shifting dunes and relict old beach

On the right side, we see classical high drifting dunes. That is a relic of a high bare drifting dune, formed in the 19th and 20th centuries. To the left, we notice a flat area: the remnant of an old beach where an earlier side channel of the IJzer, the Vloedgat, used to flow. Since the 13th-14th century, this channel has been closed off from the sea, and presumably this plain has always been wet grassland and marsh for the past 700 years. In these special grasslands, European protected species such as the creeping marshwort and the carex snail survive. Grazing with Koniks, which are small Polish horses, is required to maintain these unique grasslands.

Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos