Ural Mountains
3
3.0
- proper noun
- The rising heat has touched off raging forest fires... in the Ural Mountains of Russia... the Black Forest of Germany, and the rich French timberlands.
Examples
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Carved its way across the Ural Mountains into Russia... and plunged southward across the borders of India.
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My grandparents took many photos during their trip to the Ural Mountains last summer.
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The northernmost sites in Eastern Europe are Sungir, east of Moscow, and Ostrovskaia in the central Ural Mountains.
Academic text (2000) -
Most flagrantly, the arbitrary separation of Asia and Europe along the Ural Mountains may once have served Russian imperial purposes, but today, as before, it makes no geographical sense whatsoever.
Academic text (2000) -
The scenic beauty of the Ural Mountains attracts countless hikers every year.
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Many species of wildlife can be found in the Ural Mountains, making it a great destination for nature lovers.
Synonyms
5
6.0
A mountain range in western Russia from the Arctic Ocean to the Caspian Sea that divides Europe and Asia
3
5.1
A mountain range in Russia that forms part of the border between Europe and Asia
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward toponymic construction: a proper name plus the noun 'mountains' signals a mountain range. A B1 learner who knows 'mountain' and recognizes 'Ural' as a place name will readily infer it refers to the Ural mountain range, a pattern common across languages. Therefore the meaning is compositionally clear rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Ural Mountains may come from an old local word Ural meaning 'belt'. Because the range runs like a long belt across the land, people used it as a natural 'boundary' between Europe and Asia.