HOLLAND, SOUTH, a province of the kingdom of the Netherlands, lying between 51° 45 and 52° 20' n. lat., and 3° 50' and 5° 10' e. long. Arca, 1162 sq.m.; pop. '75. 748,162. It is bounded on the n. by North Holland, e. by Utrecht and Gelderland, s. by the Maas, which separates it from Zeeland and North Brabant, and w. by the German ocean. South Holland comprises the land around the embouchures of the Rhine and Maas, which is cut up in its southern portions into several islands—viz., Voorne, Over tlackkee, and Goeree, Putten, Yssehnonde, Beijerland, etc.
The country is flat and low, and is broken by no elevation beyond the downs, which protect it from the sea. Streams and canals intersect it in all directions, and it abounds with lakes and with polders, or lands that have been recovered from the sea or lakes by draining. One of the most noted of these is the Biesbosch, land recovered from a marshy lake which was formed by the terrible inundation of 1421. The chief rivers are the
Old Rhine, the Yssel, Lek, Maas, and Merwede. The principal towns of South Hol land are the Hague, Leyden, Rotterdam, Dordrecht, Gorinchem, Bridle, Gouda, Delft, and Schiedam (q.v.). The two provinces of Holland rank among the most populous districts of Europe, and their inhabitants arc distinguished for industry and habits of great cleanliness. The rearing of cattle, of which there are upwards of a million in North and South Holland, and the preparation of butter and cheese, are the principal industries in the rural districts. Alkmaar, in North 'Tolland, and Gouda, in South 'Tol land, are the great centers of the cheese-trade. In 1874 the cheese sold at Alkmaar weighed 8,705 cwts. The provinces of Holland enjoy the largest share of the national commerce and wealth.