West Frisian Islands Waddeneilanden

The West Frisian islands are continued to the east by the East Frisian islands off the coast of Germany. The chain of islands protects the mainland, from which they are separated by the Waddenzee, from the open North Sea.As recently as 2,500 years ago the Waddenzee was a large expanse of moorland which was sheltered from the destructive force of the sea by a barrier of sand mixed with flotsam cast up by the waves. Thereafter the steady rise in sea level resulting from the melting of the glaciers of the last ice age combined with the subsidence of the land led to the flooding of great stretches of the old moorland. The most devastating storm tides occurred during the Middle Ages, when both the Waddenzee and the Zuiderzee (now, since the construction of the Afsluitdijk in 1932, the IJsselmeer) came into being. The present chain of islands is the remnant of the old coastal barrier, breached in many places by the sea. On the seaward side the West Frisian islands are fringed by young dunes, which tend to be driven steadily eastward by marine currents and westerly winds. This movement has now largely been halted by the planting of marram grass and the construction of groynes.In addition to sheep farming, fishing and arable farming in some areas the summer tourist trade is now a major element in the islands' economy. The miles of beaches of light-colored sand are among the most beautiful in the world, and many visitors are also attracted by the many nature reserves, in which thousands of seabirds nest or spend the winter, for example on the north coast of Texel (Schorren) and on the islands of Vlieland and Terschelling (Boschplaat).