A RIVER – A GIFT AND AN
ELEMENT
Polish river network
• Almost whole Poland
is in the Baltic Sea
catchment area, in
river basins of two
major rivers: the
Vistula and the Oder.
The longest river in Poland is the Vistula. It is 1047 km long. Its source
is located on Barania Góra in Beskid Śląski. The largest tributaries of
the Vistula are: Dunajec, San, Wieprz, Bug, Drwęca. The second
largest river is the Oder. It is slightly shorter - it is 854 km long. Its
sources are located in the Czech Republic in Góry Odrzańskie, and the
major tributaries are the Warta and Noteć.
Other major Polish rivers are:
San, Pilica, Narew, Bug, Bób,
Nysa Łużycka, Warta, Noteć.
The use of rivers in Poland
• Obtaining Electricity
• In Poland, about
3,5% of the electricity
is produced in
hydroelectric power
plants. The largest of
them are in Solina,
Żydowo, Porąbka-Żar.
Watering and fertilizing functions
In Poland, the rivers are also used for
arable lands irrigation. Sediment carried
by the rivers’ water fertilizes soil. Irrigation
is extensively used in the area of Żuławy
Wiślane.
Recreational and tourist
functions:
• Rivers are also used
as a tourist attraction
and a place where
you can spend your
free time. An example
of such use may be
the Dunajec river.
Transport function of rivers
• Rivers are often used as
transport routes. They
serve as an alternative
freight route, usually of
bulk. In Poland, however,
this means of transport is
used to a small extent.
The main inland
transportation route in
Poland is the Oder river.
Source of drinking water
• Rivers are a major source of fresh water on the planet.
They are used for the abstraction of drinking water also
in Poland. An example is the Upper Silesia (Górny Śląsk)
conurbation, whose main source of water is a
Goczałkowickie lake, formed by a dam on the Vistula.
• Water is also obtained
for the needs of
industry. Industries
such as as steel,
energy and chemical
industries require
large amounts of
water to operate, that
is why they are often
built near rivers.
The use of the rivers in the past
• Defence functions:
• In the past, the rivers played a vitally important role, due
to their natural defensive qualities. Cities were built along
rivers in order to provide them with extra defence lines.
Fortresses were built in the proximity of rivers as well. An
example is the fortress of Modlin and Wawel Royal Castle.
Rivers were also applied to:
In the past rivers were particularly important due to their natural
defensive qualities. Rivers were also main communication routes. In
Poland for over 350 years Vistula and other rivers had been used for
grain transportation. Grain collected from the fields in the central
part of the country was carried along rivers to Gdańsk and then it
was exported to the western countries.
Rivers were used
to power
watermills and
continued to be
a very important
source of food.
Apart from being
a rich source of
fish, rivers
indirectly aid in
cultivation with
its supply of
water for the
crops.
River as a part of natural
environment:
• . Rivers are one of the most important landscape
elements in our country. They create valleys, lakes and
meanders. They are the home of numerous species of
plants and animals, also of the endangered and
protected ones.
Dangers connected with rivers:
• Rivers carry great danger. This danger are floods. Water
•
•
•
is one of the most powerful and most destructive
elements. Floods cause numerous damages. These
damages can be divided into two types. The first one
refers to serious consequences for the environment, the
second one to consequences for people and their
economy. Size of damages depends on the scale of flood
and we can classify floods into three types:
Small-range floods.
Middle-range floods which do not affect a country and its
functioning.
Big-range floods which take the form of a natural
disaster and do affect the functioning of the entire
country.
Consequences of floods for the
natural environment:
• They destroy natural habitat of wild
animals.
• They damage wildlife and endangered
species of animals and plants.
Consequences of floods for
humans:
• They pollute drinking water
• They destroy housing estates and
livelihoods
• They destroy crops and arable lands
• They kill domestic animals
• They cause great material damages
• They are hazardous for people’s lives
1997 Central European flood
• The 1997 Central European flood or the 1997 Oder Flood of
the Oder River and its tributaries in July 1997 affected Poland,
Germany and the Czech Republic, taking lives of 105-115 people (in
Czech Republic and Poland) and causing material damages
estimated at $4.5 billion (3.8 billion euros in the Czech Republic and
Poland and 330 million euros in Germany). The flooding first begun
in the Czech Republic, then spread to Poland and Germany. In
Poland, it was one of the most disastrous floods in the history of
this country, it was named the Millennium Flood (Powódź
tysiąclecia)although the term was also used in Germany
(Jahrtausendflut). The flood has also been referred to as the Great
Flood of 1997.
2010 Central European flood
The 2010 Central European floods were a
devastating series of weather events which
occurred across several Central European
countries during May, June and August
2010. Poland was the worst affected country.
Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Serbia and
Ukraine were also affected. At least thirty-seven
people died in the floods and approximately
23,000 people were evacuated. The city
of Krakow declared a state of emergency. The
losses were higher than 5 bln dolars. Water
flooded over 554000ha in 2157 villages.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!