Resources of the Urals: mineral, forest, aquatic and climatic. Nature of the Urals

The Urals name the geographical area in Russia, the basis of which is the mountain system of the same name. The resources of the Urals (mineral, forest, water, climatic and recreational) are rich and diverse. About them, mainly, and will be discussed in this article.

Ural: geographical position, natural conditions and resources (briefly)

The geographical region called Ural serves as a boundary between the two largest plains of Eurasia - the East European and West Siberian. And the axial part of this region is the eponymous mountain system, stretching for 2000 kilometers from north to south.

The Urals also distinguish two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. On the outskirts of Yekaterinburg there is an appropriate commemorative sign. By the way, the toponym "Ural" in translation from the Bashkir language means "belt". The Bashkirs even have an ancient legend about a giant who once spread his huge belt, so much so that he joined the cold Kara Sea with the southern Caspian. And in the pockets of this giant were hidden untold wealth. It is about these riches that will be discussed later.

The natural resources of the Urals are rich and diverse. The beauty and uniqueness of this region has been reflected both in literature and in the visual arts. Its various corners can be seen in the pictures of artists and photographs of famous travelers. The most vividly capacious and Ural nature was described in his time by D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak.

Economic importance of the region

For a long time the Urals has been and remains the strategically important industrial foundation of Russia. Active development of this region began during the reign of Peter the Great. This has contributed to the richest mineral resources of the Urals.

In the XIX-XX centuries, factories and industrial enterprises in the Urals grew like mushrooms after an abundant summer rain. This, according to the writer Alexei Ivanov, even provoked the formation of a special "mining civilization" here. The Urals region played an important role during the Great Patriotic War. It was not for nothing that he was called in those days "the backbone of the state". In fact, it was in the Urals that the victory was forged in that difficult and incredibly bloody war.

The territory of the Urals is densely populated by Russian standards and well developed. The largest cities in the region are Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Ufa, Magnitogorsk, Izhevsk and Nizhny Tagil.

Minerals in the region

The mineral resources of the Urals are extremely rich and diverse. By and large, in the bowels of this richest region there is everything: from sand and clay, to oil and gold. There is an incredible combination of large reserves of ore, nonmetallic, construction and chemical raw materials.

As early as the 16th century, copper was discovered in the western part of the Urals, and in the 17th century, iron. It is with the founding of ironworks that the history of the emergence of the "capital" of the region, the city of Yekaterinburg, is connected.

Later, large deposits of gold and platinum, coal and silver, precious and semiprecious stones will be found here. In the Urals, bauxite and potassium salts are mined, the quality of which is considered to be the best in the country. The city of Orenburg is famous for its gas production, and Ishimbay for oil. A variety of building materials are also abundant here (limestone, marble, sand and clay).

Water Resources of the Urals

The entire territory of the geographical region is divided between two basins. Some rivers and rivers carry their waters to the cold Arctic Ocean. The waters of other watercourses are destined to be in the basin of the Caspian Sea-lake.

The water resources of the Urals are mainly represented by rivers. The largest of them are Kama, Ural, Pechora, Tobol, Tura, Iset. They all originate in the Ural Mountains. Therefore, in the headwaters of the valleys of these rivers are narrow and very steep. In general, the lack of water is felt only in the southern part of the region. In addition, many rivers here are polluted by sewage from various industrial enterprises.

A number of large and small hydroelectric power stations operate in the Urals. The most powerful among them are the Pavlovskaya, Shirokovskaya and Yumaguzinskaya HPPs. However, the hydroelectric resources of the Urals have not yet been developed well enough.

Forests of the Urals

Forest resources of the Urals are estimated by ecologists in 3 billion cubic meters of cubic wood. Of the local tree species, the most valuable are pine, fir, spruce and larch. Forests occupy almost half of the total area of the region. In absolute terms, this is about 40 million hectares.

The main part of the forest is concentrated in its northern regions (mainly in the Perm and Sverdlovsk regions). With the advance to the south, they are gradually supplanted by the forest-steppe and steppe. It is worth noting that the Ural forests were subjected to intensive felling during the XVIII-XIX centuries. Small areas of virgin (untouched) forests in the Urals can be found only in the north of the region.

Climatic and recreational resources of the region

The climate of the Urals is of the continental type. And its continentality is markedly enhanced with the advance to the south-east. Winters are long and fairly snowy, and the transitional seasons of the year are rather cool. The amount of precipitation varies from 700 mm in the north of the region to 200-250 mm in its southern part. In general, the climate to the west of the Ural mountains is softer and wet, and to the east of the mountain system is drier and colder.

Perspective for agriculture and the development of productive agriculture are only the Middle and Southern Urals. In particular, the wide valley of the Ural River is a canvas of plowed steppes with fertile black earth. This is the main agricultural region of the entire Urals.

Recreational resources of the Urals are, first of all, picturesque landscapes, medicinal climate and numerous sources of different mineral waters (sulfate, chloride-sodium, ferruginous, bromine, radon). Among the natural attractions of particular interest are karst caves, of which there are at least 500! As a whole in the Ural region skiing, ecological, health-improving tourism actively develops.