Chechnya. Chechen Republic

The Chechen Republic is located in the central part of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus (altitude up to 4493 m, Tebulosmta), the adjacent Chechen Plain and the Terek-Kuma Lowland.

The length of the territory from north to south is 170 km, from west to east - 110 km.
It borders: in the south - with the Republic of Georgia, in the southeast, east and northeast - with the Republic of Dagestan, in the northwest - with the Stavropol Territory, in the west - with the Ingush Republic.

According to the relief, the territory of the republic is divided into flat northern (2/3 of the area) and mountainous southern (1/3 of the area). The south of the Chechen Republic consists of the foothills and slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, the northern part is occupied by the plain and the Terek-Kuma lowland. The republic's hydrographic network belongs to the Caspian Sea basin. The main river of the republic, crossing it from west to east, is the Terek River. Rivers on the territory of the Chechen Republic are unevenly distributed. The mountainous part and the adjacent Chechen Plain have a dense, highly branched river network. But there are no rivers on the Tersko-Sunzha Upland and in areas located north of the Terek. This is due to the characteristics of the relief, climatic conditions and, above all, the distribution of precipitation. According to the water regime, the rivers of the Chechen Republic can be divided into two types. The first includes rivers that are fed by important role Glaciers and high mountain snow play. These are Terek, Sunzha (below the confluence of the Lesa), Assa and Argun. In the summer, when snow and glaciers melt vigorously high in the mountains, they overflow. The second type includes rivers originating from springs and deprived of glacial and high-mountain snow supply. This group includes the Sunzha (before the confluence of the Assy), Valerik, Gekhi, Martan, Goyta, Dzhalka, Belka, Aksai, Yaryk-Su and others, less significant. In summer they do not experience high water.

Mineral resources of the Chechen Republic include fuel and energy resources, such as: oil, gas, condensate, common mineral resources are represented by: deposits of brick raw materials, clays, construction sands, sand and gravel mixtures, building stones, reserves of cement marls, limestones, dolomites, gypsum. The republic is also rich in hydropower resources, primarily the river. Argun, b. Assa and others (explored resources amount to 2000 MW) and thermal energy resources located on the flat part.

The main role in the development of the Republic in the near future will belong to the fuel and energy complex. The main wealth of the subsoil of the Chechen Republic is oil and gas, the proven reserves of which are respectively estimated as of 2005 at 40 million tons and gas at 14.5 billion cubic meters.

It is located in the central part of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus (altitude up to 4493 m, Tebulosmta), the adjacent Chechen Plain and the Terek-Kuma Lowland. The length of the territory from north to south is 170 km, from west to east - 110 km. It borders: in the south - with the Republic of Georgia, in the southeast, east and northeast - with the Republic of Dagestan, in the northwest - with the Stavropol Territory, in the west - with the Ingush Republic. According to the relief, the territory of the republic is divided into flat northern (2/3 of the area) and mountainous southern (1/3 of the area). The south of Chechnya consists of the foothills and slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, the northern part is occupied by the plain and the Terek-Kuma lowland.

The republic's hydrographic network belongs to the Caspian Sea basin. The main river of the republic, crossing it from west to east, is the Terek River. Rivers on the territory of the Chechen Republic are distributed unevenly. The mountainous part and the adjacent Chechen Plain have a dense, highly branched river network. But on the Tersko-Sunzhenskaya Upland and in the areas located north of the Terek, there are no rivers. This is due to the characteristics of the relief, climatic conditions and, above all, the distribution of precipitation. According to the water regime, the rivers of the Chechen Republic can be divided into two types. The first includes rivers, in the nutrition of which glaciers and high-mountain snow play an important role. These are Terek, Sunzha (below the confluence of the Lesa), Assa and Argun. In the summer, when snow and glaciers melt vigorously high in the mountains, they overflow. The second type includes rivers originating from springs and deprived of glacial and high-mountain snow supply. This group includes the Sunzha (before the confluence of the Assy), Valerik, Gekhi, Martan, Goyta, Dzhalka, Belka, Aksai, Yaryk-Su and others, less significant. In summer they do not experience high water.

The natural conditions of Chechnya are varied. When moving from north to south, the latitudinal zones of semi-desert and steppe are replaced by high-altitude zones of forest-steppe, mountain forests, meadows - and, finally, eternal snow and ice. The semi-desert zone covers the Terek-Kuma lowland, with the exception of its southern part adjacent to the Terek River valley. Typical turf grasses (fescue, feather grass) and desert drought-resistant subshrubs (wormwood, kochia, etc.) grow here. Typical representatives of Central Asian deserts include camel thorn, sandy wormwood - sarazhin, sandy oats - kiyak, etc. The attraction of the Pritersky sands is a pine grove, planted back in 1915, 9 kilometers north of the village of Chervlennaya. It consists of Crimean and Austrian pine. Now about 200 trees have survived. The fauna of the semi-desert, although not rich, is diverse.

Of the large mammals, you can find saiga antelope, steppe wolf, and small fox here. There are a lot of rodents in the semi-desert, especially jerboas; a large earthen hare, an earthen hare, and a hairy jerboa live there. There is a brown hare.

The steppe zone includes the strip of the left bank of the Terek, the eastern part of the Terek-Sunzha Upland and the northern edge of the Chechen Plain. Floodplain forests, largely already cut down, consist of oak, willow, elm, wild apple and pear trees. Their undergrowth is formed by dense, often impenetrable thickets of privet, euonymus, buckthorn, hawthorn, and elderberry. Only those animals have survived that are adapted to life in a territory that is economically developed and densely populated. Among them there are many rodents - pests Agriculture: hamsters, gophers, field mice, baby mice, etc. The brown hare is quite common. Peculiar animal world floodplain forests: the noble Caucasian deer has been preserved. Wild ducks and geese nest in the reed thickets of the Terek. The Caucasian pheasant lives in dry areas in the forest, and more often in bushes.

The forest-steppe zone includes most of the territory of the Chechen and Ossetian plains, as well as West Side Terek-Sunzha Upland. Small areas of forest most often consist of oak with an admixture of ash, maple, and Caucasian pear. There are many willows and alders in the river valleys. The undergrowth consists of thickets of hawthorn, thorn, and rose hips. The forest-steppe is inhabited by almost the same animals that inhabit the steppe zone of the republic. Wolves, foxes, and badgers have been preserved in blind gullies.

The mountain forest zone occupies the entire region of the Black Mountains and the lower parts of the northern slopes of the Pastbishchny, Skalisty and Bokovoy ridges. Its upper boundary lies at an altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, but in some places it rises to 2000-2200 meters. The lower part of the mountain slopes is covered with dense low forest. Oak, hazel, buckthorn, hawthorn, ash and maple grow here. Of the large animals, the bear is found here, and you can find roe deer. There are also many wild boars in the forests of the republic. A wild forest cat lives in remote ravines, and a lynx is occasionally seen.

Other animals in the mountain forests include the wolf, fox, hare, pine and stone marten, badger, weasel, etc. The squirrel was brought to the republic from the Altai Territory. There are many birds in mountain forests: buzzards, hawks, woodpeckers, finches, tits, owls. The mountain-meadow zone covers a strip between altitudes of 1800 and 3800 meters. Here you can see plants such as hogweed, columbine, larkspur, aconite, etc.

The Chechen Republic (CR) borders on Ingushetia in the west, North Ossetia in the northwest, Dagestan in the east, and Stavropol Territory in the north. In the south lies the external state border with Georgia. The territory of the republic extends from north to south for 170 km, and from west to east - almost 100 km. The distance from Grozny to Moscow is 2007 km.

There is no officially demarcated border between the Chechen Republic and the Republic of Ingushetia. After the separation of Chechnya from the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, the unilateral declaration of its independence, and until now, border delimitation has not been carried out. In 1992, an agreement was reached between the two republics that “conditionally” the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia runs along the administrative boundaries of the regions of the former Chechnya Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. At the same time, 3 districts (approximately 17% of the territory) went to Ingushetia, and 11 districts (83% of the territory) of the former autonomous republic, which had an area of ​​19.3 thousand square meters, went to Chechnya. km. Part of the Malgobek and Sunzhensky districts is a disputed territory, which both Chechens and Ingush consider to be their original lands. That is why there are still discrepancies in determining the area of ​​the territories of both the Chechen Republic (from 15.5 to 17 thousand sq. km) and the Republic of Ingushetia.

According to the relief, the Chechen Republic is divided into flat northern and mountainous southern parts. The mountainous part of Chechnya is the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, they occupy 35% of the territory. The remaining 65% of the area is cultivated plains, steppes and semi-deserts: the Chechen Plain and the Terek-Kuma Lowland. The Chechen plain in its natural state is a steppe with small forest-steppe areas. Most of it is plowed and used in agriculture, because the soils here are fertile, black earth, less often chestnut and light chestnut. The Terek-Kumskaya lowland is mainly a semi-desert area with wormwood-hodgepodge vegetation, and in wet areas it is occupied by feather-grass-fescue steppe. The vegetation of the mountains varies depending on the height: up to 2200 m there are broadleaf forests with valuable tree species - beech, oak, hornbeam, higher - subalpine and alpine meadows. There are many convenient pastures for livestock in the mountain valleys. The climate is continental, with average temperatures in January from -3 to -5"C on the plain to -12"C in the mountains, and in July, respectively, from +21 to +25"C. Large rivers- Terek and Sunzha with the Argun tributary, which have large reserves of hydroelectric power.

In general, natural climatic conditions favorable for the life of the population. The climate of mountainous areas has healing and balneological properties. Environmental situation until the mid-90s. remained moderately severe and was associated primarily with water and soil pollution, as well as soil erosion. Currently, the ecological state of the region is extremely unfavorable: the consequences of military operations, as well as the work of artisanal mini-plants for oil distillation, are affecting. The air and water are heavily poisoned by petroleum products.

The region is characterized by high seismicity; earthquakes with an intensity of up to 9 points are possible here.

The main minerals are oil, gas, natural building materials, thermal and mineral waters.

Main natural resource- oil. Chechnya, as well as Ingushetia and adjacent territories North Caucasus, belongs to the oldest oil and gas regions of Russia. The main oil fields are concentrated around the city of Grozny and the village of Novogroznensky. Industrial oil reserves in the Czech Republic amount to 50-60 million tons, they have been largely exhausted. The total proven reserves exceed 370 million tons, but they lie in extremely unfavorable geological conditions at a depth of 4.5-5 km and are difficult to develop. At present, this is beyond the power of the Chechen Republic, since neither drilling nor field equipment is produced in the republic, and there are not enough specialists in the field of oil production.

The former production association Grozneft was developing 24 oil and gas fields, the reserves of which were classified as industrial (as of January 1, 1993). 90% of the initial recoverable oil reserves have been pumped out. The Oktyabrskoye, Goryacheistochnenskoye, Starogroznenskoye, Pravoberezhnoe, Bragunskoye, Severo-Bragunskoye and Eldarovskoye fields were considered the largest in terms of residual reserves - they provided 4/5 of the total oil production. At the end of 1998, 846 thousand tons of oil, including gas condensate, were produced in Chechnya.

The republic's own energy resources are clearly insufficient. Electricity shortage - approximately 40% of demand - Chechnya in the early 90s. covered with supplies from other regions of Russia through the RAO UES system. In 1997, the Czech Republic received up to 60% of its electricity consumption from outside.

Chechnya has fairly large reserves of hydropower resources from mountain rivers, but their use has not been established. Experts highly appreciate the potential of geothermal waters: on the basis of the Petropavlovsk and Khankala fields back in the 80s. It was planned to build three geothermal circular systems to supply heat to Grozny, but these projects were never implemented.

Conditions for agriculture are favorable: soil fertility, abundance of heat, significant areas of natural meadow pastures - all this contributes to the development of both lowland agriculture and livestock farming on mountain pastures. According to the Republican Ministry of Agriculture, the maximum area of ​​arable land in the republic reached in the early 90s. 300-330 thousand hectares, 517 thousand hectares were allocated for pastures, more than 20 thousand hectares were allocated for collective gardens and vineyards. According to information from the Ministry of Economy of Chechnya, in 1997 the total area of ​​farmland in the republic was over 1 million hectares, of which 34% (340-350 thousand hectares) were arable lands; it seems that the pre-war data on the size of arable land was slightly exceeded.

Nadterechny municipal district is one of fifteen municipal districts of the Chechen Republic. In addition to district municipalities, the Republic also includes two urban districts - the city of Grozny and the city of Argun.

The municipal formation "Nadterechny Municipal District" is located on the northwestern outskirts of the Chechen Republic. The Nadterechny region borders in the north with the Stavropol Territory and the Naursky region of the Chechen Republic, in the east and south with the Grozny region, in the southwest with the republics of North Ossetia-Alania and Ingushetia.

Internally, regional connections ensure communication of the Nadterechny municipal district with neighboring municipalities, as well as with the capital of the Republic - the city of Grozny.

The territory of the region is divided into two geomorphological elements, which differ sharply from each other. The first geomorphological element includes the northern part of the land use of the region, the second - the southern part.

The area of ​​the republic is 16.139 km. Population - 1.2 million people. The capital is the city of Grozny. Administratively, the republic is divided into 15 districts. It is located in the southeastern part of the North Caucasus, on the northern slope of the Caucasus Range and adjacent plains. In the west, the Chechen Republic borders on Ingushetia and North Ossetia, in the north - on the Stavropol Territory, in the north and east - on the Republic of Dagestan and in the south - with the Georgian Republic.

The southern border runs along the crests of the ridges; along the rest of the length there are no clearly defined natural boundaries and the border is drawn along conditional lines. From north to south, the Chechen Republic extends 170 kilometers, and from west to east - 150 kilometers. The geographical position of the Chechen Republic is favorable. Important railways and highways pass through its territory, connecting the main regions of the North Caucasus with Transcaucasia and European part countries.

The Chechen Republic is a land of amazing natural contrasts. It is rare to find such extraordinary diversity natural landscapes in such a small area. The majestic beauty of mountain landscapes: snowy peaks and gigantic rocky cliffs, stormy rivers and azure-blue lakes, dense forests and colorful subalpine meadows - is replaced on the plains by no less remarkable views of the endless steppe expanses, amazing pictures of the wavy sea of ​​sandy breakers, among which there are areas sand dunes - typical desert landscapes of Central Asia.

The nature of the Chechen Republic is not only diverse, but also rich. Its depths store large reserves of “black gold” and building materials. Long hot summers and fertile soils allow the cultivation of a wide variety of, and very valuable, agricultural crops. Extensive natural pastures serve an excellent base for the development of livestock farming. Mountain beech forests provide valuable timber. Various mineral springs, clean mountain air, plenty of sun, favorable climatic conditions, beautiful landscapes are the healing forces that can be widely used to organize recreation and restore the health of workers. The main reason determining the diversity of natural conditions in the Chechen Republic is the peculiarities of its surface structure.

Relief and minerals.

The varied surface topography of the Chechen Republic is due to its complex geological history. In a relatively recent geological period, powerful mountain-building processes took place here, as throughout the Caucasus.

As a result of these processes, mountain folds appeared in some places, and troughs and depressions appeared in others. The primary relief, created by the internal forces of the earth, subsequently underwent profound changes under the influence external forces: water, air temperature, wind.

About half the area of ​​the Chechen Republic is occupied by mountains and hills, and the rest of the territory is lowlands and plains. In the north of the republic is located Terek-Kumskaya lowland, being part of the vast Caspian lowland. Its flat surface has a slight slope towards the Caspian Sea. To the east of the village of Kargalinskaya, it already lies below ocean level.

Representing a sagging area earth's crust, V historical time The Terek-Kuma lowland was repeatedly flooded with the waters of the Caspian Sea and layers of marine sediments were layered on its surface. Rivers flowing into the ancient Caspian basin deposited the small debris they brought in their mouths and created large sandy deltas.

Now these deltas have been preserved in the Terek-Kuma Lowland in the form of large sandy massifs. With their heavily hilly topography, they stand out sharply from the surrounding plain. Only the southern part of the Terek-Kuma Lowland belongs to the territory of the Chechen Republic. Almost three quarters of its entire area is occupied by the Pritersky sand massif. Its aeolian relief was formed under the influence of eastern winds prevailing in the lowlands.

Here you can observe a wide variety of sandy relief forms. Ridged and hilly sands overgrown with grassy vegetation are widespread. And in the northern and eastern parts of the massif there are areas of loose sand dunes. Dune sands were formed due to the dispersal of ridge sands. The reason that caused their dispersal was the destruction of the vegetation cover that held the sands together as a result of excessive grazing or improper plowing.

Within the Terek-Kuma Lowland, the valley of the Terek River stands out. Its left slope here has a number of clearly defined terraces. The lower terraces are covered with forest and shrubs, and are swampy in places. To the south of the Terek River there is Terek-Sunzha Upland. It consists of two low ridges - Tersky and Sunzhensky, which are separated by the narrow Alkhanchurt valley.

Both ridges have a folded structure, very complicated by numerous faults and secondary folds. They are composed of Cenozoic rocks, among which shale clays, sandstones, and conglomerates are common.

In many places, these rocks are covered on top with a thick layer of loose loess-like loam. The ridges have soft, rounded outlines. Their gentle for the most part the turfed slopes are strongly dissected by numerous gullies and ravines. Both ridges rise towards the west. The height of the Sunzhensky ridge reaches 872 meters (Mount Kurp), while individual peaks of the Tersky ridge do not rise above 700 meters above sea level.

The Bragunsky and Gudermessky ridges can be considered a continuation of the Terek ridge in the eastern part, although geological structure they are independent mountain folds. At the exit of the Alkhanchurt valley to the Chechen plain, between the Tersky and Sunzhensky ridges, there is a small Grozny ridge, on which the Old Crafts are located. The Grozny ridge is connected by a narrow bridge to the Sunzhensky ridge. In the south-eastern part of Grozny it rises Novogroznensky ridge(New fisheries), or Aldyn Upland, dissected by the Khankala Gorge into two separate massifs.

Between the Tersky Range and the Terek River stretches the Nadterechnaya Plain. Its width reaches 10-12 kilometers. It consists of several river terraces, ledges descending to the Terek. The space between the Terek-Sunzhenskaya Upland and the advanced chain of mountains of the Caucasus Range is occupied Chechen foothill plain. The valley of the Sunzha River in the west connects it with the Ossetian foothill plain, part of which is included within the territory of the Chechen Republic.

Geologically, the Chechen Plain is a deep foothill trough in the form of a huge basin. During the era of the Quaternary glaciation, debris was deposited in this basin, which was brought by high-water rivers from the then extensive mountain glaciers.

Glacial and alluvial deposits, consisting of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand and clay, completely filled the basin and gave it the appearance of a plain sloping to the north. From above these deposits are covered with young river sediments. The Chechen Plain is the most populated place in the republic. Large Chechen villages and Cossack villages, immersed in the greenery of orchards, scatter picturesquely across its entire area. The entire southern mountainous part of the republic is located on the slope of the Greater Caucasus, which represents the northern wing of the huge Caucasian fold.

The alternation of strong and easily destructible rocks in the sedimentary strata of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range led to its division into a number of longitudinal ridges. Ridges formed where resistant rocks were exposed, and the valleys separating them arose in places where less resistant rocks spread.

This is how four parallel ridges were formed, rising to the south in the form of giant steps. The northernmost of these ridges is Black Mountains-- composed predominantly of sandy-clayey rocks of Cenozoic age, which is why its relief has the soft, rounded outlines of typical low mountains. Their height rarely exceeds a thousand meters above ocean level.

From the foothills to the peaks, the Black Mountains are overgrown with forest, which gives them a dark color from a distance. This is where their name came from. Low, with highly dissected relief, the Black Mountains are a zone of foothills.

South of the Black Mountains stretches Pasture Ridge. In the west it branches into two, and in some places into three separate ridges. It got its name from the abundance of beautiful mountain pastures on its slopes. Many peaks of the Pastbishchny Ridge rise to a height of over 2 thousand meters.

Behind the Pasture Ridge rise spiky ridges and bizarrely shaped cliffs Rocky Ridge. The peaks of the Rocky Range reach a height of 3,000 meters.

The Pastishchny and Skalisty ridges are composed of Mesozoic limestones and have different structures on their northern and southern slopes. The northern slopes, coinciding with the direction of fall of the rock layers, are long and more or less flat. The southern slopes, on the contrary, are short and end in steep ledges. The landscape of the southern slope of the Rocky Range is especially majesticly beautiful. Here, almost along its entire length, it forms a sheer cliff. And on this light limestone wall with a pinkish-yellowish tint, individual trees and shrubs are sculpted at a terrible height.

River valleys crossing limestone ridges have a unique structure. They alternate between narrow and wide areas. Where the river cuts into the strong limestone rocks that make up the ridges, its valley looks like a deep, narrow gorge with steep rocky slopes. Even on a hot, sunny day, darkness and coolness reign in the gloomy gorges of such a gorge. The river valleys in the spaces between the ridges are completely transformed. Here the mountains seem to part, forming vast light basins stretched along the river. The predominant clayey composition of the rocks composing the basins causes soft, rounded relief shapes with gentle slopes. In such places, convenient for settlement, mountain villages are usually located.

A chain of silvery-white snowy peaks stretches along the southern border of the republic. Side ridge. The Side Range is composed of sandy-clayey sedimentary rocks of Mesozoic age. In this section of the Caucasus, the Side Range is almost 1,000 meters higher than the Main Range. The peak located on it Tebulos-Mta rises to 4,494 meters above sea level. This is the highest peak not only in the Chechen Republic, but also in the Eastern Caucasus.

In the Chechen Republic, the links of the Side Range are Piriki-Telsky ridge with the peaks of Tebulos-Mta, Kamito-Data, X-court (4,271 m.), Donos-Mta (4,178 m.) and Snow Ridge, the highest point of which is Mount Diklos Mta (4,274 m).

All these peaks are covered with eternal snow and glaciers. The snow line in the Chechen Republic passes at an altitude of 3700-3800 meters. On the territory of the republic, glaciers are located in four groups. In the west, the first glaciers appear in the upper reaches of the Armkhi River. The next small group is concentrated on the summit of Mahis Magali (3,986 meters). Further to the east, along the entire length of the Side Range to the top of Tebulos-Mta, there are no firn fields or glaciers. On Tebulos Mta, glaciers occupy both the northern and southern slopes. There are more glaciers on the northern slope and they are larger. The most significant development of firn fields and glaciers is in the fourth group, stretching a strip of 30 kilometers between the peaks of Kachu and Diklos Mta. In total, there are 58 glaciers in the Chechen Republic with a total area of ​​27 square kilometers. Geography of the Chechen Republic - A.L. Ustaev