Western Scheldt

Western Scheldt
or Westerschelde

Estuary, southwestern Netherlands.

An inlet of the North Sea at the mouth of the Schelde River, it flows west for about 30 mi (50 km) through the Delta Islands to the North Sea. It has been an important transportation route since the 16th century, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V designated Vlissingen as his port of embarkation from the Netherlands. It continues to operate as an important shipping route to many destinations, including Antwerp.

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▪ estuary, The Netherlands
Dutch  Westerschelde, 

      estuary, flowing westward for about 30 miles (50 km) through the Delta Islands in southwestern Netherlands (Netherlands, The) to the North Sea. The former islands of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland (now a peninsula) are located to the north of the estuary. The Zeeuws Vlaanderen region, consisting mainly of land that was reclaimed during the 16th and 17th centuries, lies to the south. The Western Scheldt is formed in the east where the Scheldt River enters The Netherlands from Belgium. It has been an important transportation route since the 16th century, when the Holy Roman emperor Charles V designated Vlissingen (on Walcheren) as his port of embarkation from the Netherlands. Unlike inlets to the north, the Western Scheldt continues to be kept open to the North Sea as an important and very crowded shipping route to Antwerp and destinations on canalized waterways farther north, south, and east.

      Dikes built along most of the coastline prevent flooding. The estuary is not bridged; ferry services operate between Vlissingen and Breskens, and Perkpolder and Kruiningen.

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Universalium. 2010.

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