View source for Ngorongoro Conservation Area

{{Short description|Protected area and a World Heritage Site in Arusha Region, Tanzania}}
{{Redirect|Ngorongoro|the district|Ngorongoro District}}
{{Distinguish|Rongorongo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox protected area
| name = Ngorongoro Conservation Area
| photo = File:ngorongoro-1001-2.jpg
| photo_caption = View of the crater
| map = Tanzania |relief=1
| location = [[Ngorongoro District]], [[Arusha Region]], Tanzania
| coordinates = {{coord|03|12|36|S|35|27|36|E|display=inline,title}}
| established = 1959
| visitation_num = Over 500,000 per year<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/8757-dar-registers-three-wonders | title=Dar registers "three wonders" | date=20 August 2012 | publisher=[[Daily News (Tanzania)]] | access-date=28 January 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120922172928/http://www.dailynews.co.tz/index.php/local-news/8757-dar-registers-three-wonders | archive-date=22 September 2012 }}</ref>
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority]]
| embedded1 = {{designation list | embed=yes
   | designation1 = WHS
   | designation1_date = 1979 <small>(3rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
   | designation1_type = Mixed
   | designation1_criteria = (iv)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
   | designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39 39]
   | designation1_free1name = Region
   | designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Africa|Africa]]
   | designation1_free2name = [[List of World Heritage in Danger|Endangered]]
   | designation1_free2value = 1984–1989
}}
| area_km2 = 8292
| area_ref =<ref name="Ecology">[http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/133/1334728220.pdf "The historical ecology of the large mammal populations of Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, east Africa", ''Mammal Review'', authored by Louise Oates and Paul A. Rees, 2012]</ref>
}}
'''Ngorongoro Conservation Area''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|(|ə|)|ŋ|ˌ|ɡ|ɔːr|ə|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|ɔːr|oʊ}},<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Ngorongoro |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322184338/https://www.lexico.com/definition/ngorongoro |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-03-22 |title=Ngorongoro |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|ɛ|ŋ|ˌ|ɡ|ɔːr|oʊ|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|ɔːr|oʊ|,_|ə|ŋ|ˌ|ɡ|oʊ|r|ɔː|ŋ|ˈ|ɡ|oʊ|r|oʊ}}<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Ngorongoro Crater|access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Ngorongoro Crater|access-date=2 August 2019}}</ref>) is a [[protected area]] and a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] located in [[Ngorongoro District]], {{cvt|180|km}} west of [[Arusha City]] in [[Arusha Region]], within the [[Crater Highlands]] geological area of northeastern [[Tanzania]]. The area is named after [[Ngorongoro Crater]], a large volcanic [[caldera]] within the area. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA), which administers the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), is an arm of the Tanzanian government and its boundaries follow the boundary of the [[Ngorongoro District]] in the Arusha Region. The western portion of the park abuts the [[Serengeti National Park]] (SNP). The area comprising the NCA, SNP, and Kenya's [[Maasai Mara]] game reserve is home to [[Serengeti#Great migration|Great Migration]], a massive annual migration of millions of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and other animals. The NCA also contains [[Olduvai Gorge]], one of the most important [[Paleoanthropology|paleoanthropological]] sites in the world.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most popular attractions in Tanzania with  752,232 tourists visiting it in 2023.<ref name="BR">{{Cite journal |last1=Borges |first1=Joana |last2=Symeonakis |first2=Elias |last3=Higginbottom |first3=Thomas P. |last4=Jones |first4=Martin |last5=Cain |first5=Bradley |last6=Kisingo |first6=Alex |last7=Maige |first7=Deogratius |last8=Oliver |first8=Owen |last9=Lobora |first9=Alex L. |date=2024 |title=Assessing Habitat Suitability: The Case of Black Rhino in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area |journal=Remote Sensing |language=en |volume=16 |issue=15 |pages=2855 |doi=10.3390/rs16152855 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024RemS...16.2855B |issn=2072-4292}}</ref> 

The 2009 Ngorongoro Wildlife Conservation Act placed new restrictions on human settlement and subsistence farming in the Crater, displacing [[Maasai people|Maasai]] [[Pastoralism|pastoralists]], most of whom had been relocated to Ngorongoro from their ancestral lands {{Disputed inline|date=March 2023}} to the north when the [[History of Tanzania#British administration after World War I|British colonial government]] established [[Serengeti National Park]] in 1959.<ref name="Maasai_2009">[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/06/masai-tribesman-tanzania-tourism 'Tourism is a curse to us'], ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'', 6 September 2009</ref><ref name="Laltaika 2013">{{cite journal|last1=Laltaika|first1=Elifuraha|title=Pastoralists' Right to Land and Natural Resources in Tanzania|journal=Oregon Review of International Law|date=2013|volume=15|issue=1|pages=43–62|url=https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/17857/Laltaika.pdf?sequence=1|access-date=12 June 2017|issn=1543-9860}}</ref>

==History==
The name of the crater has an [[Onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]] origin; it was named by the Maasai pastoralists after the sound produced by the [[cowbell]] (''ngoro ngoro''). {{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} Based on fossil evidence [[OH 7]] found at the [[Olduvai Gorge]], various [[hominid]] species have occupied the area for at least 1.75 million years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lieberman |first=Daniel E. |last2=Wood |first2=Bernard A. |last3=Pilbeam |first3=David R. |date=1996-02-01 |title=Homoplasy and earlyHomo: an analysis of the evolutionary relationships ofH. habilissensu stricto andH. rudolfensis |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248496900081?via=ihub |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=97–120 |doi=10.1006/jhev.1996.0008 |issn=0047-2484|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Hunter-gatherers were replaced by [[Pastoralism|pastoralists]] a few thousand years ago. The [[Iraqw people]] came to the area about 2,000 years ago and were joined by the [[Datooga people|Datooga]] around the year 1700. Both groups were driven from the area by the [[Maasai people|Maasai]] in the 1800s. <ref>[http://www.ntz.info/gen/n00392.html "Mbulu", ''Information about northern Tanzania: a personal scrapbook of "cuttings" from published sources'']</ref><ref name="Bradt">''Northern Tanzania: The Bradt Safari Guide with Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar'', authored by Phillip Briggs, 2006, pages 197, 198 {{ISBN|1-84162-146-3}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hanby, Jeannette & Bygott, David: Ngorongoro Conservation Area |url=https://ntz.info/gen/b00039.html |access-date=2023-01-01 |website=ntz.info}}</ref>

No Europeans are known to have set foot in the Ngorongoro Crater until 1892 when it was visited by [[Oscar Baumann]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=Philip |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SvZq4-BgBskC&pg=PA169 |title=Tanzania: With Zanzibar, Pemba and Mafia |date=2006 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-153-1 |language=en}}</ref> Two German brothers (Adolph and Friedrich Siedentopf) farmed in the crater until the outbreak of [[World War I]], after leasing the land from the administration of [[German East Africa]]. The brothers regularly organized shooting parties to entertain their German friends. They also attempted to drive the [[wildebeest]] herds out of the crater.<ref name="Ecology" /><ref name="Bradt" /><ref name="RV">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtAVAQAAIAAJ |title=Africa's Great Rift Valley |date=September 2001 |publisher=Harry N. Abrams |isbn=978-0-8109-0602-0 |language=en}}</ref>

The first game reserves were established by Germans and allowed hunting. Under British rule after [[World War I]], various game preservation ordinances which restricted hunting were enacted in various areas in [[Tanzania]] (then [[Tanganyika Territory|Tanganyika]]) starting in 1921. By 1930, Ngorongoro Crater was included.<ref name="TW">{{Cite journal |last=Nelson |first=Fred |last2=Nshala |first2=Rugemeleza |last3=Rodgers |first3=W. A. |date=June 2007 |title=The Evolution and Reform of Tanzanian Wildlife Management |url=https://journals.lww.com/coas/fulltext/2007/05020/the_evolution_and_reform_of_tanzanian_wildlife.4.aspx |journal=Conservation and Society |language=en-US |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=232 |issn=0972-4923}}</ref> Also during this time, the Land Ordinance of 1923 created legal basis to place the land rights of indigenous people at the discretion of the Governor, though indigenous people retained those rights through the 1950's. Tensions between the drive for preservation and the rights of indigenous people rose during this time.<ref name="TW" />

The National Park Ordinance of 1948 (implemented in 1951), created the [[Serengeti National Park]] (SNP).<ref>{{Cite web |title=About NCAA – Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) |url=https://www.ncaa.go.tz/about-ncaa/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |language=en-US}}</ref> However, to secure land rights for the [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] [[Maasai people]] living in the area, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Ordinance (1959) separated the NCA from the SNP.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Serengeti National Park travel information - Tanzania |url=https://www.serengeti.com/information-serengeti-national-park.php#:~:text=So,%20the%20original%20Serengeti%20National%20Park,%20as,of%20the%20park%20to%20the%20Kenya%20border. |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=serengeti.com |language=en}}</ref> Maasai people living in Serengeti National Park were systematically relocated to Ngorongoro Conservation Area, increasing the population of Maasai people living there. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ngorongoro Conservation Area {{!}} Tanzania |url=https://www.wildsafariguide.com/listing/ngorongoro-conservation-area/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Wild Safari Guide |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Marchant |first=Rob |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/East_Africa_s_Human_Environment_Interact/wjZZEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=maasai |title=East Africa’s Human Environment Interactions: Historical Perspectives for a Sustainable Future |date=2022-01-13 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-88987-6 |language=en}}</ref>
It also increased the disputes between the Tanzania government and the Maasai people.<ref name="natgeo">{{cite web | url=http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature1/text4.html | title=Heartbreak on the Serengeti | access-date=21 February 2008 | author=Robert M. Poole | work=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] | page=4 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629025350/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature1/text4.html | archive-date=29 June 2012 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Laltaika 2013" />{{rp|48}} 

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority (NCAA) was established at the same time and manages the NCA and works to preserve it as a multi-use protected area. The NCAA's mission is to support the traditions of pastoral Maasai people, preserve the natural and cultural values of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and to promote and regulate tourism<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority :: Welcome |url=https://www.ngorongorocrater.org/welcome.html |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.ngorongorocrater.org}}</ref>

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area became a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1979, originally inscribed for its natural significance of wildlife and the Ngorongoro Crater. The NCA then received Mixed Heritage Status in 2010 due to the cultural significance of the anthropological importance of the Olduvai Gorge.'''<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |title=Ngorongoro Conservation Area |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39 |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=whc.unesco.org |language=en}}</ref>'''This cultural recognition, however, has not included the Maasai community, hence the longstanding conflict surrounding the use and management of the park.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ICOMOS |first=UNESCO |date=2010 |title=Advisory Body Evaluation ICOMOS (Ngorongoro Conservation Area) |url=https://whc.unesco.org/document/153374}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Melubo |first1=Kokel |last2=Lovelock |first2=Brent |date=4 March 2019 |title=Living Inside a UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Perspective of the Maasai Community in Tanzania |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/21568316.2018.1561505 |journal=Tourism Planning & Development |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=197–216 |doi=10.1080/21568316.2018.1561505 |s2cid=134262021 |issn=2156-8316|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

The Wildlife Conservation Act of 2009 further restricted human use of Ngorongoro Crater and created a legal framework to politically disenfranchise and forcibly displace traditional pastoralists.<ref name="Laltaika 2013" />{{rp|57–59}} The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) is seeking solutions to ease conflict and improve collaborative efforts toward conservation with the locals.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hodgetts|first1=Timothy|last2=Lewis|first2=Melissa|last3=Bauer|first3=Hans|last4=Burnham|first4=Dawn|last5=Dickman|first5=Amy|last6=Macdonald|first6=Ewan|last7=Macdonald|first7=David|last8=Trouwborst|first8=Arie|date=2 June 2018|title=Improving the role of global conservation treaties in addressing contemporary threats to lions|journal=Biodiversity and Conservation|volume=27|issue=10|pages=2747–2765|doi=10.1007/s10531-018-1567-1|issn=0960-3115|pmc=6435094|pmid=30996533|bibcode=2018BiCon..27.2747H }}</ref>

Citing concerns about the preservation of the natural value of the NCA, starting in 2021, the Tanzanian government designed and then started implementing a plan to relocate all of the [[Maasai people]] in Ngorongoro Conservation Area to Msomera, a village 600 kilometers away. This is considered a voluntary relocation, however, [[Human Rights Watch]] reports that the government has acted in a coercive way without accordance to the principle of [[Free, prior and informed consent|free, prior, and informed consent]] (FPIC). <ref name="KC">{{Cite journal |last=Nnoko |first=Juliana |date=2024-07-31 |title=“It’s Like Killing Culture” |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/07/31/its-killing-culture/human-rights-impacts-relocating-tanzanias-maasai |journal=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref>

== Geography ==
[[File:Serengeti_Ecosystem.jpg|thumb|Serengeti Ecosystem]]
The [[Serengeti|Serengeti ecosystem]] includes multiple preserved areas in Tanzania. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area is in the southeast portion (shown in dark grey). The NCA adjoins the Serengeti National Park to the northwest and is contiguous with the SNP's southern Serengeti plains. These plains also extend to the north of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area into the unprotected Loliondo division and are kept open to wildlife through [[transhumance]] [[pastoralism]] practiced by the Maasai. The south and east of the NCA are volcanic highlands, including the famous Ngorongoro Crater and the lesser-known Empakaai Crater. 

The southern and eastern boundaries of the Serengeti ecosystem are approximately defined by the rim of the [[East African Rift]] wall, which also prevents animal migration in these directions.  {{citation needed|date=April 2020}} In the topographical map, [[Lake Nyanza]] is the same as [[Lake Victoria]] in the Serengeti Ecosystem map.

=== Geology ===
[[File:Gregory_Rift_Topographical.svg|thumb|East African Rift and Gregory Rift Topographical]]The [[Pliocene]] Ngorongoro [[volcanic group]] consists of eight extinct [[shield volcanoes]] within the Eyasi [[half-graben]], the eastern boundary marked by the [[Gregory Rift]] Western [[Escarpment]]. The [[Lake Eyasi]] escarpment bounds the half-graben on the southwest.  Within the complex, five volcanoes are [[volcanic cone|dome-shaped cones]], while three have calderas.  Ngorongoro Volcano (2.5–1.9 Ma) is primarily [[basaltic]] [[trachyandesite]]. The caldera is fed by the Munge and Oljoro Nyuki Rivers, while the Ngoitokitok [[hot springs]] feed into the Goringop swamp.  Lake Magadi is a shallow (1.7 m) [[alkaline lake]]. Other volcanoes within the complex include Olmoti (2.01–1.79 Ma), Empakaai, Loolmalasin, Sadiman (3.7 Ma), Lemagrut, and Oldeani. The northwest portion of the NCA consists of the Serengeti Plains, the Salei Plains, the Oldupai Gorge, and the Gol Mountains [[inselberg]]s.  These inselbergs are part of the [[Mozambique Belt]] [[quartzite]] and [[mica]] [[schist]] about (800–500 [[mega-annum|Ma]]) in age.<ref name="Scoon">{{cite book |last1=Scoon |first1=R. |title=Geology of National Parks of Central/Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania: Geotourism of the Gregory Rift Valley, Active Volcanism and Regional Plateaus |date=2018 |publisher=Springer |isbn=9783319737843 |pages=103–114}}</ref>

==Ngorongoro Crater==
[[File:Ngorongoro Crater Map.svg|thumb|Ngorongoro Topographic Map]]
The main feature of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is the Ngorongoro Crater, the world's largest inactive, intact and unfilled volcanic [[caldera]].<ref name="elsevier" /> The crater, which formed when a large volcano erupted and collapsed on itself two to three million years ago, is {{convert|610|m|ft|abbr=off}} deep and its floor covers {{convert|260|km2|mi2|abbr=off}}.<ref name="RV" /><ref name="Serengeti III">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRybBlahRGUC&pg=PA53 |title=Serengeti III: Human Impacts on Ecosystem Dynamics |first1=A. R. E.|last1=Sinclair |first2=C. |last2=Packer |first3=S. A. R. |last3=Mduma |first4=J. M. |last4=Fryxell |date=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press|access-date=12 June 2018 |isbn=9780226760353}}</ref> Estimates of the height of the original volcano range from {{convert|4500|to|5800|m|ft|abbr=off}} high.<ref name="Serengeti III" /> The crater floor is {{convert|1800|m|ft|abbr=off}} above sea level.<ref name="Ecology" /> The crater was voted by Seven Natural Wonders<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sevennaturalwonders.org/about/|title=About – Seven Natural Wonders|website=sevennaturalwonders.org|access-date=12 June 2018}}</ref> as one of the [[Seven Natural Wonders of Africa]] in Arusha, Tanzania, in February 2013.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sharaf |first1=Yasir |title=Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area {{!}} Seven Natural Wonders of Africa |url=https://xpatsinternational.com/ngorongoro-crater-conservation-area/ |website=XPATS International |access-date=25 October 2021 |ref=None |date=12 April 2017}}</ref> The Ngorongoro volcano was active from about 2.45 to 2 million years ago.<ref name="RV" /> Volcanic eruptions like that of Ngorongoro, which resulted in the formation of Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, were very common. Similar collapses occurred in the case of [[Olmoti]] and [[Empakaai]], but they were much smaller in magnitude and impact.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} Out of the two recent volcanoes to the northeast of the Empakaai caldera, Kerimasi and [[Ol Doinyo Lengai]], Doinyo Lengai is still active and had major eruptions in 2007 and 2008. Smaller ash eruptions and lava flows continue to slowly fill the current crater. Its name in [[Maasai language|Maasai]] means 'Mountain of God'.<ref name="elsevier"/> The Munge Stream drains Olmoti Crater to the north and is the main water source draining into the seasonal [[salt lake]] in the center of the crater. This lake is known by two names: ''Makat'' as the Maasai called it, meaning salt; and ''Magadi''.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Deocampo, D.M. |year=2004 |title=Hydrogeochemistry in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, and implications for land use in a World Heritage Site |journal=Applied Geochemistry |volume=19 |issue=5 |page=755−767|doi=10.1016/j.apgeochem.2003.10.006 |bibcode=2004ApGC...19..755D}}</ref> The Lerai Stream drains the humid forests to the south of the Crater and feeds the Lerai Forest on the crater floor – when there is enough rain, the Lerai drains into Lake Magadi as well. Extraction of water by lodges and Ngorongoro Conservation Area headquarters reduces the amount of water entering Lerai by around 25%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Management of Black Rhino in the Ngorongoro Crater | publisher=[[African Wildlife Foundation]] |date=2003 |url=http://www.zgf.de/mitarbeiterbereich/pdf/NgorongoroBlackRhinoWorkshopl.pdf |access-date=21 February 2008}}</ref>

The other major water source in the crater is the Ngoitokitok Spring, near the eastern crater wall. There is a picnic site here open to tourists and a huge swamp fed by the spring, and the area is inhabited by [[hippopotamus]]es, elephants, lions, and many others. Many other small springs can be found around the crater's floor, and these are important water supplies for the animals and local [[Maasai people|Maasai]], especially during times of drought.<ref>{{Cite journal |journal=Biological Conservation |date=2006 |volume=131 |issue=1 |pages=116–117 |title=Downward trends in Ngorongoro Crater ungulate populations 1986–2005: Conservation concerns and the need for ecological research |author=Estesa, R. D. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Atwood, J. L. |author3=Estes, A. B. |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2006.02.009 |bibcode=2006BCons.131..106E |url=http://www.rarespecies.org/crater.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907032322/http://www.rarespecies.org/crater.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2016-09-07 }}</ref> Maasai were previously permitted to graze their cattle within the crater, but as of 2015 were restricted from doing so.<ref name="natgeo"/>

==Olduvai Gorge==
{{Main article|Olduvai Gorge}}
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area also protects [[Olduvai Gorge|Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge]], situated in the plains area. It is considered to be the seat of humanity after the discovery of the earliest known specimens of the human genus, ''[[Homo habilis]] '' as well as early [[hominidae]], such as ''[[Paranthropus boisei]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the [[East African Rift|Great Rift Valley]], which stretches along eastern Africa. Olduvai is in the eastern [[Serengeti]] Plains in northeastern [[Tanzania]] and is about {{convert|50|km}} long. It lies in the rain shadow of the Ngorongoro highlands and is the driest part of the region.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pavitt, N. |year=2001 |title=Africa's Great Rift Valley |location=New York |publisher=Harry N. Abrams, Incorporated |isbn=0-8109-0602-3}}</ref> The gorge is named after 'Oldupaai', the [[Maasai language|Maasai]] word for the wild sisal plant, ''[[Sansevieria ehrenbergii]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

It is one of the most important [[prehistoric]] sites in the world and research there has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early [[human evolution]]. Excavation work there was pioneered by [[Mary Leakey|Mary]] and [[Louis Leakey]] in the 1950s and is continued today by their family. Some believe that millions of years ago, the site was that of a large lake, the shores of which were covered with successive deposits of [[volcanic ash]]. Around 500,000 years ago [[seismic]] activity diverted a nearby stream which began to cut down into the sediments, revealing seven main layers in the walls of the gorge.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}}

==Wildlife==
[[File:Wildebeest and Zebra near Ngorongoro Crater lake - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg|thumb|Wildebeest and zebra near Ngorongoro Crater lake]]
[[File:Rhinoceros, Ngorongoro (2015).jpg|thumb|Rhinoceros in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area]]
[[File:Ngorongoro Crater (74) (13962020680).jpg|thumb|Cheetah in Ngorongoro]]
Approximately 25,000 large animals, mostly [[ungulate]]s, live in the crater.<ref name=UNESCO>{{cite web |url = https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39 | title = Ngorongoro Conservation Area | publisher = United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization – World Heritage Centre | quote = In summer enormous numbers of Serengeti migrants pass through the plains of the reserve, including 1.7 million wildebeest, 260,000 zebra, and 470,000 gazelle. | access-date = 3 June 2014}}</ref>
Large mammals in the crater include the [[black rhinoceros]] (''Diceros bicornis michaeli''), the local population of which declined from about 108 in 1964–66<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goddard |first=John |date=1967 |title=Home Range, Behaviour, and Recruitment Rates of Two Black Rhinoceros Populations |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2028.1967.tb00768.x |journal=African Journal of Ecology |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=133–150 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.1967.tb00768.x |bibcode=1967AfJEc...5..133G |issn=1365-2028|url-access=subscription }}</ref> to 13 in 1993.<ref>Kohi, E. M., & Lobora, A. L. (2019). Conservation and management plan for black rhino in Tanzania 2019-2023. Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)</ref> Following the monitoring and protection initiatives of the [[Frankfurt Zoological Society]], International Rhino Foundation and [[World Wildlife Fund]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ngorongoro Crater: The Complete Guide for 2024-25 |url=https://altezzatravel.com/tanzania-safari/parks/ngorongoro |access-date=2025-01-20 |website=Altezza Travel |language=en}}</ref>  the current total is 55 animals as of 2018.<ref name="BR" /> 

Large mammals in the crater also include African buffalo or [[Cape buffalo]] (''Syncerus caffer''), and the [[hippopotamus]] (''Hippopotamus amphibius'').<ref name="UNESCO" /> There also are many other ungulates: the [[blue wildebeest]] (''Connochaetes taurinus'') (7,000 estimated in 1994), [[Grant's zebra]] (''Equus quagga boehmi'') (4,000), the [[common eland|eland]] (''Taurotragus oryx''), and [[Grant's gazelle|Grant's]] (''Nanger granti'') and [[Thomson's gazelle]]s (''Eudorcas thomsonii'') (3,000).<ref name="UNESCO" /> [[Waterbuck]]s (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') occur mainly near Lerai Forest.<ref name="UNESCO" />

Absent are Giraffe, [[impala]] (''Aepyceros melampus''), [[topi]] (''Damaliscus lunatus''), [[oribi]] (''Ourebia oribi''), and [[Nile crocodile|crocodile]] (''Crocodylus niloticus'').<ref name="Ecology"/><ref name=elsevier>{{cite journal |last1=Estesa |first1=R. D. |last2=Atwood |first2=J. L. |last3=Estes |first3=A. B. |year=2006 |title=Downward trends in Ngorongoro Crater ungulate populations 1986–2005: Conservation concerns and the need for ecological research |journal=Biological Conservation |volume= 131|issue=1 |pages=107 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2006.02.009 |bibcode=2006BCons.131..106E |url=http://www.rarespecies.org/crater.pdf |access-date=23 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160907032322/http://www.rarespecies.org/crater.pdf |archive-date=7 September 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Southern cheetah|Cheetah]] (''Acinonyx jubatus raineyi''), [[East African wild dog]] (''Lycaon pictus lupinus''), and [[African leopard]] (''Panthera pardus pardus'') are rarely seen.<ref name="Ecology"/><ref name=Kissui>{{cite journal |last1=Kissui |first1=B. M. |last2=Mosser |first2=A. |last3=Packer |first3=C. |year=2010 |title=Persistence and local extinction of lion prides in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania |journal=Population Ecology |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=103–111 |doi= 10.1007/s10144-009-0176-y|bibcode=2010PopEc..52..103K |s2cid=21028139 }}</ref> Spotted hyenas (''Crocuta crocuta'') have been the subject of a long-term research study in the NCA since 1996.

Although thought of as "a natural enclosure" for a very wide variety of wildlife, 20 percent or more of the wildebeest and half the zebra populations vacate the crater in the wet season, while Cape buffalo (''Syncerus caffer'') stay; their highest numbers are during the rainy season.<ref name="elsevier"/>

Since 1986, the crater's wildebeest population has fallen from 14,677 to 7,250 (2003–2005).<ref name="elsevier"/> The numbers of eland and Thomson's gazelle also have declined while the buffalo population has increased greatly, probably due to the long prevention of fire which favors high-fibrous grasses over shorter, less fibrous types.<ref name="elsevier"/><ref name="UNESCO"/>

[[Serval]] (''Leptailurus serval'') occurs widely in the crater.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

[[File:Ngorongoro 2012 05 29 2281 (7500939612).jpg|thumb|[[Lake Magadi (Ngorongoro)]]]][[Lake Magadi (Ngorongoro)|Lake Magadi]], a large lake in the southwest of the crater, is often inhabited by thousands of mainly [[lesser flamingo]]es.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDK2b2NDCbIC|title=Ngorongoro Visitor Map Guide|first1=Jacana|last1=Education|first2=Dave|last2=Watson|date=12 August 2008|publisher=Jacana Media|access-date=12 June 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781770091733}}</ref>

The crater has one [[Endemism|endemic]] species of mammal: [[Mduma's shrew]] (''Crocidura mdumai''), which is restricted to montane forests on the edge of the crater. This [[shrew]] is considered [[Endangered species|endangered]] due to deforestation from smallholder farming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stanley |first1=William T. |last2=Hutterer |first2=Rainer |last3=Giarla |first3=Thomas C. |last4=Esselstyn |first4=Jacob A. |date=21 April 2015 |title=Phylogeny, phylogeography and geographical variation in the''Crocidura monax''(Soricidae) species complex from the montane islands of Tanzania, with descriptions of three new species |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=174 |issue=1 |pages=185–215 |doi=10.1111/zoj.12230 |issn=0024-4082|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn|title=''Crocidura mdumai''|page=e.T112503346A112503349|author=Giarla, T.|date=2017|volume=2017|access-date=4 August 2022|author2=Dando, T.|author3=Kennerley, R.|doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T112503346A112503349.en}}</ref>

=== Lions ===
[[File:Lion Serengeti.JPG|thumb|Lioness yawns in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania]]
The crater has one of the densest known population of [[Panthera leo melanochaita|lion]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/craterlions/html/crater.html |title="The Crater Lions", ''Nature'', United States Public Broadcasting System |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=6 September 2017 |archive-date=11 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011230716/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/craterlions/html/crater.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> numbering 62 in 2001.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

A side effect of the crater being a natural enclosure is that the lion population is significantly inbred. This is due to the very small amount of new bloodlines that enter the local gene pool, as very few migrating male lions enter the crater from the outside. Those who do enter the crater are often prevented from contributing to the gene pool by the crater's male lions, who expel any outside competitors.<ref name="Ecology"/>

Long-term data imply that lions in the crater were struck by four deadly disease outbreaks between 1962 and 2002.<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBYiprnFqK8C&pg=PA38|title=na|access-date=12 June 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780549678335}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Drought in 1961 and rains throughout the 1962 dry season caused a massive build-up of blood-sucking [[stable flies]] (''Stomoxys calcitrans'') by May 1962. They drained blood and caused painful skin sores that became infected, causing lion numbers to crash from 75–100 to 12. The population recovered to around 100 by 1975 and remained stable until 1983 when a persistent decline began. Numbers have generally remained below 60 animals since 1993, reaching a low of 29 in 1998. In 2001, 34 percent of the lion population died between January and April from a combination of tick-borne disease and [[canine distemper]].<ref>[http://www.ntz.info/gen/n01144.html "Stomoxys", ''Information about northern Tanzania: a personal scrapbook of "cuttings" from published sources'']</ref><ref name=elsevier/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBYiprnFqK8C&pg=PA29|title=na|access-date=12 June 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780549678335}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The lion population is also influenced to some extent by the takeover of prides by incoming males, which typically kill small cubs.<ref name="books.google.com"/> The biggest influence, however, appears to be disease, particularly canine distemper.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BBYiprnFqK8C&pg=PA42|title=na|access-date=12 June 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9780549678335}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Outside Ngorongoro Crater==
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area has a healthy resident population of most species of wildlife, and Masai people. The Ndutu Lake area to the west of the conservation area has particularly strong cheetah and lion populations. Common in the area are [[hartebeest]] (''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), [[spotted hyena]] (''Crocuta crocuta''), and [[jackal]]s.<ref name="UNESCO"/> The population of [[African wild dog]] may have declined recently.{{when|date=April 2013}}<ref name="UNESCO"/> [[Serval]]s occur widely on the plains to the west of the Ngorongoro Crater.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

The annual [[ungulate]] migration passes through the NCA, with 1.7&nbsp;million [[wildebeest]], 260,000 zebra, and 470,000 gazelles moving into the area in December and moving out in June. This movement changes seasonally with the rains, but the migration traverses almost the entire plains in search of food.<ref name="UNESCO"/>

==Threats to the conservation area==
[[File:Ngorongoro 2012 05 30 2354 (7500935454).jpg|thumb|The [[Maasai people|Maasai]] taking their livestock into the Ngorongoro for grazing]]
The 2020 Conservation Outlook Assessment by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)]] World Heritage Outlook<ref name="NC">{{Cite web |title=Ngorongoro Conservation Area {{!}} World Heritage Outlook |url=https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/explore-sites/ngorongoro-conservation-area |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org |language=en}}</ref> identifies these concerns for the continued successful protection of Ngorongoro Conservation Area:

* Population increase of the [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] [[Maasai people]]
* Sustainable income from and management of tourism and visitation 

The NCA is unique because it is the only conservation area in Tanzania that protects wildlife while allowing human habitation. Land use by the [[Pastoralism|pastoralist]] [[Maasai people]] who live in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is controlled to prevent negative effects on the wildlife population. For example, cultivation is prohibited at all but subsistence levels.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Boone |first1=Randall B. |last2=Galvin |first2=Kathleen A. |last3=Thornton |first3=Philip K. |last4=Swift |first4=David M. |last5=Coughenour |first5=Michael B. |date=1 December 2006 |title=Cultivation and Conservation in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9031-3 |journal=Human Ecology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=6 |pages=809–828 |bibcode=2006HumEc..34..809B |doi=10.1007/s10745-006-9031-3 |s2cid=56251977 |access-date=2021-02-04|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In 1966, the population of Maasai living in NCA was approximately 8,700. By 2017, the population had grown to 93,136 and it is projected to rise to 161,000 by 2027.<ref name="NC" /> This population increase is the root cause of other concerns including: increased livestock population and potential for overgrazing beyond the [[carrying capacity]] of the environment, [[Sustainability|unsustainable]] use of lumber from the land to build dwellings and other buildings, and the potential for reduction of scenic views due to this construction.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Document - Report of the joint World Heritage Centre&#x2f;IUCN&#x2f;ICOMOS Reactive Monitoring misisopn to Ngorongoro Conservation Areas &#x28;United Republic of Tanzania&#x29;, 4-9 March 2019 |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/174817 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref><ref name="NC" />

A potential solution to this issue involves the voluntary resettlement of Maasai to the village of Msomera 600 kilometers (370 miles) away. Efforts for this move started in 2021. The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority provides funds to those who choose to move, and the Maasai who move are also provided land for their homes, crops, and livestock.<ref name="LF">{{Cite web |date=2024-11-29 |title=Ngorongoro to Msomera: A leap of faith for Maasai, a giant leap for mankind |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/magazine/a-leap-of-faith-for-maasai-a-giant-leap-for-mankind-4840328 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=The EastAfrican |language=en}}</ref> This resettlement has created conflict between those already living in Msomera and newcomers and also created concerns that the rights of all parties have not been retained.<ref name="KC" />

The Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, which manages and preserves the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, relies highly on funding from tourism to maintain the NCA and disburse revenue-sharing to resident communities.<ref name="NC" /><ref name="LF" /> Any fluctuation in tourism could negatively affect this income. New tourism records were reported in 2024 with a total of 752,232 visitors for the 2022/23 fiscal year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NCAA sets new tourists, revenue records – Daily News |url=https://dailynews.co.tz/ncaa-sets-new-tourists-revenue-records/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Tourist visits are concentrated on the Ngorongoro Crater which takes up only a small part of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. To reduce traffic to the crater, higher fees have been imposed per visiting vehicle, the number of vehicles allowed in the crater at one time is limited to 50, and vehicles are encouraged to carry more passengers. Tourist facilities are required to comply with various limitations to minimize impact.<ref name="NC" />

== See also ==
*[[List of reduplicated place names]]
* [[List of Ngorongoro Crater plants]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* Nelson, Fred; Nshala, Rugemeleza; Rodgers, W.A. (June 2007). "The Evolution and Reform of Tanzanian Wildlife Management" ''Conservation & Society''. '''5''' (2): 232-261. https://journals.lww.com/coas/fulltext/2007/05020/the_evolution_and_reform_of_tanzanian_wildlife.4.aspx
* {{cite journal | last1 = Deocampo | first1 = D.M. | year = 2004 | title = Hydrogeochemistry in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, and implications for land use in a World Heritage Site | journal = Applied Geochemistry | volume = 19 | issue = 5| pages = 755–767 | doi=10.1016/j.apgeochem.2003.10.006 | bibcode = 2004ApGC...19..755D}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Deocampo | first1 = D.M. | year = 2005 | title = Evaporative evolution of surface waters and the role of aqueous CO2 in magnesium silicate precipitation: Lake Eyasi and Ngorongoro Crater, northern Tanzania | journal = South African Journal of Geology | volume = 108 | issue = 4| pages = 493–504 | doi = 10.2113/108.4.493 | bibcode = 2005SAJG..108..493D }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Ngorongoro}}
* [http://www.ngorongorocrater.org/ Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority]
* [https://www.beautifulworld.com/africa/tanzania/ngorongoro-crater/ Ngorongoro crater facts]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ngorongoro-conservation-area/eALiPytOfSeKIg Explore Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100113233655/http://tanzaniatouristboard.com/ Tanzania Tourist Bureau]
* {{Cite web|title=UNEP-WCMC World Heritage Site Datasheet|url=http://www.unep-wcmc.org/medialibrary/2011/06/28/a1e08823/Ngorongoro.pdf|access-date=1 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901193246/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/medialibrary/2011/06/28/a1e08823/Ngorongoro.pdf|archive-date=1 September 2012|url-status=dead}}
* [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/39 UNESCO World Heritage Site Datasheet]

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{{World Heritage Sites in Tanzania}}
{{National Parks of Tanzania}}
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[[Category:Biosphere reserves of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Geography of Arusha Region]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Tanzania]]
[[Category:Calderas of Africa]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in the Arusha Region]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Danger]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Tanzania]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1959]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in Tanganyika]]
[[Category:East African montane forests]]
[[Category:Serengeti volcanic grasslands]]
[[Category:Southern Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Tanzania]]