Lauwersmeer National Park () is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in the provinces of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

and

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. It consists of the southern and eastern parts of the Lauwersmeer (previously Lauwerszee). As part of the Dutch

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 ...

Conservation Area, it was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

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

for its outstanding biodiversity and its large, relatively pristine intertidal ecosystem.

Geography

In the north of the

, the

Lauwers The Lauwers () is a river in the Netherlands. It forms part of the border between the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. From the 730s to Widukind's defeat in 785, it was part of the border of the Frankish Empire. The former Lauwerszee an ...

river forms part of the east-west border between the provinces of

and

. The Lauwers flows from south to north into the

. The Lauwersmeer is its

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, which is connected to the sea via a sluice at Lauwersoog. The national park consists of most of the Lauwersmeer and is situated in the Frisian municipalities of Dongeradeel and Kollumerland c.a. in

and the Groningen municipality of De Marne.

History

On 25 May 1969, the Lauwers Sea was enclosed and separated from the

, since then it has been called Lauwersmeer. The Lauwersmeer gradually became a freshwater lake and new flora and fauna appeared. To protect this new and young nature area, the Lauwersmeer became a national park on 12 November 2003.

Fauna and flora

Among the flora are the purple '' Dactylorhiza maculata'' and the white '' Parnassia''. Among the birds living in the area are the

Eurasian Spoonbill The Eurasian spoonbill (''Platalea leucorodia''), or common spoonbill, is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, native to Europe, Africa and Asia. The species is partially migratory with the more northerly breeding popu ...

, the Montagu's Harrier, the Bearded Reedling, and the Bluethroat. For the winter, hundred thousands of birds migrate to the area, like the

Eurasian Wigeon The Eurasian wigeon or European wigeon (''Mareca penelope''), also known as the widgeon or the wigeon, is one of three species of wigeon in the dabbling duck genus ''Mareca''. It is common and widespread within its Palearctic range. Taxonomy T ...

, the Tundra Swan, and the

Barnacle Goose The barnacle goose (''Branta leucopsis'') is a species of goose that belongs to the genus ''Branta'' of black geese, which contains species with extensive black in the plumage, distinguishing them from the grey ''Anser (genus), Anser'' species. D ...

. To keep the landscape open, big grazers are used like the

Konik The Konik or Polish Konik, , is a Polish list of horse breeds, breed of small horse or pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually dun gene, mouse dun or primitive markings, striped dun. The Bilgoray, , of south-e ...

horses and Highland cattle, besides normal horses and cows.

References

External links

Official websiteAn entry
by the

International Dark-Sky Association DarkSky International, formerly the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA), is a United States–based nonprofit organization incorporated in 1988 by founders David Crawford, a professional astronomer, and Tim Hunter, a physician and amateu ...

Protected areas established in 2003 2003 establishments in the Netherlands National parks of the Netherlands Ramsar sites in the Netherlands Geography of Friesland Geography of Groningen (province) Tourist attractions in Friesland Tourist attractions in Groningen (province) Het Hogeland Noardeast-Fryslân {{Groningen-geo-stub