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Mineral resources of European countries table. Minerals of foreign Europe

The mineral resources of Europe are closely related to tectonic structure.

Baltic shield and Caledonian structures. Deposits of igneous origin predominate here, caused by the introduction of intrusions along fault lines. These are the deposits concentrated in the north and central regions of Sweden: Kiruna, Luossavara, Gellivara, Gränsberg, with an average iron content of 62%.

These are the deposits of titanomagnetite ores in the north of Fennoscandia, as well as copper pyrite ores that are found throughout the region.

Caledonian structures in Norway contain small concentrations of nickel, cobalt and copper.

North-West European Basin. Tectonically, it is a submerged part of the European Platform, composed of a thick layer (up to 10 km) of sedimentary rocks.

The lower (Paleozoic) structural horizon of the cover includes the largest accumulations in Europe oil and natural gas. The deposits were discovered mainly on the North Sea shelf in the early 1960s. Onshore, the most significant gas deposit has been discovered in the Netherlands.

The middle structural horizon of the platform’s sedimentary cover is distinguished by huge reserves salts The most important are sodium and potassium salts. Their main deposits are confined to the Permian deposits of the German-Polish Lowland, where there are underground salt domes with large stocks extending from them. Salt deposits in the tertiary deposits of the Carpathian region are of considerable importance.

The upper horizon (Cenozoic) is characterized by reserves brown coal and lignites. They are found mainly in the area between the Vistula and Elbe (basins of Saxony and Upper Silesia). These high-quality coals lie close to the surface and can be mined by quarrying. Smaller basins are confined to the Greater Poland Plain.

About 26% of the world's reserves are concentrated in southern Poland near the city of Tarnobrzeg. sulfur.

Epihercynian platform. In its north, in the contact zone of Precambrian and Hercynian structures, the Carboniferous province of Europe was formed in the Carboniferous: this is coal fields of Great Britain, North French and Belgian basins, Lower Rhine-Westphalian, Upper Silesian, Ruhr, Saar and Lorraine basins, Poland. Coal is found in Spain (Asturias).

The Upper Silesian and Ruhr basins are the largest basins in Europe.

The fuel resources of the Epihercynian platform also include uranium-bearing province of the French Massif Central. There are also small reserves of uranium in Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

The Epihercynian platform is rich iron ores sedimentary origin. They are confined to the syneclise of the Hercynian basement. The ore-bearing stratum lies in Jurassic sandstones. Its occurrence is associated with the erosion of laterite formations and the deposition of erosion products in coastal areas of the sea. The iron content in the ore is from 30 to 50%. The iron ore province is located in Lorraine, Belgium, and Luxembourg. There are small deposits in Germany and Spain.

Unique concentration on a global scale cuprous pyrites is located in the southwest of Spain (the largest deposit, Rio Tinto, has been developed for over 3 thousand years). The deposits are of hydrothermal origin.

Polymetallic ores(lead-zinc-silver) are confined to fault lines and faults of the Hercynian structures. The deposits belong to the hydrothermal post-magmatic type. These are the deposits of the Ore Mountains, the southern outskirts of the Spanish Meseta.

The largest deposit is located on the Iberian Peninsula mercury(Almaden). On the western edge of the Apennine Peninsula, mercury deposits are associated with volcanic activity and occur most often among effusive sediments.

Alpine folded region. Igneous and metamorphic deposits of metal ores gravitate toward young structures and middle Hercynian massifs, and deposits of sedimentary origin gravitate toward intermountain or forward troughs. Among the latter, deposits stand out oil and gas. Oil deposits are confined to Paleogene deposits of the foothills of the Alpine mountains (Aquitaine, Padanian Plain, Adriatic Sea shelf). Significant deposits are concentrated in flysch strata along the outer arc of the Carpathians (in Poland and especially Romania). Oil reserves are also available in the western marginal zone of the Dinaric Mountains in Albania, where, in addition to oil, there are deposits bitumen. Numerous deposits are found in intermountain troughs brown coals and lignites. They lie close to the surface and are convenient for quarrying. Found in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia.

Located in the European Mediterranean bauxite province, stretching from west to east from the south of France through the Apennine Peninsula to the Dinaric Highlands and Pindus. Another chain of bauxite deposits is located further north - in Austria, Hungary and Romania. The largest reserves of bauxite are in Greece and Croatia. The formation of bauxite is associated with lateritic weathering of rocks rich in alumina and, which is especially typical for deposits in Western Europe, with the redeposition of lateritic covers in marine or lacustrine basins. Due to their sedimentary origin, bauxite deposits are represented by strata deposits.

Igneous deposits polymetals are being developed on the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

In Sicily there is one of the world's largest deposits of sulfur of sedimentary origin, confined to Tertiary deposits.

Minerals of Europe

RELIEF

Task 3. Learn the following nomenclature.

Mountains, plateaus, plateaus, hills	Lowlands, plains	Volcanoes
Alps Andalusian Apennines Ardennes Bavarian Forest Balkan Bernese Alps Beskydy Vosges Eastern Alps Eastern Carpathians High Tauern Harz Grampian Mountains Dobruja Dinara Plateau Western Alps Iberian Calabrian Apennines Cumberland Cantabrian Carpathians Karst plateau Catalan Mountains Cambrian Dolomites Manselka Lesser Poland Masurian Lakeland Mak Lenburg Lakeland Meseta Mont-Dore Low Tauern New Castile Norland Plateau Norman Elevation Olympus Parnassus Peninsky Pindus Pyrenees Rhine Shale Rhodopes Rila Ore Savoy Alps Salpausselkä North. Northern Apennines Scottish Highlands Cevennes Scandinavian Småland Asc. Stara Planina Old Castile Sudetes Suomenselkä Sierra Morena Tatras (West Carps) Southern Carpathians Transylvanian Plateau Thuringian Forest Franconian Alb Franconian Jura Center. Posted on ref.rf Apennines Center. Posted on ref.rf Cordillera Center Posted on ref.rf French Massif Bohemian-Moravian Highland Swabian Alb Swabian Jura Black Forest Šumava Southern Apennines Jotunheimen Plateau	Andalusian Aragonese Greater Poland Upper Thracian Garonian London Basin Lower Danubian Lower Thracian Padanian Parisian Basin North German Central European Central Danubian Central Swedish Central Scottish Central Irish	Vesuvius Hekla Hvannadalshnukur Etna

Topic 4. Climate Western Europe

Target: identify the climate-forming factors of Western Europe and the climate features of the continent; develop skills in working with thematic climatological maps, tables, and diagrams.

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

What is “climate”?
What do distribution and mode depend on? solar radiation?
What is radiation balance? How is the radiation balance distributed in the Northern Hemisphere?
What factors determine climate formation?
What are the centers of action of the atmosphere? How are they formed?

Task 2:

I. Characteristics of the climates of the winter and summer seasons of Europe:

It is more convenient to do this task in the form of a table:

Task 3. Determine the areas of Europe in which the maximum amount of precipitation is observed in winter, in the summer season, and areas that are characterized by low precipitation amounts. Give an explanation for these phenomena based on circulation processes and the prevailing air masses during a given period.

Task 4. Analyze the map of average monthly temperatures in January and July in Europe. Determine the course of the isotherms in January and July. Identify areas of Europe that experience maximum temperatures in winter, summer, and areas that experience minimum temperatures in winter and summer. Give an explanation for these phenomena.

Task 5. On the contour map, draw the boundaries of climatic zones with a solid line, and the boundaries of climatic regions with a broken line. Explain the patterns of the strike of climatic zones, and within their limits - climatic regions. Give a brief description of the types of climates according to the plan:

Geographical position;

Dominant type air mass;

Temperatures in January, July;

Precipitation

Fig. 1 Types of climates in Europe

Subarctic belt: 1 – humid, 2 – semi-humid;

Temperate boreal subbelt: 3 - humid, 4 - semi-humid;

Temperate subboreal subbelt: 5 - humid, 7 - semiarid;

Subtropical zone: 8 - semiarid, 9 - subarid

Topic 5. Surface water Europe

Target: establish the dependence of the hydrological regime of rivers on natural conditions swimming pool; application comparative analysis when characterizing large river systems of Europe, studying the genetic classification and characteristics of lakes in Europe.

Exercise 1. Using physical maps, identify areas with dense and underdeveloped river networks. Indicate the reasons for the varying degrees of development of the river network in these areas.

Task 2. Individual task. Describe the river according to the plan: 1) name of the river; 2) length in km; basin area, thousand km2; 4) location of sources; 5) location of the mouth; 6) main tributaries; 7) average annual flow at the mouth, m 3 /s; 8) main power source; 9) hydraulic structures; 10) the main settlements on the river; 11) environmental problems.

Rivers of Europe, Glomma, Thames, Garonne, Loire, Seine, Rhine, Vistula, Danube, Guadiana, Po, Tiber, Prut,

Task 3. Fill out the table

Task 4. Learn the following nomenclature.

Topic 6. ʼʼPHYSICAL-GEOGRAPHICAL ZONATION OF EUROPEʼʼ

Target: mastering the peculiarities of the relationship of natural components that predetermine the physical and geographical unity of the region.

Exercise 1. On contour map outline the basic units of the physical-geographical zoning of Europe (subcontinents and physical-geographical countries).

Task 2. Using physical-geographical and thematic maps, textbooks a) Vlasova T.V. Physiography continents. M., Education, 1976; b) Pritula T.Yu., Eremina V.A., Spryalin A.N. Physical geography of continents and oceans: Textbook. A manual for students. higher textbook institutions.- M.: Humanit. ed. VLADOS Center, 2003.- 688 pp., characterize the physical and geographical countries of Western Europe according to the plan:

The name of the subcontinent, physical-geographical country;
Geographical location, boundaries, coastline and surrounding seas.
History of formation and tectonic structure.
Features of the relief - morphostructure and morphosculpture.
Climatic conditions.
Features of hydrography, as a reflection of the history of formation and climatic conditions.
Natural areas within which the region is located.
Natural and mineral resources of the region.

Subcontinents and physiographic countries of Europe:

I ARCTIC: 1-European sector of the Arctic, Spitsbergen.

II NORTHERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE: 1 - Fennoscandia; 2 - Central European Plain; 3 – Mountains and plains of Central Europe (Hercynian Europe); 4 – British Isles; 5 – Alpine-Carpathian country.

III MEDITERRANEAN 1 – Iberian Peninsula; 2 – Apennine Peninsula; 3 – Balkan Peninsula;

The relief of Foreign Europe is characterized by significant fragmentation, which is determined by the geological structure and paleogeographical events. Peculiarities modern relief allow us to identify the following large orographic regions in Western Europe:

1) plains of epiplatform regions (highlands and lowlands of Fennoscandia, Central European Plain, plains of France);

2) mountains and plateaus of epiplatform regions (medium mountains and plateaus of Central Europe and the Scandinavian mountains);

3) folded mountains of the epigeosynclinal belt (high and middle mountains of the Alpine geosynclinal belt);

4) plains in the epigeosynclinal belt (Padan, Aquitaine, etc.);

5) protrusion of the mid-ocean swell (Iceland)

Plains of epiplatform areas. Platform structures of various ages (Precambrian, Hercynian) in Western Europe are dominated by plains. Οʜᴎ include areas of low and high relief in the central and eastern parts of Fennoscandia, the British Isles (without the Scottish highlands), the Central European Plain, the lowlands of northern and western France, and the Castilian plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula.

In Finland and most of Sweden the predominant denudation basement plains and hills. Tectonically, this territory includes the structures of the Baltic Shield and the Caledonian anteclises. Long-term denudation led to the formation of peneplains. The surface of the plains is uneven, complicated by ridges, ridges, and shallow depressions. During the neotectonic stage, the western regions of the Baltic Shield (Norland Plateau) rose to heights of 800-1000 m, in the east the uplift was minimal, and subsidence was observed in the Gulf of Bothnia region.

The Norland plateau descends in giant ledges towards the Gulf of Bothnia. The ledges are dissected by faults running from northwest to southeast. Along the lines of these faults there are river valleys with an undeveloped longitudinal profile. This is the area of development of forms of glacial gouging.

The Maanselkä hill (northern part of Finland) is a vast dome, up to 750 m high. The hill is complicated by ledges. Rocky ridges called “tunturi”, composed of hard quartzites, with traces of fresh glacial processing, are often found here.

The Småland upland has a maximum height of 377 m (southern Sweden). The river valleys of the upland are formed along faults. The largest lakes in foreign Europe—Vänern, Vättern, and Elmaren—are confined to grabens processed by glaciers.

The southern part of Finland is low basement plain , 100-250 m high. In this area there is a unique accumulation of lakes for Europe, which are filled with melted glacial waters of the last stage of glaciation. From the south they are closed by ridges of terminal moraine deposits of Salpausselkä and Suomenselkä. Within these plains, the cloak of moraine deposits becomes thicker, eskers, drumlins, kamas and other forms of glacial-accumulative relief appear.

The coast of the Gulf of Bothnia is swampy, has a flat topography and is still poorly developed by humans.

The most extensive lowland in Europe, the Central European Lowland, is tectonically a deep tectonic trough filled with a thick layer of sedimentary deposits. This - accumulative-denudation strata plains with hilly-hollow and or wavy-depression relief. Quaternary glaciations determined the main morphosculptural forms of relief. East of the river valley
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Elbe a wide strip of terminally moraine ridge-hollow relief arose. It is worth saying that it is characterized by moraine hills and ridges of different heights, and many lakes filled with melted glacial waters. A significant part of the Polish and eastern German plains is occupied by flat, often swampy lowlands composed of outwash sands.

At the foot of the Central European Middle Mountains are located accumulative-denudation piedmont sloping plains, covered with loess-like loams.

The Paris Basin and the London Basin are monoclinal-layered denudation plains . In tectonic terms, they are syneclises of the Epihercynian platform, filled with limestones, sandstones, and clays. As a result of denudation processes, cuesta ledges (a striking feature of the relief of these plains) and plateaus armored with dense limestone were formed here.

In the Central European midlands and on the Iberian Peninsula there are basins, in tectonic terms - syneclises of the Epihercynian platform. These are the Swabian-Franconian and Thuringian basins, which are monoclinal-stratal plains . It is dominated by sloping limestone plateaus with karst surfaces and steep cuesta cliffs.

Structural plateaus Old and New Castile have a flat topography, complicated by deep river valleys.

Mountains and plateaus of epiplatform regions. The mountainous relief arose as a result of recent tectonic uplifts of platform-type structures of the Caledonian, Hercynian age, which experienced activation or revival. These include:

- block and vault-block Scandinavian, North Scottish mountains, which arose during the Caledonian era of mountain building. As a result of orogenic renewal, plateaus of different heights (fields) arose here, above which rocky pointed peaks rise; ancient tectonic cracks in the northwestern and northeastern directions, later partially turned into fjords, river valleys and lake baths. On the highest massifs of the Scandinavian mountains, residual ice cover has been preserved. The highlands of Scotland and the western slopes of the Scandinavian Mountains drop steeply to the sea, forming high rocky shores with a dense network of fjords. Forms of ancient volcanism are widespread (basalt plateaus of Ireland, Scotland).

- rejuvenated folded-block mountains, massifs and plateaus : Massif Central of France, Rhine Slate Mountains, Ardennes, Iberian Mountains. The surface of the plateaus decreases towards the periphery. In the highest areas (more than 1500 m), relict mountain-glacial forms (circles, troughs, moraine deposits) and volcanic formations (eruptive cones, lava plateaus, calderas) have been preserved.

- horst massifs include the Central Cordillera, Castile Mountains, Harz, Thuringian Forest, Šumava, Sudetenland, Ore Mountains, Bohemian Massif. The massifs have steep fault slopes and flattened peaks, which are remnants of Mesozoic and Cenozoic planation surfaces.

Mountains of epigeosynclinal regions occupy the southern and southeastern sector of Europe. These are high- and mid-mountain systems that arose as a result of Alpine orogenesis and neotectonic uplifts. Alpine folding and mountain building were superimposed on more ancient Hercynian structures and, in connection with this, alternate in relief folded and vault-folded mountain ranges of alpine age and block and folded-block massifs and plateaus of Hercynian age.

Folded and vault-folded mountains occupy the main territory of Alpine Europe. The Alps form central system from which mountain ranges radiate. In the northeast, the Alps transform into the arc of the Carpathians and Stara Planina, in the southeast they continue in the form of the Dinaric Highlands, the Pindus Range, the Peloponnese Mountains, the islands of Crete and Cyprus.
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Adjacent to the Alps from the southwest is a mountain arc consisting of the Apennines, the mountains of northern Sicily, the Beta Cordillera on the Iberian Peninsula, the mountains of the Balearic Islands and eastern Corsica. The Pyrenees also belong to them.

Mountain systems of alpine age have common features geological structure: crystalline rocks in the axial part of the mountains, limestone and flysch deposits along the periphery, the development of volcanic forms and the presence of “alpine” mountain-glacial relief on the highest ridges and massifs. These features are most classically expressed in the Alps. The Pyrenees and Northern Apennines are dominated by the crystalline zone; in the Beta Cordillera, Central Apennines, and Stara Planina, limestones predominate; in the Carpathians (especially in the Eastern) there are flysch deposits, and therefore the relief here has smoothed rounded outlines of the ridges ( planinas and meadows) And deep steep valleys. Only in the high regions of the Carpathians did mountain-glacial forms develop (Western and Southern Carpathians).

The west of the Balkan Peninsula (Dinaric Highlands) is composed exclusively of limestones, with which various forms of karst relief are associated.

Block and folded-block mountains and plateaus were formed as a result of neotectonic uplifts of the middle Hercynian massifs. This group includes the Calabrian Apennines, the plateaus of Sardinia, western Corsica, the Rilo-Rhodope massif, and the mountains of Macedonia. It is worth saying that they are characterized by flattened summit surfaces and steep steep slopes.

Plains of epigeosynclinal areas found along with mountain ranges and massifs within the epigeosynclinal belt of Europe.

Stratified accumulative-denudation plains on sedimentary deposits of the middle Hercynian massifs are represented by the Upper, Middle and Lower Danube plains. Οʜᴎ formed in extensive depressions that continue to sink. It is worth saying that they are characterized by flat and wavy-hilly terrain. Loess plateaus and plains are characteristic. In post-glacial times, various aeolian forms formed.

Accumulative plains of advanced alpine troughs were formed as a result of the filling of troughs with thick molasse strata, and in relief they are represented by narrow elongated lowlands that border mountain systems. These plains include Aragonese, Andalusian, Aquitaine, Padanian, and Upper Thracian.

At the foot of the mountains there are high piedmont sloping accumulative-denudation plains, composed of pebbles, crushed stone, coarse sand and therefore dry.

Alluvial-accumulative lowlands clayey, with difficult natural drainage, usually swampy and occupy the central areas of the plains.

Plateaus and plateaus of the mid-ocean swell. The island of Iceland is a protrusion of the North Atlantic mid-ocean ridge - an arched rise, fragmented in the central part by faults, with active volcanism and seismic phenomena. Basaltic lavas formed a series of step-like plateaus and plateaus on the surface of the island, complicated by cones of active and extinct volcanoes. It is worth saying that the low coastal plains are characterized by modern glacial-accumulative and periglacial landforms. At the same time, Iceland is an area of intense ancient and modern glaciation.

The mineral resources of Europe are closely related to tectonic structure.

Baltic shield and Caledonian structures. Deposits of igneous origin predominate here, caused by the introduction of intrusions along fault lines. These are the deposits concentrated in the north and in central regions Sweden: Kiruna, Luossavara, Gellivara, Gränsberg, with an average iron content of 62%.

These are the deposits of titanomagnetite ores in the north of Fennoscandia, as well as copper pyrite ores that are found throughout the region.

Caledonian structures in Norway contain small concentrations of nickel, cobalt and copper.

North-West European Basin. In tectonic terms - ϶ᴛᴏ submerged part European platform, composed of a thick layer (up to 10 km) of sedimentary rocks.

The upper horizon (Cenozoic) is characterized by reserves brown coal and lignites. Οʜᴎ are found mainly in the area between the Vistula and Elbe (basins of Saxony and Upper Silesia). These high-quality coals lie close to the surface and can be mined by quarrying. Smaller basins are confined to the Greater Poland Plain.

About 26% of the world's reserves are concentrated in southern Poland near the city of Tarnobrzeg. sulfur.

The Upper Silesian and Ruhr basins are the largest basins in Europe.

The fuel resources of the Epihercynian platform also include uranium-bearing province of the French Massif Central. There are also small reserves of uranium in Portugal, Spain, and Italy.

The Epihercynian platform is rich iron ores sedimentary origin. Οʜᴎ are confined to the syneclise of the Hercynian basement. The ore-bearing stratum lies in Jurassic sandstones. Its occurrence is associated with the erosion of laterite formations and the deposition of erosion products in coastal areas of the sea. The iron content in the ore is from 30 to 50%. The iron ore province is located in Lorraine, Belgium, and Luxembourg. There are small deposits in Germany and Spain.

Polymetallic ores(lead-zinc-silver) are confined to fault lines and faults of the Hercynian structures.
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The deposits belong to the hydrothermal post-magmatic type. These are the deposits of the Ore Mountains, the southern outskirts of the Spanish Meseta.

The largest deposit is located on the Iberian Peninsula mercury(Almaden). On the western outskirts of the Apennine Peninsula, mercury deposits are associated with volcanic activity and occur most often among effusive sediments.

Igneous deposits polymetals are being developed on the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

In Sicily there is one of the world's largest deposits of sulfur of sedimentary origin, confined to Tertiary deposits.

Minerals of Europe - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Mineral Resources of Europe" 2017, 2018.

General information . The area of Europe is about 10 million km 2, incl. the islands account for about 730 thousand km 2 (the largest are Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Spitsbergen, Iceland, Ireland, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Crete), the peninsulas account for about 1/4 of the territory of Europe (Scandinavian, Iberian, Apennine , Balkan, Kola, etc.). Population: about 700 million people (1980). The extreme continental points of Europe: in the north - Cape Nordkin, 71°08" north latitude; in the south - Cape Marroqui, 36°00" north latitude; in the west - Cape Roca, 9°31" west longitude; in the east - the eastern foot of the Polar Ural near Baydaratskaya Bay, 67°20" eastern longitude of Europe, it is washed by the seas and: in the north and north-west - the Kara, Barents, White and Norwegian; in the west - the Baltic and Northern; in the south - the Mediterranean, Marmara, Black and Azov, in the east and the southeast, the border with is most often drawn along the eastern foot of the Urals, along the Emba River to the Caspian seas , the Kuma and Manych rivers to the mouth of the Don.

In Europe, it is customary (from a physical-geographical point of view) to distinguish Eastern Europe (mostly European territory) and Western Europe (mainly foreign Europe), which, in turn, is divided into Northern, Central, and Southern Europe. Over 1/2 of the territory of Europe is occupied by the USSR (Eastern Europe), the rest - Andorra, Vatican City, Great Britain, Gibraltar, Denmark, West. Berlin, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, San Marino, part of Switzerland, .

The modern political map of foreign Europe has developed as a result of fundamental socio-political changes caused by the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia, the defeat of the fascist powers in World War II of 1939-45 and the victory of people's democratic and socialist revolutions in a number of countries of foreign Europe. As a result, two groups of countries with fundamentally different socio-economic systems were formed in Europe: socialist (so-called Eastern European countries), which, along with the USSR, includes Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Albania , and capitalist (Western European), which includes other countries.

Nature. The topography of Europe is dominated by lowland plains and hills; mountains occupy 17% of Europe's territory. The smoothest terrain is in Eastern Europe, where the vast Eastern European (Russian)a plain, the southeastern part of which (Caspian Lowland) is below sea level. In Western Europe, where plains and mountains occupy approximately the same area, the main plains areCentral European, Middle Danube, Lower Danube, Paris Basin, Padan. For Northern , Western and Central Europe and the peninsulas of Northern and Southern Europe are characterized by low and middle mountains. Among them, a large number of ancient massifs stand out; Armorican, Central French, Czech, etc. The most significant mountains are the Alps (height up to 4807 m, Mont Blanc), Carpathians, Pyrenees, Scandinavian, Apennines, mountains of the Balkan Peninsula. The Urals stretches along the eastern border of Europe. Often referred to as Europe. The active ones are mainly in the Mediterranean and Iceland, where active activity is associated with manifestations of modern volcanism.

The climate is predominantly temperate, in the west - oceanic, with mild winter and cool summers, in the east - continental, with snowy, frosty winters and hot or warm summers. The northern regions and Arctic islands have a harsh subarctic and arctic climate. Southern Europe has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, humid in winter and hot summer. The average temperature in January is from -24° C on the Arctic islands to +12° C in the south, in June, respectively, in the west up to 29° C. Precipitation per year ranges from 1500-2000 mm (in some places more) in the mountains, up to 200 mm or less on the Caspian lowland; The aridity of the climate generally increases from northwest to southeast. In most of Europe, precipitation occurs mainly in the warm half of the year, in the Mediterranean - mainly in winter. The glaciation area is over 116 thousand km 2, the main centers of glaciation are the Arctic islands, Iceland, the Scandinavian mountains, and the Alps.

On the plains of Europe, calm-flowing rivers predominate, among them the Volga (the largest in Europe), the Dnieper, Don, Pechora, Northern Dvina, Danube, Vistula, Odra, Elbe, Rhine, Seine, Loire, Rhone, Tagus, Po. All of these rivers are navigable, some are connected by canals, and many are used for hydroelectric purposes. In Fennoscandia, short rapids rivers with weakly developed valleys with lake-like extensions predominate; in mountainous areas, rivers have a large drop, and there are waterfalls. The largest lakes in Europe are Ladoga, Onega, Wenern, Chudskoye, Balaton, Geneva.

Vegetable and animal world Europe belongs to the Holarctic kingdom. On islands Arctic OceanArctic deserts are developed; on the mainland, tundras, forest-tundras, forests (taiga, mixed and broad-leaved), forest-steppes, and steppes alternate from north to south; in southern Europe - subtropical Mediterranean forests and shrubs, in the southeast - semi-deserts. In the highest mountain systems (Alps, Carpathians and some others) there is an altitudinal zone with a consistent change from bottom to top of mountain forests, meadows and landscapes of the nival zone. A large area is dominated by cultural landscapes. There are numerous nature reserves, national parks and other protected areas.

Geological structure and metallogeny. The ancient core of the European continent is occupied by its northern and eastern parts, with a foundation of Archean-Early Proterozoic age (see map).

From the northwest, the tectonic nappes of the Scandinavian Caledonides, composed of riftogenic formations of the upper Riphean - Vendian, eu- and miogeosynclinal strata of the Cambro-Silurian, are thrust onto the East European platform; At the base of the innermost covers, relics of the crust of the Proto-Atlantic Ocean or its marginal sea are known. These nappes have undergone noticeable metamorphism; they are unconformably overlain by Devonian clastic sediments (molasse), filling individual grabens. To the north, the Scandinavian Caledonides continue towards Western Spitsbergen, and to the southeast - the British Isles. The British Caledonides are significantly different in structure from the Scandinavian ones; they have two main zones: the northwestern (northern highlands of Scotland), metamorphic, and the southeastern (southern highlands of Scotland, northern England and Wales), non-metamorphic. The first, thrust in the northwest, towards the Precambrian platform massif in northwestern Scotland and the Hebrides, is composed of Riphean-Vendian and Cambro-Lower Ordovician strata, which experienced major deformations, metamorphism and granitization in the Early Ordovician (Grampian phase); the second is characterized by a gradual weakening of dislocations to the southeast, in the direction of the platform massif of the Midlands of England, composed of Cambro-Silurian rocks, underlain by ophiolites in the north, deformed at the end of the Silurian - beginning of the Devonian. In the south of Ireland and England, the outer zone of the Central European Hercynides is thrust onto the Caledonides, and to the east, onto the Midland massif; on the continent, the northern front of the Hercynides stretches through northeastern France, Belgium, Germany, the German Democratic Republic to Poland (Odra line), hiding further under the Alpine thrusts of the Carpathians, and is accompanied in a number of areas by forward troughs (Franco-Belgian and Ruhr, as well as the Upper Silesian coal basin ).

The Hercynides occupy a significant area within Central Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. Their outer zone is composed of thick Devonian clay-shale and Lower Carboniferous flysch and was deformed in the Middle Carboniferous. The outer zone is separated by a narrow rise of the metamorphic base from the inner one, the section of which is formed by sandy-shale deposits of the Ordovician-Silurian, as well as shale or carbonate strata of the Devonian - Lower Carboniferous. The age of the deformations is the beginning and middle of the Carboniferous. In the Central Zone, stretching through the south of Brittany and the Vendée into the French Massif Central, the Vosges, the Black Forest to the Bohemian (Bohemian) Massif, rocks of the metamorphic complex of the late Precambrian appear on the surface, including in places the lower Paleozoic and host Middle and Late Paleozoic age. This zone experienced the first deformations in the Devonian and the final ones before the Middle Carboniferous. Its analogue, and initially, probably, a western continuation, is the Central Iberian zone with a northwestern - southeastern strike. To the southeast of it, analogues of the external and internal zones of the Central European Hercynides are developed, to the north-west, as well as to the south of the Central zone of Central Europe, a similar sequence of zones is observed, but with a southern (on the Iberian Peninsula - north-eastern) direction of displacement along thrusts. Within the Hercynides, a large number of intermontane troughs and depressions of medium and small size are known, filled with continental coal-bearing deposits of the Middle and red-colored strata of the Upper Carboniferous and Permian with the participation of volcanics.

Between the southwestern edge of the East European ancient platform and the northern front of the Hercynids, partially overlapping them, there is a vast and deep Central European depression (mega-syneclise), which continues in the northwest into the North Sea, where its constituent rocks unconformably overlie the Caledonides. Within the continent, the depression apparently has a foundation of different ages - Caledonian, Baikal, and in some places, possibly even more ancient. In its modern contours, the Central European Basin formed in the Permian and experienced intense subsidence in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Due to the development of the Middle Permian salt-bearing strata, the so-called. Zechstein, numerous salt domes arose in the depression. The depression is oil and gas bearing, especially within the North Sea. Smaller depressions, usually called basins, which arose in the late Paleozoic, were superimposed on the internal parts of the Hercynian fold system. The most significant of them are the Paris and Aquitaine basins containing deposits and.

In southern Europe, the Hercynides are overlain by the Alps, which include the Pyrenees, Alps, Carpathians, Balkans, as well as the Andalusian Mountains (Cordillera-Betica), Apennines and Dinaric Mountains. The Alpine geosyncline arose on the Hercynian foundation, fragmented and overlain by carbonate Triassic, in the process of stretching and spreading of the continental crust, which led at the end of the Triassic - beginning of the Jurassic to the new formation of a basin with oceanic-type crust, now appearing as part of ophiolite nappes. The formation of the latter began at the end of the Jurassic, with the first compression pulses, and continued in subsequent eras of deformation, up to the Miocene, and in some places even later. As a result, the Alpine structures acquired a very complex ridge structure, with thrusting in the Alps, Carpathians and Balkans, as well as in the Cordillera-Betica to the north, in the Apennines and Dinarides - Hellenids - towards the Adriatic Sea, in the Pyrenees - to the north and south. In front of the fold-cover structures, forward troughs were formed - Pre-Pyrenees, Pre-Alpine, Pre-Carpathian, etc., and in their rear - back and intermountain troughs, of which the largest is Pannonian, common to the Carpathians and Dinarides. All of them are made of thick clastic (molasse) strata of Oligocene-Neogene age. The Oligocene-Miocene also includes the formation of most of the depressions that now make up the Mediterranean Sea - Algerian-Provence, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Aegean, which absorbed certain parts of the Alpine structures. At the same time, the Western European rift system arose, including the Rhine and Rhone grabens. At the same time, an outbreak of volcanic activity occurred, affecting not only the Alpine belt (the periphery of the Tyrrhenian basin, the Pannonian and Aegean basins), but also the epi-Hercynian platform (the Central French and Czech massifs, the Rhine and Rhone grabens, etc.).

The Caledonian metallogeny of Europe was most clearly manifested in the Scandinavian geosynclinal-fold belt in Norway and Great Britain. At the early stage of the geosynclinal regime, numerous pyrite-polymetallic deposits in Norway and Sweden arose here in connection with basaltoid volcanism. At a later stage, in connection with granitoid magmatism, hydrothermal polymetallic and gold ore deposits were formed, known, for example, in Great Britain.

The Hercynian metallogeny is most typical of the Central European Hercynides. An early stage is distinguished with basaltoid magmatism, accompanied by minor magmatic deposits of titanomagnetites and large pyrite-polymetallic deposits of the Rio Tinto type in Spain. At a later stage, in connection with granitoid magmatism, numerous hydrothermal deposits of non-ferrous metal ores arose. The metallogeny of the activated sections of the platform is clearly manifested in the form of belts of alkaline rocks with rare metal and apatite mineralization of the Kola Peninsula of the USSR and Norway. The largest Lower Rhine-Westphalian and Donetsk coal basins belong to the Hercynian stage of geological history.

Alpine metallogeny manifested itself within the Caucasus-Balkan-Mediterranean belt. The early stage of the Alpine stage is characterized by copper-pyrite deposits of the Caucasus, Carpathians, and partly the Alps; the late, orogenic stage is characterized by skarn and hydrothermal deposits of tungsten and molybdenum ores, gold, lead and porphyry copper deposits. Among the sedimentary geosynclinal formations of the Alps there are large deposits of the Mediterranean bauxite province, and sedimentary deposits of iron and manganese are found.

Along the front of the geosynclinal-folded belts of the Caledonides, Hercynides and Alps of Europe there are forward troughs of the corresponding age, containing deposits of oil, gas, salts, sulfur (Pre-Carpathian trough).

Minerals of foreign Europe. On the territory of foreign Europe there are large deposits of oil and gas, and , , and some others (see map, see table).

Among other continents, foreign Europe ranks 1st in the world in terms of reserves, 2nd in coal reserves, gas fields of the Po River Valley in Italy, and the Gela and Ragusa fields on the island of Sicily (Italy). A sharp turn in exploration work in foreign Europe occurred in 1959 after the discovery of one of the world's largest gas fields - Groningen (Slochteren) in the Netherlands. Active geological prospecting and exploration began in the North Sea, which led to the discovery of a number of large and major offshore oil and gas fields in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark. In total, 21 are known within foreign Europe with a total area of about 2800 thousand km.

Most of the basins are associated with areas of development of platforms of different ages (Precambrian East European, Baikal-Caledonian Central European and Hercynian Western European). The total area of platform-type basins is 1,400 thousand km 2 . The remaining basins are associated with the area of development of Alpine folded mountain structures and zones of their articulation with platforms. The overwhelming majority of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in Europe's largest Central European oil and gas basin (the North Sea), as well as in the Pre-Carpathian-Balkan oil and gas basin, the Aquitaine oil and gas basin, the Adriatic-Ionian oil and gas basin, and partly in the Baltic oil and gas region. The main productive horizons are confined to Phanerozoic deposits.

Among the countries of foreign Europe, Albania, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, East Germany, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia have proven oil and gas reserves. The most significant reserves are in the UK and Norway. At the beginning of 1983, 752 oil and 804 gas fields were discovered in foreign Europe. Of these, the Groningen gas field is gigantic, 47 fields (26 oil and 21 gas) are classified as large and largest (oil reserves from 50 to 500 million tons, gas reserves from 50 to 500 billion m 3), the remaining fields are medium-sized and small ones. The largest fields in the socialist countries: oil fields - Moreni-Gura-Ocnice (Romania), Aldieu (Hungary); gas - Salzwedel-Pekkensen (GDR), Przemysl-Jaksmanice (Poland). The main proven hydrocarbon reserves (over 80%) are concentrated at a depth of 1 to 3 km; the interval of 3-5 km contains 17% of the reserves.

The total reserves of all types of coal in foreign Europe are estimated at 873 billion tons, reliable reserves at 243 billion tons, of which about 642 billion tons are hard coals and 230 billion tons are brown coals (1983). The largest reserves among European countries are found in Germany, Great Britain, Yugoslavia, Poland, East Germany (brown coal), Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria (brown coal), Romania, and France. Significantly smaller reserves are concentrated in the Netherlands, Greece (mainly brown coal), Spain, Belgium, Austria (brown coal). Most of the deposits of hard coal are associated with Carboniferous deposits and are confined mainly to the Namurian and Westphalian stages of the Carboniferous (Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, Germany, France). The largest coal basins are the Lower Rhine-Westphalian (Ruhr), Saar, Aachen, Krefeld (Germany), South Wales, Yorkshire, South and North Scotland (Great Britain), Lorraine, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (France), Upper Silesian, Lublin (Poland), Ostrava-Karvinsky (Czechoslovakia), Dobrudzhansky and others (NRB), Spitsbergen (Norway). The deposits of the Asturian Coal Basin (Spain) are confined to deposits of Upper Carboniferous age. As an exception, there are minor coal deposits in the Permian and Jurassic formations (France, Great Britain). The thickness of individual coal seams is from 1 to 3 m; the total thickness reaches 84 m (Germany). The quality of coals is predominantly good, they have a high calorific value; these are bituminous coals, anthracites, coking coals (Great Britain, Germany). In the Lorraine coal basin (France), the coals are mainly fatty, long-flame. Coals of the Asturias Basin are predominantly gas (volatile component content up to 45%); coals of similar composition are mined in deposits in Belgium and the Netherlands. Large basins and deposits of brown coals and lignites of Eocene-Pliocene age are known: Magdeburg, Middle German, Lower Lausitz (GDR), North Bohemian and Sokolovsky (Czechoslovakia), East Maritsky (NRB), Muntenia, Comanesti (SRR), Krekansky and Kolubarsky ( SFRY), Lower Rhine (Germany), Ptolemais, Megalopolis (Greece), Köflach-Voitsberg basins (Austria). The quality of coals varies.

The deposits belong to various industrial-genetic types. There are numerous hydrothermal deposits of vein or veinlet-disseminated type in granites. These include part of the deposits of France (Limousin, Morvan, Forez, Chardon, etc.), Spain (La Virgen, Monasterio, Albarran, Esperanza, etc.), some deposits of the GDR, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The ores of such deposits contain U from 0.14% to a few percent. Some deposits occur in Upper Paleozoic crystalline rocks. Part of the reserves is concentrated in stratiform sedimentary and sedimentary-infiltration deposits located in Permian sandstones (Le Brugeau, Le Bois Noir, Lodève in France). Deposits in metamorphic rocks enriched in carbonaceous material are of great importance (for example, Ciudad Rodrigo in the province of Salamanca in Spain with an ore content of up to 0.15% U). A special position is occupied by deposits in black shale (up to 0.10% U) - Ranstad et al. (Sweden). Minor deposits containing 0.1-0.5% U have also been identified in Italy (Prite), Portugal (Urjeirika, etc.), Germany (Mentzenschwandt), Switzerland (Emme-Iflis), Great Britain (Mainland).

Ferrous metal ores. The main reserves of iron ore are contained in magnetite deposits associated with Precambrian crystalline rocks -

I remember well from school geography lessons that the main part mineral resources lies in central Europe. In addition, during the lesson the teacher specially focused attention on the mineral resources of the Scandinavian Peninsula - its intensive development began relatively recently, in the third quarter of the 20th century. However, the deposits in Europe are the longest developed and are approaching depletion.

Mineral resources in foreign Europe

For a long time Europe was the “center of the world” and, accordingly, the natural resource deposits located there began to be developed a long time ago. Despite the emergence of cheaper energy sources for heating, such as gas, Europe continues to use “the old fashioned way” those resources that it is rich in and that can still be mined, for example, brown coal. The leaders in production are the following minerals:

Brown coal.
Iron ore.
Potassium salts.

The leaders in mineral extraction are, first of all, the developed countries of Central Europe, while Eastern European countries either do not have sufficient capabilities or the deposits on their territory are not very rich.

For example: the same Romanian Rompetrol is ¾ dependent and produces production with the help of foreign partners. Thus, although the mineral resources of European countries are diverse, they are not numerous and are unevenly distributed across its territory.

Mineral resources of Europe in historical perspective

Basically, Europe has always been rich in metal ores, because it is not for nothing that even the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov went to Sweden to study mining.

Transition to heating system Europeans also came up with the idea of switching from wood fuel to brown coal and they still use this method. The paradox for Europe has always been that technology has developed rapidly, but the provision of resources has not kept pace with such a pace. For example, since the beginning of the century, Europeans have been using imported energy for heating. The same gas produced by the Scots on the sea shelf is not enough even for Great Britain itself.

Region Central Europe features a very wide variety of natural conditions and resources.

Almost half of the territory of Central Europe is lowland: the north of its mainland is occupied by the Central European Plain; low-lying plains are also characteristic of the east and south of Great Britain and Ireland. In most of Great Britain there are the low North Scottish Highlands, the Pennines and the Cambrian Mountains. A relatively wide strip of hills, low and mid-altitude mountains passes in the south of the mainland part of the region into a relatively narrow belt of the powerful Alpine mountain system. Located mainly on the territory of Western European countries, the Alps are the highest mountains in all of Foreign Europe. Their main peak, Mont Blanc, located at the junction of the borders of France, Switzerland and Italy, reaches 4807 m above sea level. The complex high-mountainous terrain creates many problems for agriculture , transport, construction, life and everyday life of the population.

From Switzerland to the Netherlands it is only a little over 400 km, but how different their relief is! The powerful, glacier-covered mountain ranges of the Swiss Alps - and the almost table-flat lowland surface of the Netherlands! Near 2/5 their territory lies even below sea level and is not flooded only thanks to a whole system of protective structures.

The peculiarities of geotectonics and the diversity of geological structures of Western Europe determined the diversity of the composition of its mineral resources. In the thick strata of sedimentary rocks of the Upper Paleozoic of the Central European Lowland, deposits of oil, gas, potassium and rock salts were found, and oil and gas were discovered in the same rocks of the North Sea shelf. In the foothill troughs in Great Britain, Germany, and France there is a strip of coal basins, mainly of the Upper Carboniferous, and to the south there is an iron ore province (primarily Lorraine in France) of the Mesozoic era. Deposits of lead-zinc, polymetallic, copper and other ores are found mainly in zones of faults and intrusions, which are most characteristic of the foothills and mountainous regions of Western Europe, characterized by the mineralization of rocks.

The share of Central Europe in the reserves of most of the most important types of minerals in the world is only a few percent, that is, several times less than the region's share in world industrial production. In Central Europe there is very little bauxite, the raw material for the production of the “metal of the century” - aluminum; there are practically no deposits of manganese, chromites, nickel, molybdenum, copper, cobalt, mercury and some other minerals, especially rare earth ones. The situation is better with the “classical” types of mineral raw materials - coal and iron ore, which began to be widely used in the last quarter of the 19th - early 20th centuries. Large deposits of coal in Great Britain, Germany and Belgium and iron ore in Great Britain, France and Luxembourg then served as a prerequisite for the development of powerful energy, metallurgy (and on its basis - mechanical engineering) and the chemical industry. The countries of Western Europe as a whole are now sufficiently supplied with hard and brown coal.

The coal industry of Western Europe, in the past one of the main industries of the region, found itself in a crisis in the 60-70s of the twentieth century. This was due to several reasons: competition for coal from more effective types fuel - oil and natural gas, reduction in coal consumption by the metallurgical industry as a result of the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution, environmental restrictions. In the 1970s, the fuel and energy balance of Western European countries became mainly oil and gas. The discovery of large natural gas deposits in the Netherlands has dramatically changed their energy economy and has partly affected the energy sector of other countries that receive Dutch gas. Then oil and gas were discovered in the North Sea.

Central Europe is located mainly in the temperate climate zone. Almost its entire mainland (except for the Alpine regions and a narrow strip of the Mediterranean coast of France), as well as the south of Great Britain, have an annual sum of temperatures (for periods with stable temperatures above 10°) from 2200 to 4000°, allowing the cultivation of crops with a medium to long growing season . In most of Great Britain, Ireland and the highlands of the mainland, the sum of temperatures is much less - from 1000 to 2200 °, i.e., it ensures the cultivation of mainly crops with a short growing season. Only the Mediterranean coast of France and the island of Corsica lie in the subtropical climate zone and have a sum of active temperatures from 4000 to 6000°. Therefore, heat-loving crops with a very long growing season are grown here - cotton, citrus fruits, olives, etc.

In Central Europe (except for the highlands and southeast Germany), mild winters are common with average January temperatures ranging from 0 to 8°. Summer, as a rule, is not hot: in July the average temperature ranges from 16 to 24 °, and in the highlands and the British Isles it is even lower, from 8 to 16. The proximity of the Atlantic Ocean especially affects moisture: it is excessive almost everywhere. On the west coast of Ireland and Great Britain and in the mountainous regions, precipitation falls from 1000 to 2000 mm per year; throughout the rest of the territory, from 500 to 1000 mm. Moreover, in the west of the region, the bulk of precipitation occurs in the cold season; to the east, their maximum shifts to summer. Droughts are extremely rare, so only a small part of the cultivated land is irrigated. On the contrary, large tracts of agricultural land need to be drained, especially in the UK, the Netherlands, Austria and Germany.

Western European countries have a dense river network. Almost all of their rivers are always full; Of the largest rivers, freeze-up occurs on the Rhine, and even then no more than half a month and not every year. Most Western European rivers are navigable, especially in the lower and middle reaches. Their transport importance is significantly increased thanks to a system of numerous canals. Those rivers that begin in the Alps, Pyrenees and Massif Central have powerful water resources in their upper reaches. Western Europe, mainly due to France, Austria and Switzerland, accounts for more than 1/4 of the total hydropower reserves of Foreign Europe.

Despite the abundance of rivers and significant reserves of groundwater, Western Europe is experiencing an increasingly growing shortage of fresh water for economic and domestic purposes. The water balance of individual large economic regions (West Yorkshire in the UK, Paris and others in France), as well as entire countries (primarily Germany and the Netherlands), is becoming so tense that it is turning into almost a national problem.

The shortage of water supply in Western Europe is due to both the sharply increased consumption of water by the population and many industries, especially water-intensive ones, progressing in the era of the scientific and technological revolution (chemical, metallurgical and energy), and the mismanagement, reaching the barbaric attitude towards water resources on the part of capitalist monopolies . As a result of the discharge of overheated and polluted water into rivers by industrial enterprises, some of them are almost completely devoid of biological life. First of all, this applies to the Rhine, its tributaries in the lower reaches and the Seine, which have acquired the “glory” of the dirtiest rivers in the world.

The main consumers (and at the same time polluters) of water in Western Europe are industry and public utilities. In Great Britain, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria, they take almost all the water used for domestic purposes. Only in France and the Netherlands more than 3 volumes of water are allocated for agricultural needs. In general, however, Western Europe has sufficient rainfall (as well as heat) to grow a wide range of crops.

This is also facilitated by the diversity of soil cover. The most common are brown forest soils of broad-leaved forests, occupying vast areas in low-lying, hilly and foothill regions of France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain. There and in most of the territory of Ireland, soddy-podzolic soils of mixed forests and soddy-carbonate soils are found, and in the Netherlands - soils of marshes. Mountainous regions are characterized by mountain soil types - podzolic, forest sod-carbonate and forest brown, as well as terra-rosa in the south of France.

The soils of Western Europe in their natural state are predominantly of medium and low fertility. However, the high level of agricultural technology, wide application mineral fertilizers have significantly improved their quality over the decades in most Western European countries. Therefore, temperate crop yields in Western European countries tend to be significantly higher than in other economically developed countries. In the Netherlands and Great Britain, for example, wheat is harvested at up to 80-90 c/ha. This allows the countries of Western Europe to largely provide themselves with food, although there is little arable land there: from 0.1 to 0.3 hectares per capita, i.e. approximately the same as in the countries of Eastern and South-East Asia, considered “classically” poor arable land. In Western Europe, cultivated landscapes and cultivated vegetation dominate. Only in the highlands and in the north of Great Britain (Scotland) are there any corners wildlife. That's where the forests are mostly preserved. In Western Europe they occupy a more modest area than in other European regions, covering slightly more than % of its territory. At the same time, in Great Britain and the Netherlands forests occupy only 7.5% of the area, and in Ireland - less than 3%. In all European countries, except France and Belgium, coniferous tree species now predominate: in recent centuries, broad-leaved forests in lowlands, forest parks, watersheds and coastal dunes have been largely replaced by planted trees coniferous forests. Wood consumption in the countries of Western Europe significantly exceeds the volume of logging, which is sharply limited by the modest forest fund: on average, each inhabitant of the region accounts for 0.15 hectares of forest, i.e., half as much as in Western Europe as a whole.

MINERALS:

Coal:

Total reserves: 3rd place in the world after Asia and America

Hard coal: 3rd place in the world after Asia and America

Proven reserves: 3rd place after Asia and America

Hard coal - 2nd place after Asia

Brown coal - 3rd place after America and Asia

For hard coal: Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Great Britain

For brown coal: Germany, Eastern Europe

Among the coal basins, the Ruhr in Germany and the Upper Silesian in Poland stand out, among the oil and gas basins - the North Sea, among the iron ore basins - the Lorraine in France and Kiruna in Sweden. (+ 1 Scottish Basin. 2 Yorkshire Basin. 3 South Welsh Basin. 4 Ruhr Basin. 5 Basin Nord-Pas-de-Calais. 6 Saarland-Lorraine Basin. 7 Lower Rhine Basin. 8 Asturian Basin. 9 Upper Silesian Basin. 10 Dnieper Basin. 11 Comanesti basin 12 Crekan basin 13 North Sea basin CONCLUSION: There are many types of mineral raw materials in the depths of the region, but these numerous and diverse deposits do not meet the region’s needs for energy resources and metal ores. largely depends on their import)

Mineral

Uranium ores: France, Sweden, Spain

Iron ores: France, Sweden

Copper ores: Poland, Finland, former Yugoslavia

Oil: UK, Norway, Romania

Gas: Netherlands, UK, Norway

Mercury ores: Spain, Italy

Bauxite: France, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sulfur: Poland

Graphite: Czech Republic

Mining chemical raw materials (potassium salts): Germany, France

12% of the world's fuel and energy potential is concentrated in the depths of Europe, including 20% of the world's fossil coal reserves; large reserves of metal ores (mercury, lead, zinc, etc.), native sulfur, potassium salts and a number of other types of minerals. But almost all European countries depend to one degree or another on the import of raw materials, especially fuel and energy.

In the depths are concentrated various minerals. Some types of mineral raw materials form quite large concentrations and can fully meet the needs of the pan-European economy (fossil coals, natural gas, mercury, lead-zinc ores, potassium salts, graphite, etc.). However, most of the mineral resources in Europe are quantitatively insignificant and among them are oil, manganese and nickel ores, chromites, and phosphorites. Therefore, Europe imports large quantities of iron and manganese ores, tin, nickel, uranium concentrates, copper, tungsten and molybdenum, bauxite, and oil. The need for mineral raw materials for European industry continues to grow steadily, although the scale of European consumption and processing of minerals far exceeds its specific raw material supply. NATURAL WATERS– one of the most important and scarce natural resources in Europe. The population and various sectors of the economy use huge volumes of water, and the volume of water consumption continues to increase. Qualitative deterioration of water, caused by uncontrolled or poorly controlled economic use, is the main problem in modern water use in Europe. The total water reserves concentrated on the surface or in the depths of Europe are quite significant: their volume approaches 1,600 thousand km3. The modern economy of European countries annually takes about 360 km3 of clean water from water sources for the needs of industry, agriculture and for water supply to populated areas. The demand for water and water consumption is steadily increasing as the population grows and the economy develops.

Europe has a dense water transport network (navigable sections of rivers and canals) with a total length of over 47 thousand km. The waterway network reached almost 9 thousand km in France, more than 6 thousand km in Germany, 4 thousand km in Poland, and 6.6 thousand km in Finland. The largest river in Europe is the Danube; it crosses the territory of eight states and annually transports over 50 million tons of cargo. Its drainage basin is climatically and morphologically complex. The most difficult section of the Danube in the Carpathian breakthrough area was the most difficult to pass. In the early 70s, the Djerdap complex hydroelectric complex (a dam, two hydroelectric power stations and shipping locks) was built, which improved the transport capabilities of the river. The Rhine River, crossing the territory of five countries, is the main transport artery of Western Europe. The Rhine and its tributaries pass through large industrial centers of Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia, Frankfurt am Main, etc.), France, Switzerland, so cargo transportation along the river exceeds 100 million tons per year. There is a trans-European system of shipping canals connecting the rivers of the Central European Plain - the Bug, Vistula, Odra, Elbe, Weser.

SOILS

European countries have a fairly high agro-natural potential, since they are located in temperate and subtropical geographical zones, they have favorable thermal resources and moisture availability. But the increased population density characteristic of Europe in all historical eras contributed to the long-standing and intensive use of natural resources. Low fertility prompted Europeans to turn their attention to developing various ways to improve soils and increase their natural fertility. It was in Europe that the practice of artificially improving the chemical composition of soil cover with the help of organic and mineral fertilizers was born, and options for crop rotation systems and other agrotechnical measures were developed.

Agricultural development of the territory in the north, center and south of Europe varies significantly. The highest coefficient of agricultural use (CUI) is in Romania, Poland, Hungary, eastern Germany, Denmark - more than 80%. In the west of Central Europe there is less arable land: in the west of Germany and France - 50%, in Great Britain - 40, in Ireland - only 17% of the agricultural fund. In the subtropical south, where there are few plains, arable lands occupy only 1/3 of the land used in agriculture. For example, in Italy, plantations occupy up to 17% of all agricultural land, in Spain - 16%, in Portugal - 14%. FORESTS About 4% of global reserves. Large disproportions: in Ireland, forest cover accounts for 6% of the territory, and in Finland it is about 60%. Most forested: Finland (59%), Sweden (54%)

Forests cover 157.2 million hectares in foreign Europe, or 33% of its territory. On average, every European has 0.3 hectares of forest (in the world this norm is 1.2 hectares). The long history of economic development of European lands was accompanied by intensive deforestation. There are almost no forests left untouched by economic activity in Europe. There are 138 million hectares of exploited forests in Europe with an annual increase of 452 million m3. They perform not only production, but also environmental protection functions. According to FAO and UNECE forecasts, forest production in Europe in 2000 will reach 443 million m3. Europe is the only part of the world where forest cover has been increasing in recent decades. And this happens despite high density population and a severe shortage of productive land. The need, long recognized by Europeans, to protect their very limited land resources and fertile soils from erosional destruction and to regulate flood flow was expressed in the fact that the environmental protection functions of forest plantations were overestimated. Therefore, the soil and water conservation role of the forest and its recreational value have increased immeasurably in importance. Natural resources are a necessary (but not mandatory) condition for economic development. Countries lacking essential mineral resources have developed rapidly in recent decades. But other things being equal, the presence of rich and diverse natural resources gives the countries that own them additional advantages. Most countries with developed market economies consume more natural resources (especially minerals) than they have. The missing resources are imported mainly from developing countries. This state of affairs gives rise to two problems: the dependence of developed countries on the supply of raw materials and the raw material orientation of the exports of many developing countries.

General assessment of Europe's natural conditions and resources

European countries are generally favorable for human life and production activities. There are no giant mountain ranges separating countries, or too dry or cold areas limiting the population.

Relief

By nature, Europe is divided into mountainous and lowland. The largest plains are Central European and Eastern European. They are densely populated and developed.

The south of Europe is occupied by young rock formations with seismic activity. Mountain systems such as the Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines, Carpathians, and Balkans rose here. But they do not pose any significant obstacles or difficulties for mastering. In the north are the old Scandinavian mountains, destroyed by time. They are the same age Ural mountains. In the center of Europe there are also old mountain structures (Tatras, Harz, etc.), united in the Central European mountain belt. Old forges are also located in the north of the British Isles (Northern Scotland).

Note 1

In general, the relief is favorable for human life and economic activity. But if environmental protection measures are ignored, erosion processes can develop.

Climate

Europe is located in subarctic, temperate and subtropical climate zones. Most of the region is in a temperate climate. Favorable temperature and humidification conditions prevail here. In the north (Arctic islands and northern Scandinavia) there is a lack of heat. Therefore, farming is developing in closed ground. On the Mediterranean coast, on the contrary, there is enough heat, but there is a lack of moisture. Therefore, heat-loving and drought-resistant plants are cultivated here.

Minerals

The mineral resources of Europe are very diverse. They served as the basis for the economic power of European states. But over the past centuries the deposits have been greatly depleted. Many countries import raw materials from other regions.

Oil and gas fields are confined to the outskirts of the platform and shelf zones. In addition to Russia, the UK, Norway, the Netherlands and Romania are actively producing oil and gas.

The Carboniferous Belt stretches across Europe from Great Britain to Ukraine. Pools with unique coal quality are:

Donbass (Ukraine, Russia),
Upper Silesian (Poland),
Ruhrsky (Germany),
Ostravo-Karvinsky (Czech Republic).

Germany ranks first in the world in brown coal production. In addition, its deposits are available in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

The ore resources of Europe are confined to the foundations of ancient platforms. After Russia, Ukraine and Sweden can boast of rich iron ore deposits. The iron ore basins of France, Great Britain and Poland are severely depleted. Ukraine ranks first in the world in the production of manganese ores.

The south of Europe is rich in non-ferrous metal ores. Copper and nickel ores, bauxite, and mercury ores are mined here. The Lublin copper ore basin (Poland) is considered the most powerful in Europe.

There are uranium ore deposits in Sweden and France. Germany, Belarus, Ukraine are rich in potassium salts, Poland is rich in sulfur, and the Czech Republic is rich in graphite.

In various parts of Europe there is a huge amount of valuable natural resources, which are raw materials for various industries and some of them are used by the population in everyday life. The relief of Europe consists of plains and mountain ranges.

Fossil fuels

Very promising direction is the extraction of petroleum products and natural gas. A lot of fuel resources lie in the north of Europe, namely on the coast washed by the Arctic Ocean. About 5-6% of the world's oil and gas reserves are produced here. The region has 21 oil and gas basins and about 1.5 thousand individual gas and oil fields. The extraction of these natural resources is carried out by the UK and Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands.

As for coal, in Europe there are several largest basins in Germany - Aachen, Ruhr, Krefeld and Saar. In the UK, coal is mined in the Welsh and Newcastle basins. A lot of coal is mined in the Upper Silesian basin in Poland. Brown coal deposits are found in Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Hungary.

Ore minerals

Mined in Europe different types metal fossils:

iron ore (in France and Sweden);
uranium ores (deposits in France and Spain);
copper (Poland, Bulgaria and Finland);
bauxites (Mediterranean province - basins of France, Greece, Hungary, Croatia, Italy, Romania).

In European countries, polymetallic ores, manganese, zinc, tin and lead are mined in varying quantities. They mainly occur in mountain systems and on the Scandinavian Peninsula.

Non-metallic minerals

Among non-metallic resources, Europe has large reserves of potassium salts. They are mined on a huge scale in France and Germany, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. A variety of apatites are mined in Spain and Sweden. The carbon mixture (asphalt) is mined in France.

Precious and semi-precious stones

Among precious stones, emeralds are mined in Norway, Austria, Italy, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Spain, France and Germany. There are varieties of garnets in Germany, Finland and Ukraine, beryls in Sweden, France, Germany, Ukraine, tourmalines in Italy and Switzerland. Amber is found in the Sicilian and Carpathian provinces, opals - in Hungary, pyrope - in the Czech Republic.

Even though Europe's mineral resources have been heavily exploited throughout history, some areas have quite a lot of resources. If we talk about the global contribution, the region has quite good performance in the production of coal, zinc and lead.

Foreign Europe has quite diverse resources of fuel, mineral and energy raw materials.

But it must be taken into account that almost all known mineral deposits in European territory have long been known and are on the verge of exhaustion. Therefore, this region needs resource imports more than others in the world.

Features of the relief of Europe

The relief of foreign Europe is quite diverse. In the east, low-lying plains prevail, which stretch in a wide strip from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. In the south, hills dominate: Oshmyany, Minsk, Volyn, Crimean mountains.

The territory of the western part of Europe is highly dissected. Here, as you move from north to south, mountain ranges alternate with stripes of plains and lowlands. In the north are the Scandinavian Mountains. Further to the south: Scottish Highlands, high plains (Norland, Småland), lowlands (Central European, Greater Poland, North German, etc.). Then again there follows a mountainous strip: these are Sumava, Vosges and others, which alternate with the plains - Lesser Poland, Bohemian-Moravian.

In the south are the highest European mountain ranges - the Pyrenees, the Carpathians, the Alps, then again the plains. At the southernmost tips of foreign Europe there is another mountain belt, which consists of such massifs as the Rhodope Mountains, the Apennines, the Andalusian Mountains, the Dinara Mountains, and the Pindus Mountains.

This diversity determined the uneven occurrence of minerals. Reserves of iron, manganese, zinc, tin, copper, polymetallic ores, and bauxite are concentrated in the mountains and on the Scandinavian Peninsula. Significant deposits of brown and hard coal and potassium salts have been discovered in the lowlands. The coast of Europe, washed by the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, is an area where oil and gas fields occur. Especially a lot of fuel resources lie in the north. Development of the Arctic Ocean shelf still remains a priority.

Types of minerals

Despite the diversity of minerals in foreign Europe, the reserves of only some of them can be assessed as significant shares in the world reserve. In numbers this can be expressed as follows:

. hard and brown coal- 20% of the world reserve;

. zinc- 18%;

. lead- 14%%

. copper- 7%;

. oil, natural gas, iron ores, bauxite - 5-6%.

All other resources are presented in insignificant quantities.

By production coal Germany is in the lead (Ruhr, Saar, Aachen, Krefeld basins). It is followed by Poland (Upper Silesian Basin) and Great Britain (Welsh and Newcastle Basins).

The richest deposits brown coal also located in Germany (Halle-Leizipg and Lower Lausitz basins). There are rich deposits in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

Every year, for example, 106 billion tons of coal are mined in Germany, and 45 billion tons in the UK.

Potassium salts It is mined on an industrial scale in Germany and France.

Uranium ores- in France (deposits: Limousin, Forez, Morvan, Chardonnay) and Spain (Monasterio, La Virgen, Esperanza).

Iron ores- in France (Lorraine basin) and Sweden (Kiruna).

Copper- in Bulgaria (Medet, Asaral, Elatsite), Poland (Grodzetsky, Zlotoryysky, Presudetsky fields) and Finland (Vuonos, Outokumpu, Luikonlahti).

Oil- in Great Britain and Norway (North Sea), Denmark and the Netherlands. Currently, 21 oil and gas basins have been discovered, with a total area of more than 2.8 million sq. km. Individual oil fields - 752, gas fields - 854.

Gas- in Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands. The largest deposit is Gronigen. More than 3.0 trillion are mined here annually. cubic meters

Bauxite- in France (Mediterranean province, La Ruquette), Greece (Parnas-Kiona, Amorgos), Croatia (Rudopole, Niksic), Hungary (Halimba, Oroslan, Gant).

Natural resources of foreign Europe

The peculiarities of Europe's resource supply can be explained by three factors:

1. This is a relatively small area, therefore, the volume of natural resources is small.

2. Europe is one of the most densely populated regions in the world, so resources are used very actively.

3. Europeans were the first in the world to follow the path of industrial development, which led not only to a significant depletion of all types of resources, but also to environmental deterioration.

Land and forest resources. The land area of foreign Europe is small - about 173 million hectares, of which 30% is allocated for arable land, 18% for pastures, 33% is occupied by forests. The highest land use ratio is in the Netherlands, Romania, Poland and Denmark - 80%, in France, Germany - 50, but in Italy and Portugal - 14-16%.

There is approximately 0.3 hectares of forest per European, while the world average is 1.2 hectares. Long-term use has led to the fact that there are practically no natural forests left; those that exist are planted forests. Every year about 400 million cubic meters of timber are mined in Europe, mainly on the Scandinavian Peninsula. The rest of the territory is dominated by protected forests, which are not subject to felling, and therefore are not resources.

Water resources. Natural waters- a scarce resource in Europe. water is used by industrial enterprises and agriculture. Long-term uncontrolled use has led to their depletion. To date, an extremely unfavorable environmental situation has developed - most European rivers and lakes are heavily polluted. In all countries of foreign Europe there is an acute shortage of fresh water.

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