DOCUMENT RESUME ED 115 575 SO 008809 TITLE A Compact Geography of the Netherlands. [Revived.] INSTITUTION Information-and Documentation Centre for the Geography of the Netherlands, Utrecht. PUB DATE 74 NOTE 41p.; For a related document, see SO 008 831 AVAILABLE FROM Information and Document Centre for the Geography of the-Netherlands, Reidelberglaam 2, Utrecht, Netherlands (free) EDRS PRICE MF-$0.76 HC-$1.95 Plus Postage DESCRIPTORS *Area Studies; Elementary Secondary Education; Foreign Countries; Geographic Regions; *Geography Instruction; *Human Geography; Instructional Materials; *Physical Geography; Resource Materials; *Social Studies Units IDENTIFIERS *Netherlands ABSTRACT This short booklet on the geography of the Netherlands, designed for use at the upper elementary and secondary levels, contains 17 short descriptive analyses of Dutch physical and human geography. Each section is well illustrated with diagrams and maps. Titles of the sections include (1)High Netherlands--Low Netherlands,(2) Land Reclamation, (3) Polder Landscape, (4) The Zuyder Zee Project,(5) The Delta Project, (6) Water Control, (7) Demography,(8) Distribution of Population,(9) The Nest Holland Conurbation,(10) The Economy, (11) Agricultural Means of Support, (12) Mining,(13) Industry I,(14) Industry II,(15) Trade and Transport, (16) The Ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and (17) Physical Planning. The booklet is designed to be used with an accompanying wall map which, due to its size, is not included in this document. The wall map is available from the Information and Document Centre: (DE) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * via the ERIC Document Reproduction. Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality,of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the beSt that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** tIN fl LaA compact geography of o Lt..)The Netherlands ,U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATIONaWELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT DUCED EXACTLYHAS BEENREPRO- THE PERSON AS RECEIVED OR ORGANIZATION FROM ATING IT POINTS ORIGIN- OF VIEW OR STATED DO NOT OPINIONS SENT OFFICIAL NECESSARILYREPRE' NATIONAL INSTITUTEOF EDUCATION POSITIONOR POLICY 2 Contents 3 Preface 4 Introduction 6 High Netherlands - low Netherlands 8 Land reclamation 10 Polder landscape 12 The Zuyder Zee project 14 The Delta project 16 Water control 18 Demography 20 Distribution of the population 22 The West Holland conurbation 24 The economy 26 Agricultural means of support 28 Mining 30 Industry I 32 Industry II 34 Trade and transport 36 The ports of Amsterdam and Rotterdam 38 Physical planning 3 Preface This 'Compact Geography of the Netherlands' has been compiled by the Information and Documentation Centre for the Geography of the Netherlands at the request of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague. When the Council of Europe asked member countries to nominate eminent geographers for the purpose of exchanging information and arriving at a better understanding of national images, which to some extend had become formalised in the various textbooks, a torrent of correspondence was received, which the above. Centre dealt with as best it could. The correspondence revealed a need for a brief summary of the geography of the Netherlands. Geography is taught differently in different countries and more periods are devoted to gedgraphy in one country than in another. For this reason, it seemed best to use a typically Dutch method and let readers make their own selection. So great was the demand for the booklet that a reprint was necessary after only two years. The opportunity was taken to rearrange the book and bring the statistical data up to date. It is still possible, of course, that, in view of differing international needs, the material may appear to some to be too copious, to others inadequate. The booklet is also intended to be used in conjunction with the school map of the Netherlands and is meant for geography students, secondary school teachers and teachers in the upper classes of primary schools. Further information, documentation and bibliographical references are obtainable from the Information and Documentation Centre for theGeography of the Netherlands, State University, Heidelberg laan 2, Utrecht, or from the Netherlands Embassy in your country. Writers of textbooks abroad may reproduce the maps, etc. in the booklet, provided that the source is acknowledged. Application for photographs to illustrate such books can be made to the Information and Documentation Centre or to the Netherlands Embassy, where a selection may be made from a modest collection of contact prints. Finally, the compilers of the booklet wish to express their thanks to the staff of the Central Statistical Office in The Hague for their generous assistance in the production of the present revised edition. The Hague/Utrecht, 1974. 4 Introduction Low-lying, flat, small and packed Geographical location The aerial photograph reproduced on the cover of The Netherlands, which covers an area of the booklet (the Brienenoord Bridge over the lower 36,854 km2, is situated in the west of the European reaches of the Rhine to the east of Rotterdam) and Asiatic continent between approximately contains a synthesis of many of the factors involved 50°45' and 53°30' latitude North and between in the study of the geography of the Netherlands. 3°30' and 7°0' longitude East. There we see the low-lying, flat landscape, criss- The country lies on the North Sea at the mouths crossed by watercourses, large and small, which is of the rivers Rhine, Maas and Scheldt. From the characteristic of a large part of the Netherlands. point of view of physical geography, the Permanent habitation became possible only when Netherlands belongs to the north-western European the people had learned how to build dykes to plain. repulse most of the onslaughts of the water and to The highest point, 321 metres above sea level, is in control the water level in the areas so protected. the extreme south-east; the lowest point, 6.70 metres These areas are known as polders. It then became below sea level, is north of Rotterdam (see map possible, too, to take advantage of the natural on page 7). Twenty-seven per cent of the total area potentialities of the soil, pasture land often proving of the country lies below mean sea level; 60 % more suitable than other uses. of the total population live in that 27 %. The Dutch have also made full use of the Its geographital situation gives the Netherlands a possibilities for communication afforded by the sea temperate maritime climate, with an average and the big rivers, so that the country developed temperature of 1.7°C in January and 17°C in July. into an important centre for trade, while There is a total precipitation of over 700 mm spread shipbuilding and the processing of imported raw fairly evenly over the year. materials and semi-finished products likewise encouraged industrialisation. Provinces and population Since these conditions exist almost exclusively in the The Netherlands is divided into eleven provinces western part of the country, this is the part that has and 850 municipalities. With a population of 13.4 become most densely populated and where milion (as at 1.1.73)the equivalent of 396 per land-use has become most intensive, as can be seen square kilometre of landit is one of the most from the road networks and blocks of flats in the densely populated countries in the world. photograph. The higher and less densely populated regions in the Historical notes east and south of the country present a picture The heyday of the Netherlands, formerly a trading which differs in many ways from that of the west. nation par excellence, was in the 17th century, But before dealing with all these points in turn in which is known as the Golden Age. During that the f011owing chapters, let us first fill in the general period, the Dutch built up a world-wide trading background. network with trading posts on many coasts. Famous private trading companies often controlled whole Form of government States, for example in Indonesia, Ceylon; parts of The Netherlands is a parliamentary democracy of Brazil and southern Africa. At home, art and under a constitutional monarchy; the Head of State culture flourished and famous names such as is H.M. Queen Juliana. Parliament consists of two Rembrandt and Vondel date from this period. Chambers, elected by universal suffrage. When the European States began to protect their The capital is Amsterdam, but the seat of own growing trade and industry, the expansion of Government is The Hague (Den Haag). Dutch trade was halted. A second period of flourishing trade came in the years between 1850 and 1910. During the Second World War the governments in exile of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg decided to establish a customs union, which was later extended into an economic union. This union served t) 5 5° E. long. Amsterdam Capital ,c? SCHIERMONNIKOOG \:"' AMELAND Groningen 1. Provincial capital TERSCHELLING Town with more than GRONINGEN 100,000 inhabitants VLIELAND Leeuwarden Gronino en Town with less than 0 loopooin habitants , / i 1 TEXEL t Provincial boundary FRIESLAND 1 , . Assen i \0 \\ / Major canal DRENTHE i 1 1 ---__ NORT , 't-- ---- - Zwolle Haarlem a OVERYSSEL m SEA --Amsterdam Enschede' m Apeldoorn0 0 z m 70 The Hague .4?$, Utrecht ; GELDER SOUTH UTRECHT Arnhem -,52° N. lat. leGtic HOLLAND () LAND Rotterdam' VOORNE Tm GOEREE PU7TEN Nymegen C OVER "P -C. SCHOUWEN FLAKKEE co DUIVE 0 Bois-le-Duc /. I ZEELAND `16 LAND NORTH CD WALCHEREN THOLEN Breda 0Tilburg Middelburq Essen 0 d'c BRABANT SOUTH ..-- BBEVELAN Duisburg I 1 ...) .---, ® e8t-^,z L.