Few first-time visitors to Namibia know that elephants survive in the Namib Desert. Large parts of the plateau are covered by savanna, scrub, and woodlands. Safaris, Uganda It catches travellers every time. [11][20] The Namib Sand Sea is named for the ever-changing sand dunes. Make decisions like a pro by using our 58,878 reviews and 200 destination guides. Darkling beetles eat both fresh and decaying vegetation. The Namib Desert beetle is a unique beetle, which lives in the driest regions of the biome. The western part of the Namib borders the Atlantic Ocean . Perfectly formed sand dunes press up against a deserted stretch of coast, and inland for as far as the eye can see. Cookie settings. It is located in the southern part of the Namib Desert in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. The plains and the dunes of the Inner Namib support large numbers of several varieties of antelope, especially gemsbok (oryx) and springbok, as well as ostriches and some zebras. Easily compare offers from 3,458 specialized tour operators. Its landscape is … By trapping and storing water in their pores on the rare occasions that it rains, the rather unlovely welwitschias are able to survive…for up to 2,000 years. So powerful are the sand dunes that their relentless march has reclaimed land from the sea. Parts of the Namib rival South America’s Atacama Desert as the driest place on Earth. These desert-adapted giants are slimmer than their savannah brethren, and their feet are wider – the animal kingdom’s version of soft-sand 4WD tyres. Safaris, DR Congo In … Namibia is the world’s 2nd least densely populated country. Namib is a desert found in the coastal parts of South Africa. Your email address will not be published. Your email address will not be published. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres from the Angola-Namibia border, is kno Lucy is travel writer for a range of publications, including Lonely Planet's guides to Africa, Southern Africa and South Africa. Welwitschias are especially prevalent in the desert east of Swakopmund in Dorob National Park, where the Khan and Swakop rivers converge. These leaves may grow to be several meters long and over time become gnarled and twisted from the desert winds. The Namib is a coastal desert in southern Africa. … The boundaries between them consist of broad transition zones. Not that long ago, it wasn’t just the swirling fog that concealed much of the desert from view. Its … Shared tour (max 10 people per vehicle)Mid-rangeLodge & Hotel, You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Kalahari Desert, Namib Desert, Sossusvlei (Sand Dunes), Swakopmund (City), Damaraland, Etosha NP, Windhoek (End), 1.262 € The Namib mountain desert is unique for many reasons. The Namib Desert extends more than 2,000km from southern Angola through Namibia and into northern South Africa. Learn more about the conservation status, plants and animals of the Namib Desert, one of the most fascinating and oldest deserts on earth. Tag: Facts About Namib Desert. It is important because of the trade routes that cross it, its mineral deposits, the fisheries of the bordering sea, and its increasing utilization for recreational purposes. Save the Rhino Trust claims that Damaraland is home to Africa’s largest population of free-ranging black rhino. No one knows how many ships foundered along Namibia’s arid shore. Safaris, Madagascar The exact location of the installation has not been disclosed. … The Namib occupies an area of … It reaches inland 80 to 100 miles (130 to 160 km) to the foot of the Great Escarpment. The oldest desert in the world, the Namib Desert lies in Namibia. Tours, Kenya As you drive from Namibia’s interior to the sand-dune coast, the blast of cold air and rolling mists can be deeply unsettling, even otherworldly. Not only is the Namib Desert one of the world’s most beautiful deserts, it’s also a place of mystery which conceals its secrets well. It now sits atop a sand dune at one of the highest points anywhere along this coast. They are able to obtain sufficient water by climbing to high peaks of dunes, and facing into the breeze. The Namib, which believed to be the world's oldest desert, stretches from the Orange River in the south to the Angolan border in the north stretches for 2,080km (1,300mi) It is … It’s easy to imagine that the world has always been just as we found it. The Namib Desert is home to a number of unusual species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world. This is remarkable as Damaraland is a barren region of treeless mountains, sand dunes and gravel plains. The name Namib is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". Self-driveMid-rangeLodge & Hotel, You Visit: Windhoek (Start), Namib-Naukluft NP, Swakopmund (City), Damaraland, Etosha NP, Windhoek Airport (End), 2.715 € Make decisions like a pro by using our 58,878 reviews and 200 destination guides.More About Us, 1.262 € The Namib is divided into three successive north–south-trending strips: the very narrow coastal region along the Atlantic, strongly subject to marine influences – the Outer Namib, occupying the rest of the western half of the desert – and the Inner Namib, constituting the eastern portion. Its width varies from 50 to 200 kilometers (30 to 125 miles). Easily compare offers from 3,458 specialized tour operators. Namib desert is scenic and very special, some part of the desert is among of the world heritages registered by UNESCO, and that is Sossusvlei. Take the Sahara, for... A Strange Climate. It stretches more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) between the city of Namibe in Angola and the Olifants River in South Africa. The Namib, at 55 million years old, is the world's most ancient desert, as well as being one of the driest. Namib Desert Facts. The name "Namib" is from a word in the Nama language that means "immense." The Namib Desert is both rocky and sandy. Namib, Portuguese Namibe, a cool coastal desert extending for 1,200 miles (1,900 km) along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Namibe (formerly Moçâmedes) in Angola southward across Namibia to the Olifants River in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The name “Namib” is from a word in the Nama language that means “vast place.”. The Namib Desert is both rocky and sandy. The Namib Desert is a coastal desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola that encompasses the world's highest sand dunes, gravel plains, and rugged mountains. Darkling Beetles belong to the family Tenebrionidae. The Namib rarely extends more than 200km/124mi inland from the coast. Ai/Ais Hotsprings. There’s everything here from the threatened desert rain frog to one of Africa’s only populations of wild horses. This lengthy stretch made the Nama people give it the name “Namib” meaning, “vast place.” The Namib, at 55 million years old, is the world's most ancient desert, as well as being one of the driest. The Welwitschia Mirabilis, a fossil plant that can be found in the Namib Desert, has a lifespan that can reach 2,000 years. 1. Its width varies from 50 to 200 kilometers (30 to 125 miles). One of these is Welwitschia mirabilis, a shrub-like plant that grows just two long leaves continuously throughout its lifetime. It’s a strange sensation, peering out to sea through the fog from high on a sand dune and feeling suddenly cold. Its dark-colored coat along with its athletic appearance is similar to that of the European riding horses. Stenocara gracilipes is a species of beetle that is native to the Namib Desert in southern Africa. Animals don’t have it all their own way when it comes to unusual ways of thriving. Despite the harsh environment in which they live, the horses are generally in good condition, except during times of extreme drought. It covers an area of approximately over 2000 km from Angola to Namibia and through South Africa. Even fewer can explain how that can possibly be. From where it tumbles dramatically into … According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The elevation of the Central Plateau varies from 975 to 1,980 m. Most of the country's farmlands are confined to this region. Many of the beetles have black elytra. Safaris. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment (a major topographical feature in Africa). The sand dunes, some of which are 300 metres (980 ft) high and span 32 kilometres (20 mi) long, are the second largest in the world after the Badain Jaran Desert dunes in China. The Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over 2,000 meters (6,562 ft). Safaris, Swaziland But how much do you know about the Namib sand dunes? km), the Namib is a coastal desert, situated along the south-western coast of the African continent. By continuing to browse through this website you agree to our use of cookies. And setbacks still occur. To bottom ( South Africa of abandoned diamond mines, treacherous sand seas near the coast, while gravel and... Powerful are the biggest sand dunes in the Namib occupies an area of kilometers., has a lifespan that can reach 2,000 years will play from the sea the west of. 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