Tectonic subdivision of Poland: Polish Lowlands

Presented paper is a contribution to discussion about the tectonic regionalization in Poland. The Polish Lowlands, located between the Baltic shore and the highlands of the southern and central Poland, is the area discussed here. In this region mainly the Quaternary and the Neogene deposits with thickness rarely over 300 m are exposed. On the sub-Cenozoic surface occur mainly Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic rocks. Structural forms of the Polish Lowlands are directly associated with the Permian-Mesozoic Polish Basin inverted at the beginning of Cenozoic time. It is worthwhile indicating here that not only the Polish Trough was inverted but also the distal part of this basin, distinguished now as the Fore-Sudetic Monocline. Subdivision of the Polish Lowlands into tectonic units on the sub-Cenozoic surface was shown on Fig. 1. In the mid-Polish area antyclinorium belts of north-west to south-east orientation are located. The basement of the Polish Basin is built of the pre-Permian deposits, tectonized during pre-Alpine phases. To analyze the geology of Poland in the sub-Permian architecture the proper tectonic map (Fig. 2) is required with only the units of first order marked. Debate on tectonics of Poland requires also a map of basement consolidation units (Fig. 3). Indispensable completion of the presented maps is a geological cross-section of the Polish Lowlands (Fig. 4). It is clear that tectonic regionalization of Poland (with special attention to the Polish Lowlands) should be demonstrated on the three basic maps here presented. Spatial (both horizontal and vertical) relations between tectonic units should be considered in the light of sedimentary basin analysis, i.e., searching processes and stages of the structural evolution which essentially contributed to the recent tectonic diversification in regional geology