Editing Holland (section)

== Geography ==
{{Further|Geography of the Netherlands}}
[[File:Provincie Noord-Holland.gif|thumb|right|North Holland]]
[[File:Provincie Zuid-Holland.gif|thumb|right|South Holland]]
Holland is located in the west of the Netherlands. A maritime region, Holland lies on the [[North Sea]] at the mouths of the [[Rhine]] and the [[Meuse]] (Maas). It contains numerous rivers and lakes, and has an extensive inland canal and waterway system. To the south is [[Zeeland|Zealand]]. The region is bordered on the east by the [[IJsselmeer]] and four Dutch provinces.

Holland is protected from the sea by a long line of coastal [[dune]]s. The highest point in Holland, about {{convert|55|m|ft}} above sea level,<ref>{{cite web |title=Highpoints of the Netherlands |url=http://www.summitpost.org/highpoints-of-the-netherlands/462452 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920044727/http://www.summitpost.org/highpoints-of-the-netherlands/462452 |archive-date=20 September 2015}}</ref> is in the {{Ill|Schoorlse Duinen|nl}} (Schoorl Dunes). Most of the land area behind the dunes consists of [[polder]] landscape lying well below [[sea level]]. At present the lowest point in Holland is a polder near [[Rotterdam]], which is about {{convert|7|m|ft|lk=out}} below sea level. Continuous drainage is necessary to keep Holland from flooding. In earlier centuries, [[windmill]]s were used for this task. The landscape was (and in places still is) dotted with windmills, which have become a symbol of Holland.

Holland is {{convert|7,494|km2|lk=out|abbr=off}}, land and water included, making it roughly 13% of the area of the Netherlands. Looking at land alone, it is {{convert|5,488|km2|abbr=off}} in area. The combined population was 6.5&nbsp;million in 2018.<ref name="stat">{{in lang|nl}} [http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37230ned&D1=0-2,4-5,7-8,13-17&D2=0,4,8,12-13,30,77&D3=195-206,208-212&HDR=G2&STB=G1,T&VW=T] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727145855/http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37230ned&D1=0-2,4-5,7-8,13-17&D2=0,4,8,12-13,30,77&D3=195-206,208-212&HDR=G2&STB=G1,T&VW=T|date=2018-07-27}} Statline CBS: Bevolkingsontwikkeling per maand.</ref>

The main cities in Holland are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. [[Amsterdam]] is formally the [[capital of the Netherlands]] and its largest city. The [[Port of Rotterdam]] is Europe's largest and most important harbour and port. [[The Hague]] is the [[seat of government]] of the Netherlands. These cities, combined with [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]] and other smaller municipalities, effectively form a single [[Conurbation|metroplex]]—a conurbation called [[Randstad]].

The Randstad area is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe, but still relatively free of [[urban sprawl]]. There are strict [[zoning laws]]. Population pressures are enormous, property values are high, and new housing is constantly under development on the edges of the built-up areas. Nevertheless, much of the province still has a rural character. The remaining agricultural land and natural areas are highly valued and protected. Most of the arable land is used for [[Intensive farming|intensive agriculture]], including horticulture and [[greenhouse]] agri-businesses.

=== Reclamation of the land ===
[[File:Benthuizen dijk polder.jpg|thumb|left|[[Benthuizen]] [[polder]], as seen from a [[Dyke (embankment)|dike]]]]
The land that is now Holland has not been geographically "stable" since prehistoric times. The western coastline shifted up to {{convert|30|km|abbr=off}} to the east and storm surges regularly broke through the row of coastal dunes. The [[Frisian Islands|Frisian Isles]], originally joined to the mainland, became detached islands in the north. The main rivers, the [[Rhine]] and the [[Meuse|Meuse (Maas)]], flooded regularly and changed course repeatedly and dramatically.

The people of Holland found themselves living in an unstable, watery environment. Behind the [[dunes]] on the coast of the Netherlands a high [[peat]] plateau had grown, forming a natural protection against the sea. Much of the area was [[marsh]] and [[bog]]. By the tenth century the inhabitants set about cultivating this land by draining it. However, the drainage resulted in extreme soil shrinkage, lowering the surface of the land by up to {{convert|15|m|ft|abbr=off}}.

To the south of Holland, in [[Zeeland]], and to the north, in [[Frisia]], this development led to [[Floods in the Netherlands|catastrophic storm floods]] literally washing away entire regions, as the peat layer disintegrated or became detached and was carried away by the flood water. From the Frisian side the sea even flooded the area to the east, gradually hollowing Holland out from behind and forming the [[Zuiderzee]] (the present IJsselmeer). This inland sea threatened to link up with the "drowned lands" of Zealand in the south, reducing Holland to a series of narrow dune [[barrier island]]s in front of a [[lagoon]]. Only drastic administrative intervention saved the county from utter destruction. The counts and large monasteries took the lead in these efforts, building the first heavy emergency [[Dike (construction)|dikes]] to bolster critical points. Later special autonomous administrative bodies were formed, the ''[[waterschap]]pen'' ("water control boards"), which had the legal power to enforce their regulations and decisions on [[water management]]. They eventually constructed an extensive dike system that covered the coastline and the polders, thus protecting the land from further incursions by the sea.

However, the Hollanders did not stop there. Starting around the 16th century, they took the offensive and began [[land reclamation]] projects, converting lakes, marshy areas and adjoining mudflats into [[polder]]s. This continued well into the 20th century. As a result, historical maps of [[Middle Ages|medieval]] and early modern Holland bear little resemblance to present maps.

This ongoing struggle to master the water played an important role in the development of Holland as a maritime and economic power, and has traditionally been seen as developing the presumed collective character of its inhabitants: stubborn, egalitarian and frugal.