Land reclamation facts for kids

Land reclamation is a way of creating brand new land. This often happens in areas near the coast, like by the ocean. It can also be done in places like rivers and lakes.

Normally, nature slowly fills these watery areas with sand, dirt, and other materials. Land reclamation uses the same idea, but it speeds up this natural process a lot! Often, this is done by building special walls called dikes. A famous example is the IJsselmeer in the Netherlands, where a lot of new land has been made.

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  Land reclamation in Germany

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  The Flevopolder in the Netherlands, reclaimed from the IJsselmeer, is the largest artificial island in the world.

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  Land Reclamation in the Beirut Central District

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  The whole district of Fontvieille, Monaco was reclaimed from the sea

How is New Land Made?

One way to make new land is to let nature help. Special plants, like Salicornia or Ammophila, can grow in these wet areas. As these plants grow and die, they help to build up the soil. When the land gets high enough, new ditches can be dug to help drain water, and the process can continue.

Pumping Out Water

Sometimes, waiting for the land to rise naturally takes too long. In these cases, engineers can pump out the water from an area that has been surrounded by dikes. This is how many areas in the Netherlands were created, as much of their land is actually below sea level!

The challenge with this method is that the water needs to be pumped out again and again. For example, if there is a lot of rain, the pumps have to work hard to keep the land dry.

What is Not Land Reclamation?

It's important to know that creating large, artificial islands is usually not called land reclamation. For example, the famous Palm Islands in Dubai or the Maasvlakte, which is part of the port of Rotterdam, are artificial islands. While they are new land, they are built differently from traditional land reclamation projects.

Images for kids

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  Reclaiming in Mounts Bay, Perth, Australia 1964

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  Hong Kong's old airport (pictured) and new airport were built on reclaimed land.

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  East Coast Park in Singapore was built on reclaimed land with a man-made beach.

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  Land reclamation in progress in Bingzhou (丙州) Peninsula (formerly, island) of the Dongzui Bay (东咀港). Tong'an District, Xiamen, China

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  Parts (highlighted in brown) of the San Francisco Bay were reclaimed from wetlands for urban use.

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  A map of reclaimed land (grey area) in Hong Kong. Many of the urban areas of Hong Kong are on reclaimed land.

See also

In Spanish: Tierras ganadas al mar para niños