Poland anchors the center of the European continent, with an area of 312,683 square km -- including about 500 km of coastline along the Baltic Sea to the north.
Seven countries border Poland -- to the west, the Polish/German border runs along the Oder and Neisse rivers. To the north, Poland is bordered by Russia; to the east by Lithuania, Belarus and the Ukraine; and in the south by the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains. In general, Poland is a flat country with an average height above sea level of 568 ft. Poland's climate is greatly influenced by oceanic air currents from the west, cold polar air from Scandinavia and Russia, as well as warmer, sub-tropical air from the south.
The country's topography played a major role in its history, as its flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain provided no resistance to military advances and made these borders difficult to defend.
