Manifestations of the mountain landscape in toponyms

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.