Polder – The Netherlands

It is quite common for our office staff from the Netherlands to experience flooding. The Netherlands literally means “lower countries“, influenced by its low land and flat geography, with only about 50% of its land exceeding one meter above sea level. One of our staff members, Femke Gobius du Sart, lives in a polder.

A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by dikes that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually operated devices. She took some pictures of where she lives to show us how life is in these areas of the Netherlands.

Femke tried to take some pictures where you can see that the water on the river side is higher than the land on the other side.

The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, resulting in some 3,000 polders nationwide. By 1961 6,800 square miles (18,000 km2), about half of the country’s land, was reclaimed from the sea. About half the total surface area of polders in north-west Europe is in the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century.

At Jensen Localization we appreciate when members of our team share their living experiences.

Thank you Femke Gobius du Sart for sharing this interesting information with all of us.