The Veluwe is the largest push moraine complex in the Netherlands, stretching 60 km (40 miles) from north to south, and reaching heights of up to 110 metres (360').

Glaciers some 200 metres (600') thick pushed the sand deposits in the Rhine and Maas Delta sideways, creating the hills which now form most of the Veluwe.

Because the hills are made of sand, rain water disappears rapidly, and then it flows at a depth of tens of metres (yards) to the edges where it reaches the surface again.

[1] Originally the Veluwe was surrounded by a string of swamps, heavily populated with game such as deer and wild boar because these areas offered rich vegetation to feed on.

There are 21 municipalities in the Veluwe region: Apeldoorn, Arnhem, Barneveld, Brummen, Ede, Elburg, Epe, Ermelo, Harderwijk, Hattem, Heerde, Nijkerk, Nunspeet, Oldebroek, Putten, Renkum, Rheden, Rozendaal, Scherpenzeel, Voorst and Wageningen.

In order to turn the entire Veluwe into one IUCN (Category II) standard National Park a number of actions have been taken, or are planned, including: bungalow parks located in a more sensitive natural area have been removed; taking down remaining fences, as around De Hoge Veluwe; an old industrial zone near the village of Renkum was cleared away because it blocked a valley that was important for the migration of wildlife; and a military complex near Nunspeet was removed instead of being redeveloped as a business area.