Common Syrt is a plain with plateau-like hills spread across the expanses of Russia and Kazakhstan. The place of the watershed of many rivers. Here are the origins of dozens of rivers. The beginning of the hill is Kuyan-tau - a mountain range stretching from the upper Kama River to the left-bank tributary of the Belaya River.
origin of name
The word "syrt" is found in two languages - Turkic and Tatar. In Turkic, it means "hill, hill." In the Tatar language, he has much more meanings. Using this term, they mean a ridge, a ridge, a watershed, a water outlet, a water reservoir and a hilly hill separating river branches.
The first word in the toponym “General 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 because of the peculiarities of land use in this area.
The peoples for a long time did not populate the territory of the hill. Russian and Kazakh peasants used its land for grazing. In fact, the lands of the elevated plain were common for Kazakhs and Russians. Hence the name of the toponym - the elevation of General Syrt.
Geographical position of the highlands
The bumpy plain stretches across the Orenburg region, the Saratov and Samara regions. It covered the lands of Kazakhstan and is located south of the Bugulminsko-Belebeyevskaya Upland. In the east, the hilly plain borders the Low Volga, where the outline of Bezenchuk-Hvorostyanka passes. From here its open spaces stretch eastward for approximately 500 kilometers. They capture the interfluve of the Small and Large Irgiz.
In the north, the borders of a hilly plain abut against the Samara River. In the Orenburg region, it rises to the northern latitudes of the region and extends into the waters of the Small Kinel. In the east of the region, its territory approaches the foothills of the mountain ranges of the Southern Urals. From the gray Riphean the highlands are separated by spurs. Where General Syrt is located, the surface is cut through 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. The bumps scattered along the eastern side increase in height. The highest peak (405 meters) is the mountain peak Bear's forehead (otherwise - Arapovaya Sopka). There is a tendency towards an increase in the fragmentation of the surface.
Syrts located in the latitudinal direction are distinguished by pronounced asymmetry of the slopes. In the south they are steep, and in the north, on the contrary, canopies. The watersheds in the central part have a gently sloping surface. In the interfluve, there are sections with shihanas - domed outliers.
Features of Syrt from the north side
The northern part of 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 a mark of 333 meters. The hill is located in the interfluve, formed by such tributaries as the Small Kinel and Borovki.
Western part of the hill
In the west, a chain of flat, steep hills is called Blue Syrt. Having taken its origin in the southwest, it stretches to the northeast along the boundaries outlining 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 General Syrt is 190-240 meters. Therefore, the hill is not true mountain character. Its highest point is the mountain peak Kuyan-tau. Its height does not exceed 619 meters. From the side of the hill just looks like a small plateau-like hill.
Relief
General Syrt has a relief of a layer-tier structure with outliers. In the south, the hill gradually decreased and flattened. As a result, the right-bank terraces of the Ural River merged smoothly with it. The latitudinal location of tectonic structures and elongated stone ramparts, forming modules of interfluves, cascading down to the south, to where the Caspian depression lies, is traced on the terrain.
The interfluve, built in this way, emphasize the sharp asymmetry of the river valleys. Deep valleys with a wide orientation, in turn, divide the highlands into multiple asymmetric ridges, which are characterized by a peculiar morphology.
The southern slopes are steep, as if they were 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 General Syrt Upland was formed on shales, marls, sandstones, limestones, mudstones, Cretaceous deposits and siltstones. The heterogeneity of the sediments forming the relief affected the nature of erosion cuts.
Northern areas with clay-marl zones have smooth outlines. Places with densely stacked sandstones differ in strongly rugged reliefs. The surface that covered the limestones is dissected by narrowed ravines and comb-like watersheds.
In the south, General Syrt is composed of flattened outlier-stepped interfluves. Here, the elevation is complicated by salt dome tectonics. The area is characterized by developed deep salt and limestone karst, which caused the formation of failed lowlands, vast flat-bottomed depressions in different parts of the hill.
In areas of elevated watersheds, there are remnants of stone blocks composed of perforated quartzites, quartzite sandstones and conglomerates. Aeolian processes are formed on an elevated plain.