Desert Kalahari

Desert Kalahari, a look at various deserts around Africa. This blog features information about the Kalahari Desert, as well as a look at the following topics: Desert Plants and Animals, Safaris, Desert Oasis, Accommodation, Kalahari Lodge, Desert Dunes, Africa Hunt Safari, Desert Life, Namib Desert

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Desert Life





Kalahari is derived from the Tswana word Kgala, meaning "the great thirst", or Khalagari, Kgalagadi or Kalagare, meaning "a waterless place". The Kalahari desert has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. Drainage is by dry valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana and Etosha Pan in Namibia. However, the Kalahari is not a true desert. Parts of the Kalahari receive over 250 mm of erratic rainfall annually and are quite well vegetated; it is only truly arid in the southwest (under 175 mm of rain annually), making the Kalahari a fossil desert. Summer temperatures in the Kalahari range from 20 to 45°C (68–113°F).

The Kalahari Desert was once a much wetter place. The ancient Lake Makgadikgadi dominated the area, covering the Makgadikgadi Pan and other areas, until its final drainage some 10,000 years ago. It may have once covered as much as 275,000 km² and was approximately 30 m deep.

The San people, also known as Bushmen, have lived in the Kalahari for around 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers. That means that they survive by hunting wild game with bows and arrows, while also gathering edible plants, such as berries, melons and nuts, as well as insects. Bushmen rarely drink water - they get most of their water requirements from plant roots and desert melons found on or under the desert floor. They often store water in the blown-out shells of ostrich eggs. The San have their own characteristic language that includes clicking sounds. These Bushmen live in huts built from local materials — the frame of which is made of branches, while the roof is thatched with long grass. The Bantu-speaking Tswana, Kgalagadi, and Herero, as well as a small number of European settlers also live in the Kalahari.


* Article provided by Wikipedia

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