Dutch Low Saxon language in the context of "Low Saxon"

Overijssel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌoːvərˈɛisəl] ; Dutch Low Saxon: Oaveriessel [ˌɒːvərˈiːsl̩]; German: Oberyssel; lit. 'Outer IJssel') is a province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province borders Drenthe to the north, Friesland to the north-west, Flevoland (and a small part of the IJsselmeer) to the west, Gelderland to the south and west, and Germany's states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia to the east. Overijssel had a population of about 1,184,000 as of January 2023.

The province's name comes from the perspective of the Episcopal principality of Utrecht, which held the territory until 1528. The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle (pop. 132,441) and the largest city is Enschede (pop. 161,235). The land mostly consists of grasslands and some forests (including Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park).

The IJssel (Dutch: [ˈɛisəl] ; Dutch Low Saxon: Iessel(t) [ˈisəl(t)]) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediately flows into the east-south channel around the Flevopolder, Flevoland which is kept at 3 metres below sea level. This body of water is then pumped up into the IJsselmeer.

It is sometimes called the Gelderse IJssel (IPA: [ˌɣɛldərsə ˈʔɛisəl] ; "Gueldern IJssel") to distinguish it from the Hollandse IJssel. It is in the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel, the latter of which was named after this river. The Romans knew the river as Isala. It flows from Westervoort, on the east side of the city of Arnhem.

The IJsselmeer (Dutch: [ˌɛisəlˈmeːr] ; West Frisian: Iselmar, Dutch Low Saxon: Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed-off freshwater lake in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of 1,100 km (420 sq mi) with an average depth of 4.5 m (15 ft). The river IJssel, after which the lake was named, flows into the IJsselmeer.