Namib Desert - Namib Desert [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Namib Desert

Namib Desert, temperate desert, extending about 1,500 km (about 930 mi) along the coast of southwestern Africa, mainly in Namibia. The desert reaches inland from the Atlantic Ocean for up to about 130 km (about 80 mi) and is kept cool and dry by the effects of the cold Benguela Current offshore. About 50 mm (about 2 in) of rain falls each year. Tungsten and diamonds are important mineral products, and Karakul sheep are raised in the south, where the Namib Desert merges with the Kalahari. The desert is very sparsely inhabited except for isolated communities like Walvis Bay and Swakopmund, both on the coast.

Desert on Atlantic Coast

The Namib Desert, primarily in Namibia, Africa, stretches alongside the Atlantic Coast in Africa for 1930 km (about 1200 mi).

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Namib Desert

The Namib Desert stretches along the southwestern coast of Africa for 1,500 km (930 mi), from southern Angola along the entire length of Namibia, and into western South Africa. The Benguela Current, which carries icy water from Antarctica to the African coast, keeps the desert cool and creates a dense coastal fog. For centuries, the fog was responsible for so many shipwrecks in the northern stretch of the desert that the region became known as the Skeleton Coast.

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