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New page: A '''polder''' is an area of land reclaimed from sea or marsh; the term is generally used in connection with reclaimed land in the Netherlands, and to a lesser extent Belgium and [...
A '''polder''' is an area of land reclaimed from sea or marsh; the term is generally used in connection with reclaimed land in [[the Netherlands]], and to a lesser extent [[Belgium]] and [[Germany]]. The area is reclaimed after a dyke (embankment) has been constructed to surround it, and the water pumped out. The surface level of polderland is generally below sea-level.
Polders have been made in the Netherlands since the medieval period - [[Amsterdam]]'s Schiphol Airport is constructed on a polder finally drained in the 19th century - but a major programme of reclamation was begun in the 20th century. A major enclosing dike, the Afsluitsdijk, was built between 1927 and 1933 to enclose the [[Zuider Zee]], turning this former inlet of the [[North Sea]] into an enclosed lake. This allowed the construction of several very large polders in the newly formed [[Ijsselmeer]]:
*Wieringermeer: 1927-1930, 119 square miles
*Noordoostpolder (North East Polder): 273 square miles (including the former small islands of Schokland and Urk incorporated into the polder)
*Oost-Flevoland (East Flevoland): completed 1957
*Suid-Flevoland (South Flevoland): completed 1968
Oost- and Suid-Flevoland form one landmass, with an area of 659 square miles; it is the largest artificial island in the world. Together with the Noordoostpolder, they form the province of [[Flevoland]], created in 1986.
==Further information==
Noordoostpolder (in English): http://www.noordoostpolder.nl/content.jsp?objectid=14184
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Engineering]]
Polders have been made in the Netherlands since the medieval period - [[Amsterdam]]'s Schiphol Airport is constructed on a polder finally drained in the 19th century - but a major programme of reclamation was begun in the 20th century. A major enclosing dike, the Afsluitsdijk, was built between 1927 and 1933 to enclose the [[Zuider Zee]], turning this former inlet of the [[North Sea]] into an enclosed lake. This allowed the construction of several very large polders in the newly formed [[Ijsselmeer]]:
*Wieringermeer: 1927-1930, 119 square miles
*Noordoostpolder (North East Polder): 273 square miles (including the former small islands of Schokland and Urk incorporated into the polder)
*Oost-Flevoland (East Flevoland): completed 1957
*Suid-Flevoland (South Flevoland): completed 1968
Oost- and Suid-Flevoland form one landmass, with an area of 659 square miles; it is the largest artificial island in the world. Together with the Noordoostpolder, they form the province of [[Flevoland]], created in 1986.
==Further information==
Noordoostpolder (in English): http://www.noordoostpolder.nl/content.jsp?objectid=14184
[[Category:Geography]]
[[Category:Engineering]]