The Bijlands Kanaal (Bijland Canal) is a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

, near the Dutch-

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

. It is currently by far the most important river-stretch of the Rhine when that major river enters the Netherlands. It was dug between 1773 and 1776 to cut off a large bend in

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

Waal WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...

to improve water regulation. This bend, and comparable waters, are currently only minor streams. They are known as the minor Oude Waal and De Bijland, and the larger Oude Rijn. The, more or less, defunct flows now only serve one purpose: to function as a buffer zone between the free flowing

and

Nederrijn 300px, Course of the Nederrijn Nederrijn (; "Lower Rhine"; not to be confused with the section called Lower Rhine further upstream) is the name of the Dutch part of the Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine be ...

on one side and the abandoned stream-beds on the other side. The defuncts streams are shallow waters for most of the time and serve as an important spawning ground for all kinds of fish (since they remained connected to the main river through small creeks). However, in times of extreme high water-levels the 'dead' waters spring to life again, as the result of artificial overflow-devices. From time to time, the Oude Waal and De Bijland can temporarily taste the freedom of a free-flowing river. The area surrounding the 'dead' rivers is known for its historical significance and is a relic of a type of historical dyke landscape that is becoming more and more rare in the Netherlands. The Bijlands Kanaal is part of the extensive reconstruction works that Gelderland, then a semi-independent

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

within the

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

of the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

, undertook to better regulate

water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

flow around the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

fork. It is named after Castle De Bijland, which had been destroyed by the river Waal ''circa'' 1750. In addition to the Bijlands Kanaal, the

Pannerdens Kanaal The Pannerdens Kanaal (Pannerden Canal) is a canal in the Netherlands that was dredged between 1701 and 1709 to cut off a large, shallow bend of the river Rhine and so improve river traffic and water regulation. The canal, now indistinguishable fro ...

is part also part of the same river regulation system. Both canals cut off shallow and slow-moving bends in the river Rhine, now known as the Oude Waal and De Bijland. Although both waters are called "Kanaal" (English: canal) they are now an indistinguishable part of the river and both lost all characteristics of an artificial structure. The area surrounding both the main rivers Waal and Rhine, and the mostly defunct abandoned streams, are all part of the extensive nature restoration project known as the Gelderse Poort. Nowadays, the canal is of enormous importance to Rhine navigation, being part of the main Rhine

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...

and the first section of the Waal-Rhine fork.

References

{{Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Canals in the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta Canals opened in 1776 Canals in the Netherlands Canals in Gelderland Geography of Berg en Dal (municipality) Zevenaar