Europoort

Europoort (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈøːroːpoːrt], English: Eurogate, also "Europort") is an area of the Port of Rotterdam and the adjoining industrial area in the Netherlands. Being situated at Southside of the mouth of the rivers Rhine and Meuse with the hinterland consisting of the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and partly France, Europoort is by certain measurements the world's busiest port and considered a major entry to Europe.

The Europoort area is very heavily industrialised with petrochemical refineries and storage tanks, bulk iron ore and coal handling as well as container and new motor vehicle terminals.

Europoort is situated on the South bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg, same as the Maasvlakte area. On the Northern bank of the Nieuwe Waterweg you find Hook of Holland (in Dutch: Hoek van Holland).

Rotterdam has developed from a small town into a major harbour city. In earlier centuries, docks were built on the banks of the Nieuwe Maas river. In the 19th century, connections between Rotterdam and the North Sea were poor, with a large estuary/delta area with many small waterways between them. Ships had to sail around Voorne-Putten to go out to sea. This could take several days or even weeks.

To improve the situation, the Nieuwe Waterweg ("New Waterway"), a large canal, was designed to connect the Rhine and Meuse rivers to the sea. The Nieuwe Waterweg was designed to be partly dug, then to further deepen the canal bed by the natural flow of the water. Ultimately however, the last part had to be dug also. Nevertheless, Rotterdam from now on had a direct connection between the sea and harbour areas with sufficient depth. The Nieuwe Waterweg has since been deepened several times.

...
Wikipedia