Caspian lowland: a brief description and features. Caspian lowland on the map Where is the Caspian plain on the map

Caspian lowland 47°32′ N. sh. 49°01′ E d. / 47.533° N sh. 49.017° E d. / 47.533; 49.017 (G) (I)Coordinates : 47°32′ N. sh. 49°01′ E d. / 47.533° N sh. 49.017° E d. / 47.533; 49.017 (G) (I) Atyrau Oblast, West Kazakhstan Oblast, Mangistau Oblast, Dagestan, Kalmykia, Astrakhan Oblast

Caspian lowland(kaz. Caspian many oypaty, emergency Kaspiyalukh listen)) is found on the East European Plain in Kazakhstan and Russia, surrounding the northern part of the Caspian Sea.

Geographical position

The Caspian lowland is surrounded in the north by the Common Syrt, in the west by the Volga Upland and Ergeni, in the east by the Cis-Ural Plateau and Ustyurt. The area of the lowland is about 200 thousand km². The height above sea level is up to 149 m, the southern part of the lowland lies below sea level (up to −28 m). The northwestern part of the lowland between the Ergeninsky Upland, the Kumo-Manych Depression and the Volga is called the Black Lands.

Caspian lowland represents a flat surface, gently inclined towards the sea, among which rise individual hills - the Inder Mountains, Big Bogdo, Small Bogdo and others.

The Caspian lowland is crossed by the rivers Volga, Ural, Emba, Kuma, Terek and others. Small rivers (Big and Small Uzen, Wil, Sagiz) dry up in summer or break up into a series of basins, forming lake overflows - Kamysh-Samarsky lakes, Sarpinsky lakes. There are many salt lakes (Baskunchak, Elton, Inder, Botkul, etc.).

Geological structure

The Caspian lowland includes several large tectonic structures (the Caspian syneclise, the Ergenin uplift, the Nogai and Terek depressions). In the Quaternary, the lowland was repeatedly flooded by the sea, which left clayey and loamy deposits in the northern part, and sandy deposits in the southern part.

The surface of the Caspian lowland is characterized by micro- and mesoforms in the form of depressions, estuaries, spits, hollows, in the south - eolian forms, and along the coast of the Caspian Sea - a strip of Baer hillocks.

Climate and vegetation

In the north - sagebrush-cereal steppes on light chestnut soils, in the south - semi-deserts and deserts on brown and sandy soils with a predominance of sagebrush.

Economic importance

In the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, melon growing, horticulture, and vegetable growing are widespread.

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Literature

Grigoriev A.A. Brief geographical encyclopedia. Volume 3. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1962. - S. 580.
Southeast of the European part of the USSR, M., 1971; Kazakhstan, M., 1969 ( natural conditions and natural resources of the USSR).

Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Caspian lowland

Where, how, when she sucked in herself from that Russian air that she breathed - this countess, brought up by a French emigrant, this spirit, where did she get these techniques that pas de chale should have long been forced out? But these spirits and methods were the same, inimitable, not studied, Russian, which her uncle expected from her. As soon as she stood up, she smiled solemnly, proudly and cunningly cheerfully, the first fear that gripped Nikolai and all those present, the fear that she would do something wrong, passed and they were already admiring her.
She did the same thing, and did it so exactly, so quite exactly, that Anisya Fyodorovna, who immediately handed her the handkerchief necessary for her work, burst into tears through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, educated countess in silk and velvet. who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya's father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.
“Well, the countess is a pure march,” said the uncle, laughing joyfully, having finished the dance. - Oh yes, niece! If only you could choose a good fellow for you, - march is a clean business!
“Already chosen,” said Nikolai smiling.
- O? said the uncle in surprise, looking inquiringly at Natasha. Natasha nodded her head in the affirmative with a happy smile.
- Another one! - she said. But as soon as she said it, another new system thoughts and feelings rose up in her. What did Nikolai's smile mean when he said: "already chosen"? Is he happy about it or not? He seems to think that my Bolkonsky would not have approved, would not have understood our joy. No, he would understand. Where is he now? thought Natasha, and her face suddenly became serious. But it only lasted for one second. “Don’t think about it, don’t dare to think about it,” she said to herself, and smiling, she sat down again with her uncle, asking him to play something else.
Uncle played another song and a waltz; then, after a pause, he cleared his throat and sang his favorite hunting song.
Like powder from the evening
Turned out good...
Uncle sang the way the people sing, with that complete and naive conviction that in a song all meaning lies only in the words, that the melody comes by itself and that there is no separate melody, but that the melody is only for the warehouse. Because of this, this unconscious tune, like the song of a bird, was unusually good with my uncle. Natasha was delighted with her uncle's singing. She decided that she would no longer study the harp, but would only play the guitar. She asked her uncle for a guitar and immediately picked up the chords for the song.
At ten o'clock a line, a droshky, and three riders arrived for Natasha and Petya, sent to look for them. The count and countess did not know where they were and were very worried, as the messenger said.
Petya was taken down and laid like a dead body in a ruler; Natasha and Nikolai got into the droshky. Uncle wrapped up Natasha and said goodbye to her with a completely new tenderness. He escorted them on foot to the bridge, which had to be bypassed into a ford, and ordered the hunters to go ahead with lanterns.
“Farewell, dear niece,” his voice shouted out of the darkness, not the one that Natasha had known before, but the one that sang: “Like powder since the evening.”
The village we passed had red lights and a cheerful smell of smoke.
- What a charm this uncle is! - said Natasha, when they drove out onto the main road.
“Yes,” said Nikolai. - Are you cold?
- No, I'm fine, fine. I feel so good, - Natasha even said with bewilderment. They were silent for a long time.
The night was dark and damp. The horses were not visible; all you could hear was their paddling through the invisible mud.
What was going on in this childish, receptive soul, which so greedily caught and assimilated all the most diverse impressions of life? How did it fit into her? But she was very happy. Already approaching the house, she suddenly sang the motive of the song: “Like powder from the evening,” a motive that she caught all the way and finally caught.
- Got it? Nikolay said.
“What are you thinking now, Nikolenka?” Natasha asked. They liked to ask each other that.
- I? - said Nikolai remembering; - you see, at first I thought that Rugai, the red male, looked like an uncle and that if he were a man, he would still keep the uncle with him, if not for the jump, then for the frets, he would keep everything. How good he is, uncle! Is not it? - Well, what about you?
- I? Hold on, hold on. Yes, at first I thought that here we are going and we think that we are going home, and God knows where we are going in this darkness and suddenly we will arrive and see that we are not in Otradnoye, but in magical kingdom. And then I thought… No, nothing more.

The Caspian lowland is located in Eurasia. This is the southern tip of the East European Plain, adjacent to the Caspian Sea in its northern part. Natural borders: from the north - the Common Syrt Upland, the west - the Volga, Stavropol Uplands and Ergeni, the east - the Cis-Ural Plateau and Ustyurt, from the south - the Caspian Sea. Located on the territory of Russia and Kazakhstan.

Coordinates:
Latitude: 47°32"N
Longitude: 49°01" E

The Caspian lowland is a huge plain with an area of 200,000 sq. km., which descends below sea level from the south. These are steppes, deserts, semi-deserts and salt marshes, although many rivers flow there, including large ones: the Volga, at its confluence with the Caspian, forming a vast delta, and the Urals. Emba, Terek, Kuma cross the lowland. There are many salt lakes - Baskunchak, Inder, Aralsor, Kamys-Samar lakes, Elton, Botkul.

Among the pancake-flat plains, here and there rise domes of salt, called mountains. Big Bogdo is a salt mountain 150 meters high, is a cult place for Buddhists. The main part of the lowland is steppes and sands used for pastures. Fishing and hunting are developed in the Volga-Ural interfluve, the famous Astrakhan watermelons grow in the Volga floodplain. There are oil and gas fields in the Ural-Emba interfluve.

In the Caspian lowland, despite the apparent stinginess of nature, there are many natural attractions. There are also archaeological, historical, cultural different peoples and epochs.

Russia

Reserves "Bogodino-Baskunchaksky", "Astrakhansky", "Black Lands". "Volga-Akhtuba floodplain" - nature Park. "Manych-Gudilo" and "Sands of Burley" nature reserves, Big Bogdo mountain, Lotus Valley, Kumo-Manych depression (separates Eurasia), Kordon tract, Baer hillocks. Monuments of archeology: Devil's ancient settlement of the Golden Horde era (Astrakhan region), Sarai-Batu (Astrakhan region), burials in the Bronze Age Turtles, settlement "Self-made" (Astrakhan region). Of the cultural objects, one can note the Khosheutovsky khurul (Kalmyk monument in honor of the victory over Napoleon in the village of Rechnoy, Astrakhan region), the watermelon museum (Kamyzyak city).

Kazakhstan

Ustyurt reserve, Karagie depression on the Mangyshlak peninsula, Shalkar lake (Aktobe region), floodplain forests of the Ural River with unique and relict vegetation, Sanal and Sazanbay canyons. The resort town of Aktau and the Kenderli complex are located on the Caspian coast. You can travel along the Great Silk Road, which passed through these places. There are many archaeological monuments: Kyzyl-Kala (red fortress), the city of Sary-Aichik - the Golden Horde center of trade. The sacred places of Muslims are the underground mosques of Shopan-Ata and Becket-Ata.

The Caspian lowland is located on the territory of Kazakhstan and Russia. It got its name due to its geographical location: the plain occupies the northern part of the largest salt lake in the world - the Caspian Sea.

general characteristics

The Caspian lowland is a plain inclined at a slight angle to the Caspian Sea. It stretches for 500 km from north to south, for 700 km from west to east, and covers an area of about 200 thousand square meters. km.

The height above sea level of the Caspian lowland fluctuates: the highest point of the northern regions is 149 m, and the southern regions are located 28 m below sea level. Insignificant elevations stand out on the territory of the plain: Big and Small Bogdo, Inder mountains and others.

Rice. 1. Caspian Sea.

The boundaries of the Caspian lowland are:

in the north - the Caspian;
in the southeast - the Russian Plain;
in the west - Kazakhstan.

In the northwest of the lowland is a site called the Black Lands. It is a semi-desert area that is not covered by snow even in winter due to strong winds. These lands got their name due to dark brown soils and black wormwood.

The territory of the plain consists of several powerful tectonic structures: deep depression, Ergeninskaya upland, Terek and Nogai depressions. Many years ago, the plain was regularly flooded by the sea. As a result, loams were formed in the north, and sandy deposits in the south.

Features of climate and nature

The Caspian lowland is characterized by a very dry climate. In winter, strong cold winds blow, the air temperature drops to -10-15C, there is not too much snow, but it does not linger on the surface due to windy weather.

Summer for this area is hot, with very meager precipitation. Not uncommon dust storms and dry winds, which form sandy hills - dunes.

Rice. 3. Nature of the Caspian lowland.

The soil in the plains is highly saline, and has many shades, from dark brown to light chestnut. Steppes dominate in the north southern regions lowlands - deserts and semi-deserts.

Not all plants are able to withstand such harsh conditions, and only cereals and wormwood are widespread in these parts. 1/5 of the entire area is allocated for arable land, where melons and gourds are traditionally grown.

The fauna of the Caspian lowland is also not very diverse. Marmots, ferrets, water rats live here. The most valuable animal is the seal. The sturgeon fishery is well developed.

What have we learned?

When studying the topic “Caspian lowland”, we learned how the Caspian lowland was formed, what are its area, structural features, boundaries. We learned what climate, animal and vegetable world characteristic of this plain.

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14.07.2019 19:12

The famous reserve "Chernye zemli", created where practically no people live, and there is no water, is located in the Caspian lowland, the most interesting object from the point of view of science and geotourism. The Caspian lowland is a territory located at the extreme point of the southeast of the Russian plain and enveloping the Caspian Sea. In the southeast, black lands or Khar-Gazr in Kalmyk, approaches the Volga delta, it is here that another interesting natural object- Baer mounds (in honor of academician K.M. Burr, who discovered this miracle of nature), which are sandy ridges up to 45 meters high and up to 300 meters wide, the length of which is several kilometers. Between the mounds you can see ilmens, small lakes overgrown with grass, any activity is prohibited here, as it can destroy these delightful creations of nature.

The Volga-Akhtuba floodplain is located on the territory of the Caspian lowland, where the Great Russian River divides into many branches, there are about 800 of them, flows into the Caspian Sea and ends its course. A natural park of the same name has been established on this territory in order to protect the ecosystem and nests of more than 200 species of birds. This place is extremely popular among fishermen, because the variety and size of underwater inhabitants can surprise even the most experienced fisherman! Therefore, when traveling in the Volga Delta, you should definitely take a selfie with a huge catch, especially since fishing promotions in July will significantly save on this type of holiday. Another miracle of nature located in the Caspian lowland can safely be called the famous salt Lake Baskunchak, which is rightfully considered a bottomless bowl full of salt. In addition to the above attractions created by nature, it should also be noted: the lotus valley, the Burley sands reserve, the Kordon tract, Manych - Gudilo - nature reserve and, of course, the Big Bogdo salt dome.

In addition to natural attractions, the region is also rich in historical ones. Among the architectural monuments, it is worth noting such as the Devil's Settlement, located in the Ikryaninsky district, erected during the time of the Golden Horde, Saray-Batu, or as it is also called Selitrennoye Gordishte, this fortified complex was built around the beginning of the 13th century. It is also worth noting the burials discovered here dating back to the Bronze Age and later monuments, such as the Khosheut khurul, a monument to the wars that defeated Napoleon. Also on the territory of cities located in the Caspian lowland there are many cultural and religious buildings built in different eras.

by the most major city located here is Astrakhan, the center of the region of the same name, most of the enterprises involved in the extraction and processing of minerals, which are rich in the lowland, are concentrated here. And it is mined here - oil, uranium, gas, a lot of industrial and precious metals.

Part of the Caspian lowland is located on the territory of Kazakhstan, here the largest regional center is the city of Atyrau, which is considered the oil capital of all Kazakhstan.

The Caspian lowland is not only the "Black Earth" where nothing but wormwood grows, but also the most fertile lands of the Astrakhan region, where the climate allows growing some of the most delicious watermelons. The list of sights of the region is not limited to the above list, even ten such articles will not be enough to describe them all, such a volume of printed information is unlikely to be adequately absorbed, therefore, if you are interested, we advise you to visit this unique place located on the territory of our Motherland. Good luck.

The Caspian lowland is located in the southeastern part of the Russian Plain, adjacent to the Caspian Sea. In the west, the lowland is bordered by the eastern slopes of the Stavropol plateau and Ergeni, in the north - by the slopes of the General Syrt. In the east, the border coincides with the Cis-Ural Plateau and the Northern Chink of the Ustyurt Plateau. In the southern part, significant areas lie below sea level by 27m.

Most of the lowland is administratively part of the Kazakh SSR - the West Kazakhstan Territory and partly in the Volgograd, Saratov, Astrakhan and Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics.

The Caspian lowland is located within a deep tectonic basin - the Caspian syneclise, laid down in the Paleozoic and representing a complex and heterogeneous section of the Russian platform. The syneclise is complicated by a number of tectonic structures IIorder. Crystalline rocks lie here at a depth of more than 3000 m and overlain by Paleozoic and Meso-Cenozoic deposits. Within the lowland, Permian deposits of the Kungur age are developed from ancient rocks, at the base of which are stocks rock salt. Triassic deposits overlie the Permian rocks. They are overlain by Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene sediments. The end of the Paleogene is characterized by orogenic movements that covered large areas. They are associated with the lowering of the lowlands and the penetration of the seas into its territory. The most extensive was the Akchagyl basin, which occupied almost the entire territory of the modern Caspian, the Caspian lowland and penetrated to the north. Long sleeve This basin also went towards the Black Sea. In the north, the deposits of this basin are represented by thin, thick-layered clays, and near the coast, by sands; in some places there are small layers of oil shale. The total thickness of the Akchagyl deposits reaches 80-100 m. The Absheron basin, which replaced the Akchagyl basin, was smaller. He left sands, conglomerates, clays with a thickness of more than 400 m. Quaternary deposits are represented by rocks of marine and continental origin with a thickness of more than 30 m. Marine sediments consist of clayey, sandy-clayey and sandy strata with marine fauna left by the Baku, Khazar, Lower and Upper Khvalynian transgressions. They alternate with continental deposits - loess-like loams, sands, peat bogs, silts.

The deposits of the Lower Khvalynsk transgression are represented by chocolate clays and partly by loams. southern part subjected to the Upper Khvalynian transgression. The consequence of the Upper Khvalynian transgression are sands and sandy loams of Upper Khvalynian age. The boundary between the two indicated transgressions runs approximately along the zero horizontal.

Many researchers synchronize the Caspian transgressions with the epochs of glaciation of the Russian Plain, but due to insufficient data, the synchronization scheme has not yet been sufficiently substantiated.

The Caspian lowland is characterized by peculiar structures - salt domes, characteristic of salt tectonics. The reason for their formation is associated with orogenic movements, due to which the horizontally lying layers of Permian, Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks are crumpled in many places into small brachianticlinal folds, which are based on a gypsum and salt core.

Due to tangential pressure, salt masses were squeezed out of the original deposit upwards and broke through the overlying rocks, forming domes. In view of the redistribution of salt masses, new places of their concentration were created. Salt domes are hills with a height of 100-150 m, in which gypsum and salts come to the surface (M. Bogdo, B. Bogdo, Bis-Chokho, Chapchagi, etc.). They are associated with the existence of self-sustaining lakes - Elton, Baskunchak, etc., which are fed by saline solutions coming from salt domes. In the Emba region, oil fields are also associated with domes composed of Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous rocks.

Orographically, the Caspian lowland is a lowland large sizes, flat, gently inclined towards the sea. M. V. Karandeeva writes that the main type of lowland relief is the marine accumulative plain. Erosion, eolian, suffosion and other types and forms of relief are developed on it.

The northern part of the Caspian lowland is characterized by plain flat surfaces, the relative heights of which do not exceed 1.0-1.5 m. Marine flat plains are disturbed by depressions and numerous tubercles - marmots. Depressions are depressions with a depth of 0.3 to 2.0 m and diameters from 10 to 100 m. Their shape is usually round or oval. They stand out on the surface of the lowlands not so much in depth as in fresher and greener vegetation.

Among the flat sea plains in this part of the lowland, erosional landforms are developed, which are presented in the form of hollows. Hollows sometimes stretch for tens of kilometers, in several rows. They begin in the northern part of the lowlands and end in estuaries, not reaching the Caspian Sea. Small hollows usually do not have clearly defined slopes, their width is 100 - 1000 m. An example of hollows is the Sarpinsko-Davanskaya, which stretches from Krasnoarmeysk to the south, along the Ergeni, and then splits into branches. The hollow is covered with a thin layer of alluvium; in the Ergenei region, it is currently covered with alluvium of beams, which divides the hollow into separate depressions - lakes. The formation of hollows is associated with the currents of the receding sea. The Sarpinsko-Davanskaya hollow once served as a branch of the Volga and was fed by its waters. After the Volga deepened its channel, the Sarpinsko-Davanskaya hollow separated from it, and its further existence was due to temporary flows from Ergeni. In addition to the landforms described above, coastal landforms have been preserved within the lowlands: estuaries, takyrs, etc., which are confined to the boundaries of the distribution of the Khvalyn seas.

Due to the fact that in the southern part of the lowland large areas are occupied by sands, the eolian relief prevails here. Between the Volga and Ergeny, as well as to the east on the Volga-Ural watershed, there are massifs of blown sands - Astrakhan and Ryn-Sands. Here the sands form in some places dunes 5-6 m, and sometimes 15 m, mounds, ridges and depressions. The basins have a depth of up to 8 m, and area - up to 3 km 2. Their shape is in most cases oval; side slopes prevailing winds, the windward ones are steep, and the leeward ones are gentle. Sand blown out of the basins is deposited in the form of mounds on the surfaces adjacent to their western and northwestern sides.

Along the shores of the Caspian Sea, from the river. Embas to the mouth of the river. Kuma, there are hillocks, elongated almost in the latitudinal direction, the so-called Baer hillocks. Their height - 7 - 10 m, width - 200-300 m and length - from 0.5 to 8 km. The width of inter-ridge depressions reaches 400-500 m. During the floods of the Volga, they are filled with water. The city of Astrakhan and all the villages within the Volga delta are built on these mounds.

There is still no consensus on the origin of the hillocks. Academician K.M. Baer suggested that they originated from a catastrophically fast runoff of water during a sudden drop in the level of the Caspian Sea. I. V. Mushketov explains the origin of the hillocks by various reasons: some hillocks were formed due to the dislocation of the main rocks on which the Caspian sediments were deposited (near Kamenny Yar), others are the product of erosional erosion (near Astrakhan), and others are overgrown valleys (near Enotavka). B. A. Fedorovich explains the origin of the Baer knolls by the corrosive and accumulative activity of the wind, the predominant direction of which coincides with the Voeikov axis, oriented latitudinally in the northern Caspian region.

Salt domes, the Volga-Akhtuba and Ural valleys add variety to the relief of the lowlands. The Volga Valley is a blooming oasis against the backdrop of a semi-desert. The islands in the floodplain are green with groves of black poplars, silvery poplars, and willows. The Volga valley within the lowland is incised by 20-30 m in the Lower and Upper Khvalynsk marine sediments, which serve as a bedrock coast. The right bank is steep, sheer, strongly washed away by the river. The left root bank is at a great distance from the riverbed. In the left bank, a floodplain terrace (Volga-Akhtubinskaya) is well developed, which extends for tens of kilometers.

The hydrographic network of the lowlands is poor; three large transit rivers flow within its boundaries: the Volga, the Urals and the Terek, devoid of tributaries within the lowlands. Rivers drain only narrow, immediately adjacent coastal strips. In addition to these rivers, there are several small rivers - Big and Small Uzen, Uil, Sagiz, Kushum, which dry up or break up into separate

closed, more or less significant basins of stagnant water, forming lake overflows. An example is the Sarpinsky lakes, into which the waters flowing from the Ergeni are collected, in the central part - the Kamysh-Samarsky lakes, which receive the waters of the Big and Small Uzen, and others. The waters of the river. Kuma in dry years do not reach the Caspian Sea, and the waters of the river. Embas reach it only in high water. In the summer in the river Embe, as in all small rivers of the semi-desert, the water is brackish. Within the lowlands there are a lot of small and large saline and occasionally fresh lakes. Fresh lakes arise in depressions closed on all sides, in which melted snow waters collect.

The climate of the Caspian lowland is characterized by the greatest continentality in comparison with other regions of the Russian Plain. This is due to the distance from Atlantic Ocean, with a predominance of continental air masses and increased insolation.

In winter, the distribution of the spurs of the Siberian anticyclone and the associated cold weather play a significant role in the formation of weather conditions. east winds, the repeatability of which reaches 50%. The temperatures of the winter months in the Caspian region are unusually low for this latitude (from -14 in the north to -8 ° on the coast of the Caspian Sea). The same temperature conditions are observed in Arkhangelsk and Leningrad in winter. In some cases frosts reach -30, -40°. The Caspian Sea, which freezes in the northern part, does not have a warming effect even on coastal areas. The snow cover lasts 4-5 months, but its height is small - 10-20cm.

Spring in the Caspian region is friendly and short - during the end of April and the beginning of May, the temperature rises rapidly due to the intensification of incoming radiation and the influx of warm air from the southern regions of Kazakhstan.

Summer is very hot and dry. Number of total solar radiation for June-August reaches 50 kcal / cm 2, the same number as in the Crimea. Isotherms summer months located in the latitudinal direction: in the northern part of the Caspian average temperature July about +22°, in the south +23, +24°. The absolute maximum temperature is above +40°.

The maximum precipitation falls in the first half of summer, most often in the form of short showers, and is only 20-30 mm per month. The annual precipitation decreases in the southeast direction from 350 to 200-150 mm. Evaporation is about 1000 mm, thus, the total moisture deficit reaches 800mm.

Droughts, which are typical for the southern and southeastern regions of the European territory of the USSR, have the highest intensity and frequency here (up to 30%). Dry winds blow very often, especially dry and hot, over the sandy semi-deserts of the southeast.

The Caspian lowland lies in the semi-desert zone, and it is characterized by light chestnut solonetsous soils, the absorbing complex of which contains sodium. Thickness of humus horizons - 30-40 cm, the amount of humus is small in the upper horizons - 1-3%, and it is unevenly distributed over the soil profile. Bottom part soil profile is saline with soluble salts. The soil cover of the semi-desert is variegated: it consists of light chestnut solonetsous soils, solonetzes and leached meadow chestnut soils of depressions. The semi-desert is characterized by an abundance of salt lakes, salt marshes and rivers carrying salt water. Salt marshes stretch in a wide strip along the shores of the Caspian Sea. Sands are widespread in the Astrakhan Trans-Volga region. A significant part of these sand massifs belongs to the category of moving ones.

In the north of the Caspian lowland, vegetation is represented by wormwood-cereal type; as you move south, the amount of cereals decreases and wormwood begins to predominate. Saltworts predominate in the south. The grass cover here is very sparse, the vegetation is undersized, due to which it suffers less from evaporation: plants have a very well developed root system allowing them to make intensive use of soil moisture. On slightly saline loams, the following are predominant: white wormwood( Artemisia maritima), and on clayey, more saline soils - black wormwood ( Artemisia pauciflora); a lot of fescue ( Festuca sulcata), feather grass( Stipa capillata), thin-legged ( Koeleria gracilis). Lots of tulips in spring( Tulipa schrenkii), buttercup ( Ranunculus polyrhisus), bluegrass (Roa bulbosa var vivipara). On salt licks, in addition to black wormwood, biyurgun hodgepodge grows ( Anabasis salsa) and lichens ( Aspicilia); in rainy seasons, colonies of algae appear on solonetzes, having the appearance of black, hair-like, threads more than 30 long pressed to the ground.cm.

Various saltworts, black wormwood and shrubs grow on salt marshes: tamarisk ( Tamarix romosissima), kermek ( Statice suffruticosa). The kiyak grass grows on the sands( Elymus giganteus), which is a sand binder. In wet basins among the sands there are willows( Salix rosmarinifolia), goof ( Elaeagnus angustifolia) and other shrubs. In depressions, among hilly sands, where fresh groundwater lies very close to the surface, white poplar grows.( Populus alba), speck (Ro pulus nigra), aspen, willow ( Salix rosmarinifaboutla), rose hip ( Rosa cinnamomea). In the floodplain of the Volga there are: oak( Quercus robur), elm ( Ulmuslaevis), speck.

Characteristic representatives of animals are: sandy gopher, or yellow( Citellus fulvus), jerboa ( Alactaga elates), gerbil ( Meriones tamariscinus), hamster ( Cricetus cricetus). Saiga is found in the sands between the Volga and the Urals( Saiga tatarica), ubiquitous corsac fox( Vulpes corsak).

Of the birds found: black lark( Melanocorypha yeltonieusis) and small ( Calandrella). Floodplains and river deltas, especially the Volga, abound in birds. The Volga Delta is characterized by: great cormorant( Phalacrocorax carbo), white-tailed eagle( Haliaetus albicilla), grey goose (apse rapseg), white heron ( Egretta alba), sultan chicken( Porphyrio polioephalus), pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus), whiskered tit ( Ponurus biarmicus).

The Caspian lowland is used as a pasture. The low depth of snow cover allows the use of pastures in winter time. With firth irrigation it is possible to obtain high yields of wheat, millet and fodder grasses.

In the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain, melon growing, horticulture and horticulture, industrial crops and rice are flourishing.

AT Astrakhan Reserve there is a relict plant - lotus( Nelumbium caspicum).

The Emba oil field is being developed, salt(Lake Baskunchak, Elton).

- Source-

Davydova, M.I. Physical geography of the USSR / M.I. Davydova [and d.b.]. - M .: Education, 1966. - 847 p.

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