Kalahari Desert: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:LocationKalahari.PNG|thumb|350px|The Kalahari Desert (shown in maroon) & Kalahari Basin (orange)]] |
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[[Image:Kalahari E02 00.jpg|thumb|350px|Kalahari in Namibia]] |
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The '''Kalahari Desert''' is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in southern [[Kgalagadi]] [[Africa]] extending 900,000 [[square kilometre|km²]] (362,500 sq. mi.), covering much of [[Botswana]] and parts of [[Namibia]] and [[South Africa]], as semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains. The Kalahari Desert is the southern part of Africa, and the geography is a portion of desert and a plateau. The Kalahari supports some animals and plants because most of it is not true desert. There are small amounts of rainfall and the summer temperature is very high. It usually receives 3-7 1/2 inches of rain per year.<ref name=SAltena>Mary Sadler-Altena, "Kalahari: Introduction" webpage: [http://www.southerncape.co.za/geography/regions/kalahari/welcome.html SouthernCape-Kalahari]{{dead link|date=January 2008 |url=http://www.southerncape.co.za/geography/regions/kalahari/welcome.html}}: Kalahari name/climate/reserves and history.</ref> The surrounding [[Kalahari Basin]] covers over 2.5 million km² extending farther into Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, and encroaching into parts of [[Angola]], [[Zambia]] and [[Zimbabwe]]. The only permanent river, the [[Okavango River|Okavango]], flows into a [[river delta|delta]] in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Ancient dry riverbeds—called [[omuramba]]—traverse the Central Northern reaches of the Kalahari and provide standing pools of water during the rainy season. Previously havens for wild animals from elephant to giraffe, and for predators such as lion and cheetah, the riverbeds are now mostly grazing spots, though leopard or cheetah can still be found. |
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==Climate== |
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Derived from the [[Tswana language|Tswana]] word ''Keir'', meaning the ''great thirst'', or the tribal word ''Khalagari'', ''Kgalagadi'' or ''Kalagare'' (meaning "a waterless place"<ref name=SAltena>Mary Sadler-Altena, "Kalahari: Introduction" webpage: [http://www.southerncape.co.za/geography/regions/kalahari/welcome.html SouthernCape-Kalahari]{{dead link|date=January 2008 |url=http://www.southerncape.co.za/geography/regions/kalahari/welcome.html}}: Kalahari name/climate/reserves and history.</ref>), the Kalahari has vast areas covered by pink-blue sands without any permanent surface water. Drainage is by dry valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large [[salt pan (geology)|salt pan]]s of the [[Makgadikgadi Pan]] in Botswana and [[Etosha Pan]] in Namibia. However, the Kalahari is not a true desert. Parts of the Kalahari receive over 250 mm of erratic rainfall annually and are quite well vegetated; it is only truly arid in the southwest (under 175 mm of rain annually) making the Kalahari a [[fossil desert]]. Summer temperatures in the Kalahari range from 20 to 45 °C. |
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==Game reserves== |
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[[Image:Suricata.jpg|right|thumb|100px|A [[meerkat]] in the Kalahari]] |
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[[Image:Wd4 ian 710 01.JPG|left|thumb|100px|The endangered [[African Wild Dog]] in CKGR]] |
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The Kalahari has a number of game reserves—the [[Central Kalahari Game Reserve]] (CKGR, the world's second largest protected area), [[Khutse Game Reserve]] and the [[Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park]]. Animals that live in the region include brown [[hyena]]s, [[lion]]s, [[meerkat]]s, several species of [[antelope]] (including the [[oryx]] or [[gemsbok]]), and many species of [[Aves|bird]] and [[reptile]]. Vegetation in the Kalahari consists mainly of [[Poaceae|grass]]es and [[acacia]]s but there are over 400 identified plant species present (including the wild [[watermelon]] or '''Tsamma''' melon). Camel rides across the desert are also offered [http://www.24-8cybertravel.com/activities/activities.asp?attr_id=7]. |
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==Kalahari minerals== |
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There are large [[sand]], [[coal]], [[copper]], [[nickel]] and [[uranium]] deposits in the region. One of the largest [[list of diamond mines|diamond mines]] in the world is located at [[Orapa]] in the Makgadikgadi, North-Eastern Kalahari. [[Pomfret, South Africa|Pomfret]], on the edge of the desert, has [[asbestos]] in the subsoil and a shuttered asbestos mine.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2005/s1496370.htm |
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|title=South Africa - Pomfret |
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|publisher=abc.net |
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|accessdate=2007-01-03 |
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}}</ref> |
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===Diamond mining=== |
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The overseas campaign group [[Survival International]] say the real reason for the re-settlement is to free up the land for [[diamond]] mining, especially in the area of [[Orapa diamond mine|Orapa]], the diamond capital of the country. But the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, ''Ditshwanelo'', disputes this, claiming that the government is being [[altruism|altruistic]], but misguided. Nonetheless, the London ''Daily Telegraph'' of [[October 29]], [[2005]] reported that the government had begun another wave of forced removals. |
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===Sand mining=== |
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[[Sand mining]] is a practice to harvest sand from [[dunes]]. The huge amount of semi-arid sand available in the Kalahari Desert is used to satisfy increasing demands of [[industry]] and [[construction]]. The Kalahari Desert sand is dried and transported via the [[Trans-Kalahari Highway]] to industrial areas and is used in, for example, manufacturing as an abrasive - to make [[concrete]]. [[Sand mining]] plays an increasing factor in [[Botswana]]'s economy and is a direct and obvious cause of erosion. It also impacts the local wildlife, including [[meerkat]]s, [[antelope]]s and the endangered [[African Wild Dog]]. |
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==Administrative areas covering the Kalahari== |
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* [[Kgalagadi District]], Botswana |
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* [[Ghanzi District]], Botswana |
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* [[Southern District (Botswana)|Southern District]], Botswana |
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* [[Kweneng District]], Botswana |
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* [[Central District]], Botswana |
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* [[North-West District (Botswana)|North-West District]], Botswana |
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* [[Namibia]] <!--needs list of regions--> |
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== Population == |
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The [[San people]] or Bushmen have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers. That means they survive by hunting wild game with bows and arrows and gathering edible plants like berries, melons and nuts as well as insects. Bushmen rarely drink water; they get most of water requirements from plant roots and desert melons found on or under desert floor: they often store water in the blown-out shells of ostrich eggs. The San have their own characteristic language that includes clicking sounds. These Bushmen live in huts built from local materials - the frame is made of branches and the roof is thatched with long grass. |
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==The Kalahari desert in popular culture== |
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* ''[[A Far Off Place]]'', film, starring Reese Witherspoon & Ethan Randall (Embry), based on the books "A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place" by [[Laurens Van Der Post]] |
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* ''[[Vertigo]]'', large tome |
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* ''[[Of Mice and Men]]'', television series documenting the [[George Lucas]] |
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* ''[[Survivor]]'', survival television series. |
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* ''[[Top Gear]]'', British television series, featuring an episode following a desert challenge in which [[Jeremy Clarkson]], [[Richard Hammond]], and [[James May]] attempt to drive three old cars across Botswana, including the Kalahari Desert. |
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* ''[[A Bestiary]]'', short story by Mexican author [[Ignacio Padilla]]. |
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==See also== |
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*[[De Beers]] |
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*[[Morokweng crater]] |
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*[[List of deserts by area]] |
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*[[Meerkat Manor]] |
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==Notes== |
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<references/> |
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==External links== |
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*[http://www.owens-foundation.org/docs/kalahari2.htm "Cry of the Kalahari"] |
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*[http://www.ianandwendy.com/OtherTrips/BotswanaNamibia/Botswana/Kali/slideshow.htm Central Kalahari Game Reserve Pictures, Botswana] |
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*[http://abbott-infotech.co.za/index-kalahari.html Dream an electronic dream of the Kalahari] |
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{{Deserts}} |
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{{Continents of the world|state=uncollapsed}} |
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{{coor title dm|23|00|S|23|00|E|}} |
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[[Category:Deserts of Botswana]] |
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[[Category:Deserts of Namibia]] |
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[[Category:Deserts of South Africa]] |
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[[Category:Historical continents]] |
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[[Category:Ergs]] |
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[[af:Kalahari]] |
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[[ar:صحراء كالهاري]] |
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[[bn:কালাহারি মরুভূমি]] |
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[[bg:Калахари]] |
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[[ca:Kalahari]] |
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[[cs:Kalahari]] |
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[[da:Kalahari-ørkenen]] |
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[[de:Kalahari]] |
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[[es:Kalahari]] |
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[[eo:Kalaharo]] |
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[[eu:Kalahari]] |
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[[fr:Désert du Kalahari]] |
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[[is:Kalaharíeyðimörkin]] |
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[[it:Kalahari]] |
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[[he:קלהארי]] |
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[[ka:კალაჰარი]] |
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[[lt:Kalaharis]] |
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[[nl:Kalahari]] |
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[[ja:カラハリ砂漠]] |
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[[ko:칼라하리 사막]] |
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[[no:Kalahari]] |
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[[pl:Kalahari]] |
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[[pt:Kalahari]] |
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[[ro:Deşertul Kalahari]] |
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[[qu:Kalahari]] |
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[[ru:Калахари]] |
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[[sl:Kalahari]] |
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[[sr:Калахари]] |
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[[fi:Kalahari]] |
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[[sv:Kalahariöknen]] |
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[[vi:Kalahari]] |
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[[tr:Kalahari Çölü]] |
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[[uk:Калахарі]] |
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[[zh:喀拉哈里沙漠]] |
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