| Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sand dunes near Sossusvlei | |
  | |
| Location | Namibia |
| Nearest city | Windhoek |
| Coordinates | 24°32′47″S15°19′47″E / 24.54639°S 15.32972°E /-24.54639; 15.32972 |
| Area | 49,768 km2 (19,216 sq mi) |
| Established | 1907 |
| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Tourism |
TheNamib-Naukluft National Park is anational park in westernNamibia, situated between the coast of theAtlantic Ocean and the edge of theGreat Escarpment. It encompasses part of theNamib Desert (considered the world's oldest desert), theNaukluft mountain range, and the lagoon atSandwich Harbour. The best-known area of the park and one of the main visitor attractions in Namibia isSossusvlei, a clay pan surrounded by dunes, andSesriem, a small canyon of theTsauchab. The desert research station ofGobabeb is situated within the park.
With an overall area of 49,768 km2 (19,216 sq mi), the Namib-Naukluft National Park was at the time of its last expansion the largest game park inAfrica and the fourth largest in the world.[1] It consists of a strip of land on the Atlantic Ocean, including 1,609 kilometres (1,000 mi) of sea, that extends roughly 600 kilometres (370 mi) north-to-south from theSwakop River to theB4 road toLüderitz.[2]
A surprising collection of creatures survives in the hyper-arid region, includingsnakes,geckos, unusual insects,hyenas,gemsbok,Springbok,leopards,African wildcats,cape foxes,baboons,caracals,bat-eared foxes andjackals.
The region is characterised by high, isolatedinselbergs andkopjes (theAfrikaans term for rocky outcrops), made up of dramatic blood-redgranites, rich infeldspars andsandstone. The easternmost part of the park covers theNaukluft Mountains.
More moisture comes in as afog off theAtlantic Ocean than falls as rain, with the average of 106 millimeters of rainfall per year concentrated in February and April.
The winds that bring in the fog are also responsible for creating the park's toweringsand dunes, whose burnt orange color is a sign of their age. The orange color develops over time asiron in the sand isoxidized, like rusty metal; the older the dune, the brighter the color.
These dunes are the tallest in the world, in places rising more than 300 meters (almost 1000 feet) above the desert floor.[3] The dunes taper off near the coast, andlagoons,wetlands, andmudflats located along the shore attract hundreds of thousands of birds.
'Namib' means "open space", and the Namib Desert gave its name to form Namibia – "land of open spaces".
The park was established in 1907 when the German Colonial Administration proclaimed three game reserves inGerman South West Africa. Today's Namib-Naukluft park was proclaimed as "Game Reserve No. 3". The other two were theOmuramba Omatako andEtosha. The northern border of the reserve was five kilometres (three miles) south of theSwakop River, and the southern border was ten kilometres (six miles) south of theKuiseb River, so that the park included the Kuiseb but excluded the Swakop due to the economic activities at its banks. AfterWorld War I theSouth African administration ofSouth West Africa confirmed the proclamation of the Germans. For the Namib-Naukluft Park, the area ofSandwich Harbour was added in 1941, and a small extension of the southern border followed in 1962.[4]
In 1966 "Game Reserve No. 3" was deproclaimed, and theNamib Desert Park was established in its stead. The Namib Desert Park included a small area north of the Swakop River whereWelwitschia grow, as well as the Moon Landscape east ofSwakopmund. In 1979 two more large areas were added. TheNaukluft Mountain Zebra Park was included so that theNaukluft Mountains now formed part of the protected area. It previously comprised 14 commercial farms that were bought by the government to protect theHartmann mountain zebra. The second area added was a 1,600-kilometre (1,000 mi) strip of theAtlantic Ocean, making the Namib-Naukluft Park Namibia's first marine reserve.[4]
The park's present boundaries were established in 1986 when the government was given control over parts of theSperrgebiet, an area restricted for diamond mining. This vast strip of land has remained inaccessible to the general population but is now part of the Namib-Naukluft Park.[4]
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