Editing Botlek (section)

==History==
Botlek was originally the name of a stretch of the [[Nieuwe Maas]] river, part of the [[Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta|Rhine–Meuse delta]] near the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] cities of [[Vlaardingen]] and [[Spijkenisse]] in the [[Provinces of the Netherlands|province]] of [[South Holland]]. Specifically, it was the name of the [[strait]] that separated the island of [[Rozenburg]] from the [[bar (landform)|sand bar]] of Welplaat. The strait itself was merely the continuation of the [[Nieuwe Maas]], and the stretch of the river south of Rozenburg continued to be called [[Nieuwe Maas]] until the confluence with [[Het Scheur]] formed the Brielse Maas [[estuary]] (now the [[Brielse Meer]]).

Major [[waterway]] regulation works were carried out in the Netherlands in the 19th and 20th centuries to improve water management and stop the delta from silting up; the Botlek was dammed off at its southern end (connecting Rozenburg and Welplaat) and remodelled into one of the largest of the Rotterdam seaports.