{"id":7285,"date":"2021-04-26T11:53:15","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7285"},"modified":"2021-04-26T11:53:59","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:53:59","slug":"whats-that-bulge-on-the-dutch-coastline-maasvlakte-port-rotterdam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/whats-that-bulge-on-the-dutch-coastline-maasvlakte-port-rotterdam\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s That Bulge On The Dutch Coastline?"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you look at the coastline of the Netherlands, it’s remarkable how smooth it is. Shaped by the sea, there are no jagged, rocky shores or edges. Except… Just above Zeeland<\/em><\/a>, there’s a bulge. What’s that? Is it natural? Or another handmade piece of land?<\/p>\n

For other posts in the series Strange Places<\/em> in the Netherlands, click here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

A Vital Bulge<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Maasvlakte<\/a>

Image made by and used with permission from Sten Ritterfeld, map by Clker-Free-Vector-Images<\/a> via Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

While it doesn’t look like much, this little bulge is one of the most important places for the Dutch economy. It’s the\u00a0Maasvlakte\u00a0<\/em>(Maas Plain), an extension outward into the Noordzee <\/em>(North Sea) that was, you guessed it, artificially created. The name is related to the river that it is connected to. The Maas runs from France through Belgium and the south of the Netherlands in Maastricht<\/a> all the way to Rotterdam and into the North Sea. This\u00a0rivier\u00a0<\/em>(river) is essential for the\u00a0binnenvaart\u00a0<\/em>(inland navigation) of goods from all over the world.<\/p>\n

In the 1960s, the\u00a0haven\u00a0<\/em>(port) of Rotterdam started getting a little low on space for the increasing\u00a0zeeverkeer\u00a0<\/em>(sea traffic). At the same time, the\u00a0schepen\u00a0<\/em>(ships) that entered the\u00a0haven\u00a0<\/em>became bigger, and so they needed more space and deeper waters to navigate. Creating a kanaal\u00a0<\/em>(canal) inward was not a viable idea, as a narrow canal could lead to too much traffic and problems, especially if the amount of schepen\u00a0<\/em>increased even more.<\/p>\n

So the idea of the\u00a0Maasvlakte\u00a0<\/em>was born: An artificially created piece of\u00a0haven\u00a0<\/em>that can accept ships before they have to enter the mainland. With millions of tons of\u00a0zand\u00a0<\/em>(sand),\u00a0grind\u00a0<\/em>(gravel),\u00a0basalt\u00a0<\/em>(basalt) and\u00a0beton\u00a0<\/em>(concrete), an area of almost 40 km2 (10,000 acres) was created. It’s massive!<\/p>\n

That’s a lot for a small country like the Netherlands, you might think. However, the\u00a0haven\u00a0<\/em>is one of the largest ports in the world, and the largest in Europe. So while the Netherlands is small, their Port of Rotterdam is of great significance to world trade.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aAvzUrVoW08<\/p>\n

Another\u00a0Maasvlakte<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n