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Banc dArguin - Mauritania
Area: 12,000 km2
Inscribed: 1989
Criteria: (ix) ecological processes (x) biodiversity
Values: The Banc d'Arguin National Park is divided equally between marine and terrestrial environments, but it is the extensive coastal shallows that give the area the unique qualities that justify its status as a world heritage site. These shallows (the remnants of a vast river delta from a bye-gone era when waters flowed from what is now the Sahara desert) support huge numbers of Palaearctic migrant waders, which converge on the area from northern Europe, Siberia and Greenland. An estimated 2.2 million waders over-winter in the Banc d'Arguin, including 2 million individual birds of just five species: Dunlin (818,000); Bar-tailed godwit (543,000); Knot (367,000), Curlew sandpiper (174,000), and ringed plover (98,000). This concentration of birds represents 30-70% of the entire population of the ‘East Atlantic flyway'.
Slideshow of the Banc d'Arguin National Park/world heritage site.
MAPS & SATELLITE IMAGES: A selection of maps and Google Earth satellite images showing the main features of the Banc d'Arguin National Park is available by clicking here. This portfolio includes a selection of physiographic maps, a map of road access routes and GPS waypoints for authorised routes through the park. These are sand 'pistes' rather than made-up roads, so stick to the authorised routes - off-roading is not allowed within the park. Satellite coverage provides some very useful perspectives on the off-shore shallows and islands, which can only be appreciated from the air (or satellite). Take a look!
Visitor's guide and map: An annotated map of the park, including GPS way-points can be downloaded by clicking here.
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Links to other places in the African Wetlands category: Okavango Delta | iSimangaliso | Djoudj | Lake Ichkeul | Sanganeb & Dungonab
Links: Google Earth | UNEP-WCMC Site Description | Official UNESCO Site Details |FIBA Foundation | Birdlife IBA
