The Turgai Strait , also known as the Turgay/Turgai Sea , Obik Sea , Ural Sea or West Siberian Sea , was a large shallow body of salt water (an epicontinental or epeiric sea ) during the Mesozoic through Cenozoic Eras . It extended north of the present-day Caspian Sea to the "paleo-Arctic" region, and was in existence from the Middle Jurassic to Oligocene , approximately 160 to 29 million years ago.
34-518: The Turgai Strait was not absolutely continuous throughout this entire era, though it was a persistent and predominating feature in its region; it "fragmented southern Europe and southwestern Asia into many large islands, and separated Europe from Asia." The division of the Eurasian landmass by the Turgai Sea had the effect of isolating animal populations. The Turgai Strait derives its name from
68-502: A more efficient path to the ocean than the existing Volga–Don Canal . This usage can also be seen in the names of Eurasianet , The Journal of Eurasian Studies , and the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies , as well as the titles of numerous academic programmes at US universities. This usage is comparable to how Americans use " Western Hemisphere " to describe concepts and organizations dealing with
102-669: Is a protected area located in the southern zone of the range. At some time between 1633 and 1642, Poznik Ivanov ascended a tributary of the lower Lena , crossed the Verkhoyansk Range to the upper Yana, and then crossed the Chersky Range to the Indigirka . The range was sighted in 1926 by Sergei Obruchev ( Vladimir Obruchev 's son) and named by the Russian Geographical Society after
136-774: Is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia between the Yana and Indigirka Rivers. Administratively, the area of the range belongs to the Sakha Republic , although a small section in the east is within Magadan Oblast . The highest peak in the range is the 3,003-metre (9,852 ft)-tall Peak Pobeda , part of the Ulakhan-Chistay Range . The range also includes important places of traditional Yakut culture , such as Ynnakh Mountain (Mat'-Gora) and kigilyakh rock formations. The Moma Natural Park
170-520: Is a single supercontinent . The concepts of Europe and Asia as distinct continents date back to antiquity , but their borders have historically been subject to change. For example, to the ancient Greeks , Asia originally included Africa but they classified Europe as separate land. Eurasia is connected to Africa at the Suez Canal , and the two are sometimes combined to describe the largest contiguous landmass on Earth, Afro-Eurasia . Primarily in
204-471: Is disputed, since Mount Elbrus would be part of Europe in the latter case, making it (and not Mont Blanc ) Europe's highest mountain. Most accepted is probably the boundary as defined by Philip Johan von Strahlenberg in the 18th century. He defined the dividing line along the Aegean Sea , Dardanelles , Sea of Marmara , Bosporus , Black Sea , Kuma–Manych Depression , Caspian Sea , Ural River , and
238-527: Is often used in Kazakhstan to describe its location. Numerous Kazakh institutions have the term in their names, like the L. N. Gumilev Eurasian National University ( Kazakh : Л. Н. Гумилёв атындағы Еуразия Ұлттық университеті ; Евразийский Национальный университет имени Л. Н. Гумилёва ) ( Lev Gumilev 's Eurasianism ideas having been popularized in Kazakhstan by Olzhas Suleimenov ),
272-469: Is thought to be a point in the Chersky Range where the extensional forces coming from the north change to the compressional forces noted throughout most of the range. The Chersky Range is also thought to include a geologic triple junction where the Ulakhan Fault intersects the suture zone. Whatever the exact nature of the regional tectonics, the Chersky Range is seismically active. It connects in
306-1060: The Alps , the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, a definition that has been influential in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Nowadays, partly inspired by this usage, the term Eurasia is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet space – in particular Russia, the Central Asian republics, and the Transcaucasus republics – and sometimes also adjacent regions such as Turkey and Mongolia . The word "Eurasia"
340-656: The Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, and the Indo-Mediterranean to the south. The division between Europe and Asia as two continents is a historical social construct , as neither fits the usual definition; thus, in some parts of the world, Eurasia is recognized as the largest of the six, five, or four continents on Earth. Eurasia covers around 55 million square kilometres (21 million square miles), or around 36.2% of
374-773: The Eurasian Plate includes Europe and most of Asia but not the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian Peninsula or the area of the Russian Far East east of the Chersky Range . From the point of view of history and culture, Eurasia can be loosely subdivided into Western Eurasia and Eastern Eurasia . In geology, Eurasia is often considered as a single rigid megablock, but this is debated. Eurasia formed between 375 and 325 million years ago with
SECTION 10
#1732768619228408-716: The Greeks classified Europe (derived from the mythological Phoenician princess Europa ) and Asia which to the Greeks originally included Africa (derived from Asia , a woman in Greek mythology ) as separate "lands". Where to draw the dividing line between the two regions is still a matter of discussion . Especially whether the Kuma-Manych Depression or the Caucasus Mountains form the southeast boundary
442-543: The Italian or Iberian Peninsula. Due to its vast size and differences in latitude , Eurasia exhibits all types of climates under the Köppen classification , including the harshest types of hot and cold temperatures, high and low precipitation, and various types of ecosystems . Eurasia is considered a supercontinent , part of the supercontinent of Afro-Eurasia or simply a continent in its own right. In plate tectonics ,
476-770: The Northern and Eastern Hemispheres , Eurasia spans from Iceland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Russian Far East , and from the Russian Far North to Maritime Southeast Asia in the south, but other specific geographical limits of Eurasia states that the southern limit is in the Weber's line . Eurasia is bordered by Africa to the southwest, the Atlantic Ocean to the west,
510-549: The Soviet Union ) then dominated much of the continent until the end of the Cold War in 1991. Originally, "Eurasia" is a geographical notion: in this sense, it is simply the biggest continent; the combined landmass of Europe and Asia. However, geopolitically, the word has several meanings, reflecting specific geopolitical interests. "Eurasia" is one of the most important geopolitical concepts and it figures prominently in
544-1240: The Transhimalaya . Other high ranges include the Kunlun , Hindu Raj , and Caucasus Mountains . The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia, from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to the Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas, Karakoram, Hindu Kush, Alborz , Caucasus, and the Alps . Long ranges outside the Alpide Belt include the East Siberian , Altai , Scandinavian , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhya , Byrranga , and Annamite Ranges . The largest Eurasian islands by area are Borneo , Sumatra , Honshu , Great Britain, Sulawesi , Java, Luzon , Iceland, Mindanao , Ireland , Hokkaido , Sakhalin , and Sri Lanka . The five most-populated islands in
578-579: The Turgay Basin of modern-day Kazakhstan , where a stretch of the Turgai River flows. This palaeogeography article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Eurasia Eurasia ( / j ʊəˈr eɪ ʒ ə / yoor- AY -zhə , also UK : /- ʃ ə / -shə ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia . According to some geographers, physiographically , Eurasia
612-584: The Ural Mountains . However, at least part of this definition has been subject to criticism by many modern analytical geographers like Halford Mackinder , who saw little validity in the Ural Mountains as a boundary between continents. Nineteenth-century Russian philosopher Nikolai Danilevsky defined Eurasia as an entity separate from Europe and Asia, bounded by the Himalayas, the Caucasus,
646-592: The heterogeneous dispositif such metapolitical constructs used to control and exercise power. Across Eurasia, several single markets have emerged, including the Eurasian Economic Space , European Single Market , ASEAN Economic Community , and the Gulf Cooperation Council . There are also several international organizations and initiatives which seek to promote integration throughout Eurasia, including: In ancient times,
680-757: The Americas (e.g., Council on Hemispheric Affairs , Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation ). [REDACTED] Africa [REDACTED] Antarctica [REDACTED] Asia [REDACTED] Australia [REDACTED] Europe [REDACTED] North America [REDACTED] South America [REDACTED] Afro-Eurasia [REDACTED] Americas [REDACTED] Eurasia [REDACTED] Oceania 50°N 80°E / 50°N 80°E / 50; 80 Chersky Range The Chersky Range ( Russian : Хребет Черского , Yakut : Черскэй хайалара , romanized: Çerskey xayalara )
714-590: The Earth's total land area. The landmass contains well over 5 billion people, equating to approximately 70% of the human population . Humans first settled in Eurasia from Africa 125,000 years ago. Eurasia contains many peninsulas, including the Arabian Peninsula , Korean Peninsula , Indian subcontinent , Anatolia Peninsula , Kamchatka Peninsula , and Europe, which itself contains peninsulas such as
SECTION 20
#1732768619228748-837: The Eurasian Media Forum, the Eurasian Cultural Foundation ( Евразийский фонд культуры ), the Eurasian Development Bank ( Евразийский банк развития ), and the Eurasian Bank. In 2007 Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev , proposed building a " Eurasia Canal " to connect the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea via Russia's Kuma-Manych Depression to provide Kazakhstan and other Caspian-basin countries with
782-693: The Polish explorer and geographer Ivan Chersky (or Jan Czerski). The geographic boundaries of the mountain system are the Yana–Oymyakon Highlands in the southwest, the Upper Kolyma Highlands in the southeast, and the Momo-Selennyakh Depression in the northeast. The system of the Chersky Range comprises a number of subranges running generally from northwest to southeast, including the following: Between
816-481: The Western Hemisphere and Oceania geopolitically peripheral to the world's central continent. About 75 per cent of the world's people live in 'Eurasia', and most of the world's physical wealth is there as well, both in its enterprises and underneath its soil. 'Eurasia' accounts for about three-fourths of the world's known energy resources." The Russian " Eurasianism " corresponded initially more or less to
850-799: The Yana and Indigirka rivers: In the upper Kolyma river basin: Between the Chibagalakh and Adycha rivers Between the Indigirka and the Nera rivers: Northeastern outliers In some works, a few roughly-parallel ranges located off the main system to the northeast, such as the Kyun-Tas Range (highest point 1,242 metres (4,075 ft)), the Selennyakh Range (highest point highest point Saltag-Tas (2,021 metres (6,631 ft)), and
884-733: The adjacent Moma Range (highest point 2,533 metres (8,310 ft)), with the Moma-Selennyakh Depression running along their western side, are included in the Chersky mountain system. Other ranges of the system include the Irgichin Range , Inyalin Range , Volchan Range , Silen Range , and Polyarny Range , among others. The Chersky System includes three main river basins: Some of the higher ranges with alpine relief have glaciers. There are roughly 350 glaciers in
918-439: The area of the Chersky Range is still not fully understood and is the subject of ongoing research. By the 1980s, the Chersky Range was considered mostly a zone of continental rifting where the crust was spreading apart. However, the current view is that the Chersky Range is mostly an active suture zone , a continental convergent plate boundary , where compression is occurring as the two plates press against each other. There
952-407: The commentaries on the ideas of Halford Mackinder . As Zbigniew Brzezinski observed on Eurasia: "... how America 'manages' Eurasia is critical. A power that dominates 'Eurasia' would control two of the world's three most advanced and economically productive regions. A mere glance at the map also suggests that control over 'Eurasia' would almost automatically entail Africa's subordination, rendering
986-454: The land area of Imperial Russia in 1914, including parts of Eastern Europe . One of Russia's main geopolitical interests lies in ever closer integration with those countries that it considers part of "Eurasia." The term Eurasia gained geopolitical reputation as one of the three superstates in 1984 , George Orwell 's novel where constant surveillance and propaganda are strategic elements (introduced as reflexive antagonists ) of
1020-658: The least-densely populated. Eurasia has been the host of many ancient civilizations, including those based in Mesopotamia , the Indus Valley and China. In the Axial Age (mid- first millennium BCE ), a continuous belt of civilizations stretched through the Eurasian subtropical zone from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This belt became the mainstream of world history for two millennia. New connections emerged between
1054-518: The merging of Siberia , Kazakhstania , and Baltica , which was joined to Laurentia (now North America), to form Euramerica . This is a list of the longest rivers in Eurasia. Included are all rivers over 3,000 km (1,900 mi). All of the 100 highest mountains on Earth are in Eurasia, in the Himalaya , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Pamir , Hengduan , and Tian Shan mountain ranges, and all peaks above 7,000 metres are in these ranges and
Turgai Strait - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-516: The subregions of Eurasia from the Age of Discovery onwards, with the Iberians discovering new maritime routes in the 1490s, and the 1869 completion of the Suez Canal having paved the way for direct passage through the Indo-Mediterranean and the wave of Western European "New Imperialism" that dominated Africa and Asia until the mid-20th century. The communist presence in Eurasia (primarily driven by
1122-464: The system, with a total area of 156.2 km (60.3 sq mi). There are also small lakes in the swampy valleys of some rivers, as well as lakes of glacial origin, such as Emanda and Tabanda . The range lies on the boundary between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates . The precise nature of the boundary between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates in
1156-587: The world are Java, Honshu, Great Britain, Luzon, and Sumatra. Other Eurasian islands with large populations include Mindanao, Taiwan , Salsette , Borneo, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Kyushu , and Hainan . The most densely-populated islands in Eurasia are Caubian Gamay Island , Ap Lei Chau , and Navotas Island . In the Arctic Ocean, Severny Island , Nordaustlandet , October Revolution Island , and Bolshevik Island are Eurasia's largest uninhabited islands, and Kotelny Island , Alexandra Land , and Spitsbergen are
#227772