Wadden Sea National Park (Denmark)
Encyclopedia
| Nationalpark Vadehavet | |
| Wadden Sea seen from Rømødæmningen |
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| Country = Denmark | |
| Area = The Danish part of the Wadden Sea Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity... |
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| Area = 950 km² | |
| Established = Named 17 January 2008, starting from 2010 | |
Wadden Sea National Park (Nationalpark Vadehavet) was named a Danish national park on 17 January 2008, starting from 2010 . The national park covers the Danish part of the Wadden Sea
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity...
from Ho Bugt until the German border, and consists of the islands of Fanø
Fanø
Fanø is a Danish island in the North Sea off the coast of southwestern Denmark, and is the very northernmost of the Danish Wadden Sea Islands...
, Mandø
Mandø
Mandø is one of the Danish Wadden Sea islands off the southwest coast of Jutland, Denmark in the Wadden Sea, part of the North Sea. The island covers an area of 7.63 km² and has 62 inhabitants...
and Rømø
Rømø
Rømø is a Danish island in the Wadden Sea. Rømø is part of Tønder municipality. The island has 650 inhabitants as of 1 January 2011 and covers an area of 129 km². Rømø is a popular tourist spot each year....
, as well as Skallingen, Varde Å valley and many of the marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
lands of Tjæreborgmarsken, Ribemarsken, Margrethekogen and De ydre diger i Tøndermarsken.
The Wadden Sea is known for its large number of migratory birds and for the large flocks of European Starling
European Starling
The Common Starling , also known as the European Starling or just Starling, is a passerine bird in the family Sturnidae.This species of starling is native to most of temperate Europe and western Asia...
s which fly in formations known as the Sort sol
Sort sol (bird flock)
thumb|300px|right|A formation of [[starling]]s in the marshlands near [[Tønder]], [[Denmark]].Sort sol is a nature phenomenon in the marshlands in southwestern Jutland, Denmark, in particular the marsh near Tønder and Ribe...
.
The Wadden Sea is internationally known as a resting place for millions of migratory birds, and more than 10 million of them pass through the Wadden Sea twice a year. The Wadden Sea also has large numbers of young birds, fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, and sealife, and a habitat for more than 500 species of plants and animal, of which many are found nowhere else in the world.
The area is part of many Natura 2000
Natura 2000
Natura 2000 is an ecological network of protected areas in the territory of the European Union.-Origins:In May 1992, the governments of the European Communities adopted legislation designed to protect the most seriously threatened habitats and species across Europe. This legislation is called the...
projects: bird sanctuary (57 Vadehavet), wildlife sanctuary (78 Vadehavet with Ribe Å, Tved Å and Varde Å west of Varde) and Ramsar area 27 Vadehavet.