Everything about Urals totally explained
The
Ural Mountains (
Uralskiye gory) (also known as the
Urals, the
Riphean Mountains in
Greco-Roman antiquity, and known as the Stone Belt) are a
mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western
Russia. They are usually considered as the natural boundary between
Europe and
Asia.
Geography
The Urals extend 2,500 km from the Kazakh
steppes along the northern border of
Kazakhstan to the coast of the
Arctic ocean.
Vaygach Island and the
island of
Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain. Geographically this range marks the northern part of the border between
Asian and
European sections of the
Eurasian
continent. Its highest peak is
Mount Narodnaya (Poznurr, 1,895 m). Erosion has exposed considerable mineral wealth in the Urals, including gems such as
topaz and
beryl.The
Virgin Komi Forests in the northern Urals are recognized as a
World Heritage site. 68% of the Ural Mountains are located in
Russia, whilst the remaining 32% are located in Kazakhstan.
Geographers have divided the Urals into five regions: South, Middle, North, Subarctic and Arctic Urals. The
tree line drops from 1,400 metres to sea level as progressing north. Sections of the south and middle regions are completely forested.
Etymology
The Urals were named after the Uralian tribe that was once native to the northern region of Asia. The Uralians were hunter-gatherers; however the lack of plentiful resources in the area forced them to relocate, spreading throughout the Asian region. According to another explanation, the word Ural is of Turkic origin and means a stone belt.
Geology
The Urals are among the world's oldest extant
mountain ranges. For its age of 250 to 300 million years, the elevation of the mountains is unusually high. They were formed during the late
Carboniferous period, when western
Siberia collided with eastern
Baltica (connected to
Laurentia (
North America) to form the minor supercontinent of
Euramerica) and
Kazakhstania to form the supercontinent of
Laurasia. Later Laurasia and
Gondwana collided to form the
supercontinent of
Pangaea, which subsequently broke itself apart into the seven continents known today. Europe and
Siberia have remained joined together ever since.
The Urals were first studied in a systematic way by Russian mineralogist Ernst Karlovich Hofmann (1801-1871) of
St. Petersburg University. During his tireless research, which began in 1828, Hofmann travelled thousands of miles in the Urals and gathered a vast collection of minerals, like
gold,
platinum,
magnetite,
ilmenite,
perovskite,
rutile,
chromite,
chrysoberyl,
quartz,
zircon,
uvarovite,
phenakite,
topaz and
beryl, among others.
The Urals have large deposits of gold, platinum,
coal,
iron,
nickel,
silver, oil,and other
minerals.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Urals'.
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