highland area, southern Poland, having an area of 10,000 square miles (25,000 sq km). Located south of the Polish Lowlands, it embraces the territory from the Kraków-Częstochowa scarplands (Polish Jura) to the Vistula River. The region includes the Silesian-Kraków uplands, the Nida River basin, the Lublin Uplands, and the Świętokrzyskie (“Holy Cross”) Mountains, which rise to 2,008 feet (612 metres). The uplands are drained by the Vistula River and its tributaries. They lie within the provinces of Śląskie, Małopolskie, and Świętokrzyski.

The topography of the region is the result of mountain glaciers and continental ice sheets that advanced from the north. There are contrasting areas of sand, glacial till, and loess blown from the northern areas during postglacial times. Meadows and forests are present throughout the uplands. Fertile brown and black soils have developed on the loess base and yield crops of rye, potatoes, and oats. The Little Poland Uplands contain rich deposits of coal in the west (the Silesian Uplands), constituting one of the leading bituminous coalfields of Europe. There are also deposits of iron ore, zinc, and lead in the region.

The Upper Silesian metropolitan conurbation is focused in Śląskie province, centring on Katowice. Also important is Kraków, notably its industrial section, Nowa Huta. Other leading cities are Kielce, Częstochowa, Piotrków Trybunalski, and Lublin.