IJ (Amsterdam) 3.9

The IJ is a body of water, formerly a bay, in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is known for being Amsterdam's waterfront. Its name is an obsolete Dutch word meaning "water", derived from the West Frisian word ie "stream, small river" (from Germanic *ahwō, "water") and is cognate with Dutch Aa/Ee names for bodies of water. The name consists of the digraph ij, which behaves like a single letter. Therefore, both letters are capitalized; cf. IJmuiden.GeographyToday, the IJ is divided into two parts: To the west, the Binnen-IJ, or Afgesloten-IJ, is directly connected to the North Sea Canal, where the port of IJmuiden and the North Sea can be reached. To the east, the Buiten-IJ is an extension of the IJmeer which is itself an extension of the Markermeer.The IJ is connected to the North Sea to the west and the IJmeer to the east by a set of locks.