Ngorongoro Conservation Area, national conservation area in the Arusha region of northern Tanzania, southeast of Serengeti national Park . Occupying some 3,200 square miles (8,300 square km), it extends over part of the Eastern great Rift Valley of Eastern Africa and contains a variety of habitats and landscapes, including grassland plains, savanna woodlands, forests, mountains, volcanic craters, lakes, rivers, and swampland.

Ngorongoro Conservation  Area is host to the largest ungulate herds in the world, including gnu (wildebeests), plains zebras, and Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles. Predatory animals include lions, spotted hyenas, leopards, and cheetahs. The endangered black rhinoceros and African hunting dog can also be found there. Notable among more than 400 species of birds in the area are flamingos, silvery-cheeked hornbills, superb starlings, and bronze and tacazze sunbirds.