POLAND

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: Although Poland appears as an unbroken plain on a relief map, it has considerable diversity and complexity. The average elevation is only about 175 m above sea level, as compared with the overall European average of about 290 m, but elevations reach as high as 2,499 m atop Mount Rysy in the High Tatry Mountains in the south, and as low as about 2 m below sea level in the Wisła delta in the north. Poland is divided into a number of distinct parallel regions that run from east to west. A marked contrast exists between the northern two-thirds of the country and the southern one-third. The northern zone is a vast region of plains and low hills, divided into the Central Polish Lowlands, the Baltic Heights, and the Coastal Plain. The Central Lowlands are traversed from east to west by a series of large, shallow valleys. To the north of the Central Lowlands is the Baltic Heights region, dotted with hills and lakes. The Coastal Plain consists of a narrow lowland, about 40 to 100 km wide, that runs nearly the entire length of the Baltic Sea. The coastline, 491 km long, is remarkably smooth and regular, the major exceptions being the Pomeranian Bay in the west and the Gulf of Gdańsk in the east. A few good natural harbors are located along the Baltic. The southern one-third of Poland consists of upland areas of various kinds and adjacent or intervening lowlands. A narrow belt of mountains occupies the extreme south and southwest. The Carpathian Mountains, located on Poland’s southeastern border, include the Tatry and Beskid ranges. The Sudety, another major mountain range, are located on Poland’s southwestern border. North of the mountains are a zone of foothills, the Silesian Plain, and the Lesser Polish Uplands. Nearly all of Poland is drained into the Baltic Sea by the Wisła and Odra rivers and their tributaries, which include the Bug and the Warta. Other rivers include the Neisse, the Nida, and the Bobr. Poland’s lakes, which number about 9,300, are concentrated in the Baltic Heights and Coastal Plain regions. Śniardwy and Mamry are the two largest. Poland has about 120 artificial reservoirs, situated mainly in the Baltic Heights and the southern mountains. Poland’s varied mineral deposits are concentrated mainly in the southern upland regions and adjacent areas. The most important mineral resource is hard coal, most of which is located in Upper Silesia. Poland also has significant deposits of lignite, located mainly in the basins surrounding the cities of Turoszów, Konin, and Bełchatów. Sulfur and copper are the most important of the country’s nonfuel mineral resources. Some of the world’s largest sulfur deposits are found near the city of Tarnobrzeg in the southeast, and large reserves of copper are located in Lower Silesia. Important reserves of zinc and lead are found in Upper Silesia. Other minerals of economic importance are rock salt, potash, iron ore, and gypsum. The country has only small reserves of petroleum and natural gas.
AGRICULTURE: Although Poland ranks as one of Europe’s leading agricultural nations, it is continually unable to meet its needs for food and feed grains. The attempt by the Communist government to collectivize Poland’s agricultural sector was abandoned in 1956. Small privately owned family farms now account for more than 70 percent of farmland in Poland. The largest area of cultivated land is found in the Central Lowlands, but much of the best farmland is located in the low plateaus and foothills of southern Poland. Climate limits the range of crops that can be grown, and periodic drought causes considerable fluctuations in annual output. Polish farmers generally achieve low yields compared with farmers in other Eastern European countries because of their small and often irregularly shaped plots and low earnings, which limit investment in equipment and fertilizer. The principal Polish crops are grains, sugar beets, potatoes and other vegetables, apples, strawberries, currants, rapeseed, and tobacco. Large numbers of cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry are raised on Poland’s farms, and livestock products include meat, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and wool.
ENERGY: The bulk of Poland’s electricity is derived from coal, with 1 percent generated by hydroelectric facilities. After 1990 Poland’s energy sector was restructured into more than 100 companies in which the state held a controlling interest and was subjected to strict environmental regulations, especially ones concerning sulfur dioxide emissions. Wholesale privatization of the energy sector is being considered, as are proposals to lessen Poland’s dependence on coal, which is particularly harmful to the environment, by encouraging the use of other energy sources, such as oil and gas. Due to its limited reserves, nearly all of Poland’s oil has to be imported. Most is imported by sea from the Persian Gulf, North Africa, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The rest comes from the former Soviet Union through the Friendship Pipeline, which originates in Russia and runs through Belarus to the Płock petrochemical refinery, in central Poland.
TOURISM: The annual number of visitors to Poland has increased rapidly since 1990. In 2004 there were 14 million visitors in Poland. This doesn’t include the many Germans, Czechs, and Slovaks who make day trips to Poland for shopping, business, or family visits. The countries of the former Soviet Union also accounted for a large percentage of Poland’s foreign tourists. The major tourist attractions in Poland are the resorts along the Baltic Sea, the lake district south of the coast, the Karpaty and Sudety mountains, and the country’s numerous historic sites and cultural institutions.