Masurian Landscape Park is a protected area

Protected area

Protected areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognised natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international...

 (a Landscape Park

Landscape Park (Poland)

A Landscape Park is the name given in Poland to a type of protected area, of lower status than a National Park and with less stringent restrictions on development and economic use....

) in northern Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

, established in 1977; covering an area of 536.55 square kilometres (207.2 sq mi) in the Masurian Lake District.

The Park lies within Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship

Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship

Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, or Warmia-Masuria Province , is a voivodeship in northeastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Olsztyn...

: in Mrągowo County

Mragowo County

Mrągowo County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Mrągowo, which lies ...

 (Gmina Mikołajki, Gmina Mrągowo

Gmina Mragowo

Gmina Mrągowo is a rural gmina in Mrągowo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Mrągowo, although the town is not part of the territory of the gmina....

, Gmina Piecki

Gmina Piecki

Gmina Piecki is a rural gmina in Mrągowo County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the village of Piecki, which lies approximately south of Mrągowo and east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

), Pisz County

Pisz County

Pisz County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Pisz, which lies east...

 (Gmina Pisz

Gmina Pisz

Gmina Pisz is an urban-rural gmina in Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Pisz, which lies approximately east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

, Gmina Orzysz

Gmina Orzysz

Gmina Orzysz is an urban-rural gmina in Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Orzysz, which lies approximately north-east of Pisz and east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

, Gmina Ruciane-Nida

Gmina Ruciane-Nida

Gmina Ruciane-Nida is an urban-rural gmina in Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the town of Ruciane-Nida, which lies approximately west of Pisz and east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

) and Szczytno County

Szczytno County

Szczytno County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and largest town is Szczytno, which lies...

 (Gmina Świętajno

Gmina Swietajno, Szczytno County

Gmina Świętajno is a rural gmina in Szczytno County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. Its seat is the village of Świętajno, which lies approximately east of Szczytno and south-east of the regional capital Olsztyn....

).

The Park contains the biggest Polish lake called Śniardwy

Sniardwy

Śniardwy is a lake in the Masurian Lake District of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. It is the largest lake in Poland with an area of . It is long and wide. The maximum depth is 23 metres...

, with an area of 114.16 km², together with lakes of Kaczerajno and Seksty. Other bigger lakes include Bełdany (9.41 km²), Mokre (8.15 km²), Łuknajno (6.92 km²), Mikołajskie (4.98 km²), Warnołty (4.65 km²) and Zdrużno (2.52 km²). There are also over 20 smaller dystrophic lake

Dystrophic lake

Dystrophic lake refers to lakes with brown- or tea-coloured waters, the colour being the result of high concentrations of humic substances and organic acids suspended in the water. Because the term has long been misused in the literature, these lakes are better referred to as humic lakes...

s in the Krutynia river basin. Within the Landscape Park are 11 nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

s, including that of Łuknajno Lake, a Ramsar

Ramsar Convention

The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...

 site also designated by UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 as a biosphere reserve

Biosphere reserve

The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

due to its unique bird habitat.

General information

• Total area: 536.55 km²
• Forested area: 290 km²
• Water area (rivers and lakes): 180 km²
• Protected area: 186.08 km²
• Number of settlements: 29
• Number of permanent residents: approx. 4,800