Hook of Holland

Hook of Holland Hoek van Holland
Hook of Holland town centre
Flag Coat of arms
Hook of Holland Show map of Netherlands Hook of Holland Show map of North Sea
Coordinates: 51°58′52″N 4°7′43″E / 51.98111°N 4.12861°E / 51.98111; 4.12861
Country	Netherlands
Province	South Holland
Municipality	Rotterdam
Area
• Total	14.1 km2 (5.4 sq mi)
Population  (1 July 2008)[1]	9,382
Major roads	N211 N220
Dialing code	0174
Website	https://www.rotterdam.nl/hoek-van-holland

Hook of Holland (Dutch: Hoek van Holland, pronounced [ˈɦuk fɑn ˈɦɔlɑnt] ^ⓘ)^[2] is a town in the southwestern corner of Holland, hence the name; hoek means "corner" and was the word in use before the word kaap – "cape", from Portuguese cabo – became Dutch. The English translation using Hook is a false cognate of the Dutch Hoek, but has become commonplace (in official government records in English, the name tends not to get translated and Hoek van Holland is used). It is located at the mouth of the New Waterway shipping canal into the North Sea. The town is administered as a district of the municipality of Rotterdam. Its district covers an area of 16.7 km², of which 13.92 km² is land. On 1 January 1999 it had an estimated population of 9,400.

Towns near "the Hook" (Dutch: "de Hoek") include Monster, 's-Gravenzande, Naaldwijk and Delft to the northeast, and Maassluis to the southeast. On the other side of the river is the Europort and the Maasvlakte. The wide sandy beach, one section of which is designated for use by naturists, runs for approximately 18 kilometres to Scheveningen and for most of this distance is backed by extensive sand dunes through which there are foot and cycle paths. On the north side of the New Waterway, to the west of the town, is a pier, part of which is accessible to pedestrians and cyclists.

The Berghaven is a small harbour on the New Waterway where the Rotterdam and Europort pilots are based. This small harbour is only for the use of the pilot service, government vessels and the Hook of Holland lifeboat.