Geographical position of Western Siberia. Economy of Western Siberia

Western Siberia is a large geographical region,which stretches from the Kara Sea to the Kazakhstan steppes. This region is covered by forests and marshes by 60% and has the richest mineral and resource potential. What are the main features of the geographic location of Western Siberia? What minerals are mined here? And what place does the region occupy in the all-Russian economic system?

Western Siberia: geographical position of the region

Western Siberia is the largest region in the world.area comparable to countries such as Argentina or India. It is located within two states (Russia and Kazakhstan). The geographical position of Western Siberia is characterized by several characteristic features. Which ones?

The physicogeographical position of Western Siberiadescribes the location of the given region with respect to macroforms of the relief, large rivers, seas, oceans, natural zones, etc. The region stretched from the north to the south by almost 2500 kilometers. From west to east, its extent varies from 1000 km in the northern part to 2,000 km in the southern part.

If we talk about the boundaries of this region, thenthe geographical location of Western Siberia will be as follows: in the north the region extends to the shores of the Kara Sea, and in the south it is limited by the slopes of the Kazakh melkosopochnik. The western border passes through the mountains of the Urals, and the eastern border runs along the Yenisei River. To the southeast, Western Siberia gradually rises, smoothly passing into the foothills of Altai and Kuznetsk Alatau.

What else is Western Siberia interested in? The geographical position of this region is characterized by the fact that it lies almost entirely within the same name of the West Siberian Plain. This is the largest plain of the planet, occupying an area of ​​almost 2.6 million square meters. km.

By its size, Western Siberia occupies about15% of the territory of Russia. Here live no more than 10% of the Russian population (14.6 million people). The population is concentrated mainly in the southern part of this region. Within the Western Siberia, there are 11 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the North-Kazakhstan oblast (entirely), and certain regions of some other regions of Kazakhstan. The largest cities in the region are Omsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Barnaul, Kustanai and Nizhnevartovsk.

Western Siberia: a brief physical and geographical overview

The region lies in the continental climate zone,which is divided into five subzones, from the tundra in the north to the steppe in the south. In winter, air temperatures can reach -30 ... -40 degrees, in summer they range from +10 to +20. In the warm season, the Vasyugan marshes play the role of a huge air conditioner, the cooling effect of which extends almost to the whole of Western Siberia.

All the watercourses of the region in one way or another carry their ownwater in the Kara Sea. The Ob with the Irtysh is the main river system of Western Siberia. Other major rivers are the Pur, Tom, Tobol, Chulym, Taz, Biya, Nadym. In the West Siberian forests, there are 40 tree species and 230 shrub species. The fauna of the region is also quite rich: about 100 species of mammals, 350 species of birds and 60 species of bony fishes.

The unique nature of Western Siberia is protected inseveral reserves. The oldest of them, Yugansk, was established in 1982. Red-listed species of animals are protected here - the golden eagle, white-tailed eagle, black stork and others.

Features of the relief of Western Siberia

As already mentioned above, the main partgeographical region lies within the West Siberian Plain, which is perfectly visible on physical maps. It is "sandwiched" between the Ural mountains and the Central Siberian plateau. The Plain is conditionally divided into two parts by Siberian Uvaly - a hill with absolute heights of 200-300 meters.

The entire orographic structure lies on the same nameplate with a foundation of Paleozoic age. From above, this foundation is blocked by powerful deposits of the Mesozoic, Paleogene and Quaternary periods. The total thickness of these layers reaches 6 kilometers! The West Siberian plate is mainly composed of shales, clays, sands and sandstones.

The surface of Western Siberia is not differentsignificant differences in altitude. Nevertheless, the relief of this region is quite diverse. Here there are plains and plains, and marshy lowlands, and uplands with small plateaus.

Natural areas of Western Siberia

Within the edge, latitudinal zoning is clearly discernible. Here, five natural zones are distinguished, the boundaries of which alternate with improbable correctness:

• Tundra.
• Forest Tundra.
• Taiga.
• Forest steppe.
• Steppe.

Forestless tundra with mosses and lichens occupiesthe extreme northern expanses of Western Siberia (the Gydansky Peninsula and Yamal Peninsula). To the south it is replaced by forest-tundra, in which mosaic patches of bogs, shrub thickets and light forests are combined.

The forest zone (or taiga) is almost1000-kilometer zone between the 55th and 66th degrees of the northern latitude. Typical landscape of this zone is dark coniferous forest with predominance of fir, spruce and cedar. Pine and birch-aspen forests are found in places.

South of the taiga forest steppe begins. Here its distinctive feature is a large number of drainless salt lakes. Further south, this natural zone is replaced by the steppe. In addition to the classic herbs, here there are pine ribbon burs. They formed in the valleys of the waters of ancient glaciers.

Natural resources and minerals of the region

The natural resources of this region are very diverse. Western Siberia produces more than 70% of Russia's total oil production and about 10% of timber. It is here that the most powerful oil and gas producing complex in the country is located.

In addition to oil and natural gas, in Western Siberiathere are considerable reserves of coal, peat and salt. However, it is very difficult to master the mineral resources of the region. After all, Mother Nature reliably protected local deposits with the help of frozen soils and impenetrable swamps. In winter, workers are hampered by frosts and winds, in the summer - flocks of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

Another huge and almost inexhaustiblethe wealth of Western Siberia is its water. In addition to numerous fresh lakes and rivers, the region has discovered large reserves of groundwater. Since ancient times, Siberian lakes have supplied people with fish, and forests with furs and wood.

Economic and geographical position of the region

The geographical position of Western Siberia (EGP) inis largely determined, on the one hand, by the maximum concentration of world-class fuel deposits, and on the other hand by the relative proximity to the places of consumption of these fuel resources. It is here that large-scale cargo flows of oil and gas are formed, directed mainly to the west.

Another positive featureeconomic and geographical situation of Western Siberia lies in the favorable transport situation of this region. Pipelines quickly and comparatively cheaply deliver Siberian oil and gas to the CIS countries, Eastern and Western Europe. In the west, the region borders directly on the industrialized Ural region, and in the south it has access to the state borders of Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China.

There are only two negative features of the EGP of western Siberia:

1. Extreme natural and climatic conditions, which significantly complicate and increase the cost of extracting local energy resources.
2. The considerable length of the border with Kazakhstan, which in many areas remains unconfined.

Features of the economy of Western Siberia

In this part of the country is allocated the West Siberian economic region. Its conditional borders roughly coincide with the natural boundaries of the geographic region in question.

The economy of Western Siberia is based on oil and gasgas production, forestry and chemical industry, as well as in the agro-industrial complex with a predominance of grain farming. But first of all, Western Siberia is an important oil base of the country. In Omsk one of the best refineries in Russia works. The depth of processing of "black gold" here reaches 80%. The energy resources produced in the region are also processed in Tobolsk.

In Western Siberia,machine building. The largest centers of this industry are concentrated in Omsk, Novosibirsk region and in the Altai Territory. In the region we produce looms, energy and coal equipment, steam boilers, diesel engines and freight cars.

Conclusion

Now you know what featuresthe geographic location of Western Siberia is different. The natural borders of this region are the Ural Mountains (in the west), the Yenisei River (in the east), the Kara Sea (in the north) and the slopes of the Kazakh Melkosopochnik (in the south).

The economic and geographical location of Western Siberia as a whole is quite profitable, although it has some of its weak points.