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South Holland (Dutch Zuid-Holland) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country on the North Sea coast. It is one of the most densely populated and industrialised of the provinces. Neighbouring provinces are Zeeland to the southwest, North Brabant to the southeast, Gelderland to the east, Utrecht to the northeast and North Holland to the north.
It contains the major cities of The Hague (Den Haag or 's-Gravenhage) (the seat of government of the country and the seat of the International Court of Justice) and Rotterdam. Leiden, Delft and Gouda have town centers with many 17th-century buildings. Rotterdam has one of the world's largest harbours. Zoetermeer is a very new city, most of it is created in the year 1970. Other New Towns are Capelle aan den IJssel, Hellevoetsluis and Spijkenisse, all three situated in the vicinity of Rotterdam.
Rivers and other bodies of water include Nieuwe Maas, Nieuwe Waterweg, Oude Maas, Haringvliet, Hollands Diep.
The province South Holland was formed in 1840, when the province Holland was split into a northern (North Holland) and southern part. Since then, South Holland has ceded three municipalities to the province of Utrecht: Oudewater in 1970, Woerden in 1989, and Vianen in 2002
North Holland (Dutch: Noord-Holland) is a province of the Netherlands, located in the northwest part of the country. Its capital is Haarlem. Other cities include the country's capital Amsterdam, Hilversum, Alkmaar, Zaandam and Hoorn.
North Holland forms a peninsula between the North Sea and the IJsselmeer. More than half of the province consists of reclaimed land in the form of polders and is below sea level. The island of Texel is also part of North Holland.
The province North Holland was formed in 1840, when the province Holland was split in to a northern and southern part (South Holland). In 1940, the islands Vlieland and Terschelling were ceded to the province Friesland. In 1950, the former island Urk was ceded to the province Overijssel.
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