Sundarbans National Park is one of the last tiger reserves in Bengal. It covers about 10,000 kilometers in the Ganges delta. The park became a tiger reserve in 1973, a wildlife sanctuary in 1977 and a national park in 1984. UNESCO included it as a world heritage in 1987. The name Sundarbans means a beautiful jungle in the Bengali language. It is also derived from Sundari trees found inside the park. Geography of Sundarbans National Park Sundarbans is located at South 24 in Aprgand District of Bengal. It lies at 30° 24′ – 30° 28′ north longitude and 77° 40′ – 77° 44′ east latitude.
The park has an altitude of 7.5 meters above sea level. It has 54 small islands on the boundaries of Ganga. The park is also known as the largest mangrove forest in the world. Vegetation includes mangrove scrub, forests, wet and rich grassland. The region has fresh and saltwater rivers from the Ganges and saline water at Bengal Bay. Coastal evolution includes estuaries, beaches, swamps, tidal creeks, back dunes, levees and coastal dunes. The park has also seven rivers that heads towards the sea. The tidal deposits form creeks and new islands.