Puszcza Kurpiowska or Kurpiowska Forest, (, also ''

Kurpie Kurpie () is one of a number of ethnic regions in Poland, noted for its unique traditional customs, such as its own types of traditional costume, traditional dance and distinctive type of architecture and livelihoods. Kurpie is also the name of ...

Forest'') is the collective name 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 ...

's two wilderness areas:

Puszcza Biała Puszcza Biała (, ''White Wilderness'') is the name given to the forest that extends in Poland from Pułtusk to Ostrów Mazowiecka. It is part of the Mazovian lowlands and consists of small trees, mostly pine. The White Wilderness (Puszcza Biał ...

and

Puszcza Zielona Puszcza Zielona (; {{lit, Green Wilderness) is a forest in Poland which extends from the Narew River and the border with the region of Masuria. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc (river), Orzyc River. The fores ...

(White and Green Forests), located in the central basin of

Narew The Narew (; ; or ) is a 499-kilometre (310 mi) river primarily in north-eastern Poland. It is a tributary of the river Vistula. The Narew is one of Europe's few braided rivers, the term relating to the twisted channels resembling braided h ...

and Kurpiowska Plain. It is bound by the rivers:

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

(east),

(south) and Orzyc (west). The north-end reaches the border with

Masuria Masuria ( ; ; ) is an ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship (ad ...

. In the 16th century the Kurpiowska Forest was called Zagajnica, adding to its definition the counties of

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

Ostrołęka Ostrołęka (; ) is a small city in northeastern Poland on the Narew river, about northeast of Warsaw, with a population of 51,012 (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of both Ostrołęka County and Ostrołęka City County in the Masovian V ...

and

Przasnysz Przasnysz () is a town in north-central Poland. Located in the Masovian Voivodship, about north of Warsaw and about south of Olsztyn, it is the capital of Przasnysz County. It has 18,093 inhabitants (2004). It was one of the most important towns ...

, in which parts of the forest were located. In the 18th century the term Kurpiowska Forest was extended to include the Green Forest () and White Forest () which belonged to the

Bishops of Płock A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

. Kurpiowska Forest gradually began to be identified with Puszcza Zielona. In the late 20th century, forested areas accounted for approximately 33% of the Kurpiowska Forest. Most (95%) of forest areas include

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, with sparse

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ( ), a genus of about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal (taiga) regions of the Northern hemisphere. ''Picea'' ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

and

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

. The old-growth areas of spruce, pine and alder are protected.Encyklopedia Polski t.2

Reserves within the Forest

* ''Czarnia'' Reserve * ''Kanistan'' Reserve * Dark Angle "Ciemny Kąt" * Elbow "Łokieć" * ''Olsy Płoszyckie'' Reserve

References

{{coord missing, Poland Forests of Poland Geography of Masovian Voivodeship Geography of Podlaskie Voivodeship

Reserves within the Forest

See also

References