IJmuiden

IJmuiden (Dutch pronunciation: [ɛiˈmœydə(n)]) is a port town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality of Velsen which lies mainly to the south-east. Including its large sea locks, it straddles the mouth of the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam. To the south it abuts a large reserve of plant-covered dunes, the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. The town is on the south bank; the north bank is otherwise a steel plant and Velsen-Noord. It is 10 kilometres (6 mi) north northwest of Haarlem which is 18 kilometres (11 mi) due west of Amsterdam. The port is a deepwater port suited to fully laden Panamax ships, and the fourth port of the Netherlands. The internal capitalization within IJmuiden as IJ is a digraph in modern Dutch with an exceptional spelling convention. Also, in some typefaces, IJ is recognised as a ligature and is placed in one typed or handwritten space.