Bai Tu Long National Park
Encyclopedia
Bai Tu Long National Park is a protected area zone in northeastern Vietnam
. It was established in 2001, succeeding from the former Ba Mun National Conservation Zone. It is one of seven Vietnamese amphibian national parks which has both terrestrial zone and aquatic zone.
It is located within Bai Tu Long bay, which with Ha Long Bay forms an impressive scenery of sea and islands. Including thousands of islands and rocks, they create one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
According to legend, an immense dragon descended to Ha Long Bay (meaning ‘’Descending Dragon’’) millions years ago, dropping numerous eggs. These eggs hatched forming thousands of rocks and islands. The tail of the dragon extended far to the sea, forming Bach Long Vi
(meaning ‘’The Tail of the White Dragon’’). As she returned to heaven, she said good bye to her offspring at the Bai Tu Long Bay (means ‘’The dragon parts the offsprings’’).
Now the Park is part of Van Don district
, 20 km distant from Cai Rong town.
.
It is composed from a terrestrial area of 61.25 km2 and an aquatic area of 96.58 km2. The zone includes over 40 islands and rocks. They form three groups : Ba Mùn group, Trà Ngọ group and Sậu group. The aquatic area includes the sea zone between the islands and the narrows between the park area and the land area which has boundary of 1 km offshore.
The National Park also includes a buffer zone of approximately 165.34 km2 , which is located in a larger area including 5 communes : Minh Châu, Vạn Yên, Bản Sen, Quan Lạn and Hạ Long. The total population of the core zone and the buffer zone is around 24.000.
The Rain Broad Leaves Forest area is mostly secondary forest. The average canopy covers 50 – 90%. 494 species belonging to 337 genera of 117 families have been found in this type of ecosystem. Some endangered species include Cycas balansae
, Radix marindae officinalis, Ardisia sylvestris Pitard, Smilax glabra, Leopard cat
(Prionailurus bengalensis), Indian muntjac
(Muntiacus muntjak), Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), Large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha).
The Limestone Forest area is forest growing in poor soil with particles of limestone on rocky islands. Some rare animals found there include Serow, Rhesus macaque.
The Littoral Ecosystem in the park is small areas surrounding the islands. It has a rather large tidal variation and is biologically highly diverse with 251 species including 19 species of mangrove
, 17 species of seaweed
, 29 species of marine worms , 149 species of molluscs, 22 species of crustaceans and 15 species of echinoderms.
The Coral area is located from the water depths of low tide to 10m deep. 409 species have been found including groupers, sea bass
, crabs, snails, abalone
and seaweeds.
The Shallow Water area covers a large area around the islands, beyond the tidal area and extending from 1 km to around 4 km. These areas have not been profoundly researched but 539 species have been found.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. It was established in 2001, succeeding from the former Ba Mun National Conservation Zone. It is one of seven Vietnamese amphibian national parks which has both terrestrial zone and aquatic zone.
It is located within Bai Tu Long bay, which with Ha Long Bay forms an impressive scenery of sea and islands. Including thousands of islands and rocks, they create one of the most beautiful bays in the world.
According to legend, an immense dragon descended to Ha Long Bay (meaning ‘’Descending Dragon’’) millions years ago, dropping numerous eggs. These eggs hatched forming thousands of rocks and islands. The tail of the dragon extended far to the sea, forming Bach Long Vi
Bach Long Vi
Bach Long Vi island is located in the Gulf of Tonkin, about halfway between Hai Phong and Hainan Island . The island is an offshore district of Haiphong City. Fishing comprises the majority of economic activity in the Gulf of Tonkin, and Bach Long Vi is a major nursery and harvesting area for...
(meaning ‘’The Tail of the White Dragon’’). As she returned to heaven, she said good bye to her offspring at the Bai Tu Long Bay (means ‘’The dragon parts the offsprings’’).
Now the Park is part of Van Don district
Van Don
Vân Đồn is a district of Quang Ninh Province in the northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 39,157. The district covers an area of 551 km²...
, 20 km distant from Cai Rong town.
Geography
The exactly geographical position is in a rectangle between 20o55'05" and 21o15'10" North latitude, 107o30'10" and 107o46'20" East longitude. It administratively consists of 3 communes : Minh Châu, Vạn Yên and Hạ Long of Van Don districtVan Don
Vân Đồn is a district of Quang Ninh Province in the northeastern region of Vietnam.As of 2003 the district had a population of 39,157. The district covers an area of 551 km²...
.
It is composed from a terrestrial area of 61.25 km2 and an aquatic area of 96.58 km2. The zone includes over 40 islands and rocks. They form three groups : Ba Mùn group, Trà Ngọ group and Sậu group. The aquatic area includes the sea zone between the islands and the narrows between the park area and the land area which has boundary of 1 km offshore.
The National Park also includes a buffer zone of approximately 165.34 km2 , which is located in a larger area including 5 communes : Minh Châu, Vạn Yên, Bản Sen, Quan Lạn and Hạ Long. The total population of the core zone and the buffer zone is around 24.000.
Ecosystem
The National Park includes five kinds of ecosystems : Rain Broad Leaves Forest, Limestone Forest, Littoral Forest, Coral Area and Shallow Water Area.The Rain Broad Leaves Forest area is mostly secondary forest. The average canopy covers 50 – 90%. 494 species belonging to 337 genera of 117 families have been found in this type of ecosystem. Some endangered species include Cycas balansae
Cycas balansae
Cycas balansae is a species of cycad in the genus Cycas, native to southwestern China and adjacent northern Vietnam , where it occurs in dense mountain rainforests....
, Radix marindae officinalis, Ardisia sylvestris Pitard, Smilax glabra, Leopard cat
Leopard Cat
The leopard cat is a small wild cat of South and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern by IUCN as it is widely distributed but threatened by habitat loss and hunting in parts of its range...
(Prionailurus bengalensis), Indian muntjac
Indian Muntjac
The Common Muntjac , also called the Red Muntjac, Indian Muntjac or Barking deer is the most numerous muntjac deer species. It has soft, short, brownish or greyish hair, sometimes with creamy markings. This species is omnivorous, feeding on fruits, shoots, seeds, birds' eggs as well as small...
(Muntiacus muntjak), Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica), Large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha).
The Limestone Forest area is forest growing in poor soil with particles of limestone on rocky islands. Some rare animals found there include Serow, Rhesus macaque.
The Littoral Ecosystem in the park is small areas surrounding the islands. It has a rather large tidal variation and is biologically highly diverse with 251 species including 19 species of mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
, 17 species of seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
, 29 species of marine worms , 149 species of molluscs, 22 species of crustaceans and 15 species of echinoderms.
The Coral area is located from the water depths of low tide to 10m deep. 409 species have been found including groupers, sea bass
Sea bass
-Family Serranidae:* Barred sand bass , lives mainly off the coast of California* Black sea bass , whose range is the eastern coast of the United States...
, crabs, snails, abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
and seaweeds.
The Shallow Water area covers a large area around the islands, beyond the tidal area and extending from 1 km to around 4 km. These areas have not been profoundly researched but 539 species have been found.