Skeleton Coast | |
|---|---|
Coast | |
 Otavi, shipwrecked 1945 | |
 Interactive map of Skeleton Coast | |
| Coordinates:21°36′44″S14°32′24″E / 21.61222°S 14.54000°E /-21.61222; 14.54000 | |
| Location | Namibia |
| Part of | Namib Desert coast |
| Offshore water bodies | Atlantic Ocean,Kunene River,Swakop River |
| Etymology | Named for whale and seal bones that used to litter the coast, partly due towhaling, and for the thousands ofshipwrecks |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 310 miles (500 km) |
TheSkeleton Coast is the northern part of theAtlantic coast ofNamibia. Immediately south ofAngola, it stretches from theKunene River to theSwakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entireNamib Desert coast. The indigenousSan people (formerly known as Bushmen), of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", whilePortuguese sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".
On the coast, theupwelling of the coldBenguela current gives rise to dense oceanfogs (calledcassimbo by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) annually, and theclimate is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavysurf on the beaches. In the days before engine-powered ships and boats, it was possible to get ashore through the surf, but impossible to launch from the shore. The only way out was by going through a marsh hundreds of kilometres long and only accessible via a hot and arid desert.
The coast is largely made up of soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops. The southern section consists ofgravel plains, while north of Terrace Bay the landscape is dominated by highsand dunes.
Skeleton Bay is known as a great location forsurfing.[1]
The area's name derives from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore, partly due to thewhaling industry, although in modern times the coast also harbours the skeletal remains of theshipwrecks caused by offshore rocks and fog.[2] More than a thousand such vessels of various sizes litter the coast, notably theEduard Bohlen,Benguela Eagle,Otavi,Dunedin Star andTong Taw.
The name "Skeleton Coast" was coined by John Henry Marsh as the title for the book he wrote chronicling the shipwreck of theDunedin Star. Since the book was first published in 1944, it has become so well known that the coast is now generally referred to as "Skeleton Coast" and is named so on most maps today. See§ In popular culture, below.
One of the oldest shipwrecks in the Skeleton Coast region is that of theBom Jesus, near the town ofOranjemund. It ran aground during the 1530s and is known to be one of the oldest discovered shipwrecks of the Iberian Atlantic tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa.[3]
Past human occupation byStrandlopers is shown byshell middens of whitemussels found along parts of the Skeleton Coast.
In 1942 the Britishrefrigeratedcargo linerDunedin Star ran aground. All her 106 passengers and crew were eventually rescued, but at the cost of atug, anSAAF aircraft and the lives of two rescuers. The account is recorded in a bookSkeleton Coast by John Henry Marsh.
On Thursday, 22 March 2018, a Japanese registered fishing vessel, MVFFukuseki Maru, got into trouble and ran aground near Durissa Bay, south of the Ugab River mouth, lying 2 km from the Skeleton Coast beach in the ocean. All 24 foreign crew members were rescued by Namibian authorities.[4]
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Namibia has declared the 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) area of coastline and adjacent deserts, scrub and marshlands asSkeleton Coast National Park, from theUgab River to theKunene. The northern half of the park is a designatedwilderness area. Notable features are the clay castles of theHoarusib River, the Agate Mountainsalt pans, and the largebrown fur seal colonies atCape Fria. The remainder of the coast is the National West Coast Recreation Area. The national park is part of theIona – Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area.[5]
The coast has been the subject of a number of wildlifedocumentaries, particularly concerning adaptations to extreme aridity, such as the 1965National Geographic documentarySurvivors of the Skeleton Coast.[6] Many of the native species ofsucculent plants depend on the thick seafogs, which roll-in from the coast, for their moisture; in addition to water droplets for their hydration, windblown detritus from the arid interior serves as a food source for numerousinvertebrates, which, in turn, feed theherpetofauna and form the base of the desert food chain. The desert bird assemblages have been studied in terms of theirthermoregulation, coloration, breeding strategies andnomadism.
The riverbeds and flatlands further away from the beaches are home tobush elephants,Chacma baboons,southern giraffe,lions,leopard,black rhinoceros,spotted andbrown hyenas,gemsbok andspringbok, among many other species.[7] The animals get most of their water from wells dug by one another, in addition to consuming various water-laden succulent plants. The black rhinoceros population was the main reason why the CBBC showSerious Desert was filmed in the region.
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