§ 44. History of the discovery and study of certain regions of Eurasia
1. Recall that the state ancient world existed in Eurasia.
2. Where committed trips Medieval Italian explorers Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta Moroccan?
RESEARCH EUROPE. Mediterranean coast Europe has been opened by the Phoenicians. However, only the ancient Greeks, again opening these territories, summarized and show it to the present day geographical information about them. Yes, the famous historian Herodotus you who lived in the V century. BC. E., in his writings described all known at the time of the earth. In IV. BC. BC Greek navigator Pifey went in search of the western boundary known to Europeans world. Admitting that he made a diving dovkruzh Iberian Peninsula to the west coast. UK and may have reached Iceland. Ancient Greeks made many discoveries in Southern Europe, sailed the Black Sea.
In the Middle Ages were completed opening the North coast of Europe. Russian-Pomors, Natives of ancient Novgorod, in the tenth to twelfth centuries. reached Studenyy (now it is called White) and Barents Sea. They settled on the coast and marine fisheries have become involved in fish and marine animals. Pomors opened numerous islands of the Arctic Ocean.
HISTORY OPENING OF NORTHERN ASIA. Due to strict environmental conditions northern regions of Asia - Siberia, Far East, Kamchatka - a long time remained unexplored. From the sixteenth century. vast expanses of the Urals to the Pacific Ocean zemleprohidtsi were Russians. Go vidvazhuvalysya unit, because no one knew there waiting. The first European who began to develop SiberiaWas Ermak Tymofiyevych. Roads at that time was not so in depth vast land of rivers and rivulets making their way.
In the seventeenth century. zemleprohidtsi reached the Far East: John Moskvitin with his detachment reached the shores Okhotsk SeaAnd Vasily Poyarkov and Yerofey Khabarov - To Amur River. Vladimir Atlasov far and wide for the first time was a distant land Kamchatka. He researched the numerous settlements and exploding volcanoes. Semen DezhnovuWhich departed from Kolyma estuary swimming in the Arctic Ocean along the coast continent, achieved the farthest edge of the Siberian land - east Cape Asia, named after his name. He discovered that Asia and North America separated Strait.
Great importance for research of the coast of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans had Great Northern ExpeditionOrganized by the Russian government in the XVIII. Under leadership Vitus Bering in the expedition was attended by hundreds of researchers. It was the largest at those times as the number of participants and in duration and scope explored territory.
Until the nineteenth century. Russians are examined and placed under high hand "of Russia large parts of North and Northeast Asia. These findings were related to the searches of places, rich fur-bearing animals, and later - with search for minerals. Study Russians were then used European geographers in the preparation of maps of Asia.
STUDY CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIA. No less actively studied the mainland and Asian scientists. Even in ancient times the Chinese, Indians, Babylonians collected geographical data about the nature and Asians. BC geographical Asians knowledge about western lands were vague and based on stories of the messengers and traders. In the first century. BC. BC Chinese traveler Qian Zhang opened the mountain Pamir and Tien Shan. He paved the way from China to event - the so-called Silk RouteThat hundreds of years served as merchants.
Europeans first information about Central and South Asia, as you recall, were wandering through the Italian merchant Marco Polo in the XIII century. Later in the fifteenth century. In India visited the Russian merchant Athanasius NikitinThat lived there for more than two years. His observation of nature, cities and population this country as outlined traveler notes, which he called "Walking for the three sea ".
Hard to reach with high mountains and arid deserts Central Asia began to thoroughly study the relatively late - only in the nineteenth century. Even distant Australia in those days knew better. Russian traveler and geographer Peter Seed-Tyanshanskiy made two trips huge mountain system Asia - Tian Shanem. He was first scheme of relief and altitude poyasnosti opened the mountain glaciers, investigated alpine Lake Issyk-Kul. By recognition of its scientific merit P. Semenov received the title of Tian-shanskoy.
Geographer Nikolai Przewalski made four expedition in 1870-1885 he was in Central Asia and the examined area by area almost equal to Australia. He first described the map and brought the mountain ranges, Tibet highlands, deserts, lakes, sources of great Asian rivers. During Travel meteospoterezhennya he conducted and gathered rich collection of plants and mountain species. Traveller described the new species - the Asian wild camel and wild horse (now known as Przewalski's horse). Everything seen scientist described in his writings, where paid much attention to the local population and its life.
Now research carried out by Eurasia Pictures taken from space satellites. Numerous scientific stations conduct regular surveillance of nature.
Questions and Tasks
1. What is the significance of geography for information about Europe Greek scholars?
2. Why vast Asia a long time remained unexplored?
3. What areas of study were zemleprohidtsyamy RUSSIA?
4. What contribution to the study of Asia did Peter Seed-Tyanshanskiy?
5. What research was conducted and where Nikolai Przewalski?
6. Locate on the map objects, named in honor of researchers Eurasia.
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