Deltaworks Virtual Tour
Background and History
The Netherlands is a low lying county, much of it below sea level. Throughout the ages, many devestating floods have claimed thousands of lives and large tracts of land. In 1570, the All Saints Flood engulfed half of Northern Holland, taking at least 5000 lives (and possibly more than 20,000, but exact data is not available).
The first migrants to settle in the Netherlands built their homes on embakements and constructed mounds for taking refuge during high water. Later on, the Romans dug canals and even constructed a dam to control flooding. However, it was not until the 19th century that technologies such as steam power and new materials like concrete made it possible to build stronger dykes. But they still could not defend the country from the prowess of Mother Nature.
Large floods occurred in 1906, 1916, and again in 1953—the worst flood in living memory. On January 31, 1953, the sea spilled over its dykes in the middle of the night, flooding 500,000 acres, killing 1835 people, and damaging 47,000 homes, factories, and offices.
“The Eighth Wonder of the World”
That same year, the newly appointed Delta Committee came up with a plan to strengthen the country’s flood defenses. The Delta Act, which was based on the committee’s plan, was signed into law in 1957. Among other things, the Act proposed creating several so-called “Deltaworks” in the southwest to shorten the coasline from 700 kilometers to just 25, reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. The Deltaworks system would include dams, sluices, locks, dikes, and storm surge barriers.
Oosterschelde Barrier
Oosterschelde Barrier
Maeslant Barrier
Haringvliet Sluices
The Delta Project presented enourmous challenges. Technologies and know-how to complete such a large scale project were lacking or simply did not exist. In fact, efforts to close off tidal inlets of this size and depth had not been previously attempted by any nation. It would take nearly 30-years and billions of dollars to realize the committee’s vision.
In October, 1986, the opening of the Eastern Sheldt storm surge barrier marked the completion of the original Delta Project’s ambitious feat of engineering to protect the Netherlands from future disasters. Buidling the Deltaworks was a colossal undertaking, sometimes referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world.”
The Future
Several more deltaworks have been constructed since 1986, with the most recent coming online in 1997. And due to climate change and relative sea-level rise, dikes will eventually need to be built higher and wider.
360° Bubble Panoramas
In June 2007, I was invited as a special guest to join Job van de Sande, head of Deltaworks Online, to document the country’s most important dams and sluices using kite aerial photography to produce a set of 360° Panoramas. Deltaworks Online is a non-profit organization seeking to provide reliable information about water management, flood protection and the deltaworks in the Netherlands.
- View the panoramas
- Visit Deltaworks Online to see the complete virtual tour and learn more about the Deltaworks.
360° view of the Hartel Barrier
Photos © 2007 Scott Haefner, Deltaworks Online.
