Belovezhskaya Forest

Belovezhskaya Forest

forest, Eastern Europe
also called  Belovezh Forest  and  Białowieża Forest , Belarusian  Belovezhskaya Pushcha , Polish  Puszcza Białowieska 

      forest in western Belarus and eastern Poland. It is one of the largest surviving areas of primeval mixed forest (pine, beech, oak, alder, and spruce) in Europe and occupies more than 460 square miles (1,200 square km). The Belovezhskaya Forest is located in Brest and Hrodna (Grodno) oblasti (provinces) of Belarus and in Podlaskie województwo (province) of eastern Poland near the headwaters of the Narev (Polish: Narew (Narew River)) and Lesnaya (Leśna) rivers, tributaries of the Bug (Bug River). The forest has a wide range of flora (some conifers and hardwoods have attained ages of 350 to 600 or more years, heights in excess of 150 feet [45 metres], and diameters greater than 6 feet [2 metres]) and fauna (including elk, deer, lynx, and wild boar) from both western and eastern Europe. Hunted into extinction in the wild after World War I, the European bison, or wisent, was reintroduced to the Belovezhskaya with zoo-bred animals. The forest remains the European bison's most notable home, though the animals are now also found again in other parts of Europe, including Lithuania, Russia, and Ukraine. Once the hunting grounds of kings and tsars, the Belovezhskaya is the oldest nature preserve in Europe. Both the Polish and Belarusian portions of the forest have become national parks, and both areas were designated as World Heritage sites (World Heritage site) (the Polish (World Heritage site) portion in 1979 and the Belarusian (World Heritage site) portion in 1992).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Białowieża Forest — Belavezhskaya Pushcha National Park (BE) / Białowieski Park Narodowy (PL) Belarussian National Park Belavezhskaya Pushcha IUCN Category II (National Park) …   Wikipedia

  • Belarus — /byel euh roohs , bel /, n. official name of Byelorussia. * * * Belarus Introduction Belarus Background: After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and… …   Universalium

  • Poland — /poh leuhnd/, n. a republic in E central Europe, on the Baltic Sea. 38,700,291; ab. 121,000 sq. mi. (313,400 sq. km). Cap.: Warsaw. Polish, Polska. * * * Poland Introduction Poland Background: Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived around …   Universalium

  • bison — bisontine /buy seuhn tuyn , zeuhn /, adj. /buy seuhn, zeuhn/, n., pl. bison. 1. Also called American bison, American buffalo. a North American, oxlike ruminant, Bison bison, having a large head and high, humped shoulders: formerly common in North …   Universalium

  • Podlaskie — ▪ province, Poland Introduction Polish  Województwo Podlaskie        województwo (province), northeastern Poland. It is bordered by Lithuania to the north and Belarus to the east, as well as by the Polish provinces of Lubelskie to the south,… …   Universalium

  • Narew River — ▪ river, Europe       east bank tributary of the Vistula River that rises in western Belarus and flows into eastern Poland. The Narew River is 272 miles (438 km) long and drains an area of more than 10,800 square miles (28,000 square km). It… …   Universalium

  • List of World Heritage Sites in Europe — This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe. Asia Minor, Cyprus, all of the Aegean Islands, the Canaries and Madeira are included although the first two and some of the third are geographically located in Asia whereas the latter… …   Wikipedia

  • Беловежская пуща — Координаты: 52°42′57.6″ с. ш. 23°50′38.4″ в. д. / 52.716° с. ш. 23.844° в. д.  …   Википедия

  • Warsaw — For other uses, see Warsaw (disambiguation) and Warszawa (disambiguation). Warsaw Warszawa Capital City of Warsaw Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa Top …   Wikipedia

  • List of natural history museums — Contents 1 Africa 1.1 Botswana 1.2 Canary Islands 1.3 Egypt …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”