iSimangaliso Wetland Park

iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Satellite image with marked park
location	South Africa
surface	13,289 km²
WDPA ID	198302
Geographical location	28 ° 0 ′  S , 32 ° 30 ′  E Coordinates: 28 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  S , 32 ° 30 ′ 0 ″  E
Setup date	1895
administration	Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife

View of the lake with no swimming sign

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park (until October 2007 Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park , then iSimangaliso Wetland Park ) is a protected area on the east coast of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal . With an area of ​​1,328,901 hectares, it is the second largest protected area in South Africa after the Kruger National Park .

The entrance to the park is near the small town of St. Lucia .

description

The protected area comprises the wetlands and coastal areas from Mapelane in the south up to Sodwana Bay in the north and consists of many small protected areas with subtropical to tropical vegetation. In the north are the Mkuze swamps, while in the west there are dry thorn savannas .

In the center of the park is the St. Lucia Lake , after which the park was named. With a length of 40 kilometers and a width of up to 21 kilometers, its area is around 300 km²; this makes it the largest lake in South Africa. The second highest wooded sand dunes in the world can be found in the 200 kilometer long coastal strip.

The largest crocodile and hippo populations in South Africa live in the wetlands . Monkeys , rhinos , buffalo and leopards live in the savannahs to the west . Herons , pelicans and storks breed between the lakes and swamps . The park has the highest density of amphibians, including many protected species. You can also see humpback whales on the seaside .

The town of St. Lucia is located near the reserve and offers accommodation, leisure and shopping opportunities. St. Lucia is also the starting point for whale watching and trips on Lake St. Lucia to see the hippos.

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  White-breasted cormorants

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  Goliath heron in flight

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  Hippos in Lake St. Lucia

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  Nile monitor

history

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 .

The world heritage comprises the 13 separate protected areas:

• Coastal Forest Reserve
• Lake Sibayi Freshwater Reserve
• Maputaland Marine Protected Area
• Sodwana Bay National Park
• Sodwana State Forest
• St. Lucia Marine Reserve
• St. Lucia Game Reserve
• St. Lucia Park
• False Bay Park
• Cape Vidal State Forest
• Eastern Shores State Forest
• Nyalazi State Forest
• Maphelane Nature Reserve

In 2004 the mouth of the wetland was blocked by a sand dune in order to ward off an oil spill after the accident of the freighter Jolly Rubino . Since then, the water level has sunk considerably below sea level, so that the measure has not yet been reversed.

Surname

Until 2007, the reserve was called Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park . Since November 2007 it has been called iSimangaliso Wetland Park . isimangaliso means "miracle" and refers to a Zulu proverb about Ujeqe, a court official of the Zulu King Shaka : Ubone isimanga esabonwa uJeqe kwelama Thonga. - "If you have seen miracles, then you have seen the same thing as Ujeqe in Thonga." Thonga or Tongaland is a historical name for the Maputaland region to which the park belongs.

Web links

Commons : iSimangaliso Wetland Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ About us. iSimangaliso Wetland Park, accessed August 1, 2020 . 
2. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage Center: iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Accessed August 21, 2017 .