What are the Zuiderzeewerken?
Q: What are the Zuiderzeewerken?
A: The Zuiderzeewerken are a system of dams, land reclamation and water drainage works in the Netherlands during the twentieth century.
Q: When did plans for the works first begin?
A: Plans for the works date back to the 1600s.
Q: What event finally caused Dutch parliament to agree to pay for them?
A: A very bad flood in 1916 finally caused Dutch parliament to agree to pay for them.
Q: What is the biggest dam built as part of this project?
A: The biggest dam built as part of this project is called the Afsluitdijk ('closure dyke'), which is 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) long.
Q: How did cutting off the South Sea create a new body of water?
A: When it was finished in 1932, cutting off the South Sea created a new lake called IJsselmeer.
Q: How does land reclamation work?
A: Land reclamation involves building more dams and pumping out any water inside so that new land can be created for agriculture and better flood protection since it makes the lake smaller.
Q: What purpose do gates and sluices serve at either end of Afsluitdijk?
A: Gates and sluices at either end of Afsluitdijk serve two purposes - they allow ships through via locks, while also allowing water out via sluices so that flooding doesn't occur due to rivers and polders being drained into it.
