Little Beskids - mountain range in the Western Beskids, located on the border of the Silesian Voivodeship and of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It stretches for about 35 km, and its width is from 10 to 15 km. The highest peak is Czupel (930 m above sea level).
Characteristic
The range stretches from the Żywiec Valley and the Wilkowicka Gate in the west to the Skawa River in the east. Due to the appearance of the Little Beskids, it can be divided into 2 parts: eastern (higher and smaller) and western (lower and larger). Both are separated from each other by the Soła River, the Żywieckie Lake and the Międzybrodzkie Lake.
The highest peaks of the range are Czupel, Łamana Skała, Leskowiec and Magurka Wilkowicka. The smallest peaks are in Beskid Andrychowski (north-eastern part of the Little Beskids).
Worth seeing
There are many monuments of art, architecture and material culture in the region of the Little Beskids. These are Loreto bell towers, old cottages, historic figures, chapels, crosses and unparalleled anywhere stone shelters. There are not many of these monuments in the mountains, most of them are in the valleys. The oldest of the churches is the church of St. Stanisław in Old Bielsko. Historic wooden churches are located in Mikluszowice and Łodygowice. In Sucha Beskidzka there is a Renaissance Komorowski Castle and a wooden inn "Rzym" from the 18th century. There are also many interesting manors in the area. The most interesting are in Stryszawa, Zembrzyce, Łodygowice and Andrychów. In the Little Beskids you can also practice winter sports, although there are relatively few slopes compared to Silesian Beskid if Żywiec region.
Localities
- Bielsko-Biala
- Wilkowice
- Łodygowice
- Tresna
- Porąbka
Ruins of a stone hut in Cisowa Grapa - Kęty
- Andrychów
- Sucha Beskidzka
Mountain huts
- PTTK shelter on Magurka Wilkowicka (909 m above sea level)
- Hostel PTTK Leskowiec (890 m above sea level)
- Chata Pod Triple (883 m above sea level)
View from the Żary Mountain - Student's Hut "Rogacz" (828 m above sea level)
- Gibasówka cottage (810 m above sea level)
- Shelter on Chrobacza Łąka (800 m above sea level)
- Mountain shelter on Trzonka (approx. 680 m above sea level)
Non-existent shelters
- Tourist shelter in Jawornica
- A shelter on the Kocierska Pass
- "Widok na Tatry" mountain shelter
- PTTK tourist station in Żara
Nature conservation
In the Beskid Mały there is the Landscape Park of the Little Beskids, the Natura 2000 area and four nature reserves: Madohora, Szeroka, Zasolnica and Grapa. Other reserves are also planned: in Żurawnica, Łysina, Leskowiec and in the valley of the Dusica stream. There are several documentation sites: a section of the Rzyczanka stream, black slate outcrops in the Wieprzówka riverbed and Zamczysko on Łysina. Many trees and parks are protected as nature monuments. The region is threatened by polluted air masses brought by western winds from the industrialized Upper Silesia.
Climate
The specific climate of the mountain zone, largely dependent on the altitude of a given place above sea level. Areas located at an altitude of up to 700 m above sea level. have a warm temperate climate with an average annual temperature from 4 ° C to 6 ° C, those situated higher - a cold temperate climate with an average annual temperature from 6 ° C to 8 ° C. The highest temperature (until 2014) was recorded in September 1965 in Porąbka - 37.9 ° C. The length of the growing season varies from 170 to 220 days a year and is largely dependent on the height: the higher, the shorter the growing season. It also depends on the location: on the northern slopes it is shorter than on the southern slopes.
The average annual amount of precipitation is 800-1400 mm and is much lower than in the neighboring Beskid Śląski - this is due to the fact that the peaks of the Little Beskids are much lower. The phenomenon of temperature inversion is frequent (air temperature increases with altitude). Fog occurs 50-100 days a year and more often over water bodies and on the northern side of the range. Predominance of westerly and north-westerly winds. From the south there is sometimes a warm mountain wind, during which the air transparency is very good. It usually blows for three days, followed by a bad weather and rainfall.
Winters in the mountains are slightly milder than in the lowlands, but the snow cover lasts longer - from 65 to 140 days. In the higher parts, snow appears at the end of November, and usually melts at the beginning of April. The heaviest snowfall occurs at the turn of February and March. The snow rarely exceeds 50 cm.