Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park
Plains zebras in a Kruger landscape
Location of the park (red area) in South Africa
LocationLimpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa
Nearest cityMbombela (southern)
Phalaborwa (central)
Coordinates24°0′41″S 31°29′7″E / 24.01139°S 31.48528°E / -24.01139; 31.48528
Area19,623 km2 (7,576 sq mi)[1][2][3]
Established31 May 1926[4]
Visitors1,659,793 (1,277,397 day visitors, 382,396 overnight)[5] (in 2014–15 FY)
Governing bodySouth African National Parks
www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger

Kruger National Park (Afrikaans: [ˈkry.(j)ər]) is a South African National Park and one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,623 km2 (7,576 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.

To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, respectively. To the north is Zimbabwe and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.

The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere, an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve.[6]

  1. ^ East, R., ed. (1989). "Chapter 10: South Africa". Antelopes: Southern and South-Central Africa Pt. 2: Global Survey and Regional Action Plans. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Antelope Specialist Group. p. 60. ISBN 978-2-88032-970-9.
  2. ^ Merriam Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia. Merriam-Webster. January 2001. p. 902. ISBN 978-0-87779-017-4.
  3. ^ "The Official SADC Trade, Industry and Investment Review 2006" (PDF). Southern African Development Community. 2006. p. 217. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  4. ^ Stevenson-Hamilton, J. (1937). South African Eden: The Kruger National Park 1902–1946. Struik Publishers.
  5. ^ Modise, A. (2015). "Foreign visitor numbers to Kruger National Park on the rise in 2014/2015 financial year". South African Department of Environmental Affairs. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  6. ^ "UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory". unesco.org.