WESTERN RIVER AREA

In the western river area, the transition area from river clay to sea clay, the clay in the basins makes way for peat. Where this is the case, we speak of the value area. An inn is an old name for a flat landscape enclosed by watercourses. In the value area, the rise in sea level after the last ice age has had a significant impact on the river deposits. Due to a loss of flow velocity and an increase in water levels, a lot of (fine) material was deposited. Due to deteriorating water drainage, peat formation occurred on a large scale in a swampy environment. The result is an alternation of (thin) clay layers and (thick) peat layers.
The western part of the river area has a less complicated structure in terms of relief than the eastern part. There are large gradually sloping basins with peat or a thin layer of clay on top of peat on the surface. Because of the wet soil, the basins can only be used as grassland for livestock.
The reclamation of the value area often started from the banks of the rivers and peat streams, such as the Giessen and the Alblas. During the reclamation, the peat was stripped of the reeds and the rushes that grew on it. After that, the 'landmakers' dug parallel ditches from the reclamation base to drain the water. They constructed a cross ditch or back quay along the back, which prevented water from the higher and still uncultivated peat bog from flooding the fields. The farms were built at the head of the plots.

In the photo: Along the Giessen

Biker