Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park

Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park
Nationalpark Hamburgisches Wattenmeer
IUCN category II (national park)
Satellite picture of the 3 islands of the national park
Location of the park in northern Germany
Location	North Sea coast, Hamburg,  Germany
Coordinates	53°56′07″N 8°28′22″E / 53.935329°N 8.472694°E / 53.935329; 8.472694
Area	13,750 ha (53.1 sq mi)
Established	April 9, 1990 (1990-04-09)
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Hamburgisches Wattenmeer
Designated	1 August 1990
Reference no.	501[1]

The Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park (German: Hamburgisches Wattenmeer) is the smallest of the three German Wadden Sea National Parks which protect the single ecological entity of the Wadden Sea reaching from Den Helder to Esbjerg.

It is an exclave of the city state of Hamburg in North Germany and lies 12.5 km off Cuxhaven in the estuary of the Elbe in the North Sea (German Bight) and includes the islands of Neuwerk, Scharhörn and Nigehörn. It is made up mainly of sand and mixed mudflats with shallow creeks, sand bars (Plaaten) and the dune islands. In 2011 the national park was added to the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site, highlighting its intact intertidal ecosystem, importance as a breeding area for many species of birds, and uniquely high biodiversity.^[2]