Namib

The coastal desert of Namibia, the oldest desert on Earth, where fog off the cold Atlantic is the only rain.

Specifications & Metrics

area

~81,000 km²

Core Principles & Analysis

• It has been arid for some 55 million years, possibly the oldest desert in the world.
• Its dunes at Sossusvlei are among the tallest on Earth, above 300 metres.
• The Welwitschia plant that grows there lives for over a thousand years on fog alone.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Namib