Hollands Diep

Through the Scheldt-Rhine Canal it connects to the Scheldt river and Antwerp.

The Hollands Diep was formed as a result of the extensive flood of 1216, which breached the dunes of Voorne and created a deep saltwater inlet (the current Haringvliet).

From that moment on, the freshwater part of the estuary (east of the Hellegatsplein) was renamed Hollands Diep.

The former river Striene, that used to connect the Meuse with the Scheldt, was completely destroyed by these floods and can no longer be recognised on maps.

At the point where the Hollands Diep splits, there is a road traffic node on an artificial island (the Hellegatsplein), connecting to the Hoeksche Waard island on the north by the Haringvliet bridge, to the Goeree-Overflakkee on the west by the Hellegatsdam, and to the mainland on the southeast by the Volkerak Sluices.