Utrecht (province) the largest in the Netherlands in both area and population. In the east of Utrecht lies the Utrecht Hill Ridge (Dutch: Utrechtse Heuvelrug), a chain of hills left as lateral moraine by tongues of glacial ice after the Saline glaciation that preceded the last ice age. Because of the scarcity of nutrients in the fast-draining sandy soil, the greatest part of a landscape that was formerly heath has been planted with pine plantations. The south of the province is a river landscape. The west consists mostly of meadows. In the north are big lakes formed by the digging of peat
Flag of Utrecht (province) flag to represent the province. Flag of Utrecht (province) The flag of Utrecht () has been in use since 1952. It consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. Similar to the flag of Poland or an upside-down flag of Monaco. In the top left corner of the flag there is a red square with a white cross. The flag originates from two other flags, one part of the Archdiocese of Utrecht, and the other of the (territorial) Archbishopric of Utrecht. In 1951 the province was advised by the Hoge Raad