Rotterdam is located in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. It serves as a major urban center situated within the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, accessible via the New Meuse inland shipping channel.
The city is the largest by area in the Netherlands, covering 319.4 km2, and ranks as the second-largest city in the country by population. The shipping channel was originally dug to connect to the Meuse but now provides a connection to the Rhine.