History
The distribution of the Maas changed during the later Middle Ages, when a major flood forced it to shift its main course towards the Merwede river. From then on, several stretches of the original Merwede were named Maas instead and served as the primary outflow of that river. These are currently known as the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas. However, during another series of severe floods the Maas found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the Biesbosch and Hollands Diep. The branch leading to the Merwede is the current Afgedamde Maas, whilst the other branch of the Maas eventually silted up and now forms a stream called Oude Maasje.
The canalised Bergse Maas, which takes its name from the town of Geertruidenberg, was constructed in the basin of the latter branch, to take over its functions, in 1904. At the same time, the Afgedamde Maas was dammed up, so that the flow of Maas is effectively separated from that of the Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Meuse is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works and Delta Works.
Read more about this topic: Afgedamde Maas
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