The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

in the province of

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, between

Schouwen-Duiveland Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water). The northside of the island has two fi ...

and

Tholen Tholen () is a 25,000 people municipality in the southwest of the Netherlands. The municipality of Tholen takes its name from the town of Tholen, which is the largest population center in the municipality. The municipality consists of two peninsu ...

on the north 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 ...

and

Zuid-Beveland Zuid-Beveland (; "South Beveland") is part of the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands north of the Western Scheldt and south of the Eastern Scheldt. Topography It is a former island, now peninsula, crossed by the Canal through Zuid-Bevelan ...

on the south. It also features the largest

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

in the Netherlands, founded in 2002.

Landscape and history

Roggenplaat-Eastern-Scheldt-Zeeland-2020-Luka-Peternel

During the

Roman Era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

it was the major mouth of the

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...

River. Before the St. Felix's Flood of 1530, it flowed north as a river from the east end of the

Westerschelde The Western Scheldt ( nl, Westerschelde) in the province of Zeeland in the southwestern Netherlands, is the estuary of the Scheldt river. This river once had several estuaries, but the others are now disconnected from the Scheldt, leaving the W ...

, turned west a little west of

Bergen op Zoom Bergen op Zoom (; called ''Berrege'' in the local dialect) is a municipality and a city located in the south of the Netherlands. Etymology The city was built on a place where two types of soil meet: sandy soil and marine clay. The sandy soil p ...

, and then west along the north edge of what is now the

Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal Het Verdronken Land van Reimerswaal (translation: The Drowned Land of ''Reimerswaal'') is an area of flood-covered land in Zeeland in the Netherlands between Noord Beveland and Bergen op Zoom. Some of it was lost in the St. Felix's Flood in 1 ...

, and after that widened into an

. Later parts of that lost land were reclaimed, restricting part of the connection to the Scheldt River to a narrow channel called the Kreekrak, which silted up and became unnavigable. In 1867 the Kreekrak was closed off with a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

, connecting in the process the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

to the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

North Brabant North Brabant ( nl, Noord-Brabant ; Brabantian: ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to the we ...

. From that moment on, the Oosterschelde lost its connection with the Scheldt, and is no longer functioning as an estuary. Between Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland there are two road connections, the Oosterscheldedam on the west and the

Zeeland Bridge The Zeeland Bridge ( nl, Zeelandbrug) is the longest bridge in the Netherlands. The bridge spans the Eastern Scheldt estuary. It connects the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland in the province of Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en ko ...

on the east.

Storm surge barrier and dam

Deltawerke-Oosterschelde-Sturmflutwehr Oosterscheldeseite

After the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, causing extensive flooding. The storm and flo ...

, it was decided to close off the Oosterschelde by means of a dam and barrier. The

Oosterscheldekering The Oosterscheldekering ( English: Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier), between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the Delta Works, a series of dams and storm surge barriers, designed to protect the Netherlands ...

(Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier), between Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of 13 ambitious

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 ...

designed to protect a large part of the Netherlands from flooding. A four-kilometre section has huge sluice gates, which are normally open but can be closed in adverse weather. Upon completion of the barrier in 1986, the flow of water decreased and the

tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

height differential reduced from to . As a result, no new sand is being deposited on the sand bars—they are now slowly eroding, changing the character of the coast.

Oosterschelde National Park

Since May 8, 2002, the entire Oosterschelde has been designated as a

. Its boundaries are the dikes of

, Sint Philipsland,

, and the dams of the

. Having an area of , it is the largest national park in the Netherlands. Total shore length is . The park consists primarily of the salt waters of the Oosterschelde, but also includes some mud flats, meadows and shoals. Because of the large variety of sea life, including unique regional species, the park is popular with

scuba divers This is a list of underwater divers whose exploits have made them notable. Underwater divers are people who take part in underwater diving activities – Underwater diving is practiced as part of an occupation, or for recreation, where t ...

. Other activities include sailing, fishing, cycling and bird watching.

References

External links

Oosterschelde National Park official websiteSatellite view, google maps
{{Authority control Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta 0Easternscheldt Landforms of Zeeland Tourist attractions in Zeeland Noord-Beveland Schouwen-Duiveland Tholen Zuid-Beveland

Landscape and history

Storm surge barrier and dam

Oosterschelde National Park

See also

References

External links