The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a
mountain range
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
that runs approximately from north to south through
western Russia
European Russia (russian: Европейская Россия, russian: европейская часть России, label=none) is the western and most populated part of Russia. It is geographically situated in Europe, as opposed to the cou ...
, from the coast of the
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
to the river
Ural
Ural may refer to:
*Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan
* Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India
*Ural Federal District, in Russia
*Ural econ ...
and northwestern
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
.
[Ural Mountains]
Encyclopædia Britannica on-line
The mountain range forms part of the
conventional boundary between the regions of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
.
Vaygach Island
Vaygach Island (russian: Вайга́ч, ''Vajgač''; Nenets: Вай Хабць, romanized: ''Vai Habcj’'') an island in the Arctic Sea between the Pechora Sea and the Kara Sea.
Vaygach Island is separated from the Yugorsky Peninsula in the ...
and the islands of
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
form a further continuation of the chain to the north into the Arctic Ocean.
The Ural Mountains are one of the richest mineral regions in the world, containing more than 1,000 varieties of valuable minerals.
The mountains lie within the
Ural
Ural may refer to:
*Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan
*Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan
* Ual (tool), a mortar tool used by the Bodo people of India
*Ural Federal District, in Russia
*Ural econ ...
geographical region and significantly overlap with the
Ural Federal District
Ural Federal District (russian: Ура́льский федера́льный о́круг, ''Uralsky federalny okrug'') is one of the eight federal districts of Russia. Its population was 12,080,523 (79.9% urban) according to the 2010 Censu ...
and with the
Ural economic region
Ural Economic Region (russian: Ура́льский экономи́ческий райо́н, Uralsky ekonomichesky rayon) is one of twelve economic regions of Russia. This prominent industrial region consists of the following subdivi ...
. They have rich resources, including metal ores, coal, and precious and semi-precious stones. Since the 18th century the mountains have contributed significantly to the mineral sector of the
Russian economy
The economy of Russia has gradually transformed from a planned economy into a mixed market-oriented economy.
—Rosefielde, Steven, and Natalia Vennikova. “Fiscal Federalism in Russia: A Critique of the OECD Proposals.” Cambridge Jou ...
. The region is one of the largest producers of metallurgy and heavy industry production in the country.
Etymology
As attested by
Sigismund von Herberstein
Siegmund (Sigismund) Freiherr von Herberstein (or Baron Sigismund von Herberstein; 23 August 1486 – 28 March 1566) was a Carniolan diplomat, writer, historian and member of the Holy Roman Empire Imperial Council. He was most noted for his extensi ...
, in the 16th century Russians called the Ural range by a variety of names derived from the Russian words for rock (stone) and belt. The modern Russian name for the Urals (, ), first appearing in the 16th–17th century during the
Russian conquest of Siberia
The Russian conquest of Siberia took place in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, when the Khanate of Sibir became a loose political structure of vassalages that were being undermined by the activities of Russian explorers. Although outnumber ...
, was initially applied to its southern parts and gained currency as the name of the entire range during the 18th century. It might have been borrowed from either
Turkic "stone belt" (
Bashkir, where the same name is used for the range), or
Ob-Ugric. From the 13th century, in
Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик ...
there has been a
legend about a hero named Ural who sacrificed his life for the sake of his people who then poured a stone pile over his grave, which later turned into the Ural Mountains.
[ Possibilities include Bashkir ''үр'' "elevation; upland" and Mansi ''ур ала'' "mountain peak, top of the mountain",] V.N. Tatischev believes that this oronym is set to "belt" and associates it with the Turkic verb oralu- "gird". I.G. Dobrodomov suggests a transition from Aral to Ural explained on the basis of ancient Bulgar
Bulgar may refer to:
*Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia
*Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars
* Oghur languages
Bulgar may also refer to:
*Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria
*Bulgur, a wheat product
* Bulgar, an Ash ...
- Chuvash dialects. Geographer E.V. Hawks believes that the name goes back to the Bashkir folklore Ural-Batyr
''Ural-batyr'' or ''Ural-batır'' ( ba, Урал батыр, pronounced , from Ural + Turkic ''batır'' 'hero, brave man') is the most famous ''kubair'' (epic poem) of the Bashkirs. It is a telling of heroic deeds and legendary creatures, the f ...
. The Evenk geographical term ''era'' "mountain" has also been theorized. (cf also Ewenkī ürǝ-l (pl.) "mountains") Finno-Ugrist scholars consider Ural deriving from the Ostyak
Ostyak (russian: Остя́к) is a name formerly used to refer to several indigenous peoples and languages in Siberia, Russia. Both the Khanty people and the Ket people were formerly called Ostyaks, whereas the Selkup people were referred to as ...
word ''urr'' meaning "chain of mountains". Turkologists, on the other hand, have achieved majority support for their assertion that 'ural' in Tatar means a belt, and recall that an earlier name for the range was 'stone belt'.
History
As Middle-Eastern merchants traded with the Bashkirs
, native_name_lang = bak
, flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg
, flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress
, image =
, caption =
, population = approx. 2 million
, popplace ...
and other people living on the western slopes of the Ural as far north as Great Perm
Great Perm, or simply Perm, in Latin ''Permia'', was a medieval historical region in what is now the Perm Krai of the Russian Federation. Cherdyn is said to have been its capital.
The origin of the name ''Perm'' is uncertain. Most common expla ...
, since at least the 10th century medieval mideastern geographers had been aware of the existence of the mountain range in its entirety, stretching as far as the Arctic Ocean in the north. The first Russian mention of the mountains to the east of the East European Plain is provided by the Primary Chronicle
The ''Tale of Bygone Years'' ( orv, Повѣсть времѧньныхъ лѣтъ, translit=Pověstĭ vremęnĭnyxŭ lětŭ; ; ; ; ), often known in English as the ''Rus' Primary Chronicle'', the ''Russian Primary Chronicle'', or simply the ...
, where it describes the Novgorodian expedition to the upper reaches of the Pechora
Pechora (russian: Печо́ра; kv, Печӧра, ''Pećöra'') is a town in the Komi Republic, Russia, located on the Pechora River, west of and near the northern Ural Mountains. The area of the town is . Population:
History
Pechora wa ...
in 1096. During the next few centuries Novgorodians engaged in fur trading
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
with the local population and collected tribute from Yugra
Yugra or Iuhra (Old Russian Югра ''Jugra''; Byzantine Greek Οὔγγροι ''Oὔggroi''; la, OngariaeChusovaya
The Chusovaya (russian: Чусова́я) is a river flowing in Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia. A tributary of the Kama, which in turn is a tributary of the Volga, it discharges into the Chusovskoy Cove of the Ka ...
and Belaya were first mentioned in the chronicles of 1396 and 1468, respectively. In 1430, the town of Solikamsk
Solikamsk (russian: Солика́мск, Permyak: Совкар, ''Sovkar'', also Соликамскӧй, ''Sovkamsköy'') is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. Modern Solikamsk is the third-largest town in the krai, with a population of
History
The ...
(Kama Salt) was founded on the Kama
''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, sexual ...
at the foothills of the Ural, where salt was produced in open pans. Ivan III of Moscow
Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...
captured Perm, Pechora and Yugra from the declining Novgorod Republic in 1472. With the excursions of 1483 and 1499–1500 across the Ural, Moscow managed to subjugate Yugra completely.
Nevertheless, around that time in the early 16th century, Polish geographer, Maciej of Miechów
Maciej Miechowita (also known as ''Maciej z Miechowa, Maciej of Miechów, Maciej Karpiga, Matthias de Miechow''; 1457 – 8 September 1523) was a Polish renaissance scholar, professor of Jagiellonian University, historian, chronicler, geogra ...
, in his influential ''Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis'' (1517) argued that there were no mountains in Eastern Europe at all, challenging the point of view of some authors of Classical antiquity, popular during the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. Only after Sigismund von Herberstein in his Notes on Muscovite Affairs
''Notes on Muscovite Affairs'' (''Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii'') (1549) was a Latin book by Baron Sigismund von Herberstein on the geography, history and customs of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, Grand Duchy of Muscovy. The book was the main ear ...
(1549) had reported, following Russian sources, that there are mountains behind the Pechora and identified them with the Riphean Mountains
In Greco-Roman geography, the Riphean Mountains (also Riphaean; , or ; '' grc, Ῥιπαῖα ὄρη''; Latin: ''Rhipaei'' or ''Riphaei montes'') were a supposed mountain range located in the far north of Eurasia. The name of the mountains is ...
and Hyperborea
In Greek mythology, the Hyperboreans ( grc, Ὑπερβόρε(ι)οι, ; la, Hyperborei) were a mythical people who lived in the far northern part of the known world. Their name appears to derive from the Greek , "beyond Boreas" (the God of ...
ns of ancient authors, did the existence of the Ural, or at least of its northern part, become firmly established in the Western geography. The Middle and Southern Ural were still largely unavailable and unknown to the Russian or Western European geographers.
In the 1550s, after the Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I i ...
had defeated the Khanate of Kazan
The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...
and proceeded to gradually annex the lands of the Bashkirs, the Russians finally reached the southern part of the mountain chain. In 1574 they founded Ufa
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...
. The upper reaches of the Kama and Chusovaya in the Middle Ural, still unexplored, as well as parts of Transuralia still held by the hostile Siberian Khanate
The Khanate of Sibir (also Khanate of Turan,
sty, Себер ханлыгы) was a Tatar Khanate located in southwestern Siberia with a Turco-Mongol ruling class. Throughout its history, members of the Shaybanid and Taibugid dynasties often con ...
, were granted to the Stroganovs
The Stroganovs or Strogonovs (russian: link=no, Стро́гановы, Стро́гоновы), French spelling: Stroganoff, were a family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen. From the time of Iva ...
by several decrees of the tsar in 1558–1574. The Stroganovs land provided the staging ground for Yermak
Yermak Timofeyevich ( rus, Ерма́к Тимофе́евич, p=jɪˈrmak tʲɪmɐˈfʲejɪvʲɪtɕ; born between 1532 and 1542 – August 5 or 6, 1585) was a Cossacks, Cossack ataman and is today a hero in Russian folklore and myths. During ...
's incursion into Siberia. Yermak crossed the Ural from the Chusovaya to the Tagil around 1581. In 1597 Babinov's road was built across the Ural from Solikamsk to the valley of the Tura, where the town of Verkhoturye
Verkhoturye (russian: Верхоту́рье) is a historical town and the administrative center of Verkhotursky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located in the middle Ural Mountains on the left bank of the Tura River north of Yekaterinb ...
(Upper Tura) was founded in 1598. Customs was established in Verkhoturye shortly thereafter and the road was made the only legal connection between European Russia and Siberia for a long time. In 1648 the town of Kungur
Kungur (russian: Кунгу́р) is a town in the southeast of Perm Krai, Russia, located in the Ural Mountains at the confluence of the rivers Iren and Shakva with the Sylva (Kama's basin). Population: 64,800 (1959); 36,000 (1939).
Hist ...
was founded at the western foothills of the Middle Ural. During the 17th century the first deposits of iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
ores, mica
Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into extremely thin elastic plates. This characteristic is described as perfect basal cleavage. Mica is ...
, gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
s and other minerals were discovered in the Ural.
Iron and copper smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
works
Works may refer to:
People
* Caddy Works (1896–1982), American college sports coach
* Samuel Works (c. 1781–1868), New York politician
Albums
* '' ''Works'' (Pink Floyd album)'', a Pink Floyd album from 1983
* ''Works'', a Gary Burton album ...
emerged. They multiplied particularly quickly during the reign of Peter I of Russia
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
. In 1720–1722 he commissioned Vasily Tatishchev
Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев) (19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a prominent Russian Imperial statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer, best remembered as the author of the f ...
to oversee and develop the mining and smelting works in the Ural. Tatishchev proposed a new copper smelting factory in Yegoshikha, which would eventually become the core of the city of Perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
and a new iron smelting factory on the Iset, which would become the largest in the world at the time of construction and give birth to the city of Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
. Both factories were actually founded by Tatishchev's successor, Georg Wilhelm de Gennin
Georg Wilhelm de Gennin (russian: Георг Вильгельм де Геннин) or Vilim Ivanovich de Gennin (russian: Вилим Иванович де Геннин) (11 October 1665 — 12 April 1750) was a German-born Russian military office ...
, in 1723. Tatishchev returned to the Ural on the order of Empress Anna
Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...
to succeed de Gennin in 1734–1737. Transportation of the output of the smelting works to the markets of European Russia necessitated the construction of the Siberian Route
The Siberian Route (russian: Сибирский тракт; ''Sibirsky trakt''), also known as the Moscow Highway (, Московский тракт) and Great Highway (, Большой тракт), was a historic route that connected European Russ ...
from Yekaterinburg across the Ural to Kungur and Yegoshikha (Perm) and further to Moscow, which was completed in 1763 and rendered Babinov's road obsolete. In 1745 gold was discovered in the Ural at Beryozovskoye and later at other deposits. It has been mined since 1747.
The first ample geographic survey of the Ural Mountains was completed in the early 18th century by the Russian historian and geographer Vasily Tatishchev under the orders of Peter I. Earlier, in the 17th century, rich ore deposits were discovered in the mountains and their systematic extraction began in the early 18th century, eventually turning the region into the largest mineral base of Russia.[
One of the first scientific descriptions of the mountains was published in 1770–71. Over the next century, the region was studied by scientists from a number of countries, including Russia (geologist ]Alexander Karpinsky
Alexander Petrovich Karpinsky (russian: Александр Петрович Карпинский, trl. Aljeksandr Pjetrovič Karpinskij; 7 January 1847 ( NS) – 15 July 1936) was a prominent Russian and Soviet geologist and mineralogist, and ...
, botanist Porfiry Krylov and zoologist Leonid Sabaneyev
Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev or Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev (russian: Леони́д Леони́дович Сабане́ев) (3 May 1968) was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist. He was the son of Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneye ...
), the United Kingdom (geologist Sir Roderick Murchison
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...
), France (paleontologist Édouard de Verneuil
Philippe Édouard Poulletier de Verneuil (13 February 180529 May 1873) was a French paleontology, paleontologist.Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
, geologist Alexander Keyserling
Alexander Friedrich Michael Lebrecht Nikolaus Arthur Graf von Keyserling (15 August 1815 – 8 May 1891) was a Baltic German geologist and paleontologist from the Keyserlingk family of Baltic German nobility.
Career
Alexander von Keyserli ...
). In 1845, Murchison, who had according to ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various time ...
'' "compiled the first geologic map of the Ural in 1841",[ published ''The Geology of Russia in Europe and the Ural Mountains'' with de Verneuil and Keyserling.][cf. ]
The first railway across the Urals had been built by 1878 and linked Perm to Yekaterinburg via Chusovoy
Chusovoy (russian: Чусово́й) is a town in Perm Krai, Russia, located at the confluence of the Usva and Vilva Rivers with the Chusovaya River, east of Perm, the administrative center of the krai. Population:
History
It was founded i ...
, Kushva
Kushva (russian: Кушва) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located in the Ural Mountains near Yekaterinburg. Population:
History
Originally a mining settlement founded in 1735 at the Blagodat ...
and Nizhny Tagil
Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the boundary between Asia and Europe. Population:
History
The prehistor ...
. In 1890 a railway linked Ufa and Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk ( rus, Челя́бинск, p=tɕɪˈlʲæbʲɪnsk, a=Ru-Chelyabinsk.ogg; ba, Силәбе, ''Siläbe'') is the administrative center and largest city of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. It is the seventh-largest city in Russia, with a ...
via Zlatoust
Zlatoust ( rus, Златоуст, p=zlətɐˈust) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Ay River (in the Kama basin), west of Chelyabinsk. Population: 181,000 (1971); 161,000 (1959); 99,000 (1939); 48,000 (1926); 21,000 (19 ...
. In 1896 this section became a part of the Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the ea ...
. In 1909 yet another railway connecting Perm and Yekaterinburg passed through Kungur by the way of the Siberian Route. It has eventually replaced the Ufa – Chelyabinsk section as the main trunk of the Trans-Siberian railway.
The highest peak of the Ural, Mount Narodnaya
Mount Narodnaya (also known as Naroda and Poenurr; russian: гора Народная, kv, Народа-Из ("People's Mountain"), Mansi: Поэнг-ур, Поэн-урр) is the highest peak of the Urals in Russia. Its elevation is . It is loc ...
, (elevation 1,895 m (6,217 ft)) was identified in 1927.
During the Soviet industrialization
Industrialisation in the Soviet Union was a process of accelerated building-up of the industrial potential of the Soviet Union to reduce the economy's lag behind the developed capitalist states, which was carried out from May 1929 to June 1941.
...
in the 1930s the city of Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population ...
was founded in the South-Eastern Ural as a center of iron smelting and steelmaking
Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and all ...
. During the German invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
in 1941–1942, the mountains became a key element in Nazi planning for the territories which they expected to conquer in the USSR. Faced with the threat of having a significant part of the Soviet territories occupied by the enemy, the government evacuated many of the industrial enterprises of European Russia and Ukraine to the eastern foothills of the Ural, considered a safe place out of reach of the German bombers and troops. Three giant tank factories were established at the Uralmash
Uralmash is a heavy machine production business of the Russian engineering corporation OMZ. Its facility is located in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and it is reported to employ around 16,500 people. The surrounding residential area where workers live ...
in Sverdlovsk (as Yekaterinburg used to be known), Uralvagonzavod
UralVagonZavod (russian: ОАО «Научно-производственная корпорация «УралВагонЗавод», , Open Joint Stock Company "Research and Production Corporation Uralvagonzavod") is a Russian machine-buildin ...
in Nizhny Tagil, and Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant
Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (russian: Челябинский тракторный завод, Chelyabinskiy traktornyy zavod, abbreviated , ) also known as CTZ-Uraltrak (''ЧТЗ-УРАЛТРАК'') is a tractor construction plant in the Russian ...
in Chelyabinsk. After the war, in 1947–1948, Chum – Labytnangi
Labytnangi (russian: Лабытна́нги; from Khanty: ; lit. ''seven larches''; Nenets: Лабытнаӈгы. ''Labytnaŋgy'') is a town in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the left bank of the Ob River, northwest of Salek ...
railway, built with the forced labor of Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...
inmates, crossed the Polar Ural.
Mayak
The Mayak Production Association (russian: Производственное объединение «Маяк», , from 'lighthouse') is one of the biggest nuclear facilities in the Russian Federation, housing a reprocessing plant. The closest ...
, 150 km southeast of Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
, was a center of the Soviet nuclear industry and site of the Kyshtym disaster
The Kyshtym disaster, sometimes referred to as the Mayak disaster or Ozyorsk disaster in newer sources, was a radioactive contamination accident that occurred on 29 September 1957 at Mayak, a plutonium production site for nuclear weapons and nu ...
.
Geography and topography
The Ural Mountains extend about from the Kara Sea
The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...
to the Kazakh Steppe along the border of Kazakhstan. Vaygach Island and the island of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain on the north. Geographically this range marks the northern part of the border between Europe and Asia. Its highest peak is Mount Narodnaya, approximately in elevation.[ Transverse faults divide the mountain chain into seven major units, each of which has its own typical pattern of mountain ridges. From north to south, these are the Pay-Khoy, Zapolyarnyy, Pripolyarnyy, Polyarnyy, Severnyy, Sredniy, Yuzhnny Ural and Mugodzhary. The average altitudes of the Urals are around 1000–1300 meters, the highest point being Narodnaya peak in the Pripolyarnyy Ural which reaches a height of 1894 meters.
By topography and other natural features, the Urals are divided, from north to south, into the Polar (or Arctic), Nether-Polar (or Sub-Arctic), Northern, Central and Southern parts.
]
Polar Ural
The Polar Urals
The Polar Urals (russian: Полярный Урал) are a mountain range in the western part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the northeastern part of Komi, Russian Federation. The border between Europe and Asia runs along the main ridg ...
extend for about from Mount Konstantinov Kamen in the north to the river Khulga in the south; they have an area of about and a strongly dissected relief. The maximum height is at Mount Payer and the average height is .
The mountains of the Polar Ural have exposed rock with sharp ridges, though flattened or rounded tops are also found.[
]
Nether-polar Ural
The Nether-Polar Ural are higher, and up to wider than the Polar Urals. They include the highest peaks of the range: Mount Narodnaya (), Mount Karpinsky () and Manaraga (). They extend for more than south to the Shchugor. The many ridges are sawtooth shaped and dissected by river valleys. Both Polar and Nether-Polar Urals are typically Alpine; they bear traces of Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
glaciation, along with permafrost and extensive modern glaciation, including 143 extant glaciers.[
]
Northern Ural
The Northern Ural consist of a series of parallel ridges up to in height and longitudinal hollows. They are elongated from north to south and stretch for about from the river Usa
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Most of the tops are flattened, but those of the highest mountains, such as Telposiz, and Konzhakovsky Stone, have a dissected topography. Intensive weathering has produced vast areas of eroded stone on the mountain slopes and summits of the northern areas.[
]
Middle Ural
The Central Ural are the lowest part of the Ural, with smooth mountain tops, the highest mountain being (Basegi); they extend south from the river Ufa
Ufa ( ba, Өфө , Öfö; russian: Уфа́, r=Ufá, p=ʊˈfa) is the largest city and capital of Bashkortostan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Belaya and Ufa rivers, in the centre-north of Bashkortostan, on hills forming the ...
.[
]
Southern Ural
The relief of the Southern Ural is more complex, with numerous valleys and parallel ridges directed south-west and meridionally. The range includes the Ilmensky Mountains
The Ilmensky Mountains (russian: links=no, Ильменские горы, translit=Il'menskiye gory) are located in the Southern Urals in the Chelyabinsk Oblast on the administrative territory of Miass in Chebarkulsky and Argayashsky districts. ...
separated from the main ridges by the Miass
Miass ( rus, Миа́сс, p=mʲɪˈas) is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located west of Chelyabinsk, on the eastern slope of the Southern Ural Mountains, on the bank of the river Miass. Population:
Name
The name Miass is taken from ...
. The maximum height is (Mount Yamantau
Yamantau ( ba, Ямантау, russian: гора Ямантау) is a mountain in the Ural Mountains, located in Beloretsky District, Bashkortostan, Russia. Standing at 1,640 metres (5,381 ft) it is the highest mountain in the Southern Ura ...
) and the width reaches . Other notable peaks lie along the Iremel
Iremel ( ba, Ирәмәл, russian: Иремель) is a compact mountain ridge in the Southern Ural Mountains in the republic of Bashkortostan, Russian Federation (bordering with Chelyabinsk Oblast to the north-west). The highest peak, Bolshoy I ...
mountain ridge (Bolshoy Iremel and Maly Iremel) and Nurgush
Nurgush (russian: Нургуш; ba, Нөргөш) is a mountain range in Satkinsky District, western part of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russian Federation.Google Earth
The range is within the protected area of the Zyuratkul National Park.
The name ...
. The Southern Urals extend some up to the sharp westward bend of the river Ural and terminate in the Guberlin Mountains and finally in the wide Mughalzhar Hills.[
]
Geology
The Urals are among the world's oldest extant mountain ranges
A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...
. For its age of 250 to 300 million years, the elevation of the mountains is unusually high. They formed during the Uralian orogeny
The Uralian orogeny refers to the long series of linear deformation and mountain building events that raised the Ural Mountains, starting in the Late Carboniferous and Permian periods of the Palaeozoic Era, 323–299 and 299–251 million years a ...
due to the collision
In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...
of the eastern edge
Eastern Edge Gallery is an artist-run centre based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Eastern Edge Gallery was established in 1984 as the first artist-run centre in the province. In 1987, it moved out of the LSPU Hall in to Flavin ...
of the supercontinent Laurasia
Laurasia () was the more northern of two large landmasses that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from around ( Mya), the other being Gondwana. It separated from Gondwana (beginning in the late Triassic period) during the breakup of Pan ...
with the young and rheologically weak continent of Kazakhstania
Kazakhstania ( kk, Qazaqstaniya), the Kazakh terranes, or the Kazakhstan Block, is a geological region in Central Asia which consists of the area roughly centered on Lake Balkhash, north and east of the Aral Sea, south of the Siberian craton and w ...
, which now underlies much of Kazakhstan and West Siberia west of the Irtysh
The Irtysh ( otk, 𐰼𐱅𐰾:𐰇𐰏𐰕𐰏, Ertis ügüzüg, mn, Эрчис мөрөн, ''Erchis mörön'', "erchleh", "twirl"; russian: Иртыш; kk, Ертіс, Ertis, ; Chinese: 额尔齐斯河, pinyin: ''É'ěrqísī hé'', Xiao'erj ...
, and intervening island arc
Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle alon ...
s. The collision lasted nearly 90 million years in the late Carboniferous
The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...
– early Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
. Unlike the other major orogens of the Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
(Appalachians
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, Caledonides
The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that o ...
, Variscides), the Urals have not undergone post-orogenic extensional collapse and are unusually well preserved for their age, being underlaid by a pronounced crustal root. East and south of the Urals much of the orogen is buried beneath later 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 ...
and Cenozoic
The Cenozoic ( ; ) is Earth's current geological era, representing the last 66million years of Earth's history. It is characterised by the dominance of mammals, birds and flowering plants, a cooling and drying climate, and the current configura ...
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
s. The adjacent Pay-Khoy Ridge
The Pay-Khoy Range ( rus, хребет Пай-Хой) is a mountain range at the northern end of the Ural Mountains. It lies within the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Geography
The ridge is extended from northwest to southeast. It is located on the Yu ...
to the north and Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
are not a part of the Uralian orogen and formed later.
Many deformed and metamorphosed
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
rocks, mostly of Paleozoic
The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon.
The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838
by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
age, surface within the Urals. The sedimentary
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic matter, organic particles at Earth#Surface, Earth's surface, followed by cementation (geology), cementation. Sedimentati ...
and volcanic
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...
layers are folded and Fault (geology), faulted. The sediments to the west of the Ural Mountains are formed of limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite and sandstone left from ancient shallow seas. The eastern side is dominated by basalts.
The western slope of the Ural Mountains has predominantly karst topography, especially in the Sylva (river), Sylva basin, which is a tributary of the Chusovaya
The Chusovaya (russian: Чусова́я) is a river flowing in Perm Krai, Sverdlovsk Oblast and Chelyabinsk Oblast of Russia. A tributary of the Kama, which in turn is a tributary of the Volga, it discharges into the Chusovskoy Cove of the Ka ...
. It is composed of severely eroded sedimentary rocks (sandstones and limestones) that are about 350 million years old. There are many caves, sinkholes and underground streams. The karst topography is much less developed on the eastern slopes. The eastern slopes are relatively flat, with some hills and rocky outcrops and contain alternating volcanic and sedimentary layers dated to the middle Paleozoic Era.[ Most high mountains consist of weather-resistant rocks such as quartzite, schist and gabbro that are between 395 and 570 million years old. The river valleys are underlain by limestone.][
The Ural Mountains contain about 48 species of economically valuable ores and minerals. Eastern regions are rich in chalcopyrite, nickel oxide, gold, platinum, chromite and magnetite ores, as well as in coal (Chelyabinsk Oblast), bauxite, talc, fireclay and abrasives. The Western Urals contain deposits of coal, oil, natural gas (Ishimbay and Krasnokamsk areas) and potassium salts. Both slopes are rich in bituminous coal and lignite, and the largest deposit of bituminous coal is in the north (Pechora field). The specialty of the Urals is precious and semi-precious stones, such as emerald, amethyst, Aquamarine (gemstone), aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite and diamond. Some of the deposits, such as the magnetite ores at ]Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population ...
, are already nearly depleted.[
]
Rivers and lakes
Many rivers originate in the Ural Mountains. The western slopes south of the border between the Komi Republic and Perm Krai and the eastern slopes south of approximately 54°30'N drain into the Caspian Sea via the Kama and Ural basins. The tributaries of the Kama include the Vishera (Perm Krai), Vishera, Chusovaya, and Belaya and originate on both the eastern and western slopes. The rest of the Urals drain into the Arctic Ocean, mainly via the Pechora basin in the west, which includes the Ilych, Shchugor, and the Usa
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, and via the Ob (river), Ob basin in the east, which includes the Tobol, Tavda (river), Tavda, Iset, Tura and Severnaya Sosva. The rivers are frozen for more than half the year. Generally, the western rivers have higher flow volume than the eastern ones, especially in the Northern and Nether-Polar regions. Rivers are slower in the Southern Urals. This is because of low precipitation and the relatively warm climate resulting in less snow and more evaporation.[
The mountains contain a number of deep lakes.][Davis, W.M. (1898). "The Ural mountains". ''Science''. 7 (173): 563–564. ] The eastern slopes of the Southern and Central Urals have most of these, among the largest of which are the Uvildy, Itkul, Turgoyak, and Tavatuy lakes.[ The lakes found on the western slopes are less numerous and also smaller. Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye, the deepest lake in the Polar Urals, is deep. Other lakes, too, are found in the glacial valleys of this region. Spas and sanatoriums have been built to take advantage of the medicinal muds found in some of the mountain lakes.][
]
Climate
The climate of the Urals is continental. The mountain ridges, elongated from north to south, effectively absorb sunlight thereby increasing the temperature. The areas west of the Ural Mountains are warmer in winter than the eastern regions because the former are warmed by Atlantic winds whereas the eastern slopes are chilled by Siberian air masses. The average January temperatures increase in the western areas from in the Polar to in the Southern Urals and the corresponding temperatures in July are and . The western areas also receive more rainfall than the eastern ones by per year. This is because the mountains trap clouds from the Atlantic Ocean. The highest precipitation, approximately , is in the Northern Urals with up to snow. The eastern areas receive from in the north to in the south. Maximum precipitation occurs in the summer: the winter is dry because of the Siberian High.[
]
Flora
The landscapes of the Urals vary with both latitude and longitude and are dominated by forests and steppes. The southern area of the Mughalzhar Hills is a semidesert. Steppes lie mostly in the southern and especially south-eastern Urals. Meadow steppes have developed on the lower parts of mountain slopes and are covered with Trifolium medium, zigzag and Trifolium montanum, mountain clovers, ''Serratula gmelinii'', Filipendula vulgaris, dropwort, Poa pratensis, meadow-grass and ''Bromus inermis'', reaching the height of 60–80 cm. Much of the land is cultivated. To the south, the meadow steppes become more sparse, dry and low. The steep gravelly slopes of the mountains and hills of the eastern slopes of the Southern Urals are mostly covered with rocky steppes. River valleys contain willow, Populus, poplar and caragana shrubs.[
Forest landscapes of the Urals are diverse, especially in the southern part. The western areas are dominated by dark coniferous taiga forests which change to mixed and deciduous forests in the south. The eastern mountain slopes have light coniferous taiga forests. The Northern Urals are dominated by conifers, namely Siberian fir, Siberian pine, Scots pine, Siberian spruce, Norway spruce and Siberian larch, as well as by silver birch, silver and downy birches. The forests are much sparser in the Polar Urals. Whereas in other parts of the Ural Mountains they grow up to an altitude of 1000 m, in the Polar Urals the tree line is at 250–400 m. The low polar forests are mixed with swamps, lichens, bogs and shrubs. Betula nana, Dwarf birch, mosses and berries (blueberry, Rubus chamaemorus, cloudberry, Empetrum nigrum, black crowberry, etc.) are abundant. The forests of the Southern Urals are the most diverse in composition: here, together with coniferous forests are also abundant broadleaf tree species such as English oak, Norway maple and elm.][ The Virgin Komi Forests in the northern Urals are recognized as a World Heritage site.
]
Fauna
The Ural forests are inhabited by animals typical of Siberia, such as elk, brown bear, fox, wolf, wolverine, lynx, squirrel, reindeer and sable (north only). Because of the easy accessibility of the mountains there are no specifically mountainous species. In the Middle Urals, one can see a rare mixture of sable and pine marten named kidus. In the Southern Urals, European badger, badger and European polecat, black polecat are common. Reptiles and amphibians live mostly in the Southern and Central Ural and are represented by the common viper, lizards and Natrix, grass snakes. Bird species are represented by Western Capercaillie, capercaillie, black grouse, hazel grouse, spotted nutcracker, and cuckoos. In summers, the South and Middle Urals are visited by songbirds, such as nightingale and common redstart, redstart.[
The steppes of the Southern Urals are dominated by hares and rodents such as hamsters, Spermophilus, susliks, and jerboa. There are many birds of prey such as lesser kestrel and buzzards. The animals of the Polar Urals are few and are characteristic of the tundra; they include Arctic fox, lemming, and reindeer. The birds of these areas include rough-legged buzzard, snowy owl, tundra partridge, and rock ptarmigan.][
]
Ecology
The continuous and intensive economic development of the last centuries has affected the fauna, and wildlife is much diminished around all industrial centers. During World War II, hundreds of factories were evacuated from Western Russia before the German occupation, flooding the Urals with industry. The conservation measures include establishing national wildlife parks.[ There are nine zapovednik, strict nature reserves in the Urals: the Ilmen Nature Reserve, Ilmen, the oldest one, mineralogical reserve founded in 1920 in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve, Pechora-Ilych in the Komi Republic, Bashkir Nature Reserve, Bashkir and its former branch Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve, Shulgan-Tash in Bashkortostan, Visim Nature Reserve, Visim in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Southern Ural in Bashkortostan, Basegi Nature Reserve, Basegi in Perm Krai, Vishera Nature Reserve, Vishera in Perm Krai and Denezhkin Kamen Nature Reserve, Denezhkin Kamen in Sverdlovsk Oblast.
The area has also been severely damaged by the plutonium-producing facility ]Mayak
The Mayak Production Association (russian: Производственное объединение «Маяк», , from 'lighthouse') is one of the biggest nuclear facilities in the Russian Federation, housing a reprocessing plant. The closest ...
, opened in Chelyabinsk-40 (later called Chelyabinsk-65, Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Ozyorsk), in the Southern Ural, after World War II.[ Its plants went into operation in 1948 and, for the first ten years, dumped unfiltered radioactive waste into the river Techa and Lake Karachay.][ In 1990, efforts were underway to contain the radiation in one of the lakes, which was estimated at the time to expose visitors to 500 Röntgen equivalent man, millirem per day.][ As of 2006, 500 mrem in the natural environment was the upper limit of exposure considered safe for a member of the general public in an entire year (though workplace exposure over a year could exceed that by a factor of 10).] Over of land were contaminated in 1957 from a storage tank explosion, only one of several serious accidents that further polluted the region.[ The Kyshtym disaster, 1957 accident expelled 20 million Curie (unit), curies of radioactive material, 90% of which settled into the land immediately around the facility.] Although some reactors of Mayak were shut down in 1987 and 1990, the facility keeps producing plutonium.Производство плутония с ПО "Маяк" на Сибирский химкомбинат перенесено не будет
[Plutonium production will not be transferred from Mayak], obzor.westsib.ru, 25 March 2010 (in Russian)
Cultural significance
The Urals have been viewed by Russians as a "treasure box" of mineral resources, which were the basis for its extensive industrial development. In addition to iron and copper, the Urals were a source of gold, malachite, alexandrite, and other gems such as those used by the court jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé, Fabergé. As Russians in other regions gather mushrooms or berries, Uralians gather mineral specimens and gems. Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak (1852–1912) Pavel Bazhov (1879–1950), as well as Alexei Viktorovich Ivanov, Aleksey Ivanov and Olga Slavnikova, post-Soviet writers, have written of the region.
The region served as a military stronghold during Peter the Great's Great Northern War with Sweden, during Stalin's rule when the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Complex was built and Russian industry relocated to the Urals during the Nazi advance at the beginning of World War II, and as the center of the Soviet nuclear industry during the Cold War. Extreme levels of air, water, and radiological contamination and pollution by industrial wastes resulted. Population exodus followed, and economic depression at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in post-Soviet times additional mineral exploration, particularly in the northern Urals, has been productive and the region has attracted industrial investment.
Gallery
File:Mount Iremel.jpg, Mount Iremel
File:Iremel Mount.jpg, Mount Iremel
File:Big Iremel mountain peak 5.jpg, Mount Iremel peak
File:Yamantau.JPG, Mount Yamantau
File:Склон и небо.jpg, View from mount Yamantau second peak (Bolshaya Yamantau)
File:Лес вокруг г.Ямантау.jpg, Forest around mount Yamantau
File:Вид на Двуглавую сопку в НП «Таганай».jpg, View of the two-peak mount Taganay
File:Зимний Таганай.jpg, Mount Otkliknoy Greben
File:Вид на Круглицу.jpg, Taganay national park
File:Восход на Дальнем Таганае.jpg, Sunrise on Taganay
See also
* Yugyd Va National Park
* Dyatlov Pass incident
* East Ural Radioactive Trace
* Idel-Ural State
* Pangea
* Research Range
* Ural Mountains in Nazi planning
References
External links
Peakbagger.com
page on the Ural Mountains
Ural Expeditions & Tours
page on the five parts of the Ural Mountains
{{Authority control
Ural Mountains,
Mountain ranges of Russia
Mountain ranges of Kazakhstan
Landforms of Siberia
Landforms of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Landforms of Bashkortostan
Landforms of Chelyabinsk Oblast
Landforms of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
Landforms of the Komi Republic
Landforms of Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Landforms of Sverdlovsk Oblast
Landforms of Tyumen Oblast
Aktobe Region
Novaya Zemlya
Geology of Russia
Mountain ranges of Asia
Mountain ranges of Europe
Physiographic divisions
History of Ural
Turkic toponyms