Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta

The result is a multitude of islands, branches and branch names, in which a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may have numerous separate names for different sections, e.g. Rhine → Bijlands Kanaal → Pannerdens Kanaal → Nederrijn → Lek → Nieuwe Maas → Het Scheur → Nieuwe Waterweg.

The delta is the entrance from the North Sea to the German and Central European hinterland (and to a lesser extent France).

Before the St. Elizabeth's flood (1421) the Meuse flowed just south of today's line Merwede–Oude Maas to the North Sea and formed an archipelago-like estuary with the Waal and the Lek.

This system of numerous bays, estuary-like extended rivers, many islands and constant changes of the coastline, is hard to imagine today.

For flood protection reasons, the Meuse was separated from the Waal through a lock and diverted into a new outlet called the "Bergse Maas", then the Amer flowing into the former bay known as the Hollands Diep.

The northwestern part of the estuary (around Hook of Holland), is still called Maasmond ("Meuse Mouth"), ignoring the fact that it now carries only water from the Rhine.

This meant that high tide formed a serious risk because strong tidal currents could tear huge areas of land into the sea.

Pliny the Elder's Natural History gives a list of tribes living in the "Gaulish islands", within the delta region between different mouths of the Rhine.

Partition of Rhine and Meuse water among the various branches of their delta (Scheldt in lower left; Meuse labelled "Maas")
The central and northern parts of the Rhine-Meuse delta (Scheldt not visible)
Satellite image of the Northern part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta: 1. Part of the island of Goeree-Overflakkee 2. The island of Tiengemeten 3. The west end of the province of North Brabant 4. The island Voorne 5. The island of Putten 6. The island of Hoeksche Waard 7. The island of Dordrecht 8. The national park of De Biesbosch 9. The island of IJsselmonde 10. The island of Rozenburg 11. Part of the province of South Holland a. The Oude Maasje stream b. The Bergse Maas ship canal c. The Afgedamde Maas section of the Meuse d. River Waal e. River Boven Merwede f. The Nieuwe Merwede ship canal g. The Amer estuary h. The Hollands Diep strait i. River Dordtsche Kil j. River Beneden Merwede k. River Noord l. River Lek m. River Hollandse IJssel n. River Nieuwe Maas o. River Oude Maas p. River Spui q. River Bernisse r. The former strait of Botlek , now part of the Rotterdam sea port s. River Het Scheur t. The Nieuwe Waterweg ship canal u. The Brielse Meer (Lake Brielle, a former Rhine branch called Nieuwe Maas-Brielse Maas) v. The Haringvliet strait w. The Krammer strait x. Lake Grevelingen y. The North Sea .
Changing the Meuse estuary in 1904: light blue old course, dark blue today's course