IT IS SAID IN THE NETHERLANDS that the Lord created the land， except<br >for l tolland， which was created by the Dutch. The history， economy， ;tad<br >character of the Dutch people have been str<mgly influenced by their<br >continuous battle with water the sea and the rivers thai tl<>w thr~>ugll<br >their low-lying land.<br > The country is officially known as the<br >Netherlands， but it is often called<br >"1 lolland." Strictly this name only applies<br >to the two provinces of North and South<br >l lolland， which border the North Sea in<br >the Amsterdam-The t lague area. The name<br >for those who live in the Netherlands is<br >"the Dutch，" a word which also describes<br >their language. The name Netherlands<br >comes from the word ~zedr， r， meaning<br >qow" and lands， meaning "countries."<br >For this reason， the Netherlands is also<br >called the Low ( ountries.<br > The Netherlands a little larger than<br >Maryland and a little smaller than West Virginia is one of the smaller<br >countries of northern Europe. It is situated at the mouth of the Rhine，<br >where the great river， which rises 820 miles (1320 kin) away in the Alps，<br >finally flows into the North Sea. To the east the Netherlands is b<>rdercd<br >by Germany and to the south by Belgium. To the north and wcsl， the N(>rlh<br >Sea is an ever-present threat.<br > The Kingdom of the Netherlands It)day also includes the Nctherla|lds<br >