This paper should be considered as Van Veen's most important publication since his thesis. It summarizes the results of 20 years of intensive study of estuarine and tidal- basin morphodynamics in The Netherlands. The paper is testimony to Van Veen' s keen observational and artistic skills. His approach is nearly "Da Vincian" in the sense that he is not only a fascinated but also sharp observer of nature and tries to capture the essentials of the dynamic behavior of complex coastal systems in apparently simple sketches. Many of the natural systems that Van Veen studied have been regulated since; thus, this paper contains a set of irreplaceable, high- quality observations on the natural dynamics of tidal systems. Along with Robinson' s (1960) paper on ebb-flood channel systems, it forms an excellent introduction to the study of channel dynamics in estuaries, tidal inlets, and tidal basins. Unfortunately, Van Veen's paper was published in Dutch, with only a brief summary in English. Understandably though, the paper has received very limited recognition in the international literature. The present publication is a tribute to Professor Kees d'Angremond, who retired on November 28, 2001, from the chair of Coastal Engineering at Delft University of Technology. We have seized this occasion to publish an English version of Van Veen' s paper. The translation is annotated in order to put it in the perspective of our present-day ideas on coastal dynamics.