Nadterechny municipal district is one of the fifteen municipal districts of the Chechen Republic. In addition to regional 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 provide communication between the Nadterechny municipal district and 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 area's land use, the second - the southern part.
The area of the republic is 16.139 km. The population is 1.2 million people. The capital is the city of Grozny. Administratively, the republic is divided into 15 districts. Located in the southeastern part 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 - on the Georgian Republic.
The southern border runs along the crests of the ridges, there are no clearly defined natural boundaries for the rest of the length and the border is drawn along imaginary lines. From north to south, the Chechen Republic stretches for 170, and from west to east - for 150 kilometers. The geographical position of the Chechen Republic is advantageous. Important railroads and highways pass through its territory, connecting the main regions of the North Caucasus with the Transcaucasus and the European part of the country.
The Chechen Republic is a land of amazing contrasts of nature. It is rare to find such an extraordinary variety of natural landscapes in such a small area. The majestic beauty of mountain landscapes: snowy peaks and gigantic rocky cliffs, turbulent 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 dune sands - typical landscapes of the deserts of Central Asia.
The nature of the Chechen Republic is not only diverse, but also rich. Its bowels store large reserves of "black gold" and building materials. Long hot summers and fertile soils make it possible to cultivate a wide variety of highly valuable agricultural crops. Extensive natural pastures serve as an excellent base for the development of animal husbandry. Mountain beech forests provide the most valuable timber. Diverse mineral springs, clean mountain air, abundance of sunshine, 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 that determines the diversity of the natural conditions of the Chechen Republic is the peculiarities of the structure of its surface.
Relief and minerals.
The varied relief of the surface of the Chechen Republic is due to its complex geological history. In a relatively recent geological period, here, as well as throughout the Caucasus, powerful mountain-building processes took place.
As a result of these processes, mountain folds appeared in some places, and troughs and depressions appeared in others. Primary relief created internal forces earth, has undergone further profound changes under the influence of external forces: water, air temperature, wind.
About half of the territory of the Chechen Republic is occupied by mountains and uplands, and the rest of the territory falls on lowlands and plains. Spread in the north of the republic Tersko-Kuma lowland, which is part of the vast Caspian lowland. Its flat surface has a slight slope towards the Caspian Sea. To the east of the village of Karga-linskaya, it lies already below the level of the ocean.
Representing a sagging section of the earth's crust, in historical times the Tersko-Kuma lowland was repeatedly flooded with the waters of the Caspian Sea and strata of marine sediments were layered on its surface. The rivers flowing into the ancient Caspian basin deposited in their mouths the fine detrital material they brought and created large sandy deltas.
Now these deltas have been preserved on the Tersko-Kuma lowland in the form of large sandy massifs. With their strongly hilly relief, they stand out sharply from the surrounding plains. Only the southern part of the Tersko-Kuma lowland belongs to the territory of the Chechen Republic. Almost three quarters of its entire area is occupied by the Pritersky sandy massif. Its eolian relief was formed under the influence of the eastern winds prevailing in the lowlands.
Here you can observe the most diverse forms of sandy relief. Ridge and hilly sands overgrown with herbaceous vegetation are widespread. And in the northern and eastern parts of the massif there are areas of loose sand dunes. Dune sands were formed as a result of 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 immoderate grazing or improper plowing.
Within the Tersko-Kuma lowland, the valley of the Terek River stands out. Its left slope here has a number of distinct terraces. The lower terraces are covered with forest and shrubs, swampy in places. To the south of the Terek River stretches Tersko-Sunzhenskaya Upland. It consists of two low ridges - Tersky and Sunzhensky, which are separated by the narrow Alkhanchurt valley.
Both ranges have a folded structure, highly complicated by numerous faults and secondary folds. They are composed of rocks of the Cenozoic age, among which shaly clays, sandstones, and conglomerates are common.
In many places, these rocks are covered from above with a thick layer of loose loess-like loams. The ridges have soft, rounded outlines. Their gently sloping, mostly soddy slopes are strongly dissected by numerous gullies and ravines. Both ranges rise towards the west. The height of the Sunzhensky Range reaches 872 meters (Mount Kurp), while individual peaks of the Tersky Range do not rise above 700 meters above sea level.
The Bragunsky and Gudermessky ridges can be considered a continuation of the Tersky Range in the eastern part, although in terms of their 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 spread. The Grozny ridge is connected by a narrow bridge with the Sunzhensky ridge. In the southeastern part of Grozny rises Novogroznensky ridge(New trades), or Aldynskaya hill, dissected by the Khankala gorge into two separate massifs.
Between the Terek Range and the Terek River, the Nadterechnaya Plain stretched out. Its width reaches 10-12 kilometers. It consists of several river terraces, ledges descending to the Terek. The space between the Tersko-Sunzhenskaya Upland and the front 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 within the territory of the Chechen Republic.
The Chechen plain in geological terms is a deep foothill trough in the form of a huge basin. During the epoch of the Quaternary glaciation, detrital material was deposited in this basin, which was brought by high-water rivers from the vast mountain glaciers at that time.
Glacial and alluvial deposits, consisting of boulders, pebbles, gravel, sand and clay, completely filled the basin and gave it the appearance of a plain inclined to the north. From above, these deposits are covered with young river sediments. The Chechen Plain is the most populated place in the republic. Over its entire area, large Chechen villages and Cossack villages are picturesquely spread out, immersed in the greenery of orchards. The entire southern mountainous part of the republic is located on the slope of the Greater Caucasus, which is the northern wing of the huge Caucasian fold.
The alternation in the sedimentary stratum of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range of strong and easily destructible rocks led to its division into a number of longitudinal ridges. Ridges formed where resistant rocks were exposed, and the valleys separating them arose where less resistant rocks were distributed.
Thus, four parallel ridges were formed, rising to the south in the form of giant steps. The northernmost of these ranges is black mountains- is composed mainly of sandy-clayey rocks of the Cenozoic age, which is why its relief has soft, rounded outlines of typical low mountains. Their height rarely exceeds a thousand meters above sea level.
From the foot to the peaks, the Black Mountains are overgrown with forest, which gives them a dark color from afar. This is where their name came from. Low, with a strongly 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 Pasture Range rise to a height of over 2 thousand meters.
Behind the Grassland Ridge rise sharp ridges and bizarre cliffs. Rocky ridge. The peaks of the Rocky Range reach a height of 3,000 meters.
The pasture and rocky ridges are composed of limestones of the Mesozoic age, have a different structure of their northern and southern slopes. The northern slopes, coinciding with the direction of the fall of the rock layers, are long and more or less gentle. The southern slopes, on the contrary, are short and break off with steep ledges. The landscape of the southern slope of the Rocky Range is especially majestically 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 molded at a terrible height.
The river valleys crossing the limestone ridges have a peculiar structure. They alternate between narrow and wide sections. 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. River valleys are completely transformed in the gaps between the ridges. Here the mountains, as it were, part, forming vast light hollows, elongated along the river. The prevailing clayey composition of the rocks composing the basins determines here soft, rounded relief forms with gentle slopes. In such places, convenient for settlement, mountain villages are usually located.
A chain of silver-white snowy peaks stretches along the southern border of the republic. Lateral ridge. The Side Ridge is composed of sandy-argillaceous sedimentary rocks of the Mesozoic age. In this section of the Caucasus, the Lateral 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 Lateral Range are Piriki-Tel Range with the peaks of Tebulos-Mta, Kamito-Data, X-court (4271 m.), Donos-Mta (4178 m.) and snow ridge, the highest point of which is Mount Diklos-Mta (4274 m.).
All these peaks are covered with eternal snows and glaciers. The snow line in the Chechen Republic runs 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 top of Mahis Magali (3,986 meters). Further to the east, along the entire length of the Lateral Range to the top of Tebulos-Mta, there are no firn fields and glaciers. On Tebulos Mta, glaciers occupy both the northern and southern slopes. There are more and larger glaciers on the northern slope. The firn fields and glaciers have the most significant development in the fourth group, which stretches in 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
The Chechen Republic is located in the central part of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus (height up to 4493 m, Tebulosmta), adjacent to the 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 is made up of the foothills and slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, the northern part is occupied by the plain and the Terek-Kuma lowland. The hydrographic network of the republic belongs to the basin of the Caspian Sea. The main river of the republic, crossing it from west to east, is the Terek River. The 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 Terek-Sunzhsnskaya Upland and in the areas located north of the Terek. This is due to the features 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 which glaciers and high mountain snows play an important role. These are Terek, Sunzha (below the confluence of Lesa), Assa and Argun. In the summer, when high in the mountains, snow and glaciers melt energetically, they overflow. The second type includes rivers originating from springs and devoid of glacial and high-mountain snow supply. This group includes Sunzha (before the confluence of Assy), Valerik, Gekhi, Martan, Goita, Dzhalka, Belka, Aksai, Yaryk-Su and others, less significant. They don't have floods in summer.
Minerals of the Chechen Republic include fuel and energy resources, such as: oil, gas, condensate, common minerals are represented by: deposits of brick raw materials, clays, building 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 are 2000 MW) and heat and power resources located on the plains.
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 explored reserves of which are respectively estimated as of 2005 at 40 million tons and gas at 14.5 billion cubic meters.
Natural features of the Republic of Chechnya
The Chechen Republic is located in the northeast of the North Caucasus and Eastern Ciscaucasia.
The western border runs with Ingushetia, in the northwest it borders with the Republic of North Ossetia Alania. The northern border runs with the Stavropol Territory, and in the east the border goes with Dagestan. The ridges of the Caucasian ranges separate it in the south from Georgia.
The length of the Republic from north to south is 170 km, and from west to east - more than 100 km.
A distinctive feature of the Republic is the exceptional diversity of natural conditions, which is clearly expressed in the soil and vegetation cover, in the differences in relief and climate.
Four parts are distinguished in the relief - flat, foothill, mountain, high-mountain:
The temperate climate of the Republic varies with altitude and from north to south. The climate is formed in the process of interaction of local and general climatic processes. Hot and long summers, short and rather mild winters.
On the plains and in the foothills, the continental air of temperate latitudes dominates throughout the year.
The temperature distribution is greatly influenced by the height above sea level. Most high temperatures on the Tersko-Kuma lowland in July they reach +25 degrees. On the Chechen plain +22…+24 degrees, and in the foothills already +21…+20 degrees.
With height, the January temperature decreases - on the Chechen plain the temperature is -4 ... -4.2 degrees, in the foothills -5 ... -5.5 degrees. At an altitude of 3000 m, it drops to -1, and in the area of \u200b\u200bperpetual snow it is already -18 degrees.
Precipitation is unevenly distributed. The smallest amount of 300-400 mm falls on the Tersko-Kuma lowland, and towards the south it gradually increases to 800-1000 mm.
Remark 1
The Republic is characterized by dangerous geological processes, including seismicity, subsidence, scree, landslides, snow avalanches, landslides, mudflows, karst, erosion, floods.
Varied climate and topography create prerequisites for diversity flora. Forb-fescue vegetation is characteristic of the desert steppes of the Terek sandy massif in its northern part.
Solonchak-meadow and solonchak-marsh vegetation grows in the lower reaches of the Terek in the extreme north-east of the Republic.
Floodplain meadows in combination with shrub and forest vegetation grow in the depressions of the Terek and Sunzha valleys.
In more humid places, natural vegetation is represented by feather grass steppes. Oak forests grow in the low mountains, beech already predominates in the middle mountains.
Subalpine meadows are replacing continuous forest vegetation in the upper middle mountains. At an altitude of 1800-2800 m they occupy vast territories.
Alpine meadows begin at an altitude of 2700-3500 m.
Remark 2
The vast expanses of flat territories are almost all plowed up and cultural vegetation has replaced the natural vegetation.
The main wealth of the Chechen subsoil is oil - there are about 30 hydrocarbon deposits in total. There are 20 deposits within the Tersky Ridge, 7 deposits on the Sunzha Ridge, and 2 deposits in the Black Mountains monocline.
Remark 3
Of the total number of fields, 23 are oil fields, 4 are oil and gas fields, and 2 are pure gas fields. Chechen oil is paraffinic in composition with a high content of gasoline.
Chechnya is rich building materials. A large deposit of cement marls has been explored in the valley of the Chanty-Argun River. Huge reserves of limestone. In the Assinsky Gorge there are limestones of beautiful colors.
Between the rivers Gekhi and Sharo-Argun there are deposits of gypsum and anhydrite. Large deposits of sandstones of the Sernovodskoye, Semashinskoye, Chishkinskoye deposits.
Mumil and ocher are mined here from mineral paints.
Deposits of hard and brown coal are known, but the reserves and quality are low, so they have no industrial value.
Ore deposits have not been studied enough, there are several deposits of copper and polymetals in the upper reaches of the Armkhi and Chanty-Argun rivers.
Mineral sulfate-calcium hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen sulfide-chloride-sodium sources with high salinity and high content of hydrogen sulfide are highly valued.
The Republic is insufficiently provided with underground fresh waters.
Surface waters are unevenly distributed - the mountainous part and the Chechen plain have a dense and branched river network. The territories north of the Terek have almost no rivers, which is due to the peculiarities of the climate. The main river is the Terek, the second largest is the Sunzha River.
In addition to rivers in Chechnya, there are lakes that are found both on the plains and in the mountains.
There are few lakes, but they are diverse in origin and water regime - eolian, floodplain, landslide, dam, karst, tectonic and glacial lakes stand out. Eolian lakes often dry up in summer.
The natural reservoirs of Chechnya are high mountain snows and glaciers. Large glaciers are associated with the northern slope of the Side Range. Morphological types of glaciers in Chechnya are valley, cirque, hanging.
There are 10 valley glaciers, 23 cirque and 25 hanging glaciers within the Republic.
Chechen forests occupy an area of 361 thousand hectares or 18.7% of the territory of the Republic. In the forest fund there are relict beech forests, which are suppliers of valuable timber. In addition to them, Caucasian hornbeam, low-stemmed birch, ash, and light maple are forest-forming species. For the development of recreational resources, there are all the necessary natural conditions.
Environmental problems are also characteristic of this Caucasian Republic.
Among them, the most serious include:
As for regional environmental problems, they are determined by the level of anthropogenic pressure and natural features of the region.
Natural and climatic conditions, the history of the formation of the territory determine the ecological situation of the capital - the city of Grozny, especially its industrial zone, which is located in a closed space in terms of geomorphology.
In such a space, emissions from industrial enterprises into the atmosphere stagnate for a long time, and natural air renewal is small.
The main air pollutants are Nurenergo JSC, oil refining, oil production and construction industries.
Pollutants are hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides.
Causes of air pollution:
Being a part of nature, society should strive for mutually beneficial cooperation with nature.
Natural features of the Republic of Chechnya
The Chechen Republic is located in the northeast of the North Caucasus and Eastern Ciscaucasia.
The western border runs with Ingushetia, in the northwest it borders with the Republic of North Ossetia Alania. The northern border runs with the Stavropol Territory, and in the east the border goes with Dagestan. The ridges of the Caucasian ranges separate it in the south from Georgia.
The length of the Republic from north to south is 170 km, and from west to east - more than 100 km.
A distinctive feature of the Republic is the exceptional diversity of natural conditions, which is clearly expressed in the soil and vegetation cover, in the differences in relief and climate.
Four parts are distinguished in the relief - flat, foothill, mountain, high-mountain:
The temperate climate of the Republic varies with altitude and from north to south. The climate is formed in the process of interaction of local and general climatic processes. Hot and long summers, short and rather mild winters.
On the plains and in the foothills, the continental air of temperate latitudes dominates throughout the year.
The temperature distribution is greatly influenced by the height above sea level. The highest temperatures in the Tersko-Kuma lowland in July reach +25 degrees. On the Chechen plain +22…+24 degrees, and in the foothills already +21…+20 degrees.
With height, the January temperature decreases - on the Chechen plain the temperature is -4 ... -4.2 degrees, in the foothills -5 ... -5.5 degrees. At an altitude of 3000 m, it drops to -1, and in the area of \u200b\u200bperpetual snow it is already -18 degrees.
Precipitation is unevenly distributed. The smallest amount of 300-400 mm falls on the Tersko-Kuma lowland, and towards the south it gradually increases to 800-1000 mm.
Remark 1
The Republic is characterized by dangerous geological processes, including seismicity, subsidence, scree, landslides, snow avalanches, landslides, mudflows, karst, erosion, floods.
The diverse climate and relief create preconditions for the diversity of the plant world. Forb-fescue vegetation is characteristic of the desert steppes of the Terek sandy massif in its northern part.
Solonchak-meadow and solonchak-marsh vegetation grows in the lower reaches of the Terek in the extreme north-east of the Republic.
Floodplain meadows in combination with shrub and forest vegetation grow in the depressions of the Terek and Sunzha valleys.
In more humid places, natural vegetation is represented by feather grass steppes. Oak forests grow in the low mountains, beech already predominates in the middle mountains.
Subalpine meadows are replacing continuous forest vegetation in the upper middle mountains. At an altitude of 1800-2800 m they occupy vast territories.
Alpine meadows begin at an altitude of 2700-3500 m.
Remark 2
The vast expanses of flat territories are almost all plowed up and cultural vegetation has replaced the natural vegetation.
The main wealth of the Chechen subsoil is oil - there are about 30 hydrocarbon deposits in total. There are 20 deposits within the Tersky Ridge, 7 deposits on the Sunzha Ridge, and 2 deposits in the Black Mountains monocline.
Remark 3
Of the total number of fields, 23 are oil fields, 4 are oil and gas fields, and 2 are pure gas fields. Chechen oil is paraffinic in composition with a high content of gasoline.
Chechnya is rich in building materials. A large deposit of cement marls has been explored in the valley of the Chanty-Argun River. Huge reserves of limestone. In the Assinsky Gorge there are limestones of beautiful colors.
Between the rivers Gekhi and Sharo-Argun there are deposits of gypsum and anhydrite. Large deposits of sandstones of the Sernovodskoye, Semashinskoye, Chishkinskoye deposits.
Mumil and ocher are mined here from mineral paints.
Deposits of hard and brown coal are known, but the reserves and quality are low, so they have no industrial value.
Ore deposits have not been studied enough, there are several deposits of copper and polymetals in the upper reaches of the Armkhi and Chanty-Argun rivers.
Mineral sulfate-calcium hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen sulfide-chloride-sodium sources with high salinity and high content of hydrogen sulfide are highly valued.
The Republic is insufficiently provided with underground fresh waters.
Surface waters are unevenly distributed - the mountainous part and the Chechen plain have a dense and branched river network. The territories north of the Terek have almost no rivers, which is due to the peculiarities of the climate. The main river is the Terek, the second largest is the Sunzha River.
In addition to rivers in Chechnya, there are lakes that are found both on the plains and in the mountains.
There are few lakes, but they are diverse in origin and water regime - eolian, floodplain, landslide, dam, karst, tectonic and glacial lakes stand out. Eolian lakes often dry up in summer.
The natural reservoirs of Chechnya are high mountain snows and glaciers. Large glaciers are associated with the northern slope of the Side Range. Morphological types of glaciers in Chechnya are valley, cirque, hanging.
There are 10 valley glaciers, 23 cirque and 25 hanging glaciers within the Republic.
Chechen forests occupy an area of 361 thousand hectares or 18.7% of the territory of the Republic. In the forest fund there are relict beech forests, which are suppliers of valuable timber. In addition to them, Caucasian hornbeam, low-stemmed birch, ash, and light maple are forest-forming species. There are all the necessary natural conditions for the development of recreational resources.
Environmental problems are also characteristic of this Caucasian Republic.
Among them, the most serious include:
As for regional environmental problems, they are determined by the level of anthropogenic pressure and natural features of the region.
Natural and climatic conditions, the history of the formation of the territory determine the ecological situation of the capital - the city of Grozny, especially its industrial zone, which is located in a closed space in terms of geomorphology.
In such a space, emissions from industrial enterprises into the atmosphere stagnate for a long time, and natural air renewal is small.
The main air pollutants are Nurenergo JSC, oil refining, oil production and construction industries.
Pollutants are hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides.
Causes of air pollution:
Being a part of nature, society should strive for mutually beneficial cooperation with nature.
It is located in the central part of the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus (height up to 4493 m, Tebulosmta), adjacent to the 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 is made up of the foothills and slopes of the Greater Caucasus Range, the northern part is occupied by the plain and the Terek-Kuma lowland.
The hydrographic network of the republic belongs to the basin of the Caspian Sea. The main river of the republic, crossing it from west to east, is the Terek River. The 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 on the Tersko-Sunzhenskaya Upland and in the areas located north of the Terek, there are no rivers. This is due to the features 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 which glaciers and high mountain snows play an important role. These are Terek, Sunzha (below the confluence of Lesa), Assa and Argun. In the summer, when high in the mountains, snow and glaciers melt energetically, they overflow. The second type includes rivers originating from springs and devoid of glacial and high-mountain snow supply. This group includes Sunzha (before the confluence of Assy), Valerik, Gekhi, Martan, Goita, Dzhalka, Belka, Aksai, Yaryk-Su and others, less significant. They don't have floods in summer.
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 valley of the Terek River. Soddy grasses typical of the steppes (fescue, feather grass) and desert drought-resistant semishrubs (wormwood, kochia, etc.) grow here. Of the typical representatives of the Central Asian deserts, there are camel thorn, sandy wormwood - sarazhin, sandy oats - kiyak, etc. An 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 been preserved. The fauna of the semi-desert, although not rich, is diverse.
Of the large mammals, one can meet here the saiga antelope, the steppe wolf, and the small fox. There are a lot of rodents in the semi-desert, especially jerboas; there live a large earthen hare, an earthen hare, and a furry-footed jerboa. There is a hare-hare.
The steppe zone includes a strip of the left bank of the Terek, the eastern part of the Terek-Sunzhenskaya upland and the northern outskirts of the Chechen plain. Floodplain forests, largely already cut down, consist of oak, willow, elm, wild apple and pear. 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 are many rodents - pests. Agriculture: hamsters, ground squirrels, field mice, baby mice, etc. The hare is quite common. The fauna of the floodplain forests is peculiar: the noble Caucasian deer has been preserved. Wild ducks and geese nest in the reed beds of the Terek. On dry areas in the forest, and more often in the bushes, the Caucasian pheasant lives.
The forest-steppe zone includes most of the territory of the Chechen and Ossetian plains, as well as the western part of the Terek-Sunzhenskaya upland. Small areas of the forest consist most often of oak with an admixture of ash, maple, and Caucasian pear. There are many willows and alders in the river valleys. The undergrowth is thickets of hawthorn, blackthorn, wild rose. The forest-steppe is inhabited by almost the same animals that inhabit the steppe zone of the republic. Wolves, foxes, badgers have been preserved in the deaf ravines.
The zone of mountain forests occupies the entire region of the Black Mountains and the lower parts of the northern slopes of the Pasture, Rocky and Side Ranges. Its upper limit passes at an altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, but in some places it rises to 2000-2200 meters. The lower part of the slopes of the mountains is covered with dense low forest. Oak, hazel, buckthorn, hawthorn, ash, maple grow here. Of the large animals, a bear is found here, you can meet a roe deer. There are many wild boars in the forests of the republic. A wild forest cat lives in the deaf ravines, occasionally a lynx is found.
Of the other animals in the mountain forests, there is a wolf, a fox, a hare, a pine and stone marten, a badger, a weasel, and others. A squirrel was brought to the republic from the Altai Territory. There are many birds in the mountain forests: buzzards, hawks, woodpeckers, finches, tits, owls. The mountain-meadow zone covers a strip enclosed between the heights of 1800 and 3800 meters. Here you can see such plants as hogweed, catchment area, larkspur, aconite, etc.
