The Veerse Gatdam is a man-made barrier across the former estuary known as the

Veerse Gat The Veerse Gat or Veeregat was the sea channel between Walcheren and Noord-Beveland islands in Zeeland in the Netherlands. In 1961 as part of the Delta Plan it was blocked off by the Veerse Gatdam and made into an inland lake called Veerse Meer Th ...

, between

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

and

Noord-Beveland Noord-Beveland (; "North Beveland") is a municipality and region in the southwestern Netherlands and a former island, now part of the Walcheren-Zuid-Beveland-Noord-Beveland peninsula. Noord-Beveland is enclosed by the Oosterschelde estuary to the ...

islands in

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The barrier was completed on 27 April 1961. Because of the completion of this barrier, the

Veerse Meer The Veerse Meer (Lake Veere) is a lagoon in the southwest Netherlands in the province of Zeeland. Description The Veerse Meer was created as a flood control measure to regulate water levels in the surrounding polders, acting as a drainage basin f ...

was created. The Veerse Gatdam is the third structure constructed as part of the

Delta Works The Delta Works ( nl, Deltawerken) 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 con ...

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

system. The N57 motorway runs along the top of the barrier. The barrier is long and connects the island of

with

. The barrier was partly built as a with

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

coated dike on the Plaat van Onrust, a former sandbar. For the remaining parts, sinkable passing caissons were used. For the construction of these caissons, a dock was constructed between

Veere Veere (; zea, label=Zeelandic, Ter Veere) is a municipality with a population of 22,000 and a town with a population of 1,500 in the southwestern Netherlands, in the region of Walcheren in the province of Zeeland. History The name ''Veere'' ...

Vrouwenpolder Vrouwenpolder is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Veere, and lies about 9 km north of Middelburg. The name is derived from "the polder of Our Lady", referring to the Virgin Mary. History The v ...

. The caissons contain openings, so that the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravity, gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide t ...

could keep going on, while building the barrier. With this it was prevented that the current would keep on getting stronger as the construction progressed. Only at the end of construction, were the sliders simultaneously lowered, by which the barrier was closed in one instant. By building the Veerse Gatdam, the town of

was no longer connected with the open sea. The fishing fleet of Veere had to be relocated before the completion of the barrier to the nearby village of

Colijnsplaat Colijnsplaat is a village in the Province of Zeeland, the Netherlands It is a part of the Municipality of Noord-Beveland, and lies about northeast of Middelburg. History The village was first mentioned in 1489 as "het gors Colinsplate", and me ...

. The Veerse Meer is currently a popular aquatics location, particularly for

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

. On the north side of the dam, a large recreational beach has been created. The closing of the Veerse Gat was adapted into a film, ''Deltafase 1'', by

Bert Haanstra Albert Haanstra (; 31 May 1916 – 23 October 1997) was a Dutch director of films and documentaries. His documentary ''Glass'' (1958) won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. His feature film ''Fanfare'' (1958) was the mo ...

References

External links

Veerse Dam, Encyclopedie van Zeeland
(in Dutch) Delta Works Dams completed in 1961 Dams in Zeeland Noord-Beveland Walcheren Veere {{Netherlands-struct-stub