Determination of geographic location. Features of the geographical position of Russia

) and determines its relationship with the external environment. Usually reflects the geospatial relationship of a particular object to the environment, the elements of which have or may have a significant impact on it. In public geography, location is usually defined in two-dimensional space (displayed on a map). In physical geography, the third change is certainly taken into account - the absolute or relative height of the location of objects.

concept geographical position is the key to the entire system of geographical sciences. Actually, geography originated as a science of methods for determining and fixing the location of objects on the earth's surface relative to each other or in a certain coordinate system. Later it turned out that determining the location of an object not only helps to find it ... but also explains some of the properties of this object and even predicts its development. The most important element of geographical research is the establishment and analysis of relationships between objects located in space, determined precisely by their location.

Thus the geographical position :

• is an individualizing factor, since it determines many properties of a geographical object;
• is historical in nature, as it changes over time;
• has a potential character, since the position alone is not a sufficient condition for the corresponding development of the object;
• has close ties with the configuration of the territory and its boundaries.

There are the following types of geographic location:

• mathematical and geographical (geodesic, astronomical, "absolute")
• physical and geographical;
• political and geographical;
• geopolitical;
• military geographical;
• ecological and geographical;
• cultural and geographical;

and others.

By scale they distinguish:

• macro position
• mesolocation
• microposition

According to the coordinate system, they distinguish:

• absolute (geodesic, astronomical);
• relative;
  • math ("3 miles north of Seattle");
  • functional (economic-geographical, physical-geographical, etc.).

In an extended interpretation, the geographical location may also include the ratio of the areal object as a whole (area, district, territory) to the data lying inside him (to the elements of the internal environment). Such a geographical location may be referred to, for example, " introspective"(from lat. introspectus, intro- inside + spicere- watch). For example, when assessing the role of internal border regions in the priority of foreign policy directions, when assessing the geocriminogenic position of the territory, when analyzing the transport and geographical position, when studying the changing area in relation to stations of experience, the linguistic area in relation to the dialect center, etc. Such the approach allows to resolve the collision with the determination of the mutual geographical position of intersecting objects.

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Geographic location of South America

Geography 8 Geographical position of Russia, Russia on the map of time zones

Economic-geographical, transport-geographical and geopolitical position of Russia

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Historical outline

The concept of "geographical location" has been known since the end of the 18th century, when the paradigm of geographical determinism dominated. Ideas about the conditionality of the life of people and society by the geographical environment were put forward by ancient thinkers, such as Democritus, Herodotus, Strabo, etc. The sources of geographical information during this period were descriptions of individual countries and peoples, characteristics of inhabited and distant lands. For the purposes of navigation and trade, special descriptions of the seas, ports, trade centers were compiled, in which there was information about the features of the geographical position of the country through which the trade route passed. Historical geographer V. K. Yatsunsky believed that the first economic and geographical work in history should be considered the work of the Italian scientist Ludovico Guicciardini “Description of the Netherlands”, which was published in 1567, where the first part of the book analyzes the geographical position of the country and assessment of the role of the sea. In 1650, in the same Netherlands, the work of Varenius  (Varenius) "General Geography" was published, which is considered the first theoretical work on geography. S. P. Krasheninnikov in his Description of the Land of Kamchatka (1756) gave a detailed description of its geographical position. The search for regularities in the spatial distribution of settlements and the creation of models of urban geography began in the first half of the 20th century. One of the first scientists who approached the creation of models of the geography of cities was

geographical position

the position of any point or other object on the earth's surface in relation to other territories or objects; relative to the Earth's surface, the geographical position is determined using coordinates. Distinguish geographical location in relation to natural objects and to economic-geographical objects. Geographical position in economic geography is a historical category.

Geographical position

the position of any point or area of ​​the earth's surface in relation to territories or objects located outside this point or area. In mathematical geography, geographic positions are understood as the latitude and longitude of given points or localities; in physical geography, their position in relation to physical geographical objects (continents, mountains, oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, etc.). In economic and political geography, geographic location is understood as the position of a country, region, settlement, and other objects in relation to other economic-geographical (including communication routes, markets, economic centers, etc.) and physical-geographical objects. as well as the position of the country relative to other states and their groups. Urban settlement is one of the conditions for the development of countries, regions, cities, and other settlements. The practical significance of G. p. changes in various socio-economic formations.

Wikipedia

Geographical position

Geographical position- "the position of a geographical object relative to the surface of the Earth, as well as in relation to other objects with which it is in interaction ...". It characterizes "the place of a given object in the system of spatial connections and flows (material, energy, information) and determines its relationship with the external environment." Usually reflects the geospatial relationship of a particular object to the environment, the elements of which have or may have a significant impact on it. In public geography, position is usually defined in two-dimensional space. In physical geography, the third change is certainly taken into account - the absolute or relative height of the location of objects.

concept geographical position is the key to the entire system of geographical sciences. Actually, geography originated as a science of methods for determining and fixing the location of objects on the earth's surface relative to each other or in a certain coordinate system. Later it turned out that determining the location of an object not only helps to find it ... but also explains some of the properties of this object and even predicts its development. The most important element of geographical research is the establishment and analysis of links between objects located in space, determined precisely by their location. Thus the geographical position:

• is an individualizing factor, since it determines many properties of a geographical object;
• is historical in nature, as it changes over time;
• has a potential character, since the position alone is not a sufficient condition for the corresponding development of the object;
• has close ties with the configuration of the territory and its boundaries.

Within the framework of theoretical geography, B. B. Rodoman formulated "positional principle", which means the dependence of the properties of the object on its location, and "positional pressure principle", meaning the force that causes an object to move if it is in a position that is not optimal for its functioning. American geographer W. Bunge suggested "shift rule", which means a change in the geographical position of the flows when they are overvoltage in the existing channel. For example: riverbeds, volcano vents, highways, seaports. Yu. K. Efremov even proposed a special type of maps - maps of geographical location. However, L. V. Smirnyagin believes that in the modern world, as in geography, the characteristics of the place itself play an increasingly important role in comparison with its location.

There are the following types of geographic location:

• mathematical-geographical
• physical and geographical;
• economic and geographical;
• political and geographical;
• geopolitical;
• military geographical;
• ecological and geographical;
• cultural and geographical;

and others.

By scale they distinguish:

• macro position
• mesolocation
• microposition

According to the coordinate system, they distinguish:

• absolute;
• relative;
  • math ("3 miles north of Seattle");
  • functional.

In an extended interpretation, the geographic location may also include the relationship of the areal object as a whole to the data underlying inside him. Such a geographical location may be referred to, for example, as "introspective" (from, intro- inside + spicere- watch). For example, when assessing the role of internal border regions in the priority of foreign policy directions, when assessing the geocriminogenic position of the territory, when analyzing the transport and geographical position, when studying the changing area in relation to stations of experience, the linguistic area in relation to the dialect center, etc. Such the approach allows to resolve the collision with the determination of the mutual geographical position of intersecting objects.

Russia is a Eurasian state. The country has a unique geographical and geopolitical position: it occupies the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.

Russia has huge reserves of natural resources, accounting for about 20% of the world's reserves. This predetermines the raw orientation of the Russian economy.

Potential- sources, opportunities, means, reserves that can be used to solve problems and achieve goals.

The geographical position of the territory can be considered both as a condition and as a factor of economic development.

Geographical position of Russia

Among the geographic features of Russia that affect economic activity, the resettlement of the population and the formation of the habitat as a whole, the following provisions attract attention first of all.

1. The vastness of the space occupied by the country.
2. Uneven settlement and economic development of the territory.
3. Wealth and diversity of natural conditions and natural resources.
4. The multinational composition of the population and the ethnic mosaic of the territory (the presence, with the widespread settlement of Russians, of a large number of areas of compact residence of individual nationalities).
5. Strong territorial contrasts in the economic and social spheres.
6. The CIS countries and other newly independent states (not only the immediate neighbors of Russia, but also the neighbors of the second order: Moldova, Armenia, the states of Central Asia, the countries of the third order - Tajikistan). Second-order neighbors are countries neighboring border states.
7. Russia may have ties with Tajikistan through the territories of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (or Uzbekistan).
8. The countries of Western and Southern Europe, united in the European Economic Community, among which the role of Germany, the new world geopolitical pole, is growing.
9. The countries of Eastern Europe, closely linked during the entire post-war period with the USSR, with which Russia must renew and strengthen ties.
10. Countries of the Baltic and Black Sea basins with which Russia has already concluded multilateral agreements.
11. The countries of the Asia-Pacific region, especially the poles of the world economy and politics - Japan, China, India.
12. A special role belongs to the development of Russia's multilateral ties with the United States.

Russian Federation(RF) is the largest state in the world in terms of territory. It covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia, thus being a Eurasian country by geographical position.

The geopolitical position of Russia is interconnected with the economic and geographical position (EGP), i.e. position on the economic map of the world, reflecting the position of the country in relation to the main economic markets and centers of the world economy. For the first time, the concept of EGP was introduced into geographical science by the famous scientist N.N. Baransky (1881-1963). This concept is widely used to assess the place of countries on the world map, and in addition, to determine the relationship of any geographical feature to others located outside it.

The territory of Russia is 17.1 million km 2, which is almost 2 times more than China or the USA. As of January 1, 2010, the population was 141.9 million people, and the population density was 8.3 people per 1 km2. The Russian Federation ranks 1st in the world in terms of territory, 9th in terms of population and 8th in terms of GDP calculated in US dollars at purchasing power parity.

The size of the territory is an important economic and geographical feature of any state. For Russia, the world's largest country by area, it has far-reaching consequences, both geopolitically and economically.

Thanks to the vastness of the territory, all the necessary conditions for a rational geographical division of labor are provided, the possibility of freer maneuver in the deployment of productive forces, the defense capability of the state increases, and other positive results are achieved in the field of economic and social development.

The extreme northern point of the country is Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island as part of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, and on the mainland - Cape Chelyuskin; the extreme south - on the border with Azerbaijan; the extreme western one is on the border with Poland near the Gulf of Gdansk in the territory of the enclave formed by the Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation; the extreme eastern one is Ratmanov Island in the Bering Strait. Most of the territory of Russia is located between the 50th parallel and the Arctic Circle, i.e. found in middle and high latitudes. In this regard, only Canada can serve as an analogue among foreign countries. The maximum distance between the western (not counting the Kaliningrad region) and eastern borders is 9 thousand km, between the northern and southern borders - 4 thousand km. There are 11 time zones within Russia. The length of the borders is 58.6 thousand km, including land - 14.3 thousand km, sea - 44.3 thousand km.

The Federal Agency for the Development of the State Border of the Russian Federation conducts international legal formalization and measures on the development of the Russian state borders. International agreements on the state border have been concluded with China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Georgia, Finland and Norway. A complete list of countries adjacent to the Russian Federation is given in Table. 2.1.

In many aspects of international relations, Russia is the legal successor of the former USSR and, in this capacity, performs the functions of a permanent member of the UN Security Council and is a member of the most important international organizations.

Geopolitical position of the country is its place on the political map of the world and its relation to various states.

The geopolitical position of Russia in modern conditions is determined by many factors of different levels - from global to regional.

As a Eurasian country, Russia has ample opportunities for economic and political cooperation with foreign countries of various geopolitical orientations. Communications of world importance pass through its territory, providing transport links between west and east, north and south.

Russia is a single economic space, within which the free movement of people, goods, services and capital is ensured, intra-regional and inter-regional communications are carried out, covering both material production and the non-productive sphere. This space is consolidated by a unified transport, energy and information system, a unified gas supply system, various networks and communications, and other infrastructure facilities.

The size of the territory predetermines the variety of regional conditions and resources for economic activity. In terms of the scale of its natural resource potential, Russia has practically no analogues. At the same time, most of the territory is located in the temperate and cold agro-climatic zones. The need to overcome huge distances poses serious problems for transport, which are exacerbated by harsh climatic conditions in a large part of the territory. With regard to transport accessibility, the conditions are very differentiated. With large territorial spaces, despite the fact that this is considered to be a favorable condition for the development of the economy and ensuring the economic independence of the country, intensive development of the economy is possible only with a developed transport system.

Significant differences in the degree of economic development of the territory, the level of provision with natural and labor resources are reflected in the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the economy. The production potential of the European part is much greater, and the structure of the economy is much more complex, more diversified than in the eastern regions.

Russia is a federal state - the Russian Federation (RF), uniting the subjects of the Federation on the basis of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Federal Treaty as an integral part of it. The subjects of the Federation consist of self-governing territorial communities and independently determine their territorial structure.

The Russian Federation includes 21 republics, 9 territories, 46 regions, 2 federal cities, Autonomous Region I, 4 autonomous districts (in 2010, 83 subjects in total).

Cities of federal significance - Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Republics of Russia: Adygea (Maikop), Altai (Gorno-Altaisk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetia (Nazran), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nalchik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachayevo -Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia-Alania (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia ( Izhevsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Chechen (Grozny), Chuvashia (Cheboksary); Sakha (Yakutsk).

Territories: Altai, Trans-Baikal, Kamchatka, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorsky, Stavropol, Khabarovsk.

Autonomous districts: Nenets (Naryan-Mar) in the Arkhangelsk region, Khanty-Mansiysk (Khanty-Mansiysk) and Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard) in the Tyumen region, Chukotsky (Anadyr).

On the territory of Russia there is one autonomous region in the Far Eastern economic region - the Jewish Autonomous Region (Birobidzhan).

We note the peculiarity of the territorial-state structure of Russia under the Constitution of the Russian Federation of 1993. Nine autonomous districts (with the exception of Chukotka) were part of larger territorial units, but in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, both a territorial part (autonomous district) and an entire territory (krai or region) were equal subjects of the Federation. Since 2003, Russia has been gradually merging autonomous regions and the corresponding subjects of the Federation. This is a step-by-step process, including holding a national referendum, preparing and approving a bill, choosing government bodies, and unifying budgets.

During the period of June 2003 (June 11, the governor of the Perm region and the head of the administration of the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug signed an appeal to the President of Russia with the initiative to form the Perm Territory by combining the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug) to the present, 5 new subjects of the Federation have been formed :

• Perm Territory, which united the Perm Region and the Komi-Permyatsky Autonomous Okrug into a single subject of the Federation (date of formation - December 1, 2005):
• Krasnoyarsk Territory on the basis of the unification of the territory of the Territory, the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) and Evenk Autonomous Okrugs (1.01.2007);
• Kamchatka Territory, which united the Kamchatka Region and the Koryak Autonomous Okrug (July 1, 2007);
• Irkutsk region as a result of the merger of the region and the Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug (1.01.2008);
• Trans-Baikal Territory, which united the Chita Region and the Aginsky Buryat Autonomous Okrug (March 1, 2008). Autonomous okrugs within the constituent entities of the Federation received the status of municipal districts with a special status determined by the statutes of the constituent entities and the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Each region - a subject of the Federation (except Moscow and St. Petersburg) is divided into administrative districts. In addition, the administrative-territorial division includes cities, urban districts and districts, urban-type settlements, village councils and volosts.

The subjects of the Federation are united into larger administrative territorial entities - federal districts. On May 13, 2000, in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 849 “On the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Federal District”, the territory of Russia was divided into 7 federal districts. The federal district has its own center and administrative apparatus, headed by the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the federal district.

In January 2010, the North Caucasus Federal District was separated from the Southern Federal District by a presidential decree, which included the republics of the North Caucasus (except Adygea) and the Stavropol Territory.

List of federal districts and corresponding administrative centers: Central (the center of the federal district is Moscow), Northwestern (St. Petersburg), Southern (Rostov-on-Don), North Caucasian (Pyatigorsk), Volga (Nizhny Novgorod), Ural (Ekaterinburg), Siberian (Novosibirsk), Far East (Khabarovsk).

There are 11 economic regions on the territory of Russia: North-Western, Northern, Central, Central Black Earth, Volga-Vyatka, Volga, North Caucasus. Ural, West Siberian, East Siberian, Far East (the Kaliningrad region is not part of the economic regions). Economic regions differ from each other in the conditions and features of formation in the past and strategic directions of development in the future, scale, specialization and structure of production, and many other features.

Each of these regions performs certain functions in the general system of territorial division of labor within the country.

Russia in many respects - territory, population, natural resource potential, production, scientific, technical and intellectual potential, participation in solving global problems of our time, primarily related to the exploration of outer space, assistance in maintaining peace and security - is a great power.

Features of the geographical position of Russia

In terms of territory, Russia is the largest country in the world - 17.1 million km 2, which is almost an eighth of the Earth's land mass. Let's compare: Canada is the second largest state covering an area of ​​about 10 million km2.

Being in the north of Eurasia, Russia occupies about 1/3 of its territory, including 42% of the territory of Europe and 29% of the territory of Asia.

The entire territory of Russia is located in the Eastern Hemisphere, with the exception of Wrangel Island and the Chukotka Peninsula, which belong to the Western Hemisphere.

From the north, a significant part of the territory of Russia is washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean: White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi. The extreme northern point of Russia - Cape Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula - has coordinates 77 ° 43 "N, 104 ° 18" E. d.

From the east, Russia is washed by the seas of the Pacific Ocean: Bering, Okhotsk, Japan. The extreme eastern point of our country is located on the Chukchi Peninsula - Cape Dezhnev (66 ° 05 "N, 169 ° 40" W).

According to international agreements, the maritime borders of states, including Russia, pass at a distance of 12 nautical miles (22.7 km) from the coast. These are the territorial waters of a coastal state. Foreign ships have the right of innocent passage through territorial waters, subject to the laws and regulations of the coastal state, as well as international agreements.

Rice. 1. Russia: geographical location

UN convention under the Law of the Sea 1982 defines the boundaries economic zone coastal states at a distance of two hundred nautical miles (370 km) from the coast of the mainland and islands. Within the economic zone, fish and mineral resources are the property of the coastal state.

A vast continental shelf stretches along the northern coast of Russia. A special status has been established for the continental shelf: the coastal state exercises sovereign rights over it for the purpose of exploration and development of its natural resources.

In the east, our country has maritime borders with the United States along the Bering Strait and Japan along the La Perouse and Kunashir Straits, which separate our islands - Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands - from the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Russia has a huge length of external borders - about 60 thousand km, including land borders of about 20 thousand km. The southern and western borders of Russia are land, with the exception of the maritime border with Ukraine along the Kerch Strait and with Finland along the Gulf of Finland.

Most of our neighbors to the south and west are former republics of the Soviet Union. In the west: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus; in the south: Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan. Many of these countries, with the exception of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In addition to the former republics of the USSR, our country borders on European countries: Norway, Finland and Poland, as well as on the countries of Central and East Asia: Mongolia, China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The extreme southern point of Russia is located in the North Caucasus on the border with Azerbaijan - Mount Bazarduzu (41 ° 11 N, 47 ° 51 E).

And the extreme western one is on the Baltic Spit near the city of Kaliningrad (54 ° N, 19 ° 38 "E).

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia retained an advantageous geographical position in relation to a number of CIS countries, which can maintain economic ties with each other only through the territory of our country. Nevertheless, some countries of the former USSR turned out to be second-order neighbors for Russia (they do not have common borders with it). These are Moldova, Armenia and the republics of Central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The Republic of Tajikistan is a third-order neighbor for Russia.

The absence of common borders complicates our country's ties with these states.

The collapse of the USSR not only changed the geographical position of Russia, but its geopolitical and geoeconomic position.

The territory of the country decreased, the established production and economic ties were destroyed. A number of former republics of the USSR are oriented in their development to other countries and regions of the world, and this orientation does not always correspond to the strategic interests of Russia. These include, first of all, the Baltic countries - Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, as well as the Transcaucasus - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia.

After 1991, the territory of the USSR turned, according to experts, into an arena of rivalry between many developed countries of the world for acquiring political and economic influence on new states.

The geopolitical position of Russia is becoming more complicated due to the expansion of NATO.

On March 29, 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia joined the NATO military-political bloc, which complicated Russia's geographical position. Lithuania occupies a special place, since most of the links between the Kaliningrad region and other regions of Russia are carried out through its territory.

You don't have to be an economist to imagine the problems associated with the change in the geo-economic position of Russia after 1991. Imagine a single economic complex, a single energy system, close production ties in raw materials, fuel, as well as technological and scientific and technical ones. All this contributed to the development of a capacious consumer market within the country.

In the 1970s-1980s. economic integration both within the country and between the socialist countries was a state policy. The situation changed dramatically in 1991 and required a quick solution. It was found.

On December 21, 1991, an agreement was signed in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan) on the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). It was signed by 11 sovereign states. Georgia later joined them. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania are not included in the CIS.

According to experts, the rupture of economic ties within Russia with the former Soviet republics reduced the output of final products by 35-40%. Not a single country - the former republic of the USSR has reached the level of 1990, with the exception of Uzbekistan and Belarus. The production of agricultural products has sharply decreased (by 35-40%). Only the extraction and production of raw materials, fuel and energy resources increased.

The specifics of the geographical position of Russia

The main features of its nature are connected with the geographical position of Russia. Russia is located in the most severe northeastern part of Eurasia. The cold pole of the Northern Hemisphere (Oymyakon) is located on the territory of the country. Most of the territory of Russia lies north of 60° N. latitude. South of 50°N is only about 5% of the country. 65% of Russia's territory is located in the zone of permafrost. About 140 million people are concentrated in such a northern territory. Nowhere in the world, neither in the northern nor in the southern hemisphere, is there such a concentration of people in such high latitudes.

The northern specificity of Russia leaves its mark on the living conditions of people and the development of the economy. This is manifested in the need to build insulated dwellings, heat housing and industrial premises, and provide stall keeping for livestock (which provides not only for the construction of special industrial premises, but also forage harvesting). It is required to create equipment in the northern version, snow removal equipment for clearing roads. It is necessary to spend additional fuel reserves for the operation of equipment at low temperatures. All this requires not only the organization of special production facilities, but also huge material resources, primarily energy costs, which ultimately leads to huge financial investments.

The nature of Russia creates great restrictions in the development of agriculture. The country is in the zone of risky agriculture. There is not enough heat for the development of agricultural crops, and in the southern part there is not enough moisture, so crop failures and crop failures are a common occurrence for domestic agriculture. Every decade there are major crop failures. This requires the creation of significant state stocks of grain. Harsh conditions limit the possibilities of growing high-yielding fodder crops. Instead of sufficiently heat-loving soybeans and corn in Russia, it is necessary to grow mainly oats, which do not give high yields. These factors, together with the cost of stall keeping livestock, affect the cost of livestock products. Therefore, without state support (subsidies), Russian agriculture, seeking self-sufficiency, is able to ruin the whole country: all the industries associated with it, and above all its main consumer, the population.

Thus, the northern position of Russia determines the complexity of managing the entire economy of the country and the high costs of energy resources. To maintain the same standard of living as in Western Europe, Russia needs to spend 2-3 times more energy than European countries. Only in order to survive one winter without freezing, each inhabitant of Russia, depending on the region of his residence, needs from 1 to 5 tons of reference fuel per year. For all residents of the country, this will amount to at least 500 million tons (40 billion dollars at modern world fuel prices).

The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow - one of the largest cities in the modern world. It is home to over 12 million people. Where is Moscow located? In what part of the country is it located? What is the geographical position of Moscow and the Moscow region?

Moscow is the capital of Russia

According to historians, Moscow first became the capital of the Russian state in 1340. Today, 12.4 million people live in this city. According to this indicator, Moscow is among the top ten cities in the world in terms of population. Here is the largest library in Europe and one of the most visited attractions - the Moscow Kremlin.

People have long chosen these places for their life. This is evidenced by numerous archaeological finds. Later, the convenient geographical position of Moscow attracted merchants and artisans to the city. The latter were mainly engaged in dressing leather, making products from wood and iron.

Trying to explain the origin of the toponym "Moscow", the researchers split into two camps. The first associate it with the Old Slavic language, from which this word can be translated as "dampness". The second insist that the roots of this toponym are Finnish. In this case, the modern name "Moscow" can be composed of two Finnish words: "mosk" (bear) and "va" (water).

Where is Moscow? Let's pay more attention to the geography of the capital city.

The geographical position of the city

Moscow - an important financial, scientific and Russian. The city was founded in the middle of the XII century and today is the most populated in Europe. What is the geographical position of Moscow? And how did it affect the history of the development of the city?

Moscow is located in the very plain, between the Volga and Oka rivers. The city itself stands on the Moscow River, which gave it its name. quite heterogeneous: low hills alternate here with low depressions. The average height of the urban area is 144 meters.

The total length of Moscow from north to south is 51.7 km, and from west to east - 29.7 km. In the extreme southwest, the urban area extends to the borders of the Kaluga region.

More precisely, the location of Moscow on the map of Russia is shown below.

Geographic coordinates and area of ​​the capital

A description of the geographical position of Moscow will be incomplete without indicating its coordinates. So, the city is located in the North and East. Its exact coordinates are: 55 ° 45 "north latitude, 37 ° 36" east. By the way, such well-known cities as Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Kazan are located at the same latitude. The minimum distance from Moscow to the state border of Russia is 390 km.

And here are the distances from Moscow to some other European capitals and major Russian cities:

• Minsk - 675 km;
• Kyiv - 750 km;
• Riga - 850 km;
• Berlin - 1620 km;
• Rome - 2380 km;
• London - 2520 km;
• Yekaterinburg - 1420 km;
• Rostov-on-Don - 960 km;
• Khabarovsk - 6150 km;
• St. Petersburg - 640 km.

Moscow is a very dynamic city. Therefore, its boundaries are constantly changing in the direction of expansion. Today, the capital occupies an area of ​​2561 sq. km. This is roughly comparable to the area of ​​Luxembourg.

Moscow is an important transport hub

The extremely convenient geographical position of Moscow contributed to the gradual transformation of the city into the most important transport hub. Back in 1155, Andrei Bogolyubsky walked through these places, carrying the miraculous icon of the Mother of God to Vladimir. Today, important transport corridors radiate out of Moscow in different directions.

The internal transport system of the city is also quite developed. In total, Moscow has five airports and nine railway stations. All districts of the capital are densely permeated with a network of bus, trolleybus and tram routes. The Moscow metro is considered one of the largest in the world. The total length of its lines (there are 12 in total) is 278 kilometers. By the way, according to one of the hypotheses, there is also a secret metro line in the capital, connecting the Kremlin with military bunkers for shelter.

Common features of Moscow nature

The capital of Russia is located at the junction of three orographic structures. This is the Smolensk-Moscow Upland in the west, in the east and the Moskvoretsko-Okskaya Plain in the south. It is this fact that explains the heterogeneity of its relief. Some are densely indented with steep ravines and gullies, while others, on the contrary, are flat and swampy lowlands.

The city is located in the temperate continental climate zone with average temperatures in January -10 degrees, in July - +18 degrees. The amount of atmospheric precipitation in Moscow, as a rule, does not exceed 600-650 mm per year.

Dozens of rivers, streams and small streams carry their waters within the city. The largest of them are Khodynka, Yauza and Neglinnaya. True, today most of the Moscow rivers are "hidden" in underground collectors.

There is no need to talk about any solid soil cover in such a large metropolis as Moscow. Soddy-podzolic soils are most common in areas of the city free from residential or industrial development.

From almost all sides, Moscow is surrounded by forests - pine, oak, spruce and linden. In the city itself, many parks, squares and green areas have been created. The largest natural park within the capital is Elk Island.

Economic and geographical position of Moscow and its assessment

The city's EGP is extremely profitable. First of all, from a transport point of view. Important road and rail routes connect Moscow not only with major Russian cities, but also with other countries of the near abroad. In addition, powerful fuel and metallurgical bases of the state are located relatively close to the city.

The second advantageous factor of the Moscow EGP is the capital status of the city. It was he who determined the placement of key government bodies, foreign embassies, important universities and financial institutions in it.

On the whole, Moscow's advantageous central geographic position has been the main factor in its economic development for several centuries. Today, four free economic zones have been created and are functioning within the capital and its immediate environs.

Geographical position of the Moscow region

Speaking figuratively, the capital is, as it were, enclosed in the gentle embrace of the Moscow Region or the Moscow Region, as they like to call this region unofficially. It is the 55th subject of the Russian Federation in terms of area.

The Moscow region is located within the East European Plain and directly borders on the Kaluga, Smolensk, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Tula and Ryazan regions. The relief of the region is predominantly flat. Only in the west is the area slightly hilly.

The region is not rich in mineral resources. Within its limits there are insignificant deposits of phosphorites, sandstone, limestone, brown coal and peat. The Moscow region is located in the temperate continental climate zone with humid summers and fairly snowy winters. The region has a developed hydrological network. The largest rivers of the Moscow region are Moscow, Oka, Klyazma, Sturgeon.

An interesting fact: the region is almost equally remote from the nearest seas (Black, Baltic, White and Azov). Important transport routes connecting Russia with the countries of Eastern Europe pass through its territory.

The modern Moscow region is an important industrial region. In terms of total industrial production, it ranks ninth in Russia.

Conclusion

So, what are the features of the geographical position of Moscow? As a result, we list the most significant of them:

• Moscow is located in the European part of the country, on the 55th parallel of the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth;
• the capital of Russia is located in the heart of the East European Plain, in the temperate continental climate zone;
• Moscow is closer to many European capitals than to some major Russian cities;
• the city is located at the crossroads of important transport routes that have long connected Europe with Russia and Asia;
• all the benefits of Moscow's geographical position are only enhanced by its capital status.

• Geographical position - "the position of a geographical object relative to the surface of the Earth, as well as in relation to other objects with which it interacts ...". It characterizes "the place of a given object in the system of spatial connections and flows (material, energy, information) and determines its relationship with the external environment." Usually reflects the geospatial relationship of a particular object to the environment, the elements of which have or may have a significant impact on it. In public geography, location is usually defined in two-dimensional space (displayed on a map). In physical geography, the third change is certainly taken into account - the absolute or relative height of the location of objects.

  Thus the geographical position:

  is an individualizing factor, since it determines many properties of a geographical object;

  is historical in nature, as it changes over time;

  has a potential character, since the position alone is not a sufficient condition for the corresponding development of the object;

  has close ties with the configuration of the territory and its boundaries.

  Within the framework of theoretical geography, B. B. Rodoman formulated the “positional principle”, meaning the dependence of the properties of an object on its location, and the “principle of positional pressure” (“place pressure”), meaning the force that makes an object move if it has a non-optimal for its functioning position. The American geographer W. Bunge proposed a "displacement rule", which means a change in the geographical position of flows when they are overvoltage (overflow) in an existing channel. For example: riverbeds, volcano vents, highways, seaports. Yu. K. Efremov even proposed a special type of maps - maps of geographical location. However, L. V. Smirnyagin believes that in the modern world, as in geography, the characteristics of the place itself play an increasingly important role in comparison with its location.

  There are the following types of geographic location:

  mathematical and geographical (geodesic, astronomical, "absolute")

  physical and geographical;

  economic-geographical (EGP);

  political and geographical;

  geopolitical;

  military geographical;

  ecological and geographical;

  cultural and geographical;

  and others.

  By scale they distinguish:

  macro position

  mesolocation

  microposition

  According to the coordinate system, they distinguish:

  absolute (geodesic, astronomical);

  relative;

  math ("3 miles north of Seattle");

  functional (economic-geographical, physical-geographical, etc.).

  In an extended interpretation, the geographical location may also include the ratio of the areal object as a whole (area, district, territory) to the data lying inside it (to the elements of the internal environment). Such a geographical location can be called, for example, "introspective" (from Latin introspectus, intro - inside + spicere - look). For example, when assessing the role of internal border regions in the priority of foreign policy directions, when assessing the geocriminogenic position of the territory, when analyzing the transport and geographical position, when studying the changing area in relation to stations of experience, the linguistic area in relation to the dialect center, etc. Such the approach allows to resolve the collision with the determination of the mutual geographical position of intersecting objects.