Hey! In one of the articles I wrote about. Today I want to tell you the most important facts about one of these continents - Eurasia. Let's get started.
Eurasia - This is the largest continent in the Northern Hemisphere (there are some islands in the Southern Hemisphere).
Here is a general description of Eurasia, one of the most developed continents: According to various sources, the area of the mainland ranges from 54.6 to 54.9 km 2, and the population is 4,213 billion people. The area of the islands is about 2.75 million km 2.
The mainland is washed Indian, Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic , as well as their seas. Parts of the world belong to Eurasia.
In Europe, the shores are more dissected than in Asia. Highlands and mountains occupy about 2/3 of the territory of Europe.
The main mountain systems of Eurasia: Himalayas (the highest point on the planet, about 8 848 m), Carpathians, Alps, Caucasus, Apennines, Pyrenees, Tien Shan, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Karakorum, Altai, Sino-Tibetan mountains, mountains of North-Eastern Siberia, Ural, Sayan ...
The main highlands of Eurasia: Tibet, Near East.
The main plateaus of Eurasia: Central Siberian, Dean.
The most significant lowlands and plains of Eurasia: Turanian, East European, Kashgar, West Siberian, Great Chinese, Dzungarian, Mesopotamian, Indo-Ghanaian.
The main elements of the structure of Eurasia are old platforms (Indian, South China, Sino-Korean, part of the Nubian-Arabian shield, Siberian with the Aldan shield, East European with the Ukrainian and Baltic shields), connected by younger platforms.
Most movable geoxynal belts - East Asian and Himalayan; a wide strip of structures from the Chukotka Peninsula to Gissar-Alayu is also covered by neotectonic movements. Increased seismicity is typical for the Malay Archipelago, East, Central and Central Asia, as well as some other regions.
The operating it is found on many islands of East and Southeast Asia, in Kamchatka, on some islands of the Mediterranean Sea, on the Apennine Peninsula and in Iceland.
Long-standing glaciation has significantly affected the relief of the mountainous and northern regions of Eurasia. On the Arctic islands and in the highlands there are modern glaciers with an area of about 230 thousand km 2. Permafrost occupies about 11 million km 2, mainly in Siberia.
varies from equatorial in the south to arctic hectares in the north, in the interior regions - sharply continental and continental, in the peripheral regions - oceanic (in the east and south - monsoon).
The cold poles of the Northern Hemisphere are located in the northeast, in Oymyakon and Verkhoyansk. The largest amount on Earth falls in East India, in Cherrapunj 12 thousand mm per year.
Major Eurasia: Danube, Ob, Volga, Brahmaputra, Euphrates, Tigris, Yenisei, Mekong, Lena, Yellow River, Indus, Ganges, Amur and Yangtze (the largest in Eurasia).
The world's largest internal drainage area- lake Balkhash, Lobnor, the basin of the Aral and Caspian seas. Baikal is a large flowing and deepest lake in the world.
The arctic, subarctic, temperate, subtropical, tropical, subequatorial and equatorial belts change from north to south. Altitudinal zonation is observed in many mountains.
This is such a characteristic of Eurasia - the largest continent in the Northern Hemisphere and in general in the whole world.
This article will consider the largest continent - Eurasia. It got its name thanks to the union of two words - Europe and Asia, which personify two parts of the world: Europe and Asia, which are united as part of this continent, and the islands also belong to Eurasia.
The area of Eurasia is 54.759 million km2, which is 36% of the total land area. The area of the Eurasian islands is 3.45 million km2. The population of Eurasia is also impressive, as it accounts for 70% of the total population on the entire planet. As of 2010, the population of the Eurasian continent was already more than 5 billion people.
Continent Eurasia is the only continent of planet Earth, which is washed by 4 oceans at once. The Pacific Ocean washes the mainland in the east, the Arctic Ocean washes in the north, the Atlantic Ocean washes the mainland in the west and the Indian Ocean in the south.
The dimensions of Eurasia are quite impressive. The length of Eurasia when viewed from west to east is 18,000 kilometers and 8,000 kilometers when viewed from north to south.
Eurasia has all climatic zones, natural zones and climatic zones that exist on the planet.
Extreme points of Eurasia, which are located on the mainland:
There are four extreme continental points that Eurasia has:
1) In the north of the mainland, Cape Chelyuskin (77 ° 43 ′ N) is considered the extreme point, which is located on the territory of the country of Russia.
2) In the south of the mainland, Cape Piai (1 ° 16 ′ N) is considered the extreme point, which is located in the country of Malaysia.
3) In the west of the mainland, the extreme point is Cape Roca (9º31 ′ W), which is located in the country of Portugal.
4) And finally, in the east of Eurasia, the extreme point is Cape Dezhnev (169 ° 42 ′ W), which also belongs to the country of Russia.
Eurasia mainland structure
The structure of the Eurasia continent differs from all other continents. First of all, the fact that the continent consists of several plates and platforms, as well as the fact that the continent in its formation is considered the youngest of all the others.
The northern part of Eurasia consists of the Siberian platform, the East European platform, and the West Siberian plate. In the east, Eurasia consists of two platforms: it includes the South China platform and also includes the Sino-Korean platform. In the west, the mainland includes plates of Paleozoic platforms and Hercynian folding. The southern part of the mainland consists of the Arabian and Indian platforms, the Iranian plate and part of the Alpine and Mesozoic folding. The central part of Eurasia consists of the Aleozoic folding and the plate of the Paleozoic platform.
Eurasian platforms located on the territory of Russia
The mainland Eurasia has many large cracks and faults, which are located on Lake Baikal, Siberia, Tibet and other regions.
Relief of Eurasia
Due to its size, Eurasia as a continent has the most diverse relief on the planet. The mainland itself is considered the highest continent on the planet. Above the highest point of the continent of Eurasia is only the continent of Antarctica, but it is higher only due to the thickness of the ice covering the earth. The land itself of Antarctica does not exceed Eurasia in height. It is in Eurasia that the largest plains in terms of their area and the highest and most extensive mountain systems are located. Also on the territory of Eurasia there are the Himalayas, which are the highest mountains on the planet Earth. Accordingly, the highest mountain in the world is located on the territory of Eurasia - this is Chomolungma (Everest - height 8,848 m).
Today the relief of Eurasia is determined by intense tectonic movements. Many regions on the territory of the Eurasian continent are characterized by high seismic activity. There are also active volcanoes in Eurasia, which include volcanoes in Iceland, Kamchatka, the Mediterranean and others.
Climate of Eurasia
The mainland Eurasia is the only continent on which all climatic zones and climatic zones are present. In the north of the mainland there is the arctic and subarctic belts. It has a very cold and harsh climate. A wide strip of the temperate belt begins to the south. Due to the fact that the length of the continent from west to east is very huge, the following zones are distinguished in the temperate zone: a maritime climate in the west, then a temperate continental, continental and monsoon climate.
South of the temperate zone is the subtropical zone, which is also divided from the west into three zones: Mediterranean climate, continental and monsoon climate. The very south of the continent is occupied by the tropical and subequatorial belts. The equatorial belt is located on the islands of Eurasia.
Inland waters on mainland Eurasia
The mainland Eurasia differs not only in the amount of water space that washes it from all sides, but also in the size of inland water resources. This continent is the richest in terms of groundwater and surface water. It is on the continent of Eurasia that the largest rivers of the planet are located, which flow into all the oceans that wash the continent. These rivers include the Yangtze, Ob, Huanghe, Mekong, Amur. It is on the territory of Eurasia that the largest and deepest reservoirs are located. These include the largest lake in the world - the Caspian Sea, the deepest lake in the world - Baikal. Groundwater resources are distributed rather unevenly on the mainland.
On the territory of Eurasia, as of 2018, there are 92 independent states that are fully functioning. The largest country in the world - Russia is also located in Eurasia. By clicking on the link, you can see a complete list of countries with area and population. Accordingly, Eurasia is most rich in the nationality of the people living on it.
Fauna and flora on the mainland Eurasia
Since all natural zones are present on the continent of Eurasia, the variety of flora and fauna is simply enormous. The mainland is inhabited by a variety of birds, mammals, reptiles, insects and other representatives of the animal world. The most famous representatives of the animal world in Eurasia are the brown bear, fox, wolf, hares, deer, elk, squirrels. The list goes on and on as a wide variety of animals can be found on the mainland. Also birds, fish that have adapted to both low temperatures and arid climates.
Mainland Eurasia video:
Due to the size and location of the mainland, the flora is also very diverse. There are deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests on the mainland. There are tundra, taiga, semi-desert and deserts. The most famous representatives of trees are birch, oak, ash, poplar, chestnut, linden and many others. Also a variety of types of grasses and shrubs. The poorest area on the mainland in terms of flora and fauna is the extreme north, where you can only find mosses and lichens. But the more you go to the south, the more diverse and rich flora and fauna on the mainland.
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And also along the straits connecting Chernoe and. The name "Europe" comes from the legend that the Phoenician king Agenor had a daughter, Europa. Almighty Zeus fell in love with her, turned into a bull and kidnapped her. He took her to Crete. There, Europe first set foot on the land of that part of the world that has since been named after her. Asia - the designation of one of the provinces to the east of, as the Scythian tribes were called to the Caspian Sea (Asia, Asians).
The coastline is very indented and forms a large number of peninsulas and bays. The largest are and. The mainland is washed by the waters of the Atlantic, Arctic and. The seas formed by them are deepest in the east and south of the mainland. Scientists and sailors from many countries took part in the study of the mainland. The studies of P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shanskiy and N.M. ...
Relief of Eurasia complicated. The mainland is much higher than others. In the Himalayan mountains there is the highest mountain in the world - Chomolungma () with a height of 8848 m. 14 peaks of Eurasia exceed the highest peaks of other continents. Eurasia is distinguished by its enormous size and stretches for thousands of kilometers, the largest of them: East European, Indo-Gangetic, East China. Unlike other continents, the central regions of Eurasia are occupied by mountains, while plains occupy coastal territories. Eurasia also has the deepest land depression: the coast of the Dead Sea is located 395 meters below sea level. Such a variety of relief can only be explained by the historical development of the continent, which is based on. On it are located more ancient parts of the earth's crust - the platforms to which the plains are confined, and the folding zones that connected these platforms, expanding the area of the continent.
On the southern borders of the Eurasian plate, where it joins with other lithospheric plates, powerful mountain-building processes have taken place and are taking place, leading to the emergence of the highest mountain systems. This is accompanied by intense and. One of them destroyed the capital of Tokyo in 1923. More than 100 thousand people died.
The relief of the mainland was also influenced by the ancient glaciation, which captured the north of the mainland. It changed the surface of the earth, smoothed the peaks, and left numerous moraines. Eurasia is exceptionally rich in both sedimentary and magmatic origin.
Eurasia is a continent of strong contrasts. This is the only continent where everything is represented: from the arctic to the equatorial. More than 1/4 of the territory in the north of the continent is occupied, about the same - sultry deserts and semi-deserts. In Eurasia, the cold pole is located - in the northeast of the mainland, at. Here the air is cooled down to -70 ° C. At the same time, the temperature in summer rises to + 53 ° С. On the territory of Eurasia there is one of the wettest places on earth - Cherrapunji. Many rivers flow through the territory of Eurasia, the length of many of them is about 5 thousand kilometers. It , . The largest lake in the world - - is also located on the mainland. The deepest is also located here. It contains 20% of the fresh water on Earth. The mainland ice is an important custodian of fresh water.
Eurasia is the most populated continent. More than 3/4 of all inhabitants of the world live here. The eastern and southern regions of the mainland are especially densely populated. By the variety of nationalities living on the mainland, Eurasia differs from other continents. Slavic peoples live in the north: Russians, Czechs, Bulgarians, and others. South Asia is inhabited by numerous Indian peoples and Chinese.
Eurasia is the cradle of ancient civilizations.
Geographical position: Northern Hemisphere between 0 ° E and 180 ° east. etc., some of the islands lie in the Southern Hemisphere.
Eurasia Square: about 53.4 million km2
Extreme points of Eurasia:
- the northernmost island point is Cape Fligeli, 81 ° 51` s. NS.;
- the extreme northern mainland point is Cape Chelyuskin, 77 ° 43` n. NS.;
- the easternmost island point is Ratmanov Island, 169 ° 0`W. etc .;
- the extreme eastern mainland point is Cape Dezhnev, 169 ° 40` W. etc .;
- southernmost island point - South Island, 12 ° 4` S. NS.;
- the extreme southern mainland point is Cape Piai, 1 ° 16` n. NS.;
- extreme western island point - Monchique rock, 31 ° 16` W. etc .;
- the westernmost mainland point is Cape Roka, 9 ° 30` W. etc.
Climatic zones of Eurasia:, subarctic, temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean, tropical, subequatorial, equatorial.
Geology of Eurasia: on the territory of Eurasia the East European, Siberian, Sino-Korean, South China, Indian platforms are located.
The Pacific and Indian Oceans; the length of the continent from west to east is 16 thousand km, from north to south - 8 thousand km; more than 4.3 billion people live in Eurasia.
The relief of Eurasia has a rather complex structure: on the territory of the mainland there are both endless plains and lowlands, and imposing mountain systems. The mountains of Eurasia differ from the elevations of other continents: they were formed in the interior of the continent, and at the same time occupy almost 60% of the land surface.
Mountain systems of Eurasia
Eurasia is the largest and highest continent on the globe, the average height of which is 830 m. On its territory, large areas are also occupied by plains, and the lowest point of Eurasia is the Caspian lowland, located 132 m below sea level.
In ancient times, mountains were formed on the territory of Eurasia, but they are located differently than on other continents: not on the outskirts, but inside the continent.
Rice. 1. Mountains of Eurasia.
The Eurasian mountain systems include two largest belts:
- Alpine-Himalayan - is located on the south side and extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
- Pacific - stretches from north to south, capturing the eastern part of Asia.
The formation of mountains in Eurasia took place in different periods: that is why they are strikingly different in height and shape. They are conventionally divided into:
- Young mountains - are distinguished by their high altitude, the presence of sharp peaks and steep slopes. Prevailing heights in Eurasia: Alps, Pyrenees, Caucasus, Himalayas, Tibetan plateau.
- Old mountains - characterized by low peaks and sloping slopes, which continue to collapse under the influence of wind and water. The ancient mountains of Eurasia include the Sayan, Tien Shan, Pamir, Altai, Ural Mountains, Karakorum.
Major mountain ranges of Eurasia
The mountain systems of Eurasia are very diverse: each of them is interesting and unique in its own way. Here is a list of the most interesting mountains on the continent:
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These are the largest and highest mountains not only in Eurasia, but throughout the world. The width of the mountain system reaches 350 km, and the length is more than 2400 km. It is located between the Tibetan Plateau and the Indo-Ghanaian Plain. Many peaks of the Himalayas reach 5-6 thousand meters, and at any time of the year are covered with eternal ice. This is where the name of the mountain system comes from, which translates as "abode of snows".
Rice. 2. Himalayas.
The highest point of Eurasia and the entire planet is located in the Himalayas - Mount Everest, which has a second name - Chomolungma. It rises above sea level at 8848 m. This is one of the most dangerous and treacherous peaks: not everyone, even the most experienced climber, is able to conquer it.
- Alps
This is the largest mountain range in Europe, crossing the territory of several states. Its length is 1200 km, and its width is about 260 km. The highest point of the Alps is Mont Blanc peak (4808 m.).
It is in these mountains that the sources of Europe's largest rivers and numerous lakes are located. Up to about 2000 m. The Alps are covered with rich forests, which give way to picturesque alpine meadows at higher altitudes. The Alps are the world center for mountaineering and skiing.
Rice. 3. Alpine meadows.
- Caucasus mountains
The Caucasus Mountains are surrounded by three seas: Black, Azov and Caspian. They are usually divided into large mountain systems: the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. These are very high mountains, with peaks reaching 5000 m. The highest points of the Caucasus are Mount Kazbek (5033 m) and Elbrus (5642 m). The Caucasus Mountains attract climbers and thrill-seekers.
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The mountains of Eurasia originated in different epochs of mountain building, therefore, they have different heights and surface shapes. Throughout the continent, from west to east, stretches the longest belt of young folded mountains on the planet - the Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, Crimean, Caucasus, Altai, Himalayas, highlands of Tibet. They formed in the last Alpine era of mountain building, therefore, as a rule, high and powerful, with steep slopes and sharp peaks.
Alps begin off the shores of the Mediterranean Sea by the Alps-Maritime system, bordering the Apennines. Then they stretch along the border of France in the meridional direction in the form of the Cotta and Gray Alps, which are composed of crystalline rocks and reach great heights. The massifs of Pel-Vu (4102 m), Gran Paradiso (4061 m) and the highest five-domed Mont Blanc (4807 m), located on the border between France, Italy and Switzerland, stand out especially. In the direction of the Padanskaya lowland, this part of the Alps drops off abruptly, without foothills, and therefore looks especially grandiose from the east. From the west, a strip of high crystalline massifs is bordered by a system of medium-altitude mountain ranges, composed of limestones. These ridges are commonly referred to as the Prealps.
From the Mont Blanc massif, the Alps turn sharply to the east, reaching the limit of the average height in Switzerland. There are two parallel rows of powerful ridges, composed of crystalline rocks and limestones. Especially majestic are the Bernese and Pennine Alps, separated by the longitudinal valley of the upper Rhone. In this part of the mountains, the glacier-covered massifs of the Jungfrau (more than 4000 m), Matterhorn (4477 m) and the second highest massif of the Alps - Monte Rosa (4634 m) rise. Slightly lower are the parallel ridges of the Lepontine and Glarne Alps, between which lies the valley of the upper Rhine. The Rhone and Rhine valleys are separated by the powerful Gotthard Massif, which is a mountainous knot and watershed of the Swiss Alps. From the north and south, a strip of high mountain ranges is accompanied by limestone and flysch Predalps (Swiss in the north and Lombard in the south).
In the middle, the Alps are crossed by a deep tectonic valley that runs from Lake Constance to Lake Como. It is an important orographic and geographical border that divides the Alps into Western and Eastern.
The Eastern Alps are wider and lower than the Western ones; their geological structure is also somewhat different. In the extreme east, the ridges of the Alps diverge in a fan-like manner, approaching the Danube in the north, and entering the northwest of the Balkan Peninsula in the south. The highest is the axial zone of the Eastern Alps ridges, composed of crystalline rocks. But nowhere in the east does the Alps reach such heights as in the west. Only the Bernina massif in Italy slightly exceeds 4000 m, while the rest of the peaks are much lower. The Ötztal Alps and the Hohe Tauern in Austria reach 3500-3700 m, and in the extreme east, the height of the mountains rarely exceeds 2000 m. To the north and south of the central crystalline zone, there are less high Prealp ridges, composed of limestone, dolomite and flysch.
The Alpine mountain system, despite its height and considerable width, does not pose a serious obstacle to the ascent. This is due to the large tectonic and erosional dissection of the mountains, the abundance of convenient passages and passes. Since ancient times, the most important routes have passed through the Alps, connecting the countries of Central Europe with the Mediterranean. Today, numerous railways and highways with heavy traffic are laid across the Alps. The most important are the Frejus passes, at an altitude of over 2,500 m, through which the road from Turin to Paris runs, and the Greater Saint Bernard, at an altitude of over 2,400 m, between Mont Blanc and the Pennine Alps, which connects Switzerland with Italy. The Simplon and Saint Gotthard passes are also of great importance. The latter became famous thanks to Suvorov's unparalleled crossing of the Alps in 1799.
In the Eastern Alps, the most convenient low (1371 m) Brenner Pass. The first Alpine railway, built in 1867, passed through it. In the second half of the 19th century. railways crossed almost all the most important alpine passes. The construction of these roads required the construction of a large number of tunnels, as a result of which many of the geological features of the Alps were revealed. At present, a tunnel has been built under Mont Blanc on the highway connecting France with Italy.
Carpathians- location: located in Central Europe, on the territory of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Ukraine and Romania. 
Length: 1500 km from Devin Gate in the north to the Iron Gate in the southeast, width 120 - 430 km.
Highest peaks: Gerlahovski-Shtit (2655 m). Structure: consists of the Western, Eastern and Southern Carpathians, Beskids, Western Romanian mountains and the Transylvanian plateau.
Mineral resources: oil, gas, table salt, non-ferrous metals.
Climate: temperate (transitional from maritime to continental). Average January temperatures range from -2 to -5 ° С, in July from 17 to 20 ° С. The amount of precipitation in the middle part is about 800-1000 mm, in the upper part up to 2000 mm.
Vegetation and fauna: deciduous and coniferous forests (spruce, larch, pine) in the middle, above - subalpine shrubs and meadows. Large animals include bear, wolf, lynx, deer, roe deer, chamois, and wild boar. Birds: wood grouse, owl, woodpecker, cuckoo.
Caucasus mountains- mountain system between the Black and Caspian Seas. Divided into two mountain systems: the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus. The Greater Caucasus stretches for more than 1,100 km from northwest to southeast, from the Anapa region and the Taman peninsula to the Absheron peninsula on the Caspian coast, near Baku. The Greater Caucasus reaches its maximum width in the Elbrus region (up to 180 km). In the axial part there is the Main Caucasian (or Vodorazdelny) ridge, to the north of which there are a number of parallel ridges (mountain ranges), including a monoclinal (cuest) type. The southern slope of the Greater Caucasus for the most part consists of en-echelon ridges adjacent to the Greater Caucasus Range. Traditionally, the Greater Caucasus is divided into 3 parts: the Western Caucasus (from the Black Sea to Elbrus), the Central Caucasus (from Elbrus to Kazbek) and the Eastern Caucasus (from Kazbek to the Caspian Sea). 
The Greater Caucasus is a region with a large modern glaciation. The total number of glaciers is about 2,050, with an area of about 1,400 km2. More than half of the glaciation of the Greater Caucasus is concentrated in the Central Caucasus (50% of the number and 70% of the area of glaciation). The major centers of glaciation are Mount Elbrus and the Bezengi wall. The largest glacier in the Greater Caucasus is the Bezengi glacier (about 17 km long).
The Lesser Caucasus is connected to the Greater Caucasus by the Likhsky ridge, in the west it is separated from it by the Colchis lowland, in the east by the Kura depression. The length is about 600 km, the height is up to 3724 m. The largest lake is Sevan.
The majestic and inaccessible Himalayas - the folded base of the mountain system is complicated by faults and thrust faults (in particular, nappes). In terms of landscape, the Himalayas are usually divided into three regions: the Eastern, Nepal and Western Himalayas. In the Eastern Himalayas, the Sivalik foothills, the Lesser and Greater Himalayas are closely pressed against each other, the slope to the Brahmaputra is very steep (almost a wall), there are no longitudinal intermontane basins. Transverse hanging valleys (duar) are widespread. Monsoon air dominates for half a year. Precipitation falls from 3000 to 4500 mm per year. Violent erosion; rivers flow in deep gorges, falling 30-50 (and up to 100) meters per kilometer. Only from November to January, the moisture coefficient is below 100%, in the rest of the year there is excessive moisture. Six altitudinal zones are distinguished: terai, tropical rainforests, evergreen oak forests, coniferous forests, alpine meadows and the nival belt. Strictly speaking, the first two belts (up to an altitude of 1500 m) are not mountainous, especially the Terai. But we are considering them here because they owe their origin to the Himalayas. Terai occupy a swampy strip of a foothill plain, 30-50 km wide, covered with sparse moist forests and high (up to 5 m) grass stands (near lakes and in swamps). Fan palms (Trachycarpus martiana, Borassus flabelliformis) grow on the edges of the forest, closer to the mountains, with an increase in humidity, mangoes (Mangifera indica) and tall spreading bamboo (Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa polymorpha). Here grow banyans intertwined with lianas (Fibalensa religiosa ), coconut palm (Cocos nucifera), soap tree (Sapindus utilis), horse chestnut (Aesculus indica), and tallow (Shorea busta). The villages are located among the rice fields, on the hills. The Himalayas, closed by foothills, are not visible from here. But their closeness is felt in the climate. Thick clouds constantly envelop the foothills. The air is saturated with moisture, and the slightest drop in temperature is enough to cause showers. At the same time, the fields are covered with water sometimes up to a person's waist. In the midst of rains in recent fields, the inhabitants are engaged in fishing. As the rise in the foothills, the swampiness decreases and the black sticky silt disappears. The foothills are covered with dense moist forests of the same species as in the terai. There are upright pandanuses with their three-meter leaves, magnolias. The number of vines is increasing (up to 440 species). Among them is the climbing rattan palm, the straightened trunk of which sometimes reaches 100 m in length. The belt of evergreen oak forests is located at altitudes from 1500 to 2750 m. They consist of oaks, chestnuts, rhododendrons, maples, laurels, which are mixed with Himalayan species of birch, elm, cherry, bird cherry.
Tibetan plateau exceptionally unique in its natural conditions. The unity of nature lies primarily in its orographic monolithicity. Tibet is the largest in area and the highest highlands in the world, surrounded and separated from the rest of Asia by high ridges.
The northern border of the Tibetan Plateau proper is the foot of the mountain ranges that make up the Kunlun system. In the south and southwest, the border runs along the northern foot of the Himalayas. In the northwest, the border of Tibet is the Pamir-Karakorum mountain range. The eastern border of the highland is considered to be the eastern foot of the Sino-Tibetan mountains. This entire vast territory is characterized by a high absolute height and a predominance of high-mountain desert and semi-desert landscapes.
The Tibetan Plateau has significant internal differences, primarily in structure and relief. Central and Western Tibet (Jangtang) is a monotonous surface, elevated by an average of 4500-5000 m and consisting of flattened ridges and tectonic depressions filled with loose material or occupied by drainless lakes. Eastern Tibet (Sikan) is characterized by sharp tectonic and erosional dissection. The powerful parallel ridges of the Sino-Tibetan mountains are separated by grandiose gorge-like valleys, through which the largest rivers of the mainland - the Yellow River, the Yangtze, and the Mekong - flow. South of the valley of the upper Yangtze begins the less high but highly dissected Yunnan-Guizhou Highlands, which in the east declines and continues within East Asia.
There are geysers and hot springs in the Tibetan Plateau, and active volcanoes in the northwestern part.
On the southern outskirts of Tibet, a system of ridges rises, which are sometimes united under the general name of the Trans-Himalayas, or the Gandisyshan mountains. These mountains are separated from the Himalayas by wide longitudinal valleys of the Brahmaputra (Tsangpo), Lanchin-Kandbad (Sutlej) and Indus rivers. The tops of the most significant ridges reach more than 7000 m. The slopes facing the Tibetan Plateau are flat and cluttered with masses of debris. The more humid southern slopes are distinguished by sharp erosional dissection.
Within the Trans-Himalayas, in the valley of one of the tributaries of the Tsangpo River, at an altitude of 3650 m, the city of Lhasa is located - the religious center of Lamaism.
The most common soils are high-mountainous steppes and deserts, characterized by strong gravel, primitive soil profile and low humus content. In significant areas, soil and vegetation cover is absent, and the surface is a shell of pebbles and rubble; fertile mountain meadow-steppe and mountain meadow soils are widespread along the periphery of the highlands.
Alpine (cold) deserts and semi-deserts prevail in the Tibetan Highlands, which are characterized by low-growing (usually up to 5 cm, less often up to 15 cm) sparse herbaceous and semi-shrub vegetation, usually represented by separate clumps and cushion forms and herbaceous plants (wormwood, astragalons, acantholines, Saussurea), there are cereals (pttilagrostis, etc.). In the north of Changtan, mosses and lichens predominate, in places with a close occurrence of groundwater - meadow communities of sedges, cobresia, cotton grass and rush grass. Along the eastern and southern outskirts of the highlands, where the amount of precipitation and altitudinal differences increase, the altitudinal zonality is manifested. Cold deserts and semi-deserts are replaced downward by mountain steppes (fescue, feather grass, bluegrass, etc.), which form a continuous cover. In the area of the headwaters of the Yangtze River, there are sections of meadows. In the peripheral parts of the highlands and along the valleys of large rivers, there are shrub thickets (rhododendron, caragana, juniper, etc.) and areas of tugai forests of willow, poplar-turanga, etc.
For the entire northern part of the Tibetan Plateau, wild ungulates are characteristic: yak, antelope of orongo and hell, kiang, kukuyaman, argali; hares, pikas, voles are widespread. Among the predators, there are pika-eating bears, wolves, foxes, and takals. Of the birds, there are numerous snowcock, saja, finches, as well as predatory birds - the Himalayan vulture and the long-tailed eagle. Rivers and lakes are rich in fish (salmon and carp families). In the peripheral southern and eastern parts, the desert faunal complex is replaced by meadow-steppe; here you can find musk deer, musk deer, leopard (in the mountains), and from birds - pheasants, pigeons, kites, falcons, etc.
The old mountains, located in areas of ancient folding, are worse preserved. They are usually short and have rounded tops. So, the flat-topped medium-high Scandinavian mountains are badly destroyed. The Scandinavian Mountains are a vast highland on the Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway and Sweden). Stretched from the NE. to the southwest. by 1,700 km, width from 200-300 km in the north to 600 km in the south The highest point is the city of Galhopiggen (2,469 m). Zap. slopes abruptly drop off to the Norwegian Sea, dissected by fjords; east they descend stepwise to the Gulf of Bothnia, forming the Norland plateau. Piled up by ancient crystalline rocks, smoothed by glaciers. M-niya zhel. ores (Kiruna), non-ferrous metals. Aligned peaks (fjelds) predominate, high massifs are called Hjölen, Yutunheimen, Telemark, and others. Stone placers, polygonal soils. An important climatic division: the western, windward slopes receive 4000 mm of precipitation per year, on the leeward east. falls from 500 (at the foot) to 2000 mm (at the tops). More than 2400 glaciers with a total area. 3050 km. Rough rapids rivers, numerous lakes. Slopes up to an altitude of 900–1100 m in the south and up to 300–500 m in the north are covered with coniferous forests (mainly spruce and pine, in the south there is beech), on the tops there are birch crooked forests, mountain tundra, heathlands, and peat bogs. Many nat. parks: Abisku, Sarek, Stora-Schöfallet in Sweden, Børgefjell in Norway, etc .; reserves.
Ural mountains- mountain system between the East European and West Siberian plains. The length of the Ural Mountains is more than 2000 km, the width is from 40 to 150 km. 
In ancient sources, the Ural Mountains are called the Riphean or Hyperborean mountains. Russian pioneers called it Stone, under the name Ural these mountains were first mentioned in Russian sources at the end of the 17th century. The name Ural was introduced by V. Tatishchev from the Mansi "ur" (mountain). According to another version, this word is of Turkic origin.
The Ural Mountains were formed in the late Paleozoic during the era of intense mountain building (Hercynian folding). Formation of the mountain system
The Urals began in the late Devonian (about 350 million years ago) and ended in the Triassic (about 200 million years ago).
In the Urals, deformed and often metamorphosed rocks of predominantly Paleozoic age come to the surface. The strata of sedimentary and volcanic rocks are usually strongly crumpled, broken by ruptures, but in general form meridional bands, which determine the linearity and zoning of the structures of the Ural Mountains.
From west to east, among the Ural Mountains stand out:
The Cis-Ural foredeep with a relatively gentle bedding of sedimentary strata in the western side and more complex in the eastern;
the zone of the western slope of the Ural Mountains with the development of intensively crumpled and disturbed by thrusts of sedimentary strata of the Lower and Middle Paleozoic;
The Central Ural uplift, where among the sedimentary strata of the Paleozoic and Upper Precambrian in places emerge more ancient crystalline rocks of the edge of the East European Platform;
the system of troughs-synclinoria of the eastern slope (the largest are Magnitogorsk and Tagil), filled mainly by Middle Paleozoic volcanic strata and marine, often deep-sea sediments, as well as bursting deep igneous rocks (gabbroids, granitoids, less often alkaline intrusions) - the so-called greenstone belt of the Ural Mountains;
The Ural-Tobolsk anticlinorium with outcrops of more ancient metamorphic rocks and widespread development of granitoids;
The East Ural synclinorium, in many respects similar to the Tagil-Magnitogorsk one.
The Ural Mountains are a treasury of various minerals. There are 48 types of minerals in the Ural Mountains. For the eastern regions of the Ural Mountains, the most typical deposits of copper pyrite ores (Gayskoye, Sibayskoye, Degtyarskoye deposits, Kirovgradskaya and Krasnouralskaya groups of deposits), skarn-magnetite (Goroblagodatskoye, Vysokogorskoye, Magnitogorskoye deposits), titanomagnetite (Kachkanarskoye -Khalilovsk deposits) and chromite ores (Kempirsay massif deposits), confined mainly to the greenstone belt of the Ural Mountains, coal deposits (Chelyabinsk coal basin), placers and primary deposits of gold (Kochkarskoe, Berezovskoe) and platinum (Isovskoe).
The largest deposits of bauxite (North Ural bauxite region) and asbestos (Bazhenovskoe) are located here. On the western slope of the Ural Mountains and in the Urals there are deposits of coal (Pechora coal basin, Kizelovsky coal basin), oil and gas (Volga-Ural oil and gas region, Orenburg gas condensate field), potassium salts (Verkhnekamsky basin). The Ural Mountains are especially famous for their "gems" - precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones (emerald, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite, etc.). The best jewelry diamonds in the USSR were mined in the Urals.
The depths of the Ural Mountains contain more than two hundred different minerals, for example, the bowls of the St. Petersburg Hermitage are made from the Ural malachite and jasper.
Tian Shan it is a Chinese word meaning "Heavenly Mountains." It is a great mountain system located mainly in Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China. Its northern and remote western ridges are in Kazakhstan, while the southwestern part reaches the borders of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Inside the territory of the ex-USSR, the Tien Shan mountains stretch as an arch for more than 1200 km in length and 300 km in width. They border in the north with the Ili valley and the Fergana depression in the south, while the eastern outskirts dock, as it were, on the Alay ridge of the Gissar-Alai mountain system. 
All Tien Shan ridges, excluding the meridional, run from west to east and consist of four mountain ranges separated in a natural way: Central Tien Shan, Northern and Western, as well as Inner Tien Shan. The northern slopes of the ranges are cut by gorges of mountain river valleys and reach a depth of 2,000 - 4,000 meters, they are short and shallow. The dominant height of the peaks is 4000 - 5000 meters, and the passes pass between the heights of 3500-4500 m. The climate is typically Central Asian and with the height of precipitation it becomes more and more - up to 900-1000 mm per year on the western slopes of the Fergana Valley.
Tien Shan has significant ice cover: 7787 glaciers, the largest is South Inylchek, 60 kilometers long.
It has several regions: Trans-Alai Alatau, Inylchek, Kirgiz, Kokshaal-Too, Tengri-Tag, Terskiy-Ala-Too, Talas Ala-Too, Fergana, etc.
The highest point of the Tien Shan is Pobeda Peak (7439 m), discovered in 1943, the northernmost seven-thousander of the planet. When climbing, you should always remember that there can be periods of extremely bad weather with severe frosts, snow storms and avalanches, so a snow cave is the best option for a temporary refuge.
Not far from Pobeda Peak rises the Khan Tengri Peak (6995 m), "The Lord of Heaven", a giant pyramid that first allowed climbers in 1936. Both of these peaks are extremely popular among Russian and Western climbers.
Tien Shan is the most extensive of the three important mountainous regions. More than 900 classified routes. The highest and most interesting part is the Central Tien Shan. There are two highest peaks here. Another interesting natural pearl is Lake Merzbacher. It is named after a German professor who explored the Central Tien Shan in 1903, including the South and North Inylchek glaciers and Lake Issyk-Kul. This huge reservoir of slightly salted water is located at an altitude of 1608 m and its depth reaches 702 m.
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