Adverse phenomena on the Lena River and their causes. §27

Many people living in the European part of Russia have a rather poor idea of ​​what kind of natural resources the country has. We are talking about global resources of world importance. This is bad. Therefore, from time to time it is useful to conduct a "public inventory" in order to fix at least some of the basics in the public mind. A society that knows its natural resources, competently and to his own joy uses them, has a good chance of saving native nature and improving the quality of their own lives. This article will focus on a plant that they want to build on our great river, the Lena. We will conduct a mini-investigation of this initiative, and at the same time we will tell you about the stunning pearl of Russia, which is of planetary significance.

Great Lena

Before proceeding with the evaluation of the plant, it is necessary to understand the significance of this river. It is unlikely that there will be a person in Russia who has not heard about the Volga, but things are much worse with Lena. Naturally, the conspiracy has nothing to do with it, it’s just that there are thousands on the Volga settlements, including 4 million-plus cities, and the largest city on the Lena is Yakutsk, which is home to only about 300,000 people. The banks of the Lena are very sparsely populated, there are sections for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers where there is no one at all except hunters and desperate travelers with scientists.

Meanwhile, the Lena is longer than the Volga, it is in the TOP-10 of the world's rivers in terms of length and in the TOP-8 in terms of full flow. Its length is 4400 kilometers. There are no hydroelectric power plants on the Lena, there are no large-scale industries. Thanks to this, the Lena is one of the cleanest rivers in the world. In general, the phenomenon when a river of this magnitude has a very small anthropogenic load is unique. On the Lena there is a natural monument included in the UNESCO World Heritage List - the famous Lena Pillars. One can not even talk about the ecological and economic significance of Lena - it is impossible to overestimate it. This is a huge natural pantry: fresh water, fish, amazing tourism potential, which is currently used very modestly.

Photo: www.lifewomenstyle.ru

Factory

Now that we are done small description rivers, let's go to the factory. So, opposite Yakutsk, in the village of Nizhny Bestyakh, Megino-Kangala ulus, on the banks of the Lena River, they want to build an enterprise that produces fertilizers, the raw material for which is natural gas. The initiators of the construction are the Indian corporation Global Steel Holdings Ltd and Rostec. The plant plans to produce methanol and carbamide, which will be exported to the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The logistics scheme is as follows: the company's products are delivered by rail to the port and from there to the Asia-Pacific countries.

What will Yakutia get? - First of all, about 1,500 new jobs. In addition, the investment attractiveness of the region and the overall competitiveness of the republic at the international level should increase. When production reaches full capacity by 2030, the annual increase in gross regional product will be about 40 billion rubles. After a certain number of years, tax holidays will end and the company will begin to pay serious taxes both to the federal and regional budgets. Of course, the construction of the plant should give a powerful impetus to the development of the region's economy.

Why was this place chosen? Firstly, because of the unique and at the same time quite cheap raw material - natural gas without sulfur impurities. Secondly, all the necessary communications intersect at the construction site: there is a power line and the Lena federal highway, a railway line passes right there, in addition, the place is more than provided with water resources.

However, Yakutia is not Krasnodar region, the presence of all the above resources is wonderful, but the nature of these places is not only beautiful, but also harsh. In winter, the thermometer can drop to -50, and the soil is not very suitable for construction.

“There is no queue of investors even for the development of natural deposits, which we have a lot of,” says the head of the State Budgetary Institution “Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)” Alexey Zagorenko.

Therefore, one of the most important impetus for such projects was federal law "On territories of priority socio-economic development in Russian Federation”, which spelled out significant tax and other benefits for investors. The construction site is included in the TASED "Zarechye". This fact is no less important than the combination of raw materials and infrastructure opportunities in the village of Nizhny Bestyakh.

The goal of the Federal Law "On PSEDA" is to implement the project at maximum speed and at the lowest cost for the investor. On the one hand, this is good and right, but on the other hand, such a formula carries significant environmental risks. There is no guarantee that officials in their zeal to "build at any cost" will not commit many wrong actions that will cost both people and nature dearly. That is why it is worth directing public attention to such projects in order to reduce the likelihood of at least major errors.

By the way, with public attention to this project in Yakutia, everything is very good. People have already held two rallies against the construction, which have gathered about 5,000 people. For a sparsely populated republic, this is a significant result. On the this moment we do not agree with any of the opinions: “for” or “against”, we simply state the fact that citizens take an active position in protecting their own nature, and this, in itself, is excellent. However, in Yakutia there are, of course, supporters of the construction of the plant, there are many of them. Perhaps it would be right to conduct a public opinion poll on this issue.

In the sphere of power, there is also no single point of view on the plant. If the executive branch is more inclined towards construction, the legislative branch expresses a different point of view. The deputies of the District Council of the Megino-Kangalassky district oppose the construction of the enterprise, in this they are supported by the deputies of the Khangalassky district. In addition, the chairman of the Public Chamber of Yakutia, Vyacheslav Alekseev, spoke about this:

“Given the lack of attention by the initiators of the project to the physical and geographical features of this area and the low level of public awareness, the Public Chamber of Yakutia calls on the republican authorities to abandon the construction of a gas chemical plant on the territory of the Megino-Kangalassky district and proposes to determine a more suitable place for this, based on environmental and physical geographic features and availability of labor resources”.

It turns out that a broad public discussion is a necessity. In our opinion, the discussion should take place not only at the regional, but also at the federal level with the involvement of experts. Yes, Lena is not as widely known as the great lake of Russia - Baikal, but it is no less important for the nature of the country.

One of better ways understand how the construction of the plant will affect the environment - consider its analogue. This is what the Yakut deputies did when they visited the Novomoskovsky AK Azot OJSC, which also produces urea, where they met with the plant director Alexander Savenkov, who had worked at this production for 40 years. He commented on the construction as follows:

“Firstly, these are unfavorable climatic conditions - frozen rocks and low temperatures, it will be difficult to maintain the temperature necessary for production, which should not fall below 130 degrees Celsius, otherwise the ammonia with urea will crystallize and clog the pipe, which will lead to stagnation of production, if not to an accident. Any movements of the soil, and they will be, because. The soils of Yakutia are permafrost and are also fraught with serious problems for equipment.

The next problem is expensive electricity - 6 rubles kWh, for comparison, in the European part of Russia its cost is 2 rubles kWh.

Thirdly, there are sandy water-saturated soils at the site of potential construction. And such tailing dumps as in the Tula region are unrealistic. Filtration will go straight to Lena.”

In addition, Savenkov noted that open sewage treatment plants can simply freeze in winter period and that doesn't work. In addition, he doubted that the specialists would go to Yakutia. According to him, his company is building 5 factories, and they feel a shortage of personnel. Savenkov questioned the fact that an Indian firm would be able to independently prepare a feasibility study (feasibility study) due to the specifics of Russian legislation. As the director of the plant said, the only designer producing these works in Russia is the Urea Research Institute, located in the city of Dzerzhinsk, Nizhny Novgorod Region. By the way, the question arises why an Indian company that wants to build in Russia does not transfer an order for the creation of a feasibility study to a Russian research institute?

However, the director of the urea plant can hardly be called an independent expert. In the end, the enterprise planned for construction will produce the same products as Savenkov's company. They may be direct competitors. Nevertheless, all the words of a specialist, especially in the field of ecology, should not only be taken into account, but also forwarded in the form of questions to the initiators of the construction.

Now let's turn to the degree of possible impact on the environment. For example, the production group of Novomoskovsky AK Azot JSC annually “gives” environment about 30 million cubic meters Wastewater. Emission into the atmosphere is 8 thousand tons of polluted substances. In addition, about 144 thousand tons of waste of the first and fifth class are transferred to third parties or recycled. From these figures, there is an understanding that the Lena and the surrounding lands will be subjected to a rather powerful man-made impact.

It is also interesting to cite the opinion of Alexander Gulkov, head of the department of oil and gas business and petrochemistry of the Far Eastern Federal University:

“It is much easier to stretch a pipe and arrange gas processing in the same Amur Region. In Yakutia, transport costs are much higher, even taking into account the existing railway- which is not yet operational. In addition, the Yakut minus fifty is not minus twenty. The cost of heat supply to the plant will also be borne by the final cost of production.”

Where is the greatest danger hidden?

Often people see environmental danger where the threat is, in fact, minimal and at the same time do not notice the main risks. To prevent this from happening, we made a small investigation into the products of the planned plant: urea and methanol.

Carbamide (urea) is a substance of the 3rd hazard class (moderately hazardous). It can enter the human body through the respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract. It does not cause acute toxic effects. Prolonged inhalation of carbamide in concentrations above the maximum allowable leads to chronic inflammation of the bronchi and trachea (tracheobronchitis), in addition, the functions of the kidneys and liver change. Meanwhile, modern technologies make it possible to prevent excess of standard concentrations.

It should be noted that carbamide decomposes quite easily, resulting in the release of ammonia and carbon dioxide. Aquatic organisms are not prone to bioaccumulation.

Methanol is also a moderately hazardous substance. Among its negative properties, it is worth noting easy flammability, as well as the fact that it can cause poisoning, characterized by the presence of a headache, general weakness, chills, nausea, malaise, and vomiting. However, modern technologies for working with this substance make it possible to prevent such a development of events. There have been no cases of poisoning in production, even with methanol vapor: for this, factories have strict safety rules and special protective measures, and control of permissible concentrations of harmful substances is carried out. In the environment, methanol decomposes to water and carbon dioxide, that is, substances common to nature.

Thus, the products that are going to be produced at the enterprise pose a rather moderate danger to people and nature, but this cannot be said about production waste, which can bring great harm to both citizens and Lena. At the moment, neither the planned technologies nor the amount of pollutants are known. However, by analogy with Novomoskovsk AK Azot, there will be a lot of them.

conclusions

First, it is worth submitting the project for the construction of a plant for the production of urea and methanol on the Lena River for all-Russian discussion, since the river is no less important for Russia than Baikal. Perhaps, in general, it is necessary to abandon the construction on this water artery any hazardous activities. The Lena is a huge and at the same time a uniquely clean river that needs a special protection regime. It is important to discuss its fate at the federal level, possibly giving it a special legal status.

Secondly, alternatives to this plant should be considered. Today, there are many technologies and industries that will allow developing the economy and at the same time minimizing harm to the environment. In addition, the tourist potential of Lena is very poorly used. With a well-built strategy, the tourism sector can bring very serious money to the republic.

By the rivers environmental problems, as, however, with any natural objects, they arise only when time and hands reach a person.

How can a person use water resources. Not counting the prey of fish, its caviar, waterfowl and animals? This is the selection of water for industrial and domestic needs, shipping, rafting, wastewater and waste disposal, maybe something else. All these types of use have a negative impact on the biosystem of the reservoir. They sometimes lead to catastrophic consequences for its flora and fauna, change the composition of water, and so on.

The 20th century went down in history with even more sophisticated ways of destroying the biosystem of rivers. This is their connection, contrary to the laws of nature and to the needs of the desire and self-interest of man, and blocking, with the help of hydraulic structures for the same purposes. All rivers, no matter how large and powerful they may be, have not withstood such tests. It is good that plans were not implemented to transfer their waters from one region to another and change the direction of their flow - “turning back”. If a miracle happens and a person tries to fix all the damage that has caused the environment, then he will never be able to fix the results of this activity.

Consider the environmental problems of the Ob, Yenisei, Don, Lena and Amur rivers, you can see what happened to biosystems where a person did not erect any hydraulic structures and where he did.

At the confluence of the rivers Biya and Katun, after the city of Biysk in Altai, the Ob appears. This river Western Siberia 3650 km long flows into the Kara Sea. She flows through Altai region, Novosibirsk and Tomsk regions, Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs, that is, through the most industrialized regions of the Russian Federation and their largest industrial centers. Many environmental problems of the Ob are connected with this. Industrial and mining enterprises of the Urals, Kuzbass, Altai, Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Semipalatinsk and Novaya Zemlya landfills, thermal power plants, household and municipal enterprises discharge into the water thousands of tons of wastewater containing residues of petroleum products, heavy metals, radioactive substances, phenols, solid household waste. Thanks to the activities of numerous agricultural enterprises in the Omsk and Tomsk regions, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur and the like enter the Ob with storm and melt water from fields and storage sites for mineral fertilizers, pesticides and other substances.

Some cities of the Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs are at the stage of ecological disaster. Waters, especially in the lower part of its course, receive pesticides, herbicides and other nutrients from the fields of agricultural enterprises in Kazakhstan. In this regard, the water of this part of the Ob, according to the state monitoring department, is “dirty” and has not been used to supply the population for a long time.

The largest river of the East European Plain, about 1870 km long with numerous tributaries, originating in the Tula region and flowing into the Sea of ​​Azov, is called the Don.

Water transport has the greatest negative impact on the animal and plant world. Vessels, especially those with a large carrying capacity, and, therefore, precipitation, when moving, create a strong wave that breaks the bottom of the channel and the coast. The shores collapse and, filling the spawning grounds, the mouths of small rivers and channels with rock. The fish cannot get to the spawning grounds, which affects their reproduction. Under the propellers of ships, not only adult fish die, but also caviar, fry and young individuals. Besides. Vessels dump tons of ballast, subsoil and fecal water, oil products and household waste into the Don.

The environmental problems of the Don River are also associated with other sources of its pollution - this is agriculture and the domestic sector of the settlements located along its banks. Being a typically flat river, its main replenishment water resources occurs due to the melting of snow, which carry the remains of mineral fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used for the needs of agricultural production. The maximum allowable concentration of substances such as nitrogen and ammonia in the waters of the Don was exceeded by more than 1.6 times. Significant accidents at the treatment sewers of public utilities, such as those that happened in 2010 in Rostov-on-Don, and unauthorized, which means without any treatment, the discharge of wastewater pollutes the water with phosphorus, sulfur, and other chemicals, biologically active substances and plastic.

Translated from the dialects of the peoples who have long lived on its shores, this is " great river or "big water". This is the Yenisei. Its length is 3487 km in area water basin it ranks second in Russia, after the Ob, and seventh in the world. The Yenisei separates Western and Eastern Siberia and flows into the Kara Sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. It goes through everything climatic zones Siberia. Camels live at its sources, and polar bears live in its lower reaches. The main tributaries of the Yenisei are the Angara, which contests its primacy, and the Lower Tunguska, which once every ten years gives the waters of the Yenisei such a replenishment that even the Angara does not give.

Near the Yenisei River, environmental problems have arisen due to their main sources: navigation and hydraulic structures - the Sayano-Shushenskaya, Mainskaya and Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power stations and the Ob-Yenisei Canal, as well as nuclear production.

The construction of cascades of reservoirs of hydroelectric power plants has led to significant changes in the biosystem of the Yenisei and the entire basin. In winter, due to the discharge of warm water from stations, the Yenisei stopped freezing for hundreds of kilometers. The climate warmed up. It became soft and wet. Spills have become significant, resulting in flooding of large areas of land and even small settlements.

In addition to the hydroelectric power station, since the 50s of the 20th century, water used to service nuclear reactors began to be dumped into the Yenisei. The specifics of the cooling system for the production of weapons-grade plutonium is such that the water did not undergo sufficient purification and disinfection. Radioactive substances got into the Yenisei.

All this, along with typical species water pollution by the shipping fleet, led to negative consequences for the flora and fauna of the river and the region. Particularly affected fish stocks Yenisei.

Lena

The "Big River" from its upper reaches to its lower reaches flows exclusively through the territory of Russia. Its length is 4400 km and the basin area is 2490 thousand km2. It originates in a small lake near Baikal and carries its waters through Yakutia and the Irkutsk region to the Laptev Sea. Its tributaries are located in Transbaikalia, Khabarovsk and Krasnoyarsk Territories and Buryatia.

Lena can be called a river almost untouched by man. There are no hydraulic structures here, there are no industrial enterprises or agricultural production on its banks, its channel is not touched. More than 37 species of fish still live in its waters, the most famous of which is the Siberian sturgeon.

Near the Lena River, environmental problems are not as significant as in many other water bodies of the Russian Federation, but they do exist. Their main sources are shipping, diamond and gold mining enterprises and runoff from settlements located along its coast. The water is also polluted by oil emissions as a result of accidents that periodically occur on the ESPO pipeline.

Lena is known for its floods and floods. Located and flowing in harsh climatic conditions, with winter temperatures down to -70 0 C and permafrost, the river has a very vulnerable biosystem. It's about about global warming. An increase in temperature can have a catastrophic effect on the flora and fauna of Lena itself and the adjacent and dependent biocenoses.

Amur

The river of three masters. This is the key to what environmental problems are associated with the Amur River.

The "Black Dragon" is born in Mongolia and then flows through the territory of Russia and China, being also the border between states. From the confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers, the length of the Amur is 2824 km, and from the “head” to the tip of the “tail” of the “Black Dragon” is more than 4500 km, and this is not all the discrepancies concerning it. Some believe that it flows into the Amur Estuary, which belongs to the Sakhalin Bay and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Others are in the Tatar Strait, which belongs to the Sea of ​​Japan. There are those who claim that the Amur is a tributary of the Zeya River. Others disagree with this. They do not give rest to the riverbed, trying to move it to the north with the help of various hydraulic structures.

The water basin of the Amur is distributed among three states. Russia owns about 54% of it, China - 44.2%, Mongolia 1.8%. The area of ​​this basin is almost 1855 thousand km2. It is the fourth in Russia after the Yenisei, Ob and Lena.

In terms of the richness of fish and its species, none of the rivers of Russia can be compared with the Amur. There are more than 139 species and subspecies of fish, 36 of which are of commercial importance. Their main representatives are sturgeons: Kaluga, Amur and Sakhalin sturgeons and salmon, of which there are 9 species.

Problems with the environment are primarily associated with various modes of use of its natural resources established by the states. A number of legislative prohibitions of the Russian Federation are not supported by the PRC. This applies to shipping, the location of industrial and, especially, chemical industries on its coast. Various ways to deal with main feature Amur - high floods. By coastline China continues to build dams and other structures, in connection with which the riverbed is moving north. For the same reason, there is a change in the water balance of the tributaries of the Amur.

In the waters of the Amur, an increase in the level of the maximum concentration of phenol, nitrates and other indicators, including microbiological ones, is observed. Accidents that occur at the petrochemical enterprises of China pollute the waters with nitrobenzene, nitrobenzine, oil, oil products and other chemicals.

It has not yet been possible to agree on a procedure for using the river that satisfies both parties - the state and that would be most effective for protecting its ecology.

While people are looking for their interests and trying to negotiate on more favorable terms for themselves, Amur is suffering.

Video - Pollution of the Yenisei

Lena- the largest river in Siberia, and throughout Russia, flows into the Laptev Sea. The tenth longest river in the world, flows through the territory of Yakutia, the Irkutsk region, part of its tributaries belong to the Krasnoyarsk, Khabarovsk, Trans-Baikal Territories and the Republic of Buryatia. The length of the river, excluding tributaries, is 4,400 km, the basin area is 2,490 thousand km2. The main food is melted snow and rain water. You can read more about the Lena basin.

River flow

The source of the Lena is a small swamp located 12 kilometers from the Baikal Ridge. The upper course of the river falls on the mountainous Cis-Baikal region, here it is relatively narrow and not wide. The middle course is a segment between the Vitim and Aldan rivers. After the confluence of the Vitim, the Lena becomes a huge full-flowing river with a depth of up to 20 meters, the valley expands up to 20 km. On both sides grow thick coniferous forests. From Olekma to Aldan, not a single large tributary flows into the Lena, all these 500 km it flows in a narrow and deep valley. After the city of Pokrovsk, a sharp expansion of the valley occurs. After Yakutsk, two large tributaries flow into it - Aldan and Vilyui. Now it is a giant water stream up to 10 km wide, and in some places it spills up to 20-30 and up to 20 meters deep. In the lower reaches, the river is very narrow on all sides, mountains and ridges prevent it from overflowing. At the mouth, about 150 km from the sea, the vast Lena Delta begins.

Population

The banks of the Lena River are deserted, there are practically no settlements. A large number of settlements are observed only in the Yakutsk region. There are many abandoned villages and shift camps.

The largest cities are:

• Ust-Kut
• Kirensk
• Lensk
• Olekminsk
• Pokrovsk
• Yakutsk
• Zhigansk

Shipping

Lena is one of the main transport arteries of Yakutia. On bad roads, waterways become very relevant. The main part of the "northern delivery" is produced along this river. Shipping starts from the Kachug pier. Unfortunately, below the settlement of Ust-Kut and before the confluence of the Vitim tributary with the Lena River, there are a lot of shallow and difficult areas for navigation. Every year, work is carried out to deepen the bed of the Lena.

The navigation period lasts from 125 to 170 days. The largest ports on the Lena:

• Osetrovo
• Kirensk
• Lensk
• Yakutsk

Channel change

Scientists from the National French Center for Scientific Research, as well as scientists from the Permafrost Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the University of Alaska, have described and found that warming has a negative impact on the Lena River.
In this area, in winter, the temperature of the surrounding area drops to -70 degrees, the thickness of the permafrost reaches 1.5 km. Scientists have found that over the past forty years average temperature the air rose by four degrees, and the temperature of the soil by one degree Celsius. Water temperatures in spring and summer rose by two degrees.
Every year the flood becomes more and more powerful, plus, during the ice drift, the shores are subjected to very strong thermal and mechanical stress and, as a result, are destroyed. In addition, due to accelerating erosion processes, the islands, consisting mainly of silt and sand, are gradually moving towards the lower reaches of the river. In 2009, the islands' average migration rate reached 27 meters per year.

The main tributaries of the Lena

• Aldan
• Olekma
• Vilyuy
• Kirenga
• Young
• Tuolba
• Buotama
• Blue

The largest of them is the Aldan and Vitim rivers.

Briefly

• Researchers suggest that the name of the river comes from the Tungus-Manchurian "Yelyu-Ene", which translates as " big river»
• The river was discovered by the Russians in 1619-1623, by the explorer Pyanda
• Lena is the main transport artery of Yakutia
• Due to global warming, Lena is changing course.
• Lena is the 10th longest among all the rivers of the world, with a length of 4400 km.
• On a part of the right bank of the river there is a national natural park Lena Pillars

The main characteristics of the Lena River:

• The length of the River is 4400 km.
• Basin area - 2,490 thousand km2
• The maximum width of the floodplain is 30 km.
• The maximum depth is 21 m.

Lena river it is the largest Siberian river. By world standards, it is rather big. The Lena is the tenth longest river in the world. The length of the river, from source to mouth, is 4,400 km. The area of ​​the catchment basin is 2,490 thousand sq. km. The main food of the river comes from melt and rainwater. It flows through the territory of Yakutia in the Irkutsk region.

Where does it run: The source of the Lena River is located near Lake Baikal, on the Baikal Range. The height of the source above sea level is 1470 meters. It is from here that the largest river in Siberia originates from a small swamp. In the upper course, the Lena flows through the mountainous Cis-Baikal and its channel is relatively narrow. The middle course is a segment between two tributaries: Vitim and Aldan. In the middle reaches, it is already a large full-flowing river, with a depth of up to 20 meters. Coniferous forests grow on both banks. After the city of Yakutsk, two more large tributaries flow into the river - Aldan and Vilyui. Lena turns into a truly gigantic stream. Its width is 10 km, and sometimes it spills over 30 km. Further, the riverbed is sandwiched between mountains and ridges, which do not allow it to overflow. At the mouth, the river forms a vast delta with many branches and flows into the Laptev Sea.

Characteristics of the Lena River.

The length of the river is 4400 km.

The catchment basin area is 2,490,000 sq. km.

The maximum width of the floodplain is 30 km.

Maximum depth - 21 m.

Fall - 1470 - 0 = 1470
Slope: 1470 divided by 4400 (fall per length)=0.33 m/km or 33 cm/km

Nutrition: the river is fed mainly by melt water, in the upper reaches - glacial nutrition.

Large tributaries: Olekma, Aldan, Vitim, Vilyui.

Biological resources, inhabitants: kondevka, nelma, omul, muksun, burbot, taimen. In the upper reaches there are: lenok, dace, pike, grayling, perch.

Freezing: late October, early November. Opening occurs in the upper reaches from late April to mid-May, in the lower reaches - in early June.

The regime of the river is characterized by spring floods and several high floods in summer. In autumn and winter - low water. Ice drift is often accompanied by ice jams and is characterized by great power.

Economic use of the Lena River.

Lena is one of the cleanest rivers in the world. The course of the river has not been changed by man. At the moment, no dams, hydroelectric power stations, or other structures have been built on the river. In uninhabited places, you can still drink water straight from the river.

Since there are not many settlements on the banks of the river, economic use it is not carried out very intensively. This makes it possible to keep unique nature. As mentioned above, no dams, etc. have been built on the river, but Lena, nevertheless, is the main transport artery of Yakutia. Shipping starts from the Kachug pier. Unfortunately, before the confluence of the Vitim, the river is not navigable.

Major ports: Osetrovo, Kirensk, Lensk, Yakutsk

Environmental problems.

Scientists from the University of Alaska, the Institute of Permafrost Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the National French Center for Scientific Research found that global warming negative impact on the river. In these parts in winter, the temperature drops to -70 degrees, and the permafrost is one and a half kilometers. Scientists have found that over the past 40 years the air temperature has risen by 4 degrees. Floods, already very strong, are only gaining strength every year, which destroys the banks of the river. Besides. the islands move down the river. In 2009, the speed of their descent reached 27 meters per year.

1. What is the water content of a river? What indicators characterize it?

The water content (water content) of a river is the amount of water carried by a certain river during the year. The average long-term volume of annual runoff serves as an indicator (index) of the water content of the river. The concept of "water content" is usually used to compare the average water flow of different rivers.

2. Give definitions of water consumption and annual runoff.

Water flow (in a watercourse) is the volume of water (liquid) flowing through the cross section of a watercourse per unit of time. Measured in flow units (m³/s). Annual runoff is the total volume of water that flows in a year, usually referred to the outlet of a catchment or river basin.

3. What is the fall and slope of the river? What do they depend on?

The fall of the river is the difference in elevations of the water surface at the source and mouth of the river or in a separate section of it. River slope - the ratio of the fall of a river (or other watercourse) in any of its sections to the length of this section. The slope of a river is expressed as a ppm or percentage, as well as the magnitude of the fall per section length. Both of these concepts depend on the terrain, the steeper the terrain, the greater the slope and fall of the river.

4. Choose the correct answer. The river is predominantly rain fed: a) Amur; b) Yenisei; c) Lena; d) Terek.

5. Choose the correct answer. Depends on the climate: a) the speed of the current; b) river regime; c) direction of flow.

6. Choose the correct answers. The rivers of Russia belong to the basin: a) the Indian Ocean; b) Pacific Ocean; c) the Arctic Ocean; d) the Atlantic Ocean; e) internal flow.

Answer: B, C, D.

7. List the features of the rivers of Russia.

The rivers of Russia are characterized by two distinctive features nutrition: 1) due to the position of the country in temperate and high latitudes and the continentality of the climate, snow cover almost everywhere takes part in the nutrition of rivers; 2) most rivers are characterized by three sources of nutrition: melted snow, rain and groundwater. A significantly smaller number of rivers have either all four sources of supply, or two in various combinations (snow + rain, snow + ground, rain + ground).

9. To determine the fall of the river, it is necessary to calculate the difference between the height of its source and the height of the mouth. The rivers flowing into the sea have a mouth height of 0 m (with the exception of the Caspian Sea-lake, where the mouths of the rivers lie at a height of -27 m). If a river flows into a lake, then the level of the surface of the water in the lake is the height of its mouth. If the river flows out of the lake (for example, the Angara from Lake Baikal), then the height of the source is the level of the water surface in the lake. Calculate the fall of the rivers Pechora (source height 676 m), Kama (source height 331 m, mouth height 36 m).

Pechora source - 676m, mouth - 0m we measure the fall: fall = source-mouth: 676-0=630m. Kama: source - 331m, mouth - 36m: fall = source-mouth: 331-36=295m.

10. Using the thematic maps of the atlas, characterize one of Russian rivers(optional) according to the plan: a) geographical position; b) length, height of the source and mouth; c) nutrition and regimen; d) adverse events on the river and their causes; e) economic use.

Characteristics of the Volga River:

A) The river is located in the European part of Russia, one of largest rivers on Earth and the largest in Europe. The Volga originates on the Valdai Upland, flows into the Caspian Sea.

B) Length - 3530 km. The source is at an altitude of 229 m, the mouth lies 28 m below sea level.

C) The Volga is mainly fed by snow (60% of annual runoff), ground (30%) and rain (10%) waters. The natural regime is characterized by spring floods (April - June), low water levels during the summer and winter low water periods, and autumn rain floods (October).

D) In ​​the water area of ​​the river, there is a sea of ​​fish, overgrowing of the reservoir, as a result of which the river becomes shallower, less navigable and polluted. Also, every spring there is a flood of water in the river - floods as a result of the flood.

E) Oil, oil products, salt, gravel, coal, bread, cement, metal, vegetables, fish, etc. are supplied up the Volga; down - timber, lumber, mineral building materials, industrial materials. Down the Kama - coal, timber, lumber, sulfur pyrites, metals, chemical cargoes, mineral building materials, oil, oil products; up - salt, vegetables, industrial and food products.