Hoge Kempen National Park
| Hoge Kempen National Park | |||
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| Location: | Limburg , Belgium | ||
| Next city: | Genk | ||
| Surface: | 57.5 km² | ||
| Founding: | 2006 | ||
The Hoge Kempen National Park is the first and so far only national park in Belgium . The national park covers an area of around 5750 hectares in the east of the Limburg province between the city of Genk and the Maas valley . The national park opened in March 2006 is part of the Natura 2000 network of special protected areas .
Heath and pine forests as well as some extensive expanses of water shape the landscape, which was created during the last Ice Age , when the Meuse deposited large amounts of rocks and stones from the Ardennes here. The embankment , which is up to 70 meters high and 20 kilometers long, overlooks the Maas valley. The menhir on the Mechelner Heide is in the Hoge Kempen National Park, west of Maasmechelen .
The native animal species here include the European goat milker , the smooth snake and the blue billy goat clover .
Ignace Schops, initiator of the national park, was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2008 .
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