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Ba Na Nature Reserve 1996
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Location
Ba Na (Nui Chua) is a Forest Reserve situated in Quang Nam-Da Nang Province, Vietnam. It is
located approximately 27 km west of Da Nang, Vietnam's fourth largest city, and 10 km from the
village of Hoa Ninh. The area lies between 107 o 57' and 108 o 03'E by 15 o 57' and 16 o 03'N, and
is within the biogeographic division of Central Annam. The reserve covers 5, 217 ha.
(MacKinnon, 1990), and together with surrounding forests (including the Ngoch Linh Nature
Reserve, and Bach Ma Biosphere Reserve to the north), makes up central Vietnam's largest
remaining area of evergreen tropical rainforest.
1.2 Topography
The reserve is centred around Ba Na mountain, which rises from the coastal plain to a height of
1440 metres above sea level. There is little flat land within the reserve, except on the top of
mountain ridges and the plateau summit of Ba Na mountain, the site of a French colonial hill
station, built in 1919 (now destroyed). Less steep slopes at the boundaries of the reserve have
largely been cleared of their semi-natural forest cover and converted to Eucalyptus plantation.
There are several large waterfalls within the park boundaries, which attract tourists in the summer
months.
1.3 Geology
The geology of the area was not studied in detail, but is obviously highly varied, with igneous
rocks apparent on the slopes of Ba Na, and sedimentary rocks (sandstones, shales and mudstones)
predominating in the surrounding area. Within historical times, deposits of gold and tungsten in
the region have been commercially exploited (the latter mineral is still mined within the reserve).
1.4 Climate
The nearest weather station to Ba Na is at Da Nang, where the climate is likely to be milder in the
winter and hotter in the summer than Ba Na. Rainfall is also likely to be higher at Ba Na due to
the climatic effects of the reserve's altitude.
The area falls within Vietnam's southern climatic zone, with a relatively even temperature
distribution throughout the year. Rainfall is concentrated in the rainy season, from around mid-
September to January. The dry season (February-early September) is distinct; mean monthly
rainfall for February is 30mm, that for October (the wettest month), 680 mm.
Frontier- Vietnam Environment Research Report 7 1