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38-511: The Błędów Desert was not created naturally, but rather as a result of human activity, which lowered the water table to such a degree that the ground could no longer support plant life. Beginning in the Middle Ages, the area's forests were aggressively cleared to meet the needs of local mining and metal working endeavors. This clearcutting exposed approx. 150 km of sand, which once reached as far south as Szczakowa . According to legend,

76-700: A PZL 23 KARAŚ aircraft, whose three-person crew was killed. During the occupation, the desert was used for training by German troops, including units of the Afrika Korps (German armored corps, fighting under General Rommel in North Africa). According to "Militaria" magazine (a 1997 publication), before the fighting in Africa, the corps units conducted in the Błędów Desert to test their vehicles. During World War II , testing of aerial weapons took place on

114-479: A famous battle with Russian troops. In the interwar period, the Polish Air Force regularly practiced in the Błędów Desert. Flights over the sandy training ground were performed by squadrons of fighters and bombers from the 2nd Aviation Regiment from Krakow . The exercises mostly consisted of firing shots at ground targets - targets and mock-up aircraft. In June 1939, there was a serious accident with

152-511: A viewpoint for the desert. Has several benches and tables for tourist activities and an observation tower acting as a fire lookout . A viewpoint with a platform for desert observation situated near the village of Chechło. Next to the observation platform, a World War II bunker is located. The restricted area of the desert is visible from the site. 50°21′22″N 19°31′03″E  /  50.35617°N 19.51762°E  / 50.35617; 19.51762 Water table The water table

190-426: A zone of saturation is reached. Below the water table, in the phreatic zone (zone of saturation), layers of permeable rock that yield groundwater are called aquifers . In less permeable soils, such as tight bedrock formations and historic lakebed deposits, the water table may be more difficult to define. “Water table” and “ water level ” are not synonymous. If a deeper aquifer has a lower permeable unit that confines

228-441: A “desert” environment. However, that interference was completely different than it had been before. The vegetation was not destroyed but intensively planted to stabilize quick sands. There were mainly shrubs of willows Salix acutifolia and S. arenaria , as well as pines ( Pinus sylvestris ) and alders ( Alnus ). Since the 1970s, hydrological and hydrogeological conditions in the discussed area have also changed significantly. Until

266-605: Is a local endemic . The desert fauna is mainly insects and birds (150 species). Among birds, the most noteworthy are the boric lark or the field pipit. The culms - desert-steppe birds - once nested on the sands. The White Przemsza River flows through the middle of the desert, where muskrats and beavers can be found and stream lampreys can be found in the river. In the sands there are predatory northern dune tiger beetles - beetles of green or purple color with white spots on their lids. Anteaters feed on loose sands; their larvae form funnel-shaped holes into which ants fall. Source: In

304-615: Is a spreading, deciduous shrub or tree, growing to 10 m (33 ft) tall by 12 m (39 ft) wide. The young shoots are deep purple with a white bloom. The leaves are narrow, up to 10 cm (4 in) long. The catkins are produced in early spring, before the leaves. Older bark has a fine, netted pattern. Like all willows this species is dioecious . Male catkins are 5 cm (2 in) and silvery, with gold anthers, while female catkins are green and 3 cm (1 in) long. The specific epithet acutifolia means "sharp-leaved". The male clone 'Blue Streak' has gained

342-592: Is formed by fine quartz grains with numerous crumbs of other minerals. Most often they are polished to a shine. Among the attractions are fulgurites , which are minerals formed by the melting of sand by lightning striking the ground. At first glance, the landscape appears monotonous, but small dune formations and the valley of the Biala Przemsza River add variety to the area. Until recently, phenomena characteristic of natural deserts, such as Fata Morgana or sandstorms , and dunes could be observed in

380-411: Is groundwater that has remained in an aquifer for several millennia and occurs mainly in deserts . It is non-renewable by present-day rainfall due to its depth below the surface, and any extraction causes a permanent change in the water table in such regions. Most crops need a water table at a minimum depth. For some important food and fiber crops a classification was made because at shallower depths

418-461: Is the upper surface of the zone of saturation . The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with groundwater , which may be fresh, saline, or brackish, depending on the locality. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. The water table is the surface where the water pressure head is equal to the atmospheric pressure (where gauge pressure = 0). It may be visualized as

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456-401: The "surface" of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. The groundwater may be from precipitation or from groundwater flowing into the aquifer. In areas with sufficient precipitation, water infiltrates through pore spaces in the soil, passing through the unsaturated zone. At increasing depths, water fills in more of the pore spaces in the soils, until

494-464: The Biała Przemsza River. The northern part of „the desert” was characterised, as now, by a dominating, typical deflation relief. While a system of dunes, transverse in the western part and longitudinal in the eastern part, at various stages of development existed within the limit of the southern part of the area. Among the dunes more or less vast deflation surfaces and basins occurred. The area of

532-531: The Błędów Desert again becomes a training ground for the Polish aviation and ground troops. Wrecked tanks and demobilized cannons were set up as targets for shelling, conducted from aircraft. Exercises were carried out on both parts of the desert - northern and southern. Currently, paratroopers from the 6th Airborne Brigade in Krakow regularly train in the desert, holding exercises in landing and sham actions only in

570-482: The Błędów Desert is surrounded in the north and south by forest complexes. The neighborhood of forests is also characteristic of a part of the edge of the Biała Przemsza valley vicinity. Hence, characteristic dune border ridges have been formed on the verge between the flat sandy surface and the forest. Since the 1960s, the area of the Błędów Desert has started to change rapidly, due to secondary human interference, into

608-443: The aquifer and the permeability of the material. The water table does not always mimic the topography due to variations in the underlying geological structure (e.g., folded, faulted, fractured bedrock). A perched water table (or perched aquifer) is an aquifer that occurs above the regional water table. This occurs when there is an impermeable layer of rock or sediment ( aquiclude ) or relatively impermeable layer ( aquitard ) above

646-465: The area of the desert, many cyclic events take place such as runs, family picnics and concerts. A wooden installation with bridges and platforms shaped like a wind rose symbol located near the road connecting neighboring cities Klucze and Hutki . A tourist path leading to Klucze begins next to the installation. A common point of interest for events taking place on the desert. A hill in Klucze, acting as

684-446: The area. The current desert landscape is becoming less desert-like. A pine forest grows around it, and the overgrown former dunes resemble a meadow . In addition, the current appearance has been influenced by the planting of young pine and birch trees in the western part of the desert. Only near Klucze in the eastern part of the desert and in the north, in the vicinity of Dąbrówka Hill near Chechło , are there larger sandbanks. Among

722-493: The average temperature is 7.3º C, the precipitation value criteria for a desert does indicate that it's not technically a desert, however, the rare sight of big amounts of sand and desert phenomena occurring in previous years led to calling it a desert. The desert is divided by an overgrown strip stretching along the bed of the White Przemsza River into two parts: northern - smaller and southern - larger. The sand

760-418: The capillary effect ( capillary fringe ) in soils , sediments and other porous media . In the aquifer, groundwater flows from points of higher pressure to points of lower pressure, and the direction of groundwater flow typically has both a horizontal and a vertical component. The slope of the water table is known as the “hydraulic gradient”, which depends on the rate at which water is added to and removed from

798-403: The centuries since its appearance, much of the Błędów Desert has been grown over. In 2013 and 2014 EU-led intentional deforestation and destruction of the native plant life had restored some of the desert sands, continuing the damage to the ecosystem from the Middle Ages. The desert is entirely man-made and not a natural habitat. The average annual precipitation in the Błędów Desert is 726 mm, and

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836-438: The creation of desert areas. At the beginning of the 20th century, the phenomenon of fatamorgana and sandstorms were observed here. Old photographs featuring the Błędów Desert show tall sand dunes that wandered through the desert, which allowed it to serve, among other things, as an open-air location for the filming of "Pharaoh" by Boleslaw Prus . In the 1950s, much of the desert was planted with pine and holly willow to consolidate

874-463: The crop suffers a yield decline. A water table close to the surface affects excavation, drainage, foundations, wells and leach fields (in areas without municipal water and sanitation), and more. When excavation occurs near enough to the water table to reach its capillary action, groundwater must be removed during construction. This is conspicuous in Berlin , which is built on sandy, marshy ground, and

912-828: The desert during aerial manouvers. Maneuvers using the C-17 were also held in July 2021. Some of the planned exercises are reported the website of the 6th Airborne Brigade named after Brig. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski in Krakow . The area contains less than 100 species of various higher plants ( vascular ) adapted to sand soils and dynamic dune conditions. Examples of sandhill species include: grey hair-grass , Morison's spurry , Teesdalia nudicaulis , common whitlowgrass , marram grass , sand sedge and common myrtle . Rarer or protected species include: stemless thistle , prince's pine , broad-leaved helleborine , and Cochlearia polonica , which

950-709: The desert was created by the Devil, who wanted to bury the nearby Olkusz silver mine in sand. The desert was used as a military proving ground from the beginning of the 20th century. During the Second World War , the German Afrika Korps used the area to train soldiers and to test equipment before deployment in Africa . Military exercises continue in the area, including an airborne assault operation involving US, Canadian, and Polish forces in 2014. In

988-471: The desert's unique landscape. Livestock grazing is also planned to prevent its overgrowth. The Błędów Desert became a regular training ground only in the interwar years of the 20th century, however, it had episodically been used by the military even earlier. On November 15, 1914 soldiers of the 4th Battalion of the Polish Legions practiced here just before marching to Krzywopłoty , where they fought

1026-590: The desert. The weapons, originating from the German training ground "Schendek" (Zendek), built near Pyrzowice , with a station "Udetfeld" experimental station, comparable in importance to the famous Penemünde . It is also likely that tests of rocket weapons ( V1 or V2 ), launched from the "Schendek" training ground. It is supposed to be confirmed by an AK intelligence report stating that five-ton missiles were delivered to "Udetfeld" rockets in March 1944. After World War II,

1064-635: The important European habitat types listed in Annex I of the Habitats Directive , the Błędów Desert area includes: During the Ice Age, sands and gravels were deposited in the area of today's desert. Subsequently, the area was overgrown with dense forest, which was exploited for the silver and lead mines operating in the Olkusz area since the 13th century. Logging and groundwater extraction led to

1102-409: The local volatile sands and protect the surrounding fields from being buried by sand. This led to the disappearance of most of the desert area. The first geomorphological investigations, carried out at the end of the 1950s, proved that the Błędów Desert – as today – was composed of two significantly varying parts: northern and southern ones, divided by an “ oasis -like” area – a humid, green valley of

1140-435: The main water table/aquifer but below the land surface. If a perched aquifer's flow intersects the surface, at a valley wall, for example, the water is discharged as a spring . On low-lying oceanic islands with porous soil, freshwater tends to collect in lenticular pools on top of the denser seawater intruding from the sides of the islands. Such an island's freshwater lens, and thus the water table, rises and falls with

1178-413: The mentioned human interference and also due to natural succession and expansion of willow shrubs and grass vegetation, the areas covered by plants have significantly increased. Young pine forests and psammophilous vegetation (mainly Corynephorus canescens , Koeleria glauca, Festuca ovina , rarely Elymus arenarius ) with Salix acutifolia shrubs and S. arenaria covered almost the whole investigated area and

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1216-436: The mentioned year, the ground water level had been 3–8 m below the level of the ground. Later, it lowered abruptly by 20–30 m due to currentdeep exploitation of zinc and lead ores occurring in the neighborhood. However, the change of those conditions has not caused any changes in vegetation as the aforementioned species have adapted to the new water regime and continued to grow under arid conditions. In 40 years (in 1995), due to

1254-487: The northern part of the Błędów Desert, from the Chechło side (the boundaries of the military area, subject to a ban on entry, are indicated by appropriate signs in the area). Periodically, international military exercises also take place here. In 1999, NATO maneuvers were held here as part of Cooperative Bear '99, with the participation of aviation and medical services. In September 2016, American C-17 Globemaster were seen over

1292-522: The previous young forests had changed into mature ones . Therefore, the unique “desert“ character of Błędów Desert has almost completely disappeared. In the years 2004–2005), the areas without vegetation – old active deflation basins (in SE part of the “desert”) were minute, they do not play their morphogenetic role and they are covered by clumps of Salix arenaria, forming characteristic phytogenic hills. Today, efforts are underway to prevent overgrowth and preserve

1330-479: The tides. In some regions, for example, Great Britain or California , winter precipitation is often higher than summer precipitation and so the groundwater storage is not fully recharged in summer. Consequently, the water table is lower during the summer. This disparity between the level of the winter and summer water table is known as the "zone of intermittent saturation", wherein the water table will fluctuate in response to climatic conditions. Fossil water

1368-512: The upward flow, then the water level in this aquifer may rise to a level that is greater or less than the elevation of the actual water table. The elevation of the water in this deeper well is dependent upon the pressure in the deeper aquifer and is referred to as the potentiometric surface , not the water table. The water table may vary due to seasonal changes such as precipitation and evapotranspiration . In undeveloped regions with permeable soils that receive sufficient amounts of precipitation,

1406-477: The water table is generally 2 meters below the surface. Pink and blue pipes can often be seen carrying groundwater from construction sites into the Spree river (or canals). Salix acutifolia Salix acutifolia , also known as Siberian violet-willow , long-leaved violet willow or sharp-leaf willow , is a species of flowering plant in the family Salicaceae, native to Russia and eastern Asia. It

1444-409: The water table typically slopes toward rivers that act to drain the groundwater away and release the pressure in the aquifer. Springs , rivers , lakes and oases occur when the water table reaches the surface. Groundwater entering rivers and lakes accounts for the base-flow water levels in water bodies. Within an aquifer, the water table is rarely horizontal, but reflects the surface relief due to

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