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The Flevopolder is an island
The Flevopolder is an island 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 ...
forming the bulk of 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 ...
, a province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of the 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 ...
. Created by land reclamation
Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
, its northeastern part was drained in 1955 and the remainder—the southwest—in 1968.
Unlike other major polders, it is surrounded by lakes and below-sea-level channels. By some definitions, it is the world's largest artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...
. Levees, dikes, and pumping were used to drain the land. The polder's name references the ancient Lake Flevo
The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...
. The Flevopolder, along with the Noordoostpolder
Noordoostpolder (; ) is a polder and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. Formerly, it was also called ''Urk, Urker Land''. Emmeloord is the administrative center, located in the hea ...
, forms the Flevoland province, which is located near Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
in the southwest and Kampen, Overijssel
Kampen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, Netherlands. A member of the former Hanseatic League, it is ...
in the northeast.
Boundaries
Unlike other major polders, such as Noordoostpolder and Wieringermeer, the Flevopolder is surrounded bybordering lakes
In the Netherlands, the bordering lakes (in Dutch: ''Randmeren'') are a chain of lakes which separate the Flevopolder and Noordoostpolder from the ancient lands of the provinces of Gelderland, Utrecht, Overijssel and Friesland.''Wateralmanak 20 ...
or below-sea-level channels. These are the IJsselmeer
The IJsselmeer (; , ), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed-off freshwater lake in the central Netherlands bordering the Provinces of the Netherlands, provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with a ...
, the Veluwemeer, Ketelmeer
The Ketelmeer is the tongue of the IJsselmeer into which the River IJssel drains, it is situated between the polders Noordoostpolder (North-east Polder) and Oostelijk Flevoland (East Flevoland), and connects the river IJssel to the IJsselmeer. ...
, and Gooimeer. By some definitions, it is the largest artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...
in the world.
History
Reclamation of its land
Levees and dikes were first built around the polder. However, unlike similar projects, the internal water was then drained by diesel and electric pumps.Etymology
Its name refers to the ancientLake Flevo
The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...
.
Geography
The Flevopolder together with the Noordoostpolder forms theprovince
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of 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 most recent province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
to be added to the 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 ...
. Its southwestern point is close to Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and its opposite end is close to Kampen, Overijssel
Kampen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel, Netherlands. A member of the former Hanseatic League, it is ...
. It has three highly dominant settlements in terms of distribution of population.
Footnotes
References
{{reflist Artificial islands of the Netherlands Regions of Flevoland Regions of the Netherlands Polders of Flevoland