Manifestations of the mountain landscape in toponyms: an example from Poland

The names of objects and places (toponyms) are frequently assigned based on various distinctive elements, including the features of the geographical environment. Since these features also aid in the identification of the types of landscapes, toponyms are widely used in analyses aimed at finding relationships between their spatial distribution and the elements shaping the space. Researchers have particularly favoured analyses concerning mountain landscapes. However, a detailed review of the literature on this subject indicates that such studies rarely extend beyond the boundaries of these regions. For this reason, it was decided to inspect whether there are more localities and physiographic features with mountains in their names in the mountain landscapes compared to other types of landscapes. A quantitative and spatial analysis of the distribution of toponyms with mountains in their names was conducted as part of the research. The following measures were determined: (i) an index calculated as the product of the number of localities (physiographic objects) with mountain-related names located in a landscape zone divided by the area of that zone; (ii) the percentage share of the number of localities (physiographic objects) with mountain-related names located in a landscape zone compared to all localities within that area. Additionally, the types of objects assigned to the points representing localities with these mountain-related names were examined. Data were sourced from the State Register of Geographic Names. The research was conducted over the entire area of Poland. In the case of locality names, both their number and density increase with the average elevation of the terrain. However, the analysis of physiographic object names did not reveal such clear correlations. Nevertheless, in both cases, the highest coefficients were observed for mountain landscapes. Additionally, it was noted that in other areas, names related to mountains were given to objects that in some way stood out from their surroundings and not necessarily be actual mountains.