Vistula - Geological History

Geological History

The history of the River Vistula and her valley spans over 2 million years. The river is connected to the geological period called the Quaternary, in which distinct cooling of the climate took place. In the last million years, an ice sheet entered the area of Poland eight times, bringing along with it changes of reaches of the river. In warmer periods, when the ice sheet retreated, the Vistula deepened and widened its valley. The river took its present shape within the last 14,000 years, after complete recession of the Scandinavian ice sheet from the area. At present, along the Vistula valley, erosion of the banks and collecting of new deposits are still occurring.

As the principal river of Poland, the Vistula is also located in the centre of Europe. Three principal geographical and geological land masses of the continent meet in her river basin: the lowland Eastern European shield, the area of uplands and low mountains of Western Europe, and the Alpine zone of high mountains to which both the Alps and the Carpathians belong. The Vistula begins in the Carpathian mountains. The run and character of the river was shaped by ice sheets flowing down from the Scandinavian Peninsula. The last ice sheet entered the area of Poland about 20,000 years ago. During periods of warmer weather, the ancient Vistula, "Pra-Wisła", searched for the shortest way to the sea - thousands of years ago it flowed into the North Sea somewhere at the latitude of contemporary Scotland. The climate of the Vistula valley, its plants, animals and its very character changed considerably during the process of glacial retreat.

• Biała Wisełka

• Lake Morskie Oko, White Dunajec Springs

• Vistula flooding south of Warsaw, 2004

• Vistula in Płock