IJsselmeer
|
Traditional boat on the IJsselmeer |
The
IJsselmeer (or
Lake IJssel) is a shallow lake of some 1250 km² in the central
Netherlands bordering the
provinces of
Flevoland,
North Holland and
Friesland, with an average depth of 5 to 6 m. It is named after the
IJssel river that drains into it via a smaller lake, the Ketelmeer. The internal
capitalisation in the spelling is caused by the fact that
IJ is a
diphthong in
Dutch, the two letters producing a single vowel sound when pronounced.
The IJsselmeer was created in
1932 when an inland sea, the
Zuiderzee, was closed by a 32 km dam, the
Afsluitdijk. This was part of a major hydraulic engineering project known as the
Zuiderzee Works, that would in later years lead to the reclaiming of land from the IJsselmeer, thereby diminishing the size of the lake. In
1975 the IJsselmeer was furthermore split in two by the completion of the
Houtribdijk, now also called
Markerwaarddijk, which runs from
Enkhuizen southeast to
Lelystad. This former southern part of the IJsselmeer is now the hydrologically separate
Markermeer.
The IJsselmeer functions as a major fresh water reserve, serving as a source for agriculture and drinking water. It also offers plenty of opportunities for various recreational activities.
The province of
Flevoland was created in
1986 from the
polders reclaimed from the IJsselmeer.
nds-nl:Iesselmeer
