The Lek (Dutch pronunciation: [lɛk]) is a river in the western Netherlands of some 60 km (37 mi) in length. It is the continuation of the Nederrijn after the Kromme Rijn branches off at the town of Wijk bij Duurstede. The main westbound waterway is hereafter called the Lek River. The Nederrijn is, itself, a distributary branch of the river Rhine.
Portions of the river form the boundary between the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland, and between Utrecht and South Holland.
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The Noord ("North") is a short tidal river in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland.
The Noord starts at the city of Dordrecht where the Beneden Merwede river forks into the Oude Maas and the Noord. It joins the Lek at the city of Ridderkerk and Kinderdijk, and the combined stream is thereafter known as the Nieuwe Maas. The distance is about nine kilometres. The direction of its water flow depends on the tides.
The Nieuwe Maas (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌniu.ə ˈmaːs]; "New Meuse") is a distributary of the Rhine River, and a former distributary of the Maas River, in the Dutch province of South Holland. It runs from the confluence of the rivers Noord and Lek, and flows west through Rotterdam. It ends west of the city where it meets the Oude Maas ("Old Meuse"), near Vlaardingen, to form Scheur. After a few miles, the Scheur continues as the artificial Nieuwe Waterweg. The total length of the Nieuwe Maas (excluding the Scheur) is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi).
Kinderdijk (Dutch pronunciation: [ˌkɪndərˈdɛik]) is a town in the municipality of Molenlanden, in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located about 15 km (9 miles) east of Rotterdam.
Kinderdijk is situated in the Alblasserwaard polder at the confluence of the Lek and Noord rivers. To drain the polder, a system of 19 windmills was built around 1740. This group of mills is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. The windmills of Kinderdijk are one of the best-known Dutch tourist sites. They have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.