Where is the border between Europe and Asia? Modern ideas about the Euro-Asian border Where is the junction of Europe and Asia

The question will undoubtedly cause bewilderment to any resident of Kazakhstan and Russia, because every schoolchild knows about this: the border between Europe and Asia runs along the Ural Mountains and the Ural River. Evidence of this is the obelisks on important railway lines.

and highways crossing the Ural ridge, indicating where Europe and Asia begin.

But the question is not as simple as it seems.

This is evidenced by the fact that this issue was discussed at the scientific and practical conference of the Society of Petroleum Geologists of Kazakhstan, held in Atyrau. Its participants unanimously noted the relevance of the topic under discussion.

Background

The ancient Greeks initially considered Europe to be a separate continent, separated from Asia by the Aegean and Black Seas. Convinced that Europe was only a small part of the huge continent, which is now called Eurasia, ancient authors began to draw the eastern border of Europe along the Don River. This opinion prevailed for almost two thousand years.

In 1730, the Swedish scientist Philipp Johann von Stralenberg first substantiated in world scientific literature the idea of ​​drawing a border between Europe and Asia (later, in 1736, Vasily Tatishchev, known for his “Russian History,” claimed that it was he who suggested this idea to him) . In his book, Tatishchev drew the border as follows - from the Yugorsky Shar Strait along the Ural Range, further along the Ural River, through the Caspian Sea to the Kuma River, through the Caucasus, the Azov and Black Seas and the Bosporus.

This idea did not immediately gain recognition from contemporaries and followers. For example, Mikhail Lomonosov in his treatise “On the Layers of the Earth” (1757-1759) drew the line between Europe and Asia along the Pechora, Volga and Don. However, authors soon appeared whose studies, following Tatishchev, began to recognize the Ural Range as a natural border between Europe and Asia.

Gradually, the new border became generally accepted, first in Russia and then beyond its borders.

The borders of Europe and Asia are fixed in the cities of Kazakhstan by symbolic monuments. In the city of Uralsk in 1984, a monument was erected at the bridge over the Ural River at the entrance to the city from the airport. At its top there is a ball symbolizing the Earth, surrounded by the inscription “Europe-Asia”. In the city of Atyrau, on both sides of the bridge over the Ural River there are gazebos with the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia”, respectively.

So where is the south-eastern border of Europe across the territory of Kazakhstan?

Geological

justification

Naturally, there is no sharp border between Europe and Asia. The continent is united by the continuity of land, the current tectonic consolidation and the unity of numerous climatic processes.

The eastern part of the continent includes two platforms (Chinese-Korean and South China), some plates and areas of Mesozoic and Alpine folding. The southeastern part represents areas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic folding. The southern regions are represented by the Indian and Arabian platforms, the Iranian plate, as well as areas of Alpine and Mesozoic folding, which prevail in Southern Europe. The territory of Western Europe includes zones of predominantly Hercynian folding and plates of Paleozoic platforms. The central regions of the continent are zones of Paleozoic folding and plates of the Paleozoic platform.

The period of formation of the continent covers a huge period of time and continues today. The process of formation of the ancient platforms that make up the continent of Eurasia began in the Precambrian era. Then three ancient platforms were formed - Chinese, Siberian and East European, separated by ancient seas and oceans.

By the end of the Paleozoic, the East European Platform and the Kazakhstan Plate were welded together. The Kazakhstan plate, pushed to the west, occupied a hypsometrically elevated position. From a geological point of view, the line of the western boundary of the Kazakhstan plate can be taken as the southeastern boundary of the European continent within the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Geographical

justification

In 1964, the 20th Congress of the International Geographical Union in London adopted the border between Europe and Asia, depicting it on the map with a red line. The line passed along the eastern base of the Ural Mountains and Mugodzhar, the Emba River, the northern shore of the Caspian Sea, the Kuma-Manych depression and the Kerch Strait. However, this decision has not taken root in our republic to date. It is interesting that when the border between Europe and Asia is drawn along the Emba River, 12.5 percent of the territory of Kazakhstan will be located in Europe.

In 2010, the Russian Geographical Society conducted an expedition in Kazakhstan with the aim of revising generally accepted views on the passage of the border between Europe and Asia through the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The expedition members were convinced with their own eyes that it was the Ural ridge, or rather its eastern foot, that was the landmark for drawing the border between Europe and Asia.

In their opinion, the Ural and Emba rivers are not real boundaries, since the nature of the terrain along their banks is the same. Scientists have come to the preliminary conclusion that it is most reasonable to draw the borders of Europe and Asia along the eastern edge of the Caspian Lowland, which is the southeastern end of the East European Plain.

In 2011, the issue of drawing this border was brought up for discussion at the Moscow branch of the All-Russian Geographical Society.

During the discussion, it became clear that the European-Asian border cannot be drawn with an accuracy of one meter or even a kilometer, because in nature there is no sharp transition between Europe and Asia. The climate in Europe near the border with Asia is the same as in Asia near the border with Europe, the soils are the same, and there is not much difference in vegetation either.

The only natural boundary can be the structure of the earth's surface, reflecting the geological history of the area. This is what geographers usually used when drawing the border between Europe and Asia along the Urals and the Caucasus. But where exactly should we draw the line then? After all, the width of the Ural Mountains reaches 150 kilometers, and the Caucasus is even more. A way out of this situation was found in the fact that the border was drawn along the main watersheds of the Urals and the Caucasus (that is why border obelisks were placed in the Urals). In this case, the western part of the Urals belonged to Europe, and the eastern part to Asia, the inhabitants of the northern slope of the Main Caucasus Range could consider themselves Europeans, and the southern slope and the entire Transcaucasus - Asians. But that's not the problem.

Cartographers experienced the biggest troubles because of this drawing of the border between Europe and Asia. When compiling, for example, a map of Europe, they had to show half of the Urals and a small part of the Caucasus, breaking apart these mountain ranges. Geologists also objected to this formulation of the question. They were forced to artificially divide the Caucasus into two parts, which had a single geological history of development. The Mugodzhars, lying on the continuation of the Ural ridge and forming a single whole with it, were sometimes separated from the Urals, since some scientists drew the border south of the Ural Mountains along the Ural River.

Moscow geographers decided to rectify the situation and decided to agree on drawing the border between Europe and Asia in such a way that the Urals and the Caucasus would not be torn apart, but would belong entirely to that part of the continent with which they are more connected by geological history.

Thus, it has now been decided to attribute the Urals entirely to Europe, and the Caucasus, also entirely, to Asia.

Taking into account the geology, geomorphology and geography of the region, the south-eastern border of Europe across the territory of the Aktobe region is proposed to be drawn along the eastern foot of the Mugodzhar Mountains (a continuation of the Ural Mountains in Kazakhstan) and along the left bank of the Emba River along the line of the Shoshkakol ridge, the Shagyray plateau, the Donyztau ridge with further access to the Caspian Sea south of the Tengiz field.

Thus, the European part of the territory will include Atyrau, West Kazakhstan, and partially Aktobe and Mangystau regions.

In this regard, it is proposed to install “Europe-Asia” obelisks across the territory of Kazakhstan in the Aktobe region near the city of Khromtau on the Aktobe-Astana highway, in the area of ​​the Mugalzhar railway station, as well as in the Atyrau region between the Oporny and Beineu railway stations.

It is proposed to reflect such a solution to the issue of the border between Europe and Asia in all geography textbooks and on all geographical maps published for educational purposes.

Europe is a part of the world with an area of ​​about 10.5 million square kilometers and a population of 830.4 million people. Together with Asia, it forms the continent of Eurasia.

Eurasia is the largest continent on Earth. Area - 53,893 thousand square kilometers, which is 36 percent of the land area. The population is more than 4.8 billion (data for 2010) - this is about 3/4 of the population of the entire planet.

Rasbergen MAKHMUDOV,

Kosan TASKINBAEV,

candidate of geology

mineral sciences, geologist

P.S. Opinion of Russian and Kazakh scientists,

participating in the expedition,

and proposals for a new definition

borders between Europe and Asia

It has not yet been considered by the International Geographical Union.

This is not an idle question. I taught children at school geography for 34 years, my sister and her husband are also geographers, and my daughter has been teaching this subject for 8 years now. And we all know and teach that the border runs as follows: Ural Mountains (60° E) - r. Emba - Caspian Sea - Kuma-Manych depression - Sea of ​​Azov - Kerch Strait - Black Sea - Bosphorus Strait - Dardanelles Strait - Mediterranean Sea.
Nothing has changed in school textbooks, but in the media, on some maps and in books that are easily published now, which their publishers call geographical, everything is not so.
Since about 2001 I have been hearing that Elbrus is the highest peak in Europe, that Kabardino-Balkaria is a European republic, that Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey lie entirely in Europe (?!).
I recently bought the Reader's Digest Illustrated Atlas of the World (2008). I thought it was really an atlas. And on the maps, Russia is not located in Europe at all, which does not prevent Elbrus from being called the highest peak in Europe!
When you read the output, it turns out that every such publication has consulting geographers. What are they thinking about? Or am I behind the times? Then what to do with textbooks and what to tell children?
And geography at school is already a problem. Apparently, someone hopes that “the cab driver will take you.” But without geography, we are nowhere.
Natural history in many schools is now given to biologists, but previously it prepared children for physics, astronomy, biology and geography, of course. What can you give for 1 hour a week in 6th grade? Is it possible to fit our rather large world into 2 hours in 7th grade?
And they stopped teaching astronomy. No wonder high school graduates think the sun revolves around the Earth. Haven't you met these yet?

G.A. PAVLENKO , geography teacher,
village Zyukaika, Vereshchaginsky district, Perm region

Dear Galina Anfinogenovna!
You have raised a very important question. It stands almost as many centuries as geography exists. Our newspaper has addressed this topic more than once; special historical and geographical studies were published in the 90s (see, for example: V.P. Chichagov. The border of Europe and Asia//Geography, No. 12/1997). They examined the historical variability of human ideas about the boundaries of such cultural macro-regions as Europe, and the conclusion was disappointing for you and me: there is no clear solution.
At the same time, it is obvious that for educational purposes it would be good to streamline the nomenclature. How can I do that? For example, by a consensus decision of a number of authoritative geographers. “Geography” sent copies of your letter to a number of major geographers of our time. Perhaps their answers will give impetus to the development of an all-Russian decision (or confirmation of previously adopted decisions). The first to respond to our appeal was Alexander Pavlovich Gorkin, who in the 70-90s was in charge of the editorial office of geography of the scientific publishing house "Soviet Encyclopedia", and in 1994-2001. who headed the entire publishing house “Big Russian Encyclopedia” and knew the problem in its various aspects.

Colleague, answering your question: where on land the border between two parts of the world, Europe and Asia lies, is not at all easy - for a number of reasons.
Firstly, “part of the world,” in contrast to “mainland” (or “continent”), is not a physical-geographical concept, but a historical-geographical one, maybe even a cultural-geographical one, a “civilizational one.” They cannot be identified*. True, most parts of the world (Africa, Australia and Oceania, America) are “lucky” - their natural and historical-geographical boundaries practically coincide. They are quite clearly marked by water boundaries (not rivers, but the World Ocean!), although the limitation of these parts of the world in each case has its own characteristics. Part of the world “America” consists of two continents, the island of Greenland, the archipelagos of the West Indies; The Suez Canal artificially closed the water boundaries of the “Africa” part of the world, separating it from “Asia”; the continent of “Australia” became only part of the part of the world “Australia and Oceania” (forgive the tautology), “merging” with the islands and archipelagos of the Pacific Ocean. The continent (mainland) “Eurasia” occupies a special position in this regard, having “sheltered” on its vast territory two historical and geographical macro-regions, two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, between which in the east and south-east there are no hard “civilizational” boundaries ,
The very content of the historical and geographical concept of “Europe” has changed over time. Introduced into use in the VI-V centuries. BC. by the ancient Greek scientists Hecataeus and Herodotus, it originally referred only to that part of the ecumene that was located north of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Middle Ages, “Europe” in the public consciousness expanded to the north and east, retaining Catholic-Protestant culture as its main feature. There were no physical-geographical justifications for this “expansion”. It is interesting that before Peter I the Russian state did not consider itself part of Europe. However, the higher level of economic and cultural development in the west of the continent caused a “counter” movement towards “Europeanization” - from east to west. When they repeat that Peter I “cut a window to Europe,” they forget the geographical connotation of this process. “Where” is clear, but “from where” is a figure of silence. So he apparently cut it out from Asia, and not from Australia! The “Europeanization” of the Russian Empire, although not at a rapid pace, continued in the 18th-19th centuries. The country developed more energetically in the eastern, “Asian” direction. And public consciousness still did not identify the subjects of the Russian Empire with Europeans. Let us at least remember the words of A.S. Pushkin that “the only European in our country is the government.”
Secondly, there are different approaches by physical geographers (including geomorphologists, biogeographers, hydrologists, etc.) to determining the eastern border of Europe, i.e. within the Russian Federation. The criteria are taken from a variety of branches of knowledge: tectonics, orography, hydrological regime, landscapes, biogeocenoses, etc. It seems that they have no direct relation to determining the boundaries of historical and cultural spatial formations. This is approximately the same as determining the border between the Palestinian Authority and Israel by a tectonic fault or between Catholic and Protestant Europe by average annual air temperatures and the number of sunny days per year. By the way, it is interesting that for some reason the problem of the border between Europe and Asia worries natural scientists more than historians or economic geographers.
Thirdly, the problem of identifying the population, its “historical and cultural” sense of self. Ask, for example, a Georgian or an Armenian - does he live in Europe or Asia? Most will answer that in Europe. They are not interested in the tectonics of Transcaucasia and the Kuma-Manych depression, but they know very well that their countries are the oldest Christian states not only in Eurasia, but also in the world, therefore, they are Europeans**. Ask Azerbaijanis about this: many (but not football fans at the European Championships!) will say that they live in Asia. It is curious that in Soviet times, in the annual directories “National Economy of the USSR”, the Central Statistical Office classified all three Transcaucasian republics as Europe.
Fourthly, many geographers do not attach fundamental importance to any precise establishment of the eastern border between Europe and Asia and recognize the peaceful coexistence of different points of view, rightly believing that there are no special “European” or “Asian” processes and phenomena in nature .
Fifthly, there are also cases of “patriotic schizophrenia” - in the same publication, the authors claim that the southeastern border of Europe runs along the Kuma-Manych depression and that the highest point of Europe is our Russian Elbrus (!?).
However, in connection with the establishment (limitation) of precise borders between Europe and Asia, quite serious geopolitical problems may arise. I’ll tell you about one case that I had a personal connection to. At that time I worked as the head of the geography editorial office of the Soviet Encyclopedia publishing house. Call from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (80s): “We are having negotiations with NATO countries about a zone where it is forbidden deploy missiles of a certain type - both by the USSR and by NATO countries. They propose to consider all of Europe as this zone. Can you give an exact reference where Europe ends (or begins) in the east?” Yu.K. Efremov (a famous Soviet geographer, author of many articles in encyclopedias, including the article “Asia” in the Encyclopedia Britannica) and I gave a certificate that there is no generally recognized (or legally established) eastern border of Europe. There are several options proposed by scientists (not only Soviet, but also Western), as well as administrative bodies: along the main watershed of the Urals ( or along the eastern slopes of the Urals), along the Kuma-Manych depression ( or along the watershed of the Greater Caucasus), along the Ural River ( or along the Emba River). In addition, Soviet administrative bodies (Gosplan, Central Statistical Office) classify Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia as Europe. We also noted that over the centuries, geographers of the world have “shifted” the so-called. "borders" of Europe to the east. So “Europe” is a historical-geographical, cultural-civilizational concept, does not have clear land borders on the map. This was the essence of our certificate (by the way, absolutely objective). I would still sign this certificate from 25 years ago. During further negotiations, the NATO idea died out, but their plan was to draw the border of Europe into the USSR along the eastern slopes of the Urals, the Emba River, the watershed of the Greater Caucasus, i.e. to expand as much as possible the “Soviet part” of Europe (where we would not be able to keep the missiles provided for by the treaty) with corresponding consequences for the defense of our country.
And the last question - how to answer the Unified State Exam on the eastern and southeastern borders of Europe? I am a principled opponent of the accounting assessment of knowledge, but I feel sorry for the applicants and their teachers, and I would answer this way: write as you are told, although this often has nothing to do with real science. And I also had a funny thought - how would the authors of the Unified State Exam questions answer the Russian Foreign Ministry’s request about missiles in Europe? Fortunately, such questions them will not be asked.

A.P. GORKIN,
Doctor of Geography Sciences, Professor, Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov

* Recently, not only in the media, but also in official publications, the expression “continent of Europe” has become increasingly common, which from a scientific point of view is absolutely illiterate.
** The logic, however, is not entirely flawless, if we take into account the Asian genesis of this religion.

The Ural Mountains stretch from north to south for many thousands of kilometers, dividing two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. And along their entire length there are border pillars erected by people to emphasize the exclusivity of these places. Some stand exactly on the geographical border, others - a little to the side, in “convenient” places, some are “official”, others are erected by enthusiasts, others are built in honor of an event - each has its own history.

The tradition, which arose in the century before last, continues to this day. New markers appear almost every year, and not only in the Urals: there are still several options for determining the border between Europe and Asia, and it is almost impossible to come to any one correct one.

We have tried to collect the most complete and detailed list of markers, signs and obelisks “Europe-Asia”. It turned out to be only 64, but in reality there are even more.

Let's start with signs near Yekaterinburg and gradually move away from the city. The marks are divided by region: Sverdlovsk region, Perm region, Chelyabinsk region, Bashkiria, Orenburg region, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Komi, Stavropol Territory, Rostov region, Kazakhstan and Turkey.

Sverdlovsk region

On the territory of the Sverdlovsk region we counted 34 Europe-Asia obelisks.

No. 1 Obelisk on Mount Berezovaya The first “Europe-Asia” pillar in the Urals appeared in the spring of 1837 on the former Siberian Highway near the city of Pervouralsk, on Mount Berezovaya. The sign was installed after Mount Berezovaya was included in the single Ural watershed line. It was a sharp tetrahedral wooden pyramid with the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia”. Mining officials tried for the sake of the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander II, who traveled with the poet V.A. Zhukovsky across Russia, the Urals and Siberia and was supposed to pass here that year.

Thirty-six years later, in 1873, the wooden pillar was replaced with a marble obelisk with a stone pedestal. At the top of the pyramid was a gilded double-headed eagle. The reconstruction was timed to coincide with the passage through the pass of another representative of the imperial family - Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich returning from a trip around the world.

After the October Revolution, the obelisk, as a symbol of royal power, was destroyed. Now in the place where he stood there are two new obelisks. The first one was erected in 1926 - without the eagle, and not marble, but lined with granite (it is number 3 on our list).

In 2008, another new obelisk was opened on the site of the old monument, again with an eagle. It still stands there to this day. This is an impressive 25-meter marble column in the spirit of the Alexandrian Pillar. The area around is landscaped, there are gazebos and flower beds, a bench for lovers and a metal tree for locks that seal the bonds of love.

How to get there:
We are driving along the P242 highway Ekaterinburg-Perm (Novomoskovsky tract). Approximately 25 km after leaving Yekaterinburg, turn right into the village of Novoalekseevskoye. Drive along the main road, then at the T-shaped intersection turn left in the direction of Pervouralsk. Drive straight, after 8 km there will be the Europe-Asia border on the right side.

Coordinates of the obelisk on Mount Berezovaya: 56°52"13.0"N 60°02"52.0"E

No. 2 Obelisk on the Novo-Moskovsky tract
This obelisk was installed in 2004 according to the design of sculptor Konstantin Grunberg. Its shape symbolizes the intertwined letters E and A, and at the base there are stones from the easternmost and westernmost points of Eurasia - Cape Dezhnev and Cape Roca.

This is where tourists and wedding processions most often come. Everyone definitely takes a photo with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. In fact, in this case you will actually be entirely in Asia - the sign is located far from the real border.

This obelisk is located closest to Yekaterinburg, at 17 km of the Novomoskovsky tract, along which it is easiest and get there. The obelisk will be to the right of the route.

No. 3 Obelisk near Pervouralsk On the road to Pervouralsk, a little below the obelisk on Berezovaya, there is another “Europe-Asia” border pillar. The very first marble obelisk looked about the same. Next to it there is a source with spring water, where residents of both Pervouralsk and Yekaterinburg often go.

How to get there: We drive along the Novomoskovsky tract, turn right directly onto the road to Pervouralsk. The obelisk will soon appear on the right hand.

No. 4 Europe-Asia sign at the Cape Verde stop
In 2015, at the Green Cape stop on the Novomoskovsky tract, a large Ural stone appeared - magnetite from the Pervouralsky mine, from Mount Magnitka near Volchikha. It was installed by members of the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers.

In 2019, another stone was installed nearby, and the inscription “Asia Europe” was attached between them. The sign is located exactly on the geographical border of Europe and Asia.

How to get there: along the Novomoskovsky tract to the 32nd kilometer, the sign will be on the left before the yellow overpass.

No. 5 Obelisk at Vershina station
Installed in 1957 during preparation for the VI World Festival of Youth and Students. This is how young people who traveled to Moscow along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Southeast Asia and the Far East learned where Asia ends and Europe begins.

Vershina station belongs to the Sverdlovsk Railway, located near Pervouralsk, you can get there from Yekaterinburg.

No. 6 Obelisk near the village of Kurganovo This sign is much further east than many others. It is located near Yekaterinburg, on the other side of the first four, on Polevskoye Highway, 2 km from the village of Kurganovo.

The sign was installed in June 1986 in the year of the 250th anniversary of the scientific substantiation of the border between Europe and Asia by V.N. Tatishchev. The location for the obelisk was chosen with the assistance of members of the Yekaterinburg branch of the Russian Geographical Society.

Get there getting there is very simple: we drive from Yekaterinburg on Polevskaya (route R-355), pass Mountain Shield, the sign will be on the right hand in front of Kurganovo.

No. 7 Obelisk at Mramorskaya station The black and white pillar at the Mramorskaya railway station was installed in 2004 to replace the destroyed old obelisk.

At the top of the pillar there are signs “Europe” and “Asia”, between them there is the inscription “Ural”, symbolizing the border, and on top there is a figurine of a sable with an arrow from the old coat of arms of the Sverdlovsk region.

No. 8 Obelisk in the village of Mramorskoye
A small homemade obelisk made of marble was installed in 2005 by V. G. Chesnokov and V. P. Vilisov. The obelisk consists of two rectangular marble slabs, with the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia” carved on the top one.

No. 9 Gazebo near Polevsky
A carved wooden gazebo with a table, on the supporting pillars of which the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia” are carved. It was installed in 2001 by the Polevskaya forestry enterprise. Located on the road between the city of Polevskoy and the village of Stantsionny-Polevskoy, at the fork near the collective gardens.

The gazebo is located far from the official geographical border of Europe and Asia. The border runs along the watershed of the Ob and Volga basins, which is located much to the east.

No. 10 Sign on the road Diagon Ford-Asbestos The striped pole was installed in 2007 by members of the Voyager club on the initiative of one of the members, Kirill Vyalykh.

It is located east of Polevsky, on the old logging road from the village of Kosoy Brod to Asbest. You won’t be able to drive straight to the sign in a regular car, only in an SUV, or walk the last couple of kilometers.

No. 11 Obelisk Europe-Asia on the road Revda-Degtyarsk Installed in 1984 for the 250th anniversary of the city of Revda. Made by the Degtyarsky Mining Administration according to the design of the artist L. G. Menshatov and the architect Z. A. Pulyaevskaya.

No. 12 Obelisk on Mount Kamennaya “Owl” was installed by Revda schoolchildren in the 1980s on Mount Kamennaya, on the pass of the Revdinsko-Ufaleysky ridge. It is interesting that its pedestal is a withered trunk of a real tree - it would be impossible to dig a pillar into solid rock.

No. 13 Sign “Pigeons” on Mount Kotel
The sign was installed in May 2011 by tourists from Yekaterinburg and Novouralsk. Project by P. Ushakov and A. Lebedkina. Kissing doves symbolize love and friendship between two continents.

Five signs (No. 14-18) were installed near Novouralsk at different times. Thanks to Ella Podgornova for information about them.

No. 14 Pillar near the village of Pochinok - “Savchukovsky”
The pillar was installed in 1966 on the road through Bilimbay to Murzinka under the leadership of the director of the UEIP A. I. Savchuk. It is located between the villages of Pochinok and Taraskovo on a clearly visible pass over the Bunarsky ridge (at this point the road crosses a wide clearing and a power line).

The installation location does not coincide with the main Ural watershed: the road crosses the watershed closer to Taraskovo.

The obelisk was made of steel sheet at one of the Novouralsk enterprises. It was originally decorated with the coats of arms of the Soviet Union on each side and the inscriptions "Europe" and "Asia" in cast form.

No. 15 Obelisk in the Novouralsk area - “Shitikovsky”
In March 1985, activists of the Kedr tourist club erected a sign of the Europe-Asia border on Mount Perevalnaya along the old road from Verkh-Neyvinsk to the village of Palniki, at the sources of the rivers Tagil, Bunarka (Obi basin) and Shishim (Volga basin).

The obelisk was made by the Degtyarsky Mining Administration according to the design of Boris Shitikov and is a four-meter stele with a sundial. Tourists M. Chernyakin, V. Evstakhov, V. Mikhailov, A. Boltushin took an active part. The guys from the Neiva teenage tourist club provided great assistance in the installation.

Unfortunately, one day the sign fell, and when they raised it, they could not set the clock to the sun, because of this, now it does not show the exact time.

No. 16 Obelisk Europe-Asia on Mount Medvezhka near Murzinka station The obelisk is a metal lattice structure in the shape of a sharp triangular pyramid. The pyramid is crowned with a sharp spire with a multi-rayed star like the lightning rod of the Nevyansk Tower.

The height of the structure is about 4 m. The front edge of the obelisk faces south, on it is the inscription “Bear 499 m”, on the right “Cape Verde 2006”, on the left: “Conceived by V. A. Lomov and son Sergei.” The author of the sign is Vladimir Lomov. The sign was installed in November 2006 with the support of the staff of the Cape Verde sanatorium.

No. 17 Sign on the old Bilimbaevskaya road
A marble obelisk with the inscription “The Europe-Asia sign will be installed here in honor of the builders of the city” was installed on the western slope of Mount Medvezhka near Novouralsk, on the road to ZILovsky Gardens.

The head of the former builders' tourist club, Viktor Mikhailov, planned to erect a grandiose sign, but, alas, did not have time to do this, and the temporary obelisk turned into a permanent one.

No. 18 Obelisk near the Aleksandrovsky mine - “Voroninsky” The sign appeared in October 2016. It was installed near the Aleksandrovsky mine and is dedicated to ore explorers and miners, as evidenced by the inscription on one of the faces. The area at the foot of the stele is lined with local minerals. The author and implementer of the idea is a teacher at the Mining University, local historian, mineralogist Oleg Voronin.

No. 19 Sign on the road from Karpushikha to the Old Stone rock
The most modest and inconspicuous sign of all is simply a wooden post with a sign on which a cross and the words “Europe and Asia” are carved.

Later, three more signs appeared below: “Europe”, “Asia” and “Merry Mountains” - this is the name of the ridge along which the watershed passes, and therefore the border of parts of the world. They were added by Andrey Pichugin and Igor Pavlyukov.

No. 20 Sign at Mount Bilimbay A wooden sign with the name of the Merry Mountains ridge was installed in 2011 by Nizhny Tagil local historian Andrey Pichugin together with his friend Valery Rogozhin. The two blue triangles at the top symbolize the Ural Mountains.

The pillar stands on the eastern slope of Mount Bilimbai at the side of the logging road from Chernoistochinsk to Bolshie Galashki.

No. 21 Sign at Mount Belaya In 2013, local historian Andrei Pichugin and his namesake Alexander Pichugin installed another wooden sign “Europe-Asia Merry Mountains” - in the saddle between the Belaya and Poperechnaya mountains, where the road from the village of Uralets connects to the timber road from Chernoistochinsk to Bolshie Galashki.

No. 22 Sign at the Visimsky Nature Reserve
The sign was installed in the fall of 2018 in the protective zone of the Visimsky Biosphere Reserve on the initiative of its employees. It is a flat shield mounted between two wooden pillars, with signs “Europe” and “Asia” in five languages.

The sign is located 20 km west of Kirovgrad, on the road from Kirovgrad to Bolshie Galashki after the bridge over the Tagil River, between the sources of the Sulem and Lomovka rivers. It was installed a little east of the real border of Europe and Asia, in a picturesque place overlooking Mount Ezhovaya.

No. 23.24 Obelisk near the village of Uralets and the Asia-Europe bus stop
The obelisk is located on the pass over the Vesyolye Gory ridge near the village of Uralets, not far from Mount Belaya. Dedicated to the first successes of Soviet cosmonautics. The sign was installed in 1960 or 1961 in place of an old wooden post.

The obelisk was made by workers of a mechanical plant in the village of Uralets according to the design of V.P. Krasavchenko. A 6 m high square column is crowned with a model of the globe. Previously, satellites and the Vostok ship revolved around it in steel orbits.
Across the road from the obelisk there is an Asia-Europe bus stop.

Sign and stop coordinates: 57°40"38.0″N 59°41"58.5″E

No. 25 Europe-Asia pillar at Elizavetinsky
On the old Visimsky highway from Nizhny Tagil to Visimo-Utkinsk, near the village of Elizavetinskoye, there is a Europe-Asia sign - a wooden pole with carved indicators of the parts of the world.

The details of the origin of the sign are not known exactly. According to some sources, the sign was established in 1957 by the spouses M.E. and V.F. Lyapunov, according to others - in 1977 by the forester of the Chernoistochinsky hunting estate.

No. 26 Obelisk on the Big Ural pass near the village of Sinegorsky
The pillar is located at the Bolshoy Ural pass on the Serebryansky tract, 2 km from the village of Sinegorsky. It was installed in 1967 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Great October Revolution by workers of the Sinegorsky timber industry enterprise. The author of the project is A. A. Schmidt.

The basis of the structure is a welded sheet steel stele 9 meters high. On the upper edge of the stele there is a metal sickle and hammer. The sign was silver; in recent years it has been painted blue.

No. 27 Obelisk in Kushva near the village of Kedrovka
This is one of the very first obelisks of Europe-Asia. The memorial sign was erected in 1868 with the money of gold miners on the pass near Mount Kedrovka. Made in the form of a cast iron chapel. Once the domes were gilded, and on the spire there was a double-headed eagle. The inscription on one side: “In memory of the crossing of the Urals by His Imperial Highness the Sovereign Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich on August 3, 1868.”

During the civil war, the obelisk was badly damaged; in the 1970s, it was restored by tourists from the Nizhne-Saldinsky plant. The obelisk is located on the Kushva-Serebryanka road, 4 km from the village of Kedrovka.

No. 28 Obelisk near the village of Baranchinsky Installed on a logging road west of the village of Baranchinsky in the Kushvinsky district, south of Mount Kedrovka.

Cast from cast iron at the Baranchinsky Electromechanical Plant according to the design of A. Nikitin in 1996.

No. 29 Obelisk at Khrebet-Uralsky station
The marble obelisk was installed on the platform of the Khrebet-Uralsky station in 2003 in honor of the 125th anniversary of the Sverdlovsk Railway.

The village of Khrebet-Uralsky is located near the border with the Perm Territory. The watershed is located a couple of kilometers west of the obelisk, at the source of the Tura River.

No. 30 Signs at 276 km of the Gornozavodskaya railway
Identical metal triangular pyramids were installed in 1878 during the construction of the railway on both sides of the track.

The ribs of the pyramids are made from railroad tracks. Before the revolution, the chambers at the top of the obelisks had kerosene lanterns that were lit at night.

No. 31 Sign near the village of Pavda A simple black and white pillar stands at the fork of three forest roads - to Pavda, Kytlym and Rastyos. At its foot lies a stone where coins are thrown for good luck.

No. 32 Pillar at Kazan Stone Another striped pillar “Europe-Asia” stands on the border of the Sverdlovsk region and the Perm region on the road from Severouralsk to the Zhigalan waterfalls, at the foot of the Kazan stone. Possibly destroyed.

No. 33 Obelisk near the village of Kytlym The village of Kytlym is located in the north of the Sverdlovsk region, west of Serov. 8 km from Kytlym, on the road to Verkhnyaya Kosva, there is another Europe-Asia obelisk. It was installed in 1981 by workers of the Yuzhno-Zaozersk mine.

The lower part of the obelisk is a thick steel pipe. The upper part is a flat triangular metal figure, reminiscent of an arrow pointer.

No. 34 Sign on the pass over Popovsky Uval Installed at an altitude of 774 m on the road from Ivdel to the Sibirevsky mine. The pillar is two-faced - on one side there is a European face, on the other an Asian one.

No. 36 Sign at Mount Kolpaki
The obelisk itself was destroyed in the 2000s, now only the pedestal remains. Located on the road from the village. Fishing to the north, at the Medvedka-Kosya fork.

The signs at this place are generally unlucky; they are constantly being broken. Before the revolution, there was an elegant metal pyramid here. In 1973, during a gathering of tourists on Tyopla Gora, another sign was installed here. In 1985 - another one, a rocket model made from scrap metal. The photo with the girls dates back to the early 2000s - the rocket no longer existed.

No. 37 Sign on the border of the Sverdlovsk region, Perm region and the Komi Republic, on Mount Saklaimsori-Chakhl The place where Europe, Asia, the Komi Republic, the Perm Territory and the Sverdlovsk region meet, and also the border of the basins of three great rivers - the Ob, Pechora and Volga.

The sign was installed on July 25, 1997 on the initiative of Gennady Igumnov, who at that time held the position of governor of the Perm region. On the pillar there is an inscription: “Governor Igumnov as a keepsake for posterity.”

No. 39,40,41 Road signs in Magnitogorsk

In addition to the obelisk, Magnitogorsk has road signs marking the border between Europe and Asia.

The city has four bridges across the Urals, which are called “crossings” here, because they connect entire parts of the world. In addition to the Central one mentioned in the previous paragraph, there are also Northern, Southern and Magnitny (aka Cossack crossing). There are road signs on every bridge, except the shortest one, the Northern one. Is it true, judging by Google panoramas, there were no longer signs at the Southern Crossing in 2018, but there is a possibility that they will be returned.

Coordinates: Central passage 53°25"20.0"N 59°00"35.5"E ;
Magnetic transition 53°22"40.4"N 59°00"18.3"E;
Southern passage 53°23"53.4"N 59°00"05.5"E

No. 42 Road sign on the Europe-Asia bridge in the village of Kizilskoye
Kizilskoye is located 90 km from Magnitogorsk. Signs are installed on both sides of the bridge over the Ural River.

No. 43 Obelisk on the pass over the Ural-Tau ridge near Zlatoust A stainless steel stele on a high stone base appeared on the M5 Ural federal highway between Zlatoust and Miass at the pass over the Ural-Tau ridge in 1987. The author of the layout is the architect S. Pobeguts.

The inscriptions with the names of parts of the world are located “in reverse”: on the European side of the stele there is the inscription “Asia”, and on the Asian side - “Europe”. The sign works like a road sign - the driver sees the name of the part of the world he is entering.

No. 44 Obelisk in Verkhneuralsk
In 2006, on the Ural River on the outskirts of Verkhneuralsk, in the place where the Verkhneyaitskaya fortress was located, a geographical sign was installed marking the Europe-Asia border.

No. 45 Obelisk near Urzhumka station
Another obelisk between Zlatoust and Miass is located at the Urzhumka railway station, half a kilometer east of it.

This is one of the very first signs marking the border between Europe and Asia. It appeared in 1892 along with the station, the opening was timed to coincide with the completion of construction of this section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The author of the project is engineer and writer N. G. Garin-Mikhailovsky.

The obelisk is a tetrahedral prism topped by a pointed pyramid, with a protruding belt on which Europe and Asia are written. The monument is made of local Ural granite. It is under state protection as an object of cultural heritage of regional significance.

No. 46 Obelisk in the area of ​​Kyshtym
To the south of Kyshtym stretches the Dog Mountains ridge, at the pass through which there is a 5-meter granite pyramid, symbolizing the border of Europe and Asia. At the base of the pyramid there is a spring, from where a stream flows down to the Asian side.

In 2012, the granite pyramid was replaced with a metal one with a stone base. The sign is located on the road Slyudorudnik - Bolshiye Egusty, 2.5 km from Egusty.

No. 48 Old obelisks on the Ural River
Near the village of Novobairamgulovo, on the Uchaly-Beloretsk highway, there are two more obelisks “Europe” and “Asia”: on both sides of the former road bridge across the Urals.

These obelisks are located 300 meters south of the new signs. They were built in 1968 according to a sketch by the artist D. M. Adigamov and architect U. F. Zainikeev. Obelisks are flat steles topped with images of a hammer and sickle, and in their lower part there is a globe. The bridge where they stood is now destroyed.

No. 49 Sign at the source of the Ural River
The sign “The Ural River Begins Here” was installed in 1973 by an amateur group. The cast-iron bridge across the source and the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia” appeared much later.

No. 51 Steles on the White Bridge
The Europe-Asia pedestrian bridge over the Ural River, or White Bridge, is one of the main attractions of Orenburg. In the middle of the bridge, on both sides, there are two shiny square steles; they appeared relatively recently.

No. 52 Sign in Orsk on the Upper Bridge
Orsk is another city that is divided by the Ural River into European and Asian parts.

On both sides of the large road bridge across the Urals there are signs with the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia”.

No. 54 Gas pipeline “Northern Lights” in the Subpolar Urals
The sign was put up by gas workers. It is located on the road running along the Northern Lights gas pipeline from the village of Vuktyl to the central base of the Yugyd-va natural park.

No. 56 Easternmost point of Europe
The location of the point was determined in 2003 by members of the Russian-Belarusian expedition, and at the same time they installed a memorial sign (pictured), which was later broken by local residents. This point had no official status.

In 2019, geologists from the Ural Mining University, in particular Firat Nurmukhametov, together with the editor-in-chief of the Ural Pathfinder Maxim Firsov, re-determined the coordinates of the point - they turned out to be 800 meters away from the old ones. They want to put a new sign here and make this place popular for tourists, like the other three extreme points of Europe: Norway, Portugal and Spain.

The point is located on the border of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Komi Republic, not far from Lake Maloe Shchuchye.

No. 59 Sign north of Mount Yanyghachechahl
Small homemade wooden sign. Located in the Subpolar Urals at an altitude of 709 m north of Ivdel, near Mount Yanyghachechahl.

No. 63 Gazebos in Atyrau
On both sides of the bridge over the Ural River there are gazebos with the inscriptions “Europe” and “Asia”.

Coordinates: 47°06"18.0″N 51°54"53.1″E

Türkiye

No. 64 Bridge of Martyrs July 15 in Istanbul
Istanbul is another transcontinental city, it is divided into European and Asian parts by the Bosphorus Strait. Europe and Asia are connected by three suspension bridges across the Bosphorus.

The 15 July Martyrs' Bridge (until 2016 - the "Bosphorus Bridge") is the first of three. It was built in 1973 based on a design by Russian engineer Oleg Aleksandrovich Kerensky. On both sides of the bridge there are signs “Welcome to Europe/Asia”.

Coordinates: 41°02"51.0″N 29°01"56.0″E

Read us in

The border - and you immediately imagine thorns, border guards, dogs, customs and other attributes of the separation of states. But there are borders in the world that are clearly marked on the map, but in reality are marked only by man-made steles or monuments.

Europe and Asia are two worlds, two sisters. Most of the border between them, 5524 km long, passes through Russian territory, through steppes, mountains and seas, from the northern seas to the Caucasus Mountains.

The history of determining the dividing line begins in Ancient Greece; since then, scientific minds and pundits have conducted a lot of research and finally arrived at what we see on modern cartographic documents. You can trust them, scientists, because geographers, cartographers and geologists are not armchair scientists. It seems that every kilometer accessible to humans was covered by restless researchers with their own feet. The last such expedition was carried out three years ago by the Russian Geographical Society in the Republic of Kazakhstan; some conclusions were drawn, which, however, have not yet been reflected on maps.

Therefore, omitting all the subtleties and vicissitudes of the painstaking work of historians, geographers, cartographers and others close to the creation of the geographical border of people, we can outline its existing outlines on the modern map of Russia and Kazakhstan. Over time, it is likely to undergo changes, as each generation of scientists tries to make their contribution to their field of science. In addition, all this work also has practical significance, for example, for organizing new tourist routes that increase the possibility of financial investments in the regions, thus improving the social situation of the peoples living here; creation of new natural parks and reserves; clarification of encyclopedias and geography textbooks.

In the meantime, on the maps of Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan, the border is defined from the southern shore of the Sea of ​​Azov, going to the lower reaches of the great Don, higher along the Kumo-Manych depression, which is near the Kuma River and crossing the Caspian Sea, goes to the Emba River, then through the territory of Kazakhstan along the eastern the slope of the Mugodzhar Mountains (local name for the Ural Mountains), passes the Aktobe region (RK) and returns to Russia. It stretches across the land of the Orenburg region, then the Chelyabinsk, Sverdlovsk regions and through the Perm region to the north - between the Khanty-Mansiysk, Yamalo-Nenets districts and the Nenets Autonomous District and Komi., reaching along the eastern base of the Urasl ridge to the coast of the Kara Sea

The geographical border between the two parts of the world, Europe and Asia, is not only a dividing line, but also a uniting two continents.

How can a simple traveler determine this very border with his own eyes, without looking at maps? It’s very simple, if you follow the border line (except for hard-to-reach high mountain ranges, river bottoms and seas), you can see monuments and steles. They began to be installed at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and they were made of wood. Over time, they were replaced by structures made from more durable materials - stone, steel, marble. On each memorial sign there are two words Europe - Asia. It has not been thoroughly calculated how many there are in total; these monuments, for example, are more than twenty in the Urals. These places are attractive to tourists, travelers, and everyone passing through because you can stay in two parts of the world at the same time. Various events are held here - from the laying of flowers by newlyweds to international festivals. In any case, monuments serve both to mark a geographical boundary and as a cultural and historical heritage for future descendants

There is an alternative option, according to which the border is drawn along the watershed of the Ural Territory and the Caucasus. A historical, geographical overview of the continent will help you find out which version is true.

Early performances

Since ancient times, people have wondered about where the earth ends and what the parts of the world are. About 3 thousand years ago, the land was first conventionally divided into 3 regions: West, East and Africa.

The ancient Greeks believed that the border between Asia and Europe ran along the Black Sea. At that time it was called Ponto. The Romans moved the border to the Sea of ​​Azov. In their opinion, the division took place along the waters of Meotida, including the Kerch Strait between Europe and Asia and

In their works, Polybius, Herodotus, Pamponius, Ptolemy and Strabo wrote that the border between parts of the world historically should be drawn along the coast of the Sea of ​​​​Azov, smoothly moving to the bed of the Don. Such judgments remained true until the 18th century AD. Similar conclusions were presented by Russian theologians in the book Cosmography, dating from the 17th century. Nevertheless, in 1759 M. Lomonosov concluded that the border between Asia and Europe should be drawn along the Don, Volga and Pechora rivers.

Performances of the 18th and 19th centuries

Gradually, the concepts of the division of parts of the world began to come together. In medieval Arab chronicles, the border was the waters of the Kama and Volga rivers. The French believed that the dividing line ran along the riverbed of the Ob.

In 1730, the Swedish scientist Stralenberg put forward a proposal to draw a border along the Ural Mountains basin. An identical theory was outlined a little earlier in his author’s works by the Russian theologian V. Tatishchev. He refuted the idea of ​​​​dividing parts of the world only along the rivers of the Russian Empire. In his opinion, the border between Asia and Europe should be drawn from the Great Belt to the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Tauris Mountains. Thus, both theories agreed on one thing - the division takes place along the waters of the Ural ridge.

For some time, the ideas of Stralenberg and Tatishchev remained unnoticed. At the end of the 18th century, recognition of the authenticity of their judgments was reflected in the works of Polunin, Falk, and Shchurovsky. The only thing the scientists disagreed on was drawing the border along Miass.

Back in the 1790s, the geographer Pallas proposed limiting the division to the southern slopes of the Volga, General Syrt, Manych and Ergeni rivers. Because of this, the Caspian Lowland belonged to Asia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the border was again moved a little further west - to the Emba River.

Confirmation of theories

In the spring of 2010, the Russian Society of Geographers organized a large-scale expedition to the territory of Kazakhstan. The purpose of the campaign was to revise general political views on the line dividing parts of the world - a mountain range (see photo below). The border between Europe and Asia was supposed to run along the southern part of the Ural Upland. As a result of the expedition, scientists determined that the division is located a little further from Chrysostom. Further, the Ural ridge disintegrated and lost its pronounced axis. In this area the mountains are divided into several parallels.

A dilemma arose between scientists: which of the disintegrated ridges should be considered the boundary of the parts of the world. During the further expedition, it was determined that the correct division should take place along the banks of the Emba and Ural rivers. Only they are able to clearly imagine the true boundaries of the continent.

Another version was to establish the division axis along the eastern isthmus of the Caspian Lowland. The reports of Russian scientists were taken into account, but they never received consideration by the International Union.

Modern border

For a long time, political views prevented the European and Asian powers from agreeing on the final division of the parts of the world. Nevertheless, at the end of the 20th century, the definition of the official border did take place. Both sides started from cultural and historical concepts.

Today, the axis of division between Europe and Asia goes through the Aegean, Marmara, Black and Caspian seas, the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, the waters of the Urals all the way to the Arctic Ocean. This border is presented in the international geographical atlas. Thus, the Ural is the only river between Europe and Asia through which the division passes.

According to the official version, Azerbaijan and Georgia are partially located on the territory of both parts of the world. Istanbul is actually a transcontinental city due to the Bosphorus Strait belonging to both Asia and Europe. A similar situation exists with the entire country of Turkey. It is noteworthy that the city of Rostov also belongs to Asia, although it is located on Russian territory.

Exact division in the Urals

The question of the border axis between parts of the world unexpectedly opened an active discussion among the residents and authorities of Yekaterinburg. The fact is that this city between Europe and Asia is currently located several tens of kilometers from the conventional division zone. Taking into account the rapid territorial growth, Yekaterinburg may in the coming years inherit the fate of Istanbul, becoming transcontinental. It is noteworthy that a memorial has already been erected 17 km from the Novo-Moskovsky tract, showing the border between parts of the world.

The situation is much more interesting in the outskirts of the city. There are large water areas, mountain ranges, and populated areas. At the moment, the border runs along the watershed of the Middle Urals, so for now these areas remain in Europe. This applies to Novouralsk, and the mountains Kotel, Berezovaya, Varnachya, Khrastalnaya, and this fact casts doubt on the correctness of the construction of a border memorial on the Novo-Moskovsky tract.

Transcontinental states

Today Russia is the largest country in terms of border area between Europe and Asia. Such information was announced at the end of the 20th century at the UN summit. There are five transcontinental states in total, including the Russian Federation.

Of the rest, Kazakhstan should be singled out. This country is not a member of the Council of Europe or its Asian counterpart. Republic with an area of ​​2.7 million square meters. km and a population of about 17.5 million people has intercontinental status. Today it is part of the Eurasian Community.

Border countries such as Armenia and Cyprus, as well as Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan fall under the jurisdiction of the Council of Europe. Relations with Russia are defined only within the framework of agreed regulations.

All these states are considered transcontinental. Türkiye stands apart among them. It occupies only 783 thousand square meters. km, however, it is one of the most important trade and strategic centers of Eurasia. Representatives of NATO and the European Union are still fighting for influence in this region. The population here is more than 81 million people. Türkiye has access to four seas: the Mediterranean, Black, Marmara and Aegean. It borders with 8 countries, including Greece, Syria and Bulgaria.

Transcontinental bridges

In total, over $1.5 billion was spent on all structures. The main bridge between Asia and Europe lies across the Bosphorus Strait. Its length is more than 1.5 kilometers with a width of 33 m. The Bosphorus Bridge is a suspension bridge, that is, the main fastenings are on top, and the structure itself has the shape of an arc. The height at the central point is 165 meters.

The bridge is not particularly picturesque, but is considered the main intercontinental symbol of Istanbul. The authorities spent about $200 million on construction. It is worth noting that pedestrians are strictly prohibited from climbing the bridge to prevent suicides. There is a charge for transport.

You can also highlight the border bridges in Orenburg and Rostov.

Transcontinental memorials

Most of the obelisks are located in the Urals, Kazakhstan and Istanbul. Of these, the memorial sign at the Yugorsky Shar Strait should be highlighted. It is located on and is the northernmost point of the border between Europe and Asia.

The extreme eastern coordinates of the transcontinental axis are marked with a sign in the upper reaches of the Malaya Shchuchaya River.

Among the obelisks, one can highlight monuments near the village of Promysla, at the Ural Ridge station, at the Sinegorsky pass, on Mount Kotel, in Magnitogorsk, etc.