The Ural Mountains

The Ural Mountains form the 1,500-mile boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia. Most of these mountains pass through and divide the country of Russia. The Urals are what geologists call folded mountains, created when two of Earth's large continental plates bump into each other and wrinkle. Valleys carved from melting ice have created Russia's Kama and Belaya Rivers, which form the Volga River. Chapters discuss the mining and industrial history of the Urals, and the efforts by environmentalists to clean up one of the world's most polluted regions.