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The 'Nieuwe Maas'(English: ''New Meuse'') is a river branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the Netherlands. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas, near Vlaardingen, to form Het Scheur. The total length is approximately 24 kilometers.
The Nieuwe Maas flows through some of the most densely populated and developed areas in the Netherlands. Along its shores are numerous harbours and industries.

Contents

History

Links across the Nieuwe Maas

History

During the early Middle Ages the Nieuwe Maas was considered to be the continuation of the river Merwede and was named accordingly. In the original situation, the Merwede was the continuation of the river Waal (itself being a distributary branch of the river Rhine), but after some major floods the river Meuse shifted its course towards the Merwede as well. From that moment on, several stretches of the original Merwede were named Meuse instead.
As a result, for many centuries the Nieuwe Maas and its sibling Oude Maas were considered part of the Meuse delta. Near Vlaardingen, these two met and then split again at the island of Rozenburg: the north branch was known as Het Scheur and the south branch as Nieuwe Maas or Brielse Maas (Brill Meuse) because it flowed close to Brielle. They met again to form an estuary known as Maasmond ("Mouth of Meuse"). However, both Meuse and Rhine shifted their courses southwards again. As a result, the Nieuwe Maas is once again a primary distributary branch of the Rhine, while the Meuse is currently delivering only very small amounts of water towards its former mouth.

With the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg, the lower Nieuwe Maas no longer reaches the sea as a primary outflow for the river Rhine. The Brielse Maas section was dammed off from Het Scheur in the middle of the 20th century (now forming Briel Lake), forcing all waters to flow through the artificial Nieuwe Waterweg.

Links across the Nieuwe Maas

From west to east:

★ Beneluxtunnel (tunnel; motor vehicles, cyclists and metro)

★ Maastunnel (tunnel; motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians)

★ Erasmusbrug (bridge; motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians, trams)

★ Maastaxi (ferry; pedestrians)

★ Metrotunnel (tunnel; metro)

★ Willemstunnel (tunnel; train)

★ Willemsbrug (bridge; motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians)

★ Van Brienenoordbrug (bridge; motor vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians)