The Lammefjord is a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

at the base of the

Odsherred Odsherred is a peninsula in the north-western part of the island Zealand (Sjælland) in Denmark. Odsherred stretches from the Sjællands Odde in the north-west to the now drained Lammefjord in the south, covering an area with a wide range of the ...

peninsula. Previously a deeply branched arm of the sea leading west from the Isefjord, most of it is now reclaimed as agricultural land. The eastern third, outside the dyke at Avdebo, is still sea, but the name ''Lammefjorden'' now usually refers only to the dry part west of the dyke. The sandy former sea bed is excellent agricultural land, especially for crops such as carrots and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es. The draining project began in 1873, but it took until 1943 before the lowest elevations were pumped dry. Large parts of the fjord were shallow enough to be dry early on. In 1899 the Odsherred Railway opened across the western end of the fjord. The town of Fårevejle Stationsby grew up where the railway intersects that main road across the seabed; it serves as the administrative and mercantile center for much of the Lammefjord. The Lammefjord contains Denmark's lowest dry elevation, at below

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. It is also in running for the lowest in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(shared with Zuidplaspolder in

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

). Lammefjorden_in_1870.jpg, Lammefjorden before drainage (1870) Lammefjorden_in_1920.jpg, Lammefjorden after drainage (ca. 1920) Ods Herred Old Map 1768.jpg, Map of Odsherred from 1768 that shows the original extent of Lammefjordens and Sidinge Fjord, before embankment and drainage Lammefjorden-OSM-2017.svg, Map from 2017 showing the current extent of Lammefjorden

References

{{coord, 55.77, 11.5 , scale:300000_region:DK , display=title Geography of Zealand Lowest points of countries Former bays Land reclamation in Denmark Geography of Holbæk Municipality Geography of Odsherred Municipality

See also

References