The afsluitdijk ("aff-sloot-dike") is a barrier dam in Holland, built in the 1930s, 30 kilometres long and 90 metres across. It carries an extension of the A7 (E22) highway and connects North Holland and Friesland. After building the afsluitdijk, the Suydersee, formerly a sea inlet, was an inland lake called IJsselmeer. After World War I, the land was approved to be reclaimed.
All settlements there are new of course; the newest being Lelystad. By October 2002, there were 65,000 people living in Lelystad. In Holland, the new land is called "polder". The Dutch government is proud of it and likes to show it off to other European countries, calling it the poldermodel: "the best place on earth where everybody is happy, because everything is neatly planned". Some people disagree, especially some people living there, as after a while one can get bored with everything being so neat and perfect. Nevertheless, it is an attractive rural area, lying 15 metres below present sea level.