IJsselmeer

The IJsselmeer is a shallow freshwater lake in the Netherlands, formed in 1932 when the Afsluitdijk closed off the former Zuiderzee from the North Sea.

Zuiderzee Works: A Dutch water-engineering program that enclosed and reclaimed parts of the former Zuiderzee. The IJsselmeer was created as the central water body of this wider transformation.
Houtribdijk: A Dutch dam and road causeway separating the Markermeer from the IJsselmeer. It divides the lake’s southern waters from the Markermeer.
Flevoland: A Dutch province formed largely from land reclaimed from the IJsselmeer. Its reclaimed polders turned parts of the lakebed into inhabited land.
Enkhuizen: A historic port city in the Dutch province of North Holland, on the IJsselmeer. Its harbor reflects the town’s long connection to the former Zuiderzee and present lake.
Afsluitdijk: A 32-kilometer causeway and dam separating the IJsselmeer from the Wadden Sea. Its closure in 1932 cut the lake off from the North Sea.
Afsluitdijk Sluices: Sluice gates in the Afsluitdijk that discharge excess IJsselmeer water into the Wadden Sea. They help maintain the lake’s level by releasing water seaward.
Noordoostpolder: A large reclaimed polder in the Netherlands, drained from the former Zuiderzee in the 1940s. It demonstrates how the lake’s creation enabled extensive agricultural reclamation.
Urk: A former island and fishing town in the Dutch province of Flevoland. Its shift from island to polder town records the changing shoreline.
Zuiderzee: A former shallow inlet of the North Sea in the central Netherlands. The IJsselmeer occupies the inland water left after this tidal sea was enclosed.
Kornwerderzand: A settlement on the Afsluitdijk beside a major complex of sluices and locks. Its sluice complex is one of the lake’s principal outlets.

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North HollandRelated: Its eastern shore forms a major boundary of the province.