Land, rivers and forests

Read and translate the text into Ukrainian.

Ukraine consists mainly of a flat, fertile plain. About a third of the land is suitable for growing crops. Ukraine may be divided into six main land regions: the Dnieper-Pripyat Lowland, the Northern Ukrainian Lowland, the Central Plateau, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains, the Coastal Plain, and the Crimean Mountains.

The Dnieper-Pripyat Lowland lies in Northern Ukraine. Forests once blanketed all of the lowland but now cover only about a fourth of its area. Fathers use the most of land as pasture. The Pripyat River drains the western lowland, which has many marshes and forests of pine and oak. The Northern Ukrainian Upland consists of a low plateau. Farmers in the region grow wheat and sugar beets here and raise livestock. Large deposits of natural gas lie to the south of Kharkiv.

The Central Plateau extends from to western Ukraine. Rich, black soils called chernozem and sufficient rain make the region Ukraine’s most productive farmland. The Donets Basin /the Donbas/ lies in the eastern part of the plateau. The Donbas is Ukraine’s leafing industrial region and includes the cities of Donetsk, Horlivka and Luhansk. This area has large deposits of coal. The Eastern Carpathian Mountains rise in Western Ukraine. Major economic activities in the region are farming in the river valleys, raising livestock, and logging. The mountains have deposits of oil and natural gas.

The Coastal Plain extends along the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Coastline has cliffs and many shallow lagoons. The region suffers from droughts. The farmers use the water of the Dnieper to irrigate crops.

The Crimean Mountains rise in the Southern part of the Crimean Peninsula. The mountains climb gradually from the north but slope steeply to the Black Sea in the south.

Ukraine has many rivers and more than 3000 lakes. Ukraine’s longest river is the Dnieper (Dnipro in Ukrainian). It flows from the north to the Black Sea and measures 2,285 km. It ranks as Europe’s third longest waterway. Ships travel along most of the Dnieper’s length. Ukraine’s second longest river is the Dniester (Dnister in Ukrainian). It measures 1,360 km and flows from the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea. Other important waterways include the Southern Buh, Desna, Pripyat and Siversky Donets Rivers.

30% of Ukraine’s territory is occupied by the area of natural vegetation. 14% is forested, 8% is swampland and 3% is haylands. Most forests and timber reserves are in the Carpathians and Polissia. Ukraine has mostly coniferous (pine, fir) and deciduous trees (oak, beech and birch). Plantations of oak and beech are increasing. The wealth of the forest includes also berries, mushrooms and medicinal herbs. Characteristic of Polissia are the alder, willow, pine, oak, birch, aspen, maple and linden. The Forest-Steppe zone contains the oak, elm, hornbeam, black poplar, willow, ash and pine.

In the Carpathians the vegetation is located in zones according to altitude: mixed forests, fir trees, grasses and low scrub. In spring the alpine plateaux are abloom with saffron, primrose, mercury, snowdrop and edelweiss.

The Crimean Mountains vegetation is very diverse. Oak and juniper are very widespread. In April snowdrops, crocuses, steppe sedge come into bloom here. In May there are carpets of bright-red peonies and blue cornflowers. The parks of the Southern Coast contain cypresses, palms, magnolias, platans, and laurels. The Nikitsky Botanical Gardens contain plants from all over the world. Ukraine boasts of its National Parks. The Carpathian National Park is the largest in Ukraine. The second largest park is the Shatsk-National Park. The plant life as well as the wildlife is rich and varied − relic firs, medical herbs and even black storks can be found. Tourists are welcomed at recreation places in the forest glades and on horse-riding routes.

Fill in the gaps with the words from the table:

Donbas	fertile	wheat	gas	crops
lagoons	alder	chernozem	plateau	juniper

1. The Northern Ukrainian Upland consists of a low ________ .

2. Rich, black soils are called __________.

3. The Coastline has many shallow __________.

4. Characteristic of Polissia are the __________ willow, pine and linden.

5. In the Crimean Mountains oak and _________ are very widespread.

6. Ukraine consists mainly of a flat, ________ plain.

7. About a third of the land is suitable for growing _________.

8. Farmers in the region grow _________ and sugar beets here.

9. Large deposits of natural _________ lie to the south of Kharkiv.

10. The _________ lies in the eastern part of the plateau.

Put nouns from the table instead of the pronouns in the sentence:

droughts forests snowdrops juniper cornflowers

1. They once blanketed all of the lowland.

2. The Coastal Plain suffers from them.

3. It is very spread in Crimea.

4. They come into bloom in April.

5. In May there are carpets of them in the Crimean Mountains.

Answer the questions:

1. What are the main land regions of Ukraine?

2. Are there deposits of natural gas in Ukraine?

3. What is the Donbas? Why is it important to Ukraine?

4. What natural deposits are there in the Carpathians?

5. Where in Ukraine can you see the plants from all over the world?

6. What are the National Parks of Ukraine?