Geographic border of Europe and Asia on the map. About the border between Europe and Asia

The border between Europe and Asia runs along the Ural ridge. Or rather, along the watershed itself. However, disputes often flare up between experts - it is not always easy to accurately draw this line in some places. The most controversial is considered to be the territory located near Yekaterinburg - here the level of the Ural Mountains is the lowest - and south of Zlatoust, near which the Ural ridge is divided into several ridges, losing its axis and turning into a flat steppe.

It is curious, but relatively recently this border ran much further than it does today - along the Don River and the Kerch Strait. Moreover, such a division appeared a very long time ago and was used at the beginning of the eighteenth century. V.N. Tatishchev first proposed drawing the border along the Ural ridge in 1720. The works he wrote describe in detail why the border between two parts of the world - Europe and Asia - should pass along the Ural ridge, and not the Don.

One of the main arguments given by Tatishchev is the fact that the Ural ridge acts as a watershed - rivers flow along its slopes both to the west and to the east. However, such a proposal was not immediately supported.

There are many border monuments throughout the Urals, showing exactly where the line dividing Asia from Europe lies. Moreover, some of them cost very hard to reach places. And some of them don't actually correspond to the actual boundary. For example, the northernmost monument is located on the shores of the Yugorsky Shar Strait. It was installed by employees of the polar station in 1973. The border sign will be quite ordinary - an ordinary wooden post with the inscription “Europe-Asia”. In addition, a nailed chain with an anchor hangs from the pole. If we take the obelisk located most east, it is located in the village of Kurganovo, on Polevskoye Highway. It was installed even later in 1986.

One of the largest and most beautiful obelisks was the one installed in 2003 on the highway connecting the cities of Chusovoy and Kachkanar. Its height is quite impressive - as much as 16 meters. Right next to it, on the asphalt, there is a line showing where the border between parts of the world lies.

But, of course, the two most famous monument located near the city of Pervouralsk and not far from Yekaterinburg, on the Moscow highway. The most ancient of all was erected on Birch Mountain. It is located near Pervouralsk, on the former Siberian Highway. He himself appeared back in 1837, in the spring, when the 19-year-old Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, who in the future was to become the heir to the throne, first came to the Urals.

Initially, the monument erected here was an ordinary wooden pyramid with four sides and the inscriptions “Asia” and “Europe”. Emperor Alexander II, to whom the people gave the nickname Liberator, saw him while traveling with the poet V.A. Zhukovsky, state councilor and retinue, in May 1837.

A few years later - in 1846 - this monument was replaced. In its place they put a more serious stone one, created according to a design drawn up by the architect Karl of Tours, who worked at the Ural plant. The main material used in its manufacture was marble, and it stood on a stone pedestal. The top of the obelisk was crowned with a gilded eagle with two heads.

Soon after the revolution, this monument was destroyed - according to official version it reminded us of autocracy. However, just a few years later, already in 1926, a new monument was erected here. True, it was not made of marble, but only lined with granite. Of course, there was no eagle here either. A few decades later, in the mid-twentieth century, a cast iron fence was installed around the obelisk. At the end of the 20th century it was dismantled and posts with chains were installed.

Of course, this place has great historical value. Convicts, going to Siberia from the European part of Russia, took visiting lands here as a memory of their abandoned homeland.

Still on the same Birch Mountain, a little closer to the city of Pervouralsk, another obelisk was opened - already in 2008. On top of a thirty-meter pillar made of red granite sits a double-headed eagle.

There is also a monument “Europe-Asia” in the city of Yekaterinburg, at the 17th kilometer of the Novomoskovsky tract. It was installed relatively recently - in the summer of 2004. The architect was Konstantin Grunberg. This is a truly impressive spectacle - a huge marble pedestal with a metal stele and a spacious observation deck. In addition, there are stones taken from the most extreme points of two parts of the world - Cape Dezhnev and Cape Roca.

Soon after the installation of the monument, disputes began about whether the location was chosen correctly. Many opponents insist that the monument was installed at a great distance from the watershed. In any case, today this place is visited by a large number of tourists. Many people who come to Yekaterinburg try to take pictures here. Newlyweds also make sure to visit an important geographical point.

It is clearly written that the border between Europe and Asia runs directly along the Ural ridge and down to the Caucasus. This fact draws even more attention to the mountains, which are already full of secrets and mysteries.

Directly in the mountains there are border pillars that signal that Europe is on one side and Asia is on the other. However, the pillars were placed very poorly. The fact is that they do not entirely correspond to historical data.

Different approaches to defining boundaries

In addition, when comparing several sources, we can come to the conclusion that regarding the Caucasus there is generally no consensus on where the border lies. The most common opinion is that it runs along the main watersheds of the ridge. Other sources indicate that the border runs along northern slope. By the way, if you look at the atlas of Soviet times, then the Euro-Asian border runs directly along the border of the USSR.

This attitude towards the passage of the border has led to disputes regarding the territories of Asia and Europe, which for some scientific circles is almost a primary task. They are still arguing whether Mont Blanc and Elbrus should be classified as Asia or Europe.

Leading scientists claim that it is impossible to draw the border between parts of the world with an accuracy of a kilometer. The point is that there are no sharp transitions between them. If we approach it from the point of view of climate differences, there is no difference, the same applies to vegetation, wildlife and soil structure.

The only thing you can rely on is the structure of the earth's surface, which reflects geology. This is precisely what leading geographers relied on in their time, trying to draw the border between Asia and Europe. They took the Urals and the Caucasus as a basis.

Conditional and real border

A natural question arises here: how to draw the border in the mountains? It is known that the width of the Ural Mountains is about 150 kilometers, Caucasus Mountains even wider. That is why the border was drawn along the main watersheds, which are located in the mountains. That is, the border is completely arbitrary and cannot be considered accurate, even if counted in kilometers. However, subsequently a competent decision was made, according to which the modern border has clearer contours.

For an ordinary resident, the answer to the question: “Where is the border between Europe and Asia?” can be given as follows: “Across the Urals and the Caucasus.” He will be quite pleased with such an answer. What about cartographers? After all, it was possible to draw the borders of Europe along the Ural River both on the left and on the right. There are many similar examples that can be given. For this reason, in scientific circles it was decided to consider the border to pass along the eastern slope of the Urals and Mugodzhar. Afterwards it goes along the Emba River, to the northern shore of the Caspian Sea to
Kerch Strait.

That is, recently the entire Urals are part of Europe, and the Caucasus is part of Asia. As for the Sea of ​​Azov, it is “European”.

And I have to visit two cities (Orenburg and Yekaterinburg), which, in particular, position themselves as cities located on the border of Europe and Asia. Is it really?

Statement of a question. The border between Europe and Asia began to be drawn by the ancient Greeks, who, as we know, themselves invented these pseudo-geographical concepts. For 2.5 millennia now, peoples who consider themselves to be a civilization where individual human freedoms are valued (Europe) have been extrapolating to rivers, seas and mountains their mental demarcation from a civilization where such freedoms are valued to a much lesser extent or are completely ignored (Asia). Interestingly, the border between Europe and Asia along its entire winding length is justified by purely geographical arguments. In general, to question the idea of ​​the ancient Greeks that nature itself divided people into two different worlds, is not accepted in science - after all, with whom, if not these same Hellenes, did science begin? Therefore, Europe and Asia will always be divided not only in the cultural consciousness of people, but also in geographical map. The question is to clearly define the boundaries. This is where the fun begins.

Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The "father of history" Herodotus (c. 484 BC - c. 425 BC), relying on the authoritative opinions of his contemporaries, says that the border between Europe and Asia after Pontus Euxine ( Black Sea) passes through the waters of Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov) and further along the Tanais (Don) River. The same point of view would later be held by such luminaries of ancient geography as Strabo (c. 64 BC - c. 23 AD) and Claudius Ptolemy (c. 100 - c. 170). ). The topic will be developed already in the early Middle Ages - in the book of the Byzantine historian of the 6th century. Jordan "On the origin and deeds of the Getae." I quote the source: "In the middle of Scythia there is a place that separates Asia and Europe from one another; these are the Riphean Mountains, which pour out the widest Tanais, flowing into Maeotis". So, the border between Europe and Asia is still recognized as Meotida (Sea of ​​Azov) and Tanais (Don), but the “demarcation line” is drawn further to the east and north - along the Riphean Mountains, which are nothing more than the Urals. How could Jordan have known that the Don flows not from the slopes of the Ural Mountains, but from the slopes of the Central Russian Upland? The fact remains, however, that for the first time in the consciousness of the scientific world, the borders of Europe and Asia were pushed back to the Urals.

M.V.’s point of view Lomonosov. The great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov in his treatise “On the Layers of the Earth” (1757-1759), among other things, tried in his own way to reconcile the blatant ignorance of the Byzantine Jordan about the upper reaches of the Don River and the data of modern cartography. He writes about the division between Europe and Asia: "It does not consist of a narrow isthmus, but in a low valley that extends from the mouths of the Don to Northern Ocean, and almost everywhere the waters give a message. For the Don is separated by a short distance from the Volga, and is connected to it by a canal. The peaks of the Vyatka River flowing into the Kama, and with it the Volga, are connected, especially in the spring, by a water course with the peaks of the Pechora River.". Here, by the way, it is interesting that M.V. Lomonosov speaks of a “canal” between the Volga and Don as something real, although it simply did not exist then. The point, however, is different: the scientist drew the border between Europe and Asia along the Volga, the upper reaches of the Kama and further along the Pechora River, which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Ural Mountains as a natural dividing line are generally ignored - they seem to remain on the territory of Asia.

V.N. Tatishchev and F.N. Stralenberg. It just so happened that the point of view of M.V. Lomonosov turned out to be marginal in the history of geography, and the concept that was substantiated by two of his older contemporaries, independently of each other, the Russian historian Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev and the Swedish geographer Philipp Johann von Stralenberg, triumphed. Let's give the Swede his due - he spoke publicly on this issue earlier than Vasily Nikitich. If anyone doesn’t know, Strahlenberg lived in Russia (Siberia) as a prisoner of war and returned to Sweden only after the end of the Northern War. In 1730, he published his scientific work in Stockholm entitled “Historical geographical description northern and eastern parts Europe and Asia", in which, in particular, he substantiates his version of the border between Europe and Asia. It goes like this: the Ural Mountains along their entire length from north to south right up to the contact with the General Syrt hill, then along the Samara River to the place its confluence with the Volga, along which to the city of Kamyshin, from where along the Kamyshinka and Ilovlya rivers to the bend of the Don, which flows into the Sea of ​​Azov. When V.N. Tatishchev became acquainted with the work of F.N. Stralenberg, this prompted him to write his own treatise. entitled “General Geographical Description of All Siberia” (1736). It turned out that he had a meeting with Strahlenberg twice (in Tobolsk in 1720 and in Stockholm in 1725) and twice advised him to designate the Urals as the Euro-Asian border. , as the initiator of the idea, he once again worked out in more detail and, from his point of view, more justifiably, the cartographic division of Europe and Asia. Here it is, the “Tatishchev Line”: the Yugorsky Strait - the Ural Mountains - the bend of the Ural River (in the area of ​​Orsk. ) - the Ural River to the Caspian Sea - the mouth of the Kuma River - the Kuma-Manych depression - the Manych River flowing into the Don - the Sea of ​​Azov.

XX Congress of the International Geographical Union (London, 1964). Geographical science of the Soviet period, generally accepting the version of V.N. Tatishcheva, also contributed to the precise definition of the border between Europe and Asia. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (3rd ed., 1969-1978) refers to the decision of the XX Congress of the International Geographical Union, during the discussion of which the point of view of Soviet geographers on the issue of the notorious border was approved. So, from the middle of the 20th century, at least in our domestic tradition, the line of separation of Europe and Asia goes (from north to south) strictly from Baydaratskaya Bay along the eastern base of the Ural Mountains, and then along the eastern base of Mugodzhar (the southern spur of the Ural Mountains In Kazakhstan). The line then follows the Emba River, which flows into the Caspian Sea. Further, modern geographers follow exactly after V.N. Tatishchev: the mouth of the Kuma River - the Kuma-Manych depression - the Manych River flowing into the Don - Sea of ​​Azov.

What happens? But it turns out that (let’s accept all the conventions of this 2.5 thousand-year-old game!) Yekaterinburg, as well as Nizhny Tagil and Chelyabinsk, are really located on the border of Europe and Asia. Entirely inside Europe are Orenburg and Orsk, which, according to V.N. Tatishchev, were “borderline”. Moreover, the Kazakh city of Aktobe (formerly Aktyubinsk), as well as Atyrau (formerly Guryev), should be recognized as European (in the geographical sense of the word) cities. It is interesting that Elista (the capital of Kalmykia) is definitely a European (in the geographical sense of the word) city, but Stavropol, Krasnodar and Sochi are Asia, whatever one may say...

Not every person is able to say without thinking which mountains separate Europe and Asia. In order to correctly answer this question, it is necessary to first note that Eurasia is the largest continent on the planet. It is usually divided into two continents - Europe and Asia. From an economic point of view, from ancient times to the present day, the border between them plays a very important role for movement from East to West and vice versa. According to the ancient Greeks, it ran through the center Mediterranean Sea. Starting from the fifth century BC, the Don River was considered to be it and Ptolemy adhered to this opinion, so this teaching was quite firmly established and lasted until the eighteenth century. This article will discuss what separates Europe and Asia in the modern sense.

First official separation

In scientific literature, the continent was officially first divided into two continents by the Swedish famous scientist Philipp Johann von Stralenberg in 1730. Answering in his writings the question of what mountains separate Europe and Asia, he clearly noted that this is the Ural ridge. At the same time, the scientist focused on the fact that in addition to it, the border passes through the river of the same name, the Caucasus, the Yugorsky Shar Strait, the Caspian, the Black and Sea of ​​Azov. Many authoritative researchers of that time supported this idea, which they wrote about in their works. There is an opinion that this idea was suggested to Stralenberg by V.N. Tatishchev, the founder of many local cities and settlements. Now in more detail about which mountains separate Europe and Asia.

Formation of the Ural Mountains

The Urals not only represents a naturally formed boundary between adjacent continents, but also serves as a watershed for the eastern and western basins. The formation of mountains began approximately 350 million years ago, in other words, during the Paleozoic era, and lasted approximately 150 million years. The total length of the ridge exceeds two thousand kilometers. As for its width, it varies in different areas from forty kilometers to one hundred and fifty. The name “Ural” itself, translated from the Bashkir language, means “hill” or “height”. Speaking about which mountains separate Europe and Asia, one cannot fail to note the interesting historical fact that on the very first Russian map they were called the "Big Stone" and were depicted as big belt, where a significant number of rivers began. Due to the fact that the ridge is quite old, its peaks are not very high. The first official documentary recollection of him is in the Tale of Bygone Years and dates back to the eleventh century. The Urals are geographically divided into Northern, Central and Southern parts.

Natural resources

Nowadays in the Urals you can find a large number of various minerals and minerals. There are copper and iron ores, cobalt, nickel, zinc, oil, coal and even gems with gold. In this regard, since the time Soviet Union The mountains between Europe and Asia are considered the largest metallurgical and mining base of the state. This is not surprising, because 48 of the 55 types of minerals that were mined throughout the country at that time were found here. Many of them, including precious and semi-precious ones, are located in close proximity to the earth's surface. There are also several minerals that are found exclusively here. A striking example of this is the dark emerald uvarovite. This also includes rich forest resources. It should be noted that excellent conditions for farming have been created in the middle and southern parts of the mountains.

Climate

The Urals are characterized by a typical mountain climate, in which precipitation is distributed unevenly. Natural conditions here they can vary greatly even within the same zone. The explanation for this is quite simple. The fact is that the mountains separating Europe and Asia play the role of a kind of climate barrier. Due to the fact that the western part receives a large amount of precipitation, the climate here is milder and more humid. As for the eastern region of the ridge, the opposite is true - it is dry due to lack of precipitation.

Obelisks

The obelisks located on the local area deserve special mention. They began to be installed here in the nineteenth century. The first monuments were monuments in the form of stelae, made of wood and rectangular in shape. They were obligatorily marked with signs called “Asia” and “Europe”. In order to ensure the safety of the obelisks, small guard huts were erected next to them, in which, as a rule, forest walkers lived. Some monuments can boast their own unique history. For example, the monument, located near Mount Berezovaya, appeared in 1807. Thirty years later, in connection with a visit to the site by the imperial delegation, the wooden structure was replaced by a marble one, with the coat of arms of the king.

Border along the Ural River

The river separating Europe and Asia is the Ural. Its total length is about two and a half thousand kilometers. It should be noted that in its basin there are about eight thousand rivers of different sizes. At the source of the Urals there are five large springs located at an altitude of 637 meters above sea level. Coming together in a swampy valley, they form a rather powerful stream. The idea of ​​using a river as a border between two continents was proposed by the above-mentioned Russian scientist V.N. Tatishchev.

Istanbul

The only city on the planet that is located on two continents at the same time is Turkish Istanbul. The history of this metropolis goes back more than two and a half thousand years. All these years it has had a very important commercial importance due to its geographical location. The Mediterranean Sea, which separates Europe and Asia, also separates them from Africa. It is here that it is connected to Cherny through the Bosphorus Strait. The continents are divided in the same way. The location itself modern city Istanbul was often called the gateway connecting the Silk Road with the Old World.

Expedition 2010

In April 2010, the Russian Geographical Society initiated and carried out an expedition, the main task of which was to determine the true origin of the border between Asia and Europe. During the work, scientists found that the axis Ural ridge is lost in the Zlatoust area and is dispersed into several lines. These are some parallel arrays. In this regard, they suggested that it is not entirely reasonable to consider the border. In their opinion, it should be laid along the Caspian lowland, or more precisely, along its eastern edge. However, the research of Russian scientists to this day remains unconsidered by the relevant body - the International Geographical Union.

conclusions

From all of the above, we can safely conclude that the main border between Asia and Europe is the Ural Mountains. One of the proofs of this is even the fact that on their opposite sides the fauna and flora are noticeably different. In addition, a great difference arises even in the directions and characters of the rivers.

The issue of defining the border between Europe and Asia dates back to antiquity. And the very fact of the separation of Europe is determined primarily by history. Even the Phoenicians, many centuries BC, distinguished three parts of the world on Earth: Europe, Asia and Libya (the only part of Africa known at that time). In the Middle Ages, these three parts of the world began to be called the “Old World”, and America and Australia, discovered in the 16th-17th centuries, were called the “New World”.

In ancient times they did not know that Europe and Asia constitute one continent, not having continuous maritime boundaries. At the suggestion of E. Suess, in 1883 this single continent was named Eurasia. Ideas about the border between Europe and Asia have changed significantly over time. The ancient Greeks carried it along the Black Sea. Later, the Romans “shifted” the border to Tanais (Don River) and Meotis (Sea of ​​Azov). In the Middle Ages, Arab scientists moved it even further east - to the Itil (Volga) and Kama rivers.

In the 17th century, the Russians began to draw the border along the Urals - Kamen, as it was then called. The earliest written source indicating such a border is the Esipov Chronicle of 1636:

“Between the states of Russia and the Siberian lands there will lie a very high Stone... like a city wall... From this same Stone many rivers flowed, flowed to the Russian kingdom, and flowed into the Siberian land.”

Opening of the obelisk Europe - Asia near Kedrovka

In 1730, the Swedish scientist Philipp Johann von Strahlenberg first substantiated in world scientific literature the idea of ​​drawing a border between Europe and Asia. Later in 1736 V.N. Tatishchev claimed that it was he who suggested this idea to Stralenberg.

Big Ural Pass

The stela is located on the Bolshoi Ural pass along the Serebryansky tract near the village of Sinegorsky (you can see it on the way to the Blue Mountains). Installed in 1967 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution by workers of the Sinegorsky timber industry enterprise. Author of the project A.A. Schmidt. The basis of the structure is a stele made of sheet steel 9 meters high. It is crowned with a hammer and sickle.

Uralets

Installed at a pass on the road Nizhny Tagil - Ust-Utka near the village of Uralets ( Sverdlovsk region). In front of the obelisk there is a turn to the Belaya Mountain ski slope. Appeared in 1961 in honor of Yuri Gagarin's space flight. A square column 6 meters high is crowned by a model globe. In the original version, satellites and the Vostok ship “rotated” around the ball in steel “orbits”. The author of the project is V.P. Krasavchenko. The obelisk was erected by workers of a mechanical plant in the village of Uralets.

Merry Mountains

Mountain Birch

This obelisk was opened in 2008 near Pervouralsk (Sverdlovsk region). The very first “Europe - Asia” sign was installed at this place in 1837. Modern monument impressive in its scale. At the heart of the monument is a high 30-meter pillar, which is crowned by a double-headed eagle. The road along the border of Europe and Asia is crossed by a pedestrian crossing. Popular place among the newlyweds of Pervouralsk. The area around is landscaped, there are gazebos, benches, and a “wishing tree.”

Not far away, on the northern slope of Mount Berezovaya, near the passing here railway There is another obelisk at Vershina station. It was built during preparation for the VI World Festival of Youth and Students, which took place in Moscow in 1957.

Pervouralsk

Installed near the road that leads from the Perm highway to the city of Pervouralsk. This obelisk was previously located on Mount Berezovaya in the place of the one described above, and was moved in 2008. There is a small spring nearby.

Ekaterinburg, 17th km of the Novo-Moskovsky tract

Opened in August 2004. Created according to the design of the architect Konstantin Grunberg. It is a wide marble pedestal with an observation deck and a metal stele. Along the edges of the monument there are stones from the extreme points of Europe and Asia - from Cape Roca and Cape Dezhnev. Tourist groups stop here and newlyweds come. The location of the obelisk was at one time controversial, since the watershed lies to the west.

Revda – Degtyarsk

It is located on the pass of the Revda – Degtyarsk road (away from the main watershed). Height - 7 m. In the past, it was crowned with a steel sphere in the form of a ball with a diameter of 1.3 m. Installed in 1984 - for the 250th anniversary of Revda. Made by the Degtyarsky Mining Department according to the design of the artist L.G. Menshatov and architect Z.A. Pulyaevskaya. Currently abandoned and in poor condition.

Mount Kamennaya

An obelisk in the form of a metal eagle owl figure was installed by students of school No. 21 in the city of Revda on Mount Kamennaya in the Revdinsko-Ufaleysky ridge (Sverdlovsk region) in the 1980s.

Kurganovo

This obelisk stands to the right of the Polevskaya highway in front of the village of Kurganovo (Sverdlovsk region). Made according to the design of the young artist of the Seversky Pipe Plant S.P. Yushkova. Opened in June 1986 by decision of the Polevsky City Executive Committee. There are two inscriptions on the monument: one says that the most eastern border Europe in the Middle Urals, and the other - that the sign was installed in the year of the 250th anniversary of the scientific substantiation of the border between Europe and Asia by V.N. Tatishchev.

Mramorskaya station

Urzhumka station

This obelisk is notable for the fact that it stands on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Installed near Urzhumka station ( Chelyabinsk region) in 1892 to mark the completion of construction of a section of the Trans-Siberian railway line. The border post is made of hewn granite “bricks”, which were used in lining roadside structures. The author of the project is engineer and writer N.G. Garin-Mikhailovsky.

Novobayramgulovo

The obelisks were installed near the bridge over the Ural River on the Uchaly-Beloretsk road between the village of Uralsk and the village of Novobayramgulovo (Republic of Bashkortostan).

Verkhneuralsk

In 2006, near the Ural River in the city of Verkhneuralsk (Chelyabinsk region), on the site where the Verkhneyaitskaya fortress was once located, a geographical sign was installed marking the Europe-Asia border.

Magnitogorsk

Installed in 1979 in the city of Magnitogorsk (Chelyabinsk region) on the right bank of the Ural River at the entrance to the Central Bridge. Built in honor of the 50th anniversary of the city according to the design of architect V.N. Bohuna. The obelisk consists of two massive cubes with a symbolic image of the Earth, divided into two parts with the letters “E” and “A”. On the bridge itself there are 4 steles symbolizing the border between Europe and Asia. In the center of the bridge there is a road sign "Europe-Asia".

Kizilskoye

Road sign on the bridge over the Ural River in the village of Kizilskoye (Chelyabinsk region).

Orenburg. Pedestrian bridge

Column with the letters "Europe" and "Asia" on pedestrian bridge across the Ural River in the city of Orenburg.

References:

Arkhipova N.P. Natural attractions of Yekaterinburg and its environs. – Ekaterinburg, 2001.