IJsselmeer
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The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
bordering the
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
,
North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...
and
Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...
. It covers an area of with an average depth of . The river
IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour ...
flows into the IJsselmeer.


History

Two thousand years ago
Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died  AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
, a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
geographer, mentioned a complex of lakes at the current location of the IJsselmeer. He called it ''
Lacus Flevo Lake Flevo was a lake in what is now the Netherlands, which existed in Roman times and the early Middle Ages. Some geographers believe that this lake was not really a single lake, rather a set of several lakes connected to each other. From the ...
''. Over the centuries, the lake banks crumbled away due to flooding and wave action and the lake, now called the
Almere Almere () is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, Netherlands, located about 20 km to the east of Amsterdam (as the crow flies) across the IJmeer. Bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde, the municipality of Almere comprise ...
, grew considerably. During the 12th and 13th centuries, storm surges and
rising sea levels Rising may refer to: * Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique) *Elevation * Short for Uprising, a rebellion Film and TV * "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starga ...
flooded large areas of land between the lake and the North Sea, turning the lake into a bay of the North Sea, called the
Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...
. The Zuiderzee continued to be a threat to the Dutch, especially when northwesterly storms funnel North Sea waters towards the English Channel, creating very high tides along the Dutch coast. During the 17th century, Zuiderzee dykes collapsed several times and plans were drawn up to eliminate the threat by draining the bay. Later drainage plans focused on creating fertile farmland, but they never progressed beyond the planning stage. It was only after the
flood of 1916 The flood of 1916 or Zuiderzeevloed of 1916 is a flood that took place in the night between 13 and 14 January 1916 in the Netherlands along the dikes of the Zuiderzee as a result of a storm surge. Course The flood coincided with a high water inf ...
that the legislature approved the
Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works ( nl, Zuiderzeewerken) is a man-made system of dams and dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, in total the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The proje ...
, a major hydraulic engineering project that involved building dykes, draining parts of the Zuiderzee and constructing the
Afsluitdijk The ''Afsluitdijk'' (; fry, Ofslútdyk; nds-nl, Ofsluutdiek; en, "Closure Dyke") is a major dam and causeway in the Netherlands. It was constructed between 1927 and 1932 and runs from Den Oever in North Holland province to the village of ...
to keep tides and high water out. In 1932 the
Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...
was closed off by the Afsluitdijk, a dyke connecting Friesland and North Holland on either side of the Zuiderzee. The Zuiderzee was no longer a sea inlet and was renamed IJsselmeer (''Lake IJssel''). The continuing flow of fresh riverwater soon flushed out the saltwater. From 1929 till 1967, over half the IJsselmeer was drained, creating of
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...
s:
Wieringermeerpolder Wieringermeer () is a former municipality and a polder in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Since 2012 Wieringermeer has been a part of the new municipality of Hollands Kroon. Population centres The former municipality of W ...
, Noordoostpolder, East and South
Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
. In 1975, a dyke was built between
Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbor-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade wi ...
and
Lelystad Lelystad () is a municipality and a city in the centre of the Netherlands, and it is the capital of the province of Flevoland. The city, built on reclaimed land, was founded in 1967 and was named after Cornelis Lely, who engineered the Afsluitdi ...
as the northern boundary of the
Markerwaard 200px, The Markerwaard would be on what is now the Markermeer The Markerwaard is the name of a proposed, but never built, polder adjoining the IJsselmeer in the central Netherlands. Its construction would have resulted in the near-total reclamat ...
, a planned but never realized polder in the IJsselmeer. This dyke, the ''
Houtribdijk The Houtribdijk is a dam in the Netherlands, built between 1963 and 1975 as part of the Zuiderzee Works, which connects the cities of Lelystad and Enkhuizen. On the west side of the dike is the Markermeer and on the east is the IJsselmeer. The ...
'' or ''Markerwaarddijk'', split the IJsselmeer in two parts. The former southern part of the IJsselmeer is now the
hydrologically Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...
separate
Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...
. The proposed polderisation of the Markerwaard was abandoned after many of the Dutch population did not want the loss of the traditional seaside (now lakeside) environment and vistas. In 1986 three
polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...
s in the IJsselmeer constituted the new province of
Flevoland Flevoland () is the twelfth and youngest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
, the twelfth province of the Netherlands. The water of the IJsselmeer is now almost completely fresh, the saline having long since been purged. This altered environment has had an impact upon the fish and plant
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
s. The change has been beneficial for Dutch boats, many of which are steel, as the fresh water significantly reduces rusting of the hulls, and there is far less build-up of marine growth (such as
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
and barnacles below the
barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...
s' waterlines). This has the knock-on benefit that barges and yachts in the IJsselmeer need far less
antifouling Biofouling or biological fouling is the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or small animals where it is not wanted on surfaces such as ship and submarine hulls, devices such as water inlets, pipework, grates, ponds, and rivers that ...
, a coating which is inevitably somewhat toxic to wildlife.


Current use

Due to considerable amounts of water from the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
flowing through its
distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...
IJssel The IJssel (; nds-nl, Iessel(t) ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour ...
into the IJsselmeer, the closed off bay functions as a large
freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
reservoir, serving as a source for agriculture and drinking water. Outlet sluices in the Afsluitdijk regulate the water level of the IJsselmeer. The IJsselmeer is used for transport and fishing. It also offers a number of opportunities for recreational activity, both on the water and on its shores. Due to the shallowness of the IJsselmeer, the Markermeer and the
bordering lakes In the Netherlands, the bordering lakes (in Dutch: ''Randmeren'') are a chain of lakes which separate the Flevopolder and Noordoostpolder from the ancient lands of the provinces of Gelderland, Utrecht, Overijssel and Friesland.''Wateralmanak 2009: ...
, its cities and fishing villages remained mostly unspoilt and have many historical buildings. The IJsselmeer is home to the offshore segments of
Windpark Noordoostpolder Windpark Noordoostpolder is an onshore and near-shore wind farm in Flevoland, the Netherlands. Upon completion in 2017, it was the largest wind farm in the Netherlands, and as of 2019 it is still one of the largest. Owner-operators are members ...
. In the future, Windpark Fryslan will also be built in this bay.


See also

*
Ketelmeer The Ketelmeer is the tongue of the IJsselmeer into which the River IJssel drains, it is situated between the polders Noordoostpolder (North-east Polder) and Oostelijk Flevoland (East Flevoland), and connects the river IJssel to the IJsselmeer. It ...
, a small bay between the IJsselmeer and the mouth of the river IJssel. *
IJsseloog The IJsseloog (, "IJssel eye") is an artificial island in the Ketelmeer (province of Flevoland, the Netherlands) used as a depository to store polluted silt. Most of the polluted silt was deposited in the Ketelmeer by the IJssel river between 19 ...
, an artificial island in the Ketelmeer, built as a repository for contaminated silt. *
Lake Flevo Lake Flevo was a lake in what is now the Netherlands, which existed in Roman times and the early Middle Ages. Some geographers believe that this lake was not really a single lake, rather a set of several lakes connected to each other. From the ...
*
Almere (lake) Lake Almere was an inland lake in the place of today's IJsselmeer in the center of the Netherlands. History The texts of ancient Romans called it Lake Flevo. Lake Almere is mentioned among others in a life of saints written by Anglo-Saxon Bisho ...
*
Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...
*
Markermeer The Markermeer () is a lake in the central Netherlands in between North Holland, Flevoland, and its smaller and larger neighbors, the IJmeer and IJsselmeer. A shallow lake at 3 to 5 m in depth, matching the reclaimed land to its west, ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ijsselmeer Lakes of the Netherlands Estuaries of the Netherlands Zuiderzee Works Landforms of Flevoland Landforms of North Holland Landforms of Friesland Ramsar sites in the Netherlands