Junior Certificate Geography
How to make a Polder!
Land reclaimed from the sea in Holland is called Polder land or simply polders.
How did the Dutch reclaim land from the sea? Scroll through these pages to find out.
Low lying land is selected for reclamation
A Dam is built. This will eventually protect the polder from the sea.
The Barrier Dam in Holland is 90m wide on top and carries a motorway.
Water pumped out
The sea water is pumped out of the area being reclaimed using pumps.
The dam has PUMP HOUSES which regularly remove water from the polder.
Salt Loving Plants
Salt loving plants like MARRAM GRASS are planted. These help absorb
salt from the soil.
It takes 5 YEARS before a polder is ready for use.
CANAL
When the polder is ready for use the land is ploughed and leveled.
Land uses are then allocated. These include farming, housing and forestry.
Canals are built to help drain water from the land.