Middle-Urals Ring Structure
The Middle-Urals Ring Structure is a circular structure located in the central Ural Mountains. The structure has a diameter in the range of 400 to 550 km and formed in the Precambrian prior to the Uralian orogeny.
The structure is reflected in the bend of Ural Mountains at 56° N and in a concentric-radial drainage pattern seen in the Belaya and Kama rivers and their tributaries.
The Middle-Urals Ring Structure has been identified as a possible impact structure and it has also been posited that the pre-existing ring structure disturbed the development of the Uralian orogeny causing the east-convex bend of the mountains.
The eastern rim of the structure contains the main Ural ore fields of iron, copper, chromite, nickel, titanium, gold and platinum. On the western half of the structure there are important oil fields. In addition the Middle-Urals Ring Structure hosts world-class deposits of gemstones.
