The Lopikerwaard is a polder landscape, located in the Dutch province of Utrecht .
5-572: Originally an area of swampland, the polder was developed from the eleventh century CE. Many canals were dug in order to drain the land, dividing the land into equally sized plots which still define the landscape. The polder area is bounded by the Hollandse IJssel river to the north and north east, the Lek river to the south and the Krimpenerwaard polder to the west. Several larger drainage canals cross
10-617: The Nieuwe Maas . Another branch called Enge IJssel ("Narrow IJssel") flows southwest from Nieuwegein. The name IJssel is thought to derive from the Germanic i sala , meaning "dark water ". Originally, the Hollandse IJssel forked off from river Lek at Nieuwegein, but the connection was cut off with the Hollandse IJssel nowadays only draining the surrounding pastures . If the North Sea floods,
15-498: The Hollandse IJssel allows water through the Rotterdam Waterway to flood low-lying land east of Rotterdam. The Delta Works included a steel barrier that can be lowered within minutes to block the waterway. The sea protection constructions were built at the mouth of the Hollandse IJssel in 1957. This Utrecht location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This South Holland location article
20-411: The polder from east to west. The area largely coincides with the municipality of Lopik , whence it gets its name. The landscape is defined by large areas of pasture lands and linear settlements. The cities of Oudewater , Montfoort and IJsselstein are located at the edges of the area. The Lopikerwaard soil consists mainly of a thick layer of peat the thins out towards the east. At the edges, near
25-476: The rivers, clay deposits can be found. Hollandse IJssel The Hollandse or Hollandsche IJssel ( pronounced [ˌɦɔlɑntsə ˈʔɛisəl] ; " Holland IJssel", as opposed to the 'regular' or Gelderland IJssel ) is a branch of the Rhine delta that flows westward from Nieuwegein on river Lek through IJsselstein , Gouda and Capelle aan den IJssel to Krimpen aan den IJssel , where it ends in
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