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Kalahari, a large, basinlike plain of the interior plateau of southern Africa. It occupies almost all of Botswana, the eastern third of Namibia, and the northernmost part of Northern Cape province in South Africa. In the southwest it merges with the Namib, the coastal desert of Namibia. The Kalahari’s longest north–south extent is roughly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres), and its greatest east–west distance is about 600 miles; its area has been estimated at some 360,000 square miles (930,000 square kilometres).
Even where the Kalahari "desert" is dry enough to qualify as a desert in the sense of having low precipitation, it is not strictly speaking a desert because it has too dense a ground cover, often close to 100%. The main region that lacks ground cover is in the in the southwest Kalahari (southeast of Namibia and northwest of South Africa around the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park). The Kalahari has no permanent water bodies except the Okavango Delta at the very north.
The Kalahari is one of Africa's last wildlife paradises. Animals that live in the region include brown hyenas, lions, meerkats, several species of antelope, and many types of birds and reptiles. Vegetation in the Kalahari consists of dry grassland and scrubby acacias. Grasses thrive in the Kalahari during the summer rainy season. African people known as the San (or Bushmen) were the first known human inhabitants of the Kalahari.
Their survival skills and adaptation to the harsh Kalahari wilderness have become legendary. Today, only a small number of the San follow their traditional way of life in the Kalahari. Modern civilization is threatening the natural resources of the Kalahari.
Mineral companies have discovered large coal, copper, and nickel deposits in the region. In addition, one of the largest diamond mines in the world is located at Orapa in the Makgadikgadi, a depression of the northeastern Kalahari. The Kalahari Desert is also one of the most treacherous deserts in the world. While it does not look like a desert, it behaves like one. During the short rainy season it transforms into a great paradise of lush vegetation and a colorful and lively fauna. However, the moment the rains are gone the Kalahari becomes dry and moody. It can rain very heavily in one day, rain that produces floods that sweep everything while the next day can be as dry as ever.
Even where the Kalahari "desert" is dry enough to qualify as a desert in the sense of having low precipitation, it is not strictly speaking a desert because it has too dense a ground cover, often close to 100%. The main region that lacks ground cover is in the in the southwest Kalahari (southeast of Namibia and northwest of South Africa around the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park). The Kalahari has no permanent water bodies except the Okavango Delta at the very north.
The Kalahari is one of Africa's last wildlife paradises. Animals that live in the region include brown hyenas, lions, meerkats, several species of antelope, and many types of birds and reptiles. Vegetation in the Kalahari consists of dry grassland and scrubby acacias. Grasses thrive in the Kalahari during the summer rainy season. African people known as the San (or Bushmen) were the first known human inhabitants of the Kalahari.
Their survival skills and adaptation to the harsh Kalahari wilderness have become legendary. Today, only a small number of the San follow their traditional way of life in the Kalahari. Modern civilization is threatening the natural resources of the Kalahari.
Mineral companies have discovered large coal, copper, and nickel deposits in the region. In addition, one of the largest diamond mines in the world is located at Orapa in the Makgadikgadi, a depression of the northeastern Kalahari. The Kalahari Desert is also one of the most treacherous deserts in the world. While it does not look like a desert, it behaves like one. During the short rainy season it transforms into a great paradise of lush vegetation and a colorful and lively fauna. However, the moment the rains are gone the Kalahari becomes dry and moody. It can rain very heavily in one day, rain that produces floods that sweep everything while the next day can be as dry as ever.
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