Home

Physical Geography
  Tectonics and Geology
  Climatic Change
  Climate at Present and in the Past
  Soils
  Rivers, Lakes, Seas and Wetlands
  Permafrost
  Biodiversity

Biomes & Regions
  Arctic Environments
  Boreal Forests
  Mixed and Deciduous Forests
  Steppe and Forest-steppe
  Arid Environments
  The Mountains of Northern Russia
  The Mountains of Southern Siberia
  The Caucasus
  The Mountains of Central Asia
  Lake Baikal
  The Far East

Environmental Problems
  Radioactive Contamination
  Oil and Gas Development
  Air Pollution
  The Aral Sea Problems
  Deforestation and Degradation of Forests
  Nature Protection and Conservation

Images of Russian Nature
  Geographic Index
  Systematic Index
  Alphabetical Index

Nature Reserves
  Northern Russia
  Central Russia
  Povolzhye (Volga river basin)
  Southern Russia
  Ural Mountains
  Western Siberia
  Eastern Siberia
  Far East


Ôîòîãðàôèè ïðèðîäû Ðîññèè
  Ãåîãðàôè÷åñêèé êàòàëîã
  Ñèñòåìàòè÷åñêèé êàòàëîã
  Àëôàâèòíûé êàòàëîã


Nature Landscapes of the World
  Europe
  Asia
  North America
  South America
  Africa
  Australia
  Antarctic

Field Ecology Education
  Instructive Videos
  Instructive Manuals


Ýêîëîãè÷åñêèé Öåíòð Ýêîñèñòåìà íà Facebook Ýêîëîãè÷åñêèé Öåíòð Ýêîñèñòåìà ÂÊîíòàêòå

Þòóá êàíàë Ýêîñèñòåìà YouTube EcosystemaRu

Ñêà÷àòü íàøè ïðèëîæåíèÿ èç ìàãàçèíà RuStore
Ñêà÷àòü íàøè ïðèëîæåíèÿ èç ìàãàçèíà RuMarket Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû èç ìàãàçèíà NashStore
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû èç ìàãàçèíà GetApps Xiaomi
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû ÝêîÃèä èç ìàãàçèíà Google Play / Play Market
Ñêà÷àòü ïðèëîæåíèÿ Ýêîñèñòåìû ÝêîÃèä èç AppStore / iTunes
Âèäåî-360 ïî ýêîëîãèè íà íàøåì Youtube êàíàëå

Bird Decoys for European Birds: Songs, Calls, Sounds, Bird voices - application for Android download from Google Play / Play Market for free



Share this page with your friends:



( ) : : = = + +


Russian Nature

Home | Physical Geography | Biomes & Regions | Environmental Problems | Images of Russian Nature | Nature Reserves

Our Field Ecology Center published more than 180 methodical materials for nature studies. Some of them are in English:
Mobile educational application: Ecological Field Studies Techniques on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of North America: Songs and Calls Decoys on Play.Google WILD FLOWERS OF RUSSIA Field Identification Guide on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Russia on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Russia Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Europe Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google Mobile field guide Birds of Europe Songs, Calls and Voices on Play.Google
Mobile Educational Apps and Field Identification Guides for Russian, European and American Birds
Applications for Android and iOS are available at GooglePlay and AppStore


Please put an active hyperlink to our site (www.rusnature.info) when you copy the materials from this page

Biomes and Regions of Northern Eurasia

The Mountains of Central Asia and Kazakhstan

<<< Introduction | Biomes & Regions Index | Earthquakes >>>

The Formation and Morphology of the Mountains

The tectonic history of the Central Asian mountains is given in Zonenshain et al. (1990). The contemporary tectonic pattern of the Central Asian mountains as well as their seismicity originate from the continental collision between India and Eurasia (Figure 14.1).

Lithosphere plates and microplates of Inner Asia

Fig. 14.1 Lithosphere plates and microplates of Inner Asia. After Zonenshain and Savostin (1981)

The initial collision occurred in the late Cretaceous, replacing simple subduction of the Tethys oceanic lithosphere below the Eurasian Plate (Molnar and Tapponier, 1975). The most intensive stage of collision manifested itself as the Alpine orogenic epoch which began in the Miocene. The Alpine folding was extensive both in terms of duration and the complexity of tectonic movements and, although it occurred everywhere, its manifestation varied regionally. In the northern chains, the Alpine folding was relatively weak but its intensity increased southwards, reaching its maximum in the Pamirs. The Pamirs and Kopetdagh were formed as a result of the latest collision. By contrast, the Tien-Shan and mountains of Kazakhstan are of an older age: they were formed by the convergence and collision of the Siberian continent with the ancient massifs located south of the continent; eroded, being transformed into a peneplain of the Kazakh Knolls type, and rejuvenated in the Cenozoic. The formation of a peneplain and subsequent uplift had a strong effect on the modern topography of the Tien-Shan, Dzhungarsky Alatau, Saur, and Tarbagatay which is characterized by the occurrence of high elevation plateau-like and inclined ancient denuded surfaces. The central (inner) Tien-Shan itself has an average height of 3100 m and is encircled by the Terskey-Alatau, Kokshaal-Tau, and Fergana Ridges with comparatively small relative elevations. Denuded surfaces often form high elevated valleys covered by glacial and alluvial deposits termed in Turkic languages syrt.] Because of their ubiquitous presence the central Tien-Shan is often referred to as the syrt Tien-Shan. Typical of the Dzhungarsky Alatau, Saur, and Tarbagatay are plateaux which occur at different heights, thereby giving the slopes a step-like appearance. Such plateaux, which are ancient structures uplifted in the Neogene-Quaternary, occupy between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of the whole territory of these mountains.

The structure of the Pamirs results directly from the collision between India and Eurasia and in this respect, the Pamirs are similar to the Himalayas. At present, in the area of the Pamirs the Indian Plate moves at a rate of 4.4 cm a-1 relative to Eurasia. While some of this movement is taken up by overthrusting in the Pemjab Himalayas, the other half creates convergence between the Pamirs and Tien-Shan (Zonenshain et al, 1990). Geodetic measurements reveal a rate of convergence of 1.5-2.5 cm a-1 that makes it an area of extremely high seismic activity (Hamburger et al., 1992; 1993). The Gissar-Alay deep fault, which extends along the southern slope of the Gissar Ridge and further east along the valleys of the rivers Surkhob and Kyzylsu, mark a boundary between the two structures and is an area of particularly devastating earthquakes. The territory located south of the Gissar-Alay system is tectonically inhomogeneous and includes three major zones: the Tajik depression which represents a deeply submerged Mesozoic-Cenozoic sedimentary basin, the western Pamir (often considered together with the Zaalaysky Ridge), and eastern Pamir which represents an active continental margin. Although both western and eastern Pamir are characterized by great absolute heights, their topography is very different. The fast and irregular upheaval and the continuing subsidence of the large depressions (i.e., the Fergana valley and Tajik depression) predetermines a youthful character of relief in the western Pamir which is characterized by large relative elevations and narrow valleys with steep slopes. The highest summit in the FSU, the Peak of Communism (also known as Garmo) (7482 m) and the largest alpine (Fedchenko) glacier are located in the western Pamir on the junction of the Peter the First and Academy of Sciences Ridges. The eastern Pamir2 has the character of a highly elevated plateau (Plate 16.1).

Lake Karakul in the eastern Pamir

Plate 16.1 Lake Karakul in the eastern Pamir (photo: I. Merzlyakova)

The ancient relief has survived here in the form of vast flat valleys elevated to the height of 3500-4500 m on which permafrost develops. Locally, these valleys are called pamirs (meaning 'roof of the world'), the term which has given the region its name (Svarichevskaya, 1965). Relative elevations are often comparatively small, about 1-1.5 km.

Within Turkmenistan lies the northern periphery of the Kopetdagh mountains which continue into Iran. The mountains are regarded as a fold chain that originated on the former passive margin due to the late Cenozoic motion of the Iranian block relative to Eurasia (Zonenshain et al., 1990). The Kopetdagh is not a single ridge but a system of mountainous chains (whose peaks do not exceed 3000 m) separated by the narrow valleys with an west-east orientation.

<<< Introduction | Biomes & Regions Index | Earthquakes >>>

 

 


Recommend this page to your friends:


* *