A Dutch kanaal

摘要

I read with interest the historical article on locks (CB, June). However, at the risk of being pedantic, I noticed a common misconception in the reference to the Dutch 'dyke' as opposed to its English counterpart. In the Netherlands, a dijk is an embankment or dam. Perhaps the most famous example being the Afsluitdijk or closing-off dijk separating the Ijsselmeer (formerly the Zuider Zee) from the North Sea. The drainage ditch would most likely be referred to as a kanaal.