The Namib Desert is the world’s oldest desert, estimated to have existed for at least 55 million years.
It stretches along the Atlantic coast of southwestern Africa, mainly through Namibia and also into parts of Angola and South Africa. The cold Benguela Current suppresses evaporation and rainfall, helping maintain the desert’s exceptionally dry coastal climate.
Namib landscapes include vast dunes, gravel plains, rocky mountains, and fog-dependent ecosystems. Sossusvlei’s red dunes are among its most recognizable features, while the Welwitschia plant survives in some areas by drawing moisture from fog.
The Namib is not the world’s largest hot desert; that distinction belongs to the Sahara. The Antarctic Desert is the largest desert overall because deserts are defined by low precipitation, not by heat or sand.