Virunga National Park in Congo

Virunga National Park - Congo

Virunga national park (the covering of an area of 790,000 ha) encloses an excellent dissimilarity of habitats, in the interval of marshes and steppes to the snowy fields of Rwenzori in a height of more than 5,000 ms, and from lava levels to the savannahas on the slope of volcanoes. Mountain gorillas are found in the park, about 20,000 Nile horses living in the rivers and birds of Siberia spend the winter there.

Wonderful Universal Importance

National park of Virunga is unique with his active chain of volcanoes and rich dissimilarity of habitats which excel those any other African park. His row contains a coalescence of steppes, savanna and levels, marshland, low height and afro-montane forest straps to the unique Afro-Alpine vegetation and lasting glaciers and snow on Monts Rwenzori whose points culminate in 5000-m height. The property encloses the sensational massifs of Rwenzori and Virunga to mountains which contain two most active volcanoes of Africa. The wide dissimilarity of habitats generates unusual biodiversity, in particular endemic kinds and rare and in general threatened kinds like the mountain gorilla.

Wide Report

The park lies in the north-east of the democratic republic of Congo, on the border with Uganda and Rwanda, and closes a part of the lake Edward (Idi Amin), the Semliki river valley, parts of the Rwindi, Ishasha and Rutshuru valleys in the south of the lake, the Virunga area within the democratic republic of Congo, and the part of the Rwenzori row one. Lake Edward belongs to the river system of the Nile and lake Kivu to the washing bowl-river system of Congo. Qualities enclose hot springs in the Rwindi levels, and the Virunga massive volcanoes, how Nyamulagira (3,068 m) and Nyiragongo (3,470 m), are still active. The areas of the lowest and highest precipitation in the democratic republic of Congo are in the Virunga national park. The substantial Altitudinal row runs out to marked climatic variations which concern the whole biological and geographic dissimilarity by habitats. Habitat types include lakes in different heights, marshy deltas and peat, savanna and lava levels, low height equatorial wood gets stuck, height glacier, and snowy fields (have the Rwenzori points lasting snowy lid). Laid on the border between several Biogeographic zones the park protects tropical rain forest as well as east steppe-kinds, and his row of heights contributes to the habitat variety. The dissimilarity encloses: Bamboo and Hagenia wood on the mountains; equatorial wood along the Semiliki; wooded savanna of the Rwindi; steppes; different low savanna; marshes and transitional habitats; dry up thicken wood; Neoboutonia macrocup wood at the lava levels; wet thick wood; Alpine woods; and scanty vegetation more than 4,300 ms of contained primarily lichens and spermatophyta have been found althoughGraminae, in more than 5,000 ms growing.

Some of the biggest wild animal concentrations in Africa seem along the rivers of the park. Mammals in the savanna of the Rwindi of area enclose: Elephant, Nile horse, buffalo, numerous antelope including kob, defassa waterbuck and topi, wart pig, lion and different monkeys. A big number of pelicans seems on deep Rutshuru. In the Semiliki valley and on the slope of the Virunga of mountains are gorilla, chimpanzee and okapi. In the extreme north are forest pig and bongo. Birds enclose francolin from Nahan, forest reason-throttle, shoebill and probably papyrus yellow warbler.

Historical Description

Founded in 1925 as a park of Albert National (809,000 ha); revised by the order No 69-041 from the 22nd August as a Virunga national park. Called as a world heritage page 1979.

Source:whc/unesco