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Geography of Poland Poland ( pl, Polska) is a country that extends across the North European Plain from the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south to the sandy beaches of the Baltic Sea in the north. Poland is the fifth-most populous country of the Europe ...

'' The

Sudetes The Sudetes ( ; pl, Sudety; german: Sudeten; cs, Krkonošsko-jesenická subprovincie), commonly known as the Sudeten Mountains, is a geomorphological subprovince in Central Europe, shared by Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. They consis ...

and

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretches ...

mountain ranges A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

are located on either side of Poland's southern border. Within Poland, neither of these ranges is forbidding enough to prevent substantial habitation; the Carpathians are especially densely populated. The rugged form of the Sudeten range derives from the geological shifts that formed the later Carpathian uplift. The Carpathians in Poland, formed as a discrete topographical unit in the relatively recent

Tertiary Era Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

, 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 Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, and

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. The

Świętokrzyskie Mountains The Świętokrzyskie Mountains ( pl, Góry Świętokrzyskie, ), often anglicized to Holy Cross Mountains, are a mountain range in central Poland, near the city of Kielce. The Świętokrzyskie Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in Europ ...

, one of the oldest mountain ranges in Europe, are located 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 ...

, in the vicinity of the city of

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

. The mountain range consists of a number of separate ranges, the highest of which is Łysogóry (lit. ''bald mountains''). Together with the

Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska Jura may refer to: Places *Jura, Scotland, island of the Inner Hebrides off Great Britain *Jūra, river in Lithuania Mountain ranges * Jura Mountains, on the French–Swiss–German border *Franconian Jura, south-central Germany * Swabian Jura, ...

the mountains form a region called the

Lesser Poland Upland Lesser, from Eliezer (, "Help/Court of my God"), is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolf Lesser (1851–1926), German physician * Aleksander Lesser (1814–1884), Polish painter and art critic * Anton Lesser (born 1952), Br ...

(''Wyżyna Małopolska''). They were formed during the Caledonian

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

of the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

period and then rejuvenated in the

Hercynian orogeny The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...

of the Upper

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic that spans 60 million years from the end of the Devonian Period million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Permian Period, million years ago. The name ''Carbonifero ...

period. The most known and significant

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...

are the

Tatra Mountains The Tatra Mountains (), Tatras, or Tatra (''Tatry'' either in Slovak language, Slovak () or in Polish language, Polish () - ''plurale tantum''), are a series of mountains within the Western Carpathians that form a natural border between Slovak ...

which attract many tourists from Poland and its neighbouring states.

Polish mountain ranges

Pieniny The Pieniny (sometimes also the PieninsSzafer, Władysław. 2013. ''The Vegetation of Poland: International Series of Monographs in Pure and Applied Biology''. Warsaw: Pergamon Press, pp. 156, 388. or the Pienin Mountains,Griffiths, Graham C. D. ...

Silesian Beskids Silesian Beskids (Polish: , Czech: , german: Schlesische Beskiden) is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in Outer Western Carpathians in southern Silesian Voivodeship, Poland and the eastern Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic. Most of the ...

Little Beskids The Little Beskids () is one of the Beskids mountain ranges in the Western Beskids ranges of the Outer Western Carpathians in southeastern Poland. Within the range is the protected area known as Little Beskids Landscape Park. Its highest mount ...

Maków Beskids The Maków Beskids ( pl, Beskid Makowski) is a mountain range in south-central Poland, part of the Western Beskids within the Outer Western Carpathians. Its highest peak is Mędralowa (1169 meters), within a total area of 900 square kilometers, a ...

Żywiec Beskids The Żywiec Beskids ( pl, Beskid Żywiecki) is a mountain range in the Outer Western Carpathians in southern Poland. It is the second highest range in Poland, after the Tatra Mountains. The highest peak is Babia Góra (1,725 m) and Pilsko Pi ...

Island Beskids The Island Beskids (in Polish, ''Beskid Wyspowy'') is a mountain range in southern Poland, part of the Western Beskids of the Outer Western Carpathians Divisions of the Carpathians are a categorization of the Carpathian mountains system. B ...

Gorce Mountains The Gorce Mountains ( pl, Gorce ) are part of the Western Beskids mountain range spreading across southernmost Poland. They are situated in Małopolska Province, at the western tip of the long Carpathian range extending east beyond the Dunajec ...

Beskid Sądecki Beskid Sądecki is a mountain range in the eastern section of the Western Beskids, within the Outer Western Carpathians. It is located in the border region between Poland and Slovakia. On the Polish side, it stretches along an area of 670& ...

Low Beskids The Low Beskids ( sk, Nízke Beskydy) or Central Beskids ( pl, Beskidy Środkowe; cs, Centrální Beskydy; uk, Центральні Бескиди) are a mountain range in southeastern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. They constitute a middle ...

Bieszczady Mountains Bieszczady Mountains ( pl, Bieszczady; sk, Beščady; uk, Бещади; hu, Besszádok) is a mountain range that runs from the extreme south-east of Poland and north-east of Slovakia through to western Ukraine. It forms the western part of th ...

*** Otryt **

Sanocko-Turczańskie Mountains The Sanok-Turka Mountains ( pl, Góry Sanocko-Turczańskie; uk, Сяноцько-Турчанські гори) are a mountain range in the Eastern Beskids, within the Outer Eastern Carpathians. They are located in southern border section betwee ...

Giant Mountains The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše or Karkonosze (Czech: , Polish: , german: Riesengebirge) are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massi ...

** Śnieżnik Massif **

Jizera Mountains Jizera Mountains ( cz, Jizerské hory), or Izera Mountains ( pl, Góry Izerskie; german: Isergebirge), are part of the Western Sudetes on the border between the Czech Republic and Poland. The range got its name from the Jizera River, which rises a ...

** Golden Mountains ** Orlické hory **

Owl Mountains The Owl Mountains ( pl, Góry Sowie, cs, Soví hory, german: Eulengebirge) are a mountain range of the Central Sudetes in southwestern Poland. It includes a protected area called Owl Mountains Landscape Park. Geography The Owl Mountains cover ...

Bystrzyckie Mountains The Bystrzyckie Mountains (, , cs, Bystřické hory) are a mountain range in Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, coverin ...

Rudawy Janowickie The Rudawy Janowickie or Landeshut Ridge (german: Landeshuter Kamm, cs, Janovické rudohoří) is a mountain range in Sudetes in Poland. See also *Colourful lakelets Colourful lakelets (Polish "Kolorowe Jeziorka") is the name of three (somet ...

Stone Mountains The Stone Mountains (, ) are a mountain range in the Central Sudetes on the border of the Czech Republic and Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinc ...

Table Mountains Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

Opawskie Mountains The Opawskie Mountains ( pl, Góry Opawskie, german: Oppagebirge) or Zlatohorská Highlands / Zlaté Hory Highlands ( cs, Zlatohorská vrchovina, German: ''Zuckmanteler Bergland'') are a mountain range of the Eastern Sudetes in the Czech Republic ...

** Wałbrzych Mountains **

Bardzkie Mountains The Bardzkie Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in the Central Sudetes in Poland. Major towns: * Bardo (German: Wartha) * Ząbkowice Śląskie (German: Frankenstein in Schlesien) * Kamieniec Ząbkowicki (German: Kamenz) * Srebrna Góra (Germ ...

Kaczawskie Mountains The Katzbach Mountains or Kaczawskie Mountains ( pl, Góry Kaczawskie; german: Katzbachgebirge) are a mountain range, roughly 30 kilometres long, in the Western Sudetes in Poland. It is located within the Polish province of Lower Silesia. Its hi ...

** Ślęża Massif

List of Polish mountains

References

http://www.pieniny.com/uploaded/mapapienin.png{{List of mountains in Europe

Mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...