The industrial town and port of Delfzijl, founded in the 13th century, lies in the Groningen marshland area which extends along the coast of the Waddenzee from Friesland to the estuary of the Eems. The Delfzijl harbour is a scenic area for walking and sightseeing. The inhabitants' main source of income is agriculture. The
principal crops on the fertile soil of this area are wheat, sugar-beet, barley and rape. Characteristic features of the landscape are the handsome farmhouses of the old terp villages with their unusually large barns. Much of the agricultural produce of the region is exported, mostly by water.
Delfzijl is linked with Groningen by the Eems Canal (navigable by vessels of 2,000 tons), along the banks of which numerous fields of natural gas are now being worked.