Kuznetsk Depression (russian: Кузнецкая котловина, ''Kuznetskaya kotlovina'') is located among mountains of South-Central
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, including:
Kuznetsk Alatau
Kuznetsk Alatau (russian: Кузнецкий Алатау) is a mountain range in southern Siberia, Russia. The range rises in the Altai-Sayan region of the South Siberian Mountains, northwest of Mongolia. The Siberian Railway skirts the north ...
to the Northeast,
Salair Ridge
Salair Ridge (pronounced ''sah-lah-EER''; russian: Салаирский кряж) is an eroded plateau-type highland in the Southwestern Siberia, Russia, particularly in Altai Krai, Kemerovo and Novosibirsk Oblast. It is a natural continuation of A ...
to the Southwest, and
Mountainous Shoria
Gornaya Shoria, Mountainous Shoria, or Mountain Shoria (, ''Gornaya Shoriya'', cjs, Тағлығ Шор, ''Tağlığ Şor'') is a territory in southern Siberia, Russia, east of the Altay Mountains. It is the southern part of Kemerovo Oblast. The i ...
to the South. It is within
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast — Kuzbass (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть — Кузба́сс, translit=Kemerovskaya oblast — Kuzbass, ), also known simply as Kemerovo Oblast (russian: Ке́меровская о́бласть, label=non ...
.
Geography
The
depression has
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
s up to ,. It has an area of 70,000 km
2, with a length of and width of .
It is split by a network of river valleys. The major rivers are the
Tom River
The Tom ( rus, Томь, p=tomʲ, cjs, Том) is a river in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob in Central Siberia. Its watershed lies within the Republic of Khakassia, Kemerovo Oblast, and Tomsk Oblast.[Inya River
The Inya (russian: Иня́, ) is a river in Kemerovo and Novosibirsk Oblasts of Russia. It is a right tributary of the Ob. It is long, with a drainage basin of .
By the Inya lie the towns of Leninsk-Kuznetsky and Toguchin.Ob River
}
The Ob ( rus, Обь, p=opʲ: Ob') is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia; and together with Irtysh forms the world's List of rivers by length, seventh-longest river system, at . It forms at the confluence of the Biya (river), Biya ...]
.
The central section has several
Mesozoic
The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
mountain ridges with heights of . They include Taradanov's Ridge, Saltymakov's Ridge, and the Karakan Mountains.
Economy
The Kuznetsk Depression contains the famous
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
-mining
Kuznetsk Basin
The Kuznetsk Basin (russian: Кузнецкий угольный бассейн, Кузбасс; often abbreviated as Kuzbass or Kuzbas) in southwestern Siberia, Russia, is one of the largest coal mining areas in Russia, covering an area of aroun ...
. The main cities in it are
Kemerovo
Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka and Tom Rivers, in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk Ba ...
,
Novokuznetsk
Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...
, and
Prokopyevsk
Prokopyevsk ( rus, Прокопьевск, p=prɐˈkopʲjɪfsk) is a city in Kemerovo Oblast, Russia. Population:
History
It was founded in 1918 as the settlement of Prokopyevsky () from the existing villages of Monastyrskoye and Prokopyevskoye, ...
.
See also
*
Kuznetsk Basin
The Kuznetsk Basin (russian: Кузнецкий угольный бассейн, Кузбасс; often abbreviated as Kuzbass or Kuzbas) in southwestern Siberia, Russia, is one of the largest coal mining areas in Russia, covering an area of aroun ...
*
Depression (geology)
In geology, a depression is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions form by various mechanisms.
Types
Erosion-related:
* Blowout: a depression created by wind erosion typically in either a partially vegetated ...
*
Geography of South-Central Siberia
South Central Siberia is a geographical region north of the point where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia come together.
Regions of Asia
North Asia
The Four Corners
At approximately , the borders of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kaza ...
*
Minusinsk Depression
Minusinsk Basin or Khakass-Minusinsk Basin (russian: Минусинская (Хакасско-Минусинская) котловина, ''Minusinskaya (Chakassko-Minusinskaya) kotlovina'') is in Khakassia and Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia locate ...
*
Tuva Depression
Tuva Depression ( rus, Тувинская котловина, r=Tuvinskaya kotlovina) is located among mountains of South Central Siberia — the Tannu-Ola Mountains, Eastern Sayans and Western Sayans, and the Altay Mountains region. It is p ...
References
Depressions of Russia
Landforms of Kemerovo Oblast
Geography of Central Asia
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