Page:EB1911 - Volume 23.djvu/925

 upheaval of the old continent, which runs N.W. to S.E., would be represented in Russia by the Caucasus in the S. and by the Timan ridge of the Pechora basin in the N.

The hilly aspect of several parts of the central plateau is not due to foldings of the strata, which for the most part appear to be horizontal, but chiefly to the excavating action of the rivers, whose valleys are deeply eroded in the plateau, especially on its borders. The round flattened summits of the Valdai plateau do not rise above 1100 ft., and they present the appearance of mountains only in consequence of the depths of the valleys—the rivers which flow towards the depression of Lake Peipus being only 200 to 250 ft. above the sea. The same is true of the plateaus of Livonia, “Wendish Switzerland,” and the government of Kovno, which do not exceed 1000 ft. at their highest points; and again of the E. spurs of the Baltic coast-ridge between the governments of Grodno and Minsk. The same elevation is reached by a very few flat summits of the plateau about Kursk, and farther E. on the Volga about Kamyshin, where the valleys are excavated to a depth of 800 or 900 ft., giving quite a hilly aspect to the country. It is only in the S.W., where spurs of the Carpathians enter the governments of Volhynia, Podolia and Bessarabia, that ridges reaching 1100 ft. are met with, these again intersected by deep ravines.

The depressions which gap the borders of the central plateau thus acquire a greater importance than the small differences in its vertical elevation. Such is the broad depression of the middle Volga and lower Kama, bounded on the N. by the faint swelling of the Uvaly, the watershed between the Arctic Ocean and the Volga basin. Another broad depression, 250 to 500 ft. above the sea, still filled by Lakes Peipus, Ladoga, Onega, Byelo-ozero, Lacha, Vozhe, and many thousands of smaller lakes, skirts the central plateau on the N., and follows the same E.N.E. direction. Only a few low swellings penetrate into it from the N.W., about Lake Onega, and reach 900 ft., while in the N.E. it is enclosed by the Timan ridge (1000 ft.). A third depression, traversed by the Pripet and the middle Dnieper, extends to the W. and penetrates into Poland. This immense lacustrine basin is now broken up into numberless ponds, lakes and marshes (see ). It is bounded on the S. by the broad plateaus which spread out E. of the Carpathians. S. of 50° N. the central plateau slopes gently towards the S., and we find there a fourth depression stretching W. and E. through Poltava and Kharkov, but still reaching in its higher parts 500 to 700 ft. It is separated from the Black Sea by a gentle swelling which may be traced from Kremenets in Volhynia to the lower Don, and perhaps farther S.E. This swelling includes the Donets coal-measures and the middle granitic ridges which give rise to the rapids of the Dnieper. Finally a fifth depression, which descends below the level of the ocean, extends for more than 200 m. to the N. of the Caspian, comprising the lower Volga and the Ural and Emba rivers, and establishing a link between Russia and the Aral-Caspian region. It is continued farther N. by plains below 300 ft., which join the depression of the middle Volga, and extend as far as the mouth of the Oka. The Ural Mountains present the aspect of a broad swelling whose strata no longer exhibit the horizontality which is characteristic of central Russia, and moreover are deeply cut into by rivers. They are connected in the W. with broad plateaus which join those of central Russia, but their orographical relations to other upheavals must be more closely studied before they can be definitely pronounced on.

The rhomboidal peninsula of the Crimea, connected by only a narrow isthmus with the continent, is occupied by an arid plateau sloping gently N. and E., and bordered on the S.E. by the Yaila Mountains, the summits of which range between 4000 and 5000 ft.

Owing to the orographical structure of the East-European plains, the river systems have become more than usually prominent and important features of the configuration. Taking their origin from a series of lacustrine basins scattered over the plateaus and differing slightly in elevation, the Russian rivers describe immense curves before reaching the sea, and flow with a very

gentle gradient, while numerous large tributaries collect their waters from over vast areas. Thus the Volga, the Dnieper and the Don attain respectively lengths of 2325, 1410 and 1325 m., and their basins run to 563,300, 202,140 and 166,000 sq. m. respectively. Moreover, the chief rivers, the Volga, the W. Dvina, the Dnieper, and even the Lovat and the Oka, take their rise (in the N.W. of the central plateau) so close to one another that they may be said to radiate from the same centre. The sources of the Don interlace with the tributaries of the Oka, while the upper tributaries of the Kama join those of the N. Dvina and Pechora. In consequence of this, the rivers of Russia have been from remote antiquity the principal channels of trade and migration, and have contributed much more to the elaboration of national unity than any political institutions. Boats could be conveyed over flat and easy portages from one river-basin to another, and these portages were subsequently transformed with a relatively small amount of labour into navigable canals, and even at the present day the canals have more importance for the traffic of the country than have most of the railways. By their means the plains of the central plateau—the very heart of Russia, whose natural outlet was the Caspian—were brought into water-communication with the Baltic, and the Volga

basin was connected with the Gulf of Finland. The White Sea has also been brought into connexion with the central Volga basin while the sister-river of the Volga—the Kama—became the main artery of communication with Siberia.

But although the rivers of Russia rank before the rivers of W. Europe in respect of length, they are far behind them as regards the volumes of water which they discharge. They freeze in winter and dry up in summer, and most of them are navigable only during the spring floods; even the Volga becomes so shallow during the hot season that none but boats of light draught can pass over its shoals.

Arctic Ocean Basin.—The Pechora rises in the N. Urals, and enters the ocean by a large estuary at the Gulf of Pechora. Its basin, thinly-peopled and available only for cattle-breeding and for hunting, is quite isolated from Russia by the Timan ridge. The river is navigable for 770 m.; grain and a variety of goods conveyed from the upper Kama are floated down, while furs, fish and other products of the sea are shipped up the river to be transported to Cherdyn on the Kama. The Mezeñ enters the Bay of Mezeñ; it is navigable for 450 m., and is the channel of a considerable export of timber. The N. Dvina is formed by the union of the Yug and the Sukhona. The latter, although it flows over a great number of rapids, is navigable throughout its length (330 m.); it is connected by canal with the Caspian and the Baltic. The Vychegda, which flows W.S.W. to join the Sukhona, through a woody region, thinly peopled, is navigable for 500 m. and in its upper portion is connected by a canal with the upper Kama. The N. Dvina flows with a very slight gradient through a broad valley, and reaches the White Sea at Archangel. Notwithstanding serious obstacles offered by shallows, corn, fish, salt and timber are largely shipped to and from Archangel. The Omega, which flows into Onega Bay, has rapids; but timber is floated down in spring, and fishing and some navigation are carried on in the lower portion.

Baltic Basin.—The Neva (40 m.) flows from Lake Ladoga into the Gulf of Finland. The Volkhov, discharging into Lake Ladoga, and forming part of the Vyshniy-Volochok system of canals, is an important channel for navigation; it flows from Lake Ilmen, which receives the Msta, connected with the Volga, and the Lovat. The Svir, also discharging into Lake Ladoga, flows from Lake Onega, and, being part of the Mariinsk canal system, is of great importance for navigation. The Narova flows out of Lake Peipus into the Gulf of Finland at Narva; it has remarkable rapids, which are used to generate power for cotton-mills; in spite of this, the river is navigated. Lake Peipus, or Chudskoye, receives the Velikaya, a channel of traffic with S. Russia front a remote antiquity, but now navigable Only in its lower portion, and the Embach, navigated by steamers to Dorpat (Yuryev). The S. Dvina, which falls into the sea below Riga, is shallow above the rapids of jacobstadt, but navigation is carried on as far as Vitebsk—corn, timber, potash, flax, &c., being the principal shipments of its navigable tributaries (the Obsha, Ulla and Kasplya). The Ulla is connected by the Berezina canals with the Dnieper. The Memel (Niemen), with a course of 470 m. in Russia, rises in the N. of Minsk, leaves Russia at Yurburg, and enters the Kurisches Haff; rafts are floated upon it almost from its source, and steamers ply as far as Kovno; it is connected by the Oginsky canal with the Dnieper. For the Vistula, with the Bug and Narew, see.

Black Sea Basin.—The Pruth rises in Austrian Bukovina, and separates Russia from Rumania; it enters the Danube, which flows along the Russian frontier for 100 m. below Reni, touching it with its Kilia branch. The Dniester (530 m. in Russia) rises in Galicia. Light boats and rafts are floated at all points, and steamers ply on its lower portion; its estuary has important fisheries. The Dnieper, with a basin of 202,140 sq. m., drains 13 governments, the aggregate population of which numbers over 28,000,000. It also originates in the N.W. parts of the central plateau, in the same marshy lakes which give rise to the Volga and the W. Dvina, and enters the Black Sea. In the middle navigable part of its course, from Dorogobuzh to Ekaterinoslav, it is an active channel for traffic. It receives several large tributaries:—on the right, the Berezina, connected with the W. Dvina, and the Pripet, both very important for navigation—as well as several smaller tributaries on which rafts are floated; on the left the Sozh, the Desna, one of the most important rivers of Russia, navigated by steamers as far as Bryansk; the Suła, the Psioł and the Vorskła. Below Ekaterinoslav the Dnieper flows for 46 m. over a series of rapids. At Kherson it enters its long (40 m.) but shallow estuary, which receives the S. Bug and the Inguł. The Don, with a basin of 166,000 sq. m., and navigable for 880 m., rises in the government of Tula and enters the Sea of Azov at Rostov, after describing a great curve to the E. at Tsaritsyn, approaching the Volga, with which it is connected by a railway (45 m.). Its navigation is of great importance, especially for goods brought from the Volga, and its fisheries are extensive. The chief tributaries are the Sosna and North Donets on the right, and the Voronezh, Khoper, Medvyeditsa and Manych on the left. The Ylya, the Kubañ and the Rion belong tolCaucasia.

The Caspian Basin.—The Volga, the chief river of Russia, has a length of 2325 m., and its basin, about 563,300 sq. m. in area, contains a population of nearly 40,000,000. It is connected with the Baltic by three systems of canals (see ). The Ural, in its lower 