A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial

hydrological 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 drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...

entity, enclosed by embankments known as

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the

seabed The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

Flood plains A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudie, ...

separated from the sea or river by a dike #

Marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es separated from the surrounding water by a dike and subsequently drained; these are also known as ''

koog A ''koog'' (plural: ''köge'') or ''groden'' is a type of polder found on the North Sea coast of Germany that is established by the construction of dykes enclosing the land which is then drained to form marshland. This type of land reclamation i ...

s'', especially in Germany The ground level in drained marshes subsides over time. All polders will eventually be below the surrounding water level some or all of the time. Water enters the low-lying polder through infiltration and water pressure of

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

, or rainfall, or transport of water by rivers and canals. This usually means that the polder has an excess of water, which is pumped out or drained by opening

sluice A sluice ( ) is a water channel containing a sluice gate, a type of lock to manage the water flow and water level. There are various types of sluice gates, including flap sluice gates and fan gates. Different depths are calculated when design s ...

s at

low tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

. Care must be taken not to set the internal water level too low. Polder land made up of

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

(former marshland) will sink in relation to its previous level, because of peat decomposing when exposed to oxygen from the air. Polders are at risk of flooding at all times, and care must be taken to protect the surrounding dikes. Dikes are typically built with locally available materials, and each material has its own risks: sand is prone to collapse owing to saturation by water; dry peat is lighter than water and potentially unable to retain water in very dry seasons. Some animals dig tunnels in the barrier, allowing water to infiltrate the structure; the

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

is known for this activity and hunted in certain European countries because of it. Polders are most commonly, though not exclusively, found in river deltas, former

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

lands, and coastal areas. Flooding of polders has also been used as a military tactic in the past. One example is the flooding of the polders along the

Yser The Yser ( , ; ) is a river that rises in French Flanders (the north of France), enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the '' Ganzepoot'' and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort. The source of the Yser is in ...

River during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Opening the sluices at high tide and closing them at low tide turned the polders into an inaccessible swamp, which allowed the Allied armies to stop the German army. 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 ...

has a large area of polders: as much as 20% of the land area has at some point in the past been reclaimed from the sea, thus contributing to the development of the country.

IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; , ), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed-off freshwater lake in the central Netherlands bordering the Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with a ...

is the most famous polder project of the Netherlands. Some other countries which have polders are

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Some examples of Dutch polder projects are

Beemster Beemster () is a former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The Beemster is the first polder in the Netherlands land reclamation, reclaimed from a lake, the water extracted by windmi ...

Schermer Schermer () is a former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The name comes from "''skir mere''", which means "bright lake". Since 2015 it has been a part of the municipality of Alkmaar. The municipality of Schermer ...

Flevopolder The Flevopolder is an island polder forming the bulk of Flevoland, a province of the Netherlands. Created by land reclamation, its northeastern part was drained in 1955 and the remainder—the southwest—in 1968. Unlike other major polders, ...

and

Noordoostpolder Noordoostpolder (; ) is a polder and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called ''Urk, Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the hea ...

Etymology

The

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

word derives successively from

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or , there was no overarching sta ...

, from

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch ( Modern Dutch: ') or Old Low Franconian (Modern Dutch: ') is the set of dialects that evolved from Frankish spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from around the 6th Page 55: "''Uit de zesde eeu ...

, and ultimately from ''pol-'', a piece of land elevated above its surroundings, with the

augmentative An augmentative (abbreviated ) is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of a diminutive. Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in so ...

suffix ''-er'' and epenthetical '' -d-''. The word has been adopted in thirty-six languages.

Netherlands

The

is frequently associated with polders, as its engineers became noted for developing techniques to drain wetlands and make them usable for agriculture and other development. This is illustrated by the saying "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands". The

have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, resulting in some 3,000 ''polders'' nationwide. By 1961, about half of the country's land, , was reclaimed from the sea. About half the total surface area of ''polders'' in northwest Europe is in the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century. The oldest extant polder is the

Achtermeer The Achtermeer polder, south of Alkmaar in the Dutch province of North Holland, is the first known polder in the Netherlands. History In 1532, Emperor Charles V granted the permit to drain the forty-hectare lake. The draining was completed in 15 ...

polder, from 1533. As a result of flooding disasters,

water board A water board is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), ...

s called ''waterschap'' (when situated more inland) or ''hoogheemraadschap'' (near the sea, mainly used in the

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

region) were set up to maintain the integrity of the water defences around polders, maintain the waterways inside a polder, and control the various water levels inside and outside the polder. Water boards hold separate elections, levy taxes, and function independently from other government bodies. Their function is basically unchanged even today. As such, they are the oldest democratic institutions in the country. The necessary cooperation among all ranks to maintain polder integrity gave its name to the Dutch version of third-way politics—the ''

Polder Model The polder model () is a method of consensus decision-making, based on the Dutch version of consensus-based economic and social policymaking in the 1980s and 1990s.Ewoud Sanders, ''Woorden met een verhaal'' (Amsterdam / Rotterdam, 2004), 104–06 ...

''. The 1953 flood disaster prompted a new approach to the design of dikes and other water-retaining structures, based on an acceptable probability of overflowing. Risk is defined as the product of probability and consequences. The potential damage in lives, property, and rebuilding costs is compared with the potential cost of water defences. From these calculations follows an acceptable flood risk from the sea at one in 4,000–10,000 years, while it is one in 100–2,500 years for a river flood. The particular established policy guides the Dutch government to improve flood defences as new data on threat levels become available. Major Dutch polders and the years they were laid dry include

(1609–1612),

(1633–1635), and

Haarlemmermeerpolder Haarlemmermeer () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The ...

(1852). Polders created as part of the

Zuiderzee Works The Zuiderzee Works () is a system of dams and Levee, dikes, land reclamation and water drainage work, which was the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the dammin ...

include

Wieringermeerpolder Wieringermeer () is a polder and former Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality 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 ...

(1930),

(1942) and

(1956–1968)

Examples of polders

Brazil

Several cities on the

Paraíba Valley The Paraíba Valley () is a landform that encompasses the regions: Paraíba Valley Metropolitan Region and Northern Coast, in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo and Sul-Fluminense Region, in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Jane ...

region (in the state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

) have polders on land claimed from the floodplains around the

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when it m ...

river.

Bangladesh

has 139 polders, of which 49 are sea-facing, while the rest are along the numerous

distributaries A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a ''tributary'', a stream that flows another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurca ...

of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna River delta. These were constructed in the 1960s to protect the coast from tidal flooding and reduce salinity incursion. They reduce long-term flooding and waterlogging following

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

s from

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

s. They are also cultivated for agriculture.

Belgium

* De Moeren, near

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

* Polders along the

river between Nieuwpoort and

Diksmuide (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke ...

* Polders of Muisbroek and Ettenhoven, in

Ekeren Ekeren () is a northern district of the municipality of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The suburb celebrated its 850th birthday in 2005; the name of the town was first mentioned in 1155, as "Hecerna". The name possibly originates from ...

and

Hoevenen Stabroek () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of and Stabroek proper. In 2021, Stabroek had a total population of 18,680. The total area is 21.51 km². In 2008 Stabroek cele ...

* Polder of Stabroek, in

Stabroek Stabroek () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the towns of and Stabroek proper. In 2021, Stabroek had a total population of 18,680. The total area is 21.51 km². In 2008 Stabroek cele ...

* Kabeljauwpolder, in Zandvliet * Scheldepolders on the left bank of the Scheldt * Uitkerkse polders, near Blankenberge in West Flanders * Prosperpolder, near Doel, Antwerp and Kieldrecht.

Canada

Tantramar Marshes The Tantramar Marshes, also known as the Tintamarre National Wildlife Area, is a tidal saltmarsh around the Bay of Fundy on the Isthmus of Chignecto. The area borders between New Brunswick Route 940, Route 940, New Brunswick Route 16, Route 16 an ...

Holland Marsh The Holland Marsh is a wetland and agricultural area in Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. It lies entirely within the valley of the Holland River, stretching from the northern edge of the Oak Ridges Moraine near Schomberg to the river mo ...

* Pitt Polder Ecological Reserve * Grand Pré, Nova Scotia *

Minas Basin The Minas Basin () is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and a sub-basin of the Fundy Basin located in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is known for its extremely high tides. Geography The Minas Basin forms the eastern part of the Bay of Fundy which splits ...

China

* The city of

Kunshan Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou. Name Th ...

has over 100 polders.

History

The

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

region, at the

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD), once known as the Shanghai Economic Zone, is a megalopolis generally comprising the Wu-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, southern Anhui. The area lies in the he ...

, has a long history of constructing polders. Most of these projects were performed between the 10th and 13th centuries. The Chinese government also assisted local communities in constructing dikes for swampland water drainage. The Lijia (里甲) self-monitoring system of 110 households under a ''lizhang'' (里长) headman was used for the purposes of service administration and tax collection in the polder, with a ''liangzhang'' (粮长, grain chief) responsible for maintaining the water system and a ''tangzhang'' (塘长, dike chief) for polder maintenance.

Denmark

* Filsø *

Kolindsund Kolindsund (English: ''Sound of Kolind'') is a olindsund.odeum.com/ref> elongated lakebed on the Djursland peninsula in Denmark. It extends west, inland from the coastal town of Grenå by the Kattegat sea to the railway town of Kolind at its west ...

* Lammefjorden

Finland

Söderfjärden Söderfjärden is a polder in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, western Finland, 10 kilometres south of the town of Vaasa. The plain is in an impact crater dating back to more than 640 million years ago (Proterozoic, near the en ...

* Munsmo * Two polders ( in total) near Vassor in

Korsholm Korsholm (; ) is a municipality in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Korsholm is situated in Ostrobothnia (administrative region), Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Korsholm is approximately , while the Va ...

France

Marais Poitevin The Marais Poitevin () or Poitevin Marsh is a large area of marshland in the former province of Poitou in western France. It is a remnant of what was the former . The western zone near the sea (about two-thirds of the area) is called the "dry ...

Les Moëres De Moeren (Dutch) or Les Moëres (French) are a marshy region in the Westhoek (region), Westhoek, politically divided between the France, French-Belgium, Belgian border. At one time the area was inhabited by the Gaul, Gallic people known as the ...

, adjacent to the Flemish polder ''De Moeren'' in Belgium. * Polders de Couesnon near Mont-Saint Michel in Normandy

Germany

Luftaufnahmen Nordseekueste 2012-05-by-RaBoe-355

In Germany, land reclaimed by diking is called a ''koog''. The German ''Deichgraf'' system was similar to the Dutch and is widely known from

Theodor Storm Hans Theodor Woldsen Storm (; 14 September 18174 July 1888), commonly known as Theodor Storm, was a German-Frisian writer and poet. He is considered to be one of the most important figures of German realism. Life Storm was born in the small t ...

's novella ''

The Rider on the White Horse ''The Rider on the White Horse'' (German: ''Der Schimmelreiter'') is a Gothic fiction novella by German writer Theodor Storm. It is his last complete work, first published in 1888, the year of his death. The novella is Storm's best remembered and ...

''. * Altes Land near Hamburg * Blockland and Hollerland near Bremen *

Nordstrand, Germany Nordstrand (; ) is a peninsula and former island in North Frisia on the North Sea coast of Germany. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its area is 50 km² and its population is 2,300. Nordstr ...

* Bormerkoog and Meggerkoog near

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; ; ; ; ) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km (7 miles) south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. Duk ...

* 36 ''koogs'' in the district of

Nordfriesland Nordfriesland (; ; Low German: Noordfreesland), also known as North Frisia, is the northernmost Districts of Germany, district of Germany, part of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. It includes almost all of traditional North Frisia (with the e ...

* 12 ''koogs'' in the district of

Dithmarschen Dithmarschen (, ; archaic English: ''Ditmarsh''; ; ) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the north and clockwise) the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the ...

In southern Germany, the term ''polder'' is used for

retention basin A retention basin, sometimes called a retention pond, wet detention basin, or storm water management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage ...

s recreated by opening dikes during river

floodplain restoration Floodplain restoration is the process of fully or partially restoring a river's floodplain to its original conditions before having been affected by the construction of levees (dikes) and the draining of wetlands and marshes. The objectives of ...

, a meaning somewhat opposite to that in coastal context.

Guyana

* Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Berbice.

India

Kuttanad Kuttanad is a river delta landscape region in the state of Kerala, India, known for its vast paddy fields and geographical peculiarities. It is in the Districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. The region has the lowest altitude in ...

Region,

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

Ireland

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glacial fjords ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. Near

Inch Island Inch Island () is in Lough Swilly, a sea lough in County Donegal on the northern coast of Ireland. ''Discoverer Series'' Sheet 7 (F Edition). Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (O.S.N.I.), Land and Property Services, Belfast, 2017. Inch is ...

and

Newtowncunningham Newtown Cunningham, usually spelt Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located on the N13 road east of Letterkenny and west of Derry. At ...

Italy

* Delta of the river Po, such as Bonifica Valle del Mezzano

Japan

* Around the

Ariake Sea The is a body of salt water surrounded by Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, and Kumamoto Prefectures, all of which lie on the island of Kyūshū in Japan. It is the largest bay in Kyūshū. Its deepest point is only about 50 meters (165 ft) deep, and ext ...

in Kyushu, mainly in

Saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

but also in

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

and

Kumamoto is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2. had a populat ...

Prefectures

Lithuania

Rusnė Island Rusnė Island is an island in Nemunas Delta, Šilutė District Municipality, Lithuania. It is located between Atmata and Skirvytė, distributaries of the Neman River, and the Curonian Lagoon. At 45 or 46 square kilometers, Rusnė is often conside ...

Netherlands

, the oldest polder, from 1533 *

Alblasserwaard The Alblasserwaard () is a polder in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is mainly known for the windmills of Kinderdijk, located near the village of Kinderdijk in the polder's northwestern part. History The first human inhabitant ...

, containing the windmills of

Kinderdijk Kinderdijk () is a town in the municipality of Molenlanden, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located about east of Rotterdam. Kinderdijk is situated in the Alblasserwaard polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rive ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

Andijk Andijk (; ) is a former municipality and a village bordering Lake IJssel in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. Since 1 January 2011 Andijk has been part of Medemblik municipality. The name Andijk c ...

Anna Paulownapolder The Anna Paulownapolder () is a polder in the municipality of Hollands Kroon in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. The area of the polder is 50 square kilometres and it forms an important horticulture area, with among other things f ...

, a World Heritage Site *

Bijlmermeer The Bijlmermeer (), or colloquially the Bijlmer (), is a neighborhood in the Amsterdam-Zuidoost borough ( Dutch: ''stadsdeel'') in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The other neighborhoods in Amsterdam-Zuidoost are Gaasperdam, Bullewijk, Venserpolder and ...

, the largest

artificial island An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...

in the world, last part drained in 1968 *

's-Gravesloot file:Hoekwater polderkaart - Polder s Gravesloot.PNG, 's-Gravesloot on a map from 1901 file:Woerden Gravensloot.JPG, 's-Gravesloot in 2007 s-Gravesloot is a former hamlet and municipality in the Netherlands, Dutch province of Utrecht (province), Ut ...

Haarlemmermeer Haarlemmermeer () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the west of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Haarlemmermeer is a polder, consisting of land reclaimed from water. The ...

, containing

Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport (, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands, and is one of the major hubs for the SkyTeam airline alliance. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipal ...

airport *

Krimpenerwaard Krimpenerwaard () is a municipality, a region and a former water board of the Netherlands. It is a rural area located in the east of the province of South Holland, just south of Gouda and east of the Rotterdam conurbation. It is bordered on ...

Lauwersmeer Lauwersmeer () is a man-made lake in the north of the Netherlands, on the border of the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. The lake was formed on 23 May 1969, when the dike between the bay called Lauwers Sea and the Wadden Sea was closed. It i ...

Mastenbroek Mastenbroek is a polder in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It lies north of the city of Zwolle. "Mastenbroek" is also the name of an hamlet, built around a church in the middle of the polder. The polder is part of three municipalities: the we ...

, one of the oldest medieval polders, drained around 1363-1364. *

Prins Alexander Prins Alexander is a borough in the northeast of Rotterdam, Netherlands. As of 2023, it had 96,452 inhabitants, making it the most populated borough in the city. Prins Alexander has 7 neighbourhoods: * Het Lage Land * Kralingseveer * Nesselan ...

polder *

Purmer Purmer is a polder and reclaimed lake in the Netherlands province of North Holland, located between the towns of Purmerend and Edam-Volendam. It is also a village located in the municipalities of Waterland and Edam-Volendam. Purmer polder Wi ...

Watergraafsmeer The Watergraafsmeer () is a polder in North Holland, Netherlands. It was reclaimed in 1629. In the 17th and 18th centuries, there were many '' buitenplaatsen'' in the Watergraafsmeer, though nowadays only one, Frankendael, remains. It is among t ...

Wieringermeer Wieringermeer () is a polder and former municipality 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 Wier ...

Wieringerwaard Wieringerwaard is a polder and a village in the municipality of Hollands Kroon in the Dutch province of North Holland. Wieringerwaard was formerly a separate municipality, until it merged with Barsingerhorn in 1970. History The polder was laid ...

Wijdewormer Wijdewormer is a hamlet in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is located in the municipality of Wormerland, about 5 km east of the town of Wormer, in the polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hyd ...

* Zestienhoven, home of the

Rotterdam The Hague Airport Rotterdam The Hague Airport (formerly ''Rotterdam Airport'', ''Vliegveld Zestienhoven'' in Dutch language, Dutch), is a minor international airport serving Rotterdam, the Netherlands' second largest city, and The Hague, its administrative and r ...

(

Overschie Overschie () is a neighborhood of Rotterdam, Netherlands, formerly a separate village with its own municipality. The village of Overschie was located on the intersection of four rivers called "Schie": the Delftsche Schie, Schiedamsche Schie, Delfs ...

), in the city of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. *

Zuidplaspolder The Zuidplaspolder is a polder in the western Netherlands, located northeast of Rotterdam, Zuid-Holland, neighbouring settlements such as Zuidplas, Zevenhuizen, Waddinxveen, Moerkapelle, Gouda, Moordrecht, and Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel. ...

, along with

Lammefjord The Lammefjord is a polder in Denmark at the base of the Odsherred peninsula. Previously a deeply branched arm of the sea leading west from the Isefjord, most of it is now Land reclamation, reclaimed as agricultural land. The eastern third, outside ...

in Denmark the lowest point of the European Union

Poland

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

delta near

Elbląg Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. Elbląg is one of the ol ...

and

Nowy Dwór Gdański Nowy Dwor Gdanski (; ; formerly ) is a town in Poland on the Tuja river in the Żuławy Wiślane Żuławy Wiślane (plural from "żuława", meaning fen), in English known as the Vistula Fens, is the alluvial delta area of the river Vistula, in ...

Warta The river Warta ( , ; ; ) rises in central Poland and meanders greatly through the Polish Plain in a north-westerly direction to flow into the Oder at Kostrzyn nad Odrą on Poland's border with Germany. About long, it the second-longest riv ...

delta near

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (translated literally as Kostrzyn upon the Oder; ; ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, on the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia Lubus ...

Romania

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

Singapore

* Parts of

Pulau Tekong Pulau Tekong (Singapore English pronunciation: ), also known colloquially as Tekong or Tekong Island, is the second-largest of Singapore's outlying islands after Jurong Island. Tekong is located off Singapore's northeastern coast, east of P ...

Slovenia

* The Ankaran/Ancarano Polder (), Semedela Polder (), and Škocjan Polder () in reclaimed land around Koper/Capodistria.

South Korea

* Parts of the coast of

Ganghwa Island Ganghwa Island (), also Ganghwado, is an island in Ganghwa County, Incheon, South Korea. It is in the Yellow Sea and in an estuary of the Han River. The island is separated from Gimpo (on the South Korean mainland) by a narrow channel spanned ...

, adjacent to the river Han in

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

* Delta of the river Nakdong in

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

* Saemangeum in

North Jeolla Province North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...

Spain

* Parts of

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

were built on reclaimed land

United Kingdom

Traeth Mawr is a polder near Porthmadog in Gwynedd in Wales. The area was formerly the large tidal estuary of the ''Afon Glaslyn''. It was created after large-scale land reclamation occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A large embankment, cal ...

Sunk Island Sunk Island is a Crown Estate village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies south of Ottringham and to the north of the Humber Estuary. The Greenwich Meridian passes through the east of ...

, on the north shore of the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Trent, Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms ...

east of

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Caldicot and Wentloog Levels The Caldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarine alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn Estuary, either side of the River Usk estuary near Newport in south east Wales. They are als ...

along the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

in South Wales * Parts of

The Fens The Fens or Fenlands in eastern England are a naturally marshy region supporting a rich ecology and numerous species. Most of the fens were drained centuries ago, resulting in a flat, dry, low-lying agricultural region supported by a system o ...

** Branston Island, by the

River Witham The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversi ...

outside the conventional area of the fens but connected to them. * Parts of the coast of

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

* Some land along the

River Plym The River Plym is a river in Devon, England. It runs from Dartmoor in the centre of the county southwest to meet the River Meavy, then south towards Plymouth Sound. The river is popular with canoeists, and the Plym Valley Railway runs alongside ...

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

* Some land around

Meathop Meathop is a village in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historically in Westmorland, it is located north east of Grange over Sands, between the confluence of the River Kent estuary and the River Winster on the edg ...

east of

Grange-over-Sands Grange-over-Sands is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the north side of Morecambe Bay in Cumbria, England, a few miles south of the Lake District Lake District National Park, National Park. In the United Kingdom Census 201 ...

, reclaimed as a side-effect of building a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

embankment * The

Somerset Levels The Somerset Levels are a coastal plain and wetland area of Somerset, England, running south from the Mendips to the Blackdown Hills. The Somerset Levels have an area of about and are bisected by the Polden Hills; the areas to the south ...

and

North Somerset Levels The North Somerset Levels is a coastal plain, an expanse of low-lying flat ground, which occupies an area between Weston-super-Mare and Bristol in North Somerset, England. The River Banwell, River Kenn, River Yeo and Land Yeo are the three pri ...

Romney Marsh Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about . The Marsh has been in use for centuries, though its inhabitants commonly suffered from malaria until the ...

Sealand, Flintshire Sealand is a community (Wales), community in Flintshire and Wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom, electoral ward, north-east Wales, on the edge of the Wirral Peninsula, Wirral peninsula. It is west of the city of Chester, Englan ...

Humberhead Levels The Humberhead Levels is a national character area covering a large expanse of flat, low-lying land towards the western end of the Humber estuary in northern England. The levels occupy the former Glacial Lake Humber, an area bounded to the eas ...

United States

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

References

External links

– ''in a northwest European and a landmark context''.

{{Authority control Artificial landforms Land reclamation Environmental soil science Riparian zone Coastal construction Freshwater ecology

Etymology

Netherlands

Examples of polders

Brazil

Bangladesh

Belgium

Canada

China

History

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Guyana

India

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Lithuania

Netherlands

Poland

Romania

Singapore

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

United Kingdom

United States

See also

References

Further reading

External links