Urals is called a geographical region in Russia,the basis of which is the mountain system of the same name. Ural resources (mineral, forest, water, climate and recreational) are rich and diverse. About them, mainly, and will be discussed in this article.
The geographical region called Ural servesborder between the two largest plains of Eurasia - East European and West Siberian. And the axial part of this region is the mountain system of the same name, which stretches for 2000 kilometers from north to south.
The Urals also distinguishes between two parts of the world -Europe and Asia. On the outskirts of Yekaterinburg, an appropriate memorial sign was installed. 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 connected the cold Kara Sea with the southern Caspian Sea. And in the pockets of this giant were hidden untold wealth. It is about these riches that will be discussed further.
Природные ресурсы Урала отличаются богатством и huge variety. The beauty and uniqueness of this region is reflected in literature and in art. Its different corners can be seen in the paintings of artists and photographs of famous travelers. The most bright and capacious Ural nature was described at the time by D.N. Mamin-Sibiryak.
Урал долгое время был и остается стратегически important industrial foundation of Russia. The active development of this region began during the reign of Peter the Great. This contributed to the richest mineral resources of the Urals.
In the XIX-XX centuries, plants and industrial enterprisesin the Urals grew like mushrooms after heavy summer rain. This, according to the writer Alexei Ivanov, even provoked the formation of a special "mining civilization" here. The most important role was played by the Ural region during the Great Patriotic War. No wonder he was called in those days "the supporting edge of the state." In fact, it was in the Urals that the victory in that difficult and incredibly bloody war was forged.
The territory of the Urals, by Russian standards, is quite densely populated and well developed. The largest cities of the region: Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Ufa, Magnitogorsk, Izhevsk and Nizhny Tagil.
The mineral resources of the Urals are extremely rich andvaried. By and large, in the depths of this rich region there is everything: from sand and clay to oil and gold. Here, an incredible combination of large reserves of ore, non-metallic, construction and chemical raw materials.
In the 16th century, copper was discovered in the western part of the Urals, and iron in the 17th century. The foundation of the “capital” of the region, the city of Yekaterinburg, is connected with the foundation of the ironworks.
Later there will be large deposits of gold andplatinum, coal and silver, precious and semi-precious stones. Bauxite and potash salts are mined in the Urals, the quality of which is considered the best in the country. The city of Orenburg is famous for gas production, and Ishimbay - for oil. There is also plenty of various building materials here (limestone, marble, sand and clay).
The entire territory of the geographical region is divided.between the two pools. Some rivers and streams 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.
Водные ресурсы Урала представлены преимущественно rivers. The largest of them are Kama, Ural, Pechora, Tobol, Tura, Iset. All of them originate in the Ural Mountains. Therefore, in the upper 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 various industrial plants.
In the Urals, a number of large and smallhydroelectric power plants. The most powerful among them are Pavlovskaya, Shirokovskaya and Yumaguzinskaya hydroelectric power stations. However, the Ural hydropower resources are not yet well developed.
Forest resources of the Urals are estimated by ecologists in 3billion cubic meters of 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 concentratedin its northern regions (mainly in the Perm and Sverdlovsk regions). With the advance to the south, they are gradually replaced by forest-steppe and steppe. It is worth noting that the Ural forests were subjected to intensive logging throughout the XVIII-XIX centuries. Small areas of pristine (untouched) forests in the Urals can be found only in the north of the region.
The climate of the Urals is continental.Moreover, its continentality is significantly enhanced with the advance to the south-east. The winters are long and fairly snowy, and the transitional seasons of the year are pretty cool. The amount of precipitation ranges from 700 mm in the north of the region to 200-250 mm in the southern part. In general, the climate to the west of the Ural Mountains is milder and more humid, and to the east of the mountain system, it is drier and colder.
Promising for farming and developmentproductive agriculture are only the Middle and South Urals. In particular, the wide valley of the Ural River is a canvas of plowed steppes with fertile black soil. This is the main agricultural region of the Urals.
Recreational resources of the Urals - is, above all,picturesque landscapes, healing climate and numerous sources of various mineral waters (sulphate, sodium chloride, ferrous, bromine, radon). Of the natural sights, karst caves, of which there are at least 500, are of particular interest! In general, in the Ural region is actively developing ski, ecological, health tourism.
