Wadden Sea
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Satellite image of the southwestern part of the Wadden Sea. |
The
Wadden Sea (
Wattenmeer in
German,
Waddenzee in
Dutch,
Waadsee in
Frisian,
Wattensee in
Low German,
Vadehavet in
Danish) is the name for a body of water and its associated coastal
wetlands lying between a section of the coast of northwestern continental
Europe and the
North Sea.
The Wadden Sea stretches from
Den Helder in the
Netherlands in the southwest, past the river estuaries of
Germany to its northern boundary at
Esbjerg in
Denmark along a total length of some 500 km and a total area of about 10,000 km².
It is typified by extensive tidal
mud flats, deeper tidal trenches and the
islands that are contained within this, a region continually contested by land and sea. The landscape had been formed for a great part by
storm tides.
The Wadden Sea is famous for the rich
fauna,
avifauna and flora. Today, a great part of the Wadden Sea is protected in cooperation of all three countries; see
Wadden Sea National Parks for the protected areas within the German borders.
The Governments of The Netherlands, Denmark and Germany have been working together since 1978 on the protection and conservation of the Wadden Sea. Co-operation covers management, monitoring and research, as well as political matters. Furthermore, in 1982, a Joint Declaration on the Protection of the Wadden Sea was agreed upon to co-ordinate activities and measures for the protection of the Wadden Sea. In 1997, a Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan was adopted.
Some Frisians practice the traditional sport or recreation of
wadlopen, or low-tide sea-walking, in the Wadden Sea.
For the islands, see the applicable sections of
List of islands of the Netherlands.
Note that the word "wad" is Dutch for "mudflat".
*
The Lancewad Report (2001): The cultural heritage of the Wadden Sea Region*
Historical interactions between men and environment in the Wadden Sea*
Website of the Secretariat of The Trilateral Cooperation on the Protection of the Wadden Sea *
Frisia*
Frisian Islands*
German Bightnds-nl:Waddenzee
