9781422278048

Chapter One POLAND’S GEOGRAPhY & LANDSCAPE

W elcome to Poland, one of the largest countries in Central Europe. Bordered by Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Baltic Sea, Poland and its culture have been shaped by its central location and the ease with which people, ideas, and even armies have moved across the area. Poland is the eighth-largest country in Europe, covering 120,727 square miles (312,685 sq. kilometers). Most of this area is low lying, although there are some mountains to the south. The Baltic Sea lies to the north and provides Poland with easy access to Scandinavian and North Sea ports. Warsaw, the capital city , is situated in the center of the country, on the Wisła River. A Sandy Coast, Rolling Plains, and Mountains Stretching from coastal plains to mountain ranges, Poland can be divided into three major natural land regions—the Baltic coastal plain in the north, lowlands in the center, and mountains in the south. The Baltic coastal plain is a low, flatland mass that lies along the Baltic Sea, extending across Poland from Germany to Russia. Marshlands, dunes, and tidal flats—coastal areas alternately flooded and drained by the tides—dot the coastline. The region immediately south of the coastal plain is relatively flat. This low-lying region is marked by thousands of lakes. More than 6,300 lakes are scattered across it. Wide river valleys divide the area into three sections—the Pomeranian Lakeland, the Masurian Lakeland, and the Great Poland Lakeland. 11