Lake Lanoto'o National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

. Established in 2003, the park covers 470 hectares of the central portion of the

Tuamasaga Tuamāsaga is a district of Samoa, with a population (2016 Census) of 95,907. The geographic area of Tuamasaga covers the central part of Upolu island. History & Politics Malie & the Malietoa The paramount ''matai'' title of Tuamasaga is the M ...

district of

Upolu Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long and in area, making it the second largest of the Samoan Islands by area. With approximatel ...

and includes three volcanic crater-lakes: Lake Lanoto'o, Lanoata’ata and Lanoanea. In 2004 it was designated as a wetland of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It i ...

. The park was established on 29 May 2003 under the authority of the National Parks and Reserves Act 1974.

Ecology

The park contains three highland crater-lakes and surrounding marsh and forest. It provides habitat for endangered birds such as the Manumea and

Mao Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ...

, as well as the

Samoan starling The Samoan starling (''Aplonis atrifusca'') is a large starling of the family Sturnidae. It is found in the Samoan Islands. The species has a dark brown, glossy appearance, with a long bill. Its natural habitat is tropical moist forest on volcan ...

Samoan whistler The Samoan whistler (''Pachycephala flavifrons''), also known as the yellow-fronted whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae. It is endemic to Samoa, where found in forest, plantations and gardens. Taxonomy The Samoan whistle ...

Samoan flycatcher The Samoan flycatcher (''Myiagra albiventris'') is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Samoa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and rur ...

, and

Samoan triller The Samoan triller (''Lalage sharpei''), known in Samoan as miti tae, is a species of bird in the family Campephagidae. It is endemic to Samoa. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and plantations. It is threate ...

. The site is also important for the Pacific black duck and

Spotless crake The spotless crake (''Zapornia tabuensis'') is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is widely distributed species occurring from the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia, across the southern Pacific Ocean to the Marquesas Islands a ...

, and provides habitat for the

Red-headed parrotfinch The red-headed parrotfinch (''Erythrura cyaneovirens'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in the Samoan Islands. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 20,000 to 50,000 km2. It is found in subtropical/tropical lowland ...

Crimson-crowned fruit dove The crimson-crowned fruit dove (''Ptilinopus porphyraceus'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in American Samoa, Fiji, Marshall Islands, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Its natural habitats are subtrop ...

and

Flat-billed kingfisher The flat-billed kingfisher (''Todiramphus recurvirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is endemic to Samoa. Distribution Flat-billed kingfishers are found on the islands of Upolu and Savai'i in lowland and coastal areas ...

. Lake Lanoto'o itself is home to introduced Goldfish. The area was badly damaged by

Cyclone Ofa Severe Tropical Cyclone Ofa was a powerful tropical cyclone that caused severe damage in Polynesia in February of 1990. The system was first noted on January 27, 1990, near Tuvalu, as a shallow tropical depression that had developed within the Sou ...

in 1990,

Cyclone Val Severe Tropical Cyclone Val was considered to be the worst tropical cyclone to affect the Samoan Islands since the 1889 Apia cyclone. The system that was to become Severe Tropical Cyclone Val was first identified during the opening days of Decem ...

in 1991, and Cyclone Heta in 2004.

References

Protected areas of Samoa Nature conservation in Samoa Tuamasaga Ramsar sites {{Samoa-geo-stub