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search Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta showing the
Botlek (r).  The Botlek originally was the name of a stretch of
the Nieuwe Maas river, part of the Rhine-Meuse delta near the
Dutch cities of Vlaardingen and Spijkenisse in the province of
Zuid-Holland. Specifically, it was the name of the strait that
separated the island of Rozenburg from the sand bar of Welplaat.
The strait itself was merely the continuation of the Nieuwe
Maas, and the stretch of the river south of Rozenburg continued
to be called Nieuwe Maas until the confluence with het Scheur
formed the Brielse Maas estuary.  Major waterway regulation
works were carried out in the Netherlands in the 19th and 20th
centuries to improve water management and stop the delta from
silting up; the Botlek was dammed off at its southern end
(connecting Rozenburg and Welplaat) and remodelled into one of
the largest of the Rotterdam seaports (see also Europoort).
Coordinates: 51°52′59″N 4°17′39″E﻿