Netherlands

Borderingonthe north sea, the Netherlands has 280 miles (451 kilometers) of coastline. The country is also located at the mouths of the Rhine, Maase, and Scheld Rivers. The temperate and marine climates result in cool summers and mild winters. The Netherlands is chiefly comprised of coastal lowlands and numerous polders—land that has been reclaimed from the sea—with some hilly sections in the southeast.

The process of land reclamation began in the 17th century when windmills were used to drain lakes in the north. In the southwest, land was built up over time as tides deposited sand and silt on the shore, allowing the Dutch to reclaim the land with dikes. Around Groningen and Friesland, the government built dams out into the sea to promote the accumulation of sand and silt. In 1930, the government drained the first polder at Wieringermeer. Today, some 5,000 polders cover the Netherlands, and dikes and pumps maintain the water level at around three feet (0.91 meters) below ground level for purposes of cultivation.

As a result of its unique geography, the Netherlands is extremely vulnerable to flooding. This vulnerability was tragically illustrated in what became known as the “Battle of the Floods,” which began on January 31, 1953, when a violent storm on the North Sea ravaged the country. The land where hundreds of people lived below sea level had been protected for centuries by 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) of dunes, dikes, and pumping systems, but none of these could withstand winds of 100 miles (161 kilometers) per hour and waves several feet high. In the middle of the night, as the raging tides reached shore, church bells rang and sirens wailed. Within a few hours, the country had been cut in two.

Some 100,000 people were successfully evacuated from low-lying areas, but 1,800 people died. The port city of Rotterdam was under water, and many small towns and villages became islands. Others were totally washed away. Ultimately 332,500 acres of cultivated land was under water, and tens of thousands of livestock drowned. Some 143,500 houses were flooded, and another 20,000 were damaged. Eighty breaks were identified in the dikes, some over 600 feet (183 meters) wide. Others [Page 1233]simply crumbled away. To prevent a repeat occurrence, the government launched the Delta Project, constructing a series of dams, sluices, bridges, and canals and erecting a movable water surge near Rotterdam. Unfortunately, fisheries were negatively affected by these protective measures. With global warming expected to cause sea level rise by as much as a meter over the next century, further sea wall construction is ongoing. This climatological reality has also caused enhanced Dutch participation in climate change control treaties and alternative energy exploration.

Today the Netherlands is ranked as the 21st richest nation in the world, with a per capita income of $30,500. The United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports rank the Netherlands 12th in overall quality-of-life issues. Chiefly located in the delta of the Rhine, 26.71 percent of the land area is arable, and the Netherlands is a major exporter of agricultural products. Other natural resources include natural gas, petroleum, peat, limestone, salt, and sand and gravel.

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