Wadden Sea
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The Wadden Sea (Danish: Vadehavet, Dutch: Waddenzee, German: Wattenmeer, Low German: Wattensee, West Frisian: Waadsee) is the name for a body of water and its associated coastal wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the North Sea.
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[edit] Geography
The Wadden Sea stretches from Den Helder in the Netherlands in the southwest, past the river estuaries of Germany to its northern boundary at Skallingen north of Esbjerg in Denmark along a total length of some 500 km and a total area of about 10,000 km².
The islands in the Wadden Sea are called the Frisian Islands.
[edit] Nature
The area is typified by extensive tidal mud flats (the word "wad" is Dutch for "mud flat"), deeper tidal trenches and the islands that are contained within this, a region continually contested by land and sea. The landscape has been formed for a great part by storm tides in the 10th - 14th century, destroying peat land behind the coastal dunes.
The Wadden Sea is famous for the rich fauna, avifauna and flora. Today, a great part of the Wadden Sea is protected in cooperation of all three countries; see Wadden Sea National Parks for the protected areas within the German borders.
The Governments of the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have been working together since 1978 on the protection and conservation of the Wadden Sea. Co-operation covers management, monitoring and research, as well as political matters. Furthermore, in 1982, a Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea was agreed upon to co-ordinate activities and measures for the protection of the Wadden Sea. In 1997, a Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan was adopted.
The Wadden sea was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on May 14, 1987.
[edit] Recreation
Some Frisians practice the traditional sport or recreation of wadlopen, or low-tide sea-walking in the Wadden Sea.
[edit] External links
- The Lancewad Report (2001): The cultural heritage of the Wadden Sea Region
- Historical interactions between men and environment in the Wadden Sea
- Website of the Secretariat of The Trilateral Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea
[edit] Visitor Links
- Official Tourist Information for the Northernmost part of the National Park: The Danish Wadden Sea
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Biosphere Reserves in Germany |
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