Oude Maas
Encyclopedia
The Oude Maas is a distributary
of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River
, in the Dutch
province
of South Holland
. It begins at the city of Dordrecht
where the Beneden Merwede
river splits into the Noord River and the Oude Maas. It ends when it joins the Nieuwe Maas
to form Het Scheur
forks off and after that the Oude Maas forms the northern boundary of the Hoeksche Waard
island, flowing west until the Spui river forks off at the town of Oud-Beijerland
. The Oude Maas then heads northwest between the towns/cities of Spijkenisse
and Hoogvliet
and joins river Nieuwe Maas
opposite the city of Vlaardingen
, the combined river is known as Het Scheur
and flows to the North Sea.
The river is tidal and has nature and recreation areas.
the main flow of the Maas followed a path towards the sea that have now mostly disappeared, leaving the Binnenbedijkte Maas lake as only remaining remnant. In the 13th century a major flood forced the Maas to shift its main course north towards the Merwede
river (which is the continuation of the Waal
river, thus being part of the Rhine delta). From then on, several stretches of the original Merwede were named Maas instead and served as the primary outflow of that river. Those branches are currently known as the Nieuwe Maas
and Oude Maas. For several centuries the Nieuwe and Oude Maas were considered part of the Maas delta. Near Vlaardingen, these two met and then split again at the island of Rozenburg
: the north branch was known as Het Scheur and the south branch as either Nieuwe Maas or Brielse Maas because it flowed close to Brielle
. Het Scheur and the Brielse Maas then met again to form an estuary
known as Maasmond ("Mouth of Meuse").
However, during another series of severe floods the Maas found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the Biesbosch
wetlands and Hollands Diep
estuaries. Thereafter, the Maas split near Heusden
into two main distributaries, one flowing north to join the Merwede, and one flowing directly to the sea. This diminished the influence of the Maas on the Oude and Nieuwe Maas distributaries. The branch of the Maas leading directly to the sea eventually silted up, (and now forms the Oude Maasje
stream), but in 1904 the canalised Bergse Maas was dug to take over the functions of the silted-up branch. At the same time, the branch leading to the Merwede was dammed at Heusden, (and has since been known as the Afgedamde Maas
) so that little water from the Maas now enters the old Maas estaury, or the Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works
and Delta Works
. Since then, the vast majority of the flow of the Oude and Nieuwe Maas come from the Rhine, and not the Maas.
island on the north:
Distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...
of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River
Meuse River
The Maas or Meuse is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea...
, in the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of South Holland
South Holland
South Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
. It begins at the city of Dordrecht
Dordrecht
Dordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
where the Beneden Merwede
Beneden Merwede
The Beneden Merwede is a stretch of river in the Netherlands, the continuation of the Boven Merwede after the branching-off of the Nieuwe Merwede ship canal. It flows from Hardinxveld-Giessendam to Dordrecht, where it splits into the Noord and Oude Maas rivers. Its length is 14.9 km...
river splits into the Noord River and the Oude Maas. It ends when it joins the Nieuwe Maas
Nieuwe Maas
The Nieuwe Maas distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen,...
to form Het Scheur
Het Scheur
Het Scheur is a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in South Holland, Netherlands, that flows west from the confluence of the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas branches past the towns of Rozenburg and Maassluis...
Geography
The Oude Maas forms the southern boundary of the IJsselmonde island. Soon after Dordrecht the Dordtsche KilDordtsche Kil
The Dordtsche Kil is a short river in South Holland in the Netherlands. The river is tidal and forms the connection between the Oude Maas river and the Hollands Diep...
forks off and after that the Oude Maas forms the northern boundary of the Hoeksche Waard
Hoeksche Waard
thumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]], showing the [[island]] of Hoekse Waard The Hoeksche Waard is an island between the Oude Maas, Dordtsche Kil, Hollands Diep, Haringvliet and Spui rivers in the province of Zuid Holland in the...
island, flowing west until the Spui river forks off at the town of Oud-Beijerland
Oud-Beijerland
Oud-Beijerland is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. With a population of 23,797 in 2005, it is the most populated town on the Hoekse Waard island, located on the Oude Maas and Spui Rivers....
. The Oude Maas then heads northwest between the towns/cities of Spijkenisse
Spijkenisse
Spijkenisse is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 74,482 in 2006, and covers an area of 30.23 km²...
and Hoogvliet
Hoogvliet
Hoogvliet is a town and separate borough within Rotterdam in the Netherlands. As of 1 January 2004, it had 36,619 inhabitants. There is also a named after the district.-History:...
and joins river Nieuwe Maas
Nieuwe Maas
The Nieuwe Maas distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen,...
opposite the city of Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen
Vlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
, the combined river is known as Het Scheur
Het Scheur
Het Scheur is a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in South Holland, Netherlands, that flows west from the confluence of the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas branches past the towns of Rozenburg and Maassluis...
and flows to the North Sea.
The river is tidal and has nature and recreation areas.
History
The hydrological distribution of the Maas have always been subject to change. During the early Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the main flow of the Maas followed a path towards the sea that have now mostly disappeared, leaving the Binnenbedijkte Maas lake as only remaining remnant. In the 13th century a major flood forced the Maas to shift its main course north towards the Merwede
Merwede
The Merwede is the name of several interconnected stretches of river in The Netherlands, all part of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. The Meuse river joins the Waal at Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede...
river (which is the continuation of the Waal
Waal
River Waal is the main distributary branch of river Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands for about before joining the Meuse near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. It is a major river which serves as the main waterway connecting the Rotterdam harbor and Germany. Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel...
river, thus being part of the Rhine delta). From then on, several stretches of the original Merwede were named Maas instead and served as the primary outflow of that river. Those branches are currently known as the Nieuwe Maas
Nieuwe Maas
The Nieuwe Maas distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas , near Vlaardingen,...
and Oude Maas. For several centuries the Nieuwe and Oude Maas were considered part of the Maas delta. Near Vlaardingen, these two met and then split again at the island of Rozenburg
Rozenburg
Rozenburg is a town and former municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of 13,173 in 2004, and covers an area of 6.50 km² . It was the second-smallest municipality in the Netherlands in area...
: the north branch was known as Het Scheur and the south branch as either Nieuwe Maas or Brielse Maas because it flowed close to Brielle
Brielle
Brielle , also called Den Briel is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The municipality covers an area of 31.12 km² of which 3.63 km² is water...
. Het Scheur and the Brielse Maas then met again to form an estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
known as Maasmond ("Mouth of Meuse").
However, during another series of severe floods the Maas found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the Biesbosch
Biesbosch
De Biesbosch , is one of the largest national parks of the Netherlands and one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe. The Biesbosch consists of a rather large network of rivers and smaller and larger creeks with islands. The vegetation is mostly willow forests, although wet grasslands and...
wetlands and Hollands Diep
Hollands Diep
Hollands Diep is a wide river in the Netherlands and an estuary of the Rhine and Meuse river. Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp....
estuaries. Thereafter, the Maas split near Heusden
Heusden
Heusden is a municipality and a city in the South of the Netherlands. It is located between the cities Waalwijk and 's-Hertogenbosch.- Population centres :...
into two main distributaries, one flowing north to join the Merwede, and one flowing directly to the sea. This diminished the influence of the Maas on the Oude and Nieuwe Maas distributaries. The branch of the Maas leading directly to the sea eventually silted up, (and now forms the Oude Maasje
Oude Maasje
The Oude Maasje is a former distributary of the river Maas , which runs parallel to the current canalised Bergse Maas.-History:...
stream), but in 1904 the canalised Bergse Maas was dug to take over the functions of the silted-up branch. At the same time, the branch leading to the Merwede was dammed at Heusden, (and has since been known as the Afgedamde Maas
Afgedamde Maas
The Afgedamde Maas is a former distributary of the Maas River in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Maas splits near Heusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the river Waal to form the Merwede, while the other continues west as the main distributary of the Maas...
) so that little water from the Maas now enters the old Maas estaury, or the Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works
Zuiderzee Works
The Zuiderzee Works are a manmade system of dams, land reclamation and water drainage works, the largest hydraulic engineering project undertaken by the Netherlands during the twentieth century. The project involved the damming of the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, and the...
and Delta Works
Delta Works
The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. The works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dikes, levees, and storm surge barriers...
. Since then, the vast majority of the flow of the Oude and Nieuwe Maas come from the Rhine, and not the Maas.
Transport
Connections from the IJsselmondeIJsselmonde
IJsselmonde is a river island between the Nieuwe Maas, Noord and Oude Maas branches rivers of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Dutch province of South Holland. The city of Rotterdam now occupies most of the northern part of the island and includes the eponymous former village of IJsselmonde, once a...
island on the north:
- with DordrechtDordrechtDordrecht , colloquially Dordt, historically in English named Dort, is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the fourth largest city of the province, having a population of 118,601 in 2009...
island:- road bridge
- road tunnel
- railway bridge
- with Hoeksche WaardHoeksche Waardthumb|right|[[Satellite]] [[image]] of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]], showing the [[island]] of Hoekse Waard The Hoeksche Waard is an island between the Oude Maas, Dordtsche Kil, Hollands Diep, Haringvliet and Spui rivers in the province of Zuid Holland in the...
island:- 1st and 2nd Heinenoordtunnel (motor vehicles, cyclists)
- with Voorne-PuttenVoorne-Puttenthumb|225px|right|Satellite image of the [[Rhine]]-[[Meuse river|Meuse]] [[river delta|delta]], showing the island of Voorne-Putten Voorne-Putten is an island between the North Sea, the Brielse meer and the rivers Oude Maas, Spui and Haringvliet in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands...
island:- Spijkenisser Bridge (motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians)
- metro tunnel