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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: TUM-VAN |
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URAL MOUNTAINS , a system of mountains which extends from the Arctic Ocean southwards nearly to the Caspian Sea, and is regarded as separating Europe from Asia. Russians describe them either as Kamen (stone) merely, or by the appropriate name of Poyas (girdle), while the name of Urals (Uraly)derived either from the Ostyak urr (chain of mountains) or from the Turkish aral-tau or ural-tau--has with them become a generic name for extensive mountain chains. Although the real structure of the Urals, both orographical and geological, is imperfectly ascertained, enough is known to warrant the statement that they have been affected by a series of separate upheavals, some having a north-western strike and some a north-eastern, and that they reach their maximum altitudes along a zone stretching nearly north and south. The composite nature of the Urals is best seen at the northern and southern extremities of the system, where the upheavals assume the character of distinct chains of mountains.The Pa-khoy or coast ridge
ridge
dome -shaped summits, which rise woo ft. above the tundra (Vozaipae, 1312 ft.), are completely destitute of trees, and its stony crags are separated by broad marshy tundras.The Obdorsk or Northern Urals, which begin within a few miles of the head of Kara Bay (Konstantinov Kamen, in 68 30' N., 1465 ft.), and extend south-west as far as the 64th parallel, form a distinct range, stony and craggy, sloping steeply towards the south-east and gently towards the marshes of European Russia. Its highest elevations (e.g. Khard-yues, 3715 ft., and Pae-yer, 4650 ft.) are on the 66th and 67th parallels. Sometimes the main chain has on the west two or three secondary chains, formed by the upheaval of sedimentary rocks, and it is towards the southern extremity of one of these that the highest peaks of the Urals occur (Sablya, 5135 ft., in 64 47' N., and To11-poz-iz or Murai-chakhl, 5535 ft. in 6 55'). Dense forests, chiefly fir, pine and larch, clothe the slopes of the mountains and the narrow valleys; but, as the less hospitable latitudes are approached, every species except the larch gradually disappears and the upper limit of vegetation (2400 ft. in the south) rapidly descends till it reaches the very base of the mountains towards the Arctic Circle, and forest vegetation disappears altogether about 65 N. (67 in the plains of Russia and Siberia). Although usually reckoned to the Northern Urals, the section between 64 and 61 N. has again a wholly distinct character. Here the main chain (or, more correctly, the main water-parting) of the Urals is a succession of plateaus stretching in a north-westerly direction, and dimpled with broad, flat, marshy valleys, rising here and there into isolated dome -shaped, flattened summits, mostly under 3000 ft. (Yang-tump, 62 43' N., 4170 ft.). The whole region, except the mountain summits, is densely clothed with coniferous forests, birch appearing only occasionally in the south, and even the Scotch pine only in a few valleys. This part of the range is also uninhabited.The Middle Urals, between 61 and 55 30' N. and about 8o m. in breadth, are the best known, as they contain the richest iron, copper and gold mines (Bogoslovsk, Goroblagodatsk and Ekaterinburg Urals). The Denezhkin Kamen in the north (5355 ft.) andthe Tara-tash in the south (2800 ft.) may be considered as marking the limits of this section. Here the orographical structure is still more complicated. In the north (61st to 6oth parallel) there is a succession of chains with a distinct north-eastern trend ; and it still remains an open question whether, for two degrees farther south, the whole of the Bogoslovsk Urals (4795 ft. in the Konzhakovski-Kamen, and from 3000 to 4000 ft. in several other summits) do not consist of chains having the same direction. South of Kachkanar (2885 ft.), i.e. from the 58th to the 56th parallel, the orals assume the appearance of broad swellings woo to 2000 ft. in height, deeply trenched by ravines. These low and ravine-broken plateaus, the higher parts of which can be reached from Russia on a very gentle gradient, have been utilized for centuries as the chief
The Southern Urals (55 30' to 51 N.), instead of being made up of three chains of mountains radiating from Mount
series of chains reach nearly the same altitudes. The gorges by which the rivers pierce the Devonian limestones on their way towards the lower terraces are most picturesque in the west, where the Urals assume an alpine character. The forests are no longer continuous; the gentle slopes of the hilly tracts are dotted with woods, mostly of deciduous trees, while the hollows contain rich pasture grounds. The whole region, formerly the exclusive abode of the Bashkirs, is being colonized by Russians.Farther south, between the 53rd and 51st parallels, the main range continues in the same direction, and, except when deeply trenched by the rivers, assumes the appearance of a plateau which hardly reaches 1500 ft. It is continued farther south-west (towards the Volga ) under the name of Obshchiy Syrt.As a rule, the Urals are not considered to continue south of the great bend of the Ural river, where quite independent ranges of hills, or flat swellings, appear (e.g. Dzhaman-tau, Mugodzhar Hills). It appears, however, that the Mugodzhar Hills may safely be regarded as an actual prolongation of the upheavals which constitute the Urals. These consist of diorites and crystalline slates, and reach their maximum in AIryuk (1885 ft.). A range of heights connects the Mugodzhar Hills with the Ust-Urt plateau (see TRANSCASPIAN REGION). Geology.The Ural Mountains are no more than the western edge of a broad belt of folding of which the greater part is buried beneath the Tertiary deposits of western Siberia. Throughout the greater portion of the chain a broad strip of granites, diorites, peridotites, gneisses and other crystalline rocks rises directly from the Siberian plain, and is covered towards the west by Silurian
syenite
in the west Urals. The Permian deposits cover a wide zone all along the western slope of the Urals from north to south, and are most important on account of their copper ores, salt beds and salt springs. They are also covered with variegated marls which are almost destitute of fossil organisms, so that their age is not yet quite settled. Climatic, Geo-Botanical and Geo-Zoological Importance.The importance of the Urals as a climatic and geo-botanical boundary can no longer be regarded as very great. Most European species of plants freely cross the Urals into Siberia, and several Siberian species travel across them into northern Russia. But, being a zone of hilly tracts extending from north to south, the Ural Mountains necessarily exercise a powerful influence in pushing a colder northern climate, as well as a northern flora and fauna, farther south along their axis. The harshness of the climate at the meteorological stations of Bogoslovsk, Zlatoust and Ekaterinburg is not owing merely to their elevation
In the distribution of the races of mankind the Urals have played an important part. To the present day the Northern Urals are inhabited by Finnish races (Samoyedes, Syryenians, Voguls and Permians) who have been driven from their former homes by Slav colonization, while the steppes on the slopes of the Southern Urals have continued to be inhabited by the Turkish Bashkirs. The Middle Urals were in the 9th century the abode of the Ugrians, and their land, Bjarmeland or Biarmia (now Perm), was well known to the Byzantine historians for its mineral
Metallurgy and Mining.The mineral
chief
Gold is met with in the Urals both in veins and in placers; the output increased from about 30,000 oz. in 1883 to three times that amount at the end of the century. The Urals have also rich placers of platinum, often mixed with gold, iridium, osmium and other rare metals, and supply annually some 13,000 Ib, i.e. 95% of all the platinum obtained in the world. Silver, mercury, nickel, zinc and cobalt ores are found. Rich mines of copper are found at Turinsk, Gumishev and other places, yielding as much as 5% of pure copper; nickel is obtained at Revdinsk, and the extraction 'Comp. Moravia and the Madiars, by K. J. Groth ; Zabyelin's History of Russian Life, and the polemics on the subject in Izvestia of the Russ. Geogr. Soc., xix. (1883).of iron chromates has developed. Coal exists in many places on the western slope of the Urals, mainly on the Yaiva river, in the basin of the Kama, and on the Usva (basin of the Chusovaya), and about 500,000 tons are raised annually. Several. beds of coal have been found on the eastern..slope; excellent anthracite exists at Irbit and good coal at Kamyshlov. Sapphires, emeralds beryls, chrysoberyls, tourmalines, aquamarines, topaz, amethysts, rock-crystals, garnets and many kinds of jade, malachite and marble are cut and polished at several stone-cutting works, especially at Ekaterinburg; and diamond-mining may prove successful. Good asbestos is extracted, and pyrites is worked for the manufacture of sulphuric acid Many varieties of mineral waters occur in the Urals, the best being those at Serginsk, Klyuchevsk and Elovsk. (P. A. K.; J. T. BE.) End of Article: URAL MOUNTAINS If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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