Namib Desert
Topic: World Physical Features and Natural Regions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Namib is a coastal desert along the Atlantic coast of Namibia, in south-western Africa. It is thought to be the oldest desert in the world. The cold Benguela Current runs along the coast and cools the air above it. Cool air holds little moisture, so very little rain falls. However, the same current creates sea fog, and many plants and animals get their water from it. The Namib has some of the tallest sand dunes on Earth.
Example
Beetles in the Namib collect fog droplets on their bodies to drink, and the strange Welwitschia plant also lives on fog. The Namib Sand Sea became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Don't confuse with
- Kalahari Desert: an inland desert east of the Namib, formed under sinking air of the subtropical high, not by a cold current.
- Atacama Desert (Chile): also a west-coast desert caused by a cold current (the Humboldt), but it is the driest non-polar place on Earth.