The Mazovian Lowland ( pl, Nizina Mazowiecka), also known as the Masovian Plain, is the largest geographical region in central
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, roughly covering the historical region of
Masovia
Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
. Sometimes it is also categorized as including Mazovian-Podlasian Lowlands which together form part of the greater
North European Plain
The North European Plain (german: Norddeutsches Tiefland – North German Plain; ; pl, Nizina Środkowoeuropejska – Central European Plain; da, Nordeuropæiske Lavland and nl, Noord-Europese Laagvlakte ; French : ''Plaine d'Europe du Nor ...
.
The Plain is located in the valleys of three large rivers:
Vistula
The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland.
The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
Narew
The Narew (; be, Нараў, translit=Naraŭ; or ; Sudovian: ''Naura''; Old German: ''Nare''; uk, Нарва, translit=Narva) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland, which is also a tributary of the river Vis ...
. Although relatively densely populated and urbanized, the Mazovian Lowland is covered by several large forest complexes that once were a part of a dense primaeval forest covering much of Poland:
Kampinos Forest
Kampinos Forest () is a large forest complex located in Masovian Voivodeship, west of Warsaw in Poland.
It covers a part of the ancient valley of the Vistula basin, between the Vistula and the Bzura rivers.
Once a forest covering 670 km2 of ...
, Kurpie Forest, White Forest, Kozienice Forest and Green Forest. ''Mazowsze: Obraz Etnograficzny'', Volume 1, by Wojciech Gerson and Oskar Kolberg, BiblioBazaar, 2009 - 372 pages /ref> Until the mid-17th century it was also the home of the last documented
aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius'') ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocen ...
herds.
Geography
Tectonically, the Mazovian Lowland is a stable, safe area of the so-called Mazovian Hutch, that is area composed of interwinding layers of Cenozoic
aqueous
An aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is mostly shown in chemical equations by appending (aq) to the relevant chemical formula. For example, a solution of table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), in water would be rep ...
rocks and sands. The surface of the area was shaped by the presence of
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
n
ice sheet
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at Las ...
during the
Ice Age
An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...
. As the area was the southernmost border of the ice sheet's presence, the northern and southern parts of the plain differ significantly: the former is a vast open space while the latter is more rough terrain. The southern part is also covered by many gorges created during the Baltic Glacier. The central part of the Mazovian Lowland, the so-called Warsaw Cauldron, as well as the valleys of
Radomka
The Radomka is a river in central Poland and a left tributary of the Vistula. It has a length of 98 km and a basin area of over 2000 km2 (all in Poland). The river has its source in forests 4 km south from Przysucha, at the height o ...
parabolic dune
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
s.
Much of the agriculture is devoted to fruit production. The soils are mostly of bielica type, that is white sands on a layer of glacial age clay and sedimentary rocks. The river net of the area is extensive and includes Vistula, Narew, Bug, Pilica,
Wieprz
The Wieprz (, ; ua, Вепр, Vepr) is a river in central-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Vistula. It is the country's ninth longest river, with a total length of 349 km and a catchment area of 10,497 km2, all within Poland. Its cour ...
and
Wkra
Wkra is a river in north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river, with a length of 255 kilometres and a basin area of 5,348 km² - all within Poland.NIZINA MAZOWIECKA Wydawnictwa Edukacyjne WIKING - Portal Edukacyjny.