Common Syrt is a plain with plateau-like hills spread over the expanses of Russia and Kazakhstan. The watershed of many rivers. Here are the sources of dozens of rivers. The Kuyan-tau, a mountain range stretching from the upper reaches of the Kama to the left-bank tributary of the Belaya River, is considered to be the beginning of the hill.
Origin of the name
The word "syrt" is found in two languages - Turkic and Tatar. In Turkic it means "hill, hill". In the Tatar language, it has much more meanings. When using this term, they mean a ridge, a ridge, a watershed, a water outlet, a reservoir and a hilly hill separating river branches.
The first word in the toponym "Common Syrt" has two versions of origin. According to E. A. Eversmann, the word "common" appeared in the name because the hill divided the two water basins. E. M. Murzaev is convinced that the term “general” was added to the name Syrt due to the peculiarity of land use in this area.
Peoples did not inhabit the territory of the hill for a long time. Russians andKazakh peasants used its land for grazing. In fact, the lands of the elevated plain were common to Kazakhs and Russians. Hence the name of the toponym - the height of General Syrt.
Geographic location of the highlands
Rough plain stretches across the Orenburg, Saratov and Samara regions. It covered the lands of Kazakhstan and is located south of the Bugulma-Belebeevskaya Upland. In the east, the hilly plain borders on the Low Trans-Volga region, where the outline of Bezenchuk-Khvorostyanka passes. From here, its open spaces stretch in an easterly direction for about 500 kilometers. They capture the interfluve of the Small and Big Irgiz.
In the north, the borders of the hilly plain abut against the Samara River. In the Orenburg region, it rises to the northern latitudes of the region and juts out into the waters of the Maly Kinel. In the east of the region, its territory approaches the foothills of the mountain ranges of the Southern Urals. Spurs separate the hill from the gray Riphean. Where the Common Syrt is located, the surface is cut by the Volga, as a result of which the system of ridges plays the role of a watershed located between the basins of two rivers - the Volga and the Urals.
Description of the western part of the hill
Syrt is divided into three parts - northern, eastern and western. Ridges, scattered along the eastern side, are growing in height. The highest peak (405 meters) is considered to be the mountain peak Medvezhiy forehead (otherwise - Arapovaya Sopka). Here there is a tendency to increase the dissection of the surface.
Syrts located in the latitudinal direction are distinguished by pronounced asymmetryslopes. In the south they are steep, and in the north, on the contrary, they are flat. The watersheds in the central part have a gently sloping surface. Along the interfluves, there are areas with shikhans - domed remnants.
Features of Syrt from the north side
The northern part of the Syrt was "squeezed" between Big Kinel and Samara. In this area, the ridge looks like a system of narrow interfluves with unequal slopes. The heights of the stone ridges range from 220-300 meters. The highest point is Mount Krutaya. Its height reached 333 meters. The hill is located between the rivers, formed by such tributaries as the Maly Kinel and Borovki.
Western Highlands
In the west, a chain of flat-rolling hills is called the Blue Syrt. It, originating in the southwest, stretches to the northeast along the borders that outline the Samara and Orenburg regions. Low hills form a watershed for Samara and Chagan. The maximum height (273 meters) is here at Grishkina Gora.
The prevailing height of the Common Syrt is 190-240 meters. Therefore, the hill is not of a true mountain character. Its highest mark is the Kuyan-tau mountain peak. Its height does not exceed 619 meters. From the side, the hill just looks like a small plateau-like hill.
Relief
Common Syrt has a relief of layer-tiered structure with remnants. In the south, the hill gradually lowered and flattened. As a result, the right-bank terraces of the Ural River smoothly merged withher. On the ground, one can trace the latitudinal location of tectonic structures and stone ramparts stretched out into a ruler, which formed the modules of the interfluves, cascading down to the south, where the Caspian depression stretches.
Interfluves, built in this way, emphasize the sharp asymmetry of the river valleys. Deep valleys with a broad orientation, in turn, break the highlands into multiple asymmetric ridges, which have a peculiar morphology.
The southern slopes are steep, they seem to be chopped off. The northern slopes are gentle, long, stretched for many kilometers. Their foothills inconspicuously merge with the floodplain terraces formed on the left banks of the river basins.
Geological structure
The Common Syrt Upland was formed on shales, marls, sandstones, limestones, mudstones, Cretaceous sediments and siltstones. The heterogeneity of the deposits that form the relief affected the nature of erosional cuts.
Northern areas with clay-marl zones have smooth outlines. Places with densely folded sandstones are distinguished by strongly indented reliefs. The limestone-covered surface is dissected by narrowed ravines and ridge-like watersheds.
In the south, the Common Syrt is composed of flattened remnant-step interfluves. Here the elevation is complicated by s alt dome tectonics. The area is distinguished by a developed deep s alt and limestone karst, which caused the formation of collapsed lowlands, extensive flat-bottomeddepressions in different parts of the hill.
In areas of elevated watersheds, there are remnants of stone blocks composed of perforated quartzites, quartzite-like sandstones and conglomerates. Aeolian processes have formed on the elevated plain.
