Geographic
The Netherlands are a flat country. A large part of the country even lies below sea level. The whole history of Holland is marked by the battle against the water, not just in the coastal area, but in the inland as well, where along the many rivers dikes have been built to stop the water. Water is everywhere, in the form of ditches, canals, rivers, and lakes. The countryside mainly consists of polder land, where the land has been reclaimed with the use of mills. This process has been going on for centuries. In the second part of the previous century new land was created in the IJsselmeer, and even today new possibilities are being investigated.
In the South the Netherlands border on Belgium, in the East to Germany. The West and North regions are coastal areas, bordering the North Sea. In the North we find a row of islands, the Waddeneilanden, forming a border between the North Sea and the Waddenzee. The islands and the Waddenzee are a protected nature reserve and popular holiday destinations for the Dutch.