INFORMATION

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 (about 575 ft) above sea level but elevations reach as high as 2499 m (8199 ft), atop Mount Rysy in the High Tatry Mountains in the south, and as low as about 2 m (about 6 ft) below sea level in the Wisla delta in the north. Poland is divided into a number of distinct parallel regions that run from east to west.

The southern one-third of Poland consists of upland areas of various kinds and adjoining lowlands. A narrow belt of mountains occupies the extreme south and southwest. The Karpaty Mountains, located on Poland's southeastern border, include the Tatry and Beskid ranges. The Sudety Mountains, another major mountain range, are located on Poland's southwestern border. North of the mountains is a zone of foothills, the Silesian Plain, and the Lesser Polish Uplands.