Elephants crossing the Zambezi river in Mana Pools National Park world heritage site, Zimbabwe

The great mosque in the Old Towns of Djenne world heritage site, Mali

Black and white ruffed lemur, Rainforests of the Atsinanana world heritage site, Madagascar

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(clockwise from top left: Grauer's gorilla (Kahuzi-Biega); Rock-hewn church (Lalibela); Hominid skull (Ethiopia); Protea flower (Cape Floral Region)

Ngorongoro Conservation Area - Tanzania

In Danger from 1984 to 1989

Area: 8,288 km²

Inscribed: 1979

Criteria: (vii) aesthetic; (ix) ecological processes; (x)biodiversity

Values: Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of Africa's most important wildlife areas and a bold experiment in multiple land use. At its core is the world famous Ngorongoro Crater - a giant caldera in which the dramas of life on the African plains are played out each day by a diverse assemblage of large mammals - wildebeest, zebra, lion and rhino - in a primeval ‘garden of Eden'. Beyond the crater rim, Maasai pastoralists herd their cattle across the plains, seemingly oblivious to the herds of wild animals sharing this vast landscape, the ‘endless plains' of Serengeti.Lake-filled Empakaai crater and the active volcano of Oldonyo Lengai are nearby. The area is also of great significance in tracing the origins of mankind with excavations in the Oldupai Gorge and Laetoli, resulting in discoveries of fossil remains of Homo habilis, and 3.5 million-year old human footprints.

Other International Designations: MAB Biosphere Reserve

Slideshow of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area

Read More about Ngorongoro Conservation Area in this articlefrom the World Heritage

Maps & Satellite Images: A selection of maps and satellite images of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is available here. The portfolio provides detailed information on aspects such as road access, the relationship of Ngorongoro Conservation Area with adjacent protected areas in the Serengeti ecosystem, and a month-by-month view of where the migrating herds of large herbivores are likely to be. The Google Earth satellite images show some of the main features of the area, including the magnificent complex of craters, the proximity of the Great Rift Valley, short grass plains, lakes, woodlands, forests and the intensity of land-use pressures for cultivation along some of the conservation area's boundaries.

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An old bull elephant with massive tusks within the Ngorongoro Crater at the core of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania Pastoralist Maasai practise their traditional lifestyle alongside herds of wildlife in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area world heritage site, Tanzania The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa's premier wildlife attractions with tourists gauranteed close encounters with wildlife while on safari in the world heritaghe site The Maasai people living within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area world heritage site practise a traditional lifestyle, and welcome tourists to visit their homesteads while on safari in Tanzania