Geography
Around the IJsselmeer is an arc of boulder clay high areas of land, which formed during the Ice Age glaciations of the Pleistocene epoch: Texel, Wieringen, Urk, de Voorst, and Gaasterland. To south of that arc, as a result of meltwater, a lake formed, which became known as Almere. North of the boulder clay highland of Urk, the Vecht river flowed into the Almere, while the river IJssel with tributaries flowed in to the south of Urk. As the climate became warmer during the Middle Ages, the sea level rose; and since the Ice Age ended the Netherlands and around have been slowly steadily sinking because of forebulge effect. During the 13th century (and especially after a large storm in 1282) the Zuiderzee formed, and the water round Urk suddenly became tidal sea. Because there was no sea defence, in the course of time large pieces of the island were eroded away. The southwest side of Urk, which rose perpendicularly out of the sea, was called het Hoge Klif ("the High Cliff"). Around 1700 the municipality of Amsterdam gave sea defences to Urk.
Read more about this topic: Urk
Famous quotes containing the word geography:
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)