— Textbooks and manuals — NATURE AND RESOURCES OF CHUKOTKA

Chapter 5. MINERAL RESOURCES

21. Minerals and their classification

Minerals have been used by humans since ancient times. Even in the Paleolithic, i.e. many tens of thousands of years BC, primitive used minerals such as chalcedony, quartz, obsidian, serpentine, amber and many others to make tools and utensils. Later, people learned to use clay for pottery and building stone for building homes. About 25 thousand years BC. man already knew gold, and 12 thousand years ago he began to use copper ores. Products made of lead, dating back to 6 thousand BC, were discovered by archaeologists in Turkey, and products made of tin and zinc served people more than 3,500 thousand years ago. The emergence of ancient Egyptian, ancient Greek, Scythian, ancient Slavic and other cultures was closely associated with involvement in the use various types mineral. The origin and development of industry, the emergence of more and more new branches and the entire subsequent history of human development are inextricably linked with the development of productive forces and, first of all, with the identification and development of mineral resources. This process of increasing use of minerals continues today, and, of course, will continue in the future. Chukotka is very heterogeneous geologically; its different regions were formed in different time and are distinguished by their mineral resources. Thus, in the Chukotka fold system, which is one of the important ore provinces of the world, the leading place is occupied by deposits of gold, tin and tungsten formed in the Mesozoic during the uplift of sedimentary strata. In the Oloi folded zone of Paleozoic age, located in the extreme west of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, gold, copper, molybdenum, chromium and nickel are common. The northern section of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt is rich in various deposits of mercury, gold, silver, copper, tin and ornamental stones. The Anadyr-Koryak region is dominated by deposits of chromium, nickel, mercury, platinum group elements, copper and molybdenum, gold, zeolites, coal and oil. The most ancient Eskimo massif carries reserves building materials– graphite, gold and polymetals.

By geological zoning Anyui Highland and Northern part Chukotka Highlands belong to the Kolyma-Chukchi mountain region, characterized by a folded base, ancient massifs and uplifts. The southern part of the Chukotka Highlands belongs to the Okhotsk-Chukotka mountain region, lying on the covers of the volcanogenic belt (S. F. Biske).
West Side Anyui-Chukchi Highlands is the eastern edge of a vast mountain arc known as the Yano-Chukchi mountainous country, the largest and most complex structure in the Northeast. Along its outer side stretches the Leno-Chaun mountain arc (A.P. Vaskovsky).
Anyui Highlands located between Kolyma and Chaun Bay, in the south it is limited by Bolshoi Anyui. The highlands are formed by a system of ridges. Among them, the longest is Anyuisky (380 km), which stretches from the Anyui Lowland to the Anadyr Plateau. The ridge is a watershed between large rivers - the Big and Small Anyui. On the periphery of the ridge there are short ridges - the Vulkanny, Orlovsky ridges, Chuvanai Mountains.
On the right bank of the Small Anyui there are several mountain ranges - Pyrkanai (1616 m), Rauchuansky (1649 m). Ilirneisky Ridge (Mt. of Two Circuses. 1785 m). Individual high massifs are faintly distinguished above the surrounding midlands, rising up to 1500 m. In the highest massifs, traces of glacial activity are found. In the northeast of the Anyui Highland is the Chaun Lowland, separating it from Chukotka Highlands.
Low-mountain relief predominates; mid-mountain relief exists only in areas with intense uplifts. In the basin of the Polish Anyui River, striking manifestations of Late Quaternary volcanism are known. Here you can observe the volcanic relief.
The average heights of the ridges do not exceed 1000 - 1200 m. The highest massifs are characterized by dissected relief, in which the predominant role is played by forms created by Quaternary glaciers and destruction processes, which is facilitated by the Arctic climate. The transformation of the relief is also associated with tectonic processes.
Chukotka Highlands is the main component of the Chukotka landscape region (it also includes the Anadyr Plateau). It extends from Chaunskaya Bay to Cape Dezhnev, representing a system of mid-altitude ridges and low-mountain massifs. Off the coast of Chaunskaya Bay lie the Shelagsky (1189 m) and Ichuveemsky (1030 m) ridges. The Ekvyvatapsky ridge (1636 m) stretches parallel to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. To the south of it, in the interfluves, there is a group of ridges - Pegtymelsky (1794 m), Palyavaamsky (1849 m), Chantalsky (1887 m), Ekityksky (1317 m). Even further south, the narrow and long Pekulney ridge (Mt. Odnoglavaya, 1393 m) plunges into the Anadyr Lowland in a narrow ridge.
To the southeast Chukotka Highlands continues with the Iskaten ridge (1552 m) and separated low massifs. On the Chukotka Peninsula there is the Providensky Massif (1194 m), on the Daurkina Peninsula there is the Genkany Range (978 m). These massifs and ridges are distinguished by their soft outlines. They are separated by wide valleys.
TO Chukotka Plateau These include the distant small Ushkany Mountains (Mt. Tumannaya, 726 m) and the Zolotoy Ridge (Mt. Ioanna, 1012 m). located near the Gulf of Anadyr.
A significant part of the Chukotka Highlands is part of the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanogenic belt. It consists of almost continuous volcanogenic covers with intrusions breaking through them. The rock strata are composed mainly of basalts and andesites.

Geography and relief

Chukotka autonomous region is located in the extreme northeast of Russia, more than half of the territory is beyond the Arctic Circle. The territory of the district borders on:

• Kolyma (in the west);
• Magadan region and Yakutia (in the west and southwest);
• Kamchatka region (in the south).

The district is washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean (in the north), the Bering Strait (in the east), as well as the East Siberian, Bering and Chukchi seas. The district includes the islands of Wrangel, Ratmanov, Gerald, etc.

Figure 1. Landscape of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. Author24 - online exchange of student works

The southern border of Chukotka runs along the watershed of the Anadyr River and individual rivers in the Koryak Highlands.

The total area of ​​the territory is more than 720 thousand square meters. km.

The main landscapes were formed in ancient times and have undergone virtually no changes:

• The Anadyr Lowland is a heavily swamped central part of the district;
• Anadyr Plateau – located to the northwest of the lowland of the same name; river basins and the most important ridges radiate from it
• Koryak Highlands - located in the south of the district;
• Yukaghir Plateau - occupies the southwestern part of the district, heights reach from 500 to 700 m;
• The Vankarem and Chaun lowlands stretch along the sea coasts in the north. There are an abundance of lakes here, the area is very swampy.

The relief of the peninsula consists of hills (dome-shaped hills) with heights of up to 700 m. Highest point Chukotka – 1853 m located on the Anyui Highlands.

Note 1

On the territory of Chukotka there are many unique modern and relic ice, represented by thick strata deposits, underground ice rock glaciers, as well as ice veins with a length of up to 50 m.

Climatic conditions

The climate of Chukotka is harsh. Climatic conditions are determined by the monsoon circulation. There are two seasons: a long frosty period and a short warm one. In the interior mountainous regions, the climatic conditions are sharply continental. On the coast, humid, cold, sea air predominates.

The proximity of the Arctic Ocean creates high humidity, cloudy weather and fogs. The closer to the ocean, the weather become more severe.

Winter lasts up to 10 months a year. At this time, the continent cools significantly. Winter is dry and sunny. Warming temperatures sometimes break through from the Pacific Ocean with snowfalls and blizzards.

During the warm period, wet cold masses move from the ocean to land, forming the summer monsoons.

The average January temperature is -40º C. The average July temperature ranges from +5º C to +13º C. Sometimes the temperature can rise to +30º C.

The soils are permafrost everywhere.

Characteristic features of shelf seas are storms, heavy ice conditions, fogs, and strong tidal currents.

Natural resources

Water resources. The rivers of the district belong to the basins of the Pacific and Northern seas Arctic Oceans. Most of the rivers have been poorly studied. Large rivers include: Anadyr (with tributaries Belaya, Tanyurer, Main); Big Anyui and Small Anyui, Great. Many of the rivers freeze to the bottom. Most refer to mountain rivers. The largest lakes: Pekulneyskoye, Elgygytgyn, Krasnoye. The lakes are predominantly of thermokarst origin. There are deposits of mineral thermal waters (Lorinskoye, Chaplinskoye and Dezhnevskoye deposits). Seas of Chukotka: East Siberian (the coldest of all the seas in the district); Chukchi Sea (most of the year it is covered floating ice, in autumn, due to stormy winds, hummocks often form); Bering Sea (the warmest sea in Chukotka).

Minerals. The subsoil of the district is rich in reserves of platinum group metals (Anadyr-Koryak system), gold (Mayskoe gold-sulfide deposit, Shmidtovsky, Iultinsky, Chaunsky districts), silver, tin (Pyrkakai stockwork deposits), tungsten (Chaunsky district), copper, mercury, oil , gas (oil and gas basins - East Khatyr, Anadyr, North Chukotka, South Chukotka, East Siberian), hard and brown coal (Upper Alkatvaam deposit), etc. Deposits of chromium, molybdenum, bismuth, boron, titanium, beryllium, lithium, arsenic, iron, antimony, cobalt, nickel, zeolites, precious and semi-precious stones(garnet, demantoid, beryl, amethyst, topaz, axinite, rock crystal, etc.), ornamental stones (chalcedony, agate, jasper, rodingite, listvenite, gabbro, etc.). The explored mineral resource potential of the district is one of the highest in the world. Far East.

Construction Materials. Deposits of mineral building materials are represented by the following types of raw materials: building sands, expanded clay, brick and sand-gravel mixtures, building stones, carbonate rocks for building lime.

Bioresources. Marine hunting resources are significant (minke whales, fin whales, beluga whales, killer whales and other cetacean mammals; bearded seals, walruses, striped seals, seals and other pinnipeds). Deep processing of raw materials (thymus, lard, adrenal glands, spleen and other organs of sea animals) into biologically active substances (BAS) is underway. Fishing (tuna, shrimp, cephalopods, pollock, cod, large crustaceans) and reindeer husbandry are developed.

Hunting Resources. The most valuable commercially are: wild reindeer, elk, brown bears, sable, red fox, arctic fox, wolverine, wolf, muskrat, American mink, white hares, ermines, and white partridge.

Flora and fauna

Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is a region of tundra, forest-tundra and arctic deserts. The territory is dominated by low-growing tundra vegetation.

On Wrangel Island and on the mountain tops there are arctic deserts. Vegetation cover represented by sedge-tussock and shrub-moss representatives.

Island forests with a predominance of poplar, larch, birch, Korean willow, alder, etc. grow in river basins.

The forests of Chukotka are mainly home to more than 35 species of mammals: brown and polar bears, arctic fox, fox, wolf, wolverine.

The avifauna (170 species) is represented by partridges, geese, ducks, and swans. Guillemots, eiders, and gulls live on the coast.

Wide variety of fish. In terms of commercial use, halibut, large-sized pollock, cod, flounder, navaga, etc. are of value.

1) Chukotka Peninsula (Chukotka) is a peninsula in the extreme northeast of the Eurasian continent. Washed by the Chukchi Sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean from the north and the Bering Sea Pacific Ocean from South.

2) The discoverer of the peninsula can be considered the expedition of 1648-1649 by Semyon Dezhnev, who passed through the strait between Asia and America. By January 1649, travelers had already reached the mouth of the Anadyr River. The peninsula was named in 1728 by V. Bering after the local people - the Chukchi, who lived mainly in Chukotka. The peninsula was also explored by: the expedition of Dmitry Laptev (1736, 1739-1742), in 1763-1764, traveling around Chukotka, drawing up maps; the first Chukchi scientist Nikolai Daurkin, Nikita Shalaurov; passed from the mouth of the Lena River to Cape Shelagsky in 1762, and later in 1765. After the campaigns of I. Bellings (1785-1794), the first maps of the Chukotka Peninsula were compiled

3) As mentioned earlier, Chukchi tribes lived in Chukotka, who settled here quite a long time ago (Stone-Old Stone Ages) from East and Central Asia.

4) The relief of Chukotka is mainly mountainous (1000-1500 m). Lowlands are mainly found in river valleys and coastal areas. The largest lowland is the Anadyr lowland. (500-1000 m). The largest peak does not have a name, but is simply called the nameless mountain, 1887 meters.

5) The region contains a unique gold mining district - Maysky, and the entire north-eastern part of the peninsula is considered promising for placer gold. On the territory of the district there are deposits of such minerals as oil, natural gas, tin, antimony, tungsten and mercury. Coal in Chukotka for the internal needs of the district is mined at the Anadyrskoye lignite and Beringovskoye coal deposits. The Chukotka sea shelf directly borders one of the large oil-bearing areas of Alaska.

6) The weather in Chukotka is quite harsh. In winter, the temperature often drops to -40-(-50) degrees Celsius, in summer – up to +20. The average wind speed is 5 m/s in both summer and winter, and if we take into account winter frosts, then winter can be postponed more for those who often traveled and lived in wildlife. Therefore, for a more or less comfortable trip, you should travel in late spring, summer and early autumn.

7) Again, it all depends on the time of year. In summer, in any case, you should take warm clothes, since the weather is changeable, sometimes you can wear something lighter.

8) I believe that the unique uniqueness of Chukotka is its unique nature. But to be more serious, this lake is Lake Elgygytgyn, Whale Alley , Museum complex "Heritage of Chukotka".

9) Firstly, if you find yourself in Chukotka, you need to visit the above mentioned places. You can also go fishing (in calm weather, otherwise you will suffer from the strong wind blowing in your face). Enjoy nature

Available in Russian Federation, in the Far East such an autonomous district is Chukotka. Yakutia, Magadan Region and Kamchatka Territory are located nearby. Alaska is nearby, it’s a pity it belongs to the USA (that’s what everyone thinks anyway). We crossed the Bering Strait - here comes America.

The capital of Chukotka is the city of Anadyr. The area of ​​the district is more than 720 thousand km2. The Chukotka District occupies the land between the lower reaches of the Kolyma in the west and Cape Dezhnev on the Chukotka Peninsula, as well as the following fairly large islands: Wrangel, Aion, Arakamchechen, Ratmanova, Geralda and others.
Chukotka, like a rocky wedge, cuts into two oceans: the Pacific and the Arctic. The waves of the East Siberian, Chukotka and Bering seas beat on the coast of Chukotka.

Relief of Chukotka

Mountainous terrain predominates. In the northeast there is the Chukotka Plateau, in the center - the Anadyr Plateau and Anyui Plateau, in the southwest - the northern extremities of the Kolyma Plateau, in the southeast - the Koryak Plateau. Above the highlands there are individual ridges with peak heights of more than 1 km. The highest point on the territory of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is located on the Anyui Highland, its height is 1853 m above sea level.

The lowlands are adjacent to sea bays. Chukotka from a geological point of view is a very young region of the earth's surface. Its relief was formed as a result of vertical tectonic movements earth's crust. These movements began during the Neogene period and have not ended to the present day.

Climate

The region is located in the Far North, so the climate is harsh: on the coasts there is humid sea air ( cold in winter), in the interior mountainous regions the climate is sharply continental. Winter is very long - up to 10 months a year. Average temperatures in January are down to –40°C (the minimum is naturally even lower), in July – from +5 to +10°C. The soils are permafrost everywhere.

Nature of Chukotka

Chukotka is a land of rivers and streams. The largest and most famous:

• Anadyr (with tributaries Main, Belaya, Tanyurer),
• Velikaya (flows into Onemen Bay of the Bering Sea),
• Bolshaya Anyui and Malaya Anyui (originate in the Chukotka mountain ranges and flow into Kolyma).

Rivers are fed primarily by melting snow or rain; The water is cold, but in most places you can drink it immediately, without boiling. There are also many lakes, mostly of thermokarst origin, mainly located within tectonic depressions. The largest lakes: Krasnoye and Elgygytgyn (maximum depth - 169 m). Within the northern coastal strip there are lakes with salt water. There are three known deposits of mineral thermal energy waters with temperatures up to 80°C (Chaplyginskoye, Lorinskoye and Dezhnevskoye).

Chukotka is a region of forest-tundra, tundra and arctic deserts. Tundra, low-growing vegetation predominates. On the tops of the mountains and on Wrangel Island there are arctic deserts. In the basins of the Anadyr River and other large rivers there are island forests (larch, poplar, Korean willow, birch, alder, etc.).

In Chukotka, mainly in the forests, several dozen species of mammals (fox, arctic fox, wolf, wolverine, brown and polar bears) and a couple of hundred species of birds (white and tundra partridges, geese, ducks, swans) live. On the coast there are noisy “bird colonies” - eiders, guillemots, gulls. There are a lot of fish, I don’t want to catch them. So fishing in Chukotka should be successful.

For tourists and extreme sports enthusiasts

The Chukotka region is one of those places in the world that seem to be created to test a person’s “strength.” The edge of permafrost, there is almost always wind and blizzards. Chukotka shows its unique beauty only to those who are ready to face difficulties. The life philosophy of indigenous peoples was formed in this extreme climate. The way of life of people here is initially subordinated to the goal of survival. That’s why, when going to Chukotka, it is very important to understand whether you have fortitude and strength of body, and whether you are physically resilient.