 thumb|right|250px|gorilla mother and child in volcanoes national park volcanoes national park () lies in northwestern rwanda and borders virunga national park in the democratic republic of congo and mgahinga gorilla national park in uganda. the national park is known as a haven for the mountain gorilla. it is home to five of the eight volcanoes of the virunga mountains (karisimbi, bisoke, muhabura, gahinga and sabyinyo), which are covered in rainforest and bamboo. the park was the base for the zoologist dian fossey. ==history== thumb|right|250px|children on a farm near volcanoes national park the park was first gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by karisimbi, visoke and mikeno, intended to protect the gorillas from poachers. it was the very first national park to be created in africa. subsequently, in 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into rwanda and into the belgian congo, to form the albert national park, a huge area of 8090&nbsp;kmÂ², run by the belgian colonial authorities who were in charge of both colonies.philip briggs & janice booth (2001) rwanda: the bradt travel guide p171. bradt travel guides ltd. and the globe pequot press inc. isbn 1-84162-034-3 in 1958, 700 hectares of the park were cleared for a human settlement. after the congo gained independence in 1960, the park was split into two, and upon rwandan independence in 1962 the new government agreed to maintain the park as a conservation and tourist area, despite the fact that the new republic was already suffering from overpopulation problems. the park was halved in area in 1969.  between 1969 and 1973, 1050 hectares of the park were cleared to grow pyrethrum.ortpn (2004). plan dâamÃ©nagement de gestion du parc national des volcans. draft 2. office of tourism and national parks (ortpn), kigali. the park later became the base for the american naturalist dian fossey to carry out her research into the gorillas. she arrived in 1967 and set up the karisoke research centre between karisimbi and visoke. from then on she spent most of her time in the park, and is widely credited with saving the gorillas from extinction by bringing their plight to the attention of the international community. she was murdered by unknown assailants at her home in 1985, a crime often attributed to the poachers she had spent her life fighting against.philip briggs & janice booth (2001) rwanda: the bradt travel guide p172. bradt travel guides ltd. and the globe pequot press inc. isbn 1-84162-034-3 fossey's life later was portrayed 
National_parks_of_Rwanda Protected_areas_established_in_1925 Virunga_Mountains Volcanoes_of_Rwanda