Blick ueber die Landschaft Namibias und den Brandberg waehrend der Elefantenpatrouille

Namibia

Highlights in Namibia

Geography of Namibia

Namibia is bordered by Angola, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and the Atlantic to the west. The Namib Desert runs along the coast from South Africa to Angola. The south and north of the Namib Desert are sandy and gravel plains. However, the fine sands of the central section are covered by dunes. The most famous sand dunes are in the vicinity of Sossusvlei. The inland Great Escarpment borders the Namib Desert. This region is dominated by rock formations and rugged mountain chains, and forms a natural transition between the Namib Desert and the Central Highlands. These cover the majority of Namibia and are covered by shrub savannah. The central Erongo region contains Brandberg, Namibia’s highest peak at over 2,500 m. The Central Highlands are bordered by part of the Kalahari Desert, known for its red dunes, and the Kavango-Caprivi region. This wetland in the north-east of Namibia stands in contrast to the rest of the country, which is dry.

Der Sonnenuntergang im unberuehrten Damaraland Namibias
Eine Giraffe sucht in der Halbwueste Namibias nach Wasser und Nahrung

Geomorphology/Geology

The oldest areas of Namibia consist of two landmasses Kongo-Kraton and Kalahari-Kraton which were originally separated by the Damara sea. Over Millions of year these two areas moved towards each other. When they collided they created the Damara Mountains. Nowadays parts of these mountains can be also found in Khomas highlands as well as in the Naukluft Mountains. Another important event regarding the origin of landscapes was the separation of African from South America. Before both Africa and South America were parts of the super-continent called Gondwana. The separation of both continents lead to a lifting of the flanking bench and the development of relief became more dynamic. The Namib Desert and the central party of the country were affected by strong erosions and weathering.

Travel Tipps and Trivia for Namibia

Climate in Namibia

Namibia is located in the subtropical-arid climate zone. The temperatures are rather high and the air is dry. Depending on the place and season temperatures can vary strongly. In the western parts rainfalls are pretty rare and temperatures can rise up to 40°C. In winter temperatures can fall below the freezing point at night. The climate on the foggy coastal areas is determined by the Benguela stream and strong south-west winds and thus relatively cold. The central highlands have strong rainfalls and high temperatures in summer and mild temperatures in winter. There are around 300 days of sunlight per year! However, spontaneous rainfalls and thunderstorms during the African summer months (December to April) are no rarity. During the winter month (April to September) temperatures are more comfortable though.

Flora and Fauna in Namibia

In the Namib Desert only adaptive animals like the desert beetle can survive the high temperatures and dry environment. The desert beetle for instance can use the air humidity (even if it is very low) to cover his water demand. On the coast there are several colonies of seals. In the rest of the country typical African animals like elephants, rhinos or antelopes can be observed. In the northern part of Kavango-Caprivi wild crocodiles can be found.

Zwei Elefanten werden waehrend der Elefantenpatrouille von den Teilnehmern fotografiert
Straussen sind die an die Wueste am besten angepasstesten Voegel

Social Geography of Namibia

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