Low Beskids in the context of "Operation Vistula"

The Western Carpathians (Czech: Západní Karpaty) are a mountain range and geomorphological province that forms the western part of the Carpathian Mountains.

The mountain belt stretches from the Low Beskids range of the Eastern Carpathians along the border of Poland with Slovakia toward the Moravian region of the Czech Republic and the Austrian Weinviertel. In the south the North Hungarian Mountains cover northern Hungary. The area of the Western Carpathians comprises about 70,000 km. The highest elevation is the Gerlachovský štít (2,655m) situated in the High Tatra Mountains.

The Ondava is a river in eastern Slovakia, the northern source river of the Bodrog. Its source is in the Low Beskids (Eastern Carpathian Mountains), near the village Nižná Polianka, close to the border with Poland. The Ondava flows south through the towns of Svidník, Stropkov and Trhovište, and through the Ondavská Highlands. It is 142 km (88 mi) long and its basin size is 3,355 km (1,295 sq mi).

Near the village Cejkov, the Ondava joins the Latorica and forms the Bodrog river, itself a tributary of the Tisza. The Ondava river is 44% regulated.