14 replies to this topic

[Hans van der Maarel]

Will, there is an other interesting source here:
http://www.stanford....e/pub.php?id=51
under the flash-animation there is a download link for the shapefiles,

This looks like a very nice dataset, a shapefile for every month and very detailed too. But there is one catch: it's showing the coastlines of the 1990s/2000s, and several bodies of water are omitted, in the case of The Netherlands this is wrong. It's not really a big issue at the scale Will is going to be working on, but I wanted to point it out anyway, in case somebody else was going to use the data as well.

[sorry... pet peeve of mine]

[Gorky]

This looks like a very nice dataset, a shapefile for every month and very detailed too. But there is one catch: it's showing the coastlines of the 1990s/2000s, and several bodies of water are omitted, in the case of The Netherlands this is wrong. It's not really a big issue at the scale Will is going to be working on, but I wanted to point it out anyway, in case somebody else was going to use the data as well.

[sorry... pet peeve of mine]

Hans, thanks for pointing onto the wrong costline, as a "midlander" I did not pick this issue. btw what bodies of water are you missing? lakes like lake constance, lake ladoga ?

[Hans van der Maarel]

Hans, thanks for pointing onto the wrong costline, as a "midlander" I did not pick this issue. btw what bodies of water are you missing? lakes like lake constance, lake ladoga ?

The Grevelingen, one of the sea-arms in the Rhine-Schelde delta. It's a common error by the way, I see that one's missing in many datasets.

[Gorky]

The Grevelingen, one of the sea-arms in the Rhine-Schelde delta. It's a common error by the way, I see that one's missing in many datasets.

Hans , thank you for this info - so I learned a bit geography of the netherlands now

[Hans van der Maarel]

I've split it off into a new thread.

 nl_land_reclamation.jpg   1.38MB   42 downloads

This is a (crappy cellphone pic of a) map showing the land reclamation in The Netherlands from 1300 through the early 1990s. The Markerwaard plans (brown) are shelved for the time being, chances are that'll never happen, but the enclosing dam is in place.

There's also work being one on an extension of the Maasvlakte at Europoort (the port of Rotterdam), easily visible if you switch between map and satellite view on Google Maps.

And then finally there's the Zandmotor (seen here under construction), a new method of coastal protection. Essentially it's a big load of sand dumped on the shore and over the next decades, currents will carry the sand north along the coast to reinforce the beaches.

[GeoEvan]

I'd love to see a simple map highlighting recent changes to the coastline....

[Hans van der Maarel]

I'd love to see a simple map highlighting recent changes to the coastline....

And I'd love to make one Seriouly, it's been on my list for a while now, just need to find the time to do it. Thing is, even in the 20th/21st centuries alone there's been massive changes, and if you go back to prehistoric and Roman times, it's even more dramatic.

[GeoEvan]

I'd love to see a simple map highlighting recent changes to the coastline....

And I'd love to make one Seriouly, it's been on my list for a while now, just need to find the time to do it. Thing is, even in the 20th/21st centuries alone there's been massive changes, and if you go back to prehistoric and Roman times, it's even more dramatic.

Sounds fascinating! If you do end up doing a map, hope you post it somewhere I'll see it (like this thread). :-) What actually interests me most is to know what changes are continuing to happen, since in a way that's part of the political geography happenings that I chronicle on Political Geography Now - the shape of the country changing. Is there a source you could recommend for keeping up with current and future changes to the coastline?

[Hans van der Maarel]

Sounds fascinating! If you do end up doing a map, hope you post it somewhere I'll see it (like this thread). :-) What actually interests me most is to know what changes are continuing to happen, since in a way that's part of the political geography happenings that I chronicle on Political Geography Now - the shape of the country changing. Is there a source you could recommend for keeping up with current and future changes to the coastline?

For the time being, I think we're done changing the coastline, although the Zandmotor I referred to earlier is going to erode away over the next 2 decades and the sand is going to be deposited along the coast.

The Waddenzee area (the area of water between the Frisian Islands and the mainland) is in a constant state of flux, the 5 major islands are relatively stable, but smaller ones shift all the time, or even drown completely.

There still are plans to build an airport out in the North Sea, but for now that's all they are, plans. As I'm sure you can imagine that's a major political issue with many pros and cons (the cost, environmental impact, jobs etc)

[François Goulet]

When in doubt about the Netherlands, ask Hans...

I still owe you one for telling me, about a week before completion of my first atlas (and sending it to print), that one of Netherlands' polder (the 'Markerwaard') that was on my map have never been made. The data came from ESRI Data and Maps (circa 2008) so I never thought to check, but thanks to Hans-Eagle-Eye, I was able to avoid that mistake.

Thanks Hans!

[GeoEvan]

Sounds fascinating! If you do end up doing a map, hope you post it somewhere I'll see it (like this thread). :-) What actually interests me most is to know what changes are continuing to happen, since in a way that's part of the political geography happenings that I chronicle on Political Geography Now - the shape of the country changing. Is there a source you could recommend for keeping up with current and future changes to the coastline?

For the time being, I think we're done changing the coastline, although the Zandmotor I referred to earlier is going to erode away over the next 2 decades and the sand is going to be deposited along the coast.

The Waddenzee area (the area of water between the Frisian Islands and the mainland) is in a constant state of flux, the 5 major islands are relatively stable, but smaller ones shift all the time, or even drown completely.

There still are plans to build an airport out in the North Sea, but for now that's all they are, plans. As I'm sure you can imagine that's a major political issue with many pros and cons (the cost, environmental impact, jobs etc)

I see. Good to know! How do you keep track of what changes have happened to the Zandmotor and the Waddenzee area? By looking at satellite photos?

[Hans van der Maarel]

I see. Good to know! How do you keep track of what changes have happened to the Zandmotor and the Waddenzee area? By looking at satellite photos?

That would be the only reliable way to keep track of it.

[GeoEvan]

I see. :-)

[Dennis McClendon]

Hans, may we assume that you've made sure Natural Earth Vector is in pretty good shape?

[Hans van der Maarel]

Hans, may we assume that you've made sure Natural Earth Vector is in pretty good shape?

Yes, there were some issues with that way back in the first versions, but I've corrected them and what Natural Earth is now showing is the current Dutch coastline.