The Urals are a mountainous region rich in natural resources. Minerals such as coal, oil, nickel, gold, platinum, iron and copper ores, precious stones, etc. are common here. In addition, the Urals boasts its forest and water resources and beautiful landscapes that attract travelers here. Let's take a closer look at where the Urals are located.
Geographical location of the Urals
The geographical region of the Urals is located on the Eurasian continent and is located between the East European and West Siberian plains. It is along the eastern foot of the Urals that the border between two parts of the world passes: Europe and Asia.
The Urals stretch from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Lowland for 2.5 thousand km. The main part of the region is the Ural mountain system, which is 2 thousand km. The Urals are usually divided (from north to south) into the following parts:
- Pai Hoi;
- Polar Urals;
- Subpolar Urals;
- Northern Urals;
- Middle Urals;
- Southern Urals;
- Mugodzhary.
The highest point of the Urals is located in the Subpolar Urals - Mount Narodnaya, 1895 m above sea level. Other highest points of the Urals include the following mountains: Payer (1499 m), Manaraga (1662 m), Telposis (1617 m), Oslyanka (1119 m), Yamantau (1640 m).
Ural on the world map
In order to easily find the Urals on the map, you first need to find the South Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. To the south of it is the Yugra Peninsula - this is where the northernmost region of the Urals is located - the Pai-Khoi ridge, then along the mountain range the Ural stretches to the territory of Kazakhstan and ends with the Mugodzhary mountains near the shores of the Aral Sea.
Here is a detailed map of the Ural Mountains with the names of cities and towns in Russian. Move the map while holding it with the left mouse button. You can move around the map by clicking on one of the four arrows in the upper left corner. You can change the scale using the scale on the right side of the map or turning the mouse wheel.
In which country are the Ural Mountains located?
The Ural Mountains are located in Russia. This is a wonderful, beautiful place, with its own history and traditions. Coordinates of the Ural Mountains: northern latitude and eastern longitude (show on large map).
Virtual walk
The “man” figurine above the scale will help you take a virtual walk through the cities of the Ural Mountains. By clicking and holding the left mouse button, drag it to any place on the map and you will go for a walk, while inscriptions with the approximate address of the area will appear in the upper left corner. Select the direction of movement by clicking on the arrows in the center of the screen. The “Satellite” option at the top left allows you to see a relief image of the surface. In the “Map” mode you will have the opportunity to get acquainted in detail with the roads of the Ural Mountains and the main attractions.
The Ural Mountains, formed due to the collision of the Eurasian and African lithospheric plates, are a unique natural and geographical object for Russia. They are the only mountain range crossing the country and dividing the state to the European and Asian parts.
In contact with
Geographical location
Any schoolchild knows which country the Ural Mountains are located in. This massif is a chain that is located between the East European and West Siberian plains.
It is stretched so that it divides the largest into 2 continents: Europe and Asia. Starting from the shore of the Arctic Ocean, it ends in the Kazakh desert. It stretches from south to north, and the length in some places reaches 2,600 km.
The geographical location of the Ural mountains passes almost everywhere parallel to the 60th meridian.
If you look at the map, you can see the following: the central region is located strictly vertically, the northern region turns to the northeast, and the southern region turns to the southwest. Moreover, in this place the ridge merges with the nearby hills.
Although the Urals are considered the border between continents, there is no exact geological line. Therefore it is believed that they belong to Europe, and the line dividing the mainland runs along the eastern foothills.
Important! The Urals are rich in natural, historical, cultural and archaeological values.
The structure of the mountain system
In the chronicles of the 11th century, the Ural mountain system is mentioned as Earth belt. This name is explained by the length of the ridge. Conventionally, it is divided into 5 areas:
- Polar.
- Subpolar.
- Northern.
- Average.
- South.
The mountain range partially covers the northern regions of Kazakhstan and 7 Russian regions:
- Arkhangelsk region
- Komi Republic.
- Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
- Perm region.
- Sverdlovsk region.
- Chelyabinsk region.
- Orenburg region.
Attention! The widest part of the mountain range is located in the Southern Urals.
Location of the Ural Mountains on the map.
Structure and relief
The first mention and description of the Ural Mountains comes from ancient times, but they were formed much earlier. This happened under the interaction of rocks of different configurations and ages. In some areas they are still preserved remnants of deep faults and elements of oceanic rocks. The system was formed almost at the same time as Altai, but subsequently it experienced smaller uplifts, resulting in a small “altitude” of the peaks.
Attention! The advantage over the high Altai is that there are no earthquakes in the Urals, so it is much safer for living.
Minerals
The long-term resistance of volcanic structures to the force of the wind was the result of the formation of numerous attractions created by nature. These include caves, grottoes, rocks and so on. In addition, in the mountains there are huge mineral reserves, primarily ore, from which the following chemical elements are obtained:
- Iron.
- Copper.
- Nickel.
- Aluminum.
- Manganese.
Making a description of the Ural Mountains using a physical map, we can conclude that most of the mineral development is carried out in the southern part of the region, or more precisely in Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg regions. Almost all types of ores are mined here, and a deposit of emeralds, gold and platinum was discovered not far from Alapaevsk and Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovsk region.
The area of the lower trough of the western slope is replete with oil and gas wells. The northern part of the region is somewhat inferior in deposits, but this is compensated by the fact that precious metals and stones predominate here.
Ural Mountains – leader in mining, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy and chemical industry. In addition, the region is in first place in Russia in terms of pollution level.
It should be taken into account that no matter how beneficial the development of underground subsoil is, the harm to the surrounding nature is more significant. The lifting of rocks from the depths of the mine is carried out by crushing with the release of large quantities of dust particles into the atmosphere.
At the top, the fossils enter into a chemical reaction with their surroundings, the process of oxidation takes place, and the chemical products thus obtained are again enters the air and water.
Attention! The Ural Mountains are known for their deposits of precious, semi-precious stones and precious metals. Unfortunately, they are almost completely exhausted, so Ural gems and malachite can now only be found in museums.
Peaks of the Urals
On the topographic map of Russia, the Ural Mountains are indicated in light brown. This means that they do not have great indicators relative to sea level. Among the natural areas, we can highlight the highest region located in the Subpolar region. The table shows the coordinates of the heights of the Ural Mountains and the exact size of the peaks.
The location of the peaks of the Ural Mountains is created in such a way that there are unique areas in each region of the system. Therefore, all listed heights are recognized tourist sites successfully used by people leading an active lifestyle.
On the map you can see that the Polar region is medium in height and narrow in width.
The nearby Subpolar region has the highest altitude and is characterized by sharp relief.
Of particular interest arises from the fact that several glaciers are concentrated here, one of which is almost as long as 1,000 m.
The height of the Ural Mountains in the Northern region is insignificant. The exception is a few peaks that dominate the entire ridge. The remaining heights, where the vertices are smoothed and they themselves have a rounded shape, do not exceed 700 m above sea level. Interestingly, closer to the south, they become even lower and almost turn into hills. The terrain is almost resembles a plain.
Attention! A map of the southern Ural Mountains with peaks more than one and a half kilometers away again reminds us of the ridge’s involvement in the huge mountain system separating Asia from Europe!
Big cities
A physical map of the Ural Mountains with cities marked on it proves that this area is considered abundantly populated. The only exception is the Polar and Subpolar Urals. Here several million-plus cities and a large number of them, containing more than 100,000 people.
The population of the region is explained by the fact that at the beginning of the last century there was an urgent need for minerals in the country. This caused a large migration of people to the region where similar developments were taking place. In addition, in the early 60s and 70s, many young people left for the Urals and Siberia in the hope of radically changing their lives. This influenced the formation of new settlements being built on the site of rock mining.
Ekaterinburg
Capital of the Sverdlovsk region with population 1,428,262 people considered the capital of the region. The location of the metropolis is concentrated on the eastern slope of the Middle Urals. The city is the largest cultural, scientific, educational and administrative center. The geographical position of the Ural Mountains is created in such a way that it is here that the natural path connecting Central Russia and Siberia. This influenced the development of the infrastructure and economy of the former Sverdlovsk.
Chelyabinsk
The population of the city, which is located where the Ural Mountains, according to the geological map, border on Siberia: 1,150,354 people.
It was founded in 1736 on the eastern slope of the South Ridge. And with the advent of railway communication with Moscow, it began to develop dynamically and became one of the largest industrial centers in the country.
Over the past 20 years, the ecology of the region has deteriorated significantly, which has caused an outflow of population.
Nevertheless, today the volume of local industry is more than 35% of gross municipal product.
Ufa
The capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan with a population of 1,105,657 people is considered 31st city in Europe by population. It is located west of the Southern Ural Mountains. The length of the metropolis from south to north is more than 50 km, and from east to west - 30. In terms of size, it is one of the five largest Russian cities. In the ratio of population and occupied area, each resident accounts for about 700 m2 of urban territory.