Biebrza

Biebrza (Lithuanian: Bebras, Belarusian: Bobra) is a river in north-eastern Poland, a tributary of the Narew river (near Wizna), with a length of 164 kilometres and a basin area of 7,092 km2 (7,067 in Poland).[1]

See also: Biebrza, Podlaskie Voivodeship
Biebrza
Biebrza in Burzyn
Location
CountryPoland
Physical characteristics
Mouth 
 ⁃ location
Narew
 ⁃ coordinates
53°13′02″N 22°25′52″E
Length164 km (102 mi)
Basin size7,092 km2 (2,738 sq mi)
Discharge 
 ⁃ average35.3 m3/s (1,250 cu ft/s)
Basin features
ProgressionNarew→ Vistula→ Baltic Sea
Biebrza in Goniądz
Biebrza at sunset

Larger towns in the area:

The region is usually divided into lower, central and upper basin areas, each with its own different characteristics.

Tributaries
  • Right tributaries: Netta, Lega, Ełk, Wissa
  • Left tributaries: Sidra, Brzozówka

Natural environment

Today the river is best known for the vivid wildlife in the peatbogs and marshes in its flooding areas.

History

Historically, the borderland regions of Masovia and Lithuania, the area retains much of its cultural diversity today.

Cultural and linguistic environment

The basin of Biebrza river is inhabited not only by hundreds of rare and endangered sorts of birds, but also by people representing diverse cultures, languages and religions. While most of the population of the region speaks standard Polish, some people in the upper river basin (municipalities of Lipsk, Dąbrowa Białostocka and partly Sztabin) speak a local dialect of Belarusian (called by them prosty jazyk - "the simple language"). The people there belong to the Orthodox or Roman Catholic church. On the north bank of the upper Biebrza there are also a few villages where so called "old believers" live, who speak an archaic dialect of Russian. Some of these communities preserved much of their traditional culture in spite of a long lasting communist government policies aimed at assimilation of non-Polish cultural and linguistic minorities.

See also

References
  1. Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2017, Statistics Poland, p. 85-86


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