View source for Ural Mountains

{{About|the land formation|other uses|Ural (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox mountain range
|name=The Ural Mountains
|photo=
|photo_caption= 
|country=Russia
|country1=Kazakhstan
|map=Russia
<!--|region=Bashkortostan
|region1=Sverdlovsk Oblast
|region2=Perm Krai
|region3=Chelyabinsk Oblast
|region4=Kurgan Oblast
|region5=Orenburg Oblast
|region6=Tyumen Oblast
|region7=Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug
|region8=Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
|region9=West Kazakhstan-->
|geology=
|period=Carboniferous
|orogeny=
|highest=[[Mount Narodnaya]]
|length_km=2500
|width_km=150
|elevation_m=1895
}}
The '''Ural Mountains''' ({{lang-rus|Ура́льские го́ры|r=Uralskiye gory|p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈgorɨ}}; {{lang-ba|Урал тауҙары, ''Ural tauźarı''}}), or simply '''the Urals''', are a [[mountain range]] that runs approximately from north to south through [[western Russia]], from the coast of the [[Arctic Ocean]] to the [[Ural River]] and northwestern [[Kazakhstan]].<ref name=brit>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/619028/Ural-Mountains Ural Mountains], Encyclopædia Britannica on-line</ref>
The mountain range forms part of the [[Boundaries between continents|conventional boundary]] between the continents of [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. [[Vaygach Island]] and the islands of [[Novaya Zemlya]] form a further continuation of the chain to the north into the Arctic Ocean.

The mountains lie within the [[Ural (region)|Ural]] geographical region and significantly overlap with the [[Ural Federal District]] and with the [[Ural economic region]]. They have rich resources, including metal ores, coal, precious and semi-precious stones. Since the 18th century the mountains have contributed significantly to the mineral sector of the [[Economy of Russia|Russian economy]].

==Etymology==
As attested by [[Sigismund von Herberstein]], in the 16th century Russians called the range by a variety of names derived from the Russian words for rock (stone) and belt. The modern Russian name for the Urals (Урал, ''Ural''), first appearing in the 16th–17th century when the [[Russian conquest of Siberia]] was in its heroic phase, was initially applied to its southern parts and gained currency as the name of the entire range during the 18th century. It might have been a borrowing from either [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] "stone belt"<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=tvbz3vaNeBQC Ludmila Koryakova, Andrej Epimakhov. The Urals and Western Si. beria in the Bronze and Iron Ages.] [http://www.cambridge.org/asia/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780511266911&ss=exc Cambridge University Press], 2007, page.338</ref> ([[Bashkir language|Bashkir]], where the same name is used for the range), or [[Ob-Ugric languages|Ob-Ugric]].<ref>[[Max Vasmer|Фасмер, Макс]]. [http://dic.academic.ru/dic.nsf/vasmer/35901/Урал Этимологический словарь русского языка]</ref> From the 13th century, in [[Bashkortostan]] there has been a [[Ural-batyr|legend about a hero named Ural]]. He sacrificed his life for the sake of his people and they poured a stone pile over his grave, which later turned into the Ural Mountains.<ref name=bse/><ref>*{{cite book|title=The Urals and Western Siberia in the Bronze and Iron Ages|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=0-521-82928-3|author1=Koriakova, Ludmila  |author2=Epimakhov, Andrei  |lastauthoramp=yes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tvbz3vaNeBQC&printsec=frontcover|page=338}}</ref><ref>[http://book-chel.ru/ind.php?what=card&id=3933 Ural, toponym] Chlyabinsk Encyclopedia (in Russian)</ref> Possibilities include Bashkir ''үр'' "elevation; upland"" or Mansi ''ур ала'' "mountain peak, top of the mountain",<ref name="survinat">http://survinat.com/2014/10/what-is-the-urals/</ref> Ostyak urr (chain of mountains).<ref>Volume V27, Page 787 of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> [[w:Vasily Tatishchev|V.N. Tatischev]] believes that this [[Toponymy|oronym]] is set to "belt" and associates it with the Turkic verb oralu- "gird".<ref name="survinat"/> I.G. Dobrodomov suggests a transition from [[w:Aral sea|Aral]] to Ural explained on the basis of ancient [[w:Bulgars|Bulgar]]-[[Chuvash language|Chuvash]] dialects. Geographer E.V. Hawks believes that the name goes back to the Bashkir folklore [[w:Ural-Batyr|Ural-Batyr]].<ref name="survinat"/> Ethnographer E.N. Shumilov suggested a Mongolian origin, Khural Uul, that is, "meeting of the mountains".<ref>Newspaper «Big Cam» for 1978, № 28</ref> The [[Evenki language|Evenk]] geographical term era "mountain" has also been theorized.<ref name="survinat"/> Finno-Ugrist scholars consider Ural deriving from the Mansi word 'urr' meaning a mountain. Turkologists, on the other hand, have achieved majority support for their assertion that 'ural' in Tatar means a belt, and recall that an earlier name for the range was 'stone belt'.<ref>[https://books.google.de/books?id=vAEzBgAAQBAJ Paul Dukes. A History of the Urals: Russia's Crucible from Early Empire to the Post-Soviet Era. Bloomsbury Publishing 2015, p 5.]</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of Ural}}
[[File:UralMountains1.png|thumb|upright]]
As Middle-Eastern merchants traded with the [[Bashkirs]] and other people living on the western slopes of the Ural as far north as [[Great Perm]], since at least the 10th century medieval [[Arab geographers|mideastern geographers]] had been aware of the existence of the mountain range in its entirety, stretching as far as to the Arctic Ocean in the north. The first Russian mention of the mountains to the east of the East European Plain is provided by the [[Primary Chronicle]], when it describes the [[Novgorod Republic|Novgorodian]] expedition to the upper reaches of the [[Pechora River|Pechora]] in 1096. During the next few centuries Novgorodians engaged in [[fur trading]] with the local population and collected tribute from [[Yugra]] and Great Perm, slowly expanding southwards. The rivers [[Chusovaya River|Chusovaya]] and [[Belaya River (Kama)|Belaya]] were first mentioned in the chronicles of 1396 and 1468, respectively. In 1430 the town of [[Solikamsk]] (Kama Salt) was founded on the [[Kama River|Kama]] at the foothills of the Ural, where salt was [[Open pan salt making|produced in open pans]]. [[Ivan III of Moscow]] captured Perm, Pechora and Yugra from the declining Novgorod Republic in 1472. With the excursions of 1483 and 1499–1500 across the Ural Moscow managed to subjugate Yugra completely.

[[File:Herberstein-Moscovia-NE.png|thumb|a fragment of von Herberstein's map]]
Nevertheless, around that time early 16th century Polish geographer [[Maciej of Miechów]] in his influential ''Tractatus de duabus Sarmatiis'' (1517) argued that there were no mountains in Eastern Europe at all, challenging the point of view of some authors of Classical antiquity, popular during the [[Renaissance]]. Only after Sigismund von Herberstein in his [[Notes on Muscovite Affairs]] (1549) had reported, following Russian sources, that there are mountains behind the Pechora and identified them with the Ripheans and Hyperboreans of ancient authors, did the existence of the Ural, or at least of its northern part, become firmly established in the [[Age of Discovery|Western geography]]. The Middle and Southern Ural were still largely unavailable and unknown to the Russian or Western European geographers.

[[File:Verkhoturye 1910 LOC prok 02108.jpg|thumb|Verkhoturye in 1910]]
In the 1550s, after the [[Tsardom of Russia]] had defeated the [[Khanate of Kazan]] and proceeded to gradually annex the lands of the Bashkirs, the Russians finally reached the southern part of the mountain chain. In 1574 they founded [[Ufa]]. The upper reaches of the Kama and Chusovaya in the Middle Ural, still unexplored, as well as parts of Transuralia still held by the hostile [[Siberian Khanate]], were granted to the [[Stroganovs]] by several decrees of the tsar in 1558–1574. The Stroganovs' land provided the staging ground for [[Yermak Timofeyevich|Yermak]]'s [[Conquest of the Khanate of Sibir|incursion into Siberia]]. Yermak crossed the Ural from the Chusovaya to the [[Tagil River|Tagil]] around 1581. In 1597 Babinov's road was built across the Ural from Solikamsk to the valley of the [[Tura River|Tura]], where the town of [[Verkhoturye]] (Upper Tura) was founded in 1598. Customs was established in Verkhoturye shortly thereafter and the road was made the only legal connection between European Russia and Siberia for a long time. In 1648 the town of [[Kungur]] was founded at the western foothills of the Middle Ural. During the 17th century the first deposits of [[iron ore|iron]] and [[copper ore|copper]] ores, [[mica]], [[gemstone]]s and other minerals were discovered in the Ural.

Iron and copper [[smelting]] [[manufacture|works]] emerged. They multiplied particularly quickly during the reign of [[Peter I of Russia]]. In 1720–1722 he commissioned [[Vasily Tatishchev]] to oversee and develop the mining and smelting works in the Ural. Tatishchev proposed a new copper smelting factory in [[Yegoshikha]], which would eventually become the core of the city of [[Perm]] and a new iron smelting factory on the [[Iset River|Iset]], which would become the largest in the world at the time of construction and give birth to the city of [[Yekaterinburg]]. Both factories were actually founded by Tatishchev's successor, [[Georg Wilhelm de Gennin]], in 1723. Tatishchev returned to the Ural on the order of [[Anna of Russia|Empress Anna]] to succeed de Gennin in 1734–1737. Transportation of the output of the smelting works to the markets of European Russia necessitated the construction of the [[Siberian Route]] from Yekaterinburg across the Ural to Kungur and Yegoshikha (Perm) and further to Moscow, which was completed in 1763 and rendered Babinov's road obsolete. In 1745 gold was discovered in the Ural at [[Beryozovskoye deposit|Beryozovskoye]] and later at other deposits. It has been mined since 1747.

The first ample geographic survey of the Ural Mountains was completed in the early 18th century by the Russian historian and geographer Vasily Tatishchev under the orders of Peter I. Earlier, in the 17th century, rich ore deposits were discovered in the mountains and their systematic extraction began in the early 18th century, eventually turning the region into the largest mineral base of Russia.<ref name="brit"/><ref name=bse/>

One of the first scientific descriptions of the mountains was published in 1770–71. Over the next century, the region was studied by scientists from a number of countries, including Russia (geologist [[Alexander Karpinsky]], botanist [[Porfiry Krylov]] and zoologist [[Leonid Pavlovich Sabaneyev|Leonid Sabaneyev]]), England (geologist Sir [[Roderick Murchison]]), France (paleontologist [[Edouard de Verneuil]]), and Germany (naturalist [[Alexander von Humboldt]], geologist [[Alexander Keyserling]]).<ref name=brit/><ref name="London1894">{{cite book|author=Geological Society of London|authorlink=Geological Society of London|title=The Quarterly journal of the Geological Society of London|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dy8RAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA53|year=1894|publisher=The Society|page=53}}</ref> In 1845, Murchison, who  had according to ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' "compiled the first geologic map of the Ural in 1841",<ref name=brit/> published ''The Geology of Russia in Europe and the Ural Mountains'' with de Verneuil and Keyserling.<ref name="London1894"/><ref name="Murchison1845">cf. {{cite book|last1=Murchison|first1=Roderick Impey|authorlink1=Roderick Impey Murchison|author2=de Verneuil, Edouard |author3=Keyserling, Alexander |title=The Geology of Russia in Europe and the Ural Mountains|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06hAAAAAcAAJ|year=1845|publisher=John Murray|authorlink2=Edouard de Verneuil|authorlink3=Alexander Keyserling}}</ref>

The first railway across the Ural had been built by 1878 and linked Perm to Yekaterinburg via [[Chusovoy]], [[Kushva]] and [[Nizhny Tagil]]. In 1890 a railway linked Ufa and [[Chelyabinsk]] via [[Zlatoust]]. In 1896 this section became a part of the [[Trans-Siberian Railway]]. In 1909 yet another railway connecting Perm and Yekaterinburg passed through Kungur by the way of the Siberian Route. It has eventually replaced the Ufa – Chelyabinsk section as the main trunk of the Trans-Siberian railway.

The highest peak of the Ural, [[Mount Narodnaya]], (elevation 1,895 m (6,217&nbsp;ft)) was identified in 1927.{{citation needed|date=February 2015}}

During the [[Soviet industrialization]] in the 1930s the city of [[Magnitogorsk]] was founded in the South-Eastern Ural as a center of iron smelting and [[steelmaking]]. During the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|German invasion of the Soviet Union]] in 1941–1942, the mountains [[The Ural mountains in Nazi planning|became a key element in Nazi planning]] for the territories which they expected to conquer in the USSR. Faced with the threat of having a significant part of the Soviet territories occupied by the enemy, the government evacuated many of the industrial enterprises of European Russia and Ukraine to the eastern foothills of the Ural, considered a safe place out of reach of the German bombers and troops. Three giant [[List of Soviet tank factories|tank factories]] were established at the [[Uralmash]] in Sverdlovsk (as Yekaterinburg used to be known), [[Uralvagonzavod]] in Nizhny Tagil, and [[Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant]] in Chelyabinsk. After  the war, in 1947–1948, Chum – [[Labytnangi]] railway, built with the forced labor of [[Gulag]] inmates, [[Salekhard–Igarka Railway|crossed the Polar Ural]].

[[Mayak]], 150&nbsp;km southeast of [[Yekaterinburg]], was a center of the Soviet nuclear industry<ref name=brit/><ref name="PodvigBukharin2004" /><ref name=military /><ref name="Society2006" /> and site of the [[Kyshtym disaster]].<ref name=military /><ref name="Inc.1991" />

==Geography and topography==
The Ural Mountains extend about {{convert|2500|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the [[Kara Sea]] to the [[Kazakh Steppe]] along the northern border of Kazakhstan. Vaygach Island and the island of Novaya Zemlya form a further continuation of the chain on the north. Geographically this range marks the northern part of the border between the continents of Europe and Asia. Its highest peak is Mount Narodnaya, approximately {{convert|1895|m|ft|abbr=on}} in elevation.<ref name=brit/>

[[File:Саблинский хребет.jpg|thumb|[[Yugyd Va National Park]]]]
By topography and other natural features, the Urals are divided, from north to south, into the Polar (or Arctic), Nether-Polar (or Sub-Arctic), Northern, Central and Southern parts. The Polar Urals extend for about {{convert|385|km|mi|sp=us}} from Mount Konstantinov Kamen in the north to the Khulga River in the south; they have an area of about {{convert|25000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and a strongly dissected relief. The maximum height is {{convert|1499|m|ft|abbr=on}} at Payer Mountain and the average height is {{convert|1000|to|1100|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

===Polar Ural===
The mountains of the Polar Ural have exposed rock with sharp ridges, though flattened or rounded tops are also found.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

===Nether-polar Ural===
The Nether-Polar Ural are higher, and up to {{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} wider than the Polar Urals. They include the highest peaks of the range: Mount Narodnaya ({{convert|1895|m|ft|abbr=on}}), [[Mount Karpinsky (Urals)|Mount Karpinsky]] ({{convert|1878|m|ft|abbr=on}}) and [[Manaraga]] ({{convert|1662|m|ft|abbr=on}}). They extend for more than {{convert|225|km|mi|abbr=on}} south to the Shchugor River. The many ridges are sawtooth shaped and dissected by river valleys. Both Polar and Nether-Polar Urals are typically Alpine; they bear traces of [[Pleistocene]] glaciation, along with permafrost and extensive modern glaciation, including 143 extant glaciers.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

===Northern Ural===
The Northern Ural consist of a series of parallel ridges up to {{convert|1000|–|1200|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height and longitudinal hollows. They are elongated from north to south and stretch for about {{convert|560|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Usa River. Most of the tops are flattened, but those of the highest mountains, such as Telposiz, {{convert|1617|m|ft|abbr=on}} and Konzhakovsky Stone, {{convert|1569|m|ft|abbr=on}} have a dissected topography. Intensive weathering has produced vast areas of eroded stone on the mountain slopes and summits of the northern areas.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

===Middle Ural===
The Central Ural are the lowest part of the Ural, with smooth mountain tops, the highest mountain being {{convert|994|m|ft|abbr=on}} (Basegi); they extend south from the [[Ufa River]].<ref name=bse/>

===Southern Ural===
{{Main|Southern Ural}}
The relief of the Southern Ural is more complex, with numerous valleys and parallel ridges directed south-west and meridionally.  The range includes the [[Ilmensky Mountains]] separated from the main ridges by the [[Miass River]]. The maximum height is {{convert|1640|m|ft|abbr=on}} ([[Mount Yamantau]]) and the width reaches {{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}}. Other notable peaks lie along the [[Iremel]] mountain ridge (Bolshoy Iremel and Maly Iremel). The Southern Urals extend some {{convert|550|km|mi|abbr=on}} up to the sharp westward bend of the Ural River and terminate in the wide [[Mughalzhar Hills]].<ref name=brit/>

<center>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| width="26%" | [[File:Mountain formation near Saranpaul.jpg|200px]]
| width="28%" | [[File:Rochers dans les montagnes de l Oural 448122760 3572eca433 o.jpg|205px]]
| width="25%" | [[File:Mount Iremel.jpg|190px]]
| width="25%" | [[File:Ignateva cave entry.jpg|205px]]
|-
| Mountain formation near Saranpaul, Nether-Polar Urals 
| Rocks in a river, Nether-Polar Urals 
| Big Iremel Mountain
| Entry to [[Ignateva Cave]], South Urals
|}
</center>
{{clear}}

==Geology==
[[File:Gorskii 04428u.jpg|thumb|A [[mining|mine]] in the Ural Mountains, early colour photograph by [[Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky]], 1910]]

The Urals are among the world's oldest extant [[mountain ranges]]. For its age of 250 to 300 million years, the elevation of the mountains is unusually high. They were formed during the [[Uralian orogeny]] due to the [[continental collision|collision]] of the [[Main Uralian Fault|eastern edge]] of the supercontinent [[Laurussia]] with the young and [[Rheology|rheologically]] weak continent of [[Kazakhstania]], which now underlies much of Kazakhstan and West Siberia west of the [[Irtysh]], and intervening [[island arc]]s. The collision lasted nearly 90 million years in the late [[Carboniferous]] – early [[Triassic]].<ref name="brown&echtler">Brown, D. and Echtler, H. (2005) "The Urals". In: R. C. Selley, L. R. M. Cocks & I. R. Plimer (eds.), ''Encyclopedia of Geology'', Vol. 2. Elsevier, pp. 86–95.</ref><ref>Cocks, L. R. M. and Torsvik, T. H. (2006) [http://web.archive.org/web/20090731085326/http://www.geodynamics.no/guest/GeolSoc06.pdf "European geography in a global context from the Vendian to the end of the Palaeozoic"]. In Gee, D. G. & Stephenson, R. A. (eds), ''European Lithosphere Dynamics. Geological Society, London, Memoirs'', 32, 83–95.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1144/SP327.9|url=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/249552596_The_evolution_of_the_Uralian_orogen| title = The evolution of the Uralian orogen| journal = Geological Society, London, Special Publications| volume = 327| pages = 161| year = 2009| last1 = Puchkov | first1 = V. N.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.05.001| title = Mountain building processes during continent–continent collision in the Uralides| journal = Earth-Science Reviews| volume = 89| issue = 3–4| pages = 177| year = 2008| last1 = Brown | first1 = D.| last2 = Juhlin | first2 = C.| last3 = Ayala | first3 = C.| last4 = Tryggvason | first4 = A.| last5 = Bea | first5 = F.| last6 = Alvarez-Marron | first6 = J.| last7 = Carbonell | first7 = R.| last8 = Seward | first8 = D.| last9 = Glasmacher | first9 = U.| last10 = Puchkov | first10 = V.| last11 = Perez-Estaun | first11 = A.|url=http://www.researchgate.net/publication/236880030_Mountain_building_processes_during_continent-continent_collision_in_the_Uralides}}</ref> Unlike the other major orogens of the [[Paleozoic]] ([[Appalachians]], [[Caledonides]], [[Variscides]]), the Urals have not undergone [[post-orogenic collapse|post-orogenic extensional collapse]] and are unusually well preserved for their age, being underlaid by a pronounced crustal root.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0012-821X(00)00374-5|url=http://online.sfsu.edu/leech/papers/Leech2001.pdf| title = Arrested orogenic development: Eclogitization, delamination, and tectonic collapse| journal = Earth and Planetary Science Letters| volume = 185| pages = 149| year = 2001| last1 = Leech | first1 = M. L. }}</ref><ref name="jgsl">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1144/0016-764901-147|url=http://hera.ugr.es/doi/15084310.pdf| title = Insights into orogenesis: Getting to the root of a continent-ocean-continent collision, Southern Urals, Russia| journal = Journal of the Geological Society| volume = 159| issue = 6| pages = 659| year = 2002| last1 = Scarrow | first1 = J. H.| last2 = Ayala | first2 = C.| last3 = Kimbell | first3 = G. S.}}</ref> East and south of the Urals much of the orogen is buried beneath later [[Mesozoic]] and [[Cenozoic]] [[sediment]]s.<ref name="brown&echtler"/> The adjacent [[Pay-Khoy]] to the north is not a part of the Uralian orogen and formed later.

Many deformed and [[Metamorphism|metamorphosed]] rocks, mostly of [[Paleozoic]] age, surface within the Urals. The [[Sedimentary rock|sedimentary]] and [[volcanic]] layers are [[Fold (geology)|folded]] and [[Fault (geology)|faulted]]. The sediments to the west of the Ural Mountains are formed of [[limestone]], [[dolomite]] and [[sandstone]] left from ancient shallow seas. The eastern side is dominated by [[basalt]]s.<ref name=bse>{{cite web|url=http://slovari.yandex.ru/~%D0%BA%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B8/%D0%91%D0%A1%D0%AD/%D0%A3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%20(%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%87.)/|title=Ural (geographical)|publisher=[[Great Soviet Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>

The western slope of the Ural Mountains has predominantly [[karst topography]], especially in the [[Sylva River]] basin, which is a tributary of the [[Chusovaya River]]. It is composed of severely eroded sedimentary rocks (sandstones and limestones) that are about 350 million years old.  There are many [[cave]]s, [[sinkhole]]s and underground streams. The karst topography is much less developed on the eastern slopes. The eastern slopes are relatively flat, with some hills and rocky outcrops and contain alternating volcanic and sedimentary layers dated to the middle Paleozoic Era.<ref name=bse/> Most high mountains consist of weather-resistant rocks such as [[quartzite]], [[schist]] and [[gabbro]] that are between 570 and 395 million years old. The river valleys are underlain by limestone.<ref name=brit/>

The Ural Mountains contain about 48 species of economically valuable [[ore]]s and economically valuable minerals. Eastern regions are rich in [[chalcopyrite]], [[nickel oxide]], [[gold]], [[platinum]], [[chromite]] and [[magnetite]] ores, as well as in [[coal]] ([[Chelyabinsk Oblast]]), [[bauxite]], [[talc]], [[fireclay]] and abrasives. The Western Urals contain deposits of coal, oil, natural gas (Ishimbay and Krasnokamsk areas) and [[potassium salt]]s. Both slopes are rich in [[bituminous coal]] and [[lignite]], and the largest deposit of bituminous coal is in the north (Pechora field). The specialty of the Urals is precious and semi-precious stones, such as [[emerald]], [[amethyst]], [[Aquamarine (gemstone)|aquamarine]], [[jasper]], [[rhodonite]], [[malachite]] and [[diamond]]. Some of the deposits, such as the magnetite ores at [[Magnitogorsk]], are already nearly depleted.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

<center>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|+ Minerals from the Ural Mountains
| width="27%" | [[File:Andradite-23893.jpg|180px]]
| width="27%" | [[File:Beryl-md20a.jpg|200px]]
| width="27%" | [[File:Platinum-41654.jpg|170px]]
| width="19%" | [[File:Quartz-34654.jpg|115px]]
|-
| [[Andradite]]
| [[Beryl]]
| Platinum
| [[Quartz]]
|}
</center>
{{clear}}

==Rivers and lakes==
[[File:Maksimovsky rock Chusovaya river.jpg|thumb|Chusovaya River]]
Many rivers originate in the Ural Mountains. The western slopes south of the border between the Komi Republic and Perm Krai and the eastern slopes south of approximately 54°30'N drain into the [[Caspian Sea]] via the Kama and Ural River basins. The tributaries of the Kama include the [[Vishera River (Perm Krai)|Vishera]], Chusovaya, and Belaya and originate on both the eastern and western slopes. The rest of the Urals drain into the Arctic Ocean, mainly via the Pechora basin in the west, which includes the [[Ilych River|Ilych]], Shchugor, and the [[Usa River (Komi Republic)|Usa]], and via the [[Ob River|Ob]] basin in the east, which includes the [[Tobol River|Tobol]], [[Tavda River|Tavda]], Iset, Tura and [[Northern Sosva River|Severnaya Sosva]]. The rivers are frozen for more than half the year. Generally, the western rivers have higher flow volume than the eastern ones, especially in the Northern and Nether-Polar regions. Rivers are slower in the Southern Urals. This is because of low precipitation and the relatively warm climate resulting in less snow and more evaporation.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

The mountains contain a number of deep lakes.<ref name="Science1898">{{cite book|last=Davis|first=W.M.|editor=American Association for the Advancement of Science|title=Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Cn0CAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA563|accessdate=8 July 2010|year=1898|publisher=Moses King|page=563|chapter=The Ural Mountains|editor-link=American Association for the Advancement of Science}}</ref> The eastern slopes of the Southern and Central Urals have most of these, among the largest of which are the Uvildy, Itkul, Turgoyak, and Tavatuy lakes.<ref name=bse/> The lakes found on the western slopes are less numerous and also smaller. Lake Bolshoye Shchuchye, the deepest lake in the Polar Urals, is {{convert|136|m|ft|sp=us}} deep. Other lakes, too, are found in the glacial valleys of this region. Spas and sanatoriums have been built to take advantage of the medicinal muds found in some of the  mountain lakes.<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

==Climate==
The climate of the Urals is continental. The mountain ridges, elongated from north to south, effectively absorb sunlight thereby increasing the temperature. The areas west of the Ural Mountains are {{convert|1|–|2|C-change|F-change|abbr=on}} warmer in winter than the eastern regions because the former are warmed by Atlantic winds whereas the eastern slopes are chilled by Siberian air masses. The average January temperatures increase in the western areas from {{convert|-20|C|F|abbr=on}} in the Polar to {{convert|-15|C|F|abbr=on}} in the Southern Urals and the corresponding temperatures in July are {{convert|10|C|F|abbr=on}} and {{convert|20|C|F|abbr=on}}. The western areas also receive more rainfall than the eastern ones by {{convert|150|–|300|mm|in|abbr=on}} per year. This is because the mountains trap clouds from the Atlantic Ocean. The highest precipitation, approximately {{convert|1000|mm|in|abbr=on}}, is in the Northern Urals with up to {{convert|1000|cm|in|abbr=on}} snow. The eastern areas receive from {{convert|500|–|600|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the north to {{convert|300|–|400|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the south. Maximum precipitation occurs in the summer: the winter is dry because of the [[Siberian High]].<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

==Flora==
[[File:Hjortron.jpg|thumb|[[Cloudberry]]]]
The landscapes of the Urals vary with both latitude and longitude and are dominated by forests and steppes. The southern area of the Mughalzhar Hills is a semidesert. Steppes lie mostly in the southern and especially south-eastern Urals. Meadow steppes have developed on the lower parts of mountain slopes and are covered with [[Trifolium medium|zigzag]] and [[Trifolium montanum|mountain clover]]s, ''[[Serratula]] gmelinii'', [[Filipendula vulgaris|dropwort]], [[Poa pratensis|meadow-grass]] and ''[[Bromus inermis]]'', reaching the height of 60–80&nbsp;cm. Much of the land is cultivated. To the south, the meadow steppes become more sparse, dry and low. The steep gravelly slopes of the mountains and hills of the eastern slopes of the Southern Urals are mostly covered with rocky steppes. River valleys contain [[willow]], [[Populus|poplar]] and [[caragana]] shrubs.<ref name=bse/>

Forest landscapes of the Urals are diverse, especially in the southern part. The western areas are dominated by dark coniferous taiga forests which change to mixed and deciduous forests in the south. The eastern mountain slopes have light coniferous taiga forests. The Northern Urals are dominated by conifers, namely [[Siberian fir]], [[Siberian pine]], [[Scots pine]], [[Siberian spruce]], [[Norway spruce]] and [[Siberian larch]], as well as by [[silver birch|silver]] and [[downy birch]]es. The forests are much sparser in the Polar Urals. Whereas in other parts of the Ural Mountains they grow up to an altitude of 1000 m, in the Polar Urals the [[tree line]] is at 250–400 m. The polar forests are low and are mixed with swamps, lichens, bogs and shrubs. [[Betula nana|Dwarf birch]], mosses and berries ([[blueberry]], [[Rubus chamaemorus|cloudberry]], [[Empetrum nigrum|black crowberry]], etc.) are abundant. The forests of the Southern Urals are the most diverse in composition: here, together with coniferous forests are also abundant broadleaf tree species such as [[English oak]], [[Norway maple]] and elm.<ref name=bse/> The [[Virgin Komi Forests]] in the northern Urals are recognized as a [[World Heritage]] site.

==Fauna==
The Ural forests are inhabited by animals typical of Siberia, such as elk, brown bear, fox, wolf, [[wolverine]], [[lynx]], squirrel, and [[sable]] (north only). Because of the easy accessibility of the mountains there are no specifically mountainous species. In the Middle Urals, one can see a rare mixture of sable and pine marten named kidus. In the Southern Urals, [[European badger|badger]] and [[European polecat|black polecat]] are common. Reptiles and amphibians live mostly in the Southern and Central Ural and are represented by the [[common viper]], lizards and [[Natrix|grass snake]]s. Bird species are represented by [[Western Capercaillie|capercaillie]], [[black grouse]], [[hazel grouse]], [[spotted nutcracker]], and cuckoos. In summers, the South and Middle Urals are visited by songbirds, such as [[nightingale]] and [[redstart]].<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

The steppes of the Southern Urals are dominated by hares and rodents such as [[Gopher (animal)|gophers]], [[Spermophilus|susliks]], and [[jerboa]]. There are many birds of prey such as [[lesser kestrel]] and [[buzzard]]s. The animals of the Polar Urals are few and are characteristic of the [[tundra]]; they include [[Arctic fox]], tundra partridge, [[lemming]], and reindeer. The birds of these areas include [[rough-legged buzzard]], [[snowy owl]], and [[rock ptarmigan]].<ref name=brit/><ref name=bse/>

<center>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| width="28%" | [[File:Gulo gulo 2.jpg|225px]]
| width="28%" | [[File:European Polecat (Mustela putorius)-8.jpg|250px]]
|-
| [[Wolverine]]
| [[Polecat]]
|}
</center>
{{clear}}

==Ecology==
The continuous and intensive economic development of the last centuries has affected the fauna, and wildlife is much diminished around all industrial centers. During World War II, hundreds of factories were evacuated from Western Russia before the German occupation, flooding the Urals with industry. The conservation measures include establishing national wildlife parks.<ref name=brit/> There are nine [[zapovednik|strict nature reserves]] in the Urals: the [[Ilmen Nature Reserve|Ilmen]], the oldest one, mineralogical reserve founded in 1920 in Chelyabinsk Oblast, [[Pechora-Ilych Nature Reserve|Pechora-Ilych]] in the Komi Republic, [[Bashkir Nature Reserve|Bashkir]] and its former branch [[Shulgan-Tash Nature Reserve|Shulgan-Tash]] in Bashkortostan, [[Visim Nature Reserve|Visim]] in Sverdlovsk Oblast, [[Southern Ural]] in Bashkortostan, [[Basegi Nature Reserve|Basegi]] in Perm Krai, [[Vishera Nature Reserve|Vishera]] in Perm Krai and [[Denezhkin Kamen Nature Reserve|Denezhkin Kamen]] in Sverdlovsk Oblast.

The area has also been severely damaged by the [[plutonium]]-producing facility [[Mayak]] opened in Chelyabinsk-40 (later called Chelyabinsk-65, [[Ozyorsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast|Ozyorsk]]), in the Southern Ural, after World War II.<ref name=brit/> Its plants went into operation in 1948 and, for the first ten years, dumped unfiltered radioactive waste into the [[Techa River]] and [[Lake Karachay]].<ref name=brit/><ref name="PodvigBukharin2004">{{cite book|last1=Podvig|first1=Pavel|author2=Bukharin, Oleg |author3=von Hippel, Frank |title=Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CPRVbYDc-7kC&pg=PA70|year=2004|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-66181-2|page=70}}</ref><ref name=military/> In 1990, efforts were underway to contain the radiation in one of the lakes, which was estimated at the time to expose visitors to 500 [[Röntgen equivalent man|millirem]] per day.<ref name=military/> As of 2006, 500 mrem in the natural environment was the upper limit of exposure considered safe for a member of the general public in an entire year (though workplace exposure over a year could exceed that by a factor of 10).<ref name="Society2006">{{cite book|author=American Chemical Society|authorlink=American Chemical Society|title=Chemistry in the Community: ChemCom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wYtpGEbAB1cC&pg=PA499|year=2006|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-0-7167-8919-2|page=499}}</ref> Over {{convert|23000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of land were contaminated in 1957 from a storage tank explosion, only one of several serious accidents that further polluted the region.<ref name=brit/> The [[Kyshtym disaster|1957 accident]] expelled 20 million [[curies]] of radioactive material, 90% of which settled into the land immediately around the facility.<ref name="Inc.1991">{{cite book|author=Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.|title=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAwAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA25|accessdate=8 July 2010|date=May 1991|publisher=Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.|page=25|issn=0096-3402 }}</ref> Although some reactors of Mayak were shut down in 1987 and 1990,<ref name=military>{{cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=TYqTls5lnGYC&pg=PA22&dq=Chelyabinsk-40+plutonium|journal = [[New Scientist]] | title = Military reactors go on show to American visitors | last = Paine | first = Christopher | date= 22 July 1989 | accessdate = 8 July 2010}}</ref> the facility keeps producing plutonium.<ref>[http://obzor.westsib.ru/news/320002 Производство плутония с ПО "Маяк" на Сибирский химкомбинат перенесено не будет] [Plutonium production will not be transferred from Mayak], obzor.westsib.ru, 25 March 2010 (in Russian)</ref>

==Cultural significance==
The Urals have been viewed by Russians as a "treasure box" of mineral resources, which were the basis for its extensive industrial development. In addition to iron and copper the Urals were a source of gold, [[malachite]], [[alexandrite]], and other gems such as those used by the court jeweller [[Peter Carl Fabergé|Fabergé]]. As Russians in other regions gather mushrooms or berries, Uralians gather mineral specimens and gems. [[Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak]] (1852–1912) [[Pavel Bazhov]] (1879–1950), as well as [[Alexei Viktorovich Ivanov|Aleksey Ivanov]] and Olga Slavnikova, post-Soviet writers, have written of the region.<ref name=SageUrals>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1177/2158244013486657| title = Three Hundred Years of Glory and Gloom: The Urals Region of Russia in Art and Reality| journal = SAGE Open| volume = 3| issue = 2| year = 2013| last1 = Givental | first1 = E.}}</ref>

The region served as a military stronghold during [[Peter the Great]]'s [[Great Northern War]] with Sweden, during Stalin's rule when the [[Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works|Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Complex]] was built and Russian industry relocated to the Urals during the Nazi advance at the beginning of World War II, and as the center of the Soviet nuclear industry during the Cold War. Extreme levels of air, water, and radiological contamination and pollution by industrial wastes resulted. Population exodus resulted, and economic depression at the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union, but in post-Soviet times additional mineral exploration, particularly in the northern Urals, has been productive and the region has attracted industrial investment.<ref name=SageUrals />

==See also==
*[[Dyatlov Pass incident]]
*[[East Ural Radioactive Trace]]
*[[Idel-Ural State]]
*[[Pangaea]]
*[[Research Range]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ural Mountains}}
{{Wikivoyage|Urals}}
*[http://www.peakbagger.com/range.aspx?rid=37 Peakbagger.com] page on the Ural Mountains
*[http://welcome-ural.ru/urals/77/ Ural Expeditions & Tours] page on the five parts of the Ural Mountains

{{Coord|60|00|N|60|00|E|region:RU_type:mountain|display=title}}
{{Russia topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ural Mountains| ]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Russia]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Landforms of Siberia]]
[[Category:Landforms of Arkhangelsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Landforms of Bashkortostan]]
[[Category:Landforms of Chelyabinsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Landforms of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Komi Republic]]
[[Category:Landforms of Nenets Autonomous Okrug]]
[[Category:Landforms of Sverdlovsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Landforms of Tyumen Oblast]]
[[Category:Aktobe Region]]
[[Category:Novaya Zemlya]]
[[Category:Geology of Russia]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Asia]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Europe]]
[[Category:Physiographic divisions]]
[[Category:History of Ural]]