Geography and Natural Resources
The region is crossed by rivers belonging to the Volga basin (Kama, Visher, Chusovaya and Samara), Ob basin (Tobol, Iset, Tura and Tavda) and the Ural River basin. Their potential hydropower resources are estimated at 3.3 million kilowatts. By 2010, there are only two dams and associated reservoirs, both on the Kama River: Botkin Reservoir and Kama Reservoir. The climate is temperate continental in the western and continental in the eastern part of the region. More than 40% of the area is covered by taiga forests having the timber reserves of 3.5 billion cubic meters. The southern part is dominated by the steppe, which is largely cultivated. The area is exceptionally rich in various ores and minerals, such as valuable chalcopyrite, nickel oxide, chromite, magnetite, bauxite, potassium salts, manganese, aluminium, gold, platinum, as well as coal, oil and natural gas. The area is famous for semi-precious stones, such as emerald, amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, rhodonite, malachite and diamond.
Read more about this topic: Ural Economic Region
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