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 by far the largest of Denmark's national parks outside of

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

and covers the Danish part of the

Wadden Sea The Wadden Sea ( ; ; or ; ; ; ) 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 low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tida ...

from Ho Bugt 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 '' kommune'' that covers the island and its seat is the town of Nor ...

, Mandø and

Rømø Rømø (, ) 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 The Varde () is a river of Jutland, Denmark. With a length of approximately , it is the third longest watercourse in Denmark, and has a catchment area of . The river flows through the municipalities of Varde Municipality, Varde and Esbjerg Municipa ...

valley, and many of the

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

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 a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. The ...

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

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

s can be found which fly in formations known as the '' sort sol''. The Wadden Sea also has large numbers of breeding birds,

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

, and

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s such as

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

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 World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

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

Prince Joachim of Denmark Prince Joachim of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, (; Joachim Holger Waldemar Christian; born 7 June 1969) is a member of the Danish royal family. The younger son of Queen Margrethe II, he is fifth in the line of succession to the Danish throne, ...

is Patron of the

Wadden Sea Centre The Wadden Sea Centre () is a visitor centre and museum for the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Wadden Sea National Park, Denmark, Wadden Sea, an intertidal zone of the North Sea. The centre is located in Vester Vedsted, near Ribe, Denmark, and o ...

. 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, respectiv ...

, 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. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...

, 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, funga, or features of geolog ...

, and Ramsar wetlands of international importance. The areas comprise

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s like the low-lying flat coast, tidal channels,

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 ...

s, stream mouths, beach meadows, sandplains 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, flat ...

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 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