Drenthe

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sand deposited in later phases of the ice age.

There were formerly great expanses of heath between the traditional farming villages of Drenthe outside the moorland area, but over the last 80 years these have been replaced partly by plantations of pines but mainly by fields of rye, oats and potatoes. Most of the holdings are of less than 20 hectares/50 acres, but in the high moorland areas holdings of 50 hectares/125 acres are by no means rare.

In Drenthe industry takes second place to agriculture. Only in the southeast of the province is there any significant amount of industry, for after the cutting of peat was abandoned in this area a large labor force became available for employment. In addition the extraction of oil around Schoonebeek and Meppel has become of increasing importance in recent years.