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| Afgedamde Maas | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | North Brabant, Gelderland |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Maas |
| • location | Heusden |
| Mouth | Boven Merwede |
• location | Woudrichem |
TheAfgedamde Maas (Dutch pronunciation:[ˌɑfxədɑmdəˈmaːs]; Dammed-up Meuse) is a former distributary of theMaas River (French: Meuse) in theDutchprovinces ofNorth Brabant andGelderland. The Maas splits nearHeusden with one channel flowing north until its confluence with the riverWaal (the main distributary of the riverRhine) to form theMerwede, while the other channel (theBergse Maas) continues west as the main distributary of the Maas.
The current Afgedamde Maas was created in the late Middle Ages, when a major flood made a connection between the Maas and theMerwede at the town ofWoudrichem. From that moment on, the current Afgedamde Maas was the main branch of the river Maas. The former main branch eventually silted up and is today called theOude Maasje. With the completion of theWilhelminasluis (nl) in 1896, the connection between the Maas and Rhine was closed. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas reduced the risk of flooding and is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of theZuiderzee Works andDelta Works.[1][2] In 1904, the Maas was damned off at its southern end and given an artificial mouth, theBergse Maas. The closed off portion was then named theAfgedamde Maas and was connected to the Bergse Maas via theHeusden Canal to retain shipping between the Maas and Rhine.[3] Floods of the waterway in 1993 and 1995, however, created the need to be able to close the Heusden Canal off from the Bergse Maas and maintain a fixed water level, and theKromme Nolkering (nl)control lock was completed in 2002.[3]
There is a carferry, not operating on Sundays, and a foot passenger ferry.[1]
51°49′10″N05°00′14″E / 51.81944°N 5.00389°E /51.81944; 5.00389