The Dutch landscape is extremely flat. The only few hills you can find are located in the southern part of the country. The Netherlands is situated in the lowlands of Northwest Europe between 50°45' and 53°52' latitude and 3°21' and 7°13' longitude. The north and west side of the country are surrounded by the North Sea. The east side touches Germany and the south part is flanked by Belgium.The highest point in the country is Vaalserberg hill. It is located in the south east part of the Netherlands and reaches a height of 321metres above sea level. On the other hand, the lowest point is located near Rotterdam and it is 6.7metres below sea level.

The Dutch had to fight a constant battle against the sea. This struggle led to the building of a serious of bridges, dykes, windmills and pumping stations. The climax of these various projects was reached by the building of the Delta Project, a chain of dams protecting Zeeland and south Holland from the sea. Due to the fact that more that 25% of the Netherlands is below sea level a effective water control system is required to keep the land dry and habitable. Excess of rain water can cause flooding and river banks to burst. In order to control this problem a lot of pumping stations must work day and night to drain of excess water.