The Veerse Meer (Lake Veere) is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons ...

in the southwest

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 ...

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 ...

Description

The Veerse Meer was created as a

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

measure to regulate water levels in the surrounding

polders 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 plain ...

, acting as a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

for the surrounding polders until its excess waters can be discharged into the

Eastern Scheldt The Eastern Scheldt ( nl, Oosterschelde) is a former estuary in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, between Schouwen-Duiveland and Tholen on the north and Noord-Beveland and Zuid-Beveland on the south. It also features the largest nati ...

. Its level are lowered in the winter to help drain the polders and maintained at a higher level in the summer for

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or plea ...

History

Originally an outlet of the

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

called the Veerse Gat, it was first closed off from the Sheldt by the

Zandkreekdam The is a dam in The Netherlands which connects Zuid-Beveland with Noord-Beveland, and separates the Oosterschelde from the Veerse Meer. A navigation lock in the dam permits shipping connections to Middelburg and Vlissingen, via the Veerse Me ...

in 1960, and from the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

in 1961 by

Veerse Gatdam The Veerse Gatdam is a man-made barrier across the former estuary known as the Veerse Gat, between Walcheren and Noord-Beveland islands in Zeeland, Netherlands. The barrier was completed on 27 April 1961. Because of the completion of this barrier, ...

, some of the first constructions 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; sl ...

system. In 2004, the Katse Heule

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

was constructed in the Zanderkreekdam to allow

saltwater Saline water (more commonly known as salt water) is water that contains a high concentration of dissolved salts (mainly sodium chloride). On the United States Geological Survey (USGS) salinity scale, saline water is saltier than brackish water, ...

to flow in from the Eastern Scheldt to improve water quality and return this former river mouth to its original

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estua ...

state.

Length and location

It is 22 km long, and 1,500 m wide in places. Lying between the old islands of

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 ...

, Zuid-Beveland and Walcheren, it is linked to the river Scheldt by the Zandkreekdam sluice, which allows this lagoon to have

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

, slightly less salty than sea water. There are 13 small uninhabited islands in the lake. Some of its banks, underwater at high tide, have been made into

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s, while others are popular for

water sports Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a s ...

, such as

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

Gallery

File:Veerse Meer - Zeeland.jpg, A view of Veerse Meer File:Veersemeermap.jpg, A map of Veerse Meer

References

{{commons category Lagoons of Europe Ramsar sites in the Netherlands Bodies of water of the Netherlands Landforms of Zeeland Goes Middelburg, Zeeland Noord-Beveland Veere Walcheren Zuid-Beveland