page_title: W National Park
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: W National Park / Geography
caption_attribution_description: Bends in the River Niger which give W National Park its distinctive name. Niger.
context_page_description: The W National Park or W Regional Park is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the River Niger shaped like the letter W. The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments. Until 2008, the implementation of a regional management was supported by the EU-funded project ECOPAS. The three national parks operate under the name W Transborder Park. The section of W National Park lying in Benin, measuring over 8,000 km², came under the full management of African Parks in June 2020. In Benin, W National Park is contiguous with Pendjari National Park which is also under the management of African Parks.
context_section_description: In the three nations, the Regional park covers some 10,000 km² (3,900 sq mi) largely uninhabited by humans, having been until the 1970s a Malarial zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mekrou River with the Niger, broken by rocky hills. Historically, the area has been at one time a major area of human habitation, judged by the important archaeological sites (mostly tombs) found in the area.
caption: Bends in the River Niger which give W National Park its distinctive name
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