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What is physical geographic location. Size of the territory and physical-geographical position (FGP)

CHAPTER 3. MAIN CATEGORIES AND CONCEPTS OF ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY.

3.1. Physical-geographical and economic-geographical position.

Geographical position includes categories different in their internal essence: physical-geographical and economic-geographical position.

Physical and geographical position is the spatial location of any area (country, region, settlement or some other object) in relation to physical and geographical data (equator, prime meridian, mountain systems, seas and oceans, etc.). ).

Accordingly, the physical and geographical position is determined by geographical coordinates (latitude, longitude), absolute height relative to sea level, proximity (or remoteness) to the sea, rivers, lakes, mountains, etc., position in the composition (location) of natural (climatic , soil-vegetative, zoogeographic) zones.

From the point of view of economic geography, the physical and geographical position of the area (as well as its individual constituent elements) must be considered as a condition (prerequisite) for the possible implementation of any type of economic activity, i.e., as a prerequisite for the location of productive forces.

Economic and geographical position (EGP) is the spatial location of a locality (country, region, settlement or any other economic object) in relation to communication routes (transport and geographical position), other localities (countries, regions, settlements, deposits minerals, etc.), with which a given area or object is connected either as a source of supply (raw materials, fuel, energy, etc.), replenishment of labor, or as sales areas, etc.

Both the physical-geographical and economic-geographical position of any locality is purely individual (unique). The place occupied by each territorial entity (location of a country, region, settlement, enterprise, etc.) is not only individually in itself (in the system of geographical coordinates), but also in its spatial environment, i.e. in its location in relation to the sea, shopping centers, communication routes, etc. Therefore, there are no places with the same geographical location.

The economic and geographical position is a category of space, since the elements that form it - these are spatially mutually located, i.e., located at a certain distance from each other, objects (countries, regions, enterprises, cities, sources of raw materials, fuel, etc.). It is by the principle of spatial proximity (remoteness) that the so-called “neighborly position” or the immediate environment of an object, the central position, micro- (small), meso- (medium), macro- (large) position are distinguished.

Distance (space) is covered with the help of transport and affects the distribution of productive forces through a certain level of transport costs. Consequently, an assessment of the economic and geographical position of any locality, as one of the most important factors in the location of productive forces (favorable, unfavorable, profitable, unprofitable, convenient, inconvenient, etc.), should also be carried out from the point of view of possible savings in transport costs.

The economic-geographical position is not only a category of space, but to an even greater extent a socio-historical and economic concept, since the content and nature of the manifestation (convenient or not, etc.) completely depends on the conditions of social and economic development of a particular territory.

In fact, any of the elements of the physical and geographical position (position in relation to the initial meridian, equator, sea, height above sea level, position in the composition of climatic, soil-vegetative and other zones, etc.) remains almost forever unchanged, and therefore their role in a possible change in the physical-geographical position of any locality is absolutely passive.

On the contrary, all elements of the economic-geographical position (position in relation to communication routes, places of sale, sources of supply, etc.) are among those that change significantly in time (as well as in space), since they depend on the mode of production , the level of development and nature of the economy, science, technology, technology of different places, and therefore affect the economic and geographical position of these places.

The most rapidly changing factor in the economic and geographical position is the transport and geographical position, that is, the location of the area in relation to the means of communication. How the improvement of technology (means of communication) affects the economic and geographical position of the area, can be especially clearly seen in the example of Australia, which until the 70s. 19th century in economic and geographical terms was one of the most isolated countries in the world. The emergence of new, high-speed, technically advanced, special vehicles (refrigerator ships, refrigerator ships for transporting perishable agricultural products, tankers for transporting oil and natural gas in liquefied form, ore carriers and other special ships for transporting dry cargo - wheat, coal and etc.) affected the transport-geographical (respectively, economic-geographical) position of this country in such a way that it actually brought it closer (in terms of the speed and cost of transporting goods) to the centers of world trade and the most important routes of communication, made it impossible to actually consume products its industry and agriculture in almost every country and region of the world. Currently, Australia is one of the largest producers and exporters of a wide variety of agricultural products (butter, cheeses, condensed milk, beef, lamb, sheep wool, grain, cotton, cane sugar, etc.), products of the mining industry (iron and manganese ore, tin, copper, lead-zinc concentrates, coal, oil, etc.). Obviously, the change in the economic and geographical position of Australia, its role in the international division of labor was due to the progress of technology (transport), the general high level of the economy of this country.

Changes in the economic and geographical position may be due to other reasons. For example, the weakening of the role or the loss of the economic significance of one or another location factor (raw materials, fuel, energy, labor, consumer, including transport) and, accordingly, their automatic withdrawal from the composition that determines the relationship of a given area with other areas (as with sources of raw materials , fuel, energy, labor or as with the areas of product sales) or, conversely, the strengthening of the role of any of the factors and, accordingly, the strengthening of its influence on this process.

For example, the economic and geographical position of the Urals, as a condition for the possible development of ferrous metallurgy here, has repeatedly changed and different periods time, it could be assessed as very convenient at that stage of development, when local charcoal could be used as fuel, and its own iron and manganese ore as raw materials; as convenient, when forced, were to use imported fuel (coke of the Kuznetsk basin of Russia, Donetsk Ukraine or Karaganda Kazakhstan), since there is no own coking coal in the Urals; finally, not very convenient, when they worked out iron and manganese ores at most of their deposits and were forced to import not only coking coal, but also iron and manganese ores from other places (the Central Black Earth region of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.). The matter was aggravated by the fact that this had to be done mainly with the help of rail transport, since the possibilities for the delivery of raw materials and fuel cheap by sea(as in Baltimore, Philadelphia or Toronto) there is none in the Urals.

Thus, during historical development the economic and geographical position of any area of the country or region, settlement, economic object can change radically. The reason for this is progress in the development of science, technology, technology, economics, organization of production, both within the given area and in its environment, that is, within the territory of other places associated with it.

3.2. Natural conditions and resources.

Nature, geographical (natural) environment plays an important role in the life and development of human society. Nature in the broad sense of the word embraces the entire material world. The geographical environment is a part of nature that is directly related to the life and activities of society, interacts with it. The most important feature of the geographical (natural) environment is territorial heterogeneity, which makes it one of the main factors in the settlement of people and the location of production.

The constituent elements of the geographical (natural) environment are natural conditions and resources.

Natural conditions are the bodies and forces of nature that, at a given level of development of the productive forces, are essential for the life and activity of society, but do not directly participate in material production (for example, the relief, climate of the area, its geographical location).

Natural resources are the bodies and forces of nature that are directly used in material production (for example, minerals).

Such a division of the geographical (natural) environment into conditions and resources is very conditional and historically variable. The same components of the natural environment can act both as conditions and as resources. For example, water sunlight, vegetation are both conditions and resources. With the development of society, its productive forces, an increasing part of the bodies and forces of nature passes from the class of conditions into the class of resources. For example, solar energy, wind energy, tides.

Natural conditions from the components of the natural environment, as a rule, include: climate, soil, relief, geological structure, flora and fauna of the area. A very important component natural conditions is also the physical and geographical position of the area, in particular its location in a particular natural zone of the earth.

Natural conditions affect almost all aspects Everyday life and economic activity of people. Their impact on the health and cost of living of the population (costs of housing, clothing, food), the productivity and specialization of agriculture, the methods and efficiency of mining, the economics of construction, water transport, technological characteristics of production.

The influence of natural conditions on life, work and household characteristics of the population is determined by the level of their comfort for a person, for which many indicators are used: the duration of climatic periods, temperature contrast, climate humidity, wind regime, the presence of natural foci of infectious diseases, etc.

The assessment of natural conditions in relation to various spheres and branches of economic activity of people (transport, industry, agriculture, construction industry) is widespread. Special meaning it has for agriculture, where production is directly related to the use of land, solar energy, moisture and other components of the natural complex.

Agricultural assessment of natural conditions is based on a comparison of the parameters of their main characteristics with the requirements various kinds cultivated plants and animals to life factors: heat, moisture, soil, natural types of vegetation that make up the food base for domestic animals, etc.

The agro-climatic conditions of the area characterize the indicators of heat and moisture. The amount of heat (thermal resources) and moisture (humidity conditions) is an indispensable condition not only for the life of agricultural plants, but also for the efficiency of their production (it significantly affects crop yields and product quality).

To account for thermal resources, the sum of active (average daily) temperatures for the entire growth period (vegetation period, vegetation period) of plants is used. At the same time, periods with temperatures above +5, +10, +15 ° С are distinguished.

Moisture conditions of a given area are estimated by the amount of precipitation (the amount of atmospheric precipitation per year in millimeters) and the amount of their possible evaporation. For this purpose, the ratio of these quantities is used, referred to as the evaporation coefficient.

Soil conditions are another important component natural characteristics region (country, district) are also of great importance in plant life. An indicator of the value properties of soils is its fertility, that is, the ability to provide the plant with digestible nutrients, moisture and produce crops. The basis for assessing the fertility of the soil or its appraisal are the materials of the survey of mechanical and organic composition soil, the content of humus and plant nutrients in it, the most important physical properties and others. The results of soil appraisal are expressed in generalized relative indicators- points and are used for practical recommendations on the possibility of growing certain types of crops (development of agricultural industries) in a particular area.

In addition to agro-climatic indicators that determine soil fertility, other conditions (indicators) that are of great importance in agriculture are also taken into account: relief (degree of ruggedness, steepness and exposure of slopes), configuration and size of land masses, especially agricultural land, the presence of water bodies (surface and groundwater), species (types) of vegetation, etc.

In the process of substantiating the location of agricultural sectors, they use data on zonal differences in the country's territory (region, etc.).

Natural resources, which in the course of the historical development of society show a tendency to constantly expand their types, are mainly divided into mineral resources (or fossils), land, water, biological and recreational resources. A specific type of natural resources is the territory, understood as a living space in which human society has arisen, develops and carries out its activities (including economic ones).

The stocks of many natural resources are limited, and therefore there is a problem of their exhaustibility. On the basis of exhaustibility, natural resources are divided into exhaustible and inexhaustible. In turn, exhaustible are divided into non-renewable (mineral) and renewable (biological, land, water).

Very often, natural resources are identified with mineral resources (minerals). Mineral resources are classified as exhaustible, non-renewable, their total reserves are steadily decreasing as they are used.

By direction of use mineral resources it is customary to subdivide into fuel and energy raw materials (oil, coal, natural gas, shale, peat, uranium), ferrous, alloying and refractory metals (ores of iron, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, etc.), non-ferrous metals (ores aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, etc.), noble metals (gold, silver, platinoids), chemical and agronomic raw materials (potassium and rock salts, apatites, phosphorites, etc.), technical raw materials (diamonds, asbestos, graphite , mica, talc), building materials (clays, sands, limestones, etc.), fluxes and refractories.

The most common indicator for assessing mineral resources is mineral reserves, that is, the amount of mineral raw materials in the bowels of the Earth, on its surface, at the bottom of reservoirs and in surface and groundwater.

Mineral reserves in the subsoil are measured in cubic meters(combustible gases, building materials, etc.), in tons (oil, coal, ores), kilograms (precious metals) or carats (diamonds).

Geological reserves of minerals have a different degree of knowledge and a different degree of estimation accuracy. There are general reserves, i.e., all available, and balance - those that are expedient to develop with the current level of technology and economics. According to the degree of reliability of their determination, balance reserves are divided into categories.

In Russia, four categories of balance reserves are distinguished: A (detailed reserves), B (explored deposits with approximately defined boundaries of occurrence), C 1 (explored in general), C 2 (preliminarily estimated reserves). There is also a category of probable geological reserves assessed as possible.

In foreign countries, a different classification of reserves is used. There are explored (final recoverable), reliable (retrievable with the current level of technology), predictive, or probable (the presence of which in the bowels of the Earth is assumed on the basis of scientific forecasts and hypotheses).

Highly important indicator assessment of minerals is also resource availability, which is understood as the ratio between the amount of natural resources and the size of their use (extraction). It is expressed either in the number of years for which a given resource should last (as a quotient of dividing the volume of reserves of any type of mineral by the volume of its annual production), or its reserves per capita.

The total endowment of a territory (region, country, district) with natural resources is characterized by the concept of “natural resource potential”. Its value is made up of the potentials of individual types of natural resources, i.e., it is a cumulative assessment of the structure, size of reserves, quality, degree of knowledge and direction of development of these resources.

3.3. Sectoral and territorial structure of the economy.

When analyzing different types territorial production systems (the economy of the world, region, country, district, etc.) usually have to deal with two types of structures - sectoral and territorial. Both show the ratio of various elements of the economic system - real non-territorial (industries, enterprises, production), and then we are talking about its sectoral (component) structure, and territorial (region, economic zone, district, etc.), and then its territorial (regional) structure is considered.

The sectoral structure of the economy is a set of its sectors, characterized by certain quantitative relationships (the composition and proportions of the development of sectors) and relationships.

The sectoral structure of the economy is represented by branches of material and non-material production (industries of the production and non-production sphere),

The manufacturing sector is formed by the following industries:

directly creating a material product (industry and construction, agriculture and forestry);
delivering a material product to the consumer (transport and communications);
associated with the continuation of the production process in the sphere of circulation (trade, public catering, logistics, marketing, procurement).

Non-manufacturing sphere includes service industries (housing and communal services and public services, transport and communications for public services) and social services(enlightenment, health care, culture and art, science and scientific services, lending, financing and insurance, management apparatus, etc.).

The main sectors of the economy represented are industry, Agriculture, the construction industry, transport are divided into so-called integrated industries, and those, in turn, into homogeneous (specialized) industries and types of production (for example, agriculture breaks up into agriculture and animal husbandry; agriculture - into grain farming, production of industrial crops, vegetable growing, melon growing, horticulture and viticulture, etc., animal husbandry - for cattle breeding, sheep breeding, pig breeding, poultry farming, beekeeping, etc.).

In the sectoral structure of the economy, intersectoral combinations (complexes) are also distinguished, represented as a set of homogeneous industries within one industry (for example, fuel and energy, metallurgical, machine-building, transport complexes), and technologically related different industries (for example, construction, military-industrial , agro-industrial complexes).

The most complex structure among them is the agro-industrial complex (AIC), which includes three areas of activity:

industry producing means of production for agriculture (agricultural engineering, fertilizer production, etc.);
agriculture proper (sectors of agriculture and animal husbandry);
industries for the procurement and processing of agricultural products, bringing it to the consumer ( food industry and primary branches of light industry, procurement system and elevator and storage facilities, trade in fruit products and public catering).

An important component of the economy is infrastructure, which is a set of material resources for servicing production and the population.

Depending on the functions performed, production, social and market infrastructure are distinguished.

The production infrastructure continues the process of production in the sphere of circulation and includes transport, communications, warehousing, logistics, engineering structures and devices, communications and networks (power lines, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, heating mains, water supply, telephone networks, etc.) .

The social infrastructure is mainly formed by the sectors of housing and communal services and household services of settlements (passenger transport, water and energy supply networks, sewerage, telephone networks, cultural and entertainment facilities, institutions of public education, healthcare, catering, etc.).

The market infrastructure includes commercial banks, commodity and stock exchanges (transactions with monetary resources and securities).

The sectoral structure of the economy is determined by:

by the share of industries in the total volume of production;
by the number of employees and the value of fixed production assets (machines, equipment, tools, industrial buildings and structures, etc., used in material production).

Among the above, the main one is the indicator of the volume of manufactured products, which makes it possible to most objectively judge the ratio of industries and their interrelations.

In the course of historical development, changes are taking place in the sectoral structure of the world economy. how general trend, first, the “primary industries” (agriculture and mining) give way to “secondary industries” (manufacturing and construction), then “secondary” - “tertiary” (services).

In the modern structure of the world economy, the share of the service sector and other sectors of the non-productive sphere (tertiary sectors) has increased significantly and the share of the manufacturing sector (primary and secondary sectors) has decreased. On average, more than 1/3 of the active population in the world is already employed in the non-productive sector, and in some developed countries of the world this indicator (employment) reaches 50% and more. In the structure of the GDP of some developed countries, the share of the service sector is even higher (60% in Germany and Japan, 70% in the USA).

Big changes are currently taking place in the structure of material production. They are connected, first of all, with a change in the proportions between industry and agriculture in favor of industry, the development of which determines the growth of labor productivity in all sectors of the economy. The share of industry in the GDP of the most developed countries of the world (USA, Japan, Germany, France, etc.) is at the level of 25-35%, while agriculture is only 2-3%. In the newly industrialized and post-socialist countries, the share of agriculture has also steadily declined, although it is still relatively high (6-10% of GDP) .

And only in developing countries agriculture (its share in GDP is 30-40%) still significantly outstrips industry (10-20%).

In the composition of industry, the share of extractive industries continues to decline and the share of manufacturing industries continues to grow. In the latter, the latest science-intensive branches of mechanical engineering and the chemical industry (microelectronics, robotics, organic synthesis, etc.) stand out with particularly high growth rates.

There have also been changes in transport. In the cargo turnover, the first place is occupied by sea transport (more than 60%), and in the passenger turnover - by road transport (about 80%). In both types of transportation, the second is rail transport (15 and 10.2%, respectively). Comparatively new modes of transport are developing rapidly: air and pipeline transport.

In passenger traffic, air transport has already approached rail transport (9.2%), and in cargo traffic, pipeline transport (11.8%) is also catching up with rail transport.

In the commodity structure of world trade, the share of finished goods, machinery and equipment increased, while the share of raw materials and foodstuffs decreased. Trade in technologies (patents, licenses, etc.) has increased.

The territorial structure of the economy is understood as its division into territorial entities (taxons). Such territorial formations of different levels and types (regions, economic zones and districts, industrial groupings and complexes, centers and nodes, etc.), as mentioned above, are specific forms of territorial organization of production (economy).

In the territorial structure of the modern world economy, several hierarchical levels and the corresponding types of territorial entities can be distinguished.

This is, first of all, the regional (international) level, covering the largest, most extensive territorial parts of the world economy - continents, their individual parts and countries. This level of territorial organization of the economy corresponds to such territorial formations as a region, subregion, country.

The principles underlying the allocation of such links of the world economy as a region and a subregion can be very different (historical-geographical, ethnic, political, economic, and even religious), and therefore the very division of the world economy into regions and subregions is conditional, in a certain least subjective.

The position in the territorial structure of the economy of the countries of the world is due to their participation in the international division of labor. Actually, for this reason, both regions and subregions, as combinations, groupings of different countries, also participate in the international division of labor and exist quite objectively.

Region - the largest territorial entity in the economy of the world, made up of several (from groups) of countries located on the same common territory and united by a number of other features. There are seven main or main regions in the world economy: North America, latin america, Africa, Australia and Oceania, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Foreign (in relation to the CIS countries) Europe and Asia.

A sub-region is a large part of a region that is distinct from the rest of it. constituent parts the originality of the historical, natural and economic conditions for the development of productive forces, socialization and the peculiarities of the location of the economy. Within Europe, two large parts are distinguished - Eastern (Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia) and Western. Western Europe, covering the territory of twenty-four states, is in turn subdivided into Northern (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Sweden), Middle (Austria, Belgium, Great Britain, Germany, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland) and Southern (Andorra, Vatican, Greece, Spain, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino) Europe. Thus, Europe is divided into four sub-regions.

Sub-regions of Asia: Central and East Asia (China, Republic of Korea, North Korea, Mongolia, Japan), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines), South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives), Western Asia(Afghanistan, Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Qatar, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey).

Africa is divided into North (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara), East (Djibouti, Kenya, Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Reunion, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea, Ethiopia), Central (Angola, Burundi, Gabon, Zaire, or Democratic Republic Congo, Uganda, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea), Western (Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger , Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo) and South Africa (Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa).

Sub-regions of Latin America: Middle America (Mexico and countries Central America and West Indies - Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Grenada, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, El Salvador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica), Andean countries (Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador), countries of the Amazon basin and La Plata (Argentina, Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, Uruguay) .

As part of the region, Australia and Oceania distinguish: Australia, Melanesia (Vanutatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Western Samoa), Polynesia (New Zealand, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands) and Micronesia (Micronesia , Nauru, Palau).

The North America region consists of two states - Canada and the USA, and the CIS - of twelve (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine).

Country - a territory (locality), the boundaries and integrity of which are determined by the sovereignty of the state, with characteristic conditions for development, specialization and structure of the economy.

Another level of territorial structure (organization) of the economy of the world - regional, connected with the territory of each individual (concrete) country.

The economic region is a geographically integral territorial part of the country's economy, which has its own production specialization, strong internal economic ties and is inextricably linked with other parts of the social territorial division of labor.

The formation of economic regions is an objective process due to the development of the territorial division of labor within the country. Due to the fact that its level in different countries may be different, there are differences in the territorial structure and organization of the economy in each country.

Differences are also observed in the principles of economic zoning, determining the boundaries of regions, etc.

In Russia, the following principles serve as fundamental:

economic, considering the area as a specialized territorial part of a single whole National economy countries with a certain set of auxiliary and service industries. According to this principle, the specialization of districts should be determined by industries in which the labor and funds spent on the production of products and their delivery to the consumer will be the smallest in comparison with other districts. The main contours of the boundaries of the regions are determined by the area where specialized industries are located;
national and administrative, providing for full compliance of the allocated areas with the formed national and administrative associations (republics, territories, regions, etc.) in the interests of strengthening their unity as integral territorial and economic formations.

The territorial structure (organization) of the Russian economy is divided into:

macro level - economic zone, economic region;
mesolevel - region, region, republic;
microlevel- administrative district, industrial hub, industrial center, industrial center.

Economic zones are vast territorial formations, made up of several (groups) of regions, with characteristic natural and economic conditions development of productive forces.

On the territory of the Russian Federation, the Western economic zone is distinguished, which includes the regions of the European part of the country with the Urals, and the Eastern one, which includes the regions of Siberia and the Far East.

The Western Economic Zone is characterized by a shortage of fuel and energy and water resources, high degree the concentration of the population and the economic development of the territory (about 80% of the population and the main production assets of the country), in the composition of industry, the predominance of manufacturing industries. The Eastern Economic Zone is characterized by the presence of large reserves of fuel and energy, mineral raw materials and forest resources, poor population and economic development of the territory, and the predominance of extractive industries in the composition of industry.

Economic regions are also large territorial formations made up of regions, territories and republics with relatively homogeneous conditions, with a characteristic direction of development (specialization) of the economy, with labor and natural resources sufficient for a relatively independent integrated development of productive forces.

In the economic system of Russia, 11 large, or main economic, regions are distinguished, differing in terms of economic development, specialization and structure of the economy: Central, Northwestern, Northern, Central Black Earth, North Caucasian, Volga-Vyatka, Volga, Ural, West -Siberian, East Siberian and Far East. Large districts are divided into 89 political and administrative units, which are subjects of the Russian Federation. The latter, in turn, - to the lower administrative and economic regions. Both those and others in economic terms are specialized units of large economic regions.

Industrial hub (promuzel) - a group of technologically and economically related industries, compactly located in a small area (several industrial centers).

Industrial center (industrial center) - a group of unrelated heterogeneous industries (enterprises) located in one center (large city).

An industrial point (industrial point) is a territory (small town or urban-type settlement) where one or more related enterprises (of the same industry) are located.

Widespread in the world forms of territorial organization of the economy are special economic zones (SEZ) - territories with the most favorable regime for the financial and economic activities of domestic and foreign investors. Depending on the direction of economic activity, set economic tasks or other purposes, SEZs can be created as free trade zones (free customs zones), where warehousing and processing operations (packaging, labeling, quality control, simple modification, etc.) of goods are carried out foreign trade, as industrial and production zones, where industrial companies produce export or import-substituting products, as trade and production, service, complex, technical and innovative (for the development and implementation of new technologies) or technopolises, transit, insurance, banking, environmental and economic zones, tourist centers, etc.

The selection of zonal territories is based on different principles: advantageous geographical position, high level development or low cost of infrastructure development, the presence of significant resource (raw materials, labor) potential for further growth, etc.

In Russia, SEZs have received little development. Initially (1990-1992) the creation of 12-13 zones was announced. However, at present, many of these zones exist formally and some of them have actually already disintegrated. FEZs are developing relatively actively only in Nakhodka, the Kaliningrad region and St. Petersburg.

All of the above territorial entities - regions, districts, etc., form the basis of the territorial structure (organization) of the world economy. It is with the need to study them that the emergence (origin) of such disciplines as economic geography, and later - regional geography, regional studies, regional studies, regional studies, etc., is connected, which, with all the variety of interpretations of the content, studies the same object - the territorial organization of social production.

The geographical position of the state - this is the location of the territory, country relative to other objects, territories, water areas, countries.

Geographic location is one of the fundamental categories of economic and social geography. The concept of "geographical position" has been known in science since the 18th century. It has found particular application in anthropogeography late XIX in., When the German scientist Ratzel began to apply it to characterize the positional properties of the country.

In the context of globalization, the theory of geographical location acquires the status of an interdisciplinary theory, since it allows you to see the world in all its diversity, due to many regional, state and local features.

The socio-economic space is heterogeneous. Objects spatially do not match the conditions necessary for their existence in the system. Properties of the socio-economic space, which reveal the spatial divergence of the object under study and necessary conditions its existence (functioning and development) can be defined as the geographical location of the object.

The external environment through its components actively affects the object, the geographical location of which is determined. Similarly, the object itself affects its own environment.

The concept of "geographical location" is based on the category of "relations". According to M. Baransky, the economic-geographical position is the relation of any place, district or city to objects that lie outside it and have one or another economic significance for it.

The main idea of geographical location as a concept is to reveal the territorial relationship:

In a physical-geographical position, this is a relation in a geographical coordinate grid, in a real physical-geographical space with its natural areas, regions, orography, distribution of land and sea, etc.;

In the economic and geographical position - is the relationship to economically significant objects;

In the socio-geographical position - to socially significant objects.

In the political and geographical position - to political realities. Methodically, this means fixing and predicting military, international political, geo-economic, environmental and cultural force fields;

In ecological and geographical position - to ecologically significant objects, in particular, to countries and regions that determine the ecological situation, or to countries and regions, the ecological state of which can be influenced by a given country.

One of the quantitative indicators of the geographical location is the geographical coordinates of the object.

To clarify the content of the concept of geographical location, it is worth noting the significant differences between geographic location and location. Describing the geographical location, it is necessary to answer the question: with respect to what? The location of an object has a different meaning, which consists in answering the question: where and what is a part of? So location reveals location or belonging, while location reflects relationships in a system. From a methodological point of view, these concepts should be distinguished.

So, studying the geographical location, you should find out which objects are outside the object, and which are inside. In other words, the geographical location is characterized by the relationship of the object with its external environment.

When studying the geographical location, it is necessary to build on the results of the impact of the geographical location on the development of the object. The situation is complicated by the fact that in connection (economic and non-economic) the object is affected not only by geographical location.

Analyzing the problem, the researcher "weighs" the real and potential relationships: he discovers the real ones empirically, and among the potential he singles out those that can be realized (actually possible connections). However, the researcher must also establish theoretically possible connections. Thus, when analyzing a geographical location, relations cannot be understood only as actual economic and other ties. A complete and comprehensive study of the geographical location involves taking into account real, potential and theoretically possible connections.

Geographical position is not only a capacious and multifaceted concept, but also a relative one. In the first case, several types of it are distinguished, in particular, natural, ecological, social, economic or political-geographical position. In the second - we are talking about its constant transformation in space and time, the simultaneous presence in the assessment of the current state of the geographical position, its past development and the factors of its further functioning.

For country studies, the concept of the political and geographical position of the country plays a decisive role. It's placing her on political map world, continent or region in interaction with the political realities that affect it in one way or another. At the same time, politics is understood as an activity aimed at winning the struggle for one's own interests. It can be a government, a specific organization or an individual.

In the spatial-territorial sense, one can distinguish global, regional and local-neighborly political and geographical position of the countries. Global the position is the place of this or that state on the political map of the world in the context of its global connections and relations with other states of our planet. The regional political and geographical position includes the location and relationship with the countries of their own historical and geographical region. local neighbor the political and geographical position is the location of the country surrounded by neighboring states and interaction with them. His assessment is an exploration of a complex history of confrontations and partnerships. She is very dynamic. At this level, a real analysis of all types of relations and interrelations between individual states and interstate integration formations is carried out.

Geographical position

the position of any point or area of the earth's surface in relation to territories or objects located outside this point or area. In mathematical geography, a geographic location is understood as the latitude and longitude of given points or localities, in physical geography- their position in relation to physical geographical objects(continents, mountains. oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, etc.). In economic and political geography, geographical location is understood as the position of a country, region, settlement, and other objects in relation to other economic-geographical (including communication routes, markets, economic centers, etc.) and physical-geographical objects. as well as the position of the country relative to other states and their groups. G. p. is one of the conditions for the development of countries, regions, cities, etc. settlements. Practical value G. p. changes in various socio-economic formations.

Big soviet encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1969-1978 .

See what "Geographical position" is in other dictionaries:

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

geographical position- A characteristic of the location of an object on the earth's surface relative to other geographical objects and countries of the world ... Geography Dictionary

The position of any point or other object on the earth's surface in relation to other territories or objects; relative to the Earth's surface, the geographic location is determined using coordinates. Distinguish geographic location by ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

The position of a geographic object on the surface of the Earth within a given coordinate system and in relation to any data located outside it that has a direct or indirect effect on this object. With a specific study ... ... Geographic Encyclopedia

Position to. l. point or other object on the earth's surface in relation to other territories. or objects; relative to the earth's surface, the geographic distance is determined by means of coordinates. G. p. is distinguished in relation to natural objects and to the economy geographic… … Natural science. encyclopedic Dictionary

- ... Wikipedia

- (EGP) is the ratio of the object of the city, region, country to the objects lying outside it, having one or another economic value, it does not matter whether these objects are of a natural order or created in the process of history (according to N.N. Baransky). In other words, ... ... Wikipedia

The position of a region or country relative to other objects of economic importance to it. E. g. p. historical category, may change in connection with the construction of railway or power plants, the beginning of the development of a useful deposit ... ... Geographic Encyclopedia

The position of a deposit, enterprise, city, district, country or other economic and geographical object in relation to other economic and geographical objects of economic importance to it. EGP assessment of an object depends on its position... Financial vocabulary

Books

Essays on the history of geographical discoveries, Magidovich I.
Geographic location and territorial structures. In memory of I. M. Maergoiz,. The collection is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding Soviet economic geographer Isaac Moiseevich Maergoiz. The collection received its name - GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND TERRITORIAL STRUCTURES - from two ...

"Geographical position" as a concept is found in many sciences and it plays a huge role. From geographical location features are directly related climatic conditions, flora and fauna. Economic activity society is also dependent on this concept.

Geographic location refers to the location of various geographical features in relation to other geographic locations.

It consists of elements such as:

physical and geographical location;
political and geographical;
economic and geographical.

In this article, it is necessary to understand the features of the physical and geographical position of the Russian Federation. There are specific plans that can be used to characterize the physical and geographical position of all localities (FGP).

position on the continent;
is there access to the sea and ocean;
latitudes that prevail;
"main" meridians and parallels that cross the territory of the state;
natural boundaries;
territory boundaries.

Based on this algorithm, it is possible to characterize the features of Russia.

The position of the country on the mainland

It is located in the northeastern part of the Eurasian continent. Russia is simultaneously located in two different parts world - in the north of Asia and in the eastern part of Europe. The extreme points from the north and east of the country are considered the extreme points of the entire mainland.

The geographical center of Asia is located on the territory of the Russian Federation. It is located on the coast of the Yenisei River, the city of Kyzyl. The Arctic Circle also crosses the territory of the state. About 20% of all lands are located in polar latitudes. The main territory is located between 50 and 70 degrees, temperate latitudes. Based on this, we can conclude that most of the country is accustomed to a temperate climate with a constant change of seasons.

This part of the world is located directly north of the equator. In the eastern part (Chukotka), the area is crossed by the 180th meridian. Russia is located simultaneously in the western and eastern hemispheres. East End more ambitious.

The area of the state occupies about 17,000,000 sq km. This is the largest area of all European countries. It is similar in scale to South America, whose area reached 18,000,000 sq. km.

Features of natural boundaries

Such boundaries are most pronounced in the east and north. These include the coasts of the seas of the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic. In the south, southwest, west there are no clear physical and geographical boundaries, only in the Caucasus is the Main Range. In Siberia, the natural border with the southern countries is along the system of mountains of Transbaikalia and Central Asia. If we talk about the coastline, then it is quite indented along its entire length.

extreme points

The borders of the state were formed over a long history. The extreme eastern and northern points are pronounced on the territory. The southern and western became visible only in recent times. The reason lies in the fact that the extreme points between the republics of the USSR were only of an administrative nature and were considered formal borders. When Soviet Union collapsed, it was necessary to organize a huge organizational, geodetic and political work to determine the specific boundaries of the state.

On the present stage there are such extreme points of the Russian Federation:

Cape Chelyuskin defines the northern continental extreme point, which is located at coordinates 77∘ s. sh., 104∘ in. longitude;
Cape Fligeli defines the northern insular point, which is located at 81∘ s. sh., 58∘ in. longitude;
Cape Dezhnev defines the eastern continental border, which is located in such coordinates 66∘ s. sh., 169∘39´ W longitude;
Ratmanov Island defines the eastern border of the island, which is located 65∘ n. sh., 169∘ W longitude;
a sand spit in the Kaliningrad region in the Baltic Sea (Gdansk Bay) defines the western border, which is located at 54∘ s. sh., 19∘ c. longitude;
The junction of Russia, Latvia and Estonia defines the western point of the compact territory, which is located at the coordinates 55∘ N. sh., 27∘v. longitude;
Mount Bazarduzu determines the southern extreme point, which is located at 41∘ s. sh., 47∘ in. longitude.

If we take into account the distance between all the borders, we get the following final result:

stretches from west to east for 10,000 kilometers;
4,000 kilometers from north to south.

These data influence the formation of climate at one latitude. Since the state stretches significantly from the western part to the east, this causes a difference in time in various parts of Russia.

From the eastern border on Ratmanov Island and the northern extreme point on the Rybachy Peninsula directly to the North Pole, the border of the country's Arctic possessions runs along the meridians.

Not one state in the world is able to compare with the Russian Federation in terms of the properties of the physical and geographical position.

Russia is a great country that is famous for its unusual and rich history. It was in this state that many of the greatest scientific discoveries, great battles that went down in history. And, of course, people who lived and worked here changed the world forever. Due to its huge scale, this state is one of the most powerful on the planet.

The characterization of Russia's position is indeed an interesting and fascinating question. AT different time dozens of various peoples lived here, and the territory of this state is still inhabited by many nationalities. It is these facts that distinguish it from all countries of the world, and the scale and greatness make the whole world respect the proud name of the Russian Federation.

Speaking in more detail about the nations that live here, it is worth clarifying that this state is home to more than 200 different ethnic groups. Russians are distributed very unevenly. For example, in Chechnya they are only 2% of the total population.

Physical and geographical position of Russia

Even at school, in geography lessons, children are told that Russia occupies a truly global territory. Today, the Russian Federation is the largest state in the world, comparable in scale to an entire continent - South America. In terms of its area, Russia is larger than such parts of the world as Australia and Antarctica, it occupies 1/8 of the entire landmass on the planet. is almost 17.1 million square meters. km.

Its physical and geographical position can be characterized as European-Asian and interoceanic.

Position features

The peculiarities of Russia's position lie in the fact that the country is located on two continents at once - in Europe and Asia. It is this fact that contributes to the multinationality of this state and the diversity of climatic zones throughout the country. Unlike Turkey, which is also located in two parts of the world, Russia is a single and indivisible array.

The country is located in the northern part of the planet. A more detailed position will help determine the map. The geographical position of Russia, due to its northern localization, affects the climate, which often surprises tourists who come to this territory from warm countries. Here it is quite severe. Russia is washed by three oceans at once - the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic. Moreover, the state has access to 12 seas at once, which had a significant impact on the possibility of tourism within the country.

The position of Russia is characterized by its location in temperate latitudes, the climate in which is pleasant and convenient for almost all ethnic groups to live. Warm summers and cold winters are familiar to any Russian, which is why these latitudes are more populated than others. The Black Sea coast is located in a subtropical latitude, which attracts tourists to this area at any time of the year - even in winter the temperature here rarely drops below zero. Despite the variety of climatic zones, precipitation in the form of snow falls in Russia almost throughout the entire territory. Of course, every resident of the Russian Federation is already accustomed to, therefore, it is difficult for the indigenous population to imagine a dry and warm winter, even in the southernmost parts of the country.

Borders

The extreme points of the state are located both on the continent and on the islands. The physical and geographical position of Russia is such that the total length of the borders is almost 60 thousand kilometers, most of which runs along the seas. On the land the Russian Federation borders with Belarus, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China and North Korea.

Most of it lies in the northern part of the state in the waters of the Arctic Ocean and in the east - in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Not many people know that Russia borders not only on Japan, but also on the United States of America and Canada.

Climate in Russia

The climate in different places is striking in its diversity. The reason for this is the physical and geographical position of Russia. Due to the huge scale of the country, in different parts of it there can be completely unique weather, and this has not surprised the inhabitants of the country for a long time. In most of the state, the climate is quite severe - cold winters, long polar nights and large-scale snowfalls - all this is familiar to a resident of Russia. Surprisingly, people have learned not only to adapt to the most severe weather conditions, but also to perform normal actions in the most severe frost - to go to work and educational establishments, go shopping and even relax. Residents of the northernmost parts of the country are not surprised even by such a low temperature as -50 ° C, and all guests of Russia from other countries are amazed at the endurance of the Russian people.

In other regions, the state of weather conditions is completely different. A special map will help you better understand the distribution of climatic zones. The geographical position of Russia is such that in the east and south of the country the situation is somewhat different. A temperate climate prevails here. And this means that in this area the most suitable conditions for living: cool winters with rare frosts and hot summers.

Features of geography

Due to the fact that Russia is located on two continents at once, the uniqueness of its geography cannot be compared with any other state. The map "Geographical position of Russia" will help to deal with all the nuances of the localization of this state. Huge massifs of mountains stretch for many kilometers, and numerous rivers are considered one of the largest in the world. Moreover, on the territory of Russia there is the deepest lake in the world, capable of providing fresh water the whole planet - Baikal. The depth of the reservoir exceeds 1,600 m, and the area reaches 32 thousand square meters. km.

Ural mountains

One of the famous mountain ranges in Russia is the Ural Mountains - a large-scale mountain system with a length of more than 2,000 kilometers. A huge number of rivers flowing at its foot attracted residents to this area in ancient times. Today, hiking in the mountains is one of the most exciting adventures for all the inhabitants of this state.

The physical and geographical position of Russia speaks of the diversity of the territorial and ethnic features of this country, and it can take many years to study each one. Thanks to the opportunity to openly travel throughout the Russian Federation, anyone has a chance to fully appreciate the globality and beauty of this country.