The northeastern Kalahari receives up to four times as much rain as the southwestern region. In addition, the Okavango River carries rainfall from central Angola into the northern Kalahari, where it fills a network of swamps. Vegetation ranges from grasslands and some trees in the central Kalahari to forests and water plants in the north.
Elephants, zebras, giraffes, antelope, lions, cheetahs, warthogs, baboons, and other animals live in the northern Kalahari. Some scholars believe that the Khoisan people of the Kalahari have lived in small, isolated bands of hunters and gatherers since prehistoric times. The desert is part of the ,square-mile Kalahari Basin, which includes the Okavango River Delta and other wetter areas.
The basin encompasses virtually all of Botswana and more than half of Namibia. The Kalahari sand dunes, some of which stretch west to the Namib Desert, compose the largest continuous expanse of sand on earth. These dunes are covered with a relative abundance of vegetation, including grass tussocks, shrubs, and deciduous trees that have evolved to make use of the area's infrequent precipitation and wild swings in temperature.
In summer, the heat can top 45 degrees Celsius degrees Fahrenheit ; on winter nights, lows can drop to degrees Celsius seven degrees Fahrenheit. In the wetter north and east, open woodlands exist, made up mainly of a type of acacia known as the camelthorn tree. Endemic to the Kalahari, the camelthorn is a crucial part of the desert ecosystem, manufacturing nutrients that encourage other plants to grow around its base and providing shade for animals.
Nambia See more about Kalahari Desert Plants and photos! Other trees that grow in this area include shepherd's tree, blackthorn, and silver cluster-leaf. In the drier southwest, vegetation and wildlife are much more sparse, but Hoodia cactus - used for thousands of years by the San people to ease hunger and thirst during long hunting trips - still maintains a foothold there.
Animals that have adapted to the extremely dry conditions in the Kalahari include meerkats; gemsbok, a large member of the antelope family; social weavers, a type of bird; and the Kalahari lion. What is the temperature range in the Kalahari Desert? How large is the Kalahari Desert? Why is the Kalahari a desert? What countries make up the Kalahari Desert?
What wildlife can be found in the Kalahari Desert? What kinds of plants are in the Kalahari Desert? What type of desert is the Kalahari? How is the Kalahari related to African deserts? Where is the Kalahari Desert located on a map? African Hotspots Botswana Highlight of the Month. Share Article:. About SafariBookings. Moremi Game Reserve. Okavango Delta. Central Kalahari Game Reserve.
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Best Places to Visit in Africa in Blog Categories. Select category 5 Fascinating Facts About At the time, the only European settlement was the Ghanzi District. There are several factors threatening the environment and wildlife of the Kalahari Desert. While it is a way of life for many communities, large-scale cattle farming leads to overgrazing, which results in a loss of vegetation. Consequently, this increases the effects of desertification, the process by which fertile land becomes arid.
Additionally, ranchers will often seek out and kill carnivores such as jackals to pre-emptively protect their livestock. The mining of metals and precious stones like diamonds also disrupts the delicate desert ecosystem. Mines strip the land of what little vegetation there is, upsets the balance of the local wildlife, and often results in the displacement of human settlements.
Disputes over the Kalahari Desert currently exist between the Botswana government and the San peoples who wish to return to a more traditional way of living. Strict rules that prohibit hunting within the boundaries of national parks and other protected areas have made it almost impossible for the latter to adopt the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of their ancestors.
Territorial disputes also exist between miners and the local Indigenous peoples. Diamonds were first discovered in the Kalahari Desert roughly thirty years ago, leading to the creation of some of the biggest diamond mines in the world. In many cases, these mines were built on San ancestral homeland, ultimately forcing the local population to either relocate to other areas or to live under the occupation of these profit-driven mining companies.
Big nest of weaver birds in the kalahari desert, Namibia. The northeastern part of the Kalahari is technically not a desert since it receives double the amount of rain a typical desert should receive. The construction of diamond mines in the Kalahari Desert have forced the local San peoples to either relocate or live under the occupation of these mining companies. Nathaniel Whelan December 3 in World Geography. Pantanal, Brazil. What Is A Plateau?
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