Overijssel - a province of the Netherlands
Overijssel is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country. The province's name in both Dutch and Latin means "Lands across river IJssel". The capital city of Overijssel is Zwolle.
Overijssel is bordered by Germany to the east, the Achterhoek region of Gelderland to the south, the Veluwe region of Gelderland and Flevoland to the west, and Friesland and the former moors of Drenthe to the north. Overijssel comprises three regions: Kop van Overijssel in the northwest, Salland in the centre of the province, and Twente in the east. Besides the capital Zwolle, the major cities are Almelo, Deventer, Enschede, and Hengelo.
To the southeast, the province's surface is mostly sandy, interspersed with small rivers, such as, Regge and Dinkel and brooks, in the northwest, the geology is dominated by sediments from the Overijsselse Vecht and clay. The northern parts were once covered by veen (bog), which separated the dryer and more arable south from Drenthe which have been exploited as fuel to a large degree. Only small patches survive today (Engbertsdijksvenen near Tubbergen, Witteveen (near Haaksbergen), and the Aamsveen (near Enschede). The extreme northwest is dominated by a system of lakes formed by former peat-mining, the Weerribben, which is a valuable wetland.
The highest point in Overijssel is the summit of the Tankenberg (85 m), a hill in the municipality of Losser. The lowest point is in the Mastenbroek Polder near Kampen at 2 metres below sea level.
