WATERS
The country is divided into two main parts by three rivers Rhine (Rijn), Waal, and Meuse (Maas). The south-western part of the Netherlands is actually one big river delta of these rivers. A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is the flatness of the country. About half of its surface area is less than 1 m above sea level, and large parts of it are actually below sea level. An extensive range of dikes and dunes protects these areas from flooding. Numerous massive pumping stations keep the ground water level in check. In 1932, the Afsluitdijk (English "Closure Dike") was completed, blocking the former Zuyderzee (Southern Sea) off from the North Sea and thus creating the IJsselmeer (IJssel Lake). It became part of the larger Zuiderzee Works in which four polders totalling 1,650 km˛ were reclaimed from the sea. To guard against floods, a series of defences against the water were contrived. After the 1953 disaster, the Delta project, a vast construction effort designed to end the threat from the sea once and for all, was launched in 1958 and largely completed in 2002. The official goal of the Delta project was to reduce the risk of flooding in Holland to once per 10,000 years. As a result of pumping water the area of the country increased from 33 600 km (1960) to 41 500 km (1992). The important routs are the inland canals (5 000 km long) such as: Princess Margriet's, Overijssel and Amsterdam-Ren canals.
SOILS
The Netherlands are rather flat, the western part being below sea level and protected by dunes and dikes. Fertile clay soils occur in the western and northern part of the country and along the large rivers. Sandy and sandy-loam soils can be found in the eastern and southern part of the country.
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