II.

Land and Resources

The word “Netherlands” (Dutch Nederlanden) means low-lying lands, and much of the north and western part of the country is below sea level. This region, known as the Low Netherlands, is covered with clay and peat soils, and intersected by canals, rivers, and sea inlets. To the east and south is the High Netherlands, where the land lies slightly above sea level and is flat to gently rolling. Elevations in the High Netherlands rarely exceed 50 m (164 ft), except in the extreme south-east where altitudes over 107 m (350 ft) are frequent.

“God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland” is an old Dutch saying. The dykes, canals, dams, sluices, and windmills which characterize so much of the landscape of the Netherlands are part of a water drainage system that dates from medieval times. This system has enabled the Dutch to increase their country’s land area by almost one fifth. More importantly, without constant drainage, and the protection of the coastal dunes, almost half of the Netherlands would be inundated—mainly by the sea, but also by the many rivers which cross it. The country’s vulnerability to flooding has been forcefully demonstrated twice in the past five decades. On February 1, 1953, a spring tide and fierce gales caused the North Sea to breach the coastal dykes and dunes in the south-western province of Zeeland. Some 162,000 hectares (400,000 acres) were inundated, killing more than 1,800 people. Exactly 42 years later, more than 250,000 people were evacuated from the east and centre of the country. Torrential rains in France and Germany had caused the Rhine and Meuse rivers to flood, and it was feared that the dykes on the Lek, Maas, and Waal rivers, their tributaries in the Netherlands, would be breached by the pressure of draining floodwater. The dykes held, but following the emergency it was announced that a US$1.2 billion programme to reinforce more than 800 km (500 mi) of river dykes, originally due to be completed in 2008, would be speeded up.

The North Sea coastline of the Netherlands consists mostly of dunes. In the south-west are gaps in the dunes formed by river mouths, creating a delta of islands and waterways. In the north, the sea broke through the dunes, creating the West Frisian Islands and behind them a tidal sea called the Waddenzee. Inland of the coastal dunes is an area lying below sea level that is protected by dykes and kept dry by continuous mechanical pumping. The former Zuider Zee, originally an estuary of the Rhine, and later an inland sea, is being reclaimed. A dyke separating it from the Waddenzee and North Sea was completed in 1932, when work was begun to drain about 225,000 hectares (556,000 acres) to form polders such as the South and East Flevoland polders and the North East Polder. About three quarters of the area had been reclaimed by the early 1980s. In 1986 the Netherland’s 12th province, Flevoland, was created from the two Flevoland polders and the North East polder. The remainder of the Zuider Zee was transformed into a freshwater lake called the IJsselmeer.

The islands of the south-western delta region are also undergoing change. After the disastrous flood of 1953, the Delta Plan was launched to protect the region by building a series of massive dams and dykes to block off the sea inlets from the North Sea. The project, which was completed in 1986, created freshwater lakes and joined some of the islands together.

Most of the eastern half of the Netherlands consists of low-lying land covered by sandy alluvial soils deposited by glaciers and rivers. Hilly country (the foothills of the Ardennes) and loamy soils are found only in the southern part of Limburg Province in the border area with Belgium. Vaalserberg (321 m/1,053 ft), the highest point in the Netherlands, is in this area.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

The Netherlands’ major rivers are the Rhine, flowing from Germany, and its several tributaries, including the Waal and Lek; the Maas (a branch of the Meuse) and the Schelde, both flowing from Belgium. These rivers and their tributaries flow east to west through the centre of the country; at the coast they form the delta with its many islands. Together with numerous canals, the rivers give ships access to the interior of Europe.

There are many small lakes in the northern and western portions of the Netherlands. Nearly all the larger natural lakes have been pumped dry, but the delta redevelopment programme and the reclamation of the Zuider Zee have created numerous new freshwater lakes, the largest being the IJsselmeer.

B.

Climate

The Netherlands shares the temperate maritime climate common to much of northern and western Europe. The average January temperature is 1.7° C (35° F), and the mean July temperature is 17° C (63° F). Average annual precipitation is about 760 mm (30 in). Cloudless days are uncommon, as is prolonged frost. Because the Netherlands has few natural barriers, such as high mountains, the climate varies little from region to region.

C.

Natural Resources

The Netherlands was long thought to be poor in mineral resources. Peat, used as fuel, was dug in several regions, and southern Limburg Province was known to contain coal deposits. Salt was also produced. In the 1950s and 1960s large natural gas reserves were discovered in Groningen Province. Smaller deposits of crude oil are located in the north-eastern and western parts of the country.

The Netherlands’ environment is vulnerable, particularly to pollution. A number of national parks and nature reserves have been established to protect portions of the natural landscape. Conservation groups have lobbied to prevent land reclamation and the building of dykes in an effort to preserve threatened habitats. The success of their efforts was alleged to have contributed to the February 1995 flood emergency, by causing delays to the river dyke reinforcement programme. The country is also active in international efforts to clean up the waters of the River Rhine.

D.

Plants and Animals

The natural landscape of the Netherlands has been altered by humans in many ways over the centuries. Because land is scarce and fully exploited, areas of natural vegetation are limited. The tall grasses of the dunes and the heather of the heaths continue to provide habitats for rabbits, but larger wildlife, such as deer, have disappeared except in parks. The remnants of oak, beech, ash, and pine forests are carefully managed. Land reclamation projects have created new habitats for many species of migratory birds.

E.

Environmental Concerns

The Netherlands is one of the most proactive environmental countries in Europe; it was the first to produce a national strategy for sustainable development, targeting sectors such as agriculture and transport. This action was in response to significant pollution throughout the country, not all of its own making. One result of this strategy was a significant rise in the cost of fuel.

Acid rain has affected a large proportion of the country’s trees, and much of this acid pollution originates elsewhere, particularly in Germany and the United Kingdom. This situation should improve, however, as the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Sulphur Protocols and European Union (EU) directives on combustion plants are implemented. Although fertilizer consumption has decreased over the past few years, the country still depends heavily on the use of fertilizer, and significant nitrate pollution in water has occurred in the Netherlands. Three heavily industrialized rivers—the Rhine, Schelde, and Meuse—converge on Rotterdam, the world’s largest port. Sixty per cent of the population currently lives below sea level, making the Netherlands particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise induced by climate change. Consequently, the country has been at the forefront of calls for reductions in fossil fuel use and deforestation. It contributes less than 1 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.