East European Plain

The Black Sea is a marginal sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube, Dnieper and Dniester. Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe.

The Black Sea, not including the Sea of Azov, covers 436,400 km (168,500 sq mi), has a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km (131,000 cu mi).Most of its coasts ascend rapidly.These rises are the Pontic Mountains to the south, bar the southwest-facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-north.In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as the Strandzha; Cape Emine, a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains; and the Dobruja Plateau considerably farther north. The longest east–west extent is about 1,175 km (730 mi). Important cities along the coast include (clockwise from the Bosporus) the northern suburbs of Istanbul, Burgas, Varna, Constanța, Odesa, Yalta, Kerch, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Sochi, Poti, Batumi, Rize, Trabzon, Ordu, Simferopol, Samsun and Zonguldak.

Cro-Magnons or European early modern humans (EEMH) were the first early modern humans (Homo sapiens) to settle in Europe and North Africa, migrating from Western Asia, continuously occupying the continent possibly from as early as 56,800 years ago. They interacted and interbred with the indigenous Neanderthals (H. neanderthalensis) of Europe and Western Asia, who went extinct 35,000 to 40,000 years ago. The first wave of modern humans in Europe (Initial Upper Paleolithic) left no genetic legacy to modern Europeans; however, from 37,000 years ago a second wave succeeded in forming a single founder population, from which all subsequent Cro-Magnons descended and which contributes ancestry to a majority of present-day Europeans, West Asians as well as some North Africans. Cro-Magnons produced Upper Palaeolithic cultures, the first major one being the Aurignacian, which was succeeded by the Gravettian by 30,000 years ago. The Gravettian split into the Epi-Gravettian in the east and Solutrean in the west, due to major climatic degradation during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), peaking 21,000 years ago. As Europe warmed, the Solutrean evolved into the Magdalenian by 20,000 years ago, and these peoples recolonised Europe. The Magdalenian and Epi-Gravettian gave way to Mesolithic cultures as big game animals were dying out, and the Last Glacial Period drew to a close.

Cro-Magnons were generally more robust than most living populations, having larger brains, broader faces, more prominent brow ridges, and bigger teeth. The earliest Cro-Magnon specimens also exhibit some features that are reminiscent of those found in Neanderthals. The first Cro-Magnons would have generally had darker skin tones than most modern Europeans and some West Asians and North Africans; natural selection for lighter skin would not have begun until 30,000 years ago. Before the LGM, Cro-Magnons had overall low population density, tall stature similar to post-industrial humans, and expansive trade routes stretching as long as 900 km (560 mi), and hunted big game animals. Cro-Magnons had much higher populations than the Neanderthals, possibly due to higher fertility rates; life expectancy for both species was typically under 40 years. Following the LGM, population density increased as communities travelled less frequently (though for longer distances), and the need to feed so many more people in tandem with the increasing scarcity of big game caused them to rely more heavily on small or aquatic game (broad spectrum revolution), and to more frequently participate in game drive systems and slaughter whole herds at a time. The Cro-Magnon arsenal included spears, spear-throwers, harpoons, and possibly throwing sticks and Palaeolithic dogs. Cro-Magnons likely commonly constructed temporary huts while moving around, and Gravettian peoples notably made large huts on the East European Plain out of mammoth bones.

Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region should not be confused with parts of Russia also traditionally called "Polesie".

The North European Plain (German: Norddeutsches Tiefland – North German Plain; Mitteleuropäische Tiefebene Środkowoeuropejska}} – Central European Plain; Danish: Nordeuropæiske Lavland and Dutch: Noord-Europese Laagvlakte; French: Plaine d'Europe du Nord) is a geomorphological region in Europe that covers all or parts of Belgium, the Netherlands (i.e. the Low Countries), Germany, Denmark, and Poland.

It consists of the low plains between the Hercynian Europe (Central European Highlands) to the south and coastlines of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea to the north. These two seas are separated by the Jutland Peninsula (Denmark). The North European Plain is connected to the East European Plain, together forming the majority of the Great European Plain (European Plain).

The Central Russian Upland (also: Middle Russian Upland (Russian: Среднерусская возвышенность, romanized: Srednerusskaya vozvyshennost') and East European Upland) is an upland area of the East European Plain and is an undulating plateau with an average elevation of 230–250 m (750–820 ft). Its highest peak is measured at 293 m (961 ft). The southeastern portion of the upland known as the Kalach Upland [ru]. The Central Upland is built of Precambrian deposits of the crystalline Voronezh Massif.

The Volga Upland, also known as the Volga Uplands, Volga Hills, or Volga Plateau (Russian: Приволжская возвышенность, romanized: Privolzhskaya vozvyshennost'), is a vast region of the East European Plain in the European part of Russia that lies west of the Volga River and east of the Central Russian Upland.

The uplands lie in the cool continental climate zone, characterised by large fluctuations in seasonal temperatures and generally little rainfall. Outside of the cities in the region, population density is generally between 28 and 129 inhabitants per square mile.

The Dnieper Lowland (also:  Circumdnieper Lowland) (Ukrainian: Придніпровська низовина, romanized: Prydniprovska nyzovyna, lit. 'Cisdnipro Lowland') is a major geographic feature of the Central Ukraine region and the East European Plain.

The Oka–Don Lowlands (Russian: Окско-Донская равнина) (also: Oka–Don Plain), is a flat plain in European Russia, bounded on the north by the Oka River (and the Meshchera Lowlands), on the south by the Don River, on the west by the Central Russian Upland, and on the east by the Volga Upland. The area is part of the larger East European Plain. The terrain is flat, with altitude averaging 160 meters above sea level, and the rivers meander on broad floodplains. Agricultural use of the plain is high, mostly for grain growing – wheat, barley and rye. The plain provides a flat south–north route for transportation, situated between uplands. Until a line of forts was built across the territory by the Russian government in the 1640s (the Belgorod Line), the plain was a route for Tatar invasion from the south.

Ural (Russian: Урал, from Bashkir: Урал, romanized: Ural) is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It is considered a part of the Eurasian Steppe, extending approximately from the North to the South; from the Arctic Ocean to the end of the Ural River near Orsk city. The border between Europe and Asia runs along the Eastern side of the Ural Mountains. Ural mostly lies within Russia but also includes a small part of Northwestern Kazakhstan. This is historical, not an official entity, with borders overlapping its Western Volga and Eastern Siberia neighboring regions. At some point in the past, parts of the currently existing Ural region were considered a gateway to Siberia, or even Siberia itself, and were combined with the Volga administrative the divisions. Today, there are two official namesake entities: the Ural Federal District and the Ural economic region. While the latter follows the historical borders, the former is a political product; the District omits Western Ural and includes Western Siberia instead.

The historical center of the Ural is Cherdyn, which is now a small town in Perm Krai.Perm was an administrative center of the gubernia with the same name by 1797. Most of the territory of historical and modern Ural was included in Perm Gubernia. The administrative center of Urals was moved to Sverdlovsk (nowadays Yekaterinburg) after the Russian Revolution and Civil War. In the present, the Ural economic region does not have an administrative and informal capital, whereas Yekaterinburg is the administrative center of the Ural Federal District.

Ural Economic Region (Russian: Ура́льский экономи́ческий райо́н, romanized: Ural'skiy ekonomicheskiy rayon) is one of twelve economic regions of Russia. This prominent industrial region consists of the following subdivisions (with their administrative centers): Bashkortostan (Ufa), Chelyabinsk Oblast (Chelyabinsk), Kurgan Oblast (Kurgan), Orenburg Oblast (Orenburg), Perm Krai (Perm), Sverdlovsk Oblast (Yekaterinburg) and Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk). It is mostly located in the Central, and partly in the Southern and Northern parts of the Urals, but also includes parts of the East European and West Siberian Plains. Its extent is different from that of the Ural Federal District; Bashkortostan, Orenburg Oblast, Perm Krai and Udmurtia are in the Volga Federal District while the other three are in the Ural Federal District.

The Kuma (Russian: Кума́) is a river in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia. It flows northeast into the Caspian Sea. It is 802 kilometres (498 mi) long and has a drainage basin of 33,500 square kilometres (12,900 sq mi). Its source is in the Greater Caucasus, in the republic Karachay-Cherkessia, west of Kislovodsk. It flows in a northeastern direction, through Stavropol Krai (towns Mineralnye Vody, Zelenokumsk, Budyonnovsk, Neftekumsk) and further east through the Caspian Depression as the natural border between the Kalmykia and Dagestan republics of Russia. That part of the Kuma's valley forms the eastern part of the Kuma–Manych Depression, separating the East European Plain from the Caucasus region. The Kuma flows into the Kizlyar Gulf of the Caspian Sea near the border between Dagestan and Kalmykia.

Most of the rivers that flow north from the Caucasus Mountains and into Terek–Kuma Lowland are caught by the Kuban and Terek. It rises between the basins of those two rivers, so the Kuma is mainly a steppe river. It is much used for irrigation.

The Seversky Donets (Russian: Се́верский Доне́ц) or Siverskyi Donets (Ukrainian: Сіверський Донець), usually simply called the Donets (Russian: Донец, lit. 'Don + - ets, suffix'), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts) and then again through Russia (Rostov Oblast) to join the river Don, about 100 km (62 mi) from the Sea of Azov. The Donets is the fourth-longest river in Ukraine, and the largest in eastern Ukraine, where it is an important source of fresh water. It gives its name to the Donets Basin, known commonly as the Donbas, an important coal-mining and industrial region in Ukraine.

Rostov-on-Don, or simply Rostov, is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, 32 kilometers (20 mi) from the Sea of Azov, directly north of the North Caucasus. The southwestern suburbs of the city lie above the Don river delta. Rostov-on-Don has a population of over one million people and is an important cultural, educational, economic and logistical centre of Southern Russia.

The Polesian Lowland is a lowland in the southwestern portion of the East European Plain in the drainage basins of several rivers including the Dnieper, Pripyat and Desna. It stretches along the Belarus–Ukraine border. It basically defines the historical region of Polesia.

It is politically split into the Belarusian Polesia [be] in the south of Belarus, Ukrainian Polissya [uk] in the north of Ukraine (where Волинське, Рівненське, Житомирське, Київське Полісся are distinguished), the eastern part of the lowland extends into Bryansk Oblast in the Russian Federation, and the western part extends into Poland.
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Pryazovia (Ukrainian: Приазов'я, sometimes spelled Приозів'я, Pryozivia; Russian: Приазовье, romanized: Priazovye) or literally Cis-Azov region is usually used to refer to the geographic area of the north coast of the Sea of Azov, mostly located in south-eastern Ukraine, with a small part in Russia. It is located in the southern part of the Azov-Kuban Lowland within the East European Plain, which surrounds the Sea of Azov for most of the stretch of coastline. In a more general sense it may mean the Azov Sea littoral, and conversely, to be more specific, it may also be referred to as the Northern Priazovye. Since 2022, it has been completely occupied by Russia.