Namibia contains Sossusvlei, the famous salt-and-clay pan surrounded by red dunes.
Sossusvlei lies in the southern part of the Namib-Naukluft National Park. It is a white, mineral-rich clay pan enclosed by some of the world’s tallest sand dunes, whose red color comes from iron-oxide coatings on the sand grains.
The pan is associated with the Tsauchab River, which rarely reaches it because the surrounding desert receives very little rainfall and the dunes block the river’s course. When exceptional floods occur, temporary water can collect in the pan and create a striking contrast with the surrounding desert.
Nearby Deadvlei is a separate clay pan noted for the dark skeletons of ancient camel thorn trees. Those trees died centuries ago but have not decomposed fully because the hyper-arid climate limits moisture. Sossusvlei and Deadvlei are therefore related attractions, not the same site.