Waterways
The middle course of the main Polish river, the Vistula, contains many navigational hazards, and the river is thus a less-important waterway than the smaller Oder. The modern Gliwice Canal links the Oder to the Upper Silesian industrial region and carries coal to the port of Szczecin. The Oder basin is also linked to the lower Vistula by the Bydgoszcz Canal. Inland navigation is of little importance in Poland, however, with less than 1 percent of Polish freight being carried on rivers and canals. On the other hand, shipping is well developed, and there are three large seaports—Szczecin (the largest), Gdynia, and Gdańsk—as well as smaller fishing and coastal navigation ports.
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
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Poland - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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The Republic of Poland is a country in eastern Europe. The outline of Poland often changed during its history. At times it did not exist at all when foreign powers took control of the land. In the late 20th century Poland led the fight against Communism, a strict form of government, in eastern Europe. Poland’s capital is Warsaw.
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Poland - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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One of the largest of the countries of eastern Europe, Poland was the first of these countries to liberate its government from the Communist domination endured for 45 years. It was the relegalization of the trade union Solidarity and the agreement to hold partially free parliamentary elections that appeared to have opened the floodgates of radical reforms that spilled over into other countries of the Soviet bloc. In 1989 government after government collapsed in eastern Europe and politically transformed not only Poland but also East Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and the Soviet Union itself. An economic austerity program instituted the following year sped Poland’s transition to a market economy. Poland formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1999 and the European Union (EU) in 2004. Area 120,726 square miles (312,679 square kilometers). Population (2013 est.) 38,542,000.
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