Zuider Zee
a large gulf of the North Sea, penetrating deep into the Netherlands; about 60 miles in length, and 210 miles in circumference. The is- . The is lands Texel, Vlieland, Ter Schelling, Ameland, and Schiermonnikoog, reach ing in a chain from the most N. point of Holland, are the remains of the former line of coast, and form a breakwater against the North Sea. From Dunkirk in French Flanders to the N. of Holland the interior is defended from the sea by sandhills or dunes. Here, as at the mouth of the Scheldt, the sand barrier was broken, and in 1282 the waters overflowing the low lands separated the province of Friesland from the peninsula of North Holland, and, having united with the small inner lake Flevo, formed the present Zuider Zee. In it lie the islands Wieringen, Urk, Schokland, and Marken .
From the S. W. of the Zuider Zee a long narrow arm, called the Y (pronounced I), formerly ran nearly due W. through the peninsula of Holland. A strong sea dyke and locks have been constructed to cut off the Zuider Zee from the Y, through which there is a broad ship canal between Amsterdam and the North Sea. On both sides of the canal the Y has been drained and turned into about 12,000 acres of rich land. The waterway formally opened by the king in was 1876.
ZULULAND. See NATAL.