The Republic of Mordovia is located in the east of the East European Plain. The relief here is predominantly flat, but there are hills and uplands in the southeast. In the west is the Oka-Don Plain, and in the center - the Volga Upland. Climate zone Mordovia - temperate continental. In winter, the average temperature is -11 degrees Celsius, and in summer - +19 degrees. Approximately 500 mm of precipitation falls annually.

Flora of Mordovia

In Mordovia there are forest, meadow and steppe landscapes. The forests here are both mixed and broad-leaved. They grow pines and spruces, larches and ash trees, pedunculate oaks and maples, elms and warty birches, lindens and black poplars.

From the undergrowth and grasses here you can find hazel, mountain ash, euonymus, lilies of the valley, buckthorn, lungwort, plantain.

Among rare plants the following must be mentioned:

  • - leafless iris;
  • - forest anemone;
  • - spring adonis;
  • - Saranaca lily;
  • - green-flowered love;
  • - Russian hazel grouse;
  • - lumbago open Perennial;
  • - real lady's slipper;
  • - Siberian blueberry.

On the territory of the republic, not only new deposits of some plant species were found, but also populations of those plants that were previously considered extinct altogether. In order to increase them and preserve the rest of the species, several reserves were created in Mordovia.

Fauna of Mordovia

Representatives of the fauna of Mordovia live in forests and in the forest-steppe. Muskrat and muskrat live here, steppe lemming and mole rat, beaver and spotted ground squirrel, big jerboa and marten. In the forests you can meet moose and wild boars, lynxes, hares, squirrels.

The bird world is rich and varied, it is represented by hazel grouses, tits, woodpeckers, capercaillie, blackbirds, reed harrier, red-footed falcons, saker falcons, black storks, short-toed eagle, peregrine falcon. Bream and sabrefish, pike and ide, catfish and loach, char and tench, sterlet and pike perch are found in reservoirs.

Marsh harrier

snake-eater

Since the nature of Mordovia is rich and diverse, but its safety is threatened by anthropogenic activity, reserves are being created, environmental protection measures are being taken. was created in the republic national park"Smolny", on the territory of which many animals live and plants of various species grow.

Posted Sun, 20/05/2018 - 13:57 by Cap

The Republic of Mordovia is located in the center of the Russian Plain between 42°11" and 46°45" E and 53°38" and 55°11" N on the southwestern periphery of the Volga basin in the interfluve of the Moksha and Sura. The maximum length from west to east is 298 km, from north to south - up to 140 km.

Most of the territory is located in the northwestern region of the layered-tier Volga Upland, which in the west of the republic passes into the layered Oka-Don lowland. It defines general trend decrease in the activity of erosion-denudation processes from the southeast to the northwest (Yamashkin, 1998, 1999).

MAP and Geography of Mordovia

Botanical-geographical zoning

Based on years of research by botanists Mordovian University botanical and geographical zoning of the Republic of Mordovia was carried out (Astradamov et al., 2002). In accordance with it, it is subdivided into 8 botanical and geographical regions (see fig.).


1. Boreal region with two sub-regions:

1 a. Moksha boreal subregion. The nature of the flora and vegetation is determined by the distribution of sandy Quaternary deposits. Pine and pine forests are widespread here. broadleaf forests with more or less spruce participation. On the territory of the Mordovia Reserve there are small areas of pure spruce forests. Small-leaved forests - birch and aspen forests - predominate in clearings and on the site of fires. The area is characterized by the presence of many boreal species: common juniper, northern linnaea, phegopteris binding, white-backed protruding, broad-leaved sedge, two-seeded sedge, hedgehog sedge, kumanika, alpine pondweed, cereal pondweed, dull pondweed. It is this region that is characterized by the presence of small transitional and raised bogs with many taiga species, such as marsh cranberries, marsh scheuchzeria, swamp sedge, string-root sedge.

1 b. Alatyr boreal subregion. The flora and vegetation of this subarea resembles subarea 1a in many respects. However, it can be noted that in coniferous and mixed forests less participation spruce. It is likely that some kind of western gravity is absent here. For example, until the prostrate shield was found here. And only in this area is the northern orchid gammar marsh so far known.

2. The Primokshansky steppe region covers a vast region of chernozems in the left-bank part of Moksha. The steppes of the region are almost completely plowed up and occupied by agricultural land. Apparently, their species composition was quite typical for northern meadow steppes. The surviving areas with fragments of steppe vegetation are confined to the slopes of ravines and gullies, to river valleys. rich by species composition steppe tracts have been preserved near the village. Surgod, Torbeevsky district, near the village. Troitsk, Kovylkinsky district. Feather grass, hairy feather grass, rich herbs are marked on them. The region is characterized by the presence in the steppe groups of steppe sage, false veronica, in the south of changeable carnation.

3. The Rudnyansky steppe region adjoins the Pochinkovsky region of the Nizhny Novgorod region and is its continuation. On the territory of the Republic of Mordovia, it is completely plowed up, the steppe vegetation has been destroyed and is represented only by individual species.

4. The Insar oak forest region covers a vast array of gray forest soils, which in the past was occupied by continuous broad-leaved forests. At present, broad-leaved forests and aspen forests in their place have been preserved in small areas. This region is characterized by Beneken's rump, prickly sedge, tall wrestler, brittle vesicle, and plain maple is found in the south of the region. The southern edges and glades of these forests are considerably steppe.

5. The Saransk steppe region covers the territories adjacent to the river. Insar. It is characterized by a high degree of development, a large percentage of the territory is occupied by settlements, industrial and agricultural enterprises. Steppe associations are preserved along the slopes of gullies and ravines. Some steppe species are noted only in this floristic region: perennial flax, pale rank, Germanic elecampane, hairy breast, squat skullcap, creeping tar.


6. The Chamzinsky carbonate region covers most of eastern Mordovia. Based on the predominance of chernozem soils in this area, it can be assumed that steppe vegetation was widespread here in the past, and leached chernozems indicate that upland oak forests were also encountered earlier. In general, this area is difficult to distinguish from the previous one. But the Chamzinsky district is characterized, first of all, by the peculiar flora of the Alatyr swell, where carbonate outcrops are widespread. Therefore, the flora includes not only steppe, but also pronounced calciphilous species: kachim highest, protozoan onosma, plain carnation, cup beetroot, Austrian astragalus, coin-leaved sunflower, hard scabiosa, ball-headed onion. In the steppe areas, meadow sage is replaced by steppe sage; in oak forests, Arnelli's sedge grows instead of hairy sedge.

7. The Prisursky pine region occupies the ancient alluvial deposits of the Sura. This area is characterized by a variety of pine forests from lichen forests on dry sandy soils, to complex pine forests with an admixture of oak and linden on rich soils and long-moss pine forests and sphagnum pine forests in conditions of high humidity. There are massifs of floodplain oak forests, there are small areas of thin alder forests, floodplain meadows and thickets of shrubs. Many boreal species are present here (club-shaped, year-old, flattened, blueberry willow, wintergreens, large-flowered single-flowered, marsh boletus), but there is no spruce at all, single junipers are found. On the other hand, in the flora of steppe forests, in the meadows along the dry crests of the floodplain, steppe plants(sand carnation, open lumbago, sandy cinquefoil, kachim panicled, Polesskaya fescue, cornflower blueberry, hornate spirea). Black poplar, or black poplar, is common on riverbanks, and spiked currant is often found.

8. The Bolsheignatovsky steppe region adjoins the Pyansko-Sursky region of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Upland vegetation has been destroyed, its place has been occupied by fields. Steppe groupings survived only along the slopes of gullies and ravines. They noted feather grass, hairy feather grass, spring adonis, leafless iris, low almond, small glandular gerbil.

MONUMENTS OF NATURE
Monuments of nature - natural objects, complexes or their parts, valuable in scientific, cultural, educational, aesthetic and health-improving relations. There are 100 natural monuments registered in the Republic of Moldova. Of these, 23 complex, 36 botanical, 30 water, 8 zoological, 3 geological. total area natural monuments - 7,563.75 hectares (0.29% of the area of ​​Mordovia).
There are 4 complex natural monuments (87 hectares) in the Ardatovsky district, including a peat bog (45.5), the Shmelev Pond tract (20.8); 2 botanical (21); zoological (18) - forest area, nesting place for gray herons and cranes; water (4 hectares) - Lake Shirokoe - the place of growth of chilim (see Rogulnikovye).
In Bolshebereznikovsky - 4 complex (1,177 hectares), including the Simkinsky landscape reserve (1,000; see Simkinsky natural park for sustainable development); 2 botanical (50); water (43.7 ha) - Lake Inerka.
In Bolsheignatovsky - complex (106 hectares) - peat bog "Progonnoye"; water - spring "Memory". In Dubyonskoye - 2 complex (88 hectares), including the Svetloe peat bog (66); 2 botanical (36.5), including the tract "Od moda" (36); zoological (161) - a forest area, a nesting place for the common crane, the habitat of the curlew and muskrat; water (10 ha).
In Elnikovsky - 2 complex (240 hectares), including the Pichingushanskoye peat bog (212); water (28) - Lake Inorka; botanical (1); 2 zoological (over 0.67 ha) nesting sites for rare bird species.
In Zubovo-Polyansky - 4 complex (271 hectares), including the tract "White Lakes" (150); zoological (200) - a forest area, a nesting place for the Common Crane; water (14) - Lake Imerka; 5 botanical (2.4); geological (2 hectares) - landslide "Koshel-gora". In Ichalkovsky - zoological (1,042 ha) - floodplain meadow, nesting place for the curlew; 2 botanical (375), including a pine forest site (358); complex (22); 4 water (21 hectares) - Lake B. Inerka, Inorka, Oak-1 and Oak-2 - places of growth of chilim. In Kovylkinsky - 3 nerds. (817.4 ha), including pine forest (613); 2 water springs - springs "Chapel" and "Keredyeshi".
In Kochkurovsky - botanical (600 hectares) - a plot of pine forest; complex (15); 2 water (13.3 ha).
In Krasnoslobodsky - 7 botanical (1,058.5 ha), including Sivinskaya (450) and Krasnoslobodskaya (365) forest dachas; zoological (200) - the "Chistoe" tract, the nesting place of the largest gray heron colony in the republic; complex (55); water (4 ha). In Romodanovsky - 2 complex (6.4 hectares); water (3.4 ha).
In Ruzaevsky, there is a complex (20 ha) Levzhinsky landscape reserve, a typical forest-steppe site unique in terms of vegetation on the southern slope of the Levzha bank and the habitat of the northern population of the European mole rat.
In Temnikovsky - 4 botanical (585 hectares), including the tract "Sanaksarskaya dacha" (319) and Emashevskaya grove (266); 4 water (121.7), including lake Bolshoye Palkino (62); 2 geological (12); zoological (5 ha) - a swampy forest area where nesting of the Common Crane has been noted.
In Tengushevsky - 5 botanical (68.3 hectares), including an oak grove (50); 2 water (31 ha). In Torbeevsky - 4 water - 3 springs and a mirror pond (70 hectares). In the Chamzinsky district - 4 water (springs), botanical (0.01 ha) - long-lived oak.
In the city of Saransk - water (Bogoyavlensky spring).


Echoes of the ancient beliefs of the Mordovians are still active: people from all over the republic, and from other regions of Russia, go to the ancient oak tree, which still grows in the thicket of the Simkinsky Natural Park.
Many are sure that it was the oak that helped them give birth to a child, maintain health and become happy.
There are many places on earth that are attributed properties that violate the laws of nature, or interference divine powers. Mordovia is no exception. Far beyond the borders of the republic, an ancient oak is known in the Bolshebereznikovsky district, according to local residents, possessing healing properties and curing infertility.
This tree is over 600 years old. Popular rumor says that it helps to give birth healthy children, keep family happiness and performs different cherished desires. Oak grows in Simkinsky nature park Mordovia and not only became a local landmark, but even officially received the status of a natural monument of Russia.
- I learned about this oak when I studied at the technical school. My sister and I made wishes there, and they came true! Now I continue to visit the oak tree every year and take my husband with me. I ask for health and happiness for my son. And who does not believe, let him go to the oak and check!
Valentina Alexandrovna, a resident of Saransk
At the time of Baptism, the Mordovians categorically refused to accept someone else's faith (although now it is considered the most Christianized people of the Volga region. - Ed.). To perform pagan rites, they had to choose secret places. It was near this tree that the people turned to their gods, performed prayers and magical rites, and made sacrifices. It is obvious that then the belief in the special properties of this place and the tree growing on it was born.
- My husband and I did not have children for a long time, although we were married for a long time. Started thinking about adopting a baby from orphanage, but a neighbor told me about this miraculous oak tree in Berezniki. Well, I secretly went there from my husband. I arrived early in the morning, I had to wander a little and look for him. I sat down by the oak and talked to him, to myself, of course. She tied a ribbon, touched the branches of the tree, looked into the hollow, said goodbye to him. About three weeks later, I decided to once again take a pregnancy test, and then I was surprised: two strips. I went straight to the doctor and he confirmed my pregnancy.

- the middle river in the Penza region, Mordovia and Ryazan region, left (Oka basin).
The length of the river is 222 km, the basin area is 6500 km².
Winding, mostly forest (although there are also meadow areas) river.
Average annual water consumption in upstream(near Avdalovo) - 7.5 m³ / s.
It originates in the forests of the Penza region, 17 km southeast of Vadinsk, near the villages of Kopovka and Krasnaya Polyana in the Vadinsky district.



A 700-meter dam has been installed in the area of ​​the southeastern part of Vadinsk. The volume of the reservoir formed by this dam is 21 million m³ of water. It flows in the Penza region through the settlements of Kopovka, Vadinsk, Bolshaya Luka, Sergo-Polivanovo, Lugovoe.

It flows through Mordovia in a swampy plain, surrounded by forests. Below the village of Shiringushi, it receives the left tributaries of the Udev, Marchas, Pichkyrias and the right tributaries of the Partsa, Yavas. The last 15 km flows through the territory of the Ryazan region, the urban type Kadom.


Tributaries (km from mouth]
22 km: Shvara stream
27 km: river Tast
39 km: Yavas River
46 km: Yuzga stream
55 km: Partsa river
73 km: Sankelyan stream
78 km: Pichkyrias river
83 km: Vadaksh river
86 km: Zhuravka river
93 km: Vyachka river
109 km: Lyasma river
114 km: Marchas river
126 km: river Udyov
144 km: Kita River
157 km: Latos river
173 km: unnamed river, near the village. Tenevo
174 km: unnamed river, near the village. Tenevo
185 km: Karenka river (Kerenka, Dalnyaya)
186 km: Tyuryev creek
204 km: Kotel river


Sivin - main river our area. The life of every person living in the village is connected with it by invisible threads. And the name of the village itself comes from the river of the same name.

The Sivin River originates in the Insar region of the Republic of Mordovia. It quietly and calmly carries its waters for many kilometers.
In winter it is covered in ice. And during the spring flood, it gains strength, overflows its banks and rushes uncontrollably, showing a violent temper. Numerous tributaries help her to get rid of the ice oppression: Ozhga, Vizlyayka, Gruznoleyka, Lisina, Avgurka, Skal, Vihlyayka, Serebryanka, Kivchey and others.
Do not recognize a calm, quiet river in a stormy spring stream. She enters into an argument with everything, floods the Quay Street. At this time, it is not possible to pass or drive through it. But spring passes, and the river again enters its course.

On the banks of the river, a riot of flora. Now she winds through the forest among the giant trees, then she carries her waters in the middle of the meadows. And how many medicinal herbs are here! Scarce products, but in essence come in and take it! Here is tansy, and here is a series. How many healing tinctures are made from them. And here is the hop. It improves digestion, heals gastritis, treats inflammation of the kidneys, neuralgia, sciatica. There is also a sedative - valerian, medicinal bird cherry, alder. Gets along in wet places and wild rose - both beautiful and useful. And the banks of viburnum are also rich. How many healthy delicacies are prepared from it in folk cuisine! Fragrant strawberries grow on the elevated banks, blackberries spread along the water.
There are many thickets of willow along the banks of the Sivini. It is known to be a honey plant, a source of tannins, and animal feed. Willows do not require maintenance. They replenish their reserves quickly. Algae grows in the Sivin River. Here we will meet both the yellow egg-pod and the beautiful white water lily.

There are a lot of fish in the river: ruff, burbot, pike, rudd, perch, roach, gudgeon and others. There are many shells at the bottom. Among the algae we see many frogs and waterfowl. There are also crayfish in the river. But this indicates that the water in it is quite clean. Muskrats, beavers, and minks are settled along the banks. There are many nests of swallows - shorebirds and waterfowl.

The water of the Sivin river is used very actively. On the banks of the river there is a Republican recreation area. Many factories in Saransk and Ruzaevka have their nurseries here. health camps. It is a pity that the Solnechny camp was liquidated from the Ministry Agriculture who specialized in diseases of the eye. There are natural baths on the river. There is also healing blue clay.

Water is also used for watering wild and domestic animals, for watering vegetable gardens, and for fishing. Large stock found in Sivini area drinking water. It is planned to build a water intake from the Sivin River to the city of Saransk. The villagers hope that this will not affect the water level in the wells.

A ridge of limestone lies along the bottom of the river. In the 70s, this stone was developed for construction.

The river is rich in its history. Along the river, the remains of mammoths, stone tools were found, which are in the school museum of local lore and testify to parking ancient man whose life is inextricably linked with the river.

She was once a navigator. Barges with products from the Sivinsky iron foundry were dragged along it and ore was delivered for smelting these products. Yes, and the mechanisms of the plant themselves were driven by a water wheel. The mill also worked on water. A dam was built. The existence of this dam, which was built in the 19th century, is reminiscent of huge embankments and an oxbow lake. Some of the embankments were used in the construction of a modern bridge in 1989. Black bog oak was mined from the river, which was the most valuable raw material for the manufacture of furniture.
From the village of Sivin, the river moves on and flows into the Moksha River. The confluence of the rivers occurs in the meadows of the Staro-Goryashinsky branch of the Alliance cooperative in the Krasnoslobodsky district of the Republic of Mordovia.


Augura River

One of the left tributaries of the Sivin River is the Augur River. It flows from the northwest, emerging from forest springs. It flows through the Old - Augur Pond and carries its waters through the meadows. The current in the river is fast. The Augur has no tributaries. It is born from forest springs and is fed by melt and rain water. There is little water in the river, but it is very clean. Shrubs, alder, bird cherry grow along the banks of the river, there are thickets of blackberries. In the floodplain of the river there are many grasses that animals feed on. In the river live such fish as perch, pike, roach. The muskrat builds its huts along the banks. There are many insects and frogs in the river. In the spring, wild ducks fly to the river and nest.
A man catches fish in it, hunts ducks. In the village of Starye Avgury, a fish farm has been established on the river, where carp, silver carp, and grass carp are bred. The fish goes on sale both in the Krasnoslobodsky district and beyond. From the thickets of willow, people choose a vine for weaving baskets.
People keep the river clean. Along the river, people do not plow the soil, do not cut down trees. At the exit from the Staro-Avgursky water intake fisheries a primitive sewage treatment plant was set up. It is thin, technically outdated, and only natural filters: sand and small pebbles help the river to remain crystal clear when it flows into the Sivin River.

Gruznoleyka river
The Gruznoleika River originates in the deepest ravine in the north-east of the village of Sivin from many forest icy springs that flow into it from the border with the Nizhny Novgorod region. The ravine, along the bottom of which the river flows, is so deep that the water in it does not freeze even in winter. The current at Gruznoleyka is slow. She has no tributaries.
The gruznoleyka flows through the village from Nagornaya Street to Naberezhnaya Street and overflows widely in a place called Buchilo, after which it flows into the Sivin River.
The river is interesting because in summer the water in it is icy. It does not warm up in the forest ravine. But in winter it often spills, and even in severe frost, forming a nasluz, which reaches two meters thick. In spring, the river changes its course and floods the gardens of Nizhnyaya Bazarnaya Street and the lower part of Kooperativnaya Street.
Shrubs grow along the banks of the river. Many medicinal herbs: mother - and - stepmother, succession. Since the water is very cold, there are few living organisms in it.

So that the water does not wash away the banks, people plant trees. They say that the most delicious tea is obtained from the water taken in Gruznoleyka. That's why they would keep the river like the apple of an eye, but ... You can often see how people throw garbage, household waste into it. Schoolchildren take care of the river. Subbotniks are held to clean the banks of debris. The geography teacher and his students planted trees along the river. The channel was deepened so that during the flood the river would not carry away the fertile soil from the gardens.
We know from the history of the village that at the beginning of the 20th century the river was blocked by a dam. A water mill was built on the river, which today only a small pond on Sadovaya Street reminds of.

Vizlyayka River
One of the right tributaries of the Sivin river is the low-water river Vizlyayka. It flows from ravines that stretch from the northeast side of the extinct village of Krasnaya Zarya and flows near the village of Srednee Pole. There is little water in the river, but it strikes with crystal clearness. Born from the purest forest springs, it carries its waters along forest ravines, along which there is no settlements, to the village Srednee Pole. After a kilometer it merges with Sivigne. The Vizlyayka has no tributaries.

Thickets of viburnum and willow stretch along the river. Muskrat lives on the banks of the river, waterfowl settle. There are no fish in the river. Vizlyayka is used for water intake for agricultural needs. Even in winter, people cut holes and take water for drinking, washing and watering livestock.

In the spring, the river is blocked with a dam to flood the meadows for hayfields, and in the summer the dam is removed. And let a man intervene in the life of this small river, but he takes care of it. The vegetation along the banks is not cut down, water from the sewers does not get into it, the fields next to it are not plowed up. And the river pays people for their care with the purest spring water.

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SOURCE OF MATERIALS AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads.
http://zapoved-mordovia.ru/
specially protected natural areas Mordovia (Under the general editorship of V.I. Astradamov): Monograph. — Saransk: Mordovskoe book publishing house, 1997.
Resources surface water USSR: Hydrological knowledge. T. 10. Upper Volga region / Ed. V. P. Shaban. - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1966. - 528 p.
Isaev A.I., Karpova E.I. Fish farming. — M.: Agropromizdat, 1991. — 96 p. Gafferberg I. G. A brief physical and geographical sketch of the nature of the Mordovskiy Reserve // ​​Proceedings of Mordovskiy state reserve them. P. G. Smidovich, 1960. - Issue 1. - S. 5-24. Gortsev VN Nature of Mordovia. - Saransk: Mordov. book. ed. 1958. - 122 p.
Kharitonychev A. T. Nature of the Nizhny Novgorod Volga region: History of use, protection. - Gorky: Volga-Vyatka book. ed. 1978. - 175 p.
Native land. Between Moksha and Tesha: History of the region and modern life. - Nizhny Novgorod: Publishing House "Litera", 1998. - S. 3-9.
Yamashkin A. A. Physical and geographical conditions and landscapes of Mordovia: Proc. allowance. Saransk: Publishing House in Mordov. unta, 1998. - 156 p.
Sights of Mordovia.

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Mordovia is a republic in the European part of Russia. It is located on a flat area, between the rivers Moksha and Sura. What are the features of the nature of Mordovia? What characterizes its climate, as well as vegetation and animal world?

A little about the republic

The Republic of Mordovia belongs to the Volga region Russian Federation and is included in the Volga-Vyatka economic region. It is located about 330 kilometers from Moscow. Transport routes pass through Mordovia, connecting the capital of the country with Siberia, the Urals and the Volga region. Its neighbors to the north and east are Nizhny Novgorod Region, Chuvashia and the Ulyanovsk region, in the west it borders the Ryazan region, and in the south - the Penza region.

The republic is inhabited by about 800 thousand people, of which more than 62% live in cities. In addition to Russian, Erzya and Moksha are official. They are spoken by representatives of two ethnic groups that originally lived on the territory of the Oka-Sura interfluve.

Now the Mordovian peoples make up the second largest group of the population. So, Russians account for about 53%, Mordovians - about 40% of the inhabitants. Approximately 5% is the number of Tatars.

The capital of the republic is Saransk with a population of 300,000 people. In 2013, the French actor Gerard Depardieu received registration in this city immediately after he became a Russian citizen. In 2018 Saransk will host some matches of the World Cup.

Climate features

The Republic is located in temperate latitudes, so all four seasons are pronounced and clearly replace each other. Remoteness from the oceans and seas also contributes, forming the continental type of climate in Mordovia, with large annual amplitudes temperatures.

The republic has a relatively hot summer, which lasts exactly according to the calendar: starting in June and ending in last days August. July is the most hot month when the temperature reaches +26-27 °C. During this period, western and northern air masses. In summer, thunderstorms, dry winds, squalls and droughts often occur.

The coldest month of the year is January with an average temperature of -11°C. The winters of Mordovia are cloudy and frosty. But too much frost does not last long and the temperature rarely drops below -15 ° C. The absolute minimum ever recorded in the republic was -47 °C. In winter, air humidity is much higher than in summer. Fog, icy conditions, hoarfrost, blizzards and strong winds are considered typical phenomena in the cold season.

Nature of Mordovia

The republic is located in the eastern part of the largest plain on the continent - East European. Its eastern and central part is occupied by which in the west passes into the Oka-Don lowland.

The territory is dissected by a dense river network, which contributes to the diversity of the flora and fauna of Mordovia. Local plants are represented by both coniferous and broad-leaved species, as well as all kinds of mosses and meadow grasses. More than 12 types of soils have formed here, including chernozem, gray, gley, podzolic, meadow-chernozem.

The local relief is not too elevated. The highest elevation reaches only 334 meters. In river valleys, the height decreases to 80-90 meters. The geological structure is dominated by clay-sand formations, as well as alternating layers of limestone and dolomite. The main minerals of Mordovia are building sands, chalk, marl, clay, carbonate rocks, but especially large deposits not in the republic.

surface water

Rivers play an important role in the nature of Mordovia. There are approximately 1525 of them in the republic, and all of them belong to the Volga basin. The rivers of Mordovia are fed by groundwater and precipitation. They are winding and leisurely, with wide valleys and watersheds.

The largest rivers are Moksha and Sura, whose basins cover the entire territory of the republic. The rest of the streams in Mordovia are their tributaries. The Sura River connects directly with the Volga and is its right tributary, the Moksha first flows into the Oka, through it already into the Volga.

There are much fewer lakes in the republic. Basically, they are oxbow lakes formed due to a change in the riverbed. The largest of them is Lake Inerka. Being a part of Sura in the past, it stretched for 4 km in length, and reaches only 200 meters in width.

Vegetable world

The modern nature of Mordovia was formed after ice age. She was forced to adapt to a radically changing climate, and at the same time to adapt to the economic development of the earth by man. The natural forest and forest-steppe landscapes of the republic are far from being preserved in full. Over the past three centuries, they have been strongly pushed aside by plowed areas.

Local plants are represented by almost all existing divisions. There are no red and brown algae here. There are especially many species of flowering plants (1120), mosses (77), lichens (83) and fungi (186) in the nature of Mordovia.

Approximately 27% of the republic's territory is occupied by coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests. In them there are mainly oaks, pines, lindens, aspens, birches, willows, ash trees. Also in the forests there is hazel, wild rose, euonymus.

Meadow and shrub steppes of Mordovia used to occupy much more space. Now they are preserved only where it is difficult to equip arable zones, that is, in ravines, gullies, along the outskirts of forests and on river terraces. Herbs and flowers grow here, such as feather grass, chamomile, pikulnik, field broom, clover, sage. On the banks of the marshes there are sedges, mosses, willows and thickets of horsetail.

Animals of Mordovia

Due to the connection of several natural areas, as well as a dense river network, the fauna of the republic is quite diverse. Quail, hoopoe, kestrel, badger, partridge live in pine forests. Woodpeckers, thrushes, wood grouses, warblers, warblers, wood and dormouse, vipers are found in oak forests and in transitional zones.

Moose, hares, squirrels, martens, weasels, voles, ermines, as well as bears, lynxes, foxes and wolves live in local forests. Jerboas, shrews, ground squirrels live in the steppes. Beavers, muskrats, otters live in rivers and lakes, catfish, pikes, breams, and ides swim. In total, among the animals of Mordovia there are 50 species of mammals, 170 species of birds, 30 species of fish and more than a thousand insects.

secondary types and occupy 51% of the forest area in Mordovia. Birch forests appear, as a rule, in the place of pine forests, although sometimes primary birch forests are found in floodplains. In the forests of Mordovia, there are mainly three types of birch: warty, fluffy and drooping, but the name white birch has become stronger among the people because of the color of the bark. Aspen forests form derived types that have replaced spruce forests and oak forests. Aspen (trembling poplar), as a breed that is more demanding on soil and moisture, occupies more fertile soil. One of characteristic features aspens are very mobile leaves that come into motion even from a weak breeze. This is due to the fact that the leaf blades are attached to the end of a long, thin petiole, which is flat, strongly flattened laterally. Thanks to this shape, the petiole bends especially easily to the right and to the left, which is why aspen leaf blades are so mobile, and one gets the impression of their trembling. Aspen lives a little, its trunk is already in early age often has rot inside, mature trees are almost all rotten in the middle. For this reason, they break easily from strong wind. Aspen is of little use for firewood, as it gives little heat; it is used mainly for matches and various crafts. Its wood is of little value, therefore the aspen is called the weed of the forests.


Lesson topic: "Rare and endangered species of plants and animals of Mordovia." The purpose of the lesson: to introduce students to rare and endangered species of plants and animals of Mordovia, to continue educating them in love and respect for nature, to introduce them to the Red Books of Nature. Type of lesson: combined, lesson - presentation.








The pollen head is red. perennial herbaceous plant with a rhizome deeply penetrating into the soil, ascending, almost vertical, with shoots, the internodes of which are of different sizes. The stem is cm high, the branching of the shoot system is monochasial, with 3-6 leaves. Red pollenhead grows in dry, sparse forests, broad-leaved, coniferous, along the edges, among shrubs, often on steep slopes, with strong shading it can go into a state of forced rest for a very long time (up to 20 years) and lead an underground lifestyle


Russian hazel grouse. Perennial herbaceous bulbous plant, up to 40 cm tall. Bulb up to 1 cm in diameter. It grows on the slopes of ravines, on the edges of deciduous and pine forests. But more Russian hazel grouse prefers fertile soils, with a high content of humus.




Osprey. The osprey is a large and, in fact, unique predator, since it is the only species in this family. Ospreys are large in size. Their body is up to half a meter long, and the wingspan reaches almost one and a half meters. Weight varies from one and a half to two kilograms. The wings of the osprey are elongated and characteristically curved where the carpal joint should be. The upper feathers are dark brown, while the crown, nape, chest and ventral part are white.


Golden eagle. Berkut is big bird with long and relatively narrow wings, slightly rounded tail; the feathers on the back of the head are narrow and pointed; the paws are very powerful, with strong claws and a tarsus feathered to the toes. The dimensions of the golden eagle are as follows: total length 8095 cm, wing length 6072.5 cm, weight 36.5 kg. Female golden eagles are noticeably larger than males. Both sexes are colored the same.




May lily of the valley. May lily of the valley is a perennial herbaceous plant of the lily family with a creeping branched rhizome and thin roots at the nodes. The underground rhizome is not thicker than a goose feather, near the top it bears several pale small lower leaves, half-hidden in the ground. Shoots consisting of 36 vaginal leaves extend from the tops and side branches of the rhizome. The leaves of the lily of the valley are basal, long-petiolate, with an oblong - elliptical pointed leaf blade, thin, entire, bright green, gray on the upper side, and shiny on the lower side. The plant has a strong but pleasant aroma, and it blooms from late May to June. The fruit is a juicy three-celled spherical orange-red berry that ripens in August September. The plant is poisonous.


Owl. If we consider owls beautiful, then the most beautiful of them, of course, is the owl. Cause respect and the size of the owl. This is an owl with a wingspan of almost two meters and a weight of about three kilograms. An owl's egg weighs grams - the same as an adult Ussuri scoop.