The North Sea Canal (Dutch: Noordzeekanaal) is a 25 km long Dutch ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, constructed between 1865 and 1876 to enable seafaring vessels to reach the port of Amsterdam. This man-made channel terminates at Amsterdam in the closed-off IJ Bay, which in turn connects to the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal.
The drainage of the canal to the North Sea is done through the IJmuiden sea lock, augmented by the largest pumping station in Europe. This system is vital to the groundwater management of the Western Netherlands.
