How the Netherlands Built Land Below Sea Level

Land at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and you touch down at least 11 feet below sea level, on the bottom of a drained lake. How did the Netherlands build land below sea level, and how does it keep it dry? We follow the Dutch from the peat bogs they drained, and sank, to the water boards, the windmills and steam pumps that emptied whole lakes, the dike that closed off a sea and the Delta Works built after the flood of 1953. Then we weigh what those defenses protect, land that produces around 70% of GDP according to the government's Delta Programme, against what they cost each year, using the Delta Fund's budget and figures from Statistics Netherlands. Chapters 0:00 Landing Below the Sea 1:05 The Land That Sank 2:21 A Government for Water 3:33 From Wind to Steam 4:53 Closing Off a Sea 6:25 The Night of 1953 7:54 The Delta Plan 9:28 Rotterdam's Gate 10:54 The Price of Staying Dry 12:25 A Country Still Sinking #Netherlands #DeltaWorks #Geography