Doñana National Park is a natural reserve in
Andalusia, southern
Spain, in the
provinces of Huelva and
Seville. It covers , of which are a protected area. The park is an area of marshes, shallow streams, and sand dunes in
Las Marismas, the delta where the
Guadalquivir River flows into the
Atlantic Ocean. It was established as a
nature reserve in 1969 when the
World Wildlife Fund joined with the Spanish government and purchased a section of marshes to protect it. The eco-system has been under constant threat by the draining of the marshes, the use of river water to boost agricultural production by irrigating land along the coast, water pollution by upriver mining, and the expansion of tourist facilities. It is named after wife of the
seventh Duke of Medina-Sidonia.