The Volkerak is a

body of water A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rare ...

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 ...

. It is part of the

Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse () and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine–Meuse delta. The resu ...

, and is situated between the island

Goeree-Overflakkee Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost river delta, delta island of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North ...

to the north-west and the Dutch mainland to the south and east. The western part of the Volkerak is also called Krammer. Tributaries of the Volkerak are the Dintel and Steenbergse Vliet. Before 1987, it was a tidal river open to the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, but it was closed off as part of the

Delta Works The Delta Works () is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta from the sea. Constructed between 1954 and 1997, the works consist of dams, slu ...

; it is now a fresh water lake.

Delta Works

The Volkerak is navigable by sea-going ships. On the eastern end are the Volkerak Locks (''Volkeraksluizen'') connecting it to the

Hollands Diep The Hollands Diep ( pre-1947 spelling: Hollandsch Diep) is a river in the Netherlands, and an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse rivers. Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp. The Bergse Maas river and the N ...

. At the western end is the

Philipsdam The is a compartmentalisation dam constructed as part of the Delta Works in the Netherlands. It separates water of the lakes Krammer (Netherlands), Krammer and Volkerak from the Oosterschelde, and connects the Grevelingendam to Sint Philips ...

and Krammer Locks (''Krammersluizen'') connecting it to the Eastern Scheldt (''Oosterschelde''), and also the Grevelingendam and Grevelingen Lock (''Grevelingensluis'') connecting it to the Grevelingen Grevelingen. Finally, the

Scheldt–Rhine Canal The Scheldt–Rhine Canal (Schelde-Rijnkanaal) in Belgium and the Netherlands connects Antwerp with the Volkerak, and thereby the Scheldt with the Rhine. Route The canal starts close to the Scheldt river, at the port of Antwerp, and generally ...

connects it to the

port of Antwerp The port of Antwerp is the port of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. It is located in Flanders, mainly in the province of Antwerp, but also partially in East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to capesize ships. It is Eu ...

and thus the

, providing access for ocean-going vessels.

Future

Due to the low supply of fresh water to the now-enclosed Volkerak, and runoff of agricultural nutrients, the lake suffers from

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

throughout the summer, and swimming is prohibited. The decision to transform it again into a salt water lake could be taken between 2015 and 2020.

References

External links

Information by Rijkswaterstaat
{{coord, 51.65, 4.3, display=title, region:NL_type:waterbody Goeree-Overflakkee Moerdijk Steenbergen Tholen Landforms of North Brabant Landforms of South Holland Landforms of Zeeland Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta