h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"The Harlemmermeer (Harlem lake) was in the way of expansion and just had to go"
This is not true. The 'Haarlemmermeer' used to be an area with peat, used as fuel. By digging up the peat lakes formed. Due to the prevailing wind (coming from the southwest) the lake grew bigger and bigger, threatening Amsterdam. That is why the Dutch decided to make it a polder. All polders were used as farmland. Just after WWII real cities were build in the polders.
The layout of the polders was mainly based upon: 1. the canals, with pumps (early in time windmills, later steamengines, and now electrical pumps) placed at strategic places (e.g. deepest parts). 2. agricultural needs: a rectangular design of the acres, for most effective farming.

The entry about dykes mingles some facts. Most of the time there is only one dyke around a polder, with a canal just behind it at one side, and the polder at the other side. The water from the polder is pumped into this so called 'Ringvaart' (Ring canal) and from this canal the water is led though other canals to the rivers or the sea.

The system with summer dykes and winter dykes is only used for rivers. During the summer the summer dykes keeps the water in the main riverbed. In the summer the river will stay deep enough for boats, and as stated in the text, the other land is used for grazing cows or herding sheep. The land between the winter and summer dyke is called 'uiterwaarden'. This means outside polder, meaning that is lyes outside the main (winter)dyke.

If you were to go to Groningen (near Delfzijl) you will see expanses of wakende, slapende and dromende dijken. I didn't feel like differenciating between the different kinds of dykes, as I thought this might make the entry too boring.

I have later heard that the harlemmermeer was emptied due the big storm of 86 (or so) That was the final straw. I did not understand that it was mainly a peat (turf) lake. I understood that it was a collection of lakes that grew and grew, through natural causes (storms etc) (and maybe a bit of verveening (peat farming?). How sure are you on the peat? I know lots of polders/lakes were formed you digging out of laagveen.

I did not say that the polders were used as cities, I only said people lived there, I think you will agree that Farmers *did* live there! Also the land was used as farmland, but I ddon't think (especially in the early days) it was blokkenverkaveling (rectangular blocks of land) but strokenverkaveling (long pieces of land (e.g. 50 times longer than wide)) that was better for drainage. But I could well be wrong...

Also the ringvaart is usually only around polders that used to be lakes (e.g. haarlemmermeer). Around polders like the noordoostpolder there is no ringvaart...

I am writing this entry (and more on The Netherlands) for a project for the University of Life (www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/University). So any help to make it better is wonderful. If you feel like helping look at the main project page with entry number A562916. Especially if you know a lot about geography etc. That would be great help (for me, and the GUIDE!!!!)
tdbiii

I think the Haarlemmermeer was indeed a collection of peat lakes. I have to check it.

About the verkaveling ('parcelling' in English?) I can tell you a little bit about the long deep parcels. It is accurate for the cultivating of the land along the rivers Vecht and the Oude Rijn in the province of Utrecht during the 11th - 15th century. Along the rivers dykes were built. On top of these dykes roads where built. From these roads the land was given to use for farmers. Because there wheren't many roads the parcels where small, but the farmers where allowed to cultivate the land for quite a depth. Most of the time the depth was limited by the bishop. Commen sizes where 100 meters by 1250 metres. The land that the farmers cultivated was wet, so 'sloten' where digged and they also formed the border of the parcels. These sloten where connected at the end of the parcels with a 'dwarswetering' (a bigger sloot, perpendicular on the sloten) The dwarswetering collected the water, and from the dwarswetering the water was pumped into the rivers.

A ringvaart is usually used around polders that used to be a lake.
The Noordoostpolder is a polder that was made in the former sea (Zuiderzee), that became a lake after the Afsluitdijk had been built.
There wasn't made a ringvaart. Because around 1940 they just build a dyke in the lake, and started pumping. Although recently there where plans to make some lakes at the border of the old land and the polder, because there where problems with to much groundwater coming up. But it proves to be much to expensive.

Around the other polders in the Zuiderzee a modern ringvaart has been made to tackle this problem: the lakes around the Zuidelijke and Noordelijke Flevopolder.

I will check out your project. I am a urban designer in the Netherlands, and very busy at the moment. But I will keep your project in mind.

OK tnx for the help !
Any commentaar is welcome as that would make it a better project. I have no fake ideas that I know everything!
I will try to incorporate this in the entry but I am going on holiday soon so that will have to wait till august.
Also I will try to add the bit you wrote about flevoland into topography in NL.

TDBIII

oké,
enjoy your holiday!