The region of Central Asia is rich in natural resources. The reason for this is the structure of the surface of Central Asia, which is due to a complex geological history: several phases of mountain building, the growth and destruction of mountains, the advance and retreat of the sea, changes in atmospheric circulation, glaciations. The seismic activity of the territory is associated with mountain building (earthquakes up to 9 points often occur here), as well as the placement of most of the minerals - oil, gas, coal, gold, polymetals, rock crystal, rock salt.
Natural resource potential
The natural resource potential of a territory (NRP) is the totality of its natural resources that can be used in economic activity taking into account scientific and technological progress. The territory of Central Asia is rich in various natural resources.
| Oil (million tons) | Gas (billion cubic meters) | Gas * (billion cubic meters) | Coal (billion tons) | Uranium (t) | Uranium * (t) | Hydropower resources (billion kWh/year) | |
| Kazakhstan | 4 000 | 3 300 | 6 800 | 35,8 | 622 000 | 1 690 000 | 40,2 |
| Turkmenistan | 2 860 | 23 000 | – | – | – | – | |
| Uzbekistan | 1 875 | 5 900 | 93 000 | 185 800 | – | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | – | – | 20 000 | 142,5 | |||
| Tajikistan | – | – | – | – | 460 000 | ||
| Total for CA | 4 557 | 8 041 | 37 706 | 39,8 | 715 000 | 2 355 800 | 709,7 |
| Place in the world | 6-8 | ||||||
| * - Reserves, according to official bodies of countries, national companies |
Table 1 - energy resource potential of the Central Asian countries
Organic fuel plays the leading role in the production and consumption of fuel and energy resources (FER) in the region. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for over 20% of the world's proven uranium reserves. Explored reserves of coal will last more than 600 years, oil - 65 years, natural gas - 75 years. At present, the region is increasingly identified as a potential supplier of hydrocarbons in various directions and to various markets, and there are many possible projects and export routes.
Rich reserves of fuel and energy resources are distributed unevenly across their territories. Thus, 88.6% of the explored coal reserves in the region are concentrated in Kazakhstan, and 86% of oil. In Uzbekistan, coal - 4.9%. Gas reserves are more or less evenly distributed between Turkmenistan (43%), Uzbekistan (30%) and Kazakhstan (27%).
More than half of the total volume of consumed energy resources in the Central Asian Republics (CAR) falls on the share of natural gas, about 3/4 of which is used in Uzbekistan. The second place is occupied by coal consumption, about 93% of which is used in Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan uses 38% of the oil consumed in the region, 34% falls on the share of Kazakhstan.
| The country | Production (billion m 3) | % of world | ||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||
| Kazakhstan | 10,8 | 10,8 | 10,6 | 12,9 | 18,5 | 0,7 |
| Russia | 545,0 | 542,4 | 555,4 | 578,6 | 589,1 | 21,9 |
| Turkmenistan | 43,8 | 47,9 | 49,9 | 55,1 | 54,6 | 2,0 |
| Uzbekistan | 52,6 | 53,5 | 53,8 | 53,6 | 55,8 | 2,1 |
| Source. BP World Energy Statistics, 2005. |
Table 2 - Gas production in Central Asia and Russia
The countries of Central Asia have significant reserves of water and energy resources, which are distributed extremely unevenly across the territories of the states. The region contains 5.5% of the economically effective hydro potential of the world. The total hydropower potential of the region is 937 billion kWh of electricity per year. A significant part of this potential (56.2%) is concentrated in Tajikistan, but its development is at a low level. Kyrgyzstan (0.8 million kWh/sq. km) and Tajikistan (3.7 million kWh/sq. km) are especially different in terms of annual hydropower potential per unit of the country's territory.
Within Kyrgyzstan, 25% of the total flow of the rivers of the Aral Sea basin is formed, Tajikistan - 43%, Uzbekistan - 10%, Kazakhstan - 2%, Turkmenistan - 1%. In the energy balance of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the basic source is hydropower. The share of hydropower plants in the installed capacity in the whole of the United Energy System (IPS) of Central Asia reached 35%, in Kyrgyzstan - 79%, Tajikistan - 93%. Uzbekistan generates 52% of the total electricity. Kazakhstan annually faces seasonal flooding in the southern regions and a high concentration of salts in the mouth of the river, lack of irrigation water in the summer, which led to a number of social and environmental problems. In general, the use of the economically efficient part of the hydropower potential in the region does not yet exceed 10%.
In general, the determination of the consequences of the global crisis in the countries of Central Asia is possible subject to significant investment in the sectors most affected by the crisis, taking into account the specifics of each country. The decline in foreign investment in these sectors is the most serious problem. The remaining political risks do not add optimism regarding the investment attractiveness of the region's countries. The reduction of foreign investment in the modernization of hydrotechnical facilities could lead to a new energy crisis throughout the region and increase tensions between neighboring states. Therefore, it is necessary, first of all, to strengthen integration interaction by combining the efforts of the countries of Central Asia to solve common regional problems. Concerted actions are the most important factor of regional security and necessary condition developing the production capacities of the fuel and energy complex of the countries of the region, increasing their energy self-sufficiency, expanding the energy export potential, saving investment resources.
At the same time, the region has large renewable energy resources, the introduction of which into the energy balance can be a significant contribution to achieving sustainable economic development, a stable energy market, and ensuring favorable environmental conditions. In a number of republics, the trend towards the use of renewable energy sources (RES) is at the stage of developing National Programs.
The above concepts of the countries of the region in the development of energy industries lead to the need to diversify the structure of the energy sector, including expanding the use of renewable energy sources. As a number of studies show, the share of renewable energy in the energy balance by 2050 should be about 18% or even higher in order to stabilize the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In general, the analysis of the potentials of the energy resources of the countries of Central Asia identifies important problems that require the collective efforts of all states in the region:
Consolidation of water and energy resources, since for decades a single energy system has been functioning in the region with the dominant role of the hydropower industry of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and gas supply, the main suppliers of which were Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan;
Cooperation in the field of ecology. As a result of extensive exploitation environment the possibility of its reproduction is significantly undermined;
Rational, efficient water use of transboundary rivers. The socio-economic and environmental well-being of the states of Central Asia depends on a comprehensive solution to this problem.
Population
The history of Central Asia is extremely complex, the territory of which lay on the path of invasions by many conquerors and powerful migrations that influenced the composition of the population, the formation of languages, and culture. Large states were formed that left a deep mark on history, and collapsed under the blows of the conquerors. The periods of flourishing cities, agricultural oases gave way to their death and desolation, high achievements of science and art alternated with times of cultural decline and stagnation. On the ruins of the collapsed states, new ones arose, there were endless feudal wars.
Under these conditions, the process of ethnic formation of the peoples of Central Asia was going on. The initial elements of the ethnic community of today's nations were formed back in the 9th-12th centuries. The peoples of Central Asia are linked by ethnic kinship. In addition, the ancestors of many of them for a long time were part of the same states, fought together against foreign invaders. They were also brought together by their joint participation in uprisings against feudal rulers, as well as constant economic and cultural communication.
The natural resources of the plains of Central Asia are diverse. Of the combustible minerals, Jurassic coal was found in Dzhanak and brown coal in Mangyshlak and in the Alakul region; oil and gas in Mangyshlak, in Bukhara and in the Ili depression, oil in the Cheleken peninsula, in Nebit-Dag and Kum-Dag, ozokerite in Cheleken. Of the deposits of ore minerals, manganese is becoming known in Mangyshlak (Aitkoksh), oolitic iron ore in the Northern Prearalie. Asbestos, graphite and copper were found on the territory of the Paleozoic uplands of the Kyzyl Kum. In the Lowland Karakum, sulfur has been mined for many years in the Sulfur Hillocks, located 250 km north of Ashgabat; gas reserves have been explored in recent years. The richest reserves of self-planting salts are found in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay on the Caspian Sea (mirabilite), in the Karagie tectonic basin (magnesian salts), in the Aralsk region (astrakhanite) and the Aral Sea region (sodium sulfate). Gypsum and table salt are everywhere unlimited.
The plains of Central Asia are rich in light and warmth. In the Lowland Karakum, heat resources for the period with temperatures over 10°C exceed 5000C, in the Kyzyl Kum - about 4000°C; in the deserts of the Aral Sea region, the Southern Balkhash region and in the Muyunkums - 3000-3500 ° С. With such heat resources, in the presence of water, subtropical plants such as fine-staple cotton, sesame, peanuts, the world-famous Chardzhui melons, and high-sugar table grapes are successfully grown in the southern deserts. Over the past decades, new crops for those places have been mastered on the plains of Central Asia: southern hemp, kenaf, jute, sugar beets. Southern fruit growing is successfully developing.
The plains of Central Asia are poor in surface watercourses, except for transit rivers, the sources of which are located in mountainous areas. Measures for the collection and storage of temporary runoff water, including the construction of underground rainwater collectors, are of great economic importance.
The underground waters of the plains are concentrated in the vast Artevian basins explored by Soviet hydrogeologists in recent decades. Among the basins, the Aral group (Turgai, Syr-Darya and Karakum) of artesian basins is distinguished. Within the Tien Shan folded region are the Chui and Iliisk basins, in the Dzungar region - a group of artesian basins of the Balkhash region. In all basins there are pressure (self-flowing) or semi-pressure waters of different flow rates and variegated mineralization - from fresh to salty inclusive. Part of groundwater is used for drinking needs of the population and animal husbandry. For this purpose, many shaft and artesian wells have been built in the deserts in the past decade.
The deepest groundwater was found on the Badkhyz and Karabil plateaus. Here, dug wells for watering livestock reach a depth of 200-260 m. Upon reaching the Karakum, groundwater rises closer to the surface (15-40 m and closer) and becomes noticeably saline. The eastern regions of the Zaunguz Karakum are relatively well supplied with water, and the western regions of the Low Karakum are poorly watered. In the Kyzyl Kum, as well as in the Aral Sea, Muyunkum and Southern Balkhash regions, everywhere in the sands there is fresh groundwater, the flow rate of which is mostly small, but the total reserves of fresh and slightly brackish ground water in the Muyunkums and in the sandy massifs of the Southern Balkhash region are large. On the piedmont plains, groundwater often wedges out, forming numerous "karas" - small streams and rivers used by the population for irrigation and watering. The abundance of "Karasu" can be observed on the piedmont plains of the northern slopes of the Kyrgyz, Trans-Ili and Dzhungar ranges, in the Ferghana Valley.
The development of solar technology makes it possible to obtain fresh water from brackish and saline groundwater. They are of great economic importance plant resources plains due to the intensive development of animal husbandry, in particular astrakhan breeding and fine-wool sheep breeding. Pastures are the dominant type of economic land in the deserts and semi-deserts of Central Asia. The fodder value of desert-tree and sagebrush associations is the greatest. Deserts with a predominance of desert-tree associations, which, along with saxaul, kandyms and other trees, contain many ephemeroids and ephemera, are mostly used as year-round pastures. The average productivity of fodder mass is 0.8-1.9 q/ha. Deserts with wormwood dominating vegetation are considered the best autumn-winter pastures. Their average fodder productivity is 1.3-2.7 q/ha. In the tugai, horses and cattle are most often pastured. Hay is harvested in reed and sedge bogs.
The most valuable forage are psammophytic shrub and saltwort communities.
In the fuel balance of the republics of Central Asia, a prominent place belongs to the wood of saxaul sparse forests. Of the total area of 20.5 million hectares of desert forests and thickets of Central Asia, 19.8 million hectares fall to the share of saxaul forests. The stock of timber in this area is about 35 million liters * 1 .
The bonitet of saxaul stands is closely related to the level of groundwater and the type of soil: the best saxaul stands develop on sandy and light loamy soils with groundwater at a depth of 3-8 m.
For the decade 1947-1967. Saxaul and desert shrubs were sown on an area of about 97 million hectares.
Large areas of land have been developed for agriculture in the largest irrigated oases: Ferghana, Khorezm, Tashkent Zeravshan, Murgab, Tedzhen, Gol with one steppe, Chuisky, Talas, Semirechensk. The total irrigated land in the Central Asian republics, excluding Tajikistan, is 6.8 million hectares. In the future, it is possible to irrigate about 15 million hectares in the republics of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (BD Korzhavin, 1962).
During the Soviet period, the Aral, Repetek and Dzhezkazgan experimental stations did a great deal of work on studying the methods of developing deserts and fixing sands. They developed a series effective methods oasis transformation of deserts: new methods of rainfed and irrigated farming and foraging, developed a trench method for growing vegetables, potatoes and fruits in the sands, scientifically substantiated and introduced into production effective ways fixing sands and their afforestation. All these methods make it possible to more rationally use the natural resources of the deserts of Central Asia.
The work of zoologists and physicians on the elimination of Asian locust nests, a sharp decrease in the incidence of malaria, and the development of methods for combating ticks and other vectors of serious diseases in humans and animals are of inestimable importance.
On the plains of Central Asia, fur and other animal industries are of some importance. Commercial species of animals that occupy a prominent place in the national economy of the plains include ground squirrels, jerboas, muskrats, acclimatized in Balkhash (Ili river delta) since 1935, goitered gazelles and saigas, the shooting of which is limited by the nature protection law. Boars are shot in tugai and they get a lot waterfowl- ducks, coots, geese, cormorants, less - pheasants.
The protection and expanded reproduction of natural resources are the most important state and public activities. The regulation of cattle grazing on the sands and the hunting of animals, as well as the rational use of water resources, require close attention.
natural conditions. Mostly they are relatively favorable, but in some places there are Negative influence. Most of the Asian part of Russia (2/3) are regions of the far north and permafrost. In Central Asia, vast areas are occupied by semi-deserts and deserts, unsuitable for life and management.
The territory of the region is predominantly located on a hill. Mountain ranges and plateaus occupy 3/4 of its territory. The largest mountain areas surrounding the east (Chukotka and Koryak highlands, the Central Siberian plateau, Sikhote-Alin, Verkhoyansky ridge, etc.) and the south of the region (Tien Shan, Pamir, Altai, the Kazakh upland plateau). The high-mountain massif of the Pamir region (the highest point is Communism Peak, 7495 m), which is an epiplatform mountain of the Cenozoic folding of the Alpine-Himalayan geosynclinal belt. The largest orographic unit in Eastern Siberia is the Central Siberian Plateau, which is characterized by the alternation of wide plateaus and ridges (Yenisei ridge, Vilyuisbke plateau, higher in height (1701 m) than the Putorana plateau). Many areas are covered with permafrost. More than 7,000 glaciers with a total area of about 20,000 km2 have been registered in the mountains of Central Asia. High seismicity is characteristic, which sometimes reaches 8-9 points on the Richter scale.
Plains are of alluvial and accumulative origin, located mainly in river valleys and near sea coasts. The western lowland is one of the largest low-lying accumulative plains of the globe. Its area reaches 3 million km2. The surface is weakly dissected, with small height amplitudes (from 50 to 300 m). Wide flat interfluves, composed of moraine hills and ridges, predominate. In the southern part there are many depressions, in the place of which large lakes sometimes form. The middle part of the plain is dissected by slow rivers, stagnant water is rich on flat watersheds. This is the reason for the large waterlogging and the presence of peat, especially in Vasyugan. Marshes cover approximately 20-25% of the lowland area. In the southern part of the region there is a large Turan lowland (plain), which is characterized by the alternation of accumulative lowlands and plains with table plateaus (total - Ustyurt). On the surface of the plain, wormwood-saltwort, psamophytnia and ephemeral deserts predominate, they are used as pastures.
Climatic conditions are varied, due to the latitudinal zonality. The climate of the Asian part of Russia is severe, continental (on Far East close to monsoon). Winter is very long, summer is comparatively short. Precipitation falls mainly in summer (300-500 mm). In Central Asia, the temperatures of day and night, summer and winter, are especially contrasting, the actual continental type of climate.
The north of the region has a wide hydrographic network, which belongs mainly to the river systems of the Ob - Irtysh, Yenisei - Angara, Lena, Amur, Yana, etc. Rivers are important communication routes and a source of water supply. The water resources of Siberia and the Far East account for approximately 10% of the world's fresh water reserves. Many major year navigable along the entire length. middle Asia groundwater is rich, a significant amount of which is spent on feeding surface runoff, meeting the needs of the population and moistening pastures.
There are tens of thousands of lakes in Siberia. Here is a unique natural formation - Lake Baikal, the volume of water in which is 23 thousand km2 (almost 1/5 of the world's fresh water reserves). Baikal is the deepest (up to 1620 m) continental water body on the earth's surface. This is a natural laboratory where you can study the laws of evolution of aquatic organisms, the formation of freshwater fauna.
Some areas of Central Asia have favorable agro-climatic conditions (especially for growing some subtropical crops: cotton, melons, fruit trees).
Natural resources. The wealth of the region is a variety of mineral resources represented by coal in Russia (Kuznetsk basin (Kuzbass), South Yakutsk basin, promising Lena and Tunguska basins), brown coal in Russia (Kansk-Achinsk basin in Eastern Siberia), oil (southern regions of Western Siberia, the north of Sakhalin in Russia, the Mangyshlak peninsula in Kazakhstan, the Turkmen coast of the Caspian Sea), gas (the north of Western Siberia and Sakhalin in Russia, the Gazli field in Uzbekistan, the eastern regions of Turkmenistan), etc.
The region is rich in ore minerals: iron ore (Altai and Angarsk deposits in Russia, northwest Kazakhstan), manganese (Dzhezdy deposit in Kazakhstan), chromium (northwest Kazakhstan), copper (deposits (Dzhezkazgan and Balkhash in Kazakhstan, Norilsk in Russia), nickel (complex Norilsk deposit), polymetals (Altai), tin (Far East), gold (Siberia and the Far East in Russia, Kyrgyzstan), mercury (in the Tien Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan).
Non-metallic minerals are represented by phosphorites (Zhambyl deposit in Kazakhstan), mirabilite (Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay in Turkmenistan), diamonds (Mirny city in Yakutia).
Potential hydropower resources are estimated at 1900 billion kWh - the energy of sea tides. In Central Asia, the limited water reserves led to the creation of a wide network of irrigation facilities, through which the regulation of the runoff is carried out. For the purpose of irrigation, more than 30 large reservoirs (with a volume of more than 100 million m3 each) and many main irrigation canals have been built, including Chui, Northern and Big Fergana, Amu-Bukhara, Karshun, Gissar, etc. The unique Karakum canal (1200 km long) was built in 1954 and extends through the southern part of the Karakum desert.
The forests of the Asian part of Russia consist mainly of conifers- pine, fir, cedar, spruce, larch, Manchurian walnut, birch and other hardwoods are common in the south. The forested area is 70% of the district area. The total timber reserves are estimated at 74 billion m3. The forests of Siberia and the Far East are rich not only in timber, but up to 150 species of game animals live in them, including such valuable ones as sable, ermine, squirrel, industrial birds, various valuable medicinal plants(famous ginseng), nuts, mushrooms, berries. In Kazakhstan, a lot of forests (9 million hectares) fall on saxaul forests. The average forest cover of the countries of Central Asia is only 5%.
The Far Eastern sea basin is rich in fish (up to 20 species: sardine-ivasi, mackerel, salmon, saury, herring, greenling, etc.) and seafood, of which crabs, shrimps, squids, scallops, sea kale, etc. are intensively used.
The development of the economy of the countries of the region is primarily due to their huge natural resource potential - one of the largest in the world. No wonder Russia and Kazakhstan are called the "geological pantries" of the world.
Farming, especially rural, will depend on the natural conditions of the territory. And the conditions of Asia are distinguished by great diversity and contrasts. The highest mountain ranges with steep slopes coexist with lowlands and the monotony of their flat relief. Large contrasts are also characteristic of the climate, especially for moisture. The low-lying areas are well supplied with moisture, because they are located in the monsoon climate - these are the eastern and southern parts of the region.
The western part of Foreign Asia lies in the region of the Mediterranean climate. $90\%$ of all arable land is concentrated in these parts of Asia. The central and southwestern parts are arid. The Asian part of the world lies in several climatic zones. The south of the territory lies in tropical latitudes and receives $2$ times more total solar radiation than the northern regions. Summer and winter temperatures on the islands of Indonesia are almost the same, the average January temperature is +$25$ degrees, and the north of Manchuria, for example, has a January temperature of -$24$, -$28$ degrees. Yes, the cold weather is long there. Significant climatic differences are also characteristic of mountainous regions and even within the mountainous territories themselves. This is due to the height of the mountains, their position, the exposure of the slopes. The circulation of the atmosphere has a very pronounced effect on the climate of East and South Asia, where the seasonal change of air masses is clearly expressed.
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Winters in these areas are characterized by the winter monsoon, while the summer monsoon operates in summer. All East Asia, Hindustan and Indochina are in the monsoon circulation zone, where the annual precipitation can reach $2000$ mm per year. Associated with the winter monsoon are cold continental air masses, which cause cooling in East Asia and partly in the tropics of Northern Indochina.
In the southern part of Asia, winter cooling does not occur, because the territory is under the influence of the Indian monsoon, which has smaller baric gradients. On the other hand, India is closed in the north by the highest mountain ranges from the cold air masses of Central Asia. Inland regions of Asia, located on high altitudes and surrounded by mountains, have a sharply continental climate.
In winter, the Asian anticyclone dominates here and a severe and long winter sets in. At low temperatures, the soil freezes deeply, which leads to the formation of permafrost areas. In summer, the territory warms up well and an area of low atmospheric pressure is formed. The weather is hot and dry. Precipitation is very small, high mountain ranges prevent their penetration. In closed basins, only up to $50$ mm falls out. But even this inland region has its own internal climatic differences. The reason for this lies in the different availability of thermal resources and thermal regime.
An exceptionally hot region is Southwest Asia. She gets the most a large number of solar radiation, therefore, is the driest part of the mainland. Deserts and semi-deserts are common here.
Remark 1
For the development of agriculture, a significant part of Asia Abroad has unfavorable climatic conditions. The equatorial regions are highly humid, while the vast plateaus and plains of Southwestern and Central Asia are too dry. Agriculture in these areas is possible only with land reclamation.
The location of agricultural production, the composition of cultivated plants, the peculiarities of farming methods, and the productivity of crops largely depend on climatic conditions. The level of agricultural development in the countries of Foreign Asia is relatively low, so the yield is highly dependent on weather conditions. Based on climatic features, several agro-climatic regions are distinguished in foreign Asia.
Mineral resources of Foreign Asia
The surface of Foreign Asia is represented by vast mountainous territories and lowlands, the areas of which are small. Low-lying areas are located on the outskirts of Asia - these are the eastern and southern coasts. Mineral deposits are associated with the relief and with the main tectonic regions, with which the bowels of Foreign Asia are rich. In terms of reserves of fuel and energy raw materials, Asia occupies a leading position in the world.
These are, first of all, huge deposits of coal, oil and gas. The bowels of this part of the world contain world reserves of tin, antimony, mercury, graphite, sulfur, muscovite, zirconium, phosphate raw materials, potassium salts, chromites, tungsten. True, from a geographical point of view, these resources are distributed unevenly. Coal, iron and manganese ores, non-metallic minerals were formed within the Chinese and Hindustan platforms. There is a copper belt along the Pacific coast. In the Alpine-Himalayan folded region, ores are predominant.
A decisive role in the international geographical division of labor in Asia is played by oil and gas reserves, which are the main wealth of the region. The main hydrocarbon deposits are concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Large oil fields have been discovered in the countries of the Malay Archipelago - Indonesia, Malaysia. There is oil and gas in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. The Dead Sea is known for its large salt reserves, and the Iranian Highlands for sulfur and non-ferrous metals.
Of all Asian countries, the greatest diversity and reserves of minerals are concentrated on the territory of the following states:
- India;
- Indonesia;
- Iran;
- Kazakhstan;
- Turkey;
- Saudi Arabia.
Remark 2
Those mineral deposits that are well known today do not reflect the true picture of the richness of the subsoil of this region. The ongoing prospecting works open up new deposits of mineral raw materials. In terms of hydrocarbon production, offshore zones are becoming promising, which provide the extractive industry with new opportunities.
Different subregions of Asia have their own set of minerals.
Western Asia. Here, first of all, the largest oil and gas fields are concentrated, in terms of reserves of which Western Asia is a leader among other regions of the world. According to $1980 data, there are $43 billion tons of oil in this area and more than $20 trillion. cube m of gas. Coal reserves are more than $23 billion tons. The reserves of ferrous metal ores amount to $14 billion tons and they are located on the territory of Turkey and Iraq. Reserves of titanium ores in Saudi Arabia and chromium ores in Turkey and Iran, Afghanistan and Oman. Non-metallic building materials are represented by gypsum, the reserves of which amount to $3 billion tons. In some countries of the region there are deposits of precious and ornamental stones, for example, Iranian turquoise, Afghan lapis lazuli, ruby, emerald, rock crystal, aquamarine, marble onyx.
South Asia. She holds a leading position in the reserves of muscovite, barite, titanium, pyrite, beryl, graphite, iron, manganese ores. This part also has significant reserves of oil and gas, as well as gold, copper, nickel, and tungsten ores. The most important energy raw material for South Asia is hard coal, whose reserves are estimated at $115 billion tons. The total iron ore reserves are over $13.5 billion tons. They are concentrated in India, Pakistan. There are small reserves in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The extraction of manganese ores has long been going on in India. There are aluminum and nickel ores in this region. Here is about $30\%$ of the total reserves of mining and chemical raw materials - India, Pakistan, Nepal. Non-metallic raw materials are represented by Indian asbestos - India, gypsum - Pakistan, graphite - Sri Lanka. There are quartz, building sands, dolomites, limestone and marble. Precious stones are only in India - diamonds.
Southeast Asia. In terms of tin reserves, the region ranks $1 in the world and has significant reserves of nickel, cobalt, tungsten, copper, antimony, and barite. In addition, there are oil, gas, bauxites, chromites and other mineral resources. Exploration work on hydrocarbons is being carried out on continental shelf. Of the $36$ promising basins, $25$ belong to Indonesia. Hard coals are also found in Indonesia and Vietnam. Ore minerals, the reserves of which amount to more than $1271 million tons, are found in Burma, Indonesia, the Philippines, Kampuchea. Of the ores of non-ferrous metals, aluminum and copper ores are known - Indonesia, Vietnam, Kampuchea.
Other types of resources of Foreign Asia
Foreign Asia is rich in its superficial waters, but distributed water resources across the territory unevenly, and security decreases from the southeast to the northwest. Water resources are used, usually for irrigation, which helps to solve problems associated with drought, soil salinization and windblown. In India, for example, $95\%$ of fresh water consumed goes to irrigation. Mountain rivers contain colossal reserves of hydropower, which is best provided in the humid tropics. Due to the economic backwardness of the mountainous regions, the hydro potential of the rivers is poorly used. For example, the hydro potential of the rivers of India and Pakistan is used by about $10\%$. Large Asian rivers have basins covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. They are among the most important types of natural resources.
Another type of resource is soil. The huge size, diverse relief and climate were the conditions for the formation of a complex soil cover. Podzolic, sulfur and brown forest soils have formed in the temperate climate zone. In the steppe regions - chernozem-like and chestnut soils. In the subtropics of the Mediterranean, brown soils are dominant, and in the monsoon regions, yellow and red soils. Peculiar tropical soils - regura or black soils formed on the Hindustan peninsula.
If speak about forest resources, foreign Asia is not rich in them. There is only $0.3$ ha of forest resources per capita, and the average world level is $1.2$ ha per person. Low availability of forest resources is typical for India, Pakistan, Lebanon, and Singapore. The south-east of the region is best provided with forest resources. Here, the areas of forest resources are not only large, but also accessible, which threatens their existence.
recreational the resources of the region began to be studied and used only in the second half of the $XX$ century. Attractive for tourists are the warm seas of Southwest Asia - Turkey and Southeast Asia - Thailand, Malaysia.
ASIA, the largest part of the world, located mainly in the Eastern Hemisphere (except for the Chukotka Peninsula) north of the equator; forms together with Europe the mainland Eurasia. From North America Africa separates the Bering Strait and is connected to Africa by the narrow Isthmus of Suez.
General information
Area approx. 43.4 million km 2. 4.299 billion people live in Azerbaijan. (2014, over 60% of the world's population). In socio-economic terms, the Asian part of Russia includes the subjects of the federation that are part of the Ural, Siberian and Far Eastern federal districts.
Extreme points of A.: in the north - Cape Chelyuskin (77 ° 43´ N) on the Taimyr Peninsula, in the east - Cape Dezhnev (169 ° 40´ W) on the Chukotsky Peninsula, in the south - Cape Piai (1 °16´ N) on the Malay Peninsula, in the west - Cape Baba (26°10´ E) in Turkey (see Physical map). The physiographic border of Azerbaijan with Europe is taken as the main watershed of the Urals (or its eastern foot), the valley of the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Kuma-Manych depression, the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait (sometimes the axial part of the Greater Caucasus), the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara , the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.
The shores of A. are washed in the north by the Northern Arctic Ocean, in the east by the Pacific, in the south by the Indian Oceans and their marginal seas, in the west by the inland seas Atlantic Ocean(Mediterranean, Aegean, Marble, Black). Vast inland regions that have no connection with the World Ocean are classified as drainless areas or areas of internal flow (basins of the Caspian and Aral Seas, lakes Balkhash, Lobnor, etc.). The shores are relatively poorly dissected. The largest peninsulas: Yamal, Taimyr, Chukotka, Kamchatka, Korean, Indochina, Malacca, Hindustan, Arabian, Asia Minor. The islands are occupied by St. 2 million km 2; among them are the largest: Severnaya Zemlya, Novosibirsk, Sakhalin, Japanese, Taiwan, Hainan, Philippine, Big Sunda, Sri Lanka . In A. are: the highest point on the globe - Mount Chomolungma (8848 m, according to other sources - 8850 m); the deepest depression is El Gor, in which the endorheic lake Dead Sea is located (430 m below sea level); the largest sea-lake is the Caspian Sea; the world's deepest Lake Baikal (20% of the world's fresh water reserves without glaciers), included in the World Heritage List; the wettest place on earth is the settlement of Cherrapunji on the Shillong Highlands in India (average over the observation period about 12,000 mm, max. - 22,900 mm of precipitation per year).
The following physical and geographical regions are distinguished: North Asia (all of Siberia and the Russian Far East), East Asia (China east of 110 ° E, the Korean Peninsula, the Japanese Islands), Southeast Asia (the Indochina Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago) , South Asia (Hindustan peninsula, Sri Lanka island), Western Asia (Caucasus and the Near Asian highlands), Southwest Asia (Levant and Arabian Peninsula), Central Asia (Mongolia, Western China, including Tibet) and Central Asia (Turan lowland , Pamir and Tien Shan).
Relief
Albania is characterized by a general uplift of the territory (three-fourths of the area), and the predominance of mountains and plateaus, with a small area of plains. An extended mountain belt is formed by mountains and highlands of the Alpine (Cenozoic) folding. Asia Minor (avg. height 800–1500 m), Armenian (c. 2000 m) and Iranian (500–2000 m) highlands are framed by folded-block and folded Pontic Mountains, Taurus, Zagros, Elburs, Kopetdag, Paropamiz, Hindu Kush. To the north of the Armenian Highlands rise the Greater Caucasus (up to 5642 m, Mount Elbrus) and the Lesser Caucasus. A large mountain junction is formed by the Pamir highlands (the highest point - 7495 m - Communism Peak, or Ismail Samani Peak) with the Fedchenko Glacier - the longest glacier in Asia (77 km, area about 700 km 2). The greatest mountain system in the world, the Himalayas, stretches for 2,500 km (average altitude is about 6,000 m, 11 peaks are higher than 8,000 m, including Chomolungma). The Karakoram reaches a significant height with Mount Chogori (height 8611 m) - the second peak in the world - and with the largest mountain glacier A. Siachen (length about 76 km, area 750 km 2). All high mountain systems - with peaks, narrow ridges and deep valleys - are covered with glaciers and snowfields. From east. the tip of the Himalayas, alpine folded structures continue in the Arakan-Yoma (Arakan) mountains and on the islands of the Malay and Philippine archipelagos, on the island of Taiwan, as well as in the northeast and east of the mainland: Koryak Highlands , median ridge on the Kamchatka Peninsula, the West Sakhalin and East Sakhalin Mountains on Sakhalin Island, on the Kuril and Japanese Islands. This is an area of development of young folded mountains with strong erosional dissection and intense manifestation of volcanism and active seismicity. The relief is characterized by great contrast: the amplitude of heights between the mountains of the islands and the deep-water depressions reaches 12 km. On the Kamchatka Peninsula there is the highest active volcano A. - Klyuchevskaya Sopka(4688 m).
The mountains of Central Africa and Central Africa are structures with a blocky and arched-blocky structure with a characteristic latitudinal-linear strike of the ridges. The highest and most extended systems are Tien Shan (height up to 7439 m) and Kunlun (height up to 7723 m), Nanshan (height up to 5808 m) and Altyntag (height up to 6161 m). In the middle mountains of the Tien Shan, leveling surfaces are widely developed, lying at an altitude of 3000–4000 m. One of the deepest intermountain depressions is Turfan depression(155 m below sea level). Extensive Tibetan Plateau(altitude up to 5000 m) in the central part is occupied by high hilly stratified and denudation plains with numerous lake basins and horst ranges. Intense denudation and insignificant runoff led to a smoothing of the height differences between flat-topped ridges and intermountain depressions. In Central Armenia, in the Gobi Desert (up to 1200 m), large areas are occupied by high denudation plains of folded-block structure with ridges, areas of low hills, and volcanic plateaus. The arched-block highlands of Beishan (height up to 2583 m) are bordered by gravelly foothills. For high Dzungarian plain And Basins of the Great Lakes table heights, rocky plains (hammads), hilly and ridge sands are characteristic. in relief Kazakh uplands noticeable low-mountain massifs (height up to 1565 m). In the northeast of China and in the north of the Korean Peninsula, there are the Great Khingan Mountains (height up to 2158 m), the Liaoxi Highlands (height up to 2050 m) and Manchurian-Korean mountains(height up to 2750 m). The revived mountains include Altai (height up to 4506 m), Mongolian Altai(height up to 4204 m), Sayan and Khangai (height up to 4021 m), etc.
A rather extended fold belt begins in northeastern Siberia, where Verkhoyansk Range(height up to 2283 m) and Chersky Ridge(altitude up to 3003 m), as well as Kolyma Highlands alternate with intermontane depressions and accumulative plains (Kolymskaya, Yano-Indigirskaya, etc.), and continue in the Far East with the Sikhote-Alin mountains (altitude up to 2090 m). East the periphery of the Tibetan Plateau stretch blocky-folded Sino-Tibetan mountains(height up to 7556 m). On the peninsulas of Indochina and Malacca, arched-block low and medium-altitude mountains are elongated meridionally. The platform regions of Azerbaijan are characterized by medium-altitude (up to 3,000 m) blocky and arched-blocky mountains with flattened peaks and steep slopes: in the east, these are Taishan, North Korean mountains, Dobashan and Shanxi Highlands; on the Hindustan Peninsula - Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats, Aravalli; on the Arabian Peninsula - Hijaz, to the north - the ranges of Jebel Ansaria, Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon.
South Asia
South Asia covers India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Most of the population of Hindustan belongs to the Indo-Afghan. variant of the Indo-Mediterranean race, among the untouchable castes, etc. aboriginal tribes (adivasi) dominated by the South Indian. race. Among the population of the Himalayan zone, the south is dominated. representatives of South Asia. Mongoloid race. To the most ancient ethnic The carriers of the Dravidian languages \u200b\u200b(Dravids), which are now spoken by large peoples of the south, ascend to the layer of the population of Hindustan. states of India (Kannara, Telugu, Tamils, Malayali), as well as many others. tribes of the south. and Center. Decana and bragui in southern Pakistan. In the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Tibeto-Burmese settled in the Himalayan zone. peoples, in Orissa and Bihar (from North Indochina) - Munda, in the 2nd millennium BC. e. speakers of the Indo-Aryan languages (Aryans), now dominant in the North, migrate from Front A. and Middle A. to India. and Center. Hindustan. The Burishi in the Khunzakh-Gilgit valley of the Karakoram speak an isolated language that, according to some scholars, is distantly related to the Caucasian languages. Main occupation - arable farming, irrigated and rainfed. They cultivate wheat and millet (in the north), rice (in the south), various legumes and oilseeds. Some peoples are engaged in semi-nomadic and transhumance (in the Himalayan zone) cattle breeding (buffaloes, sheep), hunting and gathering. Main food - cakes, cereals, cereal koloboks with spicy seasonings and sauces from legumes (Hindi dal), vegetables, less often meat or fish (curry). In the upper castes, the tendency towards vegetarianism is strong, only representatives of the lower castes eat beef and pork. Cow butter is used primarily in ritual food. A unique feature of the peoples of the South. A. is a comprehensive division of society into castes. The caste system is most developed among Hindus, representatives of other confessions - Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs and Christians - usually remember their caste origin and take it into account in everyday behavior; hunter-gatherer tribes with their tribal cults are outside the caste division, but their communities can turn into lower castes. Of great importance is the opposition of concepts: pakka (real, correct) and kachcha (unworthy, not prestigious). Pakka is a complete costume with all accessories, a brick or stone dwelling, food fried in oil; caccha - an incomplete and random set of clothes, a adobe or reed hut, raw or boiled food in water. Hinduism serves as the basis of the Hindu civilization with Sanskrit (in various local variants of graphics) as the main language. language of culture. Buddhism in its homeland, India, is now poorly represented. It dominates in Ladakh (East Kashmir), Nepal and Bhutan - in the northern, close to Tibetan form, and in Sri Lanka - in the south. form. Islam dominates in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives. Traditional clothes in the north - dec. forms of caftans and narrow trousers, in the rest of Hindustan unsewn clothing prevails - saris for women, loincloths (lungi, languti, dhoti) for men. Dwelling forms are extremely diverse depending on the climate and local traditions.
central Asia
Central Asia, separated from Hindustan by the Himalayas, includes the territories of Mongolia, North., North-West. and Zap. China (Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Tibet), inhabited by Mongols, Tibetans and partly Turks. peoples. Central Asian predominates. North Asian variant. race. to the Central Asian. Mongolian-speaking Buryats and Kalmyks, geographically remote from them, are close in culture to the peoples. Main occupation - nomadic cattle breeding (small and large horned cattle, yaks, camels, horses), in valleys and oases - arable farming (main arr. barley). Main food - meat (main sample in winter) and dairy (summer) products (sour milk, including koumiss, fresh and dried cottage cheese, pressed foams, etc.), fried flour; in Tibet - cereals (Tibetan. Tszamba), which is seasoned with tea with the addition of milk, butter, lard, meat flour and salt. Main clothes - dressing gowns, right-sided, with an additional left floor, sheepskin coats, shoes - leather and felt boots. The dwelling is collapsible, covered with woolen cloth: among the Mongols and Turks (as in Central A. and Front A.) - a lattice yurt made of light felt, among the Tibetans (also among Iranian and Arab. nomads of Front A. and Afghanistan) - so-called. black tent or black tent made of coarse woolen fabric. Central Asian. civilization is based on northern, or Tibetan, Buddhism (Lamaism), which absorbed elements of the Himalayan-Tibet. shamanism, in Old Tibet. and old Mong. literature Actually shamanism is also widespread.
middle Asia
Central Asia in many relations occupies an intermediate position between the Center. and Southwest. A., includes Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Xinjiang (North-West China) and Afghanistan. The peoples of Central Armenia speak Iranian and, later, Turkic, which spread there. languages. Physical type is presented in the main. dec. combinations of Caucasoid Indo-Mediterranean and contact (Caucasoid-Mongoloid) South Siberian races. Thanks to the hot climate and full-flowing rivers fed by mountain glaciers, irrigated agriculture has been developing here since ancient times (5th millennium BC). In the steppe regions, nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding is traditionally more developed, in the foothills - pasture cattle breeding. Main food - cakes baked in an adobe oven with a domed vault - tandoor, plov, noodles, dumplings, sour milk (airan, katyk), cream (kaymak), cottage cheese (suzme, kurt); great importance, in contrast to the Central Asian. cuisine, have vegetables and fruits. Religion - Sunni Islam (in the Pamirs - Shiite Ismaili), combined with elements of shamanism, the further north, the more pronounced. In literature and art, the Middle Asian (Iranian, to a lesser extent Arabic) influence prevails. Dwelling so-called. Anterior Asian. type: adobe or adobe dwellings and households. buildings with a flat roof face the inside. courtyard, facing the street with a blank wall (Turk. Duval). Nomads have felt yurts. Clothing - trousers with a tunic-shaped shirt dress, sometimes with a dress or sleeveless jacket for women, a robe (other than in Central A., cut - without a collar and buttons) and a narrow jacket or sleeveless vest (turkish beshmet) for men. Men's hats - skullcaps and turbans, sheepskin hats. Married women had to completely hide their hair with towel headdresses (which, in particular, was dictated by the norms of Islam - see Hijab), sometimes - the whole figure (see Paranja), girls wore hats (skullcaps, etc.).
Southwestern (Anterior) Asia
Southwestern (Anterior) Asia includes Iran and Asian countries. Middle East. The peoples of Western Armenia speak Iranian (in the east), Semitic (in the southwest), and Turkic (in the northwest) languages. Representatives of the Near East predominate. and the Mediterranean variants of the Indo-Mediterranean Caucasian race. Perednyaya A. is one of the oldest centers of irrigated agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture; in the west, the date palm plays an important role; cattle breeding developed in the steppe and mountain regions. Main food - cakes, sour milk, meat fried on a spit (shish kebab) and in the form of minced meat, bean sauce, dried fruits and dishes based on them. Housing and clothing are close to Central Asian. Perednyaya A. is the birthplace of all Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam); now Islam predominates here, in the main. Sunnism, in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Lebanon - Shiism; from Zap. Iran to Syria and Lebanon also live representatives of dec. fractional denominations of Islam, Christians of different faiths, Judaists, Samaritans, Druzes, Yezidis, Zoroastrians, Mandaeans, etc. Under the influence of Islam, ornament and calligraphy were predominantly developed in art, depict. art developed under the influence of the Persian. traditions. The architecture is characterized by spindle-shaped columns, pointed domes, coffered and stalactite-honeycomb ceilings, covered terraces-aivans.
Caucasus
To the ancient ethnic carriers of the North Caucasian and Kartvelian languages ascend the formation of the Caucasus. Indo-European languages are spoken by Ossetians, Armenians, and others. In the 1st millennium, a Turkic-speaking population appeared here. South European Balkan-Caucasian and Indo-Mediterranean races predominate. Until the 11th–12th centuries South Caucasus (Transcaucasia) can be considered as sowing. the periphery of the Anterior A., and the flat and foothill regions of the North. Caucasus - like the south. steppe periphery Vost. Europe. The cultural unity of the Caucasus was formed during its unification in the 12th-13th centuries. Georgian kingdom. Main traditional occupation - arable farming archaic. appearance, often terraced (wheat, spelt, barley), transhumance (especially sheep), horticulture, viticulture and winemaking. The peoples of the North Caucasus since the 14th century. wine is displaced by light alcoholic beverages from grain (buza, beer). Settlements in the mountains ( auls) are very crowded, adapted for defense. Houses in the main from stone. In some places, tower houses and dugout dwellings with a hearth in the center and a light-smoke hole in the false-vaulted ceiling resting on four pillars near the hearth are preserved (Georgian darbazi, Armenian glkhatun, Azerbaijani karadam). In the steppe treeless regions, adobe and adobe dwellings and large settlements with a street layout are common, in wooded areas - trees. houses and scattered settlements. Men's costume took shape by the 17th-18th centuries; includes pants, a shirt, a tight jacket (arkhaluk, beshmet) and a fitted caftan made of cloth (cherkeska), a felt cape (burka), a sheepskin headdress (hat hat) or a towel type (bashlyk), shoes such as pistons (chuvyaki, chirki) or boots. Women's clothing - a tunic-shaped shirt-dress and trousers, a swinging fitted dress with a deep neckline. Of the world religions, Christianity was the first (since the 4th century) to spread (for the first time in the world it became the state religion in the Armenian kingdom in 301), from the beginning it was an Arab. conquests (7th century) - Islam. Pre-Islamic and pre-Christian cults, mythology, archaic are preserved. customs (blood feud, ritual feast, hospitality, etc.).
