Relief The oblast is mostly flat, with some hills with a height of about in the western and extensive lowlands in the eastern part. From the southwest to northeast, the oblast is crossed by the border of the Moscow glacier to the north of the common ice-
erosion form with
moraine ridges, and to the south are only erosional landforms. The western and northern parts of the oblast contain the Moscow Uplands. Their average height peaks at about near
Dmitrov and the upper point of lies near the village of
Shapkino in
Mozhaysky District. The northern part of the Moscow Uplands is steeper than the southern part. The uplands contain lakes of glacial origin, such as Lakes Nerskoye and Krugloye. To the north of the Moscow Uplands lies the alluvial Verhnevolzhsk Depression; It is marshy and flat with the height varying between about and . To the south stretches a hilly area of the Moskvoretsko-Oksk plain. Its greatest height of lies in the area of
Tyoply Stan, within the Moscow city limits. The plain has clearly defined river valleys, especially in the south parts, and occasional
karst relief, mostly in
Serpukhovsky District. In the extreme south, after the Oka River, lies the
Central Russian Upland. It contains numerous gullies and ravines and has average height above 200 m with the maximum of 236 m near
Pushchino. Most of the eastern part of Moscow Oblast is taken by the vast
Meshchera Lowlands with much wetland in their eastern part. Their highest hill peaks at but the average heights are . Most lakes of the lowlands, such as Lakes Chyornoye and Svyatoye, are of glacial origin. Here lies the lowest natural elevation of the region, the water level of Oka River at .
Geology and minerals Geology Moscow Oblast is located in the central part of the
East European craton. Like all cratons, the latter is composed of the crystalline basement and sedimentary cover. The basement consists of
Archaean and
Proterozoic rocks and the cover is deposited in the
Palaeozoic,
Mesozoic and
Cenozoic eras. The lowest depth of the basement () is to the south of
Serebryanye Prudy, in the very south area of the oblast, and the largest () is to the east of
Sergiyev Posad, in the northeast region.
Tertiary deposits are almost absent within the oblast. Significantly more abundant are deposits of the
Carboniferous and
Jurassic periods. In the
Cretaceous period, a sea was covering Moscow Oblast, as evidenced by
phosphate deposits and a variety of sands. Cretaceous sediments are most common in the north of the oblast. The sea was wider in Jurassic than in Cretaceous period. Typical Jurassic deposits, in the form of black clay, are found within and around the city of Moscow and in the valley of the
Moscow River. Carboniferous deposits in Moscow Oblast are represented by
dolomite,
limestone, and
marl. Coal deposits rich in organic remains occur in the south, especially in Serpukhovsky District, and in the western regions.
Devonian deposits were also found within the region.
Quaternary deposits are widely distributed in Moscow Oblast; their thickness decreases from the northwest to southeast. It is believed that there were four glaciations in the area. The first occurred in the Lower
Pleistocene and spread to the east–west part of the Oka River valley, it left almost no trace in the region. In the
Middle Pleistocene, there were two powerful glaciations. The Dnieper glacier covered a large part of the Russian Plain, whereas the Moscow glaciation stopped just south of the present city of Moscow. The last glaciation, the Valdai glaciation, occurred in the
Late Pleistocene; it did not directly affect the territory of Moscow Oblast, but left traces in the form of
fluvioglacial deposits, mainly in the north area. The glaciers left behind a
moraine loam with pebbles and boulders of various rocks, such as
granite,
gneiss,
quartzite,
dolomite,
limestone and
sandstone. Its thickness varies between a few meters at watersheds and 100 m at moraine ridges.
Minerals Moscow Oblast is rich in minerals. Sands from the sediments of different periods (mainly Quaternary and Cretaceous) are of high quality and are widely used in construction. Quartz sand (milled
quartz) is used in the glass industry, their production is conducted from the end of 17th century near
Lyubertsy. Much of the production is currently halted due to environmental concerns, and only the Yeganovskoye field is being exploited; its silica sand reserves are 33 million tonnes and annual production reaches 675,000 tonnes. Sand and gravel deposits are abundant within the Smolensk-Moscow Upland.
Sandstone deposits are developed in
Klinsky and
Dmitrovsky Districts. There are numerous clay deposits within the oblast; fusible clay is excavated in
Sergiyev Posad. The Yeldiginskoye field near the village of
Sofrino has reserves estimated at 30 million cubic meters; its annual production reaches . Refractory white clay occurs in the eastern region, in the Carboniferous and Jurassic sediments, and is extracted from the 14th century near
Gzhel. The largest (Kudinovskoye) deposit is near the town of
Elektrougli with the reserves of 3 billion tonnes. Also widespread are loams which are used in brick manufacture and
limestones ("white stone"). The famous
Myachkovo deposit of
carboniferous limestone provided material that went for cladding of such buildings in Moscow as the
Bolshoi Theater. The mining in Myachkovo had been stopped and currently, limestone is provided by the quarries of
Podolsky,
Voskresensky, and
Kolomensky Districts. The latter district also provides marble-like limestone. Other industrial minerals of Moscow Oblast are dolomite, limestone
tuff, and
marl; mostly in the southern and eastern parts. Dolomite is used in the cement industry. Its mining is concentrated mainly near
Shchyolkovo, the reserves exceed 20 million tonnes and the annual production is about 650 tonnes. Phosphates are produced in the Yegorevskoye and Severskoye fields. Meshchera and Verkhnevolzhsk Lowlands are rich in
peat. The largest mines are "Ryazanovskoe" (840,000 tonnes per year) and "Radovitsky moss" (760,000 tonnes per year), both around
Yegoryevsk. There are deposits of
brown coal beyond the Oka River, but they have no commercial value. There are also minor deposits of titanium and
iron ore in Serpukhovsky and
Serebryano-Prudsky Districts. Salts of potassium salt are being developed around Serpukhov and Yegoryevsk. There are also numerous mineral springs near Zvenigorod, Klin, and Serpukhov. They include surface springs and reservoirs at the depth of . Deeper, at there is a large sea of salt extending beyond Moscow Oblast. Waters with the salt concentration up to 300 g/L are used in the local food industry and spas.
Climate The climate of Moscow Oblast is
humid continental, with clearly expressed seasonality – short but warm summers and long, cold winters; the continentality increases from northwest to southeast. The period of the average temperature below lasts 130–150 days, beginning in early or mid-November and ending in late March (or very early April). The average annual temperature varies from to . The coldest months are January and February with the average temperature of in the west and in the east. With the arrival of arctic air, the temperature drops to below that may last up to twenty days during the winter, with the temperatures reaching . The minimum temperature of was observed in
Naro-Fominsk. Thaws often occur in December and February due to the Atlantic, and rarely the Mediterranean
cyclones. The thaws usually last several days, and their total number from November to March can reach fifty. Snow starts accumulating in November, though sometimes in late October or early December, and disappears in mid-April (sometimes in late March). The snow depth is and the soil freezes to . The warmest month is July with the average temperature of in the northwest and in the southeast. The maximum temperature of was recorded in
Kolomna during
2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves. The average annual rainfall is , the precipitation is maximal in the northwestern and minimal in the southeastern regions. The summer precipitation is usually , but severe droughts occur once in 25–30 years, with less than of rain over June–August.
Rivers and lakes near the
selo of
Mikulino There are more than three hundred rivers with the length above in Moscow Oblast. All rivers are calm and have well-developed valleys and
floodplains. They are mostly fed by melting snow and the flood falls on April–May. The water level is low in summer and increases only with heavy rain. The rivers freeze over from late November until mid-April. The only navigable rivers are the
Volga, the
Oka, and the
Moskva River. Most rivers belong to the basin of the
Volga, which itself only crosses a small part in the north of Moscow Oblast, near the border with
Tver Oblast. The second largest river of the region is the Oka. The northern part of Moscow Oblast includes such Volga
tributaries as the
Shosha, the
Lama, the
Dubna, the
Sestra, and the Yakhroma. On the south flow the tributaries of the Oka, including the
Nara, the
Protva, and the
Lopasnya Rivers. The Moskva River, which almost entirely flows within the oblast, also belongs to the Oka basin. The eastern and northeastern regions, including much of Meschersk Depression, are irrigated by the tributaries of the
Klyazma River, which itself is a main tributary of the Oka.
Soils The oblast is dominated by relatively infertile
podsol soils which require fertilizers for commercial agriculture. On the hills there is more
loam and the low-lying areas have more of bog, sandy loam and sand.
Chernozem is scarce and occurs only south of the Oka River. Gray forest soils are spread between the Oka, Moskva, and Klyazma Rivers, mostly in
Ramensky and Voskresensky Districts. Marshy soils are common in Meshchersk and Verkhnevolzhsk lowlands. Valleys of large rivers are rich in alluvial soils. In general, soils are heavily polluted with chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and household and industrial waste, especially around Moscow,
Orekhovo-Zuyevo,
Noginsk, and Voskresensk.
Flora Moscow Oblast lies within the zone of forests and steppes with forests covering over 40% of the region.
Coniferous (mainly fir) trees dominate the northern (Verkhnevolzhsk lowlands) and western parts (Mozhaysky, Lotoshinsky, and Shakhovsky Districts). Forests of Meshchora consist primarily of pine; in waterlogged lowlands, there are individual
alder forests. Central and eastern regions have coniferous-deciduous forests with the main tree species of
spruce,
pine,
birch, and
aspen often mixed with bushes of
hazel. To the south lies the subzone of broad-leaved forests of
oak,
lime,
maple and
elm. Moscow-Oka Upland is the transition zone which is dominated by spruce, for example, in the upper reaches of the
Lopasnya River. Valleys of the Oka are covered in pine forests of the steppe type and the far south regions (Serebryano-Prudsky and partially Serpukhovsky Districts) are cultivated steppes with occasional lime and oak groves. The intensive cutting of Moscow region forests in the 18–19th centuries reduced them and changed their species: conifers were replaced by
birch and
aspen. There is almost no logging nowadays and the forests are being restored, especially around Moscow.
Swamps are prevalent in the eastern areas, such as
Shatursky and
Lukhovitsky Districts. The natural floodplain meadows are almost gone. The number of native plant species is reduced, but some foreign species flourish, such as
Canadian maple. Endemic species include
water caltrop and
lady's slipper.
Fauna , 1869 painting by
Alexei Savrasov The mammals of Moscow Oblast include
badger, squirrel,
beaver,
otter,
muskrat,
stoat,
Russian desman,
raccoon dog, hedgehog, hare (
mountain and
European),
shrews (
common shrew,
Eurasian pygmy shrew,
lesser white-toothed shrew,
Eurasian water shrew, etc.),
weasel, fox,
moose, wild boar,
European mole,
brown and
black rats,
marten, mice and
voles (
wood mouse,
yellow-necked mouse,
house mouse,
Eurasian harvest mouse,
northern birch mouse,
bank vole,
field vole,
tundra vole,
European water vole),
European mink, deer (
roe,
red,
spotted),
hazel and
fat dormouse, and
European polecat. At the borders there are occasional bears, lynxes and wolves. In the southern areas there are also
speckled ground squirrel, dwarf hamster,
great jerboa and
beech marten. Some areas contain stable populations of imported animals, such as
flying squirrel,
American mink and
Siberian roe deer. In the oblast, there are more than a dozen kinds of bat and moth. There are more than 170 species of birds in the area with large numbers of crows, sparrows, ducks, magpies, woodpeckers,
thrushes,
grouses,
bullfinches,
nightingales,
corncrakes,
northern lapwings,
white storks,
grey herons, seagulls and
grebes. Over forty species are being hunted. The major contaminants are
formaldehyde and
phenol in Moscow;
ammonia and
hydrogen fluoride in Voskresensk; formaldehyde in Klin, Kolomna, Mytishchi and Podolsk, phenol in Serpukhov. The most polluted rivers are Moscow, Oka and Klyazma. In the Moscow area and in major cities (in particular, in Podolsk, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Serpukhov,
Lukhovitsy and Stupino) also heavily polluted are groundwaters. ==History==