Netherlands: Geography
Bustling liberal cities, Windmills, flowers, fish, cafés, cheese - and tall people
The Netherlands are best described as a a flat plane. Most of the terrain is below sea level, much of it having been reclaimed from the North Sea. There are 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) of dikes that keep the waters out. Some of the larger dikes are 75 feet (25 metres) high and one of the longest is the 18.75 mile (30 kilometres) Afsluitdijk, which created the Usselmeer, was built in 1932. There are four islands off the northern coast, consisting of sand dunes, beaches and pine forests. Limburg in the South-east is the only province that has any hills, with the highest elevation just over 1,000 feet (321 metres). The Netherlands are 21,177 square miles (33,883 square kilometres) with 282 miles (451 kilometres) of coastline.
