Netherlands: Enclosure Dam & IJsselmeer

This photo shows the Afsluitdijk (Engish: Enclosure Dam), a 32 kilometer causeway in the Netherlands. The creation of the Enclosure Dam, completed in 1933, seperated Zuiderzee, a shallow bay, from the North Sea. The result was the creation of IJsselmeer (pictured here at the right), an artificial freshwater lake, and increased stability of the water, which protected ships and housing in the surrounding areas.