Large plains. Plains
What are the plains?
The large plains of the world are the object of study by specialists. The plains truly amaze with their beauty and grandeur. This is confirmed by everyone who has seen this kind of terrain not only on the map.
Few people know where the largest plains of the world are located, and which of the plains are the most extensive. Plain - a type of terrain, which is characterized by a small fluctuation in height. All plains are divided into lowlands, plateaus and uplands. The lowlands are located at a distance of up to 200 meters above the main sea level. The hills are located at a distance of more than 500 meters above the main sea level. Everything between these levels is a plateau.
Amazonian lowland and Gobi plain
Geography teachers know that the largest and most majestic plain in the world is the Amazonian lowland. Its area is more than 5 million square kilometers. The plain rises 10-100 meters above the main sea level. The Amazonian lowland is located in South America and extends from Atlantic Ocean to the deepest river in the world - the Amazon. Almost the entire area of the plain is occupied by moist equatorial forests. The second longest is the Gobi plain, which bears the name of the desert of the same name.
The Gobi Plain is located in Central Asia. It is a plateau and is sandwiched on all sides by mountain ranges. On the territory of the Gobi there are both rocky surfaces and surfaces on which plants grow, which can only be found in this corner of the globe. The local climate is quite severe, as the plain is located at an altitude of about 1000 meters above the main sea level. Very large plains in their length are located on the territory of the Sahara desert. The Sahara is the largest desert on earth. Its area is about 8 million square kilometers, which is quite comparable with such a continent as Australia. The entire territory of the Sahara is made up of plains that cross dry riverbeds.
East African plateau
The largest plain on the African continent is the East African Plateau. Its length is more than 17,000 kilometers in length. The West Siberian Lowland is also large. It is a former basin of the Arctic Ocean. On the territory of the plain there are a lot of lakes, swamps. This is primarily due to its origin, as well as the fact that it is located at a distance of 10-12 meters above the main sea level. It is noteworthy that all the most famous oil and gas fields in Russia are located here. The East European Plain is also called "Russian". It is located near the Ural Mountains. It also has rich mineral deposits.
The largest deposit is the Kursk magnetic anomaly. On each continent you can find your own plains, which for this continent will be the largest. All of them deserve some attention from scientists. Some of them attract thousands of tourists with their beauty who want to see at least a small part of the majestic plain with their own eyes. That is why it is very popular to build tourist routes through some plateaus.
The largest plains of the world cause delight and admiration. Those who like to travel can be advised to choose a tourist route that passes through one of these plains.
Now many experts are studying the largest plains in the world. These plains amaze with their extraordinary beauty. Not many people know where the largest plains on Earth are located. And every Russian will not be able to name the largest plains of Russia.
A plain is a type of terrain that is most often characterized by small fluctuations in elevation. Plains can be subdivided into lowlands, uplands and plateaus. The plain-lowland is located at a distance of up to 200 meters above sea level. The hills are at a distance of more than 500 meters above sea level, and the plains that are between these two distances will be called plateau.
The largest plain in terms of area is the Amazonian lowland. It has an area of more than 5 million square kilometers and this plain is located 10-100 meters above sea level. The Amazonian lowland is located in South America and stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the largest river in the Amazon. Throughout the area of this largest plain in the world, moist equatorial forests grow.
The second longest plain on Earth is the Gobi. The Gobi Desert is located in Central Asia and is a plateau, as there are mountain ranges on all its sides. On the territory of this plain there are also rocky surfaces, as well as surfaces where plants grow. These plants can only be found here. And all because the desert has a harsh climate. This plain is located at an altitude of about 1000 meters above sea level.
Another largest plain in the world is the Sahara desert. The desert has an area of 8 million square kilometers and there are several plains on its territory. This desert can cover the entire mainland of Australia. Plains in the desert are crossed by riverbeds. In Africa, the largest plain is the East African Plateau. It has a length of 17,000 kilometers in length.
The largest plain in Russia is the West Siberian Lowland. This is a former basin of the Arctic Ocean, so there are a large number of rivers and lakes on its territory. The plain is at the level of 10-12 meters. It is worth noting that all the most famous oil and gas fields that exist in Russia are located on this plain. The largest plains of Russia, the list goes on. Another plain is the East European, which also has the name "Russian". The plain is located near the Ural Mountains. It also has the richest mineral deposits on its territory. The largest of them is the Kursk magnetic anomaly.
Almost all continents have the largest plains. They all deserve the attention of researchers. Many of them attract tourists with their beauty, who themselves want to see the majestic plains of the world. Therefore, tourist routes are laid through many famous plains.
Mainland | Plain | Country |
Eurasia | Great Chinese | China |
Eastern European | RF, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova. | |
Deccan Plateau | India | |
Dzungarian lowland | China | |
West Siberian Lowland | RF | |
Indo-Gangetic lowland | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh | |
Mesopotamian lowland | Iraq, Iran, Syria, Kuwait. | |
Caspian lowland | RF, Kazakhstan | |
Central Siberian Plateau | RF | |
Tarim (Kashgar) | China | |
Turan lowland | Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan | |
Africa | East African Plateau | Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia. |
South America | Guiana Plateau | Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, Guiana |
brazilian plateau | Brazil | |
Amazonian lowland | Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru | |
North America | Mississippi lowland | USA |
Atlantic lowlands | USA | |
Mexican lowland | USA | |
great plains | USA, Canada | |
Central Plains | USA, Canada |
The relief of the bottom of the oceans
The following parts are distinguished in the bottom topography:
1. Shelf(mainland shoal) - the underwater margin of the mainland, adjacent to the coast of the land. Shelf width up to 1500 km, depth from 50 - 100 to 200 m (2000 m South Kuril basin of the Sea of Okhotsk), is 8% of the world's oceans. The shelf is the most productive part of the world's oceans, where there are fishing areas (90% of seafood) and the largest mineral deposits.
2. continental slope lies below the shelf boundary at a depth of up to 2000 m (sometimes up to 3600 m), makes up 12% of the area of the world's oceans. This part of the bottom is characterized by seismicity.
3. Bed The world ocean is located at a depth of 2500 to 6000 m, it occupies up to 80% of the area of the world ocean. The productivity of this part of the ocean is low. The bed has a complex relief. Examples of these forms are:
a) mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic ridge, Central Indian with Arabian-Indian, Gakkel ridge), which arose as a result of the movement of lithospheric plates. The tops of the mid-ocean ridges that come to the surface form islands (Iceland, St. Helena, Easter Islands);
b) deep-water trenches - narrow depressions with steep slopes (Table 6).
The bottom of the world ocean is covered with marine sediments, which cover 75% of the ocean floor and their thickness reaches up to 200 m.
Table 6
Deep sea trenches
The Amazonian lowland is the most extensive plain in the world, covering an area of more than 5 million km2. It rises above sea level to a height of 10-120 m. The entire surface of the plain is occupied by equatorial humid forests - hylaea. Huge expanses of lowlands are connected with life great river Amazon, the largest watershed in the world. Part of the territory near the floodplain of the river is constantly flooded, forming swampy areas, the so-called marches, and near the mouth of the river, the relief of the plain is influenced by the tidal waves of the Atlantic Ocean. Their action is associated with the amazing phenomenon of "vice" when, at high tide, the ocean's water shaft rises so high that it enters the mouth of the Amazon in the form of a large wave that turns the waters of the river back.
The Gobi plain is the largest in Central Asia. It owes its name to the desert of the same name. The plain is located in an intramountain basin. In the Gobi there are denudation and accumulative areas, and rocky surfaces - hammads, and real "eolian cities" created by winds in sedimentary rocks. Due to its elevated position relative to sea level (more than 1000 m), the Gobi is also called a plateau. Clamped on all sides by high mountains, the inner Gobi plain is characterized by a harsh climate.
Great Plains - foothill plateau in North America, descending in wide steps from the Rocky Mountains to the Central Plains of America. More high step starts at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. It is called the Great Prairies. This is a stratified sloping plain, composed of pliable sedimentary rocks, which are strongly destroyed by denudation. The surface of the prairies is often pitted with ravines. To the east, the Great Plains merge into the lower Central Plains. Their surface in the north is covered by glacial deposits and loess.
The Mesopotamian lowlands, while not the most extensive, are by far the best known. This is a flat accumulative plain, composed of deposits of two great rivers of the East - the Tigris and the Euphrates. The famous civilization of Mesopotamia arose here.
The West Siberian Lowland is a former bay of the Arctic Ocean. The lowland is distinguished by many lakes and a dense river network. Huge areas of lowland are swamped. Absolute heights lowlands above sea level - only a few tens of meters. The richest oil and gas fields in Russia are concentrated here.
The Sahara is the largest desert in the globe located in North Africa. The area of the Sahara is about 8 million km2, which is comparable to the size of the continent of Australia. Surfaces 200-500 m high - a vast expanse of aeolian plains (Libyan desert, Great Western and Great Eastern Erg), lake basins (Lake Chad basin), plateaus, with a few insular mountain ranges - highlands (Ahaggar, Tibesti, Darfur). In some places, these plains are cut by wide valleys - wadis (as the Arabs call dry riverbeds).
The East European (Russian) Plain extends west of the Ural Mountains and lies within the East European Platform. The intrusion of the ice sheet during the last ice age had a significant impact on the appearance of the northern half of the plain. On the plain there are deposits of many minerals, the largest of which is the Kursk magnetic anomaly.
The Western European lowland plains frame the northern coast of Western Europe with a wide border. These include the North German, Polish, Flanders lowlands. By origin, these are glacial and alluvial sea plains, on the territory of which there are many lakes in places (in Poland, for example, areas with a large number of lakes are called “lakes”). The lands of Holland lying within the Flanders Lowland often have marks below sea level. To protect these areas from floods, people built dams. Now these lands (polders) are used for farms and pastures.
Physical map of the world allows you to see the relief of the earth's surface and the location of the main continents. The physical map gives general idea about the location of the seas, oceans, complex terrain and elevation changes in various parts of the planet. On the physical map of the world, you can clearly see the mountains, plains and systems of ridges and highlands. Physical maps of the world are widely used in schools in the study of geography, as it is the basis for understanding the main natural features various parts of the world.
Physical map of the world in Russian - relief
PHYSICAL WORLD MAP displays the surface of the Earth. The space of the earth's surface contains everything Natural resources and wealth of mankind. The configuration of the earth's surface predetermines the entire course human history. Change the boundaries of the continents, stretch the direction of the main mountain ranges in a different way, change the direction of the rivers, remove this or that strait or bay, and the whole history of mankind will become different.
“What is the surface of the Earth? The concept of a surface has the same meaning as the concept of a geographic shell and the concept of the biosphere proposed by geochemists... earth surface voluminous - three-dimensional, and taking the geographical shell of an unambiguous biosphere, we emphasize the paramount importance of living matter for geography. Geographic envelope ends where living matter ends.
Physical map of the hemispheres of the Earth in Russian
Physical map of the world in English from National Geographic
Physical map of the world in Russian
Good physical map of the world in English
Physical map of the world in Ukrainian
Physical map of the Earth in English
Detailed physical map of the Earth with major currents
Physical world map with state borders - Wikiwand Physical world map with state borders
Map of the geological regions of the earth - Geological map of the world "s regions
Physical map of the world with the ice and clouds - A physical map of the world with the ice and clouds
Physical map of the Earth - Physical map of the Earth
Physical map of the world - A physical map of the world
The great importance of the structure of the continents for the fate of mankind is indisputable. The gulf between the eastern and western hemispheres disappeared only 500 years ago with the travels of the Spaniards and the Portuguese to America. Prior to this, ties between the peoples of both hemispheres existed mainly only in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.
The deep penetration of the northern continents into the Arctic for a long time made the routes around their northern shores inaccessible. The close convergence of the three main oceans in the area of three mediterranean seas created the possibility of their connection with each other naturally (Strait of Malacca) or artificially (Suez Canal, Panama Canal). Mountain chains and location predetermined the movement of peoples. Vast plains led to the unification of people under one state will, strongly dissected spaces contributed to the maintenance of state fragmentation.
The dismemberment of America by rivers, lakes and mountains led to the formation of Indian peoples, who, due to their isolation, could not resist the Europeans. Seas, continents, mountain ranges and rivers form natural boundaries between countries and peoples (F. Fatzel, 1909).