Tarangire National Park measures 1,600 squares miles and is Tanzania’s fifth largest park. The park is named after the life-giving Tarangire River that provides the only permanent water for wildlife in the area. The river is a magnet for wildlife during the dry season when massive concentrations of elephant, buffalo, wildebeest and zebra congregate along its banks. The most spectacular feature of Tarangire is that it serves as a place of refuge for the largest elephant population in northern Tanzania.