Benelux denotes a group of states in Western Europe, namely Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The name Benelux is formed by joining the starting letters of these countries Be, Ne and Lux. The Benelux Union was officially formed in 1948, with the capital of Brussels.
The Benelux countries are relatively small, with higher population densities. These states, and the Union played important roles in the founding and operating of the European Union. Many of the European Union's centers can be found here. Brussels is the "capital" of the EU, site of the headquarters of the European Commission. Luxembourg City, the capital of Luxembourg is the home city of the Court of Justice of the European Union, or the European Commission Secretariat. Dutch city of The Hague also hosts many European Union organizations, for example the Eurojust or the International Court of Justice.
The Benelux map is dominantly green, due to the extensive lowlands and plains, with only the modest hills of the Ardennes bringing some unevenness to the terrain at the eastern side of Belgium, the southern tip of the Netherlands and the norther part of Luxembourg. Belgium hosts the highest elevated point in Benelux, with a height of 694 meters, the peak is called Signal De Botragne. Buurgplaatz is the highest of Luxembourg at 559, while the Netherlands tallest mountain is the Vaalsberg with 321 meters, standing at the southernmost tip of the country on the Belgian border.
The rest of the territory besides the Ardennes is taken up mainly by the large delta system of several rivers, called the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta. The largest of these river is the Rhine which slipts into many distributaries after entering the Netherlands, the Waal, the Ijssel and the Nederrijn. The Benelux map is also bisected by many canals and smaller rivers, which are also used for transportation.
