The coat of arms of Zeeland in the southern Netherlands reads “luctor et emergo"; Latin for "I struggle and I emerge".
This motto could well be applied to the rest of the country as it struggles to protect its land from catastrophic flooding, emerging from the water and danger simultaneously.
Throughout this lowland landscape, defences have been built by the Dutch to contain the massive amounts of water that flow through lowlands.
In Zeeland, this network is called Deltawerken, considered on of the seven wonders of the modern world.
Taking 50 years to build and containing 13 dams in total, the network regulates the flow of three rivers (the Rhine, Maas and the Scheldt) into the North Sea.
From the air you can see the Deltawerken’s angular flood barriers, bridges and dykes sitting beside the natural swirls and curves of the estuaries.
The longest dam, the Afsluitdijk, lies to the north, bridging an estuary 32km wide in the Zuiderzee works.
This defensive network also provides crucial transport links across the deltas, boosting trade and industry in this otherwise difficult landscape.