This Is Holland #5 by wastl001

Photography • Landscape • posted on Feb 03, 2006

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Description

My country is famous for drugs, tulips, wooden shoes and windmills. But I do hope that some of you know that the Dutch are also famous for their fight against water. And that's exactly where above shot is all about. A little history/explanation for those who are not familiar with this everlasting battle: For the past 2000 years, the inhabitants of the Netherlands have often had to cope with flood disasters. The name 'Netherlands' gives a clue to the problem: 'Nether' means 'low'. It literally means 'The Low Countries'. When a storm develops and the wind stirs up the waves, the Dutch coastal area can become flooded. The last time this happened on a large scale was just over fifty years ago (1953). Nearly 2000 people died and more than 150,000 hectares of land were flooded. People soon became aware that something had to bedone, and very, very quickly. Twenty days after the flood of 1953, the Delta commission was inaugurated. The commission would give advice about the execution of the Deltaplan, that would, in the long run, increase the safety of the Delta area (especially the province Zeeland, which means Sealand, in the southwestern part of our country.) A little, but very important, part of the Deltaplan is the so called Oosterschelde storm surge barrier (which is widely called Oosterschelde Dam, although in fact this is not correct, because it's no dam). Initially, the Oosterschelde (a river) would be closed with a regular dam. This never happened, however. More and more people began to realise that the closure of the Oosterschelde would have several consequences. The first priority was safety, but nature could not be forgotten. In 1975 the then cabinet proposed to build an open barrier, which could be closed. The barrier would consist of piers among which slides were hung. These slides could close the Oosterschelde in time of necessity. The barrier would be much more expensive than a dam, but on the other hand nature conservation played a big and important role. The storm surge barrier, with a total length of three kilometres, would be placed over three channels: the 'Hammen', the 'Schaar van Roggeplaat' and the 'Roompot'. It would consist of sixty-five prefabricated concrete piers, among which sixty-two steel slides would be installed. When the slides are open, three-quarters of the original tidal movement is maintained. That should be enough to maintain the environment in the Oosterschelde. Some of the sandbars ('Roggeplaat' and 'Geul') were already raised, in view of the full closure of the Oosterschelde. The building excavations of Neeltje Jans and Noordland, together with the sandbar Geul, formed the closed part of the storm surge barrier. Neeltje Jans was the island from which the operation was performed. The greater part of the prefabricated elements were built there - the piers, tubes, and foundation mats. The stones, which would be plunged around the piers later, were also stored there. As many parts of the dam as possible were made beforehand, on the mainland. This increased the tidal movement and the safety of the employees. Finally, the storm surge barrier (which eventually cost 2.5 billion euros!!) was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on October 4th 1986. Above picture shows only part of the barrier, which in total is 3 kilometers long. For those who want to read and learn more about this super-structure, please visit http://www.deltawerken.com (text in English, German and Dutch language). Hope you like it, despite my long info (sorry about that, but I couldn' resist...LOL). Have a wonderful weekend!! Thanks for all your wonderful comments on my last upload, "Heeswijk Castle (Panorama)" !!

Comments (9)

solrac_gi_2nd

5:59PM | Fri, 03 February 2006

... no comments so far ? A most excellent capture with a perfect POV and DOF !!! Thanks for the most useful text !

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Richardphotos

7:23PM | Fri, 03 February 2006

I know Netherlands is the only country that has had success in controling water.after the fiasco in New Orleans, it is obvious the US is not.there is beauty in the flood gates and excellent pov

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Chaos911

3:28AM | Sat, 04 February 2006

wowi, brilliant shot, im breathless by the power of this image :)

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RodolfoCiminelli

6:05AM | Sat, 04 February 2006

Impressive place....!!! Excellent shot....!!! I like the beautiful effect of natural illumination....!!!

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jcv2

6:35AM | Sat, 04 February 2006

Something to be proud of! Unfortunately the plans were ready even in WW II (with the notorious Elizabeth flood in mind in a long line of floods drowning the lowlands temporarily) but only realised after the 1953 flood that cost so many lives (usually it requires casualties to get something changed)! In 1962 there has been a flood in northern Gemany, quite unknown here in the Netherlands, with many casualties, and in the meantime we know about Bangladesh and New Orleans about the devastating power of the water. Especially with growing sealevels the problems will occur more frequently and the urgence of protecting land will grow with it. :)

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