The Namib Desert along Namibia’s Atlantic coast is often described as one of the world’s oldest deserts.
The Namib stretches for about 2,000 kilometres along the Atlantic coast of Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. Geological evidence indicates that arid conditions have persisted in the region for tens of millions of years, although the desert’s exact age depends on how “desert” is defined.
The cold Benguela Current helps maintain the Namib’s dryness by cooling moist ocean air and producing coastal fog rather than substantial rainfall. Fog is vital to specialised species, including the fog-basking Namib darkling beetles and some desert plants.
The Namib contains immense dunes near Sossusvlei, where iron-rich sands create deep red colours. Its coastal section also includes the Skeleton Coast, named for shipwrecks and whale bones. The desert’s unusual age and isolation have produced highly specialised wildlife and plant adaptations.