$Unique_ID{COW02575} $Pretitle{433} $Title{Netherlands Physical Background} $Subtitle{} $Author{H. Meijer} $Affiliation{Information and Documentation Center} $Subject{netherlands land north sea fig high areas farming south clay} $Date{1989} $Log{Castle de Haar*0257501.scf Table 5.*0257501.tab Table 6.*0257502.tab } Country: Netherlands Book: The Kingdom of the Netherlands Author: H. Meijer Affiliation: Information and Documentation Center Date: 1989 Physical Background [See Castle de Haar: Courtesy Embassy of Netherlands, Washington DC] Situation The Netherlands forms part of the northwest European plain (Fig. 1) and is bounded in the east by West Germany, in the south by Belgium and in the north and west by the North Sea. It is crossed almost at its central point by latitude 52 degrees North and longtitude 5 degrees East. It covers an area slightly larger than Belgium but slightly smaller than Denmark or Switzerland. The total official area is 41,864 sq. km., which includes territorial waters, inlets etc. The official name of the country is 'Nederland' or the Netherlands, but foreigners often refer to it as Holland which, strictly speaking, only applies to the two western coastal provinces of North and South Holland. The official name literally means low land. The highest point in the Netherlands is in the extreme south-east, 321 metres above sea level. The many areas in the north and west which lie below sea level account for nearly half of the total land area (Fig. 5). The lowest point is an area of reclaimed land (polder) north-east of Rotterdam which is 6.7 metres below sea level (Fig. 2). Over the centuries the maritime position of the Netherlands has had both beneficial and adverse effects for both the land and its people. Time and again the low-lying areas have been ravaged by floods, obliging the inhabitants to wage an unceasing battle against the sea. As early as the Middle Ages the Dutch decided that the best form of defence was attack, and with the reclamation of the Zuyder Zee and other areas in the course of this century (see the volume on Public Works), an area roughly equivalent in size to that relinquished to the sea in centuries past has been reclaimed. On the credit side, though, the country's maritime position encouraged the development of a fishing industry and later helped to promote trade, which was also stimulated by the fact that the estuaries of three major rivers, the Rhine, the Maas (Meuse) and the Scheldt are in the Netherlands. This established the basis for a firmly outward-looking economy. Since the Middle Ages the Netherlands has had important ports serving a hinterland extending across a considerable part of Western and Central Europe. Its international links are of importance not only for trade and communications but also for agriculture and the manufacturing industries, which use imported raw materials and fuels to produce quality goods, a large proportion of which are exported. The high population density has, of course, always compelled the Dutch to look abroad for additional sources of prosperity, but it is the country's geographical location that has been the decisive factor in shaping its development, more so perhaps than that of any other nation. Climate The Netherlands lies in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere and has a maritime climate owing to the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and to prevailing sea winds. Daily and annual temperature ranges are moderate as the graph shows (Fig. 3): the mean temperature in January is 2C rising to nearly 17C in July. There have, however, been instances of extreme temperatures: the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute at De Bilt near Utrecht are 36.8C and -24.8C. The histogram in Figure 3 shows that although spring is usually drier than autumn, rainfall is fairly even throughout the year. Annual rainfall is about 800 mm. There is little variation in climate from region to region since the country is small, but the difference in latitude between north and south (over 300 km) does have some effect on temperature, while the maritime influence is less inland. Together these factors can give rise to marked regional differences in temperature. Figure 4 shows that the average number of summer days (with a maximum temperature of 25C or over) ranges from 5 in the Frisian Islands off the north coast to more than 35 in the southern province of Limburg. Contrary to what might be expected, there is no gradual decrease in rainfall away from the coast, since summer storms are more frequent inland. The effects of the climate on the nation and its economic life are in some respects favourable, in others less so; agriculture and transport are the sectors most susceptible to climatic factors. The mild, damp climate is suited to grassland, dairy and livestock farming and to horticultural production in the coastal areas where there is a lower incidence of frost than in inland areas. However, there is too little sunshine in the summer months for many arable crops. The mild winters mean that shipping is seldom ice-bound; the frequent changes in the weather - changeability being a main feature of the Dutch climate - often cause fog and slippery road conditions in winter. Topography Despite its small size, the Netherlands contains a wide variety of scenery. One of the reasons for this is its fairly complex geological history, particularly over the past million years. After the land had been shaped by nature, man began to make his definite mark, first by taking a variety of measures to make the land inhabitable and to keep it that way; by building dykes, reclaiming land and draining marshes. Then the land was prepared for agriculture; it was divided up and cultivated, farms were built and villages started. Soon there were towns which have grown, like traffic and the infrastructure, at a tremendous rate during the present century. Geology In Figure 5 the country is divided into two main regions, one comprising those areas which would be regularly flooded by the sea without dykes (Low Netherlands), and the other areas which are high enough to escape flooding (High Netherlands). Though primarily based on elevation, this classification coincides to a marked degree with a broad division of the country according to geological formation. The landscape of the High Netherlands was formed mainly in the Pleistocene Ice Age (which began about 2 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago), and is composed chiefly of sand and gravel; the surface of the Low Netherlands is younger, having been deposited in the Holocene period (less than 10,000 years ago), and consisting mainly of clay and peat. There are also distinct differences in topography; the High Netherlands is undulating and even hilly in places, with woodland and heath (Fig. 6). The Low Netherlands is predominantly flat 'polderland' - land enclosed by dykes where the water table is artificially regulated by pumping stations (which have replaced the traditional windmills (Fig. 7)). This part of the country is intersected by numerous natural and man-made waterways which are important to both transport and water management (Fig. 8). In the detailed topographic map (Fig. 9), areas 1 to 5 roughly correspond to the High Netherlands and areas 6 to 9 to the Low Netherlands. (The figures correspond with those in the key to Fig. 9). 1 The South Limburg Plateau This is the only part of the country which cannot be classed as lowland. The hills which rise to over 300 metres, are the foothills of the Central European Plateau. This is also virtually the only area in the Netherlands where rock which is over a million years old and which lies under the country in declivitous strata running from south-east to north-west is found at or near surface level. Everywhere else it is covered by more recent deposits. Its value is dependent on the extent to which the minerals it contains are technically and economically exploitable. Natural resources include large quantities of natural gas in the north and in the North Sea, small amounts of petroleum in the North Sea, the north and in the north-east and west, large quantities of salt in the east and north-east and marl in South Limburg. Until 1975 coal was mined in South Limburg. There are also considerable amounts of loess (a fertile type of loam) in South Limburg which were deposited by wind action towards the end of the Pleistocene period. Naturally the varied, undulating country-side of South Limburg is very much a tourist attraction for the people of an otherwise extremely flat country. 2 The ground moraine region of Drenthe and East Friesland The Netherlands was covered by Pleistocene ice just once - and then only partly-during the Riss period, about 200,000 years ago. The northern part of the country - approximately level with a line running from Haarlem to Nymegen - disappeared completely under the ice. Various deposits were left behind, including large quantities of sand and gravel, as well as boulder clay, a stiff loamy soil containing fragments of hard stone (Fig. 9, 2a) and massive boulders, which the earliest inhabitants of the present province of Drenthe piled up to make impressive barrows called 'hunebedden'. 3 The terminal moraine region Further south the central part of the High Netherlands was only partially covered by the ice sheet, although in the lower-lying areas glacial snouts reached almost as far south as the Rhine and the Maas. The moving ice thrust the existing sand and gravel sidewards to form parallel ranges of hills of up to 100 metres in the provinces of Utrecht, Gelderland and Overyssel (Fig. 8, 3a). Here, too, the resultant terrain dissected by the valley of the River Yssel, offers considerable scenic variety. The hilly area with its woodland, heath and sand drifts constitute an important recreational resource. 4 The sandy region of North Brabant and Limburg There are no glacial deposits in the High Netherlands south of the Maas and the Rhine. Although the surface here is also mainly sandy it was deposited by rivers (notably before the Riss period) and the wind (after the Ice Age when sand-bearing winds blew freely across the treeless landscape). In this way large parts of the Netherlands became covered by a gently undulating layer of sand. In the Low Netherlands the sandy layer has been covered by clay and peat. In order to build on such soft ground, it is necessary to drive piles through the top layer until they reach the firm sand beneath (cross-section, Fig. 10). 5 The raised bog region The raised bog region, which in terms of elevation belongs to the High Netherlands, was formed in the Holocene period. It constitutes a kind of transition between the High and the Low Netherlands, comprising the low-lying areas of the High Netherlands where marshy conditions were conducive to peat formation. The peat bogs were drained by numerous rectilinear canals so that the peat could be cut and dried for use as fuel. The unusable top layer of turf was subsequently mixed with the sand uncovered by removing the peat. The resultant soil is suitable for arable farming. 6 The peat regions of Holland and Utrecht, Friesland and Overyssel A major factor in the surface formation of the Low Netherlands has been the tidal range along the coast in the north and the south which is greater than the range along the central coast. This partly explains why in the north and the south the perpetual clashes between the sea and the land more often than not resulted in victory for the sea; the ridge of dunes was never unbroken and deposits such as peaty soils were continually swept away. However, the peat districts (area 6 in Fig. 8) are in calmer regions where bogs were formed without disturbance after marine clay had been deposited in the Low Netherlands on a large scale at the beginning of the Holocene period. Later, particularly in Holland and Utrecht, much of the peat was cut and dried for fuel or its salt content was extracted. As a result of storm damage to the coast fairly large lakes formed in the excavated areas, and they now afford ideal recreational amenities for the densely populated western provinces. Some of the lakes were drained by windmills in the 17th century, and in the 19th century by steam pumps. The resultant polders have the old marine clay surface and are often 4 to 6 metres or more below sea level. 7 The young marine clay regions Later in the Holocene period marine clay was deposited in the south-west and northern coastal districts including the area adjoining the Zuyder Zee where the sea penetrated fairly easily. This process of sedimentation is still going on today. As a result, countless little islands in the south-west have merged to form larger islands. In the north, clay is deposited on the coasts of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland where the inhabitants speeded up the work of nature by constructing dams and drainage channels. Once the deposits were high enough they were enclosed by new dykes, and the reclaimed land could be put to use. Land has been reclaimed in a different fashion in the Zuyder Zee, which was renamed Lake Yssel after a dyke was built across the mouth of it in 1932 to separate it from the North Sea. The plans for partial reclamation were designed to ensure that as much as possible of the fertile marine clay soil was reclaimed (See 'Public Works'). The polders in this region are lower than those in the north and south-west (about 1 to 5 metres below sea level). 8 The alluvial clay regions Before they were confined by dykes, the rivers easily burst their banks, flooding the land and leaving behind various deposits. The structure and composition of the alluvium in the vicinity of the rivers made it suitable for crops and fruit. Roads and villages have also been built on these alluvial banks. Further away, the deposits, consisting of extremely fine granules, settled in basins and yielded soggy, low-calcium soils which are difficult to cultivate. New life has been brought to what was once a relatively unproductive and sparsely populated area by means of extensive soil improvement and drainage, and new roads and farmhouses. 9 The dunes About a thousand years ago the action of wind and water created the coastal dunes. Earlier in the Holocene period dunes had formed but they were only a few metres high; most of them now lie inland, partly covered by the new dunes and have been eroded by the rainwater of centuries to a level where calcium from the sand has been washed up. The calcic or 'geest' soil is particularly suitable for bulb growing. The new dunes, on the other hand, are at least 30 metres high in places and they can be several kilometres wide, though they are sometimes so narrow that they have to be protected from the sea (Fig. 12). They are primarily important as sea defences but they also provide valuable recreational facilities; exceptional calcicareous flora and plentiful fauna also make them of special interest to naturalists. They also supply drinking water to the western provinces from the aquiferous layer under them, which contains considerable quantities of pure, fresh water. However, these reserves cannot meet the demand from the densely populated conurbation in the western Netherlands (the Randstad, which includes Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht) and are supplemented by water from the Rhine and the Maas. Agriculture The non-urban landscape has been created primarily by farmers. Two thousand years ago the first settlers came to the 'Low Lands' where conditions were favourable for arable and dairy farming despite flooding. As the population grew, more land was reclaimed and enclosed by dykes. Fields and pastures were created and heathland developed because trees were felled and sheep allowed to graze. Consequently hardly any part can be termed a 'natural' landscape in the Netherlands; in fact practically all the woods and forests were planted, and the only areas which are not man-made are parts of the Frisian Islands in the north and some of the peat regions in the east; even they are in danger of being destroyed. The land in the Netherlands is used for the following purposes: [See Table 5.: Land-Use] There are considerable regional differences in the uses to which agricultural land is put, depending on physical, social and economic factors (Fig. 13). Arable farming occurs primarily in the marine clay regions in the north-east, the south-west and the Lake Yssel polders. Dairy farming occurs in wetter regions, such as the peat districts in the north and west. The sandy soils of the south and east are suitable for mixed farming, but there, too, dairy farming is predominant. Horticulture is found throughout the country but has traditionally been concentrated in the western coastal districts which have good soil, a mild maritime climate and a large urban market. Differences in the geolocial structure and the agricultural uses to which the land has been put have resulted in considerable variation in the parcelling of the land and the location of farming communities. Figures 14, 15, 16, and 17 (taken from topographical maps, scale 1:25,000) give a few examples. Figure 14: marine clay region in Friesland. In former centuries before there were any proper coastal defences, the land here which is about 50 centimetres below sea-level was frequently flooded. Villages were therefore built on artificial mounds called 'terps' and the land was divided irregularly around them. Figure 15: alluvial clay region along the River Lek. Here the farms are situated next to the river dyke along with the main road runs. The land is divided into long, narrow strips at right angles to the river. Figure 16: sandy soils in the Achterhoek region of Gelderland. The main feature of the countryside here is the alternation of groups of trees and small woods. The agricultural land, used for mixed farming, is divided up irregularly and the farmhouses are scattered across the countryside. Figure 17: part of Eastern Flevoland. In the Lake Yssel polders the land was divided to meet the demands of contemporary farming into rectangular units, 300 metres by 1,000 metres, the short sides of which are on a road, as are them farmhouses. The villages exist simply to provide services, such as schools, shops and churches. As a result of development in technology, agriculture has become less directly dependent on the natural environment. Artificial fertilizers have made it possible to cultivate the sandy soils in the High Netherlands on a large scale. Improved drainage (starting with windmills and steam pumping stations and later diesel and electric pumping stations) has made it possible to reclaim land from marshes, lakes and the Zuyder Zee itself. The level of the ground-water in the reclaimed land is kept fairly constant, making arable farming, dairy farming or horticulture possible. In fact the drainage systems in these polders, which were reclaimed in the 19th and 20th centuries and which are often 4 to 6 metres or more below sea-level are frequently better than these in the older, higher-lying polders. All of these developments and the rapid growth of transport has meant that farms no longer cater exclusively for local needs. International competition, which began on a large scale with the agricultural revolution at the end of the 19th century, and the economic integration of Europe after 1945 have made it vital for the agricultural industry to widen its horizon. Technical developments in agriculture together with reorganization of farms on a sound economic basis (see 'Agriculture and Fisheries') have left their marks on the countryside in the past few decades. In order to compete internationally more farms have begun to specialize in dairy farming and horticulture. Many farms were small or consisted of a large number of scattered fields often because the land had been divided up between heirs so many times. However, mechanization is only economical if the farms are of a reasonable size and if the land is in a large unit. Land reparcelling is one way of achieving this, and at the same time of reducing the number of units. Where necessary water supplies, drainage systems, roads and the farms themselves can be modernized in the process. [See Table 6.: Land reparcelling as of 1.1.1987] Two-thirds of the cost of land reparcelling is met by the government. In recent years there has been a marked change in priorities: whereas previously economic considerations were the main or only priority, nowadays recreation, nature conservation and the preservation of areas of natural beauty are equally important. 'Land reparcelling' has been replaced by 'land-use planning' and conflicting interests often have to weighed against each other. What this means is a revaluation of the countryside. It has been assumed that the non-urban landscape was the domain of the farmer but now that 80-90% of the population consists of town-dwellers, many other demands are being made of the countryside (e.g. recreation, nature conservation, traffic, waste disposal, military training grounds). Some of these activities represent a direct threat, whereas others can be combined with farming (see Fig. 19). The modernization of agricultural methods (such as the intensive use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides), the reorganization of the land and farm buildings for economic reasons (including glasshouses and cattle fodder silos) can also form a threat to the natural beauty of the countryside. Nature conservation directly conflicts with the growing need to provide for mass recreation. Land-use planning attempts to solve environmental problems of this kind by means of a system of zoning, i.e. marking off distinct types of countryside and indicating priorities within each zone. Figure 20 makes a rough division into four types of landscape. In the first, third and fourth types described in the key one type of land-use predominates. In the varied countryside of the High Netherlands there are many areas where both agriculture and recreation are possible, but there are also problems where, for example, the essential reorganization of farms leads to the countryside being spoilt and loss of recreational facilities.