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Vistula
Vistula , Pol. Wisła, longest river and principal waterway of Poland, c.665 mi (1,070 km) long. It rises in the West Beskid range of the Carpathians, S Poland, and flows NE past Kraków, NW past Warsaw and Toruń, and N past Grudziądz and Tczew to the Gulf of Danzig on the Balt...
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Oder
Oder , Czech and Pol. Odra, river, 562 mi (904 km) long; the second longest river of Poland. It rises in the E Sudetes, NE Czech Republic, and flows generally NW through SW Poland, then N along the Poland-Germany border to the Baltic Sea N of Szczecin, Poland. The Warta and the Lausitzer Neisse ri...
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levee
levee [Fr.,=raised], embankment built along a river to prevent flooding by high water. Levees are the oldest and the most extensively used method of flood control. They are constructed by piling earth on a surface that has been cleared of vegetation and leveled. From a broad base the levee narrow...
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Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor strip of German territory awarded to newly independent Poland by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. The strip, 20 to 70 mi (32-112 km) wide, gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea. It contained the lower course of the Vistula, except the area constituting the Free City of Danzig (see ...
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Warsaw
Warsaw , Pol. Warszawa, city (1993 est. pop. 1,655,700), capital of Poland and of Mazowieckie prov., central Poland, on both banks of the Vistula River. It is a political, cultural, and industrial center, a major transportation hub, and one of Europe's great historic cities. Among its many industr...
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Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.163,000 sq mi (422,170 sq km), including the Kattegat strait, its northwestern extension. The Øresund, Store Bælt, and Lille Bælt connect the Baltic Sea with the Kattegat and Skagerrak straits, which lead to the North Sea; the Kiel Canal, a...
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Toruń
Toruń , Ger. Thorn, city (1993 est. pop. 201,700), capital (with Bydgoszcz) of Kujawsko-Pomorskie prov., N central Poland, on the Vistula River. It is a river port and a railway junction. The major industries produce precision instruments, electrical equipment, textiles, and fertilizers. It g...
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Germans
Germans great ethnic complex of ancient Europe, a basic stock in the composition of the modern peoples of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, N Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, N and central France, Lowland Scotland, and England. From archaeology it is clear...
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East Prussia
East Prussia Ger. Ostpreussen, former province of Prussia, extreme NE Germany. The region of East Prussia has low rolling hills that are heavily wooded, and it is dotted by many lakes (especially in Masuria ). The region is drained by several rivers including the Nemen (Nieman); the Baltic coast...
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Galicia
Galicia , Pol. Galicja, Ukr. Halychyna, Rus. Galitsiya, historic region (32,332 sq mi/83,740 sq km), SE Poland and W Ukraine, covering the slopes of the N Carpathians and plains to the north and bordering on Slovakia in the south. It is drained by the upper Dniester, the upper Vistula, and the...
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