The relief of Ukraine is very diverse. There is almost everything here: mountains and plains, caves, canyons, the remains of coral reefs and even sand dunes! What are the main features of the relief of Ukraine? What minerals are available in the bowels of this country? Read about it in our article.
Features of the relief of Ukraine and its main forms
Most of the country's territory is located within the largest structure - the East European Plain. Only in the west and in the extreme south of Ukraine do mountains of medium height rise. In general, about 95% of the territory is plains, and only 5% is occupied by mountain ranges and massifs.
Characterization of the relief of Ukraine is impossible without mentioning its highest and lowest point on the earth's surface. So, in the Ukrainian Carpathians, on the administrative border of Transcarpathian and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, there is the highest mountain of the country - Goverla. Its absolute height is 2061 meters. Every year, thousands of Ukrainians climb its peak. But in the vicinity of the Kuyalnik estuary (Odessa region) is the lowest point in Ukraine (minus 5 meters from sea level).
The earth's surface in the territory of modern Ukraine has been forming for millions of years, over many geological eras. Its development was also influenced by the latest tectonic movements, and several powerful glaciers. Due to this, the relief of Ukraine causes great and genuine interest among researchers. In the twentieth century, he left his mark on the vigorous economic activity of man.
Landforms of Ukraine are striking in their diversity. There are mountains and plains, lowlands and elevations. Karst, slope, aeolian, water-erosion, glacial and biogenic - all of these relief forms can be found in different parts of this country.
General characteristics of the relief of Ukraine
In terms of orography, the entire territory of Ukraine can be conditionally divided into two parts: the right-bank, where the absolute altitude of the area is more than 200 meters, and the left-bank, whose absolute height rarely exceeds 200 meters above sea level.
The main features of the relief of Ukraine in the right-bank part are the abundance of hilly hills, significant differences in absolute heights in the area, a significant distribution of karst forms. On the left bank, flattened areas of the earth's surface prevail, with well-developed river valleys and a dense network of beams and ravines.
Almost the entire northern part of Ukraine is occupied by the Polesie lowland with average heights of 100-250 meters. Only in the north of the Zhytomyr region is the Slovechansk-Ovruch range with a maximum height of 316 meters distinguished. Among the forests and marshes of this lowland, glacial and aeolian landforms are often found.
Most of Western Ukraine is occupied by the Podolsk Upland, as well as a number of low-mountain massifs (Voronyaki, Gologora and others). The Khotyn Upland is also located here with the highest point of the flat part of the country - Mount Berda (515 meters).
The relief of the eastern part of Ukraine is mostly flat. This monotony is slightly diluted by the Donetsk Ridge, Priazovskaya and the Central Russian Uplands, the spurs of which enter the territory of the country in the northeast. Almost the entire south of Ukraine (as well as the northern part of the Crimean peninsula) is occupied by the vast Black Sea lowland, whose average heights range from 80-120 meters.
The relief of Ukraine is represented not only by plains, but also by mountain ranges. In the far west of the country are the Ukrainian Carpathians, consisting of several ridges parallel to each other.
Briefly about the country's minerals
Ukraine is among the top ten world states in terms of total reserves of mineral resources. The main wealth of the country is iron ore with a rather high ferrum content. Its main deposits are concentrated within the Krivorozhsky iron ore basin. Ore mining has been going on here since the end of the 19th century.
In general, in Ukraine there are over 20 thousand deposits of more than hundreds of various minerals. Among them are coal and brown coal, native sulfur, natural gas, potassium salt, iron and manganese ore, phosphorites, granites, marls, amber and others.
The relief and minerals of Ukraine are very closely related. So, the main reserves of coal are concentrated within the Donetsk Ridge, oil and gas - on the Poltava Plain. Large deposits of iron and manganese ore are confined to the protrusions of the crystalline shield on the Dnieper Upland. The bowels of the Podolsk Upland are extremely rich in a variety of building materials.
Podolsk Upland
Podolsk Upland is an orographic structure, occupying about 15% of the area of Ukraine. Its southern spurs also enter the territory of neighboring Moldova. The highest point of the hill is Mount Kamula (471 meters). Average heights are 300-350 meters.
The Podolsk Upland is composed mainly of limestone, sandstone, slate and marls. Therefore, a wide variety of building materials are actively mined here. In the relief of the hill, individual massifs are clearly traced: Opole, Gologora, Voronyaki, Kremenets mountains, Tolters and others.
Within the Ukrainian Podillia karst is very common. Only in the south of the Ternopil region there are about 100 caves. Among them is the longest gypsum cave in Europe - Optimistic. The total length of its moves is estimated at 250 kilometers.
Black Sea Lowland
The Black Sea lowland occupies almost the entire south of Ukraine, stretching from Ishmael to Berdyansk. This is a flat and slightly inclined towards the seas plain with average heights of 80-120 meters.
From north to south, lowlands cross the valleys of three large rivers - the Dnieper, Dniester and the Southern Bug. In the watersheds of these rivers there are unique forms of relief - the so-called hearths. These are small rounded drops in the earth's surface, formed as a result of subsidence of soil particles deep.
On the shores of the Black and Azov Seas, several large estuaries (Dnieper, Dniester, Molochny and others), as well as many narrow sand spits and islets, formed.
Ukrainian Carpathians
Ukrainian Carpathians is part of the vast Carpathian mountain system, which is located in the western part of the country and covers the territories of four regions. They consist of several parallel ridges oriented in the direction from northwest to southeast. Between them pass rather deep longitudinal hollows.
The total length of the Ukrainian Carpathians is 280 km, and the average width is about 110 km. In total, the mountains cover an area of approximately 24 thousand square kilometers, which is comparable with the territory of the Nikolaev region.
Cretaceous deposits, as well as Jurassic limestones and crystalline schists, predominate in the geological structure of the mountain system. From minerals, oil, gas and ozokerite are mined here. There are many sources of healing mineral waters.
Montenegro - the highest ridge of Ukraine
In the Ukrainian Carpathians, there are six so-called two-thousanders - mountains that exceed the 2000 meters mark. These are the peaks: Goverla, Petros, Brebeneskul, Pop Ivan of Montenegro, Gutin Tomatnik and Ribs. All of them are located within the same massif - Montenegrin.
The ridge of Montenegro can be called the culmination of all Ukrainian Carpathians. It is he who is the most popular place among tourists. The ridge stretches for almost 20 kilometers and serves as a watershed of two large East European rivers - Tisza and Prut.
The Montenegro massif is also asymmetric. Its southern slopes are rapidly falling down and have virtually no branches. But the northern ones, on the contrary, are distinguished by a high degree of branching and decrease stepwise. On Montenegro, you can see glacial landforms - small boilers, rocky ledges and moraine shafts.
Tolters - a unique natural formation
Speaking about the relief of Ukraine, one cannot fail to mention the Tolts. This is one of the most interesting geomorphological formations in the country. All over the world there are only a few of its analogues.
Genetically, the Tolters are a huge coral reef that stretches for several hundred kilometers. It originates near the village of Podkamen, Lviv region, and ends near the city of Costesti, already on the territory of Moldova. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the warm Sarmatian Sea splashed on this territory, in which organic life bloomed in a riotous color. The grand Toltrov Ridge that we see today is nothing but the result of these active biological processes.
The width of the Toltr ranges from 4 to 12 km, and the height reaches 430 meters. There are 65 quarries along the entire length of the ridge, where limestone, gypsum and clay are mined.
