Poland [antikvár]

The Polish State lies between 49°00' and 54°GQ*N lat. and 14°07' and 24°08,E long. Thefull expanse of Poland from north to south amounts to nearly 650 km. and from east towest to about 700 km. Poland occupies an area of 312,677 sq. km. which represents2.7 per cent of the area of Europe and 0.2 per cent of the area of the earth.The length of the Polish frontiers amounts to 3,538 km. of which 524 km. is formed bythe sea frontier. The Polish territory is populated by over 32,600,000 inhabitants (ac-cording to data from 1969).The disparities between the altitude above sea-level and the distance from the ocean areresponsible for the fairly large differentiations in the Polish lands as regards to naturalconditions. However, these lands do not establish any separate geographical units, theyencompass various units likewise entering into the limits of the neighbouring states.The following geographical units may be distinguished on the Polish terrains : CentralEuropean Plain, East Baltic Plain, Polesie Plain, Black Sea Plateau, Silesian-MatopolskaUpland, Carpathian and Subcarpathian Basins and Bohemian Massif. Each one of themis formed by many natural units and these also give themselves to a division into smallerunits.Stretching from the North Sea through the German lowlands, the Central EuropeanPlain occupies practically the whole of the central and northern parts of the country.This area is covered by glacial deposits of younger glaciation, mainly of sand and clay,creating in the central part of the country extensive plains dissected by wide river valleys.The thickness of these deposits increases towards the north and the terrains become moreundulated with numerous lakes occupying the depressions. The climate is mainly shapedunder the influence of the moist maritime air masses of oceanic origin flowing in fromthe north-west and weakening towards the east and the south. This area was once coveredby pine or mixed forests and under this cover various soils have formed, especially thelight podsolic soils.Because of the decline in the oceanic air influence and the subsequently more continent-al climate and the differentiations in the vegetation and soils, the north-eastern area ofPoland today is usually included within the East Baltic Plain. The geological substratumand relief do not differ much there from before but the severer climate has given riseto a greater predominance of the coniferous forests in which the spruce is beginningto play an equal role to that of the pine.