Doñana National Park, Spain

Abstract

Doñana National Park, in Andalusia, Spain, is a vast coastal marshland, productive, well-preserved, and inaccessible. There, the Guadalquivir river meets the Atlantic Ocean, creating a large estuary. It is notable for the great diversity of its biotopes, especially lagoons, marshlands, fixed and mobile dunes, scrub woodland, and maquis. Doñana boasts 38 km of pristine beaches on one of the few large stretches of undeveloped coastline remaining in Spain. Its evolution is related to Pleistocene and especially Holocene climatic and eustatic events. The marshes harbor five threatened bird species, one of the biggest heronries in the Mediterranean, more than 500,000 wintering waterfowl, and millions of migrant birds. It is probably the most important national park in the European community.