Ścinawka Depression
| Ścinawka Depression | |
|---|---|
Railway line with a viaduct at Tłumaczów | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Gardzień |
| Elevation | 556 m (1,824 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 30 km (19 mi) |
| Width | 10–12 km (6.2–7.5 mi) |
| Area | 80 km2 (31 mi2) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Poland |
| Region | Lower Silesian Voivodeship |
| Parent range | Sudetes |
The Ścinawka Depression (Polish: Obniżenie Ścinawki) is a geomorphological mesoregion in the Central Sudetes in southwestern Poland. The depression forms a broad longitudinal trough between the Stone Mountains to the northeast and the Table Mountains to the southwest, and is drained by the Ścinawka River, a tributary of the Nysa Kłodzka. It extends around Mieroszów, Radków, Ścinawka Średnia and Wambierzyce. The region is more than 30 km long and 10–12 km wide; its highest point is Gardzień (556 m).[1][2][3]
Geography
The Ścinawka Depression is one of the mesoregions of the Central Sudetes. In Kondracki's regional division, it includes a broad depression used by the Ścinawka River and bordered by the Stone Mountains on the northeast side and the Table Mountains on the southwest side. It includes the upper section around Mieroszów and the lower section around Radków and the Ścinawka valley.[1]
The Ścinawka Depression lies amid the following mountain ranges: to the northeast the Nowa Ruda Depression, to the east the Bardzkie Mountains, to the southeast the Kłodzko Valley, to the south the Bystrzyckie Mountains, to the southwest the Stołowe Mountains, and to the north the Stone Mountains.
The depression has a marked internal contrast. In the Polish part, the upper course of the Ścinawka belongs to the Mieroszów area, whereas the lower section includes the flat valley floor and the low Ścinawka Hills. Kondracki estimated the total area of the entire region at about 300 km2, while the Polish part of the lower section occupies about 80 km2.[1]
The landscape is composed of a wide river valley, gently undulating agricultural land and isolated low hills. In the Radków area, the depression includes the broad valley of the Ścinawka and low uplands culminating in Gardzień, which at 556 m is the highest mountain of the Ścinawka Depression. Settlements in the Polish section include Tłumaczów, Ścinawka Górna, Ścinawka Średnia, Radków and Wambierzyce. Because of its elongated form, the depression has long served as a local transport corridor between the Wałbrzych area, Broumov and the Kłodzko Valley.[1][3]
Geology
Geologically, the Ścinawka Depression forms part of the Intra-Sudetic Depression. Its relief developed on comparatively less resistant sedimentary rocks, especially Upper Permian mudstones and sandstones and Lower Triassic strata of the basin fill.[1]
In the Polish section, the landforms consist of the broad, flat Ścinawka valley in the north and the Ścinawka Hills in the south. Geological mapping in the Kłodzko region has also noted Permian sandstones and volcanic rocks in the Ścinawka Hills, including melaphyres quarried locally around Tłumaczów.[4]
The depression is also notable for its cuesta relief, especially along its contact with the Table Mountains. Modern geomorphological studies describe the Ścinawka Depression as a broad mesoregion in which several cuestas are visible above the river gorge, the highest lying along the edge toward the Table Mountains and the Broumov Walls.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d e Kondracki, Jerzy (2000). Geografia regionalna Polski (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. ISBN 978-83-01-13050-3.
- ^ Solon, Jerzy; Borzyszkowski, Janusz; Bidłasik, Małgorzata; et al. (2018). "Physico-geographical mesoregions of Poland: Verification and adjustment of boundaries on the basis of contemporary spatial data". Geographia Polonica. 91 (2): 143–170. doi:10.7163/GPol.0115. hdl:20.500.12128/9154.
- ^ a b Sroga, Cezary (2004). Objaśnienia do Mapy geośrodowiskowej Polski 1:50 000. Arkusz Radków (867) (in Polish). Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny.
- ^ Bobiński, Wojciech (2004). Objaśnienia do Mapy geośrodowiskowej Polski 1:50 000. Arkusz Kłodzko (901) (in Polish). Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Geologiczny.
- ^ Chylińska, Dagmara; Kołodziejczyk, Krzysztof (2021). "The untapped potential of scenic routes for geotourism: case studies of Lasocki Grzbiet and Pasmo Lesistej (Western and Central Sudeten Mountains, SW Poland)". Journal of Mountain Science. 18 (4): 1062–1092. doi:10.1007/s11629-020-6630-1.