The Westeinderplassen ("West End Lakes") are a complex of lakes belonging mostly to the territory of

Aalsmeer Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...

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 ...

. Their total area is about ², making it the largest freshwater body of water in the

Randstad The Randstad (; "Rim" or "Edge" City) is a roughly crescent-shaped conurbation in the central-western Netherlands, consisting primarily of the four largest Dutch cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht); their suburbs, and many tow ...

area.

Geography

Towns situated on the lakefront include

Kudelstaart Kudelstaart is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Aalsmeer, and lies about 10 km southeast of Hoofddorp. The village was first mentioned in 1237 as Sconedorpe. The current name is a combination ...

, Burgerveen,

Leimuiden Leimuiden is a Dutch village in the South Holland municipality of Kaag en Braassem. Leimuiden is located between the Braassemermeer, the Westeinderplassen and the Ringvaart. Leimuiden is located north of Alphen aan den Rijn. History The villag ...

, and

Rijsenhout Rijsenhout is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Haarlemmermeer, and lies about 6 km southeast of Hoofddorp. In 2001, the village of Rijsenhout had 3072 inhabitants. The built-up ...

. The northern part in particular contains hundreds of small islands. Many of these are privately owned and can only be reached by boat.

Economy

The northwestern part of the lakes connect directly to the

Ringvaart The Ringvaart (known in full as Ringvaart of the Haarlemmermeer Polder) is a canal in the province of North Holland, the Netherlands. The Ringvaart (Dutch meaning "ring canal") is a true circular canal surrounding the Haarlemmermeer polder an ...

, which sees significant commercial shipping. The bulk of the lakes, though, are used mostly for recreational boating. Lakes of the Netherlands Landforms of North Holland Aalsmeer {{NorthHolland-geo-stub