Parque Nacional de Doñana

 
Parque Nacional de Doñana is the largest of the Spanish national parks, and perhaps the most interesting, with a fauna which incudes many African species. It lies in the delta at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, on the very edge of Europe and on the route followed by migratory birds on their way to Africa. There are two different ecosystems in the park - the wetlands (Doñana húmedo), consisting of the marisma or fenland in the river delta and the lagoons (only a few hundred hectares of which are within the national park), and the dry area (Doñana seco). The areas which are under water for most of the year (almajales) consist of the abandoned channels of the Guadalquivir (caños), the ojos (springs) and of lucios (''pikes'' - long shallow lagoons); between these are the paciles (small circular hummocks) and the vetas or vetonas (higher and longer expanses of dry land).

Rare species found only in the Coto de Doñana are the pardel lynx (Lynx pardinus), which is spotted and smaller than the European lynx, and the snake-eating true ichneumon (Herpestes ichneumon), the only European representative of the ichneumon family, groups of which can frequently be seen trotting through the park in Indian file.
Address: Parque Nacional de Doñana Tourist Office, La Rocina, Huelva , Spain
http://reddeparquesnacionales.mma.es/parques/donana/index.htm

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