Poland’s territory extends across several
geographical regions. In the northwest is the Baltic seacoast, which
extends from the Bay of Pomerania to the Gulf of Gdansk. This coast
is marked by several spits, coastal lakes (former bays that have
been cut off from the sea), and dunes. The largely straight
coastline is indented by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and
the Vistula Lagoon. The center and parts of the north lie within the
North European Plain. Rising gently above these lowlands is a
geographical region comprising the four hilly districts of moraines
and moraine-dammed lakes formed during and after the Pleistocene ice
age.
These lake districts are the Pomeranian Lake
District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian Lake
District, and the Masurian Lake District. The Masurian Lake District
is the largest of the four and covers much of northeastern Poland.
The lake districts form part of the Baltic Ridge, a series of
moraine belts along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea. South of
the Northern European Lowlands lie the regions of Silesia and
Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys. Farther
south lies the Polish mountain region, including the Sudetes, the
Cracow-Częstochowa Upland, the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, and the
Carpathian Mountains, including the Beskids. The highest part of the
Carpathians is the Tatra Mountains, along Poland’s southern border.
The climate is mostly temperate throughout the
country. The climate is oceanic in the north and west and becomes
gradually warmer and continental as one moves south and east.
Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 20 °C
(68 °F) and 27 °C (81 °F). Winters are cold, with average
temperatures around 3 °C (37 °F) in the northwest and −8 °C (17.6
°F) in the northeast.
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