Munzur Valley National Park

Munzur Valley National Park
Munzur Vadisi Milli Parkı
Map showing the location of Munzur Valley National Park
Map showing the location of Munzur Valley National Park
Munzur Valley NP
LocationTunceli Province, Turkey
Nearest cityTunceli
Coordinates39°16′37″N 039°17′33″E / 39.27694°N 39.29250°E / 39.27694; 39.29250
Area420 km2 (160 sq mi)
EstablishedDecember 21, 1971; 52 years ago (1971-12-21)
Governing bodyDirectorate-General of Nature Protection and National Parks
Ministry of Environment and Forest

The Munzur Valley National Park (Turkish: Munzur Vadisi Milli Parkı), established on December 21, 1971, is the largest and the most biodiverse national park in Turkey. It is located at the Munzur Valley of Munzur Mountain Range within Tunceli Province in eastern Anatolia.[1][2]

The Munzur Valley National Park, part of the Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests ecoregion, is one of the richest floristic areas of Anatolia. The national park was established to protect the region's wildlife and scenic beauty.[3]

The protected area is administered by the Directorate-General of Nature Protection and National Parks (Turkish: Doğa Koruma ve Milli Parklar Genel Müdürlüğü) of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, although even outside of the administered area the landscape is very well preserved.[1] A large part of this may be due to the Alevi inhabitants of the region, who respect nature as part of their religious beliefs.[4]

  1. ^ a b "Ministry Organization". Ministry of Environment and Forest. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  2. ^ "Milli Parklar-Tunceli İli Milli Park Kayıtları" (in Turkish). Doğa Koruma ve Milli Parkler Genel Müdürlüğ. 2010-02-13. Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2010-10-22.
  3. ^ World Wildlife Fund (2008-08-25). "Eastern Anatolian deciduous forests". Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  4. ^ http://www.kirdki.com/images/kitaphane/Meqale%202.pdf [bare URL PDF]