If you climbed up onto an embankment somewhere on the North Sea coast to take a look at the sea, you could be in for a disappointment - there's not a drop of water to be seen! Instead a broad, barren flatness stretches away before you. But don't panic, the North Sea will be back - in the Wadden Sea, the water ebbs and flows twice a day, in a six hour cycle. Giving rise, between Den Helder in the Netherlands and Esbjerg in Denmark, to a 10,000 square kilometre large wetland, the like of which is found nowhere else in the world.

In order to protect this natural landscape on Niedersachsen's North Sea coast, the area was made a conservation area in 1986. Since 2009, the Niedersachsen Wadden Sea National Park is part of the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Wadden Sea. The 288,000 hectare Niedersachsen Wadden Sea national park covers the tidal flats between the rivers Ems and Elbe, including the East Friesian islands lying just off the coast. The visitor can experience impressive natural displays and landscapes, such as the characteristic salt marshes, the steep bank at Dangast or the "floating moorland" at Sehestedt - the only surviving piece of the ancient moorland regularly invaded by the sea in Germany. Numerous animal and plant species live in the Wadden Sea national park. These include seals, which are easily observed on their sand banks, but also smaller creatures, such as the famous lugworm, which you might come across on a tidal flats walk at low tide. There are many opportunities to come into contact with this unique natural world, the three national park centres, with guided tours, games and exhibitions serve up "nature so close you can almost touch it".

• http://www.wattenmeer-weltnaturerbe.de

Contact:

Nationalparkverwaltung
Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer
Virchowstr. 1
D-26382 Wilhelmshaven

+49 (0) 4421 / 911-0
+49 (0) 4421 / 911280

poststelle@nlpv-wattenmeer.niedersachsen.de
http://www.nationalpark...enmeer.niedersachsen.de

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