Wadden Sea National Park (Nationalpark Vadehavet) was designated a Danish national park on 17 January 2008, effective 2010.Nationalpark Wadden Sea
Vadehavets formidlerforum (the collaboration of 'Wadden Sea communication forum') The Wadden Sea National Park is - except

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

by far the largest of Denmark's national parks and covers the Danish part of the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

from

Ho Bugt Ho Bay ( da, Ho Bugt) is a Danish bay with an approximate area of . It constitutes the northern end of the Wadden Sea, and lies between Skallingen in the southwest, Ho in the west, Oksbøl to the north and Hjerting to the east. At the northeaster ...

to the German border, and includes the islands of

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. Fanø municipality is the municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') that covers the island and its sea ...

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 and had 40 inhabitants in January 2018. The island is part of Esbjerg Municipa ...

and

Rømø Rømø (german: Röm, frr, Rem) is a Danish island in the Wadden Sea. Rømø is part of Tønder Municipality. The island had 650 inhabitants as of 1 January 2011,

, as well as Skallingen, the Varde Å valley, and many of the

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

lands of Tjæreborgmarsken, Ribemarsken, Margrethekogen and De Ydre Diger in Tøndermarsken. The Wadden Sea is internationally known as a resting place for millions of

migratory birds Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

, and more than 10 million of them pass through the Wadden Sea twice a year. Large flocks of

European starling The common starling or European starling (''Sturnus vulgaris''), also known simply as the starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about long and has glossy black plumage ...

s can be found which fly in formations known as the ''

sort sol 300px, A formation of starlings in the marshlands near Tønder, Denmark">Tønder.html" ;"title="starlings in the marshlands near Tønder">starlings in the marshlands near Tønder, Denmark. image:Fugle,_%C3%B8rns%C3%B8_073.jpg, 300px, Blick of so ...

''. The Wadden Sea also has large numbers of breeding birds,

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing 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. Approximately 95% of li ...

, and

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s such as

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

and blue mussels. It provides habitat for more than 500 species of plants and animals. Because of its unique biodiversity and intact intertidal ecosystem, since 2014 it has constituted the Danish part of the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

.''Wadden Sea World Heritage Site''
at waddensea-worldheritage.org. Retrieved on 29 April 2010.

Prince Joachim of Denmark , father = Henri de Laborde de Monpezat , mother = Margrethe II of Denmark , house = Glücksburg (official) Monpezat (agnatic) , religion = Church of Denmark , occupation = Military Attaché, Royal Danish Embassy in ...

is Patron of The Wadden Sea Centre. 97% of the national park is part of

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

, divided into several areas: a

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

, a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

, and Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The areas comprise

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s like the low-lying flat coast,

tidal channel A tidal creek or tidal channel is a narrow inlet or estuary that is affected by the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Thus, it has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle, and flushes salts from inland soils. Tidal cree ...

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s, stream mouths,

beach meadow Beach Meadows are coastal meadows influenced by the presence of the nearby sea. Under this definition, the salinity of the air and wind is always high and the meadows are often flooded during and after stormy weather. These conditions implies t ...

sandplain A sandplain is an area where the soil is sand deposited from elsewhere by processes such as wind or ocean, rather than direct weathering of bedrock. Sandplains are quite flat. There may be dune systems, and given time and the right conditions the ...

s and

dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

Motivation

The official motivation behind Wadden Sea National Park (Denmark) was to strengthen: * Nature protection * Cultural history * Outdoor activities * Education and research * International cooperation

References

External links

Map of the area

official homepage
{{authority control

Vadehavet The Wadden Sea ( nl, Waddenzee ; german: Wattenmeer; nds, Wattensee or ; da, Vadehavet; fy, Waadsee, longname=yes; frr, di Heef) is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern conti ...

Natura 2000 in Denmark Ramsar sites in Denmark Protected areas established in 2008 2008 establishments in Denmark World Heritage Sites in Denmark

Motivation

See also

References

External links