Geography of the European Netherlands Geography of the European Netherlands The geography of the Netherlands in Europe is unusual in that much of its land has been reclaimed from the sea and is below sea level, protected by dikes. Another factor that has influenced its physical appearance is that the country is among the most densely populated on Earth. It is ranked 30th overall on that scale, but is behind only three countries having a population over 16 million. Consequently, the Netherlands is highly urbanized. Geographic coordinates: 5.45°E and 50.30°N The Dutch RD coordinate system ("Rijksdriehoeksmeting") is also in common use; see (pdf, in Dutch;
Motorways of the Sea land. The routes selected to be Motorways of the Sea should be able to maintain a series of quality criteria; these pertain to frequency, port to port costs, simplicity of administrative tasks. Future routes should compensate for congestion experienced, for example when crossing the Channel (as the similar road networks should do for routes crossing the Alps or the Pyrenees). One envisaged impact of the Motorways of the Sea is energy savings, pollution reductions and more capacity on current overland European transport networks. The adoption of Article 12a of the TEN-T by Council and European Parliament gave a legal framework