The Belarusian Ridge () is a line of terminal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

s, which is almost entirely in the northwest of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. The feature is part of the

East European Plain The East European Plain (also called the Russian Plain, "Extending from eastern Poland through the entire European Russia to the Ural Mountains, the ''East European Plain'' encompasses all of the Baltic states and Belarus, nearly all of Ukraine, ...

. This

ridge A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...

, consisting of low, rolling hills, runs for about 500 km in the direction from west-southwest to east-northeast, from the area of the Brest region, which is close to the border of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

to the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n town of

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

.Белорусская гряда

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...

The ridge is a limit of the last advance of the ice sheet,Physical Geography
/ref> which defines its geological constitution: mostly moraine

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

s with added

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

and

alluvial Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

s. River valleys divide the ridge into sections, uplands. The ridge stretches approximately from west to east and separated two major lowlands: Polesie Lowland to the south and and to the north.

Features within Belarus

Ashmyany Ashmyany or Oshmyany is a city in Grodno Region, Belarus. It is located from Vilnius in Lithuania, and serves as the administrative center of Ashmyany District. The river Ashmyanka passes through the city. As of 2025, it has a population of 16 ...

upland * *

Vaukavysk Vawkavysk or Volkovysk is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vawkavysk District. It is located on the and rivers, roughly from the city of Grodno and from Minsk, the national capital. As o ...

upland *

Shchara The Shchara (, ; ) is a river in Belarus, and a left tributary of the Neman. This long river's catchment area is . The Shchara is the 5th longest river in Belarus. It flows through the city of Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in wes ...

valley *

Navahradak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

upland *

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

valley * *

Berezina The Berezina or Byarezina (, ; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is . The width of the river is 15–20 m, the maximum is 60 m. The ba ...

valley *

Daugava The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of ...

and

Vitsebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

- Nevel uplands *

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

upland *

Orsha Orsha (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

upland *a final group of uplands along the eastern boundary with

The highest elevation of the ridge (and the whole Belarus) is Mount Dzyarzhynskaya, 365m.

Features elsewhere

The part of the within

is called Wzgórza Sokólskie, of area about 1,300sq.km. A small patch in the north belongs to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

To the east it connects to the

Smolensk–Moscow Upland The Smolensk–Moscow Upland is located in the Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Moscow and Smolensk regions of Russia, as well as the Vitebsk region of Belarus. Geography It stretches from southwest to northeast from the Belarusian city of Orsha to Yurie ...

, Russia via a narrow corridor called the between swampy areas of

and Dzwina river systems, of strategic military significance. Jacek Bartosiak
The Potential War Map of Eastern Europe
/ref>

References

{{coord, 53, 52, 26, N, 26, 59, 09, E, region:BY_type:mountain_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Landforms of Belarus Ridges of Europe Moraines of Europe Lists of landforms of Belarus