Editing Flevoland (section)

==History==
Between 790 and 1250, Lake Flevo became connected with the North Sea. As a result, a number of villages were swallowed by the sea. The newly created inland sea was called Almere.

After a [[Flood of 1916|flood in 1916]], the decision was made to enclose and reclaim the Zuiderzee, an inland sea within the Netherlands, and thus the [[Zuiderzee Works]] started. Other sources<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.flevoland.nl/english/from-past-to-present/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803111622/http://www.flevoland.nl/english/from-past-to-present/|title=Pagina niet gevonden|date=21 February 2019|archive-date=3 August 2013|website=Provincie Flevoland}}</ref> indicate other times and reasons, but also agree that in 1932, the [[Afsluitdijk]] was completed, which closed off the sea completely. The Zuiderzee was later divided into [[IJsselmeer]] ([[mere (lake)|mere]] at the end of the river [[IJssel]]) and [[Markermeer]], planned to be mostly drained to make the [[Markerwaard]]. The Markerwaard was never built due to post-War [[fiscal conservatism|fiscal austerity]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

The first land reclaimed was the northeast [[polder]] (''[[Noordoostpolder]]'') in 1942. This took in the former small islands [[Urk]] and [[Schokland]]. It was at first added to the Province of [[Overijssel]].

In the southwest the [[Flevopolder]] &ndash; larger than the above &ndash; was then reclaimed; its northeastern half in 1957 and its southwestern half in 1968.

A key feature of the latter is a narrow body of water kept at three metres below sea level along the former coastline, to stabilize the water table and prevent coastal towns from losing their waterfront and access to the sea. Thus, the [[Flevopolder]] became an artificial island joined to the mainland by bridges. The municipalities on the three parts voted to become a province, shortly before this was effected in 1986.

Since that time, Flevoland is the youngest of the 12 [[provinces of the Netherlands]], having been granted this status in 1986. Its current sources of revenue are the cultivation of flowers, farming and tourism. In recent times, it has built many [[wind turbine]]s as a source of [[renewable energy]].