There are many places on our planet that are of interest not only to researchers and scientists, but also ordinary travelers. These are high mountains, impenetrable forests, stormy rivers. But in this article we will introduce you to the great plains of the world. Do not think that these vast territories are not too interesting to study. After reading our article, you will understand that this opinion is erroneous.
Where are the Great Plains?
Unlimited high plateaus are located between the Cordillera in the west and the Central Plains in the east. Researchers gave the name of this territory - the Great Plains. Mainland North America is also famous for the Central Plains, but the Great ones are distinguished by absolute heights, a dry climate and thickness of sedimentary rocks. Layers of paleogene and Cretaceous rocks lie beneath the thickness of loesslike rocks and forests. Since mainly steppe vegetation dominates here, the Great Plains are often called the Prairie Plateau.
Continental climate, position (rather high) above sea level, easy erosion of soils became the reasons for the development of erosion processes in these territories. The most characteristic feature of the relief is ravines. Erosion sometimes reaches gigantic proportions - thousands of hectares of once fertile soil turn into poorlands.
Great Plains: Dimensions
This piedmont plateau in Canada and the United States is located east of the Rocky Mountains. Its height is from 800 to 1, 700 meters above sea level. Length - three thousand six hundred kilometers. Width - from five hundred to eight hundred kilometers. The map shows that this is a huge territory - the Great Plains. Their area is 1300000 square kilometers.
Relief
The plains stretch for 3600 km from north to south. They represent a heterogeneous territory. On the land of Canada (the Saskatchewan River basin) is their northern part - the Alberta Plateau. Here moraine forms of relief prevail. The plateau is distinguished by forest landscapes located on sod-podzolic soils. Frequent and individual aspen splitting.
In the Missouri basin (plateau of Missouri) there is a wavy moraine relief with strong erosion dismemberment, forest-steppe vegetation of aspen and birch copses separated by grassy steppes. Such a landscape is characteristic of the Ishim steppe (South Siberia). In the middle of the plateau is a ridge of terminal moraines.
South of the Missouri plateau is the High Plains plateau. These territories are not affected by glaciation; surface dissected by rivers, slightly wavy. There is no forest vegetation - on this plateau is dominated by grassy steppe, densely covered with ravines. In this part, the Great Plains have long been plowed open, and erosion is especially progressing here.
Further south is the Llano Estacado plateau. It has a more leveled relief, which in some places is diluted with karst funnels. The vegetation of this plateau is steppe; here you can find solitary yuccas and columnar cacti.
In the very south of the Great Plains, there is the Eduards Plateau, which resembles the neighboring regions of Mexico with its characteristic succulents (yuccas, cacti) in the appearance of the landscape. This plateau is weakly dissected and is characterized by the predominance of chestnut soils.
Animal world
The great plains, whose area is huge, have a fairly diverse fauna, which is directly related to the nature of the landscapes. In the northern part you can meet the steppe bison, the pronghorn antelope, in the southern and central regions live the steppe fox, wolf, and meadow dogs. Of the feathered species, the steppe falcon and meadow grouse are common.
Russian plain
Specialists often call this territory the East European Plain. This is a real natural pantry of Russia. Judge for yourself: coal, iron ore, oil and natural gas, and other useful resources lie in its foundation. Its fertile soil, according to experts, can easily feed the Russians.
The Great Russian Plain is the second largest in the world, second only to the Amazonian lowlands. It belongs to the low plains. In the north, this territory is washed by the White and Barents Seas, and the Caspian, Azov and Black Seas in the south.
Like many other great plains of the world, Russkaya in the southwest and west is adjacent to the mountains - the Sudetenlands, Carpathians, in the northwest it is bordered by the Scandinavian mountains, in the east - the Urals and Mugodzhary, and in the southeast - the Caucasus and Crimean mountains.
Dimensions
The Russian plain stretches from east to west for 2.5 thousand kilometers. From south to north - at 2750 kilometers. The total area of the territory is five and a half million square kilometers. The maximum height was recorded on Mount Yudychvumchorr (Kola Peninsula - 1191 meters). The lowest point is on the coast of the Caspian Sea, it is characterized by a minus value of -27 meters.
On the territory of the Russian Plain, partially or completely, there are such countries as:
- Kazakhstan.
- Belarus
- Lithuania.
- Latvia.
- Poland.
- Moldova.
- Russia.
- Estonia.
- Ukraine.
Relief
In the relief of the Russian plain, planes prevail. This geographical position is characterized by rare earthquakes, as well as volcanic activity.
Hydrography
The bulk of the waters of the Russian Plain has access to the ocean. The southern and western rivers belong to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean. The rivers of the northern regions flow into the Arctic Ocean. The northern rivers include Onega, Mezen, and the Northern Dvina Pechora. The southern and western rivers carry their waters to the Baltic Sea. These are the Western Dvina, the Vistula, the Neman, the Neva, etc. The Dniester and the Dnieper, the Southern Bug flow into the Black Sea, and the Don into the Azov Sea.
Climate
The Russian plain has a temperate continental climate. Average summer temperatures can range from -12 degrees (in the Barents Sea) to +25 degrees (in the Caspian lowland). Maximum winter temperatures are recorded in the west. In these areas, air temperature is not lower than -3 degrees. In Komi, this figure reaches -20 degrees.
Precipitation in the southeast falls to 400 mm (during the year), in the west their amount doubles. Natural areas vary from semi-desert in the south to tundra in the north.
Chinese plain
Many have probably heard of this plain, but perhaps not everyone knows where the Great Plain of China is. One of the largest plains in Asia. In the east it is washed by the Yellow Sea, in the north the Yanshan mountains border, and in the west - the Taihanshan ridge. Its eastern slopes have steep ledges, more than a thousand meters high. In the southwest are the Dabeshan and Tongboshan ranges. The total area of the plain is more than 325 thousand square kilometers.
In the piedmont, western part, which is composed of ancient drift cones, the plain reaches a height of one hundred meters. Closer to the sea, it falls less than fifty meters.
Relief
On the sea coast, the plain is almost flat, only slight deviations are noticeable. There are swamps and lowlands occupied by small lakes. Within the plain are the Shandong mountains.
Rivers
In addition to the largest Yellow River, the Huaihe, Haihe rivers flow here. They are characterized by rather sharp runoff fluctuations and monsoon regime.
The maximum summer runoff often exceeds the spring minimum by almost a hundred times.
Climatic conditions
The Chinese plain has a monsoon subtropical climate. In winter, the dry and cold air that comes from Asia dominates here. In January, the average temperature is -2 … -4 degrees.
In summer, the air warms up to + 25 … + 28 degrees. Up to 500 mm of precipitation falls in the north in the year and up to 1000 mm in the south.
Vegetation
Today, forests that have previously grown here with an admixture of subtropical evergreens have not been preserved. There are groves of ash, thuja, poplar, pine.
Soils are mainly alluvial, which underwent significant changes during agricultural processing.
