Merkio slėnio gyvenviečių topografinės padėties ypatumai

ENThis article presents the analysis of Merkys valley settling. In this work there were established structural peculiarities of Merkys valley, the structural position of the settlings in the valley, dividing them into farmsteads; the separate structural elements of the valley and the settling level of structural segments was evaluated. According to the results of the work, the majority of the settlements in the Merkys valley are situated on the right bank of the river, where the farming conditions are more acceptable. As the biggest part of this river valley is formed in the sandy plain of various limnoglacial levels with unfavorable conditions for intense farming, the majority of the settlements here are small, dispersive villages. On the riverhead, where the slope of Merkys is narrow and it is not distinguished by complex structure, the majority of the settlements are situated in the slope of the valley, while on the lower reaches the river, where the valley of Merkys is wide and complex, the majority of the settlements are in the I, II terraces, in accordance with their position to the river bed.