h.dirix
Rottumeroog, the beautiful.....The immense power of the sea
With the exception of a few decades in the distant past, Rottumeroog has always been an uninhabitaded island far away from the mainland.
The only residents were the National Beach Guardians and their families who had to ensure that the sea walls had to be maintained, because the island functioned as a huge breakwater for the mainland of the province of Groningen.
When the dikes in Groningen were brought to Delta height, this function disappeared and in 1991 the island was returned to nature by the Dutch government and the island has been at the mercy of the sea.
During northwesterly storms the seawater in the basin between the Netherlands, England, Nothwest Germany, Denmark and Norway is pushed up and the very high and long waves from the Atlantic can reach the eastern coasts.
As a result a so called "wash over" was created in 1999 and the island narrowly escaped a total disappearence by the seething waves.
The place were the relentless sea strucked is clearly visible from the old coastal light as a sandy spot as a sign that a very large part of the row of dunes has completely wiped out there.
During this wash over, millions of tons of sand moved from the west coast to the east coast of the island....
Rottumeroog, the beautiful.....The immense power of the sea
With the exception of a few decades in the distant past, Rottumeroog has always been an uninhabitaded island far away from the mainland.
The only residents were the National Beach Guardians and their families who had to ensure that the sea walls had to be maintained, because the island functioned as a huge breakwater for the mainland of the province of Groningen.
When the dikes in Groningen were brought to Delta height, this function disappeared and in 1991 the island was returned to nature by the Dutch government and the island has been at the mercy of the sea.
During northwesterly storms the seawater in the basin between the Netherlands, England, Nothwest Germany, Denmark and Norway is pushed up and the very high and long waves from the Atlantic can reach the eastern coasts.
As a result a so called "wash over" was created in 1999 and the island narrowly escaped a total disappearence by the seething waves.
The place were the relentless sea strucked is clearly visible from the old coastal light as a sandy spot as a sign that a very large part of the row of dunes has completely wiped out there.
During this wash over, millions of tons of sand moved from the west coast to the east coast of the island....