The Lopikerwaard is a

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains s ...

landscape, located 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 of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

History

Originally an area of swampland, the polder was developed from the eleventh century CE. Many canals were dug in order to drain the land, dividing the land into equally sized plots which still define the landscape.

Geography

The polder area is bounded by the

Hollandse IJssel The Hollandse (or Hollandsche) IJssel (; "Holland IJssel", as opposed to the 'regular' or Gelderland IJssel) is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein, Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel t ...

river to the north and north east, the

Lek Lek or LEK may refer to: * Lek mating, mating in a lek, a type of animal territory in which males of a species gather * Albanian lek, the currency of Albania * Lek (magazine), a Norwegian softcore pornographic magazine * Lek (pharmaceutical comp ...

river to the south and the Krimpenerwaard polder to the west. Several larger drainage canals cross the polder from east to west. The area largely coincides with the municipality of

Lopik Lopik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht, close to the Lek river. History Lopik lies within the Lopikerwaard region, which used to be occupied by swamps and forests until the area was cultivated in th ...

, whence it gets its name. The landscape is defined by large areas of pasture lands and linear settlements.

Towns of the Lopikerwaard

* Benschop *

Polsbroek Polsbroek is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 10 km southeast of Gouda. Overview The village of Polsbroek consists of a ribbon of farms on both sides of the Benschopse We ...

* Polsbroekerdam *

Zevender Zevender is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the municipality of Lopik, 2 km northeast of Schoonhoven. A part of Zevender has become a neighbourhood of Schoonhoven. Zevender was a separate municipality from 1817 to ...

Willige Langerak Willige Langerak is a hamlet in the Dutch provinces of South Holland and Utrecht. It is located in the municipalities of Krimpenerwaard and Lopik, just east of Schoonhoven. Willige Langerak was a separate municipality in the province of Utrech ...

Cabauw Cabauw is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 12 km southwest of IJsselstein. Cabauw consists of a small village centre, and a ribbon of farms along the Lopikerwetering canal, b ...

Jaarsveld Jaarsveld is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 7 km southwest of IJsselstein. Jaarsveld used to be a separate municipality, covering a large part of the current municipality ...

Lopikerkapel Lopikerkapel is a village in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 3 km south of IJsselstein. The village has a small centre, with a church, but mostly consists of a ribbon of farms on both s ...

* Graaf (Lopik) *

Uitweg Uitweg is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the municipality of Lopik, and lies about 5 km southwest of IJsselstein. The town consists almost completely of a ribbon of farms along the Enge IJssel and Lopiker Wetering ...

Hoenkoop Hoenkoop is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Utrecht. Since 1970, Hoenkoop has been a part of the municipality of Oudewater Oudewater () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands. History The origin of the town of Oudewater is obscur ...

Willeskop Willeskop is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the municipality of Montfoort, 2 km east of that city. Willeskop was a separate municipality between 1818 and 1989, when it was merged with Montfoort. A small part went ...

The cities of

Oudewater Oudewater () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands. History The origin of the town of Oudewater is obscure and no information has been found concerning the first settlement of citizens. It is also difficult to recover the name of Oud ...

Montfoort Montfoort () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Montfoort received city rights in 1329. Population centres The municipality of Montfoort consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or district ...

and

IJsselstein IJsselstein () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. IJsselstein received city rights in 1331. IJsselstein owes its name to the river Hollandse IJssel which flows through the city. It is a major commuting ...

are located at the edges of the area.

Geology

The Lopikerwaard soil consists mainly of a thick layer of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

the thins out towards the east. At the edges, near the rivers,

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

deposits can be found. {{Authority control Regions of Utrecht (province)