The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of low-lying Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It has a high biological diversity and is an important area for both breeding and migrating birds. In 2009, the Dutch and German parts of the Wadden Sea were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the Danish part was added in June 2014.
Dithmarschen is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Nordfriesland, Schleswig-Flensburg, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, and Steinburg, by the state of Lower Saxony, and by the North Sea. From the 13th century up to 1559 Dithmarschen was an independent peasant republic within the Holy Roman Empire and a member of the Hanseatic League.
The East Frisian Islands are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend for some 90 kilometres (56 mi) from west to east between the mouths of the Ems and Jade / Weser rivers and lie about 3.5 to 10 km offshore. Between the islands and the mainland are extensive mudflats, known locally as Watten, which form part of the Wadden Sea. In front of the islands are Germany's territorial waters, which occupy a much larger area than the islands themselves. The islands, the surrounding mudflats and the territorial waters form a close ecological relationship. The island group makes up about 5% of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.
The Wadden Sea National Parks in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands are located along the German Bight of the North Sea. In Germany and Denmark they also mark the area of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Wadden Sea. Divided from each other by administrative borders, they form a single ecological entity. The purpose of the national parks is the protection of the Wadden Sea ecoregion.
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park is a national park in the Schleswig-Holstein area of the German Wadden Sea. It was founded by the Parliament of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 October 1985 by the National Park Act of 22 July 1985 and expanded significantly in 1999. Together with the Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park, the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park and those parts of Elbe estuary which are not nature reserves, it forms the German part of the Wadden Sea.
The common shelduck is a waterfowl species of the shelduck genus, Tadorna. It is widespread and common in the Euro-Siberian region of the Palearctic, mainly breeding in temperate and wintering in subtropical regions; in winter, it can also be found in the Maghreb.
Amrum is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German North Sea coast, south of Sylt and west of Föhr. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and has approximately 2,300 inhabitants.
Neuwerk (; is a 3 km2 tidal island in the Wadden Sea on the German North Sea coast, with a population of 32. Neuwerk is located 13 km northwest of Cuxhaven, between the Weser and Elbe estuaries. The distance to the centre of Hamburg is about 120 km.
The German Bight is the southeastern bight of the North Sea bounded by the Netherlands and Germany to the south, and Denmark and Germany to the east. To the north and west it is limited by the Dogger Bank. The Bight contains the Frisian and Danish Islands. The Wadden Sea is approximately ten to twelve kilometres wide at the location of the German Bight. The Frisian islands and the nearby coastal areas are collectively known as Frisia. The southern portion of the bight is also known as the Heligoland Bight. Between 1949 and 1956 the BBC Sea Area Forecast used "Heligoland" as the designation for the area now referred to as German Bight.
The Heligoland Bight, also known as Helgoland Bight, is a bay which forms the southern part of the German Bight, itself a bay of the North Sea, located at the mouth of the Elbe river. The Heligoland Bight extends from the mouth of the Elbe to the islands of Heligoland and lies between the East Frisian island of Wangerooge and the North Frisian peninsula of Eiderstedt.
North Frisian Barrier Island is the collective term for three barrier islands due west of the German Halligen in the North Frisian Islands archipelago. The shoals act as natural breakwater for the Halligen and other islands closer to land. Uninhabited, they remain one of the few areas in the Wadden Sea that are unaffected by direct human activity.
The Lower Saxon Wadden Sea National Park was established in 1986 and embraces the East Frisian Islands, mudflats and salt marshes between the Bay of Dollart on the border with the Netherlands in the west and Cuxhaven as far as the Outer Elbe shipping channel in the east. The national park has an area of about 345,800 hectares (1,335 sq mi). The National Park organisation is located in Wilhelmshaven. In June 2009, the National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea and the Dutch Wadden Sea, highlighting its unique intertidal ecosystem and high biodiversity.
The Großer Knechtsand is a large sandbank beyond the Weser and Elbe estuaries in the eastern part of Lower Saxony's Wadden Sea off the coast of North Germany. It lies between the islands of Mellum and Neuwerk. The central area of the sandbank lies above the high water mark, forming the Hochsand of Hoher Knechtsand, which was formerly an island. The Hochsand lies 11 km west of the village of Berensch on the nearest part of the mainland in the borough of Cuxhaven in the Land Wursten.
is an uninhabited island in the Meldorf Bay, about 14 kilometres off the North Sea coast of Dithmarschen in north Germany – about 12 kilometres from the Trischendamm embankment. The island belongs to the municipality of Friedrichskoog and is only occupied from March to October by a bird warden from the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union or NABU. Otherwise it is out-of-bounds. Trischen originated about 400 years ago and moves about 3 m per month towards Büsum on the mainland.
Hallig Habel is the smallest Hallig in the German Wadden Sea, and is a bird sanctuary. It is administered by the Gröde municipality on the neighbouring island. The surface area of Habel measures 7.4 hectares with about 655 metres in length, and 100 metres width.
Nigehörn is an uninhabited artificial island in the North Sea belonging to the German city of Hamburg.
The Waddensea of Hamburg between Elbe and Weser is a German Biosphere reserve. It was added in 1992 by the UNESCO in their "man and biosphere" (MAB).
The Bay of Husum, Husum Bight or Husum Bay is a bay on the North Sea coast of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Its German name is used for the marketing the holiday region around the town of Husum.
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