Viking raids in the Rhineland
The area known today as the Rhineland begins at the confluence of the Moselle and the Rhine and ends at Emmerich, where the Rhine divides into the Lek and the Waal to form a delta. In the east, the Rhineland ends close to the Rhine itself, being bounded by low mountain ranges such as the Siebengebirge or Bergisches Land. To the west its boundary is less well defined, but in general parlance it runs beyond the present state border with the Netherlands, i.e. east of the Meuse. Because the modern state of Rhineland-Palatinate lies south of the Moselle, the low mountain range of the Eifel north of the river is usually seen as belonging to the Rhineland. Areas south of the Moselle, such as the Hunsrück, are also considered to be part of the Rhineland.
Rijnland
Today, when the Rhine river enters the Netherlands from Germany, most of it becomes the river Waal and is no longer called the Rhine. However, some of it flows north (through a canal) after which it splits into the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine) and the IJssel. The Nederrijn eventually becomes the Lek, but a branch of it flows through a canal to Utrecht where it is further canalised and directed west. The names for this minor waterway as it flows through the provinces of Utrecht and South Holland change, but all the names still include the name "Rijn" and it is not unusual for it to be referred to as the "Rijn". Its varying names are Kromme Rijn ("Crooked Rhine"), Leidse Rijn ("Leiden Rhine") and Oude Rijn ("Old Rhine"). The Oude Rijn ends as it flows into a sluice at Katwijk aan Zee, where its waters can be discharged into the North Sea. It is the area around the Oude Rijn that is referred to as "Rijnland".