Marine clay areas

In the marine clay areas there are remnants of creeks and old dikes. Some of the original strip and block parcellation of land has vanished because of land development schemes, and meandering creeks have been straightened or have disappeared.

Characteristics

The marine clay areas are built up from clay deposited by the sea. The meandering watercourses (the remnants of creeks), plot boundaries and roads - often on ridges - testify to times when the tides had free rein in this area.

In the Middle Ages, dikes were built to protect the marine clay area from the sea. The oldest endiked areas are still recognisable from their irregular plots, watercourses and roads, and their use as grassland. The more recent and thus younger land typically has geometrical road and land parcellation patterns (strips or rectangles). An important part of the marine clay area is under cultivation, but in parts of Friesland grassland is dominant.

Trends

The openness of the marine clay areas suggests an unspoiled cultivated landscape, yet in many areas the original land parcellation pattern has vanished because of land development. The southwestern marine clay area has been particularly affected; here, land consolidation was carried out swiftly after the disastrous floods of 1953. This can be seen from the sharp fall in strip and irregular plots after 1950. Many meandering watercourses and roads vanished or were straightened at this time, and some of the lines of trees on dikes were cut down. As a result, the pattern of the empoldering has become less visible.