29.10.2019

Caspian lowland. Caspian lowland: a brief description and features The most saline lakes in the Caspian lowland

Located on the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia Caspian lowland. It got its name thanks to geographical location: the plain occupies the northern part of the largest salt lake in the world - the Caspian Sea.

general characteristics

The Caspian lowland is a plain inclined at a slight angle to the Caspian Sea. It stretches for 500 km from north to south, for 700 km from west to east, and covers an area of about 200 thousand square meters. km.

The height above sea level of the Caspian lowland fluctuates: the highest point of the northern regions is 149 m, and the southern regions are located 28 m below sea level. Insignificant elevations stand out on the territory of the plain: Big and Small Bogdo, Inder mountains and others.

Rice. 1. Caspian Sea.

The boundaries of the Caspian lowland are:

in the north - the Caspian;
in the southeast - the Russian Plain;
in the west - Kazakhstan.

In the northwest of the lowland is a site called the Black Lands. It is a semi-desert area, which even in winter is not covered by snow due to strong winds. These lands got their name due to dark brown soils and black wormwood.

The territory of the plain consists of several powerful tectonic structures: the Caspian deep depression, the Ergeninskaya upland, the Terek and Nogai depressions. Many years ago, the plain was regularly flooded by the sea. As a result, loams were formed in the north, and sandy deposits in the south.

Features of climate and nature

The Caspian lowland is characterized by a very dry climate. In winter, strong cold winds blow, the air temperature drops to -10-15C, there is not too much snow, but it does not linger on the surface due to windy weather.

Summer for this area is hot, with very meager precipitation. Dust storms and dry winds are frequent, which form sandy hills - dunes.

Rice. 3. Nature of the Caspian lowland.

The soil in the plains is highly saline, and has many shades, from dark brown to light chestnut. Steppes dominate in the north southern regions lowlands - deserts and semi-deserts.

Not all plants are able to withstand such harsh conditions, and only cereals and wormwood are widespread in these parts. 1/5 of the entire area is allocated for arable land, where melons and gourds are traditionally grown.

The fauna of the Caspian lowland is also not very diverse. Marmots, ferrets, water rats live here. The most valuable animal is the seal. The sturgeon fishery is well developed.

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Caspian lowland”, we learned how the Caspian lowland was formed, what are its area, structural features, boundaries. We learned what climate, animal and vegetable world characteristic of this plain.

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BLACK LAND OF THE CASPIAN DEPRESSION
The Black Lands (Kalmyk. "Khar gazr") is a semi-desert territory, deprived of continuous snow cover in winter due to strong winds. Black sagebrush and brown semi-desert soils reinforce the "color" meaning of the toponym, but the word "black" does not mean only color.

On aerial photographs, the Caspian depression (depression) looks like a crown crowning the northern coast of the Caspian Sea. This territory is a flat plain, the southern part of which lies below the level of the World Ocean by almost 30 m, and in the northern part the height rises to 150 m above the ocean level (mountains Indersky, Big and Small Bogdo). The Caspian lowland is located within the boundaries of the Caspian syneclise (from other Greek “together” and “inclination”) - a gentle trough earth's crust formed in the Paleozoic. The folded basement of the syneclise lies at a depth of 3000-4000 m and is covered with a layer of sedimentary deposits, the thickness of which reaches here the greatest depth for the Russian platform. In ancient times, the Caspian lowland was part of the World Ocean; the modern relief was influenced by numerous ups and downs of the Caspian Sea.

In the south of the northwestern sector of the Caspian lowland, between the Kumo-Manych depression,

The Ergeninsky Upland and the Volga (at the junction with the Sarpinskaya Lowland) are the so-called Black Lands. This waterless territory with uncomfortable climatic conditions and natural foci of plague, leprosy (the old name is leprosy) and other diseases are of little use for life. Here, the population density is extremely low - less than 4 people / km2. IN summer time dust storms rage here, up to 40 days a year. The only direction Agriculture in these places - transhumant animal husbandry. Having deprived the Black Lands of water, nature did not stint on minerals: over hundreds of millions of years sedimentary rocks accumulated here, and now the Black Lands are the region of the richest Caspian oil field, a place for the extraction of uranium, titanium, precious metals - gold, silver and platinum, rare earth elements - scandium, yttrium, rhenium, gallium.

Active development of deposits also has a negative effect: the surface of the Black Lands quickly turns into an anthropogenic desert (especially considering that soils began to form here only 4-5 thousand years ago, there is almost no turf). To preserve the local ecosystem, a state biosphere reserve"Black Lands".

In the northeast, "Khar gazr" descends into the Volga delta, to the Caspian Sea, where strips of Baer hillocks stretch along the coast (first described in 1866 by academician K. M. Baer) - sandy ridges correct form height from 6 to 45 m, width 200-300 m and length up to several kilometers, alternating with ilmens (small lakes overgrown with reeds). Economic activity human can lead to their complete destruction in the near future.

The Volga-Akhtuba floodplain with a vast delta of the Volga River crosses the Caspian lowland in the northwestern part. As it approaches the sea, the main branches of the Volga, 300-600 m wide, branch into numerous channels and eriki, about 30 m wide. At the confluence with the Caspian Sea, the river has about 800 mouths. The Volga water, saturated with industrial and agricultural effluents, poses a serious danger to the environment in the Caspian lowland. In 2000, to protect the ecosystem of swamps and nesting birds, a natural Park"Volga-Akhtuba floodplain": there are more than 200 species of them.

GENERAL INFORMATION
Location: in the extreme south-east of the Russian Plain, around the Caspian Sea from the north.
Administrative affiliation: Astrakhan region (Russia), Republic of Kalmykia (part of the Russian Federation), Republic of Dagestan (part of the Russian Federation), Republic of Kazakhstan.
Origin: tectonic, deposition of sedimentary rocks.
Languages: Russian, Kazakh, Kalmyk, Dagestan, Tatar, Bashkir.
Ethnic composition: Russians, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Dagestanis, Tatars, Bashkirs.
Religions: Orthodoxy, Islam.
Monetary units: Russian ruble, Kazakh tenge.
Large cities: Astrakhan (Russia), Aty pay (Kazakhstan).
The largest rivers: Volga, Terek, Sulak, Ural, Emba.
The largest lakes (salt): Baskunchak, Elton, Manych-Gudilo, Tinaki.
Natural borders: in the west it is bounded by the uplands of Stavropol, Ergen and Volga, in the north - by the General Syrt, in the northeast and east - by the Pre-Durap plateau, in the southeast - by the cliff of the Ustyurt plateau and the Mangyshlak peninsula, in the south - by the coast of the Caspian Sea.
FIGURES Area: about 200,000 km2.
Length: from north to south - up to 550 km, from west to east - up to 770 km.
Population: about 2 million people.
Population density: about 10 people/km2.
The most low point: -28 m below sea level.
The most high point: Mount Big Bogdo (149.6 m above sea level).

CLIMATE
Sharply continental. Severe and little snowy winter, hot summer.
Average January temperature: -14°С in the north, -8°С on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Average temperature in July: +22°С in the north, +24°С on the coast of the Caspian Sea.
Average annual precipitation: less than 200 mm.
Relative air humidity: 50-60%.

ECONOMY
Minerals: oil, natural gas, uranium, titanium, gold, silver, platinum, scandium, yttrium, rhenium, gallium, table salt.
Industry: mining (oil and gas, ore, salt mining).
Agriculture: plant growing (melon growing, gardening, vegetable growing), animal husbandry (pasture - sheep breeding).
Service sector: tourist ( recreational fishing in the Volga delta), transport.
CURIOUS FACTS - The thickness of the surface deposits of salt on Lake Baskunchak reaches 10-18 m. Only certain types of bacteria live in brine (saturated saline solution). Today, the extremely pure salt of Lake Baskunchak accounts for up to 80% of the total salt production in Russia: from 1.5 to 5 million tons of salt are mined here annually. The Baskunchak railway was built for the export of salt.
- The Cordon tract is a natural monument of regional significance (status since 1995): here, under natural conditions, the Mexican prickly pear cactus grows, blooming with large yellow or pale pink flowers. The cactus was planted for experimental purposes by the scientists of the Khosheut station of the Republic of Armenia in 1904-1917.
- Big Bogdo was nicknamed the “singing mountain”: in the process of weathering, depressions similar to giant honeycombs formed on the rocky cliffs. If the wind blows, the holes make characteristic sounds of different heights.

Caspian lowland 47°32′ N. sh. 49°01′ E d. / 47.533° N sh. 49.017° E d. / 47.533; 49.017 (G) (I)Coordinates : 47°32′ N. sh. 49°01′ E d. / 47.533° N sh. 49.017° E d. / 47.533; 49.017 (G) (I) Atyrau Oblast, West Kazakhstan Oblast, Mangistau Oblast, Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan Oblast

Caspian lowland(kaz. Caspian many oypaty, emergency Kaspiyalukh listen)) is found on the East European Plain in Kazakhstan and Russia, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea.

Geographical position

The Caspian lowland is surrounded in the north by the Common Syrt, in the west by the Volga Upland and Ergeni, in the east by the Cis-Ural Plateau and Ustyurt. The area of the lowland is about 200 thousand km². The height above sea level is up to 149 m, the southern part of the lowland lies below sea level (up to −28 m). The northwestern part of the lowland between the Ergeninsky Upland, the Kumo-Manych Depression and the Volga is called the Black Lands.

The Caspian lowland is a flat surface, gently inclined towards the sea, among which rise individual hills - the Inder Mountains, Big Bogdo, Small Bogdo and others.

The Caspian lowland is crossed by the rivers Volga, Ural, Emba, Kuma, Terek and others. Small rivers (Big and Small Uzen, Wil, Sagiz) dry up in summer or break up into a series of basins, forming lake overflows - Kamysh-Samarsky lakes, Sarpinsky lakes. There are many salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Inder, Botkul, etc.).

Geological structure

The Caspian lowland includes several large tectonic structures (the Caspian syneclise, the Ergenin uplift, the Nogai and Terek depressions). In the Quaternary, the lowland was repeatedly flooded by the sea, which left clayey and loamy deposits in the northern part, and sandy deposits in the southern part.

The surface of the Caspian lowland is characterized by micro- and mesoforms in the form of depressions, estuaries, spits, hollows, in the south - eolian forms, and along the coast of the Caspian Sea - a strip of Baer hillocks.

Climate and vegetation

In the north - sagebrush-cereal steppes on light chestnut soils, in the south - semi-deserts and deserts on brown and sandy soils with a predominance of sagebrush.

Economic importance

In the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, melon growing, horticulture, and vegetable growing are common.

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Literature

Grigoriev A.A. Brief geographical encyclopedia. Volume 3. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1962. - S. 580.
Southeast of the European part of the USSR, M., 1971; Kazakhstan, M., 1969 ( natural conditions and natural resources of the USSR).

Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Caspian lowland

Where, how, when she sucked into herself from that Russian air that she breathed - this countess, brought up by a French emigrant, this spirit, where did she get these techniques that pas de chale should long ago have been forced out? But these spirits and methods were the same, inimitable, not studied, Russian, which her uncle expected from her. As soon as she stood up, she smiled solemnly, proudly and cunningly cheerfully, the first fear that gripped Nikolai and all those present, the fear that she would do something wrong, passed and they were already admiring her.
She did the same thing and did it so exactly, so quite exactly, that Anisya Fyodorovna, who immediately handed her the handkerchief necessary for her work, burst into tears through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, educated countess in silk and velvet. who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.
“Well, the countess is a pure march,” said the uncle, laughing joyfully, having finished the dance. - Oh yes, niece! If only you could choose a good fellow for you, - march is a clean business!
“Already chosen,” said Nikolai smiling.
- ABOUT? said the uncle in surprise, looking inquiringly at Natasha. Natasha nodded her head in the affirmative with a happy smile.
- Another one! - she said. But as soon as she said this, another, new line of thoughts and feelings arose in her. What did Nikolai's smile mean when he said: "already chosen"? Is he happy about it or not? He seems to think that my Bolkonsky would not have approved, would not have understood our joy. No, he would understand. Where is he now? thought Natasha, and her face suddenly became serious. But it only lasted for one second. “Don’t think about it, don’t dare to think about it,” she said to herself, and smiling, she sat down again with her uncle, asking him to play something else.
Uncle played another song and a waltz; then, after a pause, he cleared his throat and sang his favorite hunting song.
Like powder from the evening
Turned out good...
Uncle sang the way the people sing, with that complete and naive conviction that in a song all meaning lies only in the words, that the melody comes by itself and that there is no separate melody, but that the melody is only for storage. Because of this, this unconscious tune, like the song of a bird, was unusually good with my uncle. Natasha was delighted with her uncle's singing. She decided that she would no longer study the harp, but would only play the guitar. She asked her uncle for a guitar and immediately picked up the chords for the song.
At ten o'clock a line, a droshky, and three riders arrived for Natasha and Petya, sent to look for them. The count and countess did not know where they were and were very worried, as the messenger said.
Petya was taken down and laid like a dead body in a ruler; Natasha and Nikolai got into the droshky. Uncle wrapped up Natasha and said goodbye to her with a completely new tenderness. He escorted them on foot to the bridge, which had to be bypassed into a ford, and ordered the hunters to go ahead with lanterns.
“Farewell, dear niece,” his voice shouted out of the darkness, not the one that Natasha had known before, but the one that sang: “Like powder since the evening.”
The village we passed had red lights and a cheerful smell of smoke.
- What a charm this uncle is! - said Natasha, when they drove out onto the main road.
“Yes,” said Nikolai. - Are you cold?
- No, I'm fine, fine. I feel so good, - Natasha even said with bewilderment. They were silent for a long time.
The night was dark and damp. The horses were not visible; all you could hear was their paddling through the invisible mud.
What was going on in this childish, receptive soul, which so greedily caught and assimilated all the most diverse impressions of life? How did it fit into her? But she was very happy. Already approaching the house, she suddenly sang the motive of the song: “Like powder from the evening,” a motive that she caught all the way and finally caught.
- Got it? Nikolai said.
“What are you thinking now, Nikolenka?” Natasha asked. They liked to ask each other that.
- I? - said Nikolai remembering; - you see, at first I thought that Rugai, the red male, looked like an uncle and that if he were a man, he would still keep the uncle with him, if not for the jump, then for the frets, he would keep everything. How good he is, uncle! Is not it? - Well, what about you?
- I? Hold on, hold on. Yes, at first I thought that here we are going and we think that we are going home, and God knows where we are going in this darkness and suddenly we will arrive and see that we are not in Otradnoye, but in a magical kingdom. And then I thought… No, nothing more.

Caspian lowland occupies the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, and is a flat plain with an inclination to the sea, among which mountains rise up to 150 meters high.

The lowland is represented by steppe, semi-desert and desert landscapes, which are of scientific and environmental value. Unique water body The Caspian Sea is the largest salt lake in Europe, Baskunchak, taken under protection in the Bogdinsko-Baskunchaksky Reserve.

In the west, the Caspian lowland is crossed by the Volga.

The Volga Delta is the largest and most environmentally friendly in Europe. It begins to the north of Astrakhan, where a large branch, the Buzan, separates. Throughout the entire journey from Astrakhan to the rumbles of the Caspian Sea, the delta is extremely diverse, the main branches 300 - 600 meters wide branch into numerous channels and eriki - small watercourses up to 30 meters wide. At the confluence with the Caspian, the Volga has about 800 mouths.

About 500 plant species belonging to 82 families have been identified on the territory of the Volga delta. The richest among these families are the genera of wormwood, pondweed, astragalus, sedge, milkweed and salt.

About 260 species of birds can be found within the Astrakhan region. Some, settled, you can meet all year round, others - migratory and nomadic, during migrations. The conditions for birdwatching are especially favorable in the Astrakhan Nature Reserve, where you can go to watch the spring and autumn bird migrations.

Caspian lowland located on the East European Plain in Russia and Kazakhstan, surrounds the northern part of the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian lowland is surrounded in the north by the Common Syrt, in the west by the Volga Upland and Ergeni, in the east by the Cis-Ural Plateau and Ustyurt. The area of the lowland is about 200 thousand km². The height above sea level is up to 100 m, the southern part of the lowland lies below sea level (up to −28 m). The northwestern part of the lowland between the Ergeninsky Upland, the Kumo-Manych Depression and the Volga is called the Black Lands.

The Caspian lowland is a flat surface, gently inclined towards the sea, among which rise individual hills - the Inder Mountains, Big Bogdo, Small Bogdo and others.

The Caspian lowland is crossed by the Ural, Volga, Terek, Kuma and other rivers. Small rivers (Big and Small Uzen, Wil, Sagiz) dry up in summer or break up into a series of basins, forming lake overflows - Kamysh-Samarsky lakes, Sarpinsky lakes. There are many salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, etc.).

Geological structure

Climate and vegetation

The climate is sharply continental. Average temperatures in January are from -14° in the north to -8° on the coast, in July - from +22° in the north to +24°C in the south. west, evaporation - about 1000 mm. Dry winds are frequent.

Soils and vegetation of the Caspian lowland are characterized by great complexity. Often there are solonetzes, solonchaks.

In the north - sagebrush-cereal steppes on light chestnut soils, in the south - semi-deserts and deserts on brown and sandy soils with a predominance of sagebrush.

Economic importance

Used as pasture.

In the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, melon growing, horticulture, and vegetable growing are widespread.

Extraction of oil and gas (Caspian oil and gas province), in lakes - extraction of table salt (Lakes Baskunchak, Elton, etc.).

The Caspian lowland is located in Eurasia. This is the southern tip of the East European Plain, adjacent to the Caspian Sea in its northern part. Natural borders: from the north - the Common Syrt Upland, the west - the Volga, Stavropol Uplands and Ergeni, the east - the Cis-Ural Plateau and Ustyurt, from the south - the Caspian Sea. Located on the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Coordinates:
Latitude: 47°32"N
Longitude: 49°01" E

The Caspian lowland is a huge plain with an area of 200,000 sq. km., which descends below sea level from the south. These are steppes, deserts, semi-deserts and salt marshes, although many rivers flow there, including large ones: the Volga, at its confluence with the Caspian, forming a vast delta, and the Urals. Emba, Terek, Kuma cross the lowland. There are many salty lakes - Baskunchak, Inder, Aralsor, Kamys-Samar lakes, Elton, Botkul.

Among the pancake-flat plains, here and there rise domes of salt, called mountains. Big Bogdo is a salt mountain 150 meters high, is a cult place for Buddhists. The main part of the lowland is steppes and sands used for pastures. In the Volga-Ural interfluve developed fishing and hunting, the famous Astrakhan watermelons grow in the Volga floodplain. There are oil and gas fields in the Ural-Emba interfluve.

In the Caspian lowland, despite the apparent stinginess of nature, there are many natural attractions. There are also archaeological, historical, cultural different peoples and eras.

Russia

Reserves "Bogodino-Baskunchaksky", "Astrakhansky", "Black Lands". "Volga-Akhtuba floodplain" - a natural park. "Manych-Gudilo" and "Sands of Burley" nature reserves, Big Bogdo mountain, Lotus Valley, Kumo-Manych depression (separates Eurasia), Kordon tract, Baer hillocks. Monuments of archeology: Devil's ancient settlement of the Golden Horde era (Astrakhan region), Sarai-Batu (Astrakhan region), burials in the Bronze Age Turtles, settlement "Self-made" (Astrakhan region). Of the cultural objects, one can note the Khosheutovsky khurul (Kalmyk monument in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the village of Rechnoy, Astrakhan region), the watermelon museum (Kamyzyak city).

Kazakhstan

Ustyurt reserve, Karagie depression on the Mangyshlak peninsula, Shalkar lake (Aktobe region), floodplain forests of the Ural River with unique and relict vegetation, Sanal and Sazanbay canyons. The resort town of Aktau and the Kenderli complex are located on the Caspian coast. You can travel across the Great Silk Road who passed through these places. There are many archaeological monuments: Kyzyl-Kala (red fortress), the city of Sary-Aichik - the Golden Horde center of trade. The sacred places of Muslims are the underground mosques of Shopan-Ata and Becket-Ata.

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