117-918: The Ilmensky Mountains (Russian: Ильменские горы , romanized: Il'menskiye gory ) are located in the Southern Urals in the Chelyabinsk Oblast on the administrative territory of Miass in Chebarkulsky and Argayashsky districts. They are on the Tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites . They are famous for their precious (like topaz and beryl ) and semi-precious stones, such as amazonite and rare metals, found in pegmatites and nepheline syenites . Now, most part of Ilmensky Mountains are inside strict Ilmen Nature Reserve and all mining activities there are prohibited. This Chelyabinsk Oblast location article
234-828: A deal to pledge 1% of their budgets to help the sea recover. In March 2000, UNESCO presented their "Water-related vision for the Aral Sea basin for the year 2025". By 2006, the World Bank 's restoration projects, especially in the North Aral, were giving rise to some unexpected, tentative relief in what had been an extremely pessimistic picture. Funded in part by the UNDP, implementations in Kazakhstan such as laser levelling and irrigation optimization using energy-efficient technologies has shown effectiveness. The future of
351-677: A desert shrub akin to the creosote bush ) to be collected in Aralsk for the new steamers. Saxaul wood proved not to be a suitable fuel and in the later years the Aral Flotilla was provisioned, at substantial cost, by coal from the Donbas . In the early 1960s, as part of the Soviet government plan for cotton , or "white gold", to become a major export, the Amu Darya river in the south and
468-544: A height of 1,894 metres (6,214 ft). By topography and other natural features, the Urals are divided, from north to south, into the Polar (or Arctic), Nether-Polar (or Sub-Arctic), Northern, Central and Southern parts. The Polar Urals extend for about 385 kilometers (239 mi) from Mount Konstantinov Kamen in the north to the river Khulga in the south; they have an area of about 25,000 km (9,700 sq mi) and
585-703: A key element in Nazi planning for the territories which they expected to conquer in the USSR. Faced with the threat of having a significant part of the Soviet territories occupied by the enemy, the government evacuated many of the industrial enterprises of European Russia and Ukraine to the eastern foothills of the Ural, considered a safe place out of reach of the German bombers and troops. Three giant tank factories were established at
702-480: A series of parallel ridges up to 1,000–1,200 m (3,300–3,900 ft) in height and longitudinal hollows. They are elongated from north to south and stretch for about 560 km (350 mi) from the river Usa . Most of the tops are flattened, but those of the highest mountains, such as Telposiz, 1,617 m (5,305 ft) and Konzhakovsky Stone, 1,569 m (5,148 ft) have a dissected topography. Intensive weathering has produced vast areas of eroded stone on
819-523: A strongly dissected relief. The maximum height is 1,499 m (4,918 ft) at Mount Payer and the average height is 1,000 to 1,100 m (3,300 to 3,600 ft). The mountains of the Polar Ural have exposed rock with sharp ridges, though flattened or rounded tops are also found. The Nether-Polar Ural are higher, and up to 150 km (93 mi) wider than the Polar Urals. They include
936-441: A year could exceed that by a factor of 10). Over 23,000 km (8,900 sq mi) of land were contaminated in 1957 from a storage tank explosion, only one of several serious accidents that further polluted the region. The 1957 accident expelled 20 million curies of radioactive material, 90% of which settled into the land immediately around the facility. Although some reactors of Mayak were shut down in 1987 and 1990,
1053-437: A year. Women and children are the most vulnerable populations in this environmental health crisis due to the highly polluted and salinated water used for drinking and the dried seabed. Toxic chemicals associated with pesticide use have been found in blood and breast milk of mothers; specifically organochlorides, polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs), DDT compounds, and TCDD. These toxins can be, and often are, passed on to
1170-532: Is 136 meters (446 ft) deep. Other lakes, too, are found in the glacial valleys of this region. Spas and sanatoriums have been built to take advantage of the medicinal muds found in some of the mountain lakes. The climate of the Urals is continental. The mountain ridges, elongated from north to south, effectively absorb sunlight thereby increasing the temperature. The areas west of the Ural Mountains are 1–2 °C (1.8–3.6 °F) warmer in winter than
1287-604: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains ( / ˈ jʊər əl / YOOR -əl ), or simply the Urals , are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through the Russian Federation , from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan . The mountain range forms part of the conventional boundary between
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#17327647903821404-401: Is considered an example of ecosystem collapse . The ecosystems of the Aral Sea and the river deltas feeding into it have been nearly destroyed, largely because of the salinity being dramatically higher than ocean water. The receding sea has left huge plains covered with salt and toxic chemicals from weapons testing , industrial projects, and runoff of pesticides and fertilizer. Because of
1521-914: Is much less developed on the eastern slopes. The eastern slopes are relatively flat, with some hills and rocky outcrops and contain alternating volcanic and sedimentary layers dated to the middle Paleozoic Era. Most high mountains consist of weather-resistant rocks such as quartzite , schist and gabbro that are between 395 and 570 million years old. The river valleys are underlain by limestone. The Ural Mountains contain about 48 species of economically valuable ores and minerals. Eastern regions are rich in chalcopyrite , nickel oxide (e. g. Serov nickel deposit ), gold , platinum , chromite and magnetite ores, as well as in coal ( Chelyabinsk Oblast ), bauxite , talc , fireclay and abrasives. The Western Urals contain deposits of coal, oil, natural gas (Ishimbay and Krasnokamsk areas) and potassium salts . Both slopes are rich in bituminous coal and lignite , and
1638-655: Is now called the Aralkum Desert . In a Kazakhstani effort to save and replenish the North Aral Sea, the Dike Kokaral dam was completed in 2005. By 2008, the water level had risen 12 m (39 ft) above that of 2003, to 42 m (138 ft). As of 2013 , salinity dropped, and fish were again present in sufficient numbers for some fishing to be viable. After the visit to Muynak in 2011, former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called
1755-558: Is set to "belt" and associates it with the Turkic verb oralu- "gird". I.G. Dobrodomov suggests a transition from Aral to Ural explained on the basis of ancient Bulgar - Chuvash dialects. Geographer E.V. Hawks believes that the name goes back to the Bashkir folklore Ural-Batyr . The Evenk geographical term era "mountain" has also been theorized. (cf also Ewenkī ürǝ-l (pl.) "mountains") Finno-Ugrist scholars consider Ural deriving from
1872-709: The Baltic herring ( Clupea harengus membras ), big-scale sand smelt ( Atherina boyeri caspia ), black-striped pipefish ( Syngnatus abaster caspius ), Caucasian dwarf goby ( Knipowitschia caucasica ), monkey goby ( Neogobius fluviatilis ), round goby ( N. melanostomus ), Syrman goby ( N. syrman ), bighead goby ( Ponticola kessleri ), tubenose goby ( Proterorchinus marmoratus ), grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), silver carp ( Hypophtalmichthys molitrix ), bighead carp ( H. nobilis ), black carp ( Mylopharyngodon piceus ), and northern snakehead ( Channa argus warpachowski ). The herring, sand smelt, and gobies were
1989-605: The Constantine completed the survey of the entire Aral Sea over the next two years. Exiled Ukrainian poet and painter Taras Shevchenko participated in the expedition and produced a number of sketches. In 1851 two newly built steamers arrived from Sweden. The geological surveys had found no coal deposits in the area so the Military Governor-General of Orenburg Vasily Perovsky ordered an "as large as possible supply" of saxaul ( Haloxylon ammodendron ,
2106-726: The Ilych , Shchugor , and the Usa , and via the Ob basin in the east, which includes the Tobol , Tavda , Iset, Tura and Severnaya Sosva . The rivers are frozen for more than half the year. Generally, the western rivers have higher flow volume than the eastern ones, especially in the Northern and Nether-Polar regions. Rivers are slower in the Southern Urals. This is because of low precipitation and
2223-531: The Irtysh , and intervening island arcs . The collision lasted nearly 90 million years in the late Carboniferous – early Triassic . Unlike the other major orogens of the Paleozoic ( Appalachians , Caledonides , Variscides ), the Urals have not undergone post-orogenic extensional collapse and are unusually well preserved for their age, being underlaid by a pronounced crustal root. East and south of
2340-646: The Kyshtym disaster . The Ural Mountains extend about 2,500 km (1,600 mi) from the Kara Sea to the Kazakh Steppe along the border of Kazakhstan. Vaygach Island and the island of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain on the north. Geographically this range marks the northern part of the border between Europe and Asia. Its highest peak is Mount Narodnaya, approximately 1,895 m (6,217 ft) in elevation. Transverse faults divide
2457-686: The Ostyak word urr meaning "chain of mountains". Turkologists , on the other hand, have achieved majority support for their assertion that 'ural' in Tatar means a belt, and recall that an earlier name for the range was 'stone belt'. As merchants from the Middle East traded with the Bashkirs and other people living on the western slopes of the Ural as far north as Great Perm , since the 10th century, medieval mideastern geographers had been aware of
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#17327647903822574-694: The Ural geographical region and significantly overlap with the Ural Federal District and the Ural economic region . Their resources include metal ores, coal, and precious and semi-precious stones. Since the 18th century, the mountains have contributed significantly to the mineral sector of the Russian economy . The region is one of the largest centres of metallurgy and heavy industry production in Russia. As attested by Sigismund von Herberstein , in
2691-484: The Ural River and transporting them overland to be reassembled at Aralsk. The first two ships, assembled in 1847, were the two-masted schooners Nikolai and Mikhail . The former was a warship; the latter a merchant vessel to establish fisheries. They surveyed the northern part of the sea in 1848, the same year that a larger warship, the Constantine , was assembled. Commanded by Lt. Alexey Butakov ( Алексей Бутаков ),
2808-643: The Uralmash in Sverdlovsk (as Yekaterinburg used to be known), Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, and Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant in Chelyabinsk. After the war, in 1947–1948, Chum – Labytnangi railway, built with the forced labor of Gulag inmates, crossed the Polar Ural . Mayak , 150 kilometres (93 mi) southeast of Yekaterinburg , was a center of the Soviet nuclear industry and site of
2925-513: The fourth-largest lake in the world with an area of 68,000 km (26,300 sq mi), the Aral Sea began shrinking in the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects. By 2007, it had declined to 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes: the North Aral Sea , the eastern and western basins of the once far larger South Aral Sea , and the smaller intermediate Barsakelmes Lake . By 2009,
3042-469: The monocultured and depleted soil. Forced labor was used and profits were siphoned off by the powerful and well-connected. In 2003, the South Aral further divided into eastern and western basins. The waters in the deepest parts of the sea were saltier and didn't mix with the top waters, so only the top of the sea was heated in the summer, resulting in faster evaporation than had been predicted. A plan
3159-527: The 16th century, Russians called the Ural range by a variety of names derived from the Russian words for rock (stone) and belt. The modern Russian name for the Urals ( Урал , Ural ), first appearing in the 16th–17th century during the Russian conquest of Siberia , was initially applied to its southern parts and gained currency as the name of the entire range during the 18th century. It might have been borrowed from either Turkic "stone belt" ( Bashkir , where
3276-741: The 1930s and was greatly increased in the 1960s. Many canals were poorly built, allowing leakage and evaporation. Between 30 and 75% of the water from the Qaraqum Canal , the largest in Central Asia, went to waste. It was estimated in 2012 that only 12% of Uzbekistan's irrigation canal length was waterproofed. Only 28% of interfarm irrigation channels, and 21% of onfarm channels have anti-infiltration linings , which retain on average 15% more water than unlined channels. Only 77% of farm intakes have flow gauges . By 1960, between 20 and 60 km (4.8 and 14.4 cu mi ) of water each year
3393-616: The 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhstan and the Karakalpakstan autonomous region of Uzbekistan. The name roughly translates from Mongolic and Turkic languages to "Sea of Islands", a reference to the large number of islands (over 1,100) that once dotted its waters. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Afghanistan , Iran , Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , and Turkmenistan . Formerly
3510-528: The 20th century prior to the irrigation, the sea's water level above sea level held steady at 53 m. By 2010 the large Aral was 27 m and the small Aral 43 m above sea level. The disappearance of the lake was no surprise to the Soviets, they expected it to happen long before. As early as 1964, Aleksandr Asarin at the Hydroproject Institute pointed out that the lake was doomed, explaining, "It
3627-540: The Aral Sea and the responsibility for its survival are now in the hands of the five countries: Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Tajikistan , Kyrgyzstan , and Turkmenistan . In 1994, they adopted the Aral Sea Basin Programme. The Programme's four objectives are: The first phase of the plan effectively began with the first involvement from the World Bank in 1992, and was in operation until 1997. It
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3744-1240: The Aral Sea basin had an exceptional array of endemic fish subspecies (as well as the three endemic sturgeon species). Most of these still survive in the North Aral Sea, but some, such as the sturgeons, have been greatly reduced or even driven to extirpation by the lake's shrinkage. Native fish species of the lake included ship sturgeon ( Acipenser nudiventris ), all three Pseudoscaphirhynchus sturgeon species, Aral trout ( Salmo trutta aralensis ), northern pike ( Esox lucius ), ide ( Leuciscus idus oxianus ), asp ( Aspius aspius iblioides ), common rudd ( Scardinius erythropthalmus ), Turkestan barbel ( Luciobarbus capito conocephalus ), Aral barbel ( L. brachycephalus brachycephalus ), common bream ( Abramis brama orientalis ), white-eyed bream ( Ballerus sapa aralensis ), Danube bleak ( Chalcalburnus chalcoides aralensis ), ziege ( Pelecus cultratus ), crucian carp ( Carassius carassius gibelio ), common carp ( Cyprinus carpio aralensis ), Wels catfish ( Silurus glanis ), Ukrainian stickleback ( Pungitius platygaster aralensis ), zander ( Sander lucioperca ), European perch ( Perca fluviatilis ), and Eurasian ruffe ( Gymnocephalus cernuus ). All these fish aside from
3861-479: The Aral Sea crisis, especially in women and children. The impoverished are also particularly vulnerable to the environmental and health related effects of changes to the Aral Sea. These populations were most likely to reside downstream from the Basin and in former coastal communities. They were also among the first to be detrimentally affected, representing at least 4.4 million people in the region. Considered to have
3978-468: The Aral Sea is inevitable." On the other hand, starting in the 1960s, a large-scale project was proposed to redirect part of the flow of the rivers of the Ob basin to Central Asia over a gigantic canal system. Refilling of the Aral Sea was considered one of the project's main goals. However, due to its staggering costs and the negative public opinion in Russia proper , the federal authorities had abandoned
4095-666: The Aral Sea three years later. The Aral Sea fishing industry began with the renowned Russian dealers Lapshin, Ritkin, Krasilnikov, and Makeev, which later formed major fishing unions. Russian naval presence on the Aral Sea began in 1847 with the founding of Raimsk , soon renamed Fort Aralsk, near the mouth of the Syr Darya. As the Aral Sea basin is not connected to other bodies of water, the Imperial Russian Navy deployed its vessels by disassembling them in Orenburg on
4212-639: The Aral Sea to its Memory of the World Register as a resource to study the environmental tragedy. The Amu Darya river flowed into the Caspian Sea via the Uzboy Channel until the Holocene . Geographer Nick Middleton believes it did not begin to flow into the Aral Sea until that time. Despite its former vast size, the Aral Sea had relatively low indigenous biodiversity . However,
4329-914: The Komi Republic, Bashkir and its former branch Shulgan-Tash in Bashkortostan, Visim in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Southern Ural in Bashkortostan, Basegi in Perm Krai, Vishera in Perm Krai and Denezhkin Kamen in Sverdlovsk Oblast. The area has also been severely damaged by the plutonium -producing facility Mayak , opened in Chelyabinsk-40 (later called Chelyabinsk-65, Ozyorsk ), in the Southern Ural, after World War II. Its plants went into operation in 1948 and, for
4446-469: The North Aral Sea has recovered as salinity has decreased from the 1990s onwards, with extirpated crustacean and rotifer species returning naturally via the Syr Darya River, at the expense of the saltwater species. The cladoceran Moina mongolica , extirpated by the introduced fish species, has also returned. The zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha aralensis ) has been reintroduced. In contrast, in
4563-737: The Pechora and identified them with the Riphean Mountains and Hyperboreans of ancient authors, did the existence of the Ural, or at least of its northern part, become firmly established in the Western geography . The Middle and Southern Ural were still largely unavailable and unknown to the Russian or Western European geographers. In the 1550s, after the Tsardom of Russia had defeated the Khanate of Kazan and proceeded to gradually annex
4680-409: The Polar Urals. Whereas in other parts of the Ural Mountains they grow up to an altitude of 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), in the Polar Urals the tree line is at 250–400 metres (820–1,310 ft). The low polar forests are mixed with swamps, lichens, bogs and shrubs. Dwarf birch , mosses and berries ( blueberry , cloudberry , black crowberry , etc.) are abundant. The forests of the Southern Urals are
4797-470: The South Aral Sea only a few nematodes , rotifers, and parthenogenic brine shrimp ( Artemia parthenogenetica ) exist. The future prospects for aquatic invertebrates in all remaining Aral Sea fragments depend on their future changes in salinity. Climate shifts have driven multiple phases of sea-level rise and fall. Inflow rates from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya are affected by glacial melt rates at
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4914-468: The Soviet Union's entire fish catch, has been devastated. In the 1980s commercial harvests were becoming unsustainable, and by 1987 commercial harvest became nonexistent. Due to the declining sea levels, salinity levels became too high for the 20 native fish species to survive. The only fish that could survive the high-salinity levels was flounder. Also, as water has receded, former fishing towns along
5031-417: The Syr Darya river in the east were diverted from feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate the desert in an attempt to grow cotton , melons , rice and cereals . This temporarily succeeded, and in 1988, Uzbekistan was the world's largest exporter of cotton. Cotton production is still Uzbekistan's main cash crop , accounting for 17% of its exports in 2006. Large scale construction of irrigation canals began in
5148-561: The United Kingdom (geologist Sir Roderick Murchison ), France (paleontologist Édouard de Verneuil ), and Germany (naturalist Alexander von Humboldt , geologist Alexander Keyserling ). In 1845, Murchison, who had according to Encyclopædia Britannica "compiled the first geologic map of the Ural in 1841", published The Geology of Russia in Europe and the Ural Mountains with de Verneuil and Keyserling. The first railway across
5265-615: The Ural Mountains are formed of limestone , dolomite and sandstone left from ancient shallow seas. The eastern side is dominated by basalts . The western slope of the Ural Mountains has predominantly karst topography , especially in the Sylva basin, which is a tributary of the Chusovaya . It is composed of severely eroded sedimentary rocks (sandstones and limestones) that are about 350 million years old. There are many caves , sinkholes and underground streams. The karst topography
5382-621: The Ural from the Chusovaya to the Tagil around 1581. In 1597, Babinov's road was built across the Ural from Solikamsk to the valley of the Tura , where the town of Verkhoturye (Upper Tura) was founded in 1598. Customs was established in Verkhoturye shortly thereafter and the road was made the only legal connection between European Russia and Siberia for a long time. In 1648, the town of Kungur
5499-422: The Urals had been built by 1878 and linked Perm to Yekaterinburg via Chusovoy , Kushva and Nizhny Tagil . In 1890, a railway linked Ufa and Chelyabinsk via Zlatoust . In 1896, this section became a part of the Trans-Siberian Railway . In 1909, yet another railway connecting Perm and Yekaterinburg passed through Kungur by the way of the Siberian Route. It has eventually replaced the Ufa – Chelyabinsk section as
5616-403: The Urals much of the orogen is buried beneath later Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments . The adjacent Pay-Khoy Ridge to the north and Novaya Zemlya are not a part of the Uralian orogen and formed later. Many deformed and metamorphosed rocks, mostly of Paleozoic age, surface within the Urals. The sedimentary and volcanic layers are folded and faulted . The sediments to the west of
5733-400: The border between the Komi Republic and Perm Krai and the eastern slopes south of approximately 54°30'N drain into the Caspian Sea via the Kama and Ural basins. The tributaries of the Kama include the Vishera , Chusovaya, and Belaya and originate on both the eastern and western slopes. The rest of the Urals drain into the Arctic Ocean, mainly via the Pechora basin in the west, which includes
5850-402: The children of these mothers, resulting in low birthweight and congenital abnormalities. The rate of infants being born with abnormalities is five times higher in this region than in European countries. The Aral Sea region has 26% of its children born at low birthweight, which is two standard deviations away from a national population study gathered by the WHO. Exposures to toxic chemicals from
5967-461: The city of Yekaterinburg . Both factories were actually founded by Tatishchev's successor, Georg Wilhelm de Gennin , in 1723. Tatishchev returned to the Ural on the order of Empress Anna to succeed de Gennin in 1734–1737. Transportation of the output of the smelting works to the markets of European Russia necessitated the construction of the Siberian Route from Yekaterinburg across the Ural to Kungur and Yegoshikha (Perm) and further to Moscow, which
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#17327647903826084-446: The continents of Europe and Asia , marking the separation between European Russia and Siberia . Vaygach Island and the islands of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain to the north into the Arctic Ocean. The average altitudes of the Urals are around 1,000–1,300 metres (3,300–4,300 ft), the highest point being Mount Narodnaya , which reaches a height of 1,894 metres (6,214 ft). The mountains lie within
6201-549: The degradation, restricting what Kazakhstan farmers now choose to seed. Inland seas and lakes generally moderate a region's climate through humidification, regulation of thermal energy, and peri-winter albedo effects . Loss of water in the Aral Sea has changed surface temperatures and wind patterns. This has led to a broader annual temperature range (about a 4 to 12 °C broadening) and more dust in storms locally and regionally. The Aral Sea fishing industry, which at its peak employed some 40,000 and reportedly produced one-sixth of
6318-459: The dry dusty land that was once covered by water; many have been there for 20 years. The South Aral Sea remains too saline to host any species other than halotolerant organisms. The South Aral has been incapable of supporting fish since the late 1990s, when the flounder were killed by rising salinity levels. Also destroyed is the muskrat -trapping industry in the deltas of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, which used to yield as many as 500,000 pelts
6435-536: The dry seabed and polluted water have caused other health issues in women and children. Renal tubular dysfunction has become a large health concern in children in the Aral Sea region as it is showing extremely high prevalence rates. Renal tubular dysfunction can also be related to growth and developmental stunting. This, in conjunction with the already high rate of low-birthweight children and children born with abnormalities, contributes to severe negative health effects and outcomes for children. These issues are compounded by
6552-453: The early 16th century, Polish geographer, Maciej of Miechów , in his influential Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis (1517) argued that there were no mountains in Eastern Europe at all, challenging the point of view of some authors of Classical antiquity, which were popular during the Renaissance . Only after Sigismund von Herberstein in his Notes on Muscovite Affairs (1549) had reported, following Russian sources, that there are mountains behind
6669-427: The eastern ones by 150–300 mm (5.9–11.8 in) per year. This is because the mountains trap clouds from the Atlantic Ocean. The highest precipitation, approximately 1,000 mm (39 in), is in the Northern Urals with up to 1,000 cm (390 in) snow. The eastern areas receive from 500–600 mm (20–24 in) in the north to 300–400 mm (12–16 in) in the south. Maximum precipitation occurs in
6786-421: The eastern regions because the former are warmed by Atlantic winds whereas the eastern slopes are chilled by Siberian air masses. The average January temperatures increase in the western areas from −20 °C (−4 °F) in the Polar to −15 °C (5 °F) in the Southern Urals and the corresponding temperatures in July are 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F). The western areas also receive more rainfall than
6903-592: The easy accessibility of the mountains there are no specifically mountainous species. In the Central Urals, one can see a rare mixture of sable and pine marten named kidus. In the Southern Urals, badger and black polecat are common. Reptiles and amphibians live mostly in the Southern and Central Ural and are represented by the common viper , lizards and grass snakes . Bird species of Northern, Middle and South Urals are represented by Western Capercaillie , black grouse , hazel grouse , spotted nutcracker , Siberian Jay , Common and Oriental cuckoos . Unlike mammals,
7020-412: The existence of the mountain range in its entirety, stretching as far as the Arctic Ocean in the north. The first Russian mention of the mountains to the east of the East European Plain is provided by the Primary Chronicle , where it describes the Novgorodian expedition to the upper reaches of the Pechora in the year 1096. During the next few centuries, the Novgorodians engaged in fur trading with
7137-602: The facility keeps producing plutonium. The Urals have been viewed by Russians as a "treasure box" of mineral resources, which were the basis for its extensive industrial development. In addition to iron and copper, the Urals were a source of gold, malachite , alexandrite , and other gems such as those used by the court jeweller Fabergé . As Russians in other regions gather mushrooms or berries, Uralians gather mineral specimens and gems. Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak (1852–1912) and Pavel Bazhov (1879–1950), as well as Aleksey Ivanov and Olga Slavnikova, post-Soviet writers, have written of
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#17327647903827254-420: The first planktivorous fish in the lake, leading to a collapse of the lake's zooplankton population. This in turn caused a collapse of the herring and sand smelt population from which neither species has recovered. All introduced species aside from the carp, snakehead, and (possibly) pipefish survived the lake's shrinkage and salinity increase, and during this time the European flounder ( Platichthys flesus )
7371-445: The first ten years, dumped unfiltered radioactive waste into the river Techa and Lake Karachay . In 1990, efforts were underway to contain the radiation in one of the lakes, which was estimated at the time to expose visitors to 500 millirem per day. As of 2006, 500 mrem in the natural environment was the upper limit of exposure considered safe for a member of the general public in an entire year (though workplace exposure over
7488-400: The foothills of the Ural, where salt was produced in open pans . Ivan III , the grand prince of Moscow, captured Perm, Pechora and Yugra from the declining Novgorod Republic in 1472. With the excursions of 1483 and 1499–1500 across the Ural, Moscow managed to subjugate Yugra completely. The Russians received tribute, but contact with the tribes ceased after they left. Nevertheless, around
7605-421: The genera Dreissena (including an endemic subspecies of zebra mussel , Dreissena polymorpha aralensis ), Hypanis , and the lagoon cockle ( Cerastoderma glaucum ) (formerly considered distinct species Cerastoderma rhomboides and C. isthmica ). Native gastropods included Theodoxus pallasi and a member of Caspiohydrobia . Many of these invertebrates had their numbers drastically reduced due to
7722-407: The height of 60–80 centimetres (24–31 in). Much of the land is cultivated. To the south, the meadow steppes become more sparse, dry and low. The steep gravelly slopes of the mountains and hills of the eastern slopes of the Southern Urals are mostly covered with rocky steppes. River valleys contain willow , poplar and caragana shrubs. Forest landscapes of the Urals are diverse, especially in
7839-490: The highest peaks and plateaus of Northern and Southern Urals are inhabited by some mountainous or tundra avian species, like Golden Plover , Dotterel , Ptarmigan and Willow Grouse , in Polar Urals also by Rough-legged Buzzard and Snowy Owl. The steppes of the Southern Urals are dominated by hares and rodents such as hamsters , susliks , and jerboa . There are many birds of prey such as lesser kestrel and buzzards . The continuous and intensive economic development of
7956-541: The highest peaks of the range: Mount Narodnaya (1,895 m (6,217 ft)), Mount Karpinsky (1,878 m (6,161 ft)) and Manaraga (1,662 m (5,453 ft)). They extend for more than 225 km (140 mi) south to the Shchugor . The many ridges are sawtooth shaped and dissected by river valleys. Both Polar and Nether-Polar Urals are typically Alpine; they bear traces of Pleistocene glaciation, along with permafrost and extensive modern glaciation, including 143 extant glaciers. The Northern Ural consist of
8073-428: The introduced fish species. Later, during an unsuccessful attempt to introduce mullet ( Mugil sp.) to the Aral from the Caspian Sea , the rockpool shrimp ( Palaemon elegans ) was inadvertently introduced to the sea. The shrimp is thought to be responsible for the extirpation of the near-endemic amphipod Dikerogammarus aralensis , which now survives only in the Syr Darya basin. The copepod Calanipeda aquaedulcis
8190-410: The irrigation systems currently in place, whilst targeting water management at a local level. The largest project in this phase is the North Aral Sea Project, a direct effort to recover the northern region of the Aral Sea. The North Aral Sea Project's main initiative is the construction of a dam across the Berg Strait, a deep channel which connects the North Aral Sea to the South Aral Sea. The Kok-Aral Dam
8307-490: The lack of research on maternal and child health effects caused by the demise of the Aral Sea. For example, only 26 English-language peer-reviewed articles and four reports on children's health were produced between 1994 and 2008. In addition, there is a lack of health infrastructure and resources in the Aral Sea region to combat the health issues that have arisen. There is a lack of medication and equipment in many medical facilities, so health professionals do not have access to
8424-748: The lands of the Bashkirs, the Russians finally reached the southern part of the mountain chain. In 1574, they founded Ufa . The upper reaches of the Kama and Chusovaya in the Middle Ural, still unexplored, as well as parts of Transuralia still held by the hostile Siberian Khanate , were granted to the Stroganovs by several decrees of the tsar in 1558–1574. The Stroganovs land provided the staging ground for Yermak 's incursion into Siberia . Yermak crossed
8541-405: The largest deposit of bituminous coal is in the north (Pechora field). The specialty of the Urals is precious and semi-precious stones, such as emerald , amethyst , aquamarine , jasper , rhodonite , malachite and diamond . Some of the deposits, such as the magnetite ores at Magnitogorsk , are already nearly depleted. Many rivers originate in the Ural Mountains. The western slopes south of
8658-655: The last centuries has affected the fauna, and wildlife is much diminished around all industrial centers. During World War II, hundreds of factories were evacuated from Western Russia before the German occupation, flooding the Urals with industry. The conservation measures include establishing national wildlife parks. There are nine strict nature reserves in the Urals: the Ilmen , the oldest one, mineralogical reserve founded in 1920 in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Pechora-Ilych in
8775-575: The liver and kidneys — entered the food chain. Inhabitants of the surrounding areas commonly experience a shortage of fresh water, and health problems are widespread — including high rates of certain cancers, respiratory illnesses including tuberculosis (mostly drug resistant ), digestive disorders, anaemia , and infectious diseases. Liver, kidney, and eye problems may also be due to the toxic dust storms. Together, this presented an unusually high fatality rate among vulnerable age groups: child mortality stood at 75 per 1,000 in 2009, while maternal mortality
8892-507: The local population and collected tribute from Yugra and Great Perm , slowly expanding southwards. The city-state of Novgorod established two trade routes to the Ob River , both starting from the town of Ustyug . The rivers, Chusovaya and Belaya , were first mentioned in the chronicles of 1396 and 1468, respectively. In 1430, the town of Solikamsk (Kama Salt) was founded on the Kama at
9009-589: The main ridges by the Miass . The maximum height is 1,640 m (5,380 ft) ( Mount Yamantau ) and the width reaches 250 km (160 mi). Other notable peaks lie along the Iremel mountain ridge (Bolshoy Iremel and Maly Iremel) and Nurgush . The Southern Urals extend some 550 km (340 mi) up to the sharp westward bend of the river Ural and terminate in the Guberlin Mountains and finally in
9126-604: The main trunk of the Trans-Siberian railway. The highest peak of the Ural, Mount Narodnaya , (elevation 1,895 m [6,217 ft]) was identified in 1927. During the Soviet industrialization in the 1930s, the city of Magnitogorsk was founded in the South-Eastern Ural as a center of iron smelting and steelmaking . During the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941–1942, the mountains became
9243-616: The most diverse in composition: here, together with coniferous forests are also abundant broadleaf tree species such as English oak , Norway maple and elm. The Virgin Komi Forests in the northern Urals are recognized as a World Heritage site. The forests of Urals are inhabited by animals typical of Eurosiberia, such as elk, brown bear, fox, wolf, wolverine , lynx , squirrel, Siberian chipmunk , flying squirrel , reindeer and sable (north only). The fauna of Polar Urals also includes species like Arctic Fox and lemmings. Because of
9360-525: The mountain chain into seven major units, each of which has its own typical pattern of mountain ridges. From north to south, these are the Pay-Khoy, Zapolyarnyy, Pripolyarnyy, Polyarnyy, Severnyy, Sredniy, Yuzhnny Ural and Mugodzhary. The average altitudes of the Urals are around 1,000–1,300 m (3,300–4,300 ft), the highest point being Narodnaya peak in the Pripolyarnyy Ural which reaches
9477-498: The mountain slopes and summits of the northern areas. The Central Ural are the lowest part of the Ural, with smooth mountain tops, the highest mountain being 994 m (3,261 ft) (Basegi); they extend south from the river Ufa . The relief of the Southern Ural is more complex, with numerous valleys and parallel ridges directed south-west and meridionally. The range includes the Ilmensky Mountains separated from
9594-437: The mountains and their systematic extraction began in the early 18th century, eventually turning the region into the largest mineral base of Russia. One of the first scientific descriptions of the mountains was published in 1770–71. Over the next century, the region was studied by scientists from a number of countries, including Russia (geologist Alexander Karpinsky , botanist Porfiry Krylov and zoologist Leonid Sabaneyev ),
9711-411: The necessary supplies to do their jobs in the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan regions. There is also meager development of a health information system that would allow for extensive research or surveillance of emerging health issues due to Aral Sea issues. An absence of a primary care approach in the health systems of this region also hinders services and access that could prevent and treat issues stemming from
9828-470: The original shores have become ship graveyards . Aral , originally the main fishing port, is now about 15 kilometres from the sea and has seen its population decline dramatically since the beginning of the crisis. The town of Moynaq in Uzbekistan had a thriving harbour and fishing industry that employed about 30,000 people; now it lies 30–90 kilometres from the shore. Fishing boats lie scattered on
9945-574: The present. The Aral Sea was part of the western frontier of the Chinese Empire during the Tang dynasty . Muslim geographers, such as Hafiz-i Abru , wrote about the disappearance of the Aral Sea in 1417 due to diversions in both the Amu Darya and Syr Darya . The Russian expedition of Alexey Butakov performed the first observations of the Aral Sea in 1848. The first steamer arrived in
10062-428: The procedures of the plan. This is due in part to a lack of co-operation among the affected people. The water flowing into the Aral Sea has long been considered an important commodity, and trade agreements have been made to supply the downstream communities with water in the spring and summer months for irrigation. In return, they supply the upstream countries with fuel during the winter, instead of storing water during
10179-439: The project by 1986. From 1960 to 1998, the sea's surface area shrank by 60%, and its volume by 80%. In 1960, the Aral Sea had been the world's fourth-largest lake with an area of 68,000 km (26,000 sq mi) and a volume of 1,100 km (260 cu mi). By 1998, it had dropped to 28,687 km (11,076 sq mi) and eighth largest. Its salinity increased; having originally been 10 g/L, by 1990 it
10296-729: The region. The region served as a military stronghold during Peter the Great 's Great Northern War with Sweden, during Stalin's rule when the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Complex was built and Russian industry relocated to the Urals during the Nazi advance at the beginning of World War II, and as the center of the Soviet nuclear industry during the Cold War . Extreme levels of air, water, and radiological contamination and pollution by industrial wastes resulted. Population exodus followed, and economic depression at
10413-522: The reign of Peter I of Russia . In 1720–1722, he commissioned Vasily Tatishchev to oversee and develop the mining and smelting works in the Ural. Tatishchev proposed a new copper smelting factory in Yegoshikha , which would eventually become the core of the city of Perm and a new iron smelting factory on the Iset , which would become the largest in the world at the time of construction and give birth to
10530-521: The relatively warm climate resulting in less snow and more evaporation. The mountains contain a number of deep lakes. The eastern slopes of the Southern and Central Urals have most of these, among the largest of which are the Uvildy, Itkul, Turgoyak, and Tavatuy lakes. The lakes found on the western slopes are less numerous and also smaller. Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye, the deepest lake in the Polar Urals,
10647-402: The remaining water and in the dry beds. This resulted in wind-borne toxic dust that spread quite widely. People living in the lower parts of the river basins and former shore zones ingested pollutants through drinking local water and inhaling contaminated dust. Furthermore, due to absorption by plants and livestock, toxins — many of which bioaccumulate and are not easily broken down or excreted by
10764-546: The rest were marine invertebrates with ties to the Ponto-Caspian and Mediterranean - Atlantic fauna. The dominant species (excluding protozoa ) were rotifers , cladocerans , and copepods . Advanced crustaceans ( Malacostraca ) were represented by a single amphipod species, Dikerogammarus aralensis , an endemic of the Syr Darya basin. There were several native bivalves in the Aral Sea, including members of
10881-471: The rivers' headwaters as well as precipitation within the river basins; cold, dry climates restrict both processes. Geologically driven shifts in the course of the Amu Darya between the Aral Sea and the Sarykamysh basins and anthropogenic water withdrawal from Amu Darya and Syr Darya have caused fluctuations in the Aral Sea's water level. Artificial irrigation systems began in ancient times and continue to
10998-509: The same name is used for the range), or Ob-Ugric . From the 13th century in Bashkortostan , there has been a legend about a hero named Ural who sacrificed his life for the sake of his people who then poured a stone pile over his grave, which later turned into the Ural Mountains. Possibilities include Bashkir үр "elevation; upland" and Mansi ур ала "mountain peak, top of the mountain", V.N. Tatischev believes that this oronym
11115-450: The shrinkage of the Aral Sea in the 1990s to president Islam Karimov 's cotton policy. The enormous irrigation system was massively wasteful, crop rotation was not used, and huge quantities of pesticides and fertilizer were applied. The runoff from the fields washed these chemicals into the shrinking sea, creating severe pollution and health problems. As demand for cotton increased, the government applied more pesticides and fertilizer to
11232-552: The shrinking of the Aral Sea "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters". The region's once-prosperous fishing industry has been devastated, bringing unemployment and economic hardship. The water from the diverted Syr Darya river is used to irrigate about two million hectares (5,000,000 acres) of farmland in the Ferghana Valley . The Aral Sea region is heavily polluted, with consequent serious public health problems . UNESCO has added historical documents concerning
11349-508: The shrinking water source and worsening water and soil quality , pesticides were increasingly used from the 1960s to raise cotton yield, which further polluted the water with toxins (e.g. HCH , TCCD , DDT ). Industrial pollution also resulted in PCB and heavy-metal contamination. Owing to the insufficiency of water left in the Aral sea, concentrations of these pollutants rose drastically both in
11466-491: The southeastern lake had disappeared and the southwestern lake had retreated to a thin strip at the western edge of the former southern sea. In subsequent years occasional water flows have led to the southeastern lake sometimes being replenished to a small degree. Satellite images by NASA in August 2014 revealed that for the first time in modern history the eastern basin of the Aral Sea had completely dried up. The eastern basin
11583-439: The southern part. The western areas are dominated by dark coniferous taiga forests which change to mixed and deciduous forests in the south. The eastern mountain slopes have light coniferous taiga forests. The Northern Urals are dominated by conifers, namely Siberian fir , Siberian pine , Scots pine , Siberian spruce , Norway spruce and Siberian larch , as well as by silver and downy birches . The forests are much sparser in
11700-425: The stickleback (which persisted during the lake's shrinkage and salinity increase), were also extirpated, but many have returned to the North Aral Sea following its recovery from the 1990s onwards. Other salt-tolerant fish species were intentionally or inadvertently introduced during the 1960s when hydropower and irrigation projects reduced the flow of fresh water thereby increasing salinity . These include
11817-428: The stickleback lived an anadramous or semi-anadromous lifestyle. The salinity increase and drying of the lake led to the local extinction of the Aral trout, ruffe, Turkestan barbel, and all sturgeon species, and dams now block their return and migration routes; the Aral trout and Syr Darya sturgeon ( Pseudoscaphirhynchus fedtschenkoi ) may be extinct due to their restricted range. All other native fish, barring
11934-638: The summer: the winter is dry because of the Siberian High . The landscapes of the Urals vary with both latitude and longitude and are dominated by forests and steppes. The southern area of the Mughalzhar Hills is a semidesert. Steppes lie mostly in the southern and especially south-eastern Urals. Meadow steppes have developed on the lower parts of mountain slopes and are covered with zigzag and mountain clovers , Serratula gmelinii , dropwort , meadow-grass and Bromus inermis , reaching
12051-420: The time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in post-Soviet times additional mineral exploration, particularly in the northern Urals, has been productive and the region has attracted industrial investment. Aral sea The Aral Sea ( / ˈ ær əl / ) was an endorheic lake (that is, without an outlet) lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in
12168-586: The warm months for hydroelectric purposes in winter. However, very few legal obligations are binding these contracts, particularly on an international stage. Phase Two of the Aral Sea Basin programme followed in 1998 and ran for five years. The main shortcomings of phase two were due to its lack of integration with the local communities involved. The scheme was drawn up by the World Bank, government representatives, and various technical experts, without consulting those who would be affected. An example of this
12285-517: The wide Mughalzhar Hills . The Urals are among the world's oldest extant mountain ranges . Some have estimated the age to be 250 to 300 million years, the elevation of the mountains is unusually high. They formed during the Uralian orogeny due to the collision of the eastern edge of the supercontinent Laurasia with the young and rheologically weak continent of Kazakhstania , which now underlies much of Kazakhstan and West Siberia west of
12402-453: The worst health in this region, their plight was not helped when their fishery livelihoods vanished with the decreasing levels of water and loss of many aquatic species. Thus, those in poverty are entrenched in a vicious cycle. Many different solutions to the problems have been suggested over the years, varying in feasibility and cost, including: In January 1994, Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , Tajikistan , and Kyrgyzstan signed
12519-419: Was 12 in every 1,000. The dust storms have also contributed to water shortages through salt deposition. Overusing pesticides on crops to preserve yields has exacerbated this. Crops are destroyed where salt is deposited by the wind. The most heavily affected fields must be flushed with water four times per day to remove salt and toxic matter. A 1998 study indicated that few crops (besides fodder ) tolerate
12636-440: Was announced for the recovery of the North Aral Sea by building Dike Kokaral , a concrete dam separating the two halves of the Aral Sea. In 2004, the sea's surface area was 17,160 km (6,630 sq mi), 25% of its original size, and a nearly fivefold increase in salinity had killed most of its flora and fauna. Dike Kokaral was completed in 2005 and, as of 2006, some recovery of sea level had been recorded. The Aral Sea
12753-672: Was at 376 g/L. (By comparison, seawater is typically 35 g/L, and the Dead Sea between 300 and 350 g/L.) In 1987, the lake split into two separate bodies of water: the North Aral Sea (the Lesser Sea, or Small Aral Sea) and the South Aral Sea (the Greater Sea, or Large Aral Sea). In June 1991, Uzbekistan gained independence from the Soviet Union. Craig Murray , UK ambassador to Uzbekistan in 2002, attributes
12870-430: Was completed in 1763 and rendered Babinov's road obsolete. In 1745, gold was discovered in the Ural at Beryozovskoye and later at other deposits. It has been mined since 1747. The first ample geographic survey of the Ural Mountains was completed in the early 18th century by the Russian historian and geographer Vasily Tatishchev under the orders of Peter I. Earlier, in the 17th century, rich ore deposits were discovered in
12987-542: Was founded at the western foothills of the Middle Ural. During the 17th century, the first deposits of iron and copper ores, mica , gemstones and other minerals were discovered in the Ural. Iron and copper smelting works emerged. In particular, the Gumyoshevsky mine was established in 1702 at an ancient copper deposit known since Bronze Age — so-called "legendary" Copper Mountain which also produced malachite . Mining intensified particularly quickly during
13104-415: Was going to the land instead of the Aral Sea and the sea began to shrink. From 1961 to 1970, the Aral's level fell an average of 20 cm (7.9 in) per year. In the 1970s the rate nearly tripled to 50–60 cm (20–24 in) per annum, and in the 1980s to 80–90 cm (31–35 in) per annum. The amount of water taken for irrigation from the rivers doubled between 1960 and 2000. In the first half of
13221-485: Was ineffectual for a number of reasons, but mainly because it was focused on improving directly the land around the Aral Sea, whilst not intervening in the water usage upstream. There was considerable concern amongst the Central Asian governments, which realised the importance of the Aral Sea in the ecosystem and the economy of Central Asia, and they were prepared to cooperate, but they found it difficult to implement
13338-430: Was introduced to revive fisheries. The extirpated species (aside from possibly the pipefish) returned to the North Aral Sea following its recovery. Herring, sand smelt, gobies and flounder persisted in the South Aral Sea until increasing salinity extirpated all but the gobies. Prior to its shrinkage, the Aral Sea had about 250 species of native aquatic invertebrates , the majority (about 80%) being freshwater species;
13455-466: Was introduced to the Aral to replace the zooplankton species reduced by the herring population, and the North American mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii was inadvertently introduced during this attempt as well. Later, as the lake's salinity increased, many of the freshwater-adapted species disappeared, only leaving behind the marine and saline species. However, the zooplankton population in
13572-473: Was part of the five-year plans , approved by the council of ministers and the Politburo . Nobody on a lower level would dare to say a word contradicting those plans, even if it was the fate of the Aral Sea." The reaction to the predictions varied. Some Soviet experts apparently considered the Aral to be "nature's error", and a Soviet engineer said in 1968, "it is obvious to everyone that the evaporation of
13689-451: Was the public awareness initiatives, which were seen as propagandist attempts by people with little care or understanding of their situation. These failures have led to the introduction of a new plan, funded by a number of institutions, including the five countries involved and the World Bank. In 1997, a new plan was conceived which would continue with the previous restoration efforts of the Aral Sea. The main aims of this phase are to improve
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