Kulunda steppe
The Kulunda steppes ( Russian Кулундинская степь Kulundinskaja step ; also Kulundaebene , Russian Кулундинская равнина Kulundinskaja Ravnina or simply Kulunda ) is a landscape in the southeast of the West Siberian lowlands between Whether and Irtysh in Russia and Kazakhstan .
location
It is a hilly steppe plain with an area of about 100,000 km². It occupies the west of the Russian Altai region and, to a lesser extent, the east of the Kazakh region of Pavlodar , merges into the Barabasteppe in the north and the foothills of the Altai in the south and southeast . The height of the Kulunda steppe above sea level is 100 to 120 m in its central part . At its eastern and southern edges, it rises to 200 to 250 m .
For the Kulunda steppe, parallel, elongated elevations running in a north-east-south-westerly direction are characteristic, which tower above the surroundings by 50 to 60 meters, called Griwy ( singular : Griwa ). In the depressions between these elevations, rivers such as Kuchuk , Kulunda and Burla flow in western directions until they finally flow into salt lakes without drainage . The latter are sodium sulphate lakes such as Kulundasee and Kutschuksee , soda lakes such as the Petuchowskoye lakes and sodium chloride lakes .
In the northwest of the Kulunda steppe lies the German-Russian national district of Halbstadt .
climate
The Kulunda steppe has a relatively dry continental climate with monthly mean temperatures of −17 ° C to −19 ° in January and 19 ° C to 22 ° C in July with annual rainfall of only 250 to 300 mm.
vegetation
In the Kulunda steppe steppe vegetation predominates, in the northwestern part on black earth soils . The parallel elevations are overgrown with pine forests , and to a lesser extent also birch and aspen forests. These forest areas, some of which stretch over several hundred kilometers, are called " band forests " ( Russian ленточные боры lentochnyje bory ).
use
The Kulunda steppe is one of the most important agricultural areas in Siberia. Mainly cereals (especially spring wheat ) and technical crops are grown. The reclamation of the Kulunda steppe on a larger scale began in the second half of the 19th century. Because of the dry climate, some irrigation is necessary. For this purpose u. a. the Kulunda Magistral Canal created.
Web links
- Article Kulunda Steppe in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia (BSE) , 3rd edition 1969–1978 (Russian)
Coordinates: 53 ° 14 ' N , 79 ° 5' E
