Doñana National Park

Doñana National Park (Parque Nacional de Doñana), also called Coto 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 50 720 hectares, of which 13 540 are a protected area. It is Spain's largest national park.

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, and endangered species such as the 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.

See List of Spanish national parks.

Further Reading

• Doñana, Spain's Wildlife Wilderness, Juan Antonio Fernández, Taplinger Publishing Company, New York, 1974, hardcover, 253 pages, ISBN 0-8008-8324-1

External Links

• http://www.andalucia.com/environment/protect/donana.htm
• Parque Nacional de Doñana (Spanish Environment Ministry) (in Spanish)
• Map of the park
• CNN report on the 1998 spill