 El
Parque Nacional de Doñana está situado en el suroeste de la
Península Ibérica, en la Comunidad Autónoma de Andalucía,
en las provincias de Huelva y Sevilla. |
Doñana National
Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional
de Doñana), also called Coto de Doñana, is a
national park and wildlife refuge in southwestern Spain.
It is located in
Andalusia, in the provinces of Huelva and Sevilla, and covers 543 km²,
of which 135 km² are a protected area.
The park, whose
biodiversity is unique in Europe, contains a great variety of
ecosystems and shelters wildlife including thousands of European and
African migratory birds, fallow deer, Spanish red deer, wild boar,
European badger, Egyptian mongoose, and endangered species such as
the Spanish Imperial Eagle and Iberian Lynx.
The park and its
highly sensitive ecology were threatened in 1998 by a massive spill
of metallic waste from a mine reservoir into the Guadiamar River,
which flows through the park; however, the spill was diverted into
the Guadalquivir River, reprieving the park.
A
quotation about Doñana
Its proximity to
Africa is one of the principal reasons for the wealth and variety of
the Doñana's birdlife. Birds with large wingspans, such as the
eagles and kites that abound here, cannot fly across water for long
distances because they require thermal updrafts for the long glides
that allow them to rest their wings during migrations. Hence they
cross the Mediterranean at the three points — the Dardanelles,
Gibraltar, and Tarifa — where the intervening straits are at their
narrowest. For those making the journey from West Africa, the
marismas of Doñana are a logical, indeed essential, resting
place and hunting ground."
-
- Frederic V.
Grunfeld, "Wild Spain: A Traveler's and Naturalist's
Guide", Shelldrake Publishing Ltd., 1988
Further
reading
- Doñana,
Spain's Wildlife Wilderness, Juan Antonio Fernández,
Taplinger Publishing Company, New York, 1974, hardcover, 253
pages, ISBN 0-8008-8324-1
- Where to
watch birds in Doñana, Jorge Garzón, Francisco Chiclana,
Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 165 pages, 84-96553-35-3
External
links
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rich monumental heritage and dazzling natural environment.
