Unlike the relatively lush Kalahari, the Namib Desert creates an impression of utter barrenness. Stretching more than 2000km along the coast from the Oliphant’s River in South Africa to San Nicolau in southern Angola, it defines the lonely coastline of southwestern Africa. The Nama word ‘Namib”, which inspired the name of the country, rather prosaically means “vast dry plain”, but nowhere else on earth do such desolate landscapes reflect so many moods grand vista, and few visitors ever tire of its surprises.
Much of the surface between Lüderitz and Swakopmund is covered by enormous linear dunes, which roll back from the sea towards inland gravel plains. In the north, the dunes stop at the Swakop River, where they give way to flat, arid gravel plains interrupted by isolated ranges and inselbergs. The dunes may seem lifeless but infact, they support a complex ecosystem capable of extracting moisture from the frequent fogs.
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