Geography of Poland
Poland is considered to be a large nation because of its total area. Its total land area is 312,679 km² (approx. 120,725 mi²). Continental shelf of Poland is approximately 29,797 km² (around 11,505 mi²). Poland is located in Europe. Europe is a continent whose borders date back to the period of antiquity. European countries include, but are not limited to, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Malta, and The Vatican. Poland has 7 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine. Poland is not a landlocked country. It means that is is bordered by at least one major body of water. The average elevation range of Poland is 173 m (568 ft).
Neighbors
Total length of land borders of Poland is 3071 kilometers (~1,186 miles). Poland shares its land borders with 7 different countries, and has the same number of unique land boundaries to neigbouring territories. As in the case of Poland, if a country has the same number of unique neighboring territories as number of land borders, than that country has no non-contiguous sections of a land border. This is in contrast to several countries that have multiple non-contiguous sections of land borders. Poland has 7 neighbouring countries. Its neighbours include Belarus, Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. The lengths of the land borders of Poland with its neighbouring countries are as follows:
- Belarus - 407 km (253 mi),
- Czech Republic - 658 km (409 mi),
- Germany - 456 km (283 mi),
- Lithuania - 91 km (57 mi),
- Russia - 206 km (128 mi),
- Slovakia - 444 km (276 mi),
- Ukraine - 526 km (327 mi).
Cities
The capital city of Poland is Warsaw. The largest cities in Poland are Warsaw, Katowice.
Elevation
The average elevation range of Poland is 173 m (568 ft). The highest point of Poland is Northwestern peak of Rysy, with its official height being 2499 m (8,199 ft). The lowest point of Poland is Żuławy Wiślane. It lies at -2 m (-7 ft), i.e. below the sea level. The elevation difference between the highest (Northwestern peak of Rysy) and lowest (Żuławy Wiślane) points of Poland is 2501 m (2 ft).
Area
The total land area of Poland is 312,679 km² (approx. 120,725 mi²). and the total exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is 29,797 km² (~11,505 mi²). The continental shelf of Poland is approximately 29,797 km² (around 11,505 mi²). Including land mass and EEZ, the total area of Poland is approximately 342,476 km² (~132,230 mi²). Poland is considered to be a large nation because of its total area.
Forest and arable land
90,000 km² of Poland's territory is covered in forests, and forest land comprises 29% of all the land in the country. There are 122,545 km² of arable land in Poland, and it comprises 39% of the country's total territory.
Read our section on climate to discover what parameters affect these and other biomes of the country.
Natural resources
The most notable natural resources found in Poland are coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land.