Bijlands Kanaal in the context of "Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta"

The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse (Dutch: Maas) and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine–Meuse delta. The result is a multitude of islands, branches and branch names, in which a waterway that appears to be one continuous stream may have numerous separate names for different sections, e.g. Rhine → Bijlands Kanaal → Pannerdens Kanaal → Nederrijn → Lek → Nieuwe Maas → Het Scheur → Nieuwe Waterweg. Since the Rhine contributes most of the water, the term "Rhine Delta" is commonly used, although this name is also used for the delta where the Alpine Rhine flows into Lake Constance. By some calculations, the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta covers 25,347 km (9,787 sq mi), making it the largest in Europe.

The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is economically extremely important, since the three rivers are major navigable waterways. The delta is the entrance from the North Sea to the German and Central European hinterland (and to a lesser extent France). Major ports in the delta are Rotterdam, Antwerp (Belgium), Vlissingen, Amsterdam (through the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal), and Ghent (through the Ghent–Terneuzen Canal). The land areas in the delta are protected from flooding by the Dutch Delta Works.

The Pannerdens Kanaal (Pannerden Canal) is a canal in the Netherlands that was dredged between 1701 and 1709 to cut off a large, shallow bend of the river Rhine for improving river traffic and water regulation.

The canal, now indistinguishable from a "real" river, forks off north from the river Waal a few kilometres past the point where the Bijlands Kanaal, a similar canal dug to cut off a Waal bend, ends. It flows past the towns of Pannerden (right bank), which gives the canal its name, and Angeren (left bank) and so north to the point where the old Rhine bend flows into it and the river continues to the sea as the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine). The old Rhine bend, cut off at its upstream end, still exists and is called, unsurprisingly, Oude Rijn (Old Rhine).