AMSTKKDAM 



North Sea. The canals cut the city into about one 

 hundred islands. There are 300 bridges. Many of the 

 canals are 50 yards in width and 3 to 4 feet deep. 



Paved streets, often beautifully shaded by trees, 

 run along both sides of the canals. Some of the older 

 canals have purposely been filled to give more room 

 for streets. The streets are paved with asphalt and 

 stone-block pavements. The Kalverstraat, lined with 

 cafes and shops, is one of the most crowded streets in 

 the world. In the evenings it is so crowded with prome- 

 naders that it is practically impossible for vehicles to 

 pass along it. 



All the houses are built on piles; the number enter- 

 ing into the construction of some of the larger buildings 

 numbering thousands. 



Artificial waterways capable of accommodating the 

 largest ships have been built to connect Amsterdam 

 with the sea. The North Sea canal, about North SM 

 fifteen miles long, is the widest and deepest Canal 

 canal in the world, its cross-section exceeding that of 

 the Suez Canal, and being exceeded in turn only by 

 the proposed section of a part of the Panama Canal. 

 In 1906, 2373 vessels, mostly steamers, passed inward 

 through this waterway. The total number of vessels 

 of all kinds which passed in both directions in 1906 

 was 25,904. 



The level of the water at Amsterdam is controlled by 

 locks which open toward the Zuiderzee and North Sea. 

 The arrangements are such that the authorities can 

 flush out the water of the canals for sanitary purposes, 

 a proceeding which is regularly followed at night. In 

 the daytime the water is sluggish, although in most 

 canals there is a gentle current flowing at practically 





