The Eem (; formerly the Amer) is a
river
A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
in the central
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
with a length of approximately .
The river is fed by the Vallei Canal and a number of
Veluwe creeks, the most important of which are the Heiligenberger Beek, the Barneveldse Beek and the Lunterse Beek, all of which come together in
Amersfoort
Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...
. The river then runs through the Eem Valley to the east of
Soest,
Baarn and
Eemnes before emptying into the
Eemmeer. The Eem is responsible for the largest portion of the drainage of the Gelder Valley. The
polder
A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrology, hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as levee, dikes. The three types of polder are:
# Land reclamation, Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a ...
s of the Eem are valuable scenic landscapes.
Because of land
subsidence
Subsidence is a general term for downward vertical movement of the Earth's surface, which can be caused by both natural processes and human activities. Subsidence involves little or no horizontal movement, which distinguishes it from slope mov ...
as a result of
drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...
, the primate lies higher than the surrounding land. When water levels drop in the summer, water is pumped from the
Nederrijn to the Eem through the Vallei Canal. Because of
agricultural pollution carried by the Eem towards the
Eemmeer, the biological richness of this lake is less than that of the other lakes which surround
Flevoland
Flevoland () is the twelfth and newest province of the Netherlands, established in 1986, when the southern and eastern Flevopolders, together with the Noordoostpolder, were merged into one provincial entity. It is in the centre of the countr ...
.
The Eem gives its name to the
Eemian interglacial
An interglacial period (or alternatively interglacial, interglaciation) is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene i ...
era.
Gallery
Image:Koppelpoort Amersfoort 2008.jpg, The Eem at the Koppelpoort
Image:Amersfoort-c-the river.jpg, The Eem in Amersfoort
Image:MondingEem.JPG, Mouth of the Eem
External links
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Rivers of Utrecht (province)
Rivers of the Netherlands
{{Netherlands-river-stub