Namib Desert

The Namib Desert is located in Namibia and southwest Angola, which forms part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. The name "Namib" is of Nama origin.

The desert occupies an area of around 80 900 km² (31 200 square miles), stretching about 1,600 km (1000 miles) along the Atlantic Ocean coast of Namibia. Its east-west width varies from 50-160 km (30 to 100 miles). The Namib Desert also reaches into southwest Angola. It is one of the 500 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division.

The area is considered to be one of the oldest deserts in the world, having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for at least 55 million years after the Atacama Desert. Its aridity is caused by the descent of dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela current along the coast. It has less than 10 mm (0.4 inches) of rain annually and is almost completely barren.

A number of unusual species of plants and animals are found only in this desert. One of these is Welwitschia mirabilis, one of the most unusual species. Welwitschia is a shrub-like plant, but grows just two long strap-shaped leaves continuously throughout its lifetime. These leaves may be several meters long, gnarled and twisted from the desert winds. The taproot of the plant develops into a flat, concave disc in age. Welwitschia is notable for its survival in the extremely arid conditions in the Namib, sometimes deriving moisture from the coastal sea fogs.

Although the desert is largely unpopulated and inaccessible, there are year-round settlements at Sesriem, close to the famous Sossusvlei and a huge group of sand dunes, which at more than 300 meters high are among the tallest sand dunes in the world. The regularity and complexity of dune patterns in its dune sea have attracted the attention of geologists for decades. They still remain poorly understood.

The interaction between the dry air of the desert water and the laden air coming from the sea via southerly winds, some of the strongest of any coastal desert, causes immense fogs and strong currents. This has caused many sailors to lose their way.

It is notorious as the site of many shipwrecks, along with the Skeleton Coast further north. Some of these wrecked ships can be found as much as 50 metres inland, as the desert slowly moves westwards into the sea, reclaiming land over a period of many years.

The Namib desert is an important location for the mining of diamonds, tungsten, and salt.

Access to the area is by light aircraft from Windhoek, which is the capital of Namibia. - this is about 480 km north-east of the centre of the desert - Also from Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, at the north end of the desert, or overland on gravel roads.


* Article provided by Wikipedia

Desert Plants and Animals

The Kalahari supports a variety of fauna and flora, despite its aridity. The native flora includes acacia trees and many other herbs and grasses. Some of the areas within the Kalahari are seasonal wetlands. These include the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana. This area supports numerous halophilic species, and in the rainy season, thousands of flamingos visit these Makgadikgadi Pans.

The Kalahari has a number of game reserves. These include the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR), which is the world's second largest protected area, the Khutse Game Reserve, and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

Animals that live in the region include brown lions, giraffes, hyenas, jackals, meerkats, warthogs, and several species of antelope - including the eland, gemsbok, springbok, hartebeest, steenbok, kudu, and duiker. There are also many species of birds and reptiles. Camel rides across the desert are also available.

While there are over 400 identified plant species present (including the wild watermelon, or Tsamma melon), vegetation in the Kalahari consists mainly of grasses and acacias.


* Main parts of article provided by Wikipedia

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

The Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari desert is part of the huge sand basin that reaches from the Orange River up to Angola, in the west to Namibia and in the east to Zimbabwe. The sand masses were created by the erosion of soft stone formations. The wind shaped the sand ridges, which are so typical of the landscape in the Kalahari.

Only in recent geological history, 10 to 20,000 years ago, were the dunes stabilised through vegetation, so the area should actually be called a dry savannah. Unlike the dunes of the Namib Desert, those of the Kalahari are stable and not wandering.


* Article provided by www.southafrica-travel.net