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. Namib Desert Horse Namib Desert Horse is a breed of rare wild horses native to the barren Garub plains of the Namib Desert in Africa. Required fields are marked *. While it may not be the world’s largest desert, it is almost certainly the oldest. Namib Desert Facts. Easily compare offers from 3,458 specialized tour operators. Anthony is a photographer and writer for travel magazines and Lonely Planet, including the guides to Kenya and Botswana & Namibia. Named so in previous times for all … It is believed that Namib Desert is the oldest desert on the globe; as well, the sand dunes located here are the highest in the world. Lucy is travel writer for a range of publications, including Lonely Planet's guides to Africa, Southern Africa and South Africa. pp (EUR), 739 € This desert contains some of the world’s driest regions, with only western South America’s Atacama Desert to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks. 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 Namib Desert beetle is a unique beetle, which lives in the driest regions of the biome. No one knows how many ships foundered along Namibia’s arid shore. Stenocara gracilipes is a species of beetle that is native to the Namib Desert in southern Africa. The Namib Desert has always attracted not just explorers and adventurers, but also eccentrics and those who would seek to otherwise leave their mark long after they’ve gone. The Namib Desert – from which the country takes its name – is the world’s oldest desert. There’s everything here from the threatened desert rain frog to one of Africa’s only populations of wild horses. But how much do you know about the Namib sand dunes? The Namib Desert stretches along the entire coastline of Namibia. The Namib is an important location for the mining of diamonds, tungsten, and salt. Darkling beetles eat both fresh and decaying vegetation. The Namib is the world’s oldest desert; The Namib desert stretches along the Namibian coast all the way up to Angola. Around 14% of Namibia’s land area is … It stretches some 1,200 miles (1,900 km) along the Atlantic coast of Namibia, which is named after this desert. Safaris, Uganda It is a fascinating country and definitely qualifies as one of the countries you should visit at least once in your lifetime. Namib Desert Facts. Cookie settings. The lions somehow eke out an existence along the beaches, sand dunes and barren mountains of the Kunene region of the northern Namib Desert. The Namib Desert in Namibia is the world's most ancient desert. 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. The Namib Desert is one of the 500 distinct physiographic provinces of the South African Platform physiographic division. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world, having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for an estimated 55 to 80 million years. But how much do you know about the Namib sand dunes? Large parts of the plateau are covered by savanna, scrub, and woodlands. Characterised by red sand dunes that can reach impressive heights, the Namib is considered to be particularly old, even by geological standards. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. It stretches some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. The largest part of the Namib is in the country of Namibia. The Namib Desert extends more than 2,000km from southern Angola through Namibia and into northern South Africa. They have long, thin legs, and bumpy outer wings. The Namib Desert Horse is athletic in appearance, resembling the European light riding horses from which it probably descends, and usually dark in color. The name “Namib” is from a word in the Nama language that means “vast place.”. The Namib Desert, one of the most inhospitable places in the world, lies in the southwest corner of Africa. Tours, Zambia The Namib Desert stretches along the Atlantic ocean over 1,000 km/621 miles with huge dunes as far as the eye can see. The Namib is a coastal desert in southern Africa. It catches travellers every time. The lions of the Namib nearly fell extinct during the 1980s. Take the Eduard Bohlen, which sank off Walvis Bay in 1909 but now lies marooned only 1km/0.6mi away from the sea. The Namib Naukluft National Park with the world's highest sand dunes in Sossusvlei is the right holiday destination in Namibia for those who want to combine awesome scenery with seclusion, solitude and exploration. Save the Rhino Trust claims that Damaraland is home to Africa’s largest population of free-ranging black rhino. They attract a vast number of travellers each year, many of whom aim to climb up the sands and enjoy a thrilling slide back down. By browsing through this site you agree to our use of cookies. Darkling Beetles belong to the family Tenebrionidae. 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 Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over 2,000 meters (6,562 ft). In 2019 the Namibian-German artist Max Siedentopf created an installation in the Namib consisting of a ring of large white blocks atop of which sit six speakers attached to a solar-powered MP3 player configured to continuously play the 1982 song “Africa” by the American band Toto. Namibia is the world’s 2nd least densely populated country. It stretches more than 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) between the city of Namibe in Angola and the Olifants River in South Africa. Major predators include birds, rodents and lizards. Here are 10 interesting facts about the country, which might just encourage you to … Ai Ais, means ‘burning water’. And setbacks still occur. The Constitution of Namibia is the first constitution to include a provision for environmental protection. The elevation of the Central Plateau varies from 975 to 1,980 m. Most of the country's farmlands are confined to this region. The Namib Desert is both rocky and sandy. 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