved forests of the Central region of V.-E. r., where territories with a relatively satisfactory or favorable environmental situation occupy only 15% of the area. The environmental situation is particularly tense in large cities and industrial centers (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Lipetsk, Voronezh, etc.). In Moscow, emissions into the atmospheric air amounted (2014) to 996.8 thousand tons, or 19.3% of emissions from the entire Central Federal District (5169.7 thousand tons), in the Moscow region - 966.8 thousand tons (18. 7%); in the Lipetsk region, emissions from stationary sources reached 330 thousand tons (21.2% of the district’s emissions). In Moscow, 93.2% are emissions from road transport, of which carbon monoxide accounts for 80.7%. The largest amount of emissions from stationary sources was noted in the Komi Republic (707.0 thousand tons). The proportion of residents (up to 3%) living in cities with high and very high levels of pollution is decreasing (2014). In 2013, Moscow, Dzerzhinsk, and Ivanovo were excluded from the priority list of the most polluted cities in the Russian Federation. Foci of pollution are typical for large industrial centers, especially for Dzerzhinsk, Vorkuta, Nizhny Novgorod, etc. Soils in the city of Arzamas (2565 and 6730 mg/kg) of the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the city of Chapaevsk (1488 and 18,034 mg) are contaminated with oil products (2014). /kg) Samara region, in the areas of Nizhny Novgorod (1282 and 14,000 mg/kg), Samara (1007 and 1815 mg/kg) and other cities. Spills of oil and petroleum products as a result of accidents at oil and gas production facilities and main pipeline transport lead to changes in soil properties - an increase in pH to 7.7–8.2, salinization and the formation of technogenic salt marshes, and the appearance of microelements anomalies. In agricultural areas, soil contamination with pesticides, including the banned DDT, is observed.

Numerous rivers, lakes, and reservoirs are heavily polluted (2014), especially in the center and south of Eastern Europe. rivers, including the rivers Moscow, Pakhra, Klyazma, Myshega (city of Aleksin), Volga and others, mainly within cities and downstream. Fresh water intake (2014) in the Central Federal District amounted to 10,583.62 million m3; the volume of domestic water consumption is greatest in the Moscow region (76.56 m 3 / person) and in Moscow (69.27 m 3 / person), the discharge of contaminated wastewater is also maximum in these regions - 1121.91 million m 3 and 862 .86 million m 3 respectively. The share of contaminated wastewater in the total volume of discharges is 40–80%. The discharge of polluted waters in St. Petersburg reached 1054.14 million m3, or 91.5% of the total volume of discharges. There is a shortage of fresh water, especially in the southern regions of V.-E. R. The problem of waste disposal is acute. In 2014, 150.3 million tons of waste were collected in the Belgorod region - the largest in the Central Federal District, as well as disposed waste - 107.511 million tons. The anthropogenic terrain is typical: waste heaps (height up to 50 m), quarries, etc. In the Leningrad region there are over 630 quarries with an area of more than 1 hectare. Large quarries remain in the Lipetsk and Kursk regions. The taiga contains the main areas of logging and wood processing industries, which are powerful polluters of the natural environment. There are clear cuttings and overcuts, and littering of forests. The proportion of small-leaved species is growing, including on the site of former arable lands and hay meadows, as well as spruce forests, which are less resistant to pests and windfalls. The number of fires has increased; in 2010, more than 500 thousand hectares of land burned. Secondary swamping of territories is noted. The number and biodiversity of wildlife is declining, including as a result of poaching. In 2014, 228 ungulates were poached in the Central Federal District alone.

For agricultural lands, especially in the southern regions, soil degradation processes are typical. The annual loss of soil in the steppe and forest-steppe is up to 6 t/ha, in some places 30 t/ha; the average annual loss of humus in soils is 0.5–1 t/ha. Up to 50–60% of the land is prone to erosion; the density of the ravine network reaches 1–2.0 km/km 2 . The processes of siltation and eutrophication of water bodies are increasing, and the shallowing of small rivers continues. Secondary salinization and flooding of soils are observed.

Specially protected natural areas

Numerous reserves, national parks and sanctuaries have been created to study and protect typical and rare natural landscapes. In the European part of Russia there are (2016) 32 nature reserves and 23 national parks, including 10 biosphere reserves (Voronezh, Prioksko-Terrasny, Central-Lesnoy, etc.). Among the oldest reserves: Astrakhan Nature Reserve(1919), Askania-Nova (1921, Ukraine), Belovezhskaya Pushcha(1939, Belarus). Among the largest nature reserves is the Nenets Nature Reserve (313.4 thousand km 2), and among the national parks is the Vodlozersky National Park (4683.4 km 2). Areas of indigenous taiga “Virgin Komi Forests” and Belovezhskaya Pushcha are on the list World Heritage. There are many reserves: federal (Tarusa, Kamennaya Steppe, Mshinskoe swamp) and regional, as well as natural monuments (Irgiz floodplain, Racheyskaya taiga, etc.). Natural parks have been created (Gagarinsky, Eltonsky, etc.). The share of protected areas in different regions varies from 15.2% in the Tver region to 2.3% in the Rostov region.

East European Plain: its borders and location

East European Plain: its rivers and lakes

East European Plain: fauna

Minerals of the East European Plain