Daugavpils region is situated in the south-western part of Latvia; the band of the Daugava river meanders throughout the whole region. In the interval from Krāslava to Krauja the river loops ten times but below the city of Daugavpils passing by Līksna and Nīcgale the river resumes calm and even current. It divides the region into two parts that historically, politically and ethnographically have been developing independently. Augšzeme, or the land of the Sels, is located at the left bank of the Daugava, Latgale - at the right bank.