Botswana contains the Okavango Delta, a vast inland wetland in the country’s northwest.
The delta forms where the Okavango River spreads across the Kalahari Basin instead of reaching an ocean. Seasonal floodwater arrives from Angola during the dry months of Botswana, creating channels, lagoons, islands and floodplains that support an exceptional concentration of wildlife. The delta covers roughly 15,000 square kilometres when flooded, although its extent changes seasonally.
The Okavango Delta became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014. It is especially noted for elephants, hippos, lions, wild dogs and many bird species. The river’s water largely disappears through evaporation and plant transpiration. Namibia and Angola are part of the wider Okavango Basin, but the famous delta itself is in Botswana.