Puszcza Kurpiowska or Kurpiowska Forest, (, also ''

Kurpie Kurpie () is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods. Kurpie is also the name of t ...

Forest'') is the collective name of

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 ...

's two wilderness areas:

Puszcza Biała Puszcza Biała (, ''White Wilderness'') is the name given to the forest that extends in Poland from Pułtusk to Ostrów Mazowiecka. It is part of the Mazovian lowlands and consists of small trees, mostly pine. The White Wilderness (Puszcza Biała) ...

and

Puszcza Zielona Puszcza Zielona (; {{lit, Green Wilderness) is a forest in Poland which extends from the Narew River and the border with the region of Masuria. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc River. The forest lies in a l ...

(White and Green Forests), located in the central basin of

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 ...

and Kurpiowska Plain. It is bound by the rivers:

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

(east),

(south) and Orzyc (west). The north-end reaches the border with

Masuria Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

. In the 16th century the Kurpiowska Forest was called Zagajnica, adding to its definition the counties of

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

Ostrołęka , image_flag = POL Ostrołęka flag.svg , image_shield = POL Ostrołęka COA.svg , pushpin_map = Poland Masovian Voivodeship#Poland , pushpin_label_position = bottom , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = ...

and

Przasnysz Przasnysz (; yi, פראשניץ, russian: Прасныш) is a town in north-central Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about 110 km north of Warsaw and about 115 km south of Olsztyn, it is the capital of Przasnysz County. It h ...

, in which parts of the forest were located. In the 18th century the term Kurpiowska Forest was extended to include the Green Forest ( pl, Puszcza Zielona) and White Forest ( pl, Puszcza Biała) which belonged to the

Bishops of Płock A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. Kurpiowska Forest gradually began to be identified with Puszcza Zielona. In the late 20th century, forested areas accounted for approximately 33% of the Kurpiowska Forest. Most (95%) of forest areas include

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

, with sparse

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

. The old-growth areas of spruce, pine and alder are protected.Encyklopedia Polski t.2

Reserves within the Forest

* ''Czarnia'' Reserve * ''Kanistan'' Reserve * Dark Angle "Ciemny Kąt" * Elbow "Łokieć" * ''Olsy Płoszyckie'' Reserve

References

{{coord missing, Poland Forests of Poland Geography of Masovian Voivodeship Geography of Podlaskie Voivodeship

Reserves within the Forest

See also

References