Western Beskyd

Western Beskyd [Західний Бескид; Zakhidnyi Beskyd; Polish: Bieszczady Zachodnie]. (Map: Carpathian Mountains, Division.) The part of the Beskyds in the Carpathian Mountains lying between the Biała River and the Toplia River valleys in the west, the Slanské Mountains to the south, and the Low Beskyd in the east. Only the eastern reaches of the Western Beskyd lie in Ukrainian ethnic territory, in a region in southern Poland and northeastern Slovakia. Within that area a number of notable mountain and mountain groups are located, including the Yavoryna group (1,116 m) and the Cherhiv Mountains (with Mount Menchil at 1,157 m) and the Spišská Magura (1,158 m) and the Levoča Mountains (up to 1,300 m). Those two main areas are separated by a rocky plain. The ridges of the formation generally are broad and smooth, sparsely populated, and covered with woods and meadows. Most of the area's population can be found in its lower-lying reaches. The Ukrainian inhabitants of the Western Beskyd, generally Lemkos, were forcibly resettled after the Second World War (see Operation Wisła) and can be found today only in the Prešov region of Slovakia.

 [This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]