zachte oever

Etymology
lit. 'gentle bank'. This is contrasted with the "hardness" (in terms of materials used and in terms of the steepness of the slope) of artificial riverbanks or shores, such as those often formed when a dike is built to protect the hinterland against flooding, which predominate in the West-European landscape today. Zachte oevers by contrast create far more favourable conditions for many species of plants and animals that are native to the Low Countries, such as frogs.

Noun

 * 1)  A bank or shore that is not (artificially) too steep and that gradually transitions from the natural incline of the land into shallow water.