Wrocław Valley (Pradolina Wrocławska,

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

) ( 318.52) is a mesoregion of great length, located in the

Silesian Lowlands Silesian Lowlands (or Silesian Plains, , , ) are lowlands located in Silesia, Poland in Central Europe. A small part is located in the Czech Republic. The Silesian ridge runs through northern Silesia from west-northwest to east-southeast and adjo ...

, with a total west-to-east length of 100 km, and a width of 10-12 km, totalling a surface area of 1220 km². From the north and the north-east, the mesoregion borders the Rościsławska Upland, Oleśnica Plain and the Opole Plain, from the north-west with the Wrocław Plain, the

Nysa Kłodzka The Eastern Neisse, also known by its Polish name of Nysa Kłodzka (, ), is a river in southwestern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder, with a length of 188 km (21st longest) and a basin area of 4,570 km2 (3,742 in Poland). Prior to Wo ...

Valley and

Niemodlin Niemodlin (; ) is a town in Opole County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 6,315 inhabitants (2019). History The community was first mentioned as ''Nemodlin'' in a 1224 deed and received town privileges in 1283. The German place-name ''Falkenberg ...

Plain. On the very north-western tip, the Wrocław Valley borders the Ścinawski Lowland, Lubin Upland and Legnica Plain, whilst on the north-easternmost tip, it borders the Chełm Upland (

Silesian Highlands Silesian Upland or Silesian Highland () is a highland located in Silesia and Lesser Poland, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Ca ...

), and

Racibórz Racibórz (, , , ) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Duchy of Racibórz, Du ...

Basin. In

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

terms, the Wrocław Valley is part of the Silesia-Kraków

Monocline A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform) is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently dipping sequence. Formation Monoclines may be formed in several different ways (see diagram) ...

and the Sudetes Foreland

, covered in

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

and

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

geological material, mainly

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

and

fluvisol A fluvisol in the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) is a genetically young soil in alluvial deposits . Apart from river sediments, they also occur in lacustrine and marine deposits. Fluvisols correlate with fluvents and fluvaquents ...

s. The left

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

of the River Odra in the mesoregion are:

Osobłoga The Osobłoga (, ) is a river in the Czech Republic and Poland, a left tributary of the Oder. It flows through the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic and through the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. It is long. Etymology The origin of th ...

Oława Oława (, , ) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the seat of Oława County and of the smaller administrative distri ...

Ślęza The Ślęza (; ) is a 78.6 km river in Lower Silesia, southern Poland, a left tributary of the Oder. It starts in the Niemcza Hills (), part of the Sudetes, Sudeten Sudeten Foreland, Foreland (''Przedgórze Sudeckie''), and flows near Mount ...

, Bystrzyca, Kaczawa; and right:

Mała Panew The Mała Panew () is a river in south-western Poland, Silesian and Opole Voivodeships. It is a right tributary of the Oder, merging with it near the village of Czarnowąsy near Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the ...

, Stobrawa and

Widawa The Widawa () is a river in Poland, a right-bank tributary of the Oder River. Towns along the Widawa include Namysłów, Bierutów, and Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. ...

. Larger settlements located on the Wrocław Valley are:

Krapkowice Krapkowice (; ; ) is a town in southern Poland with 16,301 inhabitants (2019), situated in the Opole Voivodeship, straddling both banks of the Oder River at the point where it joins with the Osobłoga. It is the regional capital of Krapkowice Cou ...

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

Brzeg Dolny Brzeg Dolny () is a town in Wołów County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is located north-west of Wrocław on the Oder River, and is the site of a large chemical plant complex, PCC Rokita SA. As of December 2021, the ...

, and Prochowice.

References

Regions of Poland {{Poland-geo-stub