Lake Manyara National Park

Lake Manyara National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Plains zebras in Lake Manyara National Park

Location	Arusha Region and Manyara Region, Tanzania
Nearest city	City of Arusha, Babati
Coordinates	3°30′S 35°50′E / 3.500°S 35.833°E / -3.500; 35.833Coordinates: 3°30′S 35°50′E / 3.500°S 35.833°E / -3.500; 35.833
Area	325 km²
Established	1960
Visitors	178,473 (in 2012^[1])
Governing body	Tanzania National Parks Authority

Lake Manyara National Park is a Tanzanian national park located both in Arusha Region and Manyara Region, Tanzania. The two administrative regions have no jurisdiction over the parks. The park is governed by the Tanzania National Parks Authority. The majority of the land area of the park is a narrow strip running between the Gregory Rift wall to the west and Lake Manyara, an alkaline or soda-lake, to the east.^[2]

The park consists of 330 km² (130 sq mi) of arid land, forest, and a soda-lake which covers as much as 200 km² (77 sq mi) of land during the wet season but is nearly nonexistent during the dry season.

Fauna

A Masai giraffe at Lake Manyara National Park.

African bush elephants at Lake Manyara National Park

Squirrel eating a fruit in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Lake Manyara National Park is known for the flamingos that inhabit the lake. During the wet season they inhabit the edges of the lake in flocks of thousands but they are not so present during the dry season.

More than 400 species of birds inhabit the park and many remain throughout the year. Because of this Lake Manyara National Park is a good spot for bird watching. Visitors to the park can expect to see upwards of 100 different species of bird on any day.^[3]

Leopards, Masai lions, cheetahs, elephants, blue monkeys, dik-dik, gazelles, hippopotami, Masai giraffe, impala, zebras and many more wild animals inhabit this park and many can be seen throughout the year. There is a hippo pond at one end of the park where visitors can get out of their cars and observe from a safe distance. The leopards and lions are both known to lounge in the trees while not hunting for prey.

Access

Lake Manyara National Park is located 126 km (78 mi) south west of Arusha and can be reached by car in an hour and a half. The park can also be reached easily from Babati the capital of Manyara Region. The park is also very close to Tarangire National Park There is also an airport, Lake Manyara Airport (LKY), located at the top of the rift wall.

Lake Manyara NP philosophy

Properties and lodges

(listed alphabetically)^[4]

References

↑ "Tanzania National parks Corporate Information". Tanzania Parks. TANAPA. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
↑ World Conservation Monitoring Centre Lake Manyara National Park
↑ Tanzania National Parks official website Lake Manyara National Park
↑ Lake Manyara National Park

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Manyara National Park.

National Parks of Tanzania

National Parks	Arusha Gombe Stream Jozani Chwaka Bay Katavi Kilimanjaro Kitulo Lake Manyara Mahale Mountains Mikumi Mkomazi Ruaha Rubondo Island Saadani Saanane Island Serengeti Tarangire Udzungwa Mountains

Reserves	Amani Biharamulo Grumeti Mpanga-Kipengere Ngorongoro Selous Uwanda

Marine Parks and Reserves	Dar es Salaam: Bongoyo Mbudya Pangavini Fungu Yasini Mafia Island Maziwe Island Mnazi Bay-Ruvuma Estuary

Organizations	Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA) Marine Parks and Reserves Unit (MPRU) Tanzania Wildlife Division Ngorongoro Conservation Authority

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.