Podlaskie Voivodeship - Geography

Geography

Varied landscape, shaped in the north of the Baltic glaciation, the rest of the Middle Poland glaciation. The highest peaks are in the north (Rowelska Top - 298 m), where the landscape is dominated by hilly lake district. Lakeland: Zachodniosuwalskie, Wschodniosuwalskie, Ełckie) and sandrowy lake district (Augustów Plain) in the central and southern plains prevail peryglacjalne (plateaus: Kolneńska, Białystok, Wysokomazowiecka, Drohiczynska, Sokólskie Hills, Międzyrzecko łomżyński, Plain Bielsko), varied in wcinającymi not kotlinami and river valleys, lies on the west edge of the outwash plains Kurpiowska. Predominate on the surface of sand, gravel, clay, moraine, and in the valleys and basins of the rivers silt, sand and peat river.

The vast forests and forests (Białowieża, Augustów, Knyszyń, Puszcza Kurpiowska), some of which are the only ones in Europe have retained their original character, you can meet a unique wealth of flora and fauna. The vegetation of the region is extremely rich and diverse, which contributes to the richness of the animal world. Visitors can also see moose, wolves, lynx and bison living in the Bialowieża Forest and Knyszyń Forest.

Podlaskie has the lowest population density of the sixteen Polish voivodeships, and its largely unspoiled nature is one of its chief assets. Around 30% of the area of the voivodeship is under legal protection. The Polish part of the Białowieża Forest biosphere reserve (also a World Heritage Site) is in Podlaskie. There are four National Parks (Białowieża, Biebrza, Narew and Wigry), three Landscape Parks (Knyszyń Forest, Łomża and Suwałki), 88 nature reserves, and 15 protected landscape areas. The voivodeship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area known as "the Green Lungs of Poland".

Podlaskie has a Warm Summer Continental or Hemiboreal climate (Dfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system, which is characterized by warm temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. It is substantially different from most of the other Polish lowlands. The region is one of the coldest in Poland, with the average temperature in January being -−5 °C (23 °F). The average temperature in a year is 7 °C (45 °F). The number of frost days ranges from 50 to 60, with frost from 110 to 138 days and the duration of snow cover from 90 to 110 days. Mean annual rainfall values oscillate around 550 millimetres (21.7 in), and the vegetation period lasts 200 to 210 days.

Podlaskie is the coldest region of Poland, located in the very northeast of the country near the border with Belarus and Lithuania. The region has a continental climate which is characterized by high temperatures during summer and long and frosty winters. The climate is affected by the cold fronts which come from Scandinavia and Siberia. The average temperature in the winter ranges from -15°C (5°F) to -4°C (24.8°F).