Difference between revisions of "Netherlands"

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Netherlands (view source)

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→‎Geography of Netherlands

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 '''Landforms & Major Cities of the Netherlands'''
-''by:Amy Harris, Demand Media''
+More than a quarter of the Netherlands lies below the sea level, formed of reclaimed land protected from the onslaught of the waves by dikes and dunes. No wonder the Netherlands is flat, and even the highest point of the country only just exceeds 1,000 feet. The interplay of the sea, reclaimed land -- called polder -- and rivers largely defines the form of the land. It's the most densely populated country in Europe; for comparison, only New Jersey in the mainland U.S. gets close to the Dutch figures of 1,240 people per square mile.
-Bordered by Belgium to the south, Germany to the east and the North Sea to the west and north, this geographically small country is one of the most densely populated in the world, with an average of 188 people per square mile. The Netherlands' three largest cities are clustered near the west coast within 45 miles of each other. The landscape is mainly flat and strewn with rivers, lakes and canals.
+*The Lowlands
-''Plains''
+More than half of the land area of the Netherlands lies less than three feet above sea level, and majority of that lowland is actually below sea level. The lowest point of the country is at Zuidplaspolder, at 23 feet below sea level. The West Frisian Islands stretch along the northern sea border of the Netherlands, providing some shelter from the wrath of the North Sea. Inland from the polders, the Delta -- encompassing the outflows of the rivers Rhine, Mass, Scheldt and Waal -- creates the quintessential landscape of flat fields and pale, big skies, made familiar by countless landscape paintings of the Dutch School.
-Most of the Netherlands is low-lying, with nearly half of the land at or below sea level. Zuidplaspolder, the country's lowest point, lies at 23 feet below sea level. The threat of flooding, constantly a worry in the past, is mitigated somewhat today by a series of cutting-edge sea dikes that keep the waters of the North Sea from inundating the country.
+*The Uplands
-''West Frisian Islands''
+Further inland, the Netherlands rise to as high as 300 feet, the land formed in elevated ridges that are partially protected by the Hoge Park Veluwe National Park (hogeveluwe.nl). The land rises further towards the foothills of the Ardennes Mountains in the south, with the country's highest point, Vaalserberg, at just over 1,000 feet.
-The West Frisian Islands are a string of low-lying barrier islands in the North Sea. The chain extends northeastward into Germany, where they are called the East Frisian Islands. These islands provide somewhat of a natural flood barrier from the North Sea. People inhabit only five of the West Frisian Islands.
+*Urban Areas
-''River Deltas and Lakes''
+Most of the 17 million Dutch live in urban centers, with less than 20 percent of the population in rural areas. No single city dominates the urban landscape though, with the main cities making up the aggregation of the so-called Randstad, or Rim City, curving through the western and central Netherlands. This area includes the Dutch capital, Amsterdam; the port of Rotterdam, with more than a million residents in its metro area; The Hague, which is the seat of the government and has a population of 700,000; as well as Leiden, Haarlem, Hilversum and Utrecht. This area extends as far east as Arnhem and Nijmegen and as far south as Breda, Tilburg and Eindhoven. Groningen is the main city in the northeast, while Maastricht dominates the southeast.
-The Rhine River flows into the Netherlands and joins with the Maas and Scheldt rivers to form one of the largest river deltas in Western Europe. The waters of these rivers mingle as they branch into multiple tributaries that eventually meander their way into the North Sea. The Netherlands' largest lakes, Markermeer and Ijsselmeer, are man-made, formed by dikes. Both lakes used to be part of a saltwater bay that led into the North Sea.
+*Amsterdam
-''Ardennes Foothills''
-The Ardennes Mountains occupy portions of Belgium, Luxembourg and France, but their foothills stretch into the extreme southern Netherlands. Vaalserberg, the highest point in the Netherlands, rises to 1,053 feet and is located in the foothills of the Ardennes.
-''Amsterdam''
-Located in the west-central part of the country, Amsterdam is the capital of and largest city in the Netherlands. As of 2005, its official population was 720,000, with 1.2 million people living in the surrounding metropolitan area.
-''Rotterdam''
-Rotterdam, one of the world's busiest ports, is the second-largest city in the Netherlands. It also lies in the west-central portion of the country, about an hour south of Amsterdam. In 2005, 590,000 people resided in Rotterdam, with nearly 1.1 million in the metropolis.
-''The Hague''
-Situated between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the third-largest city in the Netherlands was home to 443,000 people in 2005, or a total of 700,000 people when counting the surrounding suburbs. The Hague is the seat of many administrative government offices, including the Parliament. It is also the seat of the court of the United Nations.
+The largest city, with a population of more than a million and the capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam is also the biggest draw for the tourists. The old city core attracts travelers with its tall-gabled townhouses reflected in slowly flowing rivers and canals, the rich collections of old and modern art at the museums, including the Rijksmuseum (rijksmuseum.nl), Vincent Van Gogh Museum (vangoghmuseum.nl) and Stedlijk (stedelijk.nl). Amsterdam's renowned nightlife is also a draw, from traditional pubs serving numerous varieties of beer to nightclubs that cover the range from bohemian bars and coffee shops to the red light district.
 ==Demography of Netherlands==