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| Continent | Europe |
|---|---|
| Region | North European Plain |
| Coordinates | 52°00′N20°00′E / 52.000°N 20.000°E /52.000; 20.000 |
| Area | Ranked 69th |
| • Total | 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi) |
| • Land | 98.52% |
| • Water | 1.48% |
| Coastline | 770 km (480 mi) |
| Borders | 3,582 km (2,226 mi) |
| Highest point | Rysy, 2,500 meters (8,202 ft) |
| Lowest point | Raczki Elbląskie −1.8 meters (−6 ft) |
| Longest river | Vistula 1,047 km (651 mi) |
| Largest lake | Lake Śniardwy 113.4 km2 (43.8 sq mi) |
| Climate | temperate climate |
| Terrain | Swamps, level terrain, hills, mountains |
| Natural resources | Coal, sulfur, copper, silver, natural gas, iron, zinc, lead, salt, arable land |
| Exclusive economic zone | 30,533 km2 (11,789 sq mi) |
| Maps of Poland | |
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| Topography | |
| Major agglomerations | |
 Interactive map with links to articles | |
| Provinces and highways | |
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| Satellite photo by NASALandsat 7 | |
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| Hypsometry | |
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| Satellite photo, winter 2003 | |
 Snow cover in mid-winter | |
Poland (Polish:Polska) is a country that extends across theNorth European Plain from theSudetes andCarpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of theBaltic Sea in thenorth. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of theEuropean Union and the ninth-largest country inEurope by area. The territory of Poland covers approximately 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi), of which 98.52% is land and 1.48% is water.[1] The Polish coastline was estimated at 770 km (478 mi) in length.[2] Poland's highest point isRysy, at 2,500 m (8,202 ft).[3]
Geographically, Poland is a diverse country; although most of the central terrain is flat, there is an abundance of lakes, rivers, hills, swamps, beaches, islands and forests elsewhere. The Baltic coast has two naturalharbours, the larger situated in theGdańsk-Gdynia region, and the smaller nearSzczecin in the far northwest. The northeastern region, also known as theMasurian Lake District with more than 2,000 lakes,[4] is densely wooded and sparsely populated. To the south of the lake district, and across central Poland a vast region of plains stretches all the way to theSudetes on theCzech andGerman borders southwest, and to theCarpathians on the Czech,Slovak andUkrainian borders southeast. The central lowlands had been formed byglacial erosion in thePleistoceneice age.[5]
The country's longest and most prominent river is theVistula at 1,047 kilometres (651 miles) in length, also the ninth-longest in Europe.[6] Other notable rivers within the administrative borders areWarta at 808 km (502 mi), and theOder at 741 km (460 mi).[7] Poland's largest lake isŚniardwy with the surface area of 113.4 km2 (43.8 sq mi), followed byMamry with 102.8 km2 (39.7 sq mi).[8]
The country extends 649 kilometers from north to south and 689 kilometers from east to west. The total area is 311,888 square kilometres (120,421 sq mi), including inland waters.[9] The averageelevation is 173 metres (568 ft); around 25% of Polish territory is above this average elevation and 3% lies above 500 metres (1,600 ft).[10] The country's highest peak isRysy, which rises 2,501 meters in theTatra Range of the Carpathian Mountains, 95 kilometers south ofKraków. Poland has anexclusive economic zone of 30,533 square kilometres (11,789 sq mi) within theBaltic Sea.[11]
Poland is traditionally divided into fivetopographic zones from north to south.
The largest, the central lowlands or "Polish Plain" (Polish:Niż Polski orNizina Polska), is narrow in the west, then expands to the north and south as it extends eastward. Along the eastern border, this zone reaches from the far northeast to within 200 kilometers of the southern border. The terrain in the central lowlands is quite flat, and earlierglacial lakes have been filled by sediment. The region is cut by several major rivers, including theOder (Odra), which defines theSilesian Lowlands in the southwest, and theVistula (Polish:Wisła), which defines the lowland areas of east-central Poland.
To the south of the lowlands are the lesser Poland uplands, a belt varying in width from 90 to 200kilometers, formed by the gently sloping foothills of the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges and the uplands that connect the ranges in south-central Poland. The topography of this region is divided transversely into higher and lower elevations, reflecting its underlyinggeological structure. In the western section, the Silesia-Kraków Upthrust contains richcoal deposits.
The third topographic area is located on either side of Poland's southern border and is formed by the Sudeten and Carpathian ranges. Within Poland, neither of these ranges is forbidding enough to prevent substantial habitation; the Carpathians are not densely populated. The rugged form of the Sudeten range derives from the geological shifts that formed the later Carpathian uplift. The highest elevation in the Sudeten isŚnieżka (1,602 meters) in theKarkonosze Mountains. The Carpathians in Poland, formed as a discrete topographical unit in the relatively recentTertiary Era, are the highest mountains in the country. They are the northernmost edge of a much larger range that extends into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine,Hungary, andRomania. Within Poland the range includes two major basins, theOświęcim andSandomierz, which are rich in several minerals andnatural gas.
To the north of the central lowlands, the lake region includesprimeval forests - one of the last remaining in Europe and much of Poland's shrinking unspoiled natural habitat. Glacial action in this region formed lakes and low hills in the otherwise flat terrain adjacent to Lithuania and the Baltic Sea. Small lakes dot the entire northern half of Poland, and the glacial formations that characterize the lake region extend as much as 200 kilometers inland in western Poland. Wide river valleys divide the lake region into three parts. In the northwest,Pomerania is located south of the Baltic coastal region and north of theWarta andNoteć rivers.Masuria occupies the remainder of northern Poland and features a string of larger lakes. Most of Poland's 9,300 lakes that are more than 10,000 square metres in area are located in the northern part of the lake region, where they occupy about 10% of the surface area.
The Baltic coastal plains are a low-lying region formed of sediments deposited by the sea. The coastline was shaped by the action of the rising sea after theScandinavian ice sheet retreated. The two major inlets in the smooth coast are thePomeranian Bay on the German border in the far northwest and the Gulf of Gdańsk in the east. The Oder River empties into the former, and the Vistula forms a large delta at the head of the latter. Sandbars with large dunes form lagoons and coastal lakes along much of the coast.
The geological structure of Poland has been shaped by thecontinental collision ofEurope andAfrica over the past 60 million years on the one hand and the other by theQuaternaryglaciations of northern Europe. Both processes shaped theSudetes and theCarpathian Mountains. The moraine landscape of northern Poland contains soils made up mostly of sand orloam, while the ice ageriver valleys of the south often containloess. The Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, thePieniny, and theWestern Tatras consist oflimestone, while theHigh Tatras, theBeskids, and theKarkonosze are made up mainly ofgranite andbasalts. ThePolish Jura Chain is one of the oldestmountain ranges on earth.
Poland has 70 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) in elevation, all in theTatras. The Polish Tatras, which consist of the High Tatras and the Western Tatras, is the highest mountain group of Poland and of the entire Carpathian range. In the High Tatras lies Poland's highest point, the north-westernsummit ofRysy, 2,500 metres (8,202 ft) in elevation.[12] At its foot lies the mountain lakes ofCzarny Staw pod Rysami (Black Lake below Mount Rysy), andMorskie Oko (the Marine Eye).
The second highest mountain group in Poland are the Beskids, whose highest peak isBabia Góra, at 1,725 metres (5,659 ft). The next highest mountain group are theGiant Mountains in theSudetes, whose highest point isŚnieżka, at 1,603 metres (5,259 ft);Śnieżnik Mountains whose highest point isŚnieżnik, at 1,425 metres (4,675 ft).
Tourists also frequent theBieszczady Mountains in the far southeast of Poland, whose highest point in Poland isTarnica, with an elevation of 1,346 metres (4,416 ft),Gorce Mountains inGorce National Park, whose highest point isTurbacz, with elevations 1,310 metres (4,298 ft), and thePieniny National Park in thePieniny Mountains, whose highest point isTrzy Korony with elevations of 982 metres (3,222 ft) (the highest mountain of this range, Wysokie Skałki (Wysoka), with elevations 1,050 metres (3,445 ft), is located outside of the national park). The lowest point in Poland – at 2 metres (6.6 ft) below sea level – is at Raczki Elbląskie, nearElbląg in the Vistula Delta.
The onlydesert located in Poland stretches over theZagłębie Dąbrowskie (the Coal Fields ofDąbrowa) region. It is called theBłędów Desert, located in theSilesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It has a total area of 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi). It is one of only five naturaldeserts in Europe. But also, it is the warmest desert that appears at thislatitude. Błędów Desert was created thousands of years ago by amelting glacier. The specific geological structure has been of great importance with the average thickness of the sand layer 40 metres (131 ft), with a maximum of 70 metres (230 ft), which made the fast and deepdrainage very easy.
The Baltic Sea activity inSłowiński National Park createdsand dunes which in the course of time separatedthe bay from the sea. As waves and wind carry sand inland the dunes slowly move, at a speed of 3 to 10 metres (9.8 to 32.8 ft) meters per year. Some dunes are quite high – up to 30 metres (98 ft). The highest peak of the park – Rowokol (115 metres or 377 feetabove sea level) — is also an excellentobservation point.
Forests cover around 29.6% of Poland's territory as of 2021, making it the seventh most forested country in the EU,[13] though the forest cover continues to increase year-on-year.[10] The Polish government is carrying out a plan to increase forest coverage to 33% in 2050.[14] The richness of Polish forests (per SoEF 2011 statistics) is more than twice as high as the European average (with German and French forests being at the top), containing 2.304 billion cubic metres of trees.[15] The largest forest complex in Poland isLower Silesian Wilderness.
More than 1% of Poland's territory, 3,145 square kilometres (1,214 sq mi), is protected within 23Polish national parks. In addition, manywetlands along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. There are over 120 areas designated aslandscape parks, along with numerousnature reserves and otherprotected areas (e.g.Natura 2000).
Present-day Poland is a country with favorable agricultural prospects, and over two million private farms. It is the leading producer ofpotatoes andrye in Europe,[16] the world's largest producer oftriticale,[17] and one of the more important producers of barley, oats,sugar beets, flax, and various fruits.[16] It is also theEuropean Union's fourth largest supplier of pork after Germany, Spain and France.[18]
Phytogeographically, Poland belongs to the Central European province of theCircumboreal Region within theBoreal Kingdom. According to theWorld Wide Fund for Nature, the territory ofPoland belongs to three Palearctic Ecoregions of the continental forest spanning Central and Northern Europeantemperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions as well as the Carpathianmontane conifer forest.
Many animals that have since died out in other parts of Europe still survive in Poland, such as thewisent in theancient woodland of theBiałowieża Forest and inPodlaskie. Other such species include thebrown bear inBiałowieża, in the Tatras, and in the Beskids, thegray wolf and theEurasian lynx in various forests, themoose in northern Poland, and thebeaver in Masuria, Pomerania, and Podlaskie.
In the forests, one also encounters game animals, such asred deer,roe deer andwild boars. In eastern Poland there are a number of ancient woodlands, likeBiałowieża forest, that have never been cleared by people. There are also large forested areas in the mountains, Masuria, Pomerania,Lubusz Land andLower Silesia.
Poland is the most important breeding ground for a variety of Europeanmigratory birds.[20] Out of all of the migratory birds who come to Europe for the summer, one quarter of the global population ofwhite storks (40,000 breeding pairs) live in Poland,[21] particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along theBiebrza, theNarew, and theWarta, which are part of nature reserves or national parks.
The longest rivers are theVistula (Polish:Wisła), 1,047 kilometres (651 mi) long; theOder (Polish:Odra) which forms part of Poland's western border, 854 kilometres (531 mi) long; its tributary, theWarta, 808 kilometres (502 mi) long; and theBug, a tributary of the Vistula, 772 kilometres (480 mi) long. The Vistula and the Oder flow into the Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller rivers in Pomerania.
TheŁyna and theAngrapa flow by way of thePregolya to the Baltic, and theCzarna Hańcza flows into the Baltic through theNeman. While the great majority of Poland's rivers drain into the Baltic Sea, Poland's Beskids are the source of some of the upper tributaries of theOrava, which flows via theVáh and theDanube to theBlack Sea. The eastern Beskids are also the source of some streams that drain through theDniester to the Black Sea.
Poland's rivers have been used since early times for navigation. TheVikings, for example, traveled up the Vistula and the Oder in theirlongships. In the Middle Ages and in early modern times, when the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the breadbasket of Europe;[22] the shipment of grain and other agricultural products down the Vistula towardGdańsk and onward to other parts of Europe took on great importance.[22]
With almost ten thousand closed bodies of water covering more than 1 hectare (2.47 acres) each, Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world. In Europe, onlyFinland has a greater density of lakes.[23] The largest lakes, covering more than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), areLake Śniardwy andLake Mamry inMasuria, andLake Łebsko andLake Drawsko inPomerania.
In addition to the lake districts in the north (in Masuria, Pomerania,Kashubia, Lubuskie, andGreater Poland), there is also a large number of mountain lakes in the Tatras, of which the Morskie Oko is the largest in area. The lake with the greatest depth—of more than 100 metres (328 ft)—isLake Hańcza in the Wigry Lake District, east of Masuria inPodlaskie Voivodeship.
Among the first lakes whose shores were settled are those in the Greater Polish Lake District. Thestilt house settlement ofBiskupin, occupied by more than one thousand residents, was founded before the 7th century BC by people of theLusatian culture.
Lakes have always played an important role in Polish history and continue to be of great importance to today's modern Polish society. The ancestors of today's Poles, thePolanie, built their first fortresses on islands in these lakes. The legendary PrincePopiel ruled fromKruszwica tower erected on theLake Gopło.[24] The first historically documented ruler of Poland, DukeMieszko I, had his palace on an island in the Warta River inPoznań. Nowadays the Polish lakes provide a location for the pursuit of water sports such asyachting andwind-surfing.
The Polish Baltic coast is approximately 528 kilometres (328 mi) long and extends fromŚwinoujście on the islands ofUsedom andWolin in the west toKrynica Morska on the Vistula Spit in the east. For the most part, Poland has a smooth coastline, which has been shaped by the continual movement of sand by currents and winds. This continualerosion anddeposition has formed cliffs, dunes, and spits, many of which have migrated landwards to close off former lagoons, such as Łebsko Lake in Słowiński National Park.
Prior to the end of theSecond World War and subsequentchange in national borders, Poland had only a very small coastline; this was situated at the end of the 'Polish Corridor', the only internationally recognised Polish territory which afforded the country access to the sea. However, after World War II, the redrawing of Poland's borders and resulting 'shift' of the country's borders left it with a greatly expanded coastline, thus allowing for far greater access to the sea than was ever previously possible. The significance of this event, and importance of it to Poland's future as a major industrialised nation, was alluded to by the 1945Wedding to the Sea.
The largest spits areHel Peninsula and theVistula Spit. The largest Polish Baltic island isWolin. The largest seaharbours areSzczecin,Świnoujście,Gdańsk,Gdynia,Police andKołobrzeg. The main coastal resorts areŚwinoujście,Międzyzdroje (Misdroy),Kołobrzeg,Łeba,Sopot,Władysławowo and the Hel Peninsula.
Nearly all of Poland is swirled northward into the Baltic Sea by theVistula, theOder, and the tributaries of these two major rivers. About half the country is drained by the Vistula, which originates in theSilesian Beskids in far south-central Poland.
TheVistula Basin includes most of the eastern half of the country and is drained by a system of rivers that mainly join the Vistula from the east. One of the tributaries, theBug, defines 280 kilometers of Poland's eastern border with Ukraine and Belarus.
The Oder and its major tributary, theWarta, and a few smaller rivers asKłodnica,Mała Panew,Bóbr,Lusatian Neisse (Nysa Łużycka) andIna, form a basin that drains the western third of Poland into theBay of Szczecin. The drainage effect on a large part of Polish terrain is weak, however, especially in the lake region and the inland areas to its south. The predominance ofswampland, level terrain, and small, shallow lakes hinders large-scale movement of water. The rivers have two high-water periods per year. The first is caused by melting snow and ice dams in spring adding to the volume of lowland rivers; the second is caused by heavy rains in July.
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Poland's long-term and short-term weather patterns are made transitional and variable by the collision of diverse air masses above the country's surface. Maritime air moves acrossWestern Europe,Arctic air sweeps down from theNorth Atlantic Ocean, and subtropical air arrives from theSouth Atlantic Ocean. Although the Polar air dominates for much of the year, its conjunction with warmer currents generally moderates temperatures and generates considerableprecipitation, clouds, and fog. When the moderating influences are lacking, winter temperatures in mountain valleys may drop to a minimum of −20 °C (−4 °F).
The spring arrives slowly in March or April, bringing mainly sunny days after a period of alternating wintertime and springtime conditions. Summer, which extends from June to August, is generally less humid than winter. Showers and thunderstorms alternate with dry sunny weather that is generated when southern and eastern winds prevail. Early autumn is generally sunny and warm before a period of rainy, colder weather in November begins the transition into winter. Winter, which may last from one to three months, brings frequent snowstorms but relatively low total precipitation.
The range of mean temperatures is 6 °C (42.8 °F) in the northeast to 10 °C (50 °F) in the southwest, but individual readings in Poland's regions vary widely by season. On the highest mountain peaks, the mean temperature is below 0 °C (32 °F). The Baltic coast, influenced by moderating west winds, mostly inŚwinoujście,Międzyzdroje,Dziwnów,Nowe Warpno,Police andSzczecin, has cooler summers and warmer winters. The other temperature extreme is in the southeast along the border with Ukraine, where the greatest seasonal differences occur and winter temperatures average 4.5 °C below those in western Poland. The hottest cities in Poland areTarnów,Wrocław andSłubice.
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The average temperatures are rising.[27] In the period of 1980 to 2010, there were 19 Decembers without snow, and in the period of 2000 to 2010 seven. December 2006 was the warmest one in Poland since 1779. In most of Poland, average temperatures rose by 3-5 degrees Celsius during the last three decades.[28] These changes can be attributed toclimate change.
The average annual precipitation for the whole country is 600 mm (23.6 in), but isolated mountain areas receive as much as 1,300 mm (51.2 in) per year. The total is slightly higher in the southern uplands than in the central plains. A few areas, notably along the Vistula betweenWarsaw and the Baltic Sea and in the far northwest, average less than 500 mm (19.7 in). In winter about half the precipitation in the lowlands and the entire amount in the mountains falls as snow. On average, precipitation in summer is twice of that in winter, providing a dependable supply of water for crops. The growing season is about 40 days longer in the southwest than in the northeast, where spring arrives latest.
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| Climate data for Poland | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.1 (71.8) | 25.6 (78.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 36.2 (97.2) | 38.3 (100.9) | 40.2 (104.4) | 39 (102) | 36.8 (98.2) | 28.9 (84.0) | 26.2 (79.2) | 20.4 (68.7) | 40.2 (104.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −41 (−42) | −40.6 (−41.1) | −34.7 (−30.5) | −21.8 (−7.2) | −9 (16) | −4.6 (23.7) | −5.5 (22.1) | −3.2 (26.2) | −9.2 (15.4) | −18.5 (−1.3) | −29 (−20) | −40 (−40) | −41 (−42) |
| [citation needed] | |||||||||||||
The highest temperature recorded in Poland occurred on 29 July 1921 at Prószków.[30] The lowest temperature ever recorded in Poland occurred on 11 January 1940 in Siedlce.[30]The highest winter temperature in Poland was recorded occurred on 25 February 2021 and lowest in summer was recorded on 21 July 1996. The highest temperature in January, 18.9 °C, was reported in Warsaw on 1 January 2022, at 11:30 AM.[31] The New Year's Eve night was also among the warmest winter nights in history of the region, with temperatures reaching 17 °C in Słubice around midnight.
Poland's currentvoivodeships (provinces) are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of the past two decades (to 1998) had been centred on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from less than 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) for Opole Voivodeship to more than 35,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) for Masovian Voivodeship. Administrative authority at voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointedvoivode (governor), an elected regional assembly (sejmik) and an executive elected by that assembly.
The voivodeships are subdivided intopowiats (often referred to in English as counties), and these are further divided intogminas (also known as communes or municipalities). Major cities normally have the status of bothgmina andpowiat. Poland has 16 voivodeships, 379 powiats (including 65 cities withpowiat status), and 2,478gminas.
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Natural hazards: Occasional flooding
Environment - current issues:The situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry andincreased environmental concern bypostcommunist governments[citation needed];air pollutionnonetheless remains serious because ofsulfur dioxide emissions fromcoal-fired power plants, and the resultingacid rain has caused forest damage;water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes. Disposal of the country's coal ash is aided byrevegetation.[32] Żołnierzet al., 2016 find the return of bush species is naturallyphytoremediating fly ash dumps.[32]
Environment - international agreements:
party to:Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 1994, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note:historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on theNorth European Plain
Vistula - the most important and the longest river in Poland, and the largest river in the area of the Baltic Sea. The length of Vistula is 1047 km.
Określona według standardu międzynarodowego lesistość Polski na koniec roku 2011 wynosiła 30,5%.
EU: official slaughter only. Source: FAO.
A real kingdom of birds is the Biebrza Basin, its wildlife making it one of the most unique areas in Poland. It is Europe's most valuable peatland/marshland and an important wildfowl breeding area on the continent, providing refuge for 263 bird species, including 185 nesting species.
Commonwealth became the breadbasket of Western Europe, wrote Timothy Snyder, thanks to the presence of fertile southeastern regions of Podolia and east Galicia.
Insert: Poland is home to 9,300 lakes. Finland is the only European nation with a higher density of lakes than Poland.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Country Studies.Federal Research Division. This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook.CIA.