World Geomorphological Landscapes

Andrew Goudie
Heather Viles

Landscapes and
Landforms of
Namibia
World Geomorphological Landscapes

Series editor
Piotr Migoń, Wrocław, Poland

For further volumes:

http://www.springer.com/series/10852
The Kuiseb River and Namib Sand Sea at Gobabeb
Andrew Goudie • Heather Viles

Landscapes and Landforms

of Namibia

123
Andrew Goudie Heather Viles
School of Geography and the Environment School of Geography and the Environment
University of Oxford University of Oxford
Oxford Oxford
UK UK

ISSN 2213-2090 ISSN 2213-2104 (electronic)

ISBN 978-94-017-8019-3 ISBN 978-94-017-8020-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9
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Series Editor Preface

Landforms and landscapes vary enormously across the Earth, from high mountains to endless
plains. At a smaller scale, nature often surprises us creating shapes which look improbable.
Many physical landscapes are so immensely beautiful that they received the highest possible
recognition—they hold the status of World Heritage properties. Apart from often being
immensely scenic, landscapes tell stories which not uncommonly can be traced back in time
for tens of million years and include unique events. In addition, many landscapes owe their
appearance and harmony not solely to the natural forces. For centuries, and even millennia,
they have been shaped by humans who have modified hillslopes, river courses, and coastlines,
and erected structures, which often blend with the natural landforms to form inseparable
entities.
These landscapes are studied by geomorphology—‘the Science of Scenery’—a part of
Earth Sciences that focuses on landforms, their assemblages, surface and subsurface processes
that moulded them in the past and that change them today. To show the importance of
geomorphology in understanding the landscape, and to present the beauty and diversity of the
geomorphological sceneries across the world, we have launched a book series World Geo-
morphological Landscapes. It aims to be a scientific library of monographs that present and
explain physical landscapes, focusing on both representative and uniquely spectacular
examples. Each book will contain details on geomorphology of a particular country or a
geographically coherent region. This volume presents the geomorphology of Namibia—a
country that hosts superb landforms, many being the best examples of their kind in the world.
Endless sand seas, tall inselbergs, majestic river canyons, pans teeming with wildlife—they
can all be found across Namibia. Since Namibia is relatively easy to navigate, the book is not
only suitable for scientists and students of Geography and Earth Science, but can also provide
guidance to holidaymaking geoscientists as to where to go to enjoy the very best scenery.
The World Geomorphological Landscapes series is produced under the scientific patronage
of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG)—a society that brings together
geomorphologists from all around the world. The IAG was established in 1989 and is an
independent scientific association affiliated with the International Geographical Union (IGU)
and the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS). Among its main aims are to
promote geomorphology and to foster dissemination of geomorphological knowledge.
I believe that this lavishly illustrated series, which sticks to the scientific rigour, is the most
appropriate means to fulfill these aims and to serve the geoscientific community. To this end,
my great thanks go to Professors Heather Viles and Andrew Goudie for adding this book to
their agendas and delivering such an exciting illustrated story to read and admire. The thanks
are more than customary. Many years ago, I was invited to join Heather and Andrew on one of
their Namibian research trips and benefited most from their expert knowledge of the country,
now shared with the global geomorphological community.

Piotr Migoń

v
Acknowledgments

Over the years, we have been grateful to a number of people for their assistance and valued
company in the field in Namibia, including Dick Grove, the late Charles Koch, Abi Stone,
Dave Thomas, Jennifer Lalley, Frank Eckardt, Alexander Shaw, Brett Smith, Piotr Migoń,
Susan Conway, Mary Bourke, Mark Taylor, Ian Livingstone, Mary Seely, Stuart Neumann,
Alice Goudie, Amy Beasley, Joh Henschel, and Andy Watson. We have particularly valued
the hospitality that the Gobabeb research facility has offered to ourselves and our students over
many years. We are also grateful to some of our German colleagues, including the late H.
Besler, K. Heine, W.-D. Blümel, M.W. Buch, and B. Eitel for so kindly remembering to send
us offprints relating to their own valued contributions to our understanding of the geomor-
phology of Namibia. We are grateful to Elsevier for permission to reproduce figures 1.5, 3.4,
8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 10.5, 10.6, 18.2, 18.1, 18.6, 20.3, 20.4, and 26.3; to Wiley for figures 1.6, 2.5,
2.6, 8.6, 10.2, and 11.3; and to the National Archives of Namibia for figure 1.9.

vii
Contents

Part I Introduction to Namibia and its Landscapes

1 Landscapes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1 Landscape Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 The Namib and the Kalahari Deserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.1 The Namib Desert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.2 The Kalahari Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.3 The Great Escarpment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.4 The Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.5 The Coastline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

2 Geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.1 Geological Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2 The Impact of Early Cretaceous Tectonics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3 Dolerite Dikes/Dykes and Sills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 Planation—The African Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.5 Neotectonics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

3 Climate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.1 Climatic Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.2 The Onset of Aridity and an Ancient Namib Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.3 Quaternary Climatic Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

4 Vegetation, Fauna and Humans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

4.1 Vegetation and Fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2 The Human Impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Part II Regional Studies

5 The North East Kunene Region: The Kunene River, Sand

Sea and Yardangs. . . . . . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.1 The Kunene River. . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.2 The Kunene Sand Sea . . . . ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
5.3 Yardangs . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

ix
x Contents

6 Etosha Pan and the Karstveld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

6.1 Etosha Pan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.2 Karst Landforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

7 Twyfelfontein and its Desert Varnish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

8 The Ephemeral Rivers and Dunes of the Skeleton Coast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

9 The Etendeka Plateau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

10 Brandberg, Messum and Spitzkoppe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

10.1 Brandberg . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
10.2 Messum. . . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
10.3 Spitzkoppe . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
References. . . . . . . . ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

11 Erongo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

12 Weathering on the Namib Plains: Marble and Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

12.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
12.2 Marble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
12.3 Granite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

13 Salt Weathering in the Namib: Soutrivier and the Coastal Salt Pans. . . . . . 97
13.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . 97
13.2 Salt Weathering Mechanisms and Implications . . . . . . ........ . . . . . 97
13.3 Weathering Experiments: The Role of Moisture . . . . . ........ . . . . . 100
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ . . . . . 101

14 The Namib Plains: Gypsum Crusts and Stone Pavements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

14.1 Gypsum Crusts . . . . . . . . . . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
14.2 Stone Pavements. . . . . . . . . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

15 The Homeb Silts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

16 Calcretes: The Kamberg Calcrete Formation

and the Karpencliff Conglomerate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

18 Namib Sand Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

18.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
18.2 The Tsondab Sandstone—Predecessor of the Namib Sand Sea . . . . . . . . 122
Contents xi

18.3 Dune Diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

18.4 The Source and Colour of the Dune Sands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

19 Sossus Vlei and its Star Dunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

20 The Naukluft Mountains and their Tufa Cascades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

21 Linear Dunes of the Kalahari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

21.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
21.2 Origin of Linear Dunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
21.3 The Age of Kalahari Linear Dunes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

22 The Weissrand and the Aligned Drainage of the Western Kalahari. . . . . . . 143
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

23 Koes and the Nature and Origin of Pans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

24 Circular Geomorphic Features: Roter Kamm and Gross Brukkaros . . . . . . 151

24.1 Roter Kamm and Other Meteorite Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
24.2 Gross Brukkaros: Product of Differential Erosion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Part III Heritage Issues

26 Valuing, Conserving and Raising Awareness of Namibia’s

Landscapes and Landforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 165
26.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 165
26.2 Valuing Geomorphological Landscapes in Namibia:
Geodiversity and Geoheritage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 165
26.3 Conserving Geomorphological Landscapes in Namibia:
From National Monuments to World Heritage Sites . . . . . . . . . ...... 166
26.4 Raising Awareness of Namibia’s Geomorphological Landscapes:
Information and Geotourism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 169
References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... 170

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
 Part I
Introduction to Namibia and its Landscapes
 Landscapes
1

Abstract
Namibia has a wide range of landscapes and the classification provided in the Atlas of Namibia
is adopted by way of introduction to their nature and diversity. This is followed by a
description of three main landscape regions: the Namib Desert, the Kalahari Desert, and the
Great Escarpment. Finally, the chapter includes a regional analysis of the river systems and the
coastline of Namibia, with feature boxes on two iconic landscapes, the Fish River Canyon and
Sandwich Harbour.

another characteristic landform type—sandstone-capped

1.1 Landscape Types
mesas—is featured in box 3 in Chap. 2.
Covering an area of about 823,680 km2, Namibia is up to
Namibia is a vast and varied country with wonderful land-
1,320 km long, and 1,440 km wide. It is, however, sparsely
scapes and landforms, many of which have been engagingly
populated with only around 2 million inhabitants. To the
portrayed in words and pictures by Swart and Marais (2009). It
north it is bounded by Angola and Zambia, to the east by
is particularly notable because of the richness and beauty of its
Botswana, to the south by South Africa, and to the west by
desert landforms, and because of what it can tell us about the
the cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Much of Namibia
long-term tectonic history and climate of this part of Africa.
consists of a wide plateau at 900–1,300 m above sea level
The major controls on landscape evolution are tectonics (and
(Fig. 1.1). This plateau is bounded on the west by a large
its influence on geology) and climate (and its influence on
escarpment and on the east by the Kalahari Basin. Bordering
ecology) and their dynamic interrelationships over a range of
the Atlantic in the west is the lower-lying coastal plain of the
timescales. However, before introducing the outlines of tec-
hyper-arid Namib Desert (Van Zyl 1992). Van der Merwe
tonic and geological histories (Chap. 2) and the dynamics of
(1983) estimated that plains were the dominant landscape of
climate and ecosystems (Chaps. 3 and 4) this chapter intro-
Namibia, covering over 45 % of the country, with mountains
duces the major characteristics of Namibian landscapes and
covering c 19 %, dunes just under 14 %, plains with scat-
their diversity, including the nature of the two great deserts
tered hills over 13 %, and hills just under 8 %. Wellington
(the Namib and the Kalahari), the Great Escarpment which
(1967) divided the Namibian landscape into three main types
runs down its spine, its rivers, and its long coastline.
—the Namib Desert, the Plateau Hardveld and the Kalahari
In the second part of the book we present a series of
Sandveld, within which he identified a number of more
regional studies illustrating some of the most dramatic and
specific landscape types.
interesting landforms and landscapes of the country, and these
Recently, The Atlas of Namibia (Mendelsohn et al. 2002)
are approximately arranged from north to south (Fig. 1.1).
has identified a range of landscape regions in the country,
Chapter 25 is not marked on Fig. 1.1, as the phenomena it
providing a useful framework to describe the geomorpho-
describes occur over much of Namibia. We have chosen to
logical diversity (Fig. 1.2). These regions are described here
include landscapes and landforms for which there is a good
heading from north to south, apart from two areas (the
array of scientific literature and which reflect the diversity of
Kalahari sandveld and the Great Escarpment) which span
landscape types in Namibia. Other important and much vis-
large distances from north to south in the eastern and wes-
ited landscape features, such as the Fish River Canyon and
tern parts of the country respectively, with which we begin.
Sandwich Harbour, are described in boxes in Chap. 1, while

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 3
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_1, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
4 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.1 The approximate

locations of Chaps. 5–24 and the
relief of Namibia (from Mendel-
sohn et al. 2002, p. 39 in http://
www.uni.koeln.de/sfb389/e/e1/
download/atlas_namibia/) (acces-
sed 30th January 2014)

The Kalahari sandveld occupies a huge part of northern and notably in the north by Etosha Pan (see Chap. 6). The
eastern Namibia. It is a generally monotonous, flat, basin of Cuvelai system which lies between Etosha Pan and the
sedimentation, much of which is characterised by aeolian Angolan border, is dominated by a network of curious,
landforms, including linear dunes and pans (Thomas and shallow channels, called ‘Oshanas’, which in wet years
Shaw 1991). It is discussed further in Chap. 21. The obtain much of their water from the Angolan Highlands. The
Escarpment (or Great Escarpment), discussed later in Chap. Kunene Hills in the far north west of Namibia, sometimes
1, runs roughly parallel to the coast and divides much of the called the Kaoko Highlands, are a rugged area of dissected
country up into two general landscapes: the low-lying ancient rocks, commonly 1,000–1,900 m above sea level
coastal plain to the west, and the higher inland plateau to the (Sander 2002). The hills include the Baynes, Steilrand, and
interior. It is not a continuous feature, and is largely absent Zebra Mountains. The Zebra Mountains are so called
from the Central-Western Plains. because they consist of a mass of interlayered, relatively
In the far north east is a small area called the Caprivi unaltered dark leucotroctolite with relatively altered,
Floodplains, created by the Zambezi and Kwando rivers and “white,” anorthosite (Maier et al. 2013). Glacial features,
consisting of a network of channels, spectacular oxbow lakes originating in the Dwyka phase (c 200–270 million years
and grasslands. In the late Pleistocene it may have been ago), have been exhumed and are widespread. These include
occupied by a lake, called Lake Caprivi (Shaw and Thomas U-shaped valleys with striated walls. The Etendeka Plateau
1988). Further east, the Okavango Valley occurs as a narrow (discussed further in Chap. 9) consists of flat-topped hills
strip along Namibia’s northern border. The Karstveld of underlain by great expanses of volcanic lava and some
northern Namibia covers a scatter of areas in the east and sedimentary Karoo age rocks. The lavas were spewed out
west and is underlain by soluble carbonate rocks, including when Africa and South America split apart some 132 million
limestones and dolomites, and has an array of karstic forms years ago (as discussed in more detail in Chap. 2). The
including caves and sinkholes, of which Guinas and Otjikoto Kamanjab Plateau, mostly underlain by ancient granites and
are the most dramatic examples (see Chap. 6). Pans are a gneisses, is in the north west of the country and is drained
typical Namibian landscape element, represented most and dissected by the Huab and Ombonde rivers.
1.1 Landscape Types 5

Fig. 1.2 The landscape divisions of Namibia (from Mendelsohn et al. 2002, p. 14, in http://www.uni-koeln.de/sfb389/e/e1/download/atlas_
namibia/) (accessed 30th January 2014)

A large landscape unit within central Namibia is the contains one somewhat anomalous landform curiosity, a
Central-Western Plains, much of which lies between 500 field of late Pleistocene dunes neither connected with the
and 1,000 m above sea level, stretches inland from the Namib or the Kalahari, up to c 7 m tall, located at Teu-
Atlantic coast and has been formed by rivers such as the felsbach, some 20 km south of Okahandja (Eitel et al. 2004).
Khan, Omaruru, Swakop and Ugab cutting back eastwards The Naukluft Mountains, which largely consist of limestones
into higher ground. The area is studded with upstanding and shales, occur on the edge of the Great Escarpment within
granite hills called inselbergs (Mabbutt 1952). These Insel- central Namibia. The mountains are highly dissected by
bergs are large, free-standing mountain masses that punc- small, steep valleys in which extensive spreads of calcareous
tuate the Central-Western Plains, and include Brandberg (at tufa occur (see Chap. 20). The Rehoboth Plateau lies in the
2,579 m, the highest point in Namibia), Erongo (see centre of the country to the south of Windhoek at an altitude
Chap. 11), Paresis and Spitzkoppe (see Chap. 10). The of between 1,500 and 1,700 m above sea level. It is an area
Khomas Hochland Plateau is located in the centre of the of inselbergs and rolling terrain underlain primarily by
country around Windhoek, and consists of a ridge of rolling granites and complexes of metamorphic rocks.
hills and deep valleys. Much of it lies at altitudes between The western parts of central and southern Namibia are
1,700 and 2,000 m above sea level and it receives sufficient dominated by sand and plains. The Namib Sand Sea (see
rainfall to feed such rivers as the Nossob, the Kuiseb and the Chap. 18) stretches for 400 km north from Lüderitz (now
Swakop. It is the remnant of a once-great mountain chain officially known as #Naminus) to Walvis Bay and is up to
created towards the end of the Damara stage (c 550 million 100–140 km in width. It contains a wide array of large and
years ago) as a result of the collision of continents. This area mobile dunes. The Namib Plains (see Chaps. 12 and 14)
6 1 Landscapes

consist of gravel and gypsum covered surfaces, rocky out- Carunjamba River (latitude 14°S) in Angola. Being on the
crops and hills, which together with the Namib Sand Sea west side of the continent, in a zone of subsiding anticyclonic
make up a large proportion of the coastal plain seaward of air, and bounded by the cool Benguela current offshore
the escarpment. Sand ramps are often banked up against hills (Dingle et al. 1996), the Namib is hyper-arid (see Chap. 3).
(Bertram 2003). The Karas Mountains of southern Namibia On its inland side it is bordered by a portion of the Great
consist of uplifted blocks of sandstones, limestones and Escarpment which forms the western edge of the interior
shales that rise up above the surrounding plains. The highest plateau and basin of southern Africa. Thus the Namib Desert
peak in the Gross Karas Mountains reaches 2,203 m above forms a rather narrow strip some 120–200 km wide.
sea level. The Gamchab Basin is an area to the north of the The geomorphology of the Namib Desert has been
Orange River, with large valleys created by river erosion. described by a number of workers (e.g. Gevers 1936; Cloos
Over much of the area drainage densities (the amount of 1937; Logan 1960; Spreitzer 1965; Beaudet and Michel
stream channel per unit area) are high and there are extensive 1978; Hövermann 1978; Wilkinson 1990; Lageat 1994,
fan systems. The Islands, of which there are 12 main ones, 2000; Besler et al. 1994) and its context within the Cenozoic
occur just offshore between Walvis Bay and the Orange history of southern Africa is treated in Partridge and Maud
River and have been noted for their rich guano resources (2000). The landforms in proximity to Gobabeb, the base for
(Watson 1930). Whilst they are small and inconspicuous much of the work that has been done on the desert, are
features, they have been given intriguing names such as described in Eckardt et al. (2013). The Namib Desert can be
Plumpudding and Roastbeef. The Nama-Karoo Basin is a subdivided into four main landscape types. In the area south
predominantly flat-lying plateau underlain by sedimentary of Lüderitz there is ‘The Southern or Transitional Namib’,
rocks, which slopes from 1,400 m above sea level in the which includes coastal Namaqualand and the diamond
north to 900 m in the south. This region includes the Sch- mining lands of the Sperrgebiet (Pallett 1995). This zone is
warzrand to the south of Maltahöhe. It is drained by rivers cut through by the Orange, the last perennial river until the
such as the Fish, which flows to the Orange. Some ancient Kunene is reached on the Angolan border. It includes the
inselbergs have been exhumed from beneath the former Late rugged terrain of the Richtersveld and some areas of dunes
Proterozoic to Cambrian Nama sedimentary cover (Stengel —the Obib Dunes—to the north of the Orange. The area
2000; Stengel and Busche 2002) either because of river around Lüderitz and Elizabeth Bay has high velocity winds
erosion or groundwater-related weathering effects (Twidale and there is extensive yardang development, rock fluting and
and Maud 2013). Fossil landslides have been extensively deflation (Lancaster 1984; Corbett 1993).
developed (Stengel 2001), probably as a result of higher The second Namib Desert landscape is that of the ‘Namib
precipitation amounts than today. Brukkaros forms the only Sand Sea’ (see Chap. 18) which extends between Lüderitz
major mountain in this area (see Chap. 24). Finally, the and Walvis Bay and contains some of the world’s biggest
Weissrand Plateau is an intriguing area of solution hollows dunes. This area has been the subject of a detailed review by
(dayas), calcrete, aligned drainage and old dunes sandwiched Lancaster (1989). The third Namib Desert landscape is the
between the Nama-Karoo Basin and the Kalahari sandveld ‘Central Namib Plains’. These lie between the Kuiseb River
(see Chap. 22). and more dissected terrain that lies to the north of the
Brandberg. The plains have a low gradient of only 1°
between the coast and the 1,000 m contour, and are studded
1.2 The Namib and the Kalahari Deserts with marble and dolerite ridges, some isolated inselbergs and
complexes of shallow pans (Eckardt et al. 2001; Eckardt and
Of the composite landscape types of Namibia, two of the Drake 2011). The plains show many windstreaks oriented
largest and most important are the two great deserts, the with the easterly ‘berg’ winds which generate some dust
Namib in the west and the Kalahari in the east. The Namib plumes, which head out across the South Atlantic. Although
Desert landscape comprises a range of landscape types from the area is hyper-arid, the plains are also crossed by a very
hills to gravel plains and dune fields, whereas the Kalahari dense and intricate network of shallow drainage lines. This is
Desert is dominated by stabilised dunes (Fig. 1.3). very evident, for example, on the gently sloping rock surface
immediately behind the coastal dunes between Walvis Bay
and Swakopmund. Locally, ephemeral rivers such as the
1.2.1 The Namib Desert Swakop are more deeply incised into the plains, producing
gorges and areas of badlands (called gramadullas or a moon
The Namib, one of the world’s driest and most beautiful landscape) (Fig. 1.3). In places these gorges truncate
deserts, extends for more than 2,000 km and eighteen degrees groundwater aquifers so that seepage occurs. This produces
of latitude along the Atlantic coast of southern Africa from tufas made either of lime or of halite. The fourth landscape
the Olifants River in South Africa (latitude 32°S) to the —‘The Northern Namib and Skeleton Coast’—includes a
1.2 The Namib and the Kalahari Deserts 7

Fig. 1.3 Google Earth image of gramadullas to the north of the Kuiseb River. Scale bar 2 km (© 2013 GeoEye, Google)

dissected area of sandstone and lava hills, known as the Namibian loess locations include the Opuwo basin and
Kunene Hills (also called Kaoko Highlands or Kaokoveld), Omungunda in the Kaokoland area, where they were origi-
together with some coastal dunefields (Lancaster 1982). The nally thought to be of late Holocene age (Brunotte and
Kunene Sand Sea, which extends into Angola, is cut through Sander 2000). However, Brunotte et al. (2009) have recently
by the perennial Kunene River (see Chap. 5). asserted that in the Opuwo area loess deposition commenced
It is also possible to divide the Namib Desert on the basis around 55,000 years ago (i.e. in the Pleistocene rather than
of its climate. Besler (1972), for instance, related weathering the Holocene). Loess, up to 5 m in thickness, also forms a fill
and other phenomena to the fog environment, introducing in large basins in the valleys of the Huab and Hoanib rivers
three divisions: the cool fog desert at the coast, the desert in the Khorixas district (Eitel et al. 2001), and appears to be
steppe in the east and the warm (alternate) fog desert in the of largely late Pleistocene age. It is believed that the loess is
middle. formed from material transported by westward moving dust
One important landscape type, related to desert condi- storms from the eastern Kalahari under drier conditions than
tions, is found in between the Namib and Kalahari deserts in today. Even today, dust is generated in substantial quantities
northern Namibia. Here, there are some quite extensive from the surfaces of the Mkagadikgadi depression in Bots-
deposits of loess. Loess is a largely non-stratified and non- wana (Washington et al. 2003), and the Etosha Pan in
consolidated silt, containing some clay, sand, and calcium Namibia (Bryant 2003). The loess is now being eroded by
carbonate. It consists chiefly of quartz, feldspar, mica, clay water to give areas of badlands.
minerals and carbonate grains in varying proportions. The
grain size distribution of typical loess shows a pronounced
mode in the range 20–40 μm and is generally positively 1.2.2 The Kalahari Desert
skewed towards the finer sizes. It was the great German
geographer, Ferdinand von Richthofen (1882, pp. 297–298), In the interior of southern Africa, much of it in Botswana but
who had travelled to the classic deposits in China, who a substantial part in eastern Namibia, lies the Kalahari Desert
cogently argued that these intriguing deposits probably had (Thomas and Shaw 1991). This area was the subject of a
an aeolian origin and that they were produced by dust storms major study by the Prussian geographer Passarge (1904),
transporting silts from deserts and depositing them on desert though most of his observations took place in what in his
margins. Thus, it is likely that the Namibian loess deposits day was called Bechuanaland. However, he did describe the
on the margins of the Kalahari and Namib Deserts have been stratigraphy and landforms of the Gobabis area in eastern
produced from dust originating in these arid environments. Namibia.
8 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.4 The structural context

of the Kalahari

It is difficult to say what precisely the borders of the wooded ‘thirstland’. Over enormous distances the relief is
Kalahari Desert are, not least because it has expanded and highly subdued and the landscape monotonous. The Kala-
contracted during the last few million years. Much of it is a hari owes its gross form and subdued morphology to the fact
relict of a more extensive desert that once extended equa- that following the break-up of Gondwanaland it became an
torwards well into the Congo Basin. It also merges with the area of down-warping bounded on the west by the highlands
Namib in the west and the Karoo in the south, and its of Namibia and Angola, and on the east by mountains such
boundary with the latter is often taken as the Orange River. as the Drakensberg and Lubombo (Haddon and McCarthy
The Kalahari, most of which lies at an altitude of around 2005) (Fig. 1.4). It became a basin of sedimentation and this
1,000 m, derives its name from the Setswana word ‘Kgala- largely accounts for its flatness. The Kalahari Beds that fill
gale’, which means ‘always dry’, but there are in a sense this basin are often over 100 m in thickness and in parts of
three Kalaharis, some drier than others: the Etosha region of northern Namibia they are over 300 m
(a) The Kalahari dune desert in the arid south west inte- thick (Fig. 1.5). Differences in thickness are related to graben
rior of Botswana and adjoining parts of Namibia and (fault) structures. The sediments consist of terrestrial con-
South Africa. The primarily summer rainfall is less than glomerates, breccias, clays, dune sands, diatomaceous in-
200 mm per annum and is just sufficient to stabilize the terdune deposits, alluvium, calcretes, silcretes and marls
plinths of a major field of dominantly linear dunes. The (Wanke and Wanke 2007). Depositional settings included
dune crests are often active. braided rivers, sheet flood areas, shallow lakes and pans, and
(b) The Kalahari region (or thirstland) approximately dune systems.
delineated in the north by the Okavango Swamps and Apart from its relict linear dunes (Thomas 1984) (see
in the south by the Limpopo and the Orange rivers. Chap. 21), the Kalahari contains large numbers of pans and
This is an area of little or no surface drainage despite a associated leeward lunette dunes (Goudie and Thomas
relatively higher rainfall (c 600 mm per annum). Rates 1985) (see Chap. 23), together with two large closed
of groundwater recharge are very low (De Vries et al. depressions—the Etosha Pan of Namibia (see Chap. 6) and
2000). It is almost entirely covered with grass and the Mkgadikgadi Depression of Botswana. Today these are
woodland, and has extraordinarily low relief. major sources of dust plumes (Washington et al. 2003). In
(c) The Mega-Kalahari, which is an extensive area con- the mid to late Tertiary, palaeolake Etosha received water
sisting of a basin filled by the continental sediments of via the Cubango, Kunene and Cuvelai drainage systems. It
the Kalahari Beds. This extends from the Orange River largely dried up at about 4 million years (Ma) under con-
as far as the Congo. Precipitation may be as high as ditions of progressively increasing aridity, though it still
1,500 mm, but it displays the evidence of former aridity occasionally floods (Miller et al. 2010). The Kalahari shows
in terms of the development of ancient dune systems, excellent development of calcrete, silcrete and combinations
drainage alignment, and pans (Shaw and Goudie 2002). of the two (Watts 1980; Nash et al. 1994; Shaw and Goudie
The Kalahari contrasts with the Namib Desert because of 2004). The reason why calcretes in particular are so well
its relatively high rainfall and because of its basinal form. developed probably relates to the structural context. The
Because the climate of the Kalahari is semi-arid to sub- long history of gentle sedimentation within the Kalahari
humid, most of it is not a true desert but an extensively basin has created suitable conditions for the preservation of
1.2 The Namib and the Kalahari Deserts 9

Fig. 1.5 The extent and

thickness of the Kalahari Beds
(from Haddon and McCarthy
2005, Fig. 1)

calcrete sequences, and the presence of ancient limestones 2010). Such great escarpments ‘dominate the landscape of
and dolomites on the basin margins has supplied the nec- many rifted margins and are among the largest topographic
essary solutes. features on Earth and compare with orogenic belts in maj-
esty, although they are associated with plate divergence
rather than subduction’ (Garzanti et al. 2014, p. 17).
1.3 The Great Escarpment The Namibian Great Escarpment is part of a feature that
stretches all around Southern Africa from Mozambique in
A third great landscape unit in Namibia is the Great the east to southern Angola in the west. In Namibia it
Escarpment (Fig. 1.6), which lies inland of the Namib plains comprises ranges such as the Naukluft Mountains (see
and rises up above them. This is one of the most important Chap. 20) and the Gamsberg and contains some deep gorges.
and conspicuous landforms of southern Africa (Kempf Of these the most impressive is the Fish River Canyon
10 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.6 The Great Escarpment

(from Goudie and Eckardt 1999,
Fig. 1)

(Mvondo et al. 2011). This is one of the largest canyons in It consists largely of Mesoproterozoic granite, but is capped
the world, being well over 500 m deep and extending for by silicified aeolian sandstones of the 180 million years old
over 50 km. It is partly an ancient graben feature but is also Etjo Formation. These are in the form of a 30 m caprock
the result of uplift and incision following the breakup of which gives the Gamsberg its famous tabular summit. The
Gondwanaland (Grünert 2000). nature of the underlying granite slopes of the Gamsberg is
The flat-topped Gamsberg is part of the Great Escarpment described by Moon and Selby (1983).
that separates the Khomas Hochland to the east from the The age of the escarpment is a matter of debate (Partridge
low-lying Namib plains to the west. With an elevation of and Maud 1987) and its form and persistence are variable. Its
2,347 m above sea level it towers above the Khomas development, in common with other passive tectonic plate
Hochland by 450 m and above the Namib Plains by 1,100 m. margins (such as eastern South America and Western India),
1.3 The Great Escarpment 11

is probably closely related to continental fragmentation and offshore of the Orange mouth suggest that in addition to high
rifting, but the timing of escarpment formation, retreat and rates of denudation during the post-rift Lower Cretaceous,
uplift is more contentious. Kempf (2010) identifies two main there was another phase of rapid denudation in the Upper
theories in the literature. The first is that the Great Escarp- Cretaceous, 50 million years after the rifting event, perhaps
ment is the erosional remant of the rift shoulder that devel- as a response to a significant rejuvenation of relief at that time
oped and was uplifted as a marginal bulge through the break (Rouby et al. 2009) thus supporting the second hypothesis.
up of Gondwana, and which since then has been worn back Burke (1996, pp. 364–369) has also cast some doubt on
by as much as 100 km to its present position by erosional whether the Great Escarpment is as old as some studies
processes. This might have been enhanced by the continent imply. He queried the idea that because the Great Escarp-
rising up like a cork as material was eroded from the land ment is parallel to the rifted continental margin it necessarily
and deposited in the ocean. This process is called ‘erosional formed at the same time. Moreover, under erosive rainfall
isostasy’. Attempts to model the evolution of the Great regimes he suggested it could still be evolving quickly.
Escarpment in terms of rifting, denudation and isostasy are Burke suggested that much of the escarpment’s development
provided by Gilchrist et al. (1994) and Dauteuil et al. (2013). has taken place over the last 30 Ma, thus contributing evi-
The second hypothesis is that the escarpment came into dence in support of the second hypothesis. On the other
being a long time after the rifting and is thus the outcome of hand, cosmogenic nuclide studies by Bierman and Caffee
more recent tectonic events. Testing these hypotheses relies (2001) indicated that there has been significant landscape
upon having well-dated histories of uplift and erosion, as stability over at least the past million years. Similarly, Van
well as good theoretical models of isostatic behaviour. There der Wateren and Dunai (2001), also using cosmogenic
remains considerable disagreement. nuclides, found that long-term rates of denudation have been
That considerable denudation has occurred since the very low (c 5 m per million years), especially over the last
Cretaceous is indubitable, but whether there were periods of 5 million years thus supporting the first hypothesis. How-
major denudation or more consistent trends is more debated. ever, Codilean et al. (2012) have pointed out that the rates
The elevations of the Damaraland complexes (such as obtained by this method depend to a substantial degree on
Brandberg and Erongo) above the surrounding plains sug- the grain size characteristics of the material that is sampled
gests that well in excess of 1.5 km of denudation has and that results based on pebble-sized clasts may underes-
occurred around these intrusions. Large amounts of Ete- timate palaeo-denudation rates. So, at present neither
ndeka lavas have also been removed (Gilchrist et al. 1994). hypothesis can be ruled out until better dating evidence is
The fact that Tertiary deposits such as the Tsondab available from a wider range of locations.
Sandstone overlie the Namib plains suggests that a large Another important question that needs to be answered is
amount of denudation occurred relatively soon after the early why the Great Escarpment is relatively ill-developed over
Cretaceous tectonic events. It is also conceivable, though not much of the Central Namib (Birkenhauer 1991) and why there
proven, that rates of denudation were reduced by progressive is what Kempf (2010) called ‘The Escarpment Gap’. One
Cainozoic aridification (Gilchrist et al. 1994, p. 12220). possible reason is that it is traversed by five rivers, including
On Southern Africa’s south-western margin as a whole the Swakop and the Ugab, that have catchments that are longer
there is some evidence from apatite fission track analysis and and larger than those to the north and south. They derive power
the offshore sedimentary record that the early Cretaceous was and discharge from areas that have relatively high rainfall and
a time of rapid denudation and offshore sedimentation so may have concentrated erosion on this zone (Gevers 1936).
(Brown et al. 1990; Rust and Summerfield 1990; Gallagher Alternatively, Hüser (1989) postulated that the gap is
and Brown 1999). This could imply that following conti- essentially lithological in origin, and is caused on the one
nental fragmentation there was indeed a phase of early and hand by the belt of Cretaceous Damara granites and on the
rapid uplift and scarp erosion, which led to the stripping of other by the fact that the well-developed escarpment to the
large expanses of Karoo strata (Gilchrist and Summerfield north and south is the result of the presence of resistant
1994; Van der Wateren and Dunai 2001) and thus supports Permo-Triassic Karoo sediments and the remains of Creta-
the first hypothesis. Comparative fission track and cosmo- ceous Etendeka lavas. The granites, he argues, are not part of
genic data assembled by Cockburn et al. (2000) also suggest the escarpment but ought to be considered “foreign objects”
low rates of denudation affecting the central Namib over the which do not develop steps and terraces and are as such not
last 36 million years. Sediment budgets constructed by cal- able to form a classic escarpment. Spönemann and Brunotte
culating amounts of sediment deposited on the ocean floor (1989), on the other hand, favoured tectonism as being
offshore from Namibia and South Africa confirm this, dem- responsible for the break of the escarpment in the Central
onstrating that rates were high in the Lower Cretaceous but Namib Desert. They sought the cause in continental and
have been considerably lower during the Tertiary and Qua- regional scale deformations. The argument rumbles on, and
ternary (Guillocheau et al. 2010). However, sediments from it is still not clear which explanation is correct.
12 1 Landscapes

1.4 The Rivers The Kuiseb, which has a catchment area of 15,500 km2 and
a length of c 420–440 km, rises in the Khomas Hochland of
Namibia is a predominantly dry nation, and its rivers reflect central Namibia and becomes incised into a canyon tract
this fact. On its borders there are three perennial rivers that (Huntley 1985), which is up to 250 m deep and 1,000 m wide at
reach the sea, the Kunene, the Zambezi and the Orange. Two its deepest part some 100 km from the coast. Incision occurred
other perennial rivers, the Okavango and the Kwanda flow in the late Neogene (Van der Wateren and Dunai 2001).
into the inland Okavango Delta and the Linyanti Swamps of Dating and analysis of flood deposits indicate that this tract has
northern Botswana. All these rivers gain their flow from received some 35 major floods over the last 1,300 years, with
relatively humid and mountainous areas in Angola, Zambia one attaining a discharge of 1,350 m3/s (Grodek et al. 2013).
and South Africa. The rivers that rise in Namibia itself are all The river is lined by various terrace fragments, including the
ephemeral and seasonal. The great majority are dry for most Pleistocene Oswater Conglomerate and the Gobabeb Gravel
of the year. Some, such as the Kuiseb, may not flow for Formation (Ward 1987). Lower down its course, the Kuiseb
several years and only occasionally reach the sea, while becomes a braided, sandy alluvial channel, forms the northern
others, such as the Tsondab (Stone et al. 2010) and Tsauchab boundary of the Namib Sand Sea (Fig. 1.7), except at its most
never manage to reach it under current conditions, termi- seaward point, and disappears into a delta behind Walvis Bay.
nating in the Tsondab and Sossus vleis respectively. It only reached the sea three times in the Twentieth Century, in
Details of the flows and catchment areas of the Namibian 1933, 1962–1963, and 1985. However, it welcomed the new
river catchments are provided by Strohbach (2008). The millennium by flowing to the coast in 2000 and it flooded
following are the largest catchments (areas in km2): the salt works in Walvis Bay in 2011. These floods stop the
northward movement of dunes and help to account for the
largely sand-free nature of much of the Central Namib plains.
Omatako Omuramba 61057 In flood, it also carries prodigious amounts of woody debris
Etosha 57030 (Jacobson et al. 1999) (Fig. 1.8). When it does flow, its dis-
Fish 54326 charge decreases rapidly downstream because of transmission
Orange 44068 losses into its bed. At Gobabeb (some 50 km from the coast)
Nossob 37904 the volume of an event that statistically occurs one year in ten
Ugab 29355 (known as the 10 year event) is 10 million m3, whereas at
Auob 24540
Swartbank (around 30 km from the coast) it is 3 million m3,
and at Rooibank (c 20 km from the coast) a mere 0.15 mil-
Swakop 21010
lion m3. The same applies to peak discharges which for a
Cuvelai 20730
10 year event are 90 m3/s at Gobabeb, 25 m3/s at Swartbank,
and 0.9 m3/s at Rooibank (Heidbüchel 2007). Between Natab
However, there is some variability in estimates of and the sea there is a series of buried palaeochannels of the
catchment extent and, for example, Jacobson et al. (1995) Kuiseb, the southernmost of which enters the Atlantic just
estimate the area of the Swakop to be 30,100 km2 and that of north of Sandwich Harbour (Klaus et al. 2008).
the Ugab to be 28,400 km2. In the following paragraphs we To the north of the Kuiseb there is a small river which
discuss the nature of the perennial and ephemeral river fails to reach the sea. This is the Tumas (Wilkinson 1990).
systems of Namibia, starting with the ephemeral river sys- In turn, to the north of that is the Swakop River, with a
tems that drain into the Atlantic, followed by the Orange and length of 460 km, which rises in the Khomas Hochland
its tributaries, and ending with the internally-draining (en- and enters the Atlantic at Swakopmund. Like the Kuiseb it
doreic) river systems of eastern Namibia. is prone to flood sporadically and in 1931 it demolished the
The ephemeral rivers of the Namib, between the Orange railway bridge linking that town with Walvis Bay
in the south and the Kunene in the north (Jacobson et al. (Figs. 1.9 and 1.10). As a result of another flood event in
1995; Jacobson and Jacobson 2013), rise in the interior 1934 it transported sediment which built the coastline out
mountains of Namibia and when they flow it is generally by over 1 km (Massmann 1983). More recently, the Swa-
because of summer storms. In the south the Tsondab and the kop reached the sea in February 2009 and in March 2011.
Tsauchab empty into pans within the Namib Sand Sea, and It carries a substantial sediment load, thus justifying its
sometimes cause them to flood. In the past they flowed local name, which derives from the local Nama words Tsoa
further west (Stone et al. 2010) and the Tsondab may have (anus) and Xou (excrement). The major tributary of the
reached the Atlantic early in the Pleistocene (Seely and Swakop is the Khan. This has its origin near the settlement
Sandelowsky 1974). The Tsauchab is notable for the way it of Otjisemba north-west of Okahandja. From there the river
has incised down into fan gravels and Tsondab Sandstone to course passes westwards to the town of Usakos, and has its
produce the Sesriem Canyon (Grünert 2000, p. 133). confluence with the Swakop 40 km east of Swakopmund.
1.4 The Rivers 13

Fig. 1.7 The Kuiseb at Gobabeb,

2010. It passes through a snaking
green line of riparian forest

Fig. 1.8 Woody flood debris in

the Kuiseb bed, Gobabeb, 2011

The Swakop canyon contains some interesting minor there is sedimentological evidence that it used to flow into
landforms. For example, just 8 km upstream from the Khan the present Tumas, located between Walvis Bay and
confluence, there is a large spring tufa, with a high halite Swakopmund (Van der Wateren and Dunai 2001).
content which is notable for enveloping and preserving The Omaruru River, the bed of which is an important
ostrich (Struthio camelus) feathers. The present course of aquifer, reaches the Atlantic just to the north of Henties Bay
the Swakop runs further north than it did in the past for (Stengel 1966). It has a catchment area of c 13,100 km2 and
14 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.9 The Swakop bridge

during the 1931 flood (from
Digital Namibian Archive)

Fig. 1.10 The remains of the

same bridge at the mouth of the
Swakop which was demolished
by a flood in 1931

a length of c 330 km. Like the larger Ugab it has a history of sea most years. The Uniab, Hoanib and Hunkab are other
flooding. The Ugab is flanked by three conglomerate terraces rivers that are periodically ponded up by the Skeleton Coast
composing the Bertram Conglomerate Formation at 160, 100 erg (another name for a sand sea). Many of these rivers have
and 30 m above the modern river (Mabbutt 1951; Grünert comparatively lush riparian vegetation along their channels,
2000, p. 69) of which the famous Vingerklip (Fingerklip), a stark contrast to the adjacent sand and rock desert.
located c 80 km southwest of Outjo and 45 km west of The Kunene rises in the Bié highlands of Angola, where
Khorixas, is an erosional remnant (Fig. 1.11). it is called the Cunene, and flows into the Atlantic on the
Further north, other ephemeral rivers enter the Skeleton border between Angola and Namibia (Nicoll 2010). For
Coast (see Chap. 8) and one of these, the Hoarusib, has a much of its course it flows southwards, as if towards the
suite of major silt terraces that formed as a result of flood Etosha Pan, an ancient structural basin (Buch and Trippner
flow being ponded up behind a dune cordon. It reaches the 1997), but then it turns sharply westwards and enters a tract
1.4 The Rivers 15

Fig. 1.11 Google Earth image of a terrace remnant on the Ugab River. Scale bar 0.25 km (© 2013 Digital Globe)

with steep falls and rapids (e.g. the Caxambue rapids and the coastal sand sea, there are signs that the Kunene formerly
Epupa and Ruacana Falls). The Ruacana Falls are c 120 m entered the sea considerably to the south of its present mouth
high, while at Epupa the river forms a series of riffles and (Sander 2002), and that it may have been forced northwards
cascades that drop a total of around 60 m over c 1.5 km. by dune encroachment. At Serra Cafema the Kunene has a
Good photos of the river at Ruacana prior to dam con- 5 m high terrace with a sprinkling of unremarkable Middle
struction are provided by Kanthack (1921). Between Rua- Stone Age flakes on its surface (Nicoll 2010).
cana and the Atlantic the altitude of its bed drops by more The Okavango is a perennial, endoreic river with
than 1,100 m over a distance of 340 km. These character- ephemeral tributaries (Seely et al. 2003; Strohbach 2013). It
istics seem to indicate that this is a case of a river capture by rises in the south-western Angolan highlands, near and just
a stream eroding backwards from the coast and capturing the east of the source of the Kunene and Cuvelai rivers. It flows
interior drainage (Wellington 1955, p. 65). Wellington also for more than 600 km from the upper catchment in a
suggests that the conditions for a similar process of capture southerly direction until it reaches border between Angola
are present in the headwaters of the Rio Coroca to the north and Namibia. From that point, the river forms the border
of the lower Kunene. This river, having eroded headward between Angola and Namibia over a distance of some
through the Sierra de Chela of the Great Escarpment, is 400 km. Its channel, which lies c 40–60 m lower than the
threatening to behead the upper Caculuvar River, a tributary surrounding sand plateau, is characterised by scroll bars,
of the upper Kunene. abandoned channels, oxbow lakes etc. (Fig. 1.12). The river
The timing of the Kunene capture is not well constrained is notable for the fact that it carries a very low silt and clay
(Moore and Blenkinsop 2002) but lowering of the base-level load, with the bulk of its sediment appearing to be re-worked
associated with the opening of the Atlantic may have initi- fine aeolian sand. This is transported as bed load and creates
ated a period of rapid erosion, which may have exploited a sub-aqueous dune bedforms. Just before it enters its pan-
Permo-Carboniferous glacial valley from which Karoo sed- handle in Botswana, the river crosses the Popa Falls, which
iments were stripped. Miller (2008, Chap. 24) suggests that in the dry season have a visible height of c 3.5 m. The month
the capture of the Kunene took place towards the end of a of maximum flow is April. In the far east of the Caprivi, the
widespread phase of drainage incision during the Miocene- Zambezi forms the border with Zambia. The Caprivi is often
Pliocene. It has also been argued that the capture, which subject to severe flooding (Skakun et al. 2013).
perhaps caused the shrinkage of a postulated large Lake The Cuvelai River is also an endoreic river, rising in the
Etosha, occurred only c 35,000 years ago (Buch 1997). At southern foothills of the Sierra Encoco in southwestern
the far western end of its course, as it passes through the Angola (Mendelsohn and Weber 2011). It drains southwards
16 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.12 Google Earth image of the Okavango Floodplain. Note the oxbow lakes, abandoned channels, point and scroll bars, etc. Scale bar
0.5 km (© 2012 Google, US Dept. of State Geographer, Digital Globe)

towards the Etosha Pan and is perennial for about 100 km oshanas, appear to be a complex network of flood channels,
before it ramifies into a delta of ephemeral watercourses most of which are oriented from northwest to southeast.
(Lindeque and Archibald 1991) which cross a broad plain of They are the lifeblood of an area where just less than half of
low relief; this delta converges again to terminate in the the population in Namibia live. However, severe floods can
ephemeral Etosha pan. The watercourses (Fig. 1.13), called cause many deaths as in March 2009 and March 2011.

Fig. 1.13 Google Earth image of Oshanas. Scale bar 5 km (© 2014 Digital Globe)
1.4 The Rivers 17

The perennial Orange River, which occurs on the

into the Orange River. It is about 600 km long and is
southern border of Namibia, originates in the Maloti High-
intermittent. The river often flows in the summer
lands of north-eastern Lesotho and after flowing through
months (especially January to March) and severe flash
regions of steadily increasing aridity reaches the South
floods can pose problems for the tourist resort at Ai-
Atlantic at Alexander Bay (Bluck et al. 2007). It is the
Ais. In 1973/74 and 1975/76, two very wet seasons,
largest catchment in southern Africa, and about one quarter
flows at the Hardap Dam exceeded 6,000 m3/s. Its
of its area is within Namibia. Although its flow is now
Kam, Schlip and Kalf tributaries originate in the cen-
heavily regulated by dams, the river has been subject to
tral highland area south of Rehoboth whilst the Narub
major floods. A peak in flood activity may have occurred
and Usib Rivers flow from the eastern foothills of the
around 500 years ago in a phase contemporary with the
Naukluft Mountains. The Hutup, Lewer and Kanibes
Little Ice Age (Heine and Völkel 2011). The sediment load
Rivers drain from the northern and eastern parts of the
of the Orange, now greatly reduced compared to natural
Schwarzrand Mountains. The Löwen and Gaub Rivers
levels because of entrapment in reservoirs, has included
originate in the Groot Karas Mountains and the Kon-
diamond-rich gravels (Corbett and Burrell 2001; Spaggiari
kiep in the western Schwarzrand. It is possible that
et al. 2006), and it has also been a major source of sand for
prior to its present course, the Fish flowed southeast-
the dunes of the Namib Sand Sea (Garzanti et al. 2012). Its
wards from its southerly bend at Ganikobis past Tses
terraces include the Arries Drift Gravel Formation, (which is
and in the direction of the line of pans extending along
19–17 Ma old), also known as the Proto-Orange terrace, and
the sandy lowland towards Aroab (Wellington 1967,
a lower Meso-Orange terrace, which is thought to be of Plio-
p. 26).
Pleistocene age (Jacob et al. 1999; Jacob 2005). A map of
The Fish River canyon is one of the greatest
these terraces appears in Miller (2008, Fig. 25.16). The
spectacles in Namibia (Fig. 1.14). Its scale is stupen-
mouth of the Orange River is an example of a delta domi-
dous. It is often said to be the second greatest canyon
nated by wave action and longshore drift. Rather than
in the world after the very much larger Grand Canyon
accumulating at the river mouth as a classic and visible delta,
of the Colorado in the USA. Whether this is true is a
the sediments have been carried up the coast and onshore by
matter of debate for the Blue Nile gorge in Ethiopia is
the strong swells and onshore winds.
very much deeper. Other enormous canyons include
Box 1: The Fish River and its world class canyon the Tsangpo in Tibet and the Copper Canyon in
The Fish River rises in Namaqualand and flows Mexico. For the first 450 km of its course the Fish has
south across the Great Namaqualand plateau, where it a limited gradient and flows within a broad valley.
cuts a spectacular gorge or canyon before emptying However, after its confluence with the Löwen River, it

Fig. 1.14 The Fish River

Canyon
18 1 Landscapes

because of transmission losses, and so the ratio of sediment

begins to become incised and eventually enters a
to flow often increases downstream, leading to aggradation
canyon tract (Simpson and Davies 1957). This is
and the development of a convex profile. It is also possible
located about 80 km west of Grünau, and starts about
that in these rivers there is a less clear diminution in grain
30 km upstream of the Ai-Ais hot springs, and extends
size of sediment downstream in comparison with humid
for about 50 km. The gorge is between 160 and 550 m
climate rivers. Certainly, studies of drainage basins in the
deep, and 5–8 km wide, and is incised into flat-lying
high plains of the USA (Zaprowski et al. 2005), indicate that
Nama sediments and into the underlying Namaqua
in tectonically stable settings, areas with higher intensity
Complex gneisses, which themselves are some
rainfall and greater mean annual precipitation, have
1,800 million years old. The river, in incising, has
increasingly concave long profiles. However, a strong case
created some enormous entrenched meanders. The
has been made that uplift rate histories explain many of the
river must initially have flowed over a flat land surface
main characteristics of the long profiles of those rivers that
where it could develop its bends freely. Then, conti-
drain the tectonic swells of Africa (Roberts and White 2010).
nental uplift associated with the breakup of Gondw-
analand in the Lower Cretaceous occurred and this
was a major factor that caused the incision to occur.
The canyon is also associated with some major fault
1.5 The Coastline
and graben structures and is thus in part a rift valley
The coastline of Namibia stretches 1,570 km from the mouth
(Mvondo et al. 2011; Kounov et al. 2013). It has been
of the perennial Kunene river in the north to that of the
of particular interest recently as an analogue of some
perennial Orange river in the south (Bird et al. 2010). In
of the great valley networks on Mars (Petau et al.
between, all the rivers that flow into the Atlantic are
2011).
ephemeral. The coastal environments of Namibia are shaped
by the dynamic interplay between sediments coming from
The endoreic Kalahari catchments, such as the Omatako on land (transported by rivers and the wind) and the waves,
Omurambo, are prone to lose much of their discharge in the tides and currents which characterise the eastern margins of
Kalahari sands. Some of them extend into Botswana and the Atlantic Ocean. Namibia is located within a swell wave
across to the margins of the Okavango Delta and Lake environment, and experiences near constant, and often large,
Mkgadikgadi. These are the dry valleys or mekgacha sys- waves coming from the SW which have travelled huge
tems and are thought to be relicts of formerly more humid distances across the Atlantic. Namibia’s tidal regime is cat-
conditions (Thomas and Shaw 1991, p. 136). Examples egorised as microtidal, with tidal ranges at Walvis Bay in the
include the Okwa and the Groot Laagte. The Auob and the order of 1 m. Mean annual tidal range is roughly equivalent
Nossob, partially incised into calcreted valley sides, nego- to the mean significant wave heights, meaning that both
tiate the linear dunes and eventually flow southeastwards wave and tidal processes are crucial to shaping the coastal
into the Molopo. The Nossob has its origin in two main environment. The Namibian coast also experiences the
tributaries, the Swart-Nossob and Wit-Nossob, meaning effects of the Benguela Current, a strong surface current
black and white respectively. Both tributaries have their which comes from the Southern Atlantic and brings cold
origins in the eastern slopes of the Otjihavera mountain waters up the coast to around the mouth of the Kunene
range, east of Windhoek. Their sources are at 1,800 m and River. It is driven by Southern Atlantic anticyclonic winds
over 2,000 m above sea level respectively. The two river which are strongest in winter. Counter currents flow south
beds have their confluence some 80 km south of Gobabis, closer to the shore, and at depth below the Benguela Current.
which is situated on the bank of the Swart Nossob. Along the Namibia Coast there are also coastal areas of
One of the most intriguing features of the Namib rivers is surface upwelling (the largest of which is at Lüderitz) where
that many of them, in contrast to most ‘normal’ rivers in cold water ascends from depth. These upwelling areas sup-
temperate climates, display convex long profiles over all or port important fisheries. The Namibian coast is fronted by
much of their courses. This is the case for the Kunene, continental shelf—which extends some 100 km off most of
Kuiseb, Omaruru, Swakop, Tumas, and Ugab (Dauteuil the coastline, narrowing to 35 km wide north of the Walvis
et al. 2013), as well as some of the southern Angolan rivers, Ridge. Details of the coastal sediments are provided by
and the lower course of the Orange. Whether this is due to Rogers and Rau (2006), and the distribution of the main
the nature of the uplift on this passive tectonic continental coastal types is discussed by Harris et al. (2012), who note
margin, or to the fact that in this arid environment river that the predominant coastal form is the sandy beach, mak-
discharges diminish downstream, or to a combination of ing up about 68.5 % of the total. Other important coastal
both, is a matter of debate. The traditional explanation is that landscapes are rocky coasts, deltas and complex spit and
in dryland rivers there is a diminution in flow downstream lagoon systems.
1.5 The Coastline 19

The Skeleton Coast southwards from the Kunene mouth 69 m) and a mean neap tidal range of 0.62 m (0.67–1.29 m).
(which is obstructed by a bar), is backed by a series of major These semi-diurnal tides flush Walvis Bay twice daily.
salt pans or coastal sabkhas, which have been mapped by Buffetted as it is by large waves, strong winds, and rapid
Schneider and Genis (1992). Their origin is uncertain and long-shore drift of sediment, the southern coast of Namibia
deserves further attention. At Cape Fria low hills of Creta- is a highly dynamic environment with ever-changing spits
ceous basalt end in cliffs (Noli and Avery 1987). Between and lagoons (Watson and Lemon 1985). One of these spit
there and Möwe the shore is sandy with fringing rock reefs at and lagoon systems is that at Walvis Bay. Strong longshore
False Cape Fria. Rocky Point is another prominent basalt sediment transport from the south drives the Walvis Penin-
headland, whereas Möwe is a low foreland of Damara me- sula spit northwards at a rapid rate (Elfrink et al. 2003). The
tasediments. From Möwe to Palgrave Point the low lying dominant wave direction is between 225° and 270° (Hughes
coast is backed by scattered salt pans and small shifting et al. 1992) and wave data are given in detail in www.gecko.
dunes. Damara metasediments and Cretaceous basalts also na/documents/ffd_o5a.pdf (accessed January 19th 2013).
outcrop. With varying success a series of rivers cut through Analysis of old maps and photographs showed that its tip,
the dune cordon and the beach, but some are ponded up (see Pelican Point, grew by an average of 17.4 m per year
Chap. 8). From Palgrave Point to Cape Cross there are between 1885 and 1980. Between 1980 and 1996 Pelican
alternations of rocky cliffs, again in Damaran metasediments Point prograded over a distance of 340 m, an average of 22.
and Cretaceous basalts, and there are many salt pans. Cape 6 m per year (Schoonees et al. 1998). In all, the spit extended
Cross itself projects out about 5 km into the Atlantic and is northwards by some 760 m between 1973 and 2010. From
the site of a large, smelly and noisy seal colony. The coast time to time, as in 1900 (Waldron 1900), 1959 and 2000,
from Cape Cross southwards is generally rocky until c 50 km ephemeral mud islands have developed offshore and have
north of Walvis Bay. There are marine terraces at c 2–17 m been associated with gas eruptions (Emeis et al. 2004).
above storm tide level (Wieneke and Rust 1973) and some
extending upwards to a maximum of 30 m (Davies 1973). At Box 2: The shifting sands of Sandwich Harbour
Swakopmund the mouth of the Swakop River has from time South of Walvis Bay is Sandwich Harbour (Fig. 1.15)
to time built outwards as a result of flood flows, which have, (often called Sandvis and before that Porto D’Ilheo),
as we have already seen, also demolished the old bridge which lies astride the Tropic of Capricorn. This con-
between Swakopmund and Walvis Bay. The next important vex sandplain is about 15 km long and protects a 9 km
river is the Kuiseb, which forms a delta just to the south of long lagoon, at the south end of which is a damp salt
Walvis Bay (Huntley 1985). The town is an important pan (Wilkinson et al. 1989). At the north end there is a
lagoonal harbour, protected by the Walvis Peninsula and highly unstable spit. In the nineteenth century Sand-
Pelican Point. Tides along this coastline are regular and semi- wich was a much used anchorage and port, visited by
diurnal. There is a mean spring tide range of 1.42 m (0.27–1. British and American whalers. Early maps of the

Fig. 1.15 Sandwich Harbour,

August 2010
20 1 Landscapes

Fig. 1.16 Sandwich Harbour in

1905 (from Schultze 1907)

harbour for 1880, 1889 and 1905 are presented in growth and silting since the late nineteenth century
Schultze (1907). The first two indicate that the mean that it is no longer usable (Kensley and Penrith
entrance to the harbour may have been 9 m deep, but 1977). Note the rapid changes that took place in just a
the last shows that it had been displaced southwards few decades as recorded by the satellite images in
and had shallowed to only c 3 m (Fig. 1.16). Bar Fig. 1.17. Sandwich Harbour may mark a former
1.5 The Coastline 21

Fig. 1.17 A sequence of Landsat

images from 1973 to 2000,
showing changes in Sandwich
Harbour (courtesy of Dr Frank
Eckardt)

The third and fourth spit and lagoon systems are Con-
mouth of the Kuiseb, and the other headlands of this
ception and Meob Bays. At Conception Bay (Fig. 1.18) the
type may also be ancient river mouths produced by
degree of change is shown by the rusting remains of a
streams that formerly flowed across the Namib Sand
German steamship, the Eduard Bohlen, which ran aground
Sea, but which now terminate in inland sumps like
in 1909 (Harris et al. 2012). By 1973 the wreck was about
Sossus Vlei and Tsondab Vlei.
400 m inland from the shore. Here the spit has closed the

Fig. 1.18 Google Earth image of Conception Bay. Scale bar 2 km. Note the small enclosed pan at the northern end and the many old ridges at the
southern end (© 2012 Digital Globe, TerraMetrics, Google)
22 1 Landscapes

lagoon completely to form a coastal pan, and it is possible Brunotte E, Sander H (2000) Loess accumulation and soil formation in
that this will in due course be the ultimate destiny of the Kaokoland (northern Namibia) as indicators of Quaternary climatic
change. Glob Planet Change 26:67–75
Sandwich and Walvis spits as well. Meob Bay has a small Brunotte E, Maurer B, Fischer P, Lomax J, Sander H (2009) A
lagoonal pan at its northern end, but its main feature is a sequence of fluvial and aeolian deposits (desert loess) covering the
suite of ancient recurved spits at its southern end. last 60 ka in the Opuwo basin (Kaokoland/Kunene Region,
From Walvis Bay to Lüderitz the coastline is backed by Namibia) based on luminescence dating. Quat Int 196:71–85
Bryant RG (2003) Monitoring hydrological controls on dust emissions:
the Namib Sand Sea and large dunes often come right down preliminary observations from Etosha Pan, Namibia. Geogr J
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so-called Diamond Coast. South of Elizabeth Bay are Modoqua 20:49–64
Buch MW, Trippner C (1997) Overview of the geological and
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Gariep Complex dolomites. There is also a Holocene raised Burke K (1996) The African plate. S Afr J Geol 99:341–409
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 Geology
2

Abstract
The landscapes of Namibia owe much of their distinctive nature to the long and complex
geological history. Some of the rocks of Namibia are as much as 2,600 million years old, and
the first portion of the chapter gives a chronological picture of the geology of the country. This
is followed by an analysis of the importance of Cretaceous tectonic activity associated with the
opening of the South Atlantic, and then by a discussion of the significance of dolerite
intrusions, of planation surfaces and of current neotectonic activity. All of these geological
events have had clear impacts on today’s Namibian landscape.

The oldest rocks in Namibia (Early Mokolian to Vaalian)

2.1 Geological Background
are up to 2,600 million years old and occur in the Hoarusib
valley northwest of Sesfontein in the Kunene region of
Namibia has a huge array of different rocks that vary in age
northern Namibia. Between 1,400 and 1,200 million years
and character (Schneider 2008). Their history and nature
ago, in the Mesoproterozoic, two or more large landmasses
have been described in a monumental 3-volume treatise by
collided to form the great continent of Rodinia (Russian for
Miller (2008), and a valuable travel handbook has been
‘motherland’), producing intense volcanic activity, mountain
produced by Grünert (2000). The geological history of
building and the formation of sedimentary basins. Rodinia
Namibia is summarised in the timeline shown in Table 2.1,
started to break up by rifting some 850 million years ago.
which focuses on the key events which have shaped today’s
Africa split from South America, and Namibia was split
landscapes. The land that now makes up Namibia has been
between the Congo Craton in the north and the Kalahari
at the centre of many important plate tectonic movements,
Craton to the south. Such cratons are stable areas of conti-
making it of great interest to geologists.
nental crust that are often referred to as shields. Sediments
A useful distinction can be drawn between the geology of
accumulated in the rifts between these cratons. From 750
the eastern part of the country and that of the west (Fig. 2.1).
million years onwards the three landmasses moved still
The eastern part, comprising the Kalahari basin (see Chap. 1),
further apart and deep oceans developed, in which sediments
is geologically young and simple being covered by relatively
accumulated. However, around 550 million years ago the
recent materials, including aeolian sands, alluvium, and cal-
landmasses fused together once again to form the super-
careous crusts (calcretes). The western part consists of a great
continent of Gondwanaland. As they converged sediments
variety of rock types exposed in a rugged landscape of valleys,
on the ocean floors were folded and heated and mountains
escarpments, mountains and plains and is much more geo-
were formed during the Late Precambrian Damaran Orogen.
logically complex and ancient. Many of these rocks were
Volcanic rocks were also produced. The rocks of the Dam-
formed at depth in primeval oceans and then were subjected to
aran Orogenic Belt form a c 400 km wide belt in the centre
vertical and horizontal movements of the Earth’s crust. The
of Namibia and are well exposed in the Swakop valley (Toé
amount of movement, vertical and horizontal, that has been
et al. 2013). From 300 to 200 million years ago, rocks of the
involved is almost incredible. For example, around 500 mil-
Karoo Supergroup were deposited, and some of these were
lion years ago, Namibia was located in an area that would now
laid down by glaciers during the Permo-Carboniferous
be in the South Pacific and then c 360 million years ago passed
Dwyka phase. Glacial valleys and pavements were also
over the South Pole, before moving northwards to its present
excavated, and some of them are evident as exhumed forms
position.

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 27
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_2, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
28 2 Geology

Table 2.1 A Namibian tectonic and geological timeline

Time (millions of years ago) Event Landscape relevance
2,600 Oldest rocks in Namibia formed Kunene Valley (Chap. 5)
1,600 Start of Mesoproterozoic
1,400–1,050 Namaqualand metamorphic momplex and related rocks
850 Break-up of Rodinia
850–600 Damara Supergroup and Gariep Complex Otavi limestones and Dolomites (Chap. 6)
650 Damara Granite intrusions
600–543
550 Formation of Gondwanaland
542 End of Precambrian and start of Palaeozoic
300–180 Karoo Supergroup
250 Start of Mesozoic
180 Jurassic. Rifting of Gondwanaland starts from Etjo sandstones, Waterberg Plateau
southernmost tip of South America (Chap. 2, box 3); Twyfelfontein (Chap. 7)
145 Start of Cretaceous
135–120 Break-up of W Gondwanaland; eruption of Etendeka, Brandberg, Spitzkoppe and Erongo
Etendeka flood basalts, intrusion of Damaraland (Chaps. 9, 10 and 11)
igneous complexes and dolerite dikes
80–75 Formation of Bukkaros Chap. 24
65.5 Start of Cenozoic
26 Start of Miocene. Formation of Tsondab Sandstone Calcretes (Chap. 16); Namib Sand Sea Namib
sand sea (Chap. 18)
11.8 Intensification of upwelling Benguela current
7 Start of Pliocene
7–5 Lake Kunene forms in Etosha Basin Etosha Pan (Chap. 6)
5–3.7 Roter Kamm formed Chap. 24
2.5 Start of Quaternary mid-latitude glaciation, Homeb Silts (Chap. 15); Sossus Vlei (Chap. 19);
and intensification of aridity in Namibia Naukluft tufas (Chap. 20); Linear dunes
(Chap. 21); Koes Pan (Chap. 23)
0.01 Start of Holocene Barchans (Chap. 17); Fairy circles (Chap. 25)

in the landscape today (Martin 1968), notably in the upper

above sea level), Klein Waterberg and Mount Etjo
catchment of the Hoarusib River. The glaciers appear to have
(over 2,080 m above sea level). These inselbergs are
been fed by a large ice cap, and the direction of flow was
formed of Karoo age Sandstone, around 180 million
westwards. As the glaciers retreated c 280 million years ago,
years old, underlain by Omingonde shales and mud-
large spreads of sands and shales were laid down. From 200
stones. The Etjo sandstone contains units that were
to 170 million years ago, an arid phase led to the deposition
laid down under arid, aeolian conditions (Holzförster
of sands, some of which now cap the Waterberg Plateau,
et al. 1999; Mountney and Howell 2000). The pres-
Mount Etjo, and other hills.
ence of sandstones over shales and mudstones has
Box 3: The Etjo sandstones: Waterberg Plateau, produced ideal conditions for slope failures, and great
Mount Etjo and Omatako landslips create scallops into the north side of Mount
Today, a series of flat-topped mountains situated in Etjo (Fig. 2.3). Other notable inselbergs are the cone-
north eastern Namibia on the edge of the Kalahari and shaped Omatako Mountains between Okahandja and
some 60 km east of Otjiwarongo (Fig. 2.2) illustrate Otjiwarongo (Fig. 2.4). These were visited by Francis
the impact of the Etjo Sandstone on Namibia’s relief: Galton (1853) who likened the perfection of their
the Waterberg Plateau (a National Park) (1,930 m shapes to that of Tenerife. Their name is based on the
Herero word for ‘buttock’ and they rise 700–800 m
2.1 Geological Background 29

Fig. 2.1 Geological map of Namibia (from Mendelsohn et al. 2002, p. 42, in http://www.uni-koeln.de/sfb389/e/e1/download/atlas_namibia/)
(Accessed 30 January 2014)

Fig. 2.2 Google Earth image of

the Waterberg Plateau. Scale bar
is 10 km (© 2012)
30 2 Geology

Fig. 2.3 Mount Etjo landslides

Fig. 2.4 Google Earth image of

Omatako Mountains. Scale bar is
3 km. (© 2013 Digital Globe)

Namibia (Goudie and Eckardt 1999; Dauteuil et al. 2013), with

above their surrounding plains. They are also com-
uplift occurring on the continental margin and subsidence
posed of Etjo Sandstone capped by Karoo volcanic
offshore.
rocks (Grünert 2000, p. 33).

Around 180 million years ago, Gondwanaland began to split 2.2 The Impact of Early Cretaceous
apart. Great eruptions of lava occurred over southern Africa. Tectonics
The split between South America and South Africa started
about 132 million years ago in the early Cretaceous, causing The Central Namib possesses a group of distinctive igneous
huge eruptions of lava now seen in the Etendeka Mountains as complexes—known as Damaraland Complexes—of great
the Etendeka Volcanics (Fig. 2.5). This was a crucial devel- relief significance to today’s landscape associated with vol-
opment for understanding the present geomorphology of canic and intrusive activity caused by the opening up of the
2.2 The Impact of Early Cretaceous Tectonics 31

Fig. 2.5 Locations of some of

the sub-volcanic complexes and
the Etendeka Volcanics (from
Goudie and Eckardt 1999, based
on Milner et al. 1992, Fig. 1 and
Milner and Le Roex 1996, Fig. 1)

Fig. 2.6 The position of the

Etendeka basalts of Namibia in
relation to the Paraná basalts in
South America at 130 million
years ago, prior to the opening of
the South Atlantic (from Goudie
and Eckardt 1999, Fig. 14 and
based on O’Connor and Duncan
1990, Fig. 9a)
32 2 Geology

South Atlantic, the separation of southern Africa from South during the Damaran deformational event (which started
America (Fig. 2.6), and the presence of the most important about 850 Ma) and which may be related to still earlier deep-
hot-spot track off the coast of Africa—that of Tristan and seated Proterozoic crustal weaknesses (Lord et al. 1996).
Gough Islands (Burke 1996), whose topographic expression Of the basic complexes, Cape Cross is a circular feature,
is the submarine Walvis Ridge (Elliott et al. 2009). Dates for the greater part of which lies beneath the seal-rich waters of
the trail of the Tristan plume along the Walvis Ridge across the south Atlantic. Doros is an elongated pear or funnel
the South Atlantic show a progressive decrease from Ete- shaped mass, with a long axis length of around 7 km. It has
ndeka to the recently active volcanoes of Tristan de Cunha been differentially eroded and weathered to give a landscape
and Gough (O’Connor and Le Roex 1992). which consists of alternating ring-shaped hills and valleys,
The Damaraland Complexes (Milner et al. 1995) define a all centred around the middle of the complex. The elevation
prominent northeast trending phenomenon, extending from of each hill or valley lies progressively lower from the centre
Cape Cross at the Atlantic coastline, to Okorusu, which is outwards. A typical annular drainage pattern exists. Oke-
350 km inland. There are four distinct classes of volcanic/ nyenya (Okonjeje) is the best exposed of the differentiated
intrusive feature within the area (Pirajno 1994): those basic complexes and remnants of metamorphosed, outward-
formed of granite (Brandberg, Erongo and the Spitzkoppe dipping Karoo sediments are preserved around its margins.
group), those formed of layered basic rocks (Cape Cross, Ring structures dominate the outcrop patterns of the intru-
Doros, Okonjeje, and Messum), those that are peralkaline sives, which are exposed over an area of about 20 km2 of
[e.g. the large Paresis ring complex, located c 280 km inland, high relief. The Messum complex, Brandberg and Spit-
which is dominated by rhyolite (Mingram et al. 2000)], and zkoppe are described in Chap. 10, and Erongo in Chap. 11.
those that are carbonatitic (e.g. Okorusu and Kalkfeld), A large number of isotopic dates have now been pro-
which are located at the north eastern end of the group. duced for the Damaraland complexes as reviewed by Milner
There are also very extensive spreads of continental flood et al. (1995) which span the 137–124 Ma range and can thus
basalts which make up the Etendeka Formation (see Chap. 9) be assigned to the early Cretaceous. Milner et al. (1995)
(Fig. 2.7). This outcrops over around 78,000 km2 of north- suggest that igneous activity among the different complexes
western Namibia and the lavas reach a maximum observed was approximately contemporaneous, and that it was prob-
thickness of 800 m at Tafelberg. They are relatively flat- ably concurrent with the eruption of the Etendeka lavas.
lying and the absence of erosion horizons has been taken to
infer that they were poured out rapidly without significant
interruption (Milner et al. 1992). Furthermore, numerous 2.3 Dolerite Dikes/Dykes and Sills
dolerite dykes were formed at around 135 Ma, immediately
prior to the outpouring of the basalts. They have a strong A dike is a sheet-like intrusion of igneous rock, usually
orientation trend (c NE–SW) and form distinctive ridges. oriented vertically, which cuts across the structural planes of
Their trend parallels earlier lineaments that were reactivated the host rock. If it is more resistant than the rock into which

Fig. 2.7 The Etendeka lavas

inland from the Skeleton Coast
2.3 Dolerite Dikes/Dykes and Sills 33

it is intruded, it will form an upstanding ridge, whereas if it dikes, boulders and hillocks were man-made and were
weathers more than the surrounding rock it will create a remnants of a lost city.
ditch-like depression. A sill is a magma body that has been
intruded more or less parallel to the bedding of the rocks into
which it has been pushed, and so is usually a near horizontal 2.4 Planation—The African Surface
feature in the landscape.
In Namibia there are many dikes composed of dolerite, After the breakup of Gondwanaland in the late Jurassic and
which rise up above the surrounding land, and because they early Cretaceous there was in southern Africa through the
are often covered in dark desert varnish, they often show up Cretaceous and into the Miocene a period of comparative
clearly as blackish lines (Fig. 2.8) cutting across the coun- stability that led to the erosion of extensive low relief plains,
tryside and contrasting with the lighter coloured rocks, such called the African Surface. The surface was possibly eroded
as the granites and marbles around them (Fig. 2.9). Their under tropical humid conditions, and remnants of kaolinised
undulating crests have sometimes been likened to a dragon’s weathering profiles (saprolite) are locally preserved, not least
backbone. The dikes can occur in swarms, as is the case with under Kalahari Group sediments in the Aranos Basin and in
the enormous Henties Bay-Outjo NE-trending swarm in the Marienthal-Kalkrand area (Miller 2008, Chap. 23). The
west-central Namibia (Trumbull et al. 2004, 2007). This surface occurs at low elevations along the coast and at higher
contains well over one thousand individual dikes. They are levels in the interior behind the Great Escarpment. Above
of roughly the same age as the Etendeka lavas and the the interior plains some bevelled remnants of the old
intrusive complexes of Damaraland and may be the exposed Gondwana surface remained, as in the rugged Khomas
feeders of the Etendeka basalts. Highlands south of Windhoek (King 1963, p. 240).
Another major area of dolerite dikes and sills occurs near The extent of the African Surface in Namibia, and of areas
Keetmanshoop, but these are older, being of Jurassic (Karoo) which lie above it, have been mapped in Partridge (1998). In
age and dating back to 180 million years ago. These were the interior, the African erosion phase is shown by well-
intruded into Dwyka and Ecca sedimentary rocks. These are developed planation surfaces in the central plateau of the
relatively soft materials so that the dolerites are often left country. This phase was initiated by upwarping of the con-
upstanding as small hills. Such is the case at the Giant’s tinental rim associated with rifting and was graded to interior
Playground, which is located in the Quiver Tree Forest on base-levels, such as the Kalahari basin and the Orange valley.
the Farm Gariganus, 23 km northeast of Keetmanshoop. The In contrast, seaward of the Great Escarpment erosion pro-
dolerites have been weathered to produce rounded hillocks ceeded to a new, lower, oceanic base level following the
and boulders. The dikes are generally 3–6 m wide, and their rifting. This explains the differences in height of different
length varies from hundreds of metres to tens of kilometres. components of the African Surface. Also, to the seaward of
Mostly they trend NW–SE. One of the first travellers to walk the Great Escarpment, as near Pomona in the Sperrgebiet, the
across the Kalahari, Farini (1886), who travelled with his surface was silicified (Partridge and Maud 2000, p.10), as on
cross-dressing colleague Lulu, thought that the jumble of the Kätchen Plateau (Miller 2008, p. 25–29). The African

Fig. 2.8 Google Earth image of

dolerite dykes. Scale bar 1 km. (©
2012 Google Image, GeoEye)
34 2 Geology

Fig. 2.9 Dolerite dike on the

banks of the Swakop River,
inland from Swakopmund

erosion phase came to an end with uplift of southern Africa Namibian Margin during the Meso-Cenozoic. Tectonophysics
during the Miocene (Moon and Dardis 1988, p. 6). 589:103–115
Elliott GM, Berndt C, Parson LM (2009) The SW African volcanic
rifted margin and the initiation of the Walvis Ridge, South Atlantic.
Marine Geophys Res 30:207–214
2.5 Neotectonics Farini GA (1886) Through the Kalahari Desert. Sampson Low, London
Galton F (1853) Narrative of an explorer in Tropical South Africa being
an account of a visit to Damaraland in 1851. John Murray, London
Although Namibia now rests in the middle of a tectonic plate Goudie AS, Eckardt F (1999) The evolution of the morphological
on a passive continental margin, and so has little earthquake framework of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, since the early
activity and no volcanism, there is still probably a certain Cretaceous. Geogr Ann 81A:443–458
amount of ongoing tectonic activity in Namibia—a phe- Grünert N (2000) Namibia. Fascination of geology. Klaus Hess,
Windhoek
nomenon called neotectonics. For example, in south west Holzförster F, Stollhofen H, Stanistreet IG (1999) Lithostratigraphy and
Namibia, the Hebron Fault has a well developed fault scarp, depositional environments in the Waterberg-Erongo area, central
with a downthrow of up to 7 m that can be traced for 35 km, Namibia, and correlation with the main Karoo Basin, South Africa.
which has disturbed Late Pleistocene dunes (White et al. J Afr Earth Sci 29:105–123
King LC (1963) South African scenery. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh,
2009). In the same area the Dreylingen-Pfalz Fault truncates London
Pleistocene valley-fill terraces and there are active mud Lord J, Oliver GJH, Soulsby JA (1996) Landsat MSS Imagery of a
volcanoes offshore of the Orange (Viola et al. 2005). In the Lower Cretaceous regional dyke swarm, Damaraland, Namibia: a
northwest the Eisen Graben has had a similar effect on quite precursor to the splitting of western Gondwana. Int J Remote
Sensing 17:2945–2954
recent Kalahari dunes (Wanke 2005). Recent earthquakes in Martin H (1968) Paläomorphologische Formelemente in den Lands-
Namibia included a magnitude 5 event near Khorixas on chaften Südwest-Afrikas. Geol Rund 58:121–128
24th March 2012, and a 5.6 magnitude event on 31st July Mendelsohn J, Jarvis A, Roberts C, Robertson T (2002) Atlas of
2012 between Khorixas and Omaruru. A map of earthquakes Namibia. Sunbird Publishers, Cape Town
Miller RMcG (2008) The Geology of Namibia, vol 3. Geological
in Namibia and neighbouring countries since 1900 appears Survey of Namibia, Windhoek
in: www.earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/namibia/ Milner SC, Le Roex AP (1996) Isotope characteristics of the
seismicity.php (accessed 5th December, 2012). Okenyenya igneous complex, north western Namibia: constraints
on the composition of the early Tristan plume and the origins of the
EM1 mantle component. Earth Plan Sci Lett 141:277–291
Milner SC, Duncan AR, Ewart A (1992) Quartz latite rheoignimbrite
References flows of the Etendeka Formation, north-western Namibia. Bull
Volcanol 54:200–219
Milner SC, Le Roex AP, O’Connor JM (1995) Age of Mesozoic
Burke K (1996) The African plate. S Afr J Geol 99:341–409
igneous rock in northwestern Namibia, and their relationship to
Dauteuil O, Deschamps F, Bourgeois O, Mocquet A, Guillocheau F
continental breakup. J Geol Soc London 152:97–104
(2013) Post-breakup evolution and palaeotopography of the North
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Mingram B, Trumbull RB, Littman S, Gerstenberger H (2000) A Schneider G (2008) The roadside geology of Namibia. Gebruder
petrographic study of anoregenic felsic magmatism in the Creta- Borntraeger, Berlin and Stuttgart
ceous Paresis ring complex, Namibia: evidence for mixing of crust Toé W, Vanderhaege O, André-Mayer A-S, Feybesse J-L, Milési JP
and mantle-derived components. Lithos 54:1–22 (2013) From migmatites to granites in the Pan-African Damara
Moon BP, Dardis GF (1988) The geomorphology of Southern Africa. orogenic belt, Namibia. J Afr Earth Sci 85:62–74
Southern Book Publishers, Johannesburg Trumbull RB, Vietor T, Hahne K, Wackerle R, Ledru P (2004)
Mountney N, Howell J (2000) Aeolian architecture, bedform climbing Aeromagnetic mapping and reconnaissance geochemistry of the
and preservation space in the Cretaceous Etjo Formation, NW Early Cretaceous Henties Bay-Outjo dike swarm, Etendeka Igneous
Namibia. Sedimentology 47:825–849 Province, Namibia. J Afr Earth Sci 40:17–29
O’Connor JM, Duncan RA (1990) Evolution of the Walvis Ridge—Rio Trumbull RB, Reid DL, de Beer C, van Acken D, Romer RL (2007)
Grande Rise hot spot system: implications for African and South Magmatism and continental break up at the west margin of southern
American plate motions over plumes. J Geophys Res 95 Africa: a geochemical comparison of dolerite dikes from north-
(B11):17475–17502 western Namibia and the Western Cape. S Afr J Geol 110:477–502
O’Connor JM, Le Roex AP (1992) South African hot spot—plume Viola G, Andreoli M, Ben-Avraham Z, Stengel I, Reshef M (2005)
systems: 1. Distribution of volcanism in time and space. Earth Plan Offshore mud volcanoes and onland faulting in southwestern
Sci Lett 13:343–364 Africa: neotectonic implications and constraints on the regional
Partridge TC (1998) Of diamonds, dinosaurs and diastrophism: 150 stress field. Earth Plan Sci Lett 231:147–160
million years of landscape evolution in southern Africa. S Afr J Wanke H (2005) The Namibian Eiseb Graben as an extension of the
Geol 101:167–184 East African Rift: evidence from Landsat TM 5 imagery. S Afr J
Partridge TC, Maud RR (2000) The Cenozoic of Southern Africa. Geol 108:541–546
Oxford University Press, New York White S, Stollhofen H, Stannistreet IG, Lorenz V (2009) Pleistocene to
Pirajno F (1994) Mineral resources of anorogenic alkaline complexes in Recent rejuvenation of the Hebron Fault, SW Namibia. Geol Soc
Namibia: a review. Austral J Earth Sci 41:157–168 London Special Pub 316:293–317
 Climate
3

Abstract
As a result of its location within the global circulation, Namibia is a predominantly dry
country, and this chapter describes its main climatic characteristics (rainfall, fog, temperatures,
wind etc.) and how they vary across the country. It then investigates the history of climate,
examining the possible dates when aridity was established. This is followed by a discussion of
climatic changes in the Pleistocene and Holocene.

3.1 Climatic Background In the coastal strip temperatures are generally modest, and
there is a limited seasonal and diurnal range. At the coast
In addition to its geology and tectonic history, the landscapes temperatures are also strongly oceanic in character, so that
of Namibia, in line with those of other dry regions (Goudie they are generally relatively moderate, normally neither
2013a) are as they are because of the nature of the country’s being very hot nor very cold. There are low seasonal and
climate and vegetation, both past and present. Because of its daily ranges (c 5 and 8 °C respectively) (Lancaster et al.
latitudinal position and the presence of the cold offshore 1984). Data on average monthly average temperatures for a
Benguela Current, Namibia is mostly dry. Namibia sits selection of inland and coastal sites are shown in Table 3.1
within the subtropical high pressure zone at the poleward and demonstrate the wider seasonal range of temperatures
extent of the tropical Hadley circulation, characterised by inland (10–12 °C).
descending air and dry surface conditions. Three different Rainfall is sparse in the Namib (Fig. 3.1) and averages c
circulation patterns exert a particularly strong influence on 15 mm per year at Walvis Bay, c 27 mm per year at Gob-
Namibia’s climate. First, the inter-tropical convergence zone abeb, and c 90 mm at Ganab (which is c 112 km inland).
to the north moves southwards in summer, allowing moist Towards the base of the Great Escarpment, annual rainfall
rain-bearing air into northern Namibia. Second, two anti- may exceed 200 mm. There is thus a relatively steady gra-
cyclonic systems within the sub-tropical high pressure zone dient inland. Although the central Namib is hyper-arid, it is
are particularly important—the persistent South Atlantic not as dry in terms of rainfall as the centre of the Atacama in
anticyclone offshore which pulls cool air from the south west South America. This is largely a result of the high mountains
on to the coast and, especially in winter, the Botswana of the Andes which reinforce aridity in the Atacama and may
anticyclone to the east of the country which forces dry air partially explain why the Atacama has extensive nitrate
over the country and prevents moist air coming in from the deposits (caliche) and the Namib does not; as nitrates are
north. Finally, in winter the westerly flow of depressions extremely soluble and thus likely to become dissolved under
within the temperate zone to the south moves northwards even sparse rainfall conditions.
across southern Africa, allowing cold fronts to penetrate into Rainfall in Namibia shows great inter-annual variability
southern Namibia bringing rain. Under the Köppen system (Fig. 3.2). In some years there may be virtually no rain at all,
of climatic classification the whole country is classified as B. although occasional large events, such as the storms of
Within this there are three major types: cool deserts (BWk) February 2006 and the April 2006 storm in Lüderitz, which
along the coast and southwestern interior, warm deserts produced 102 mm, do occur, possibly in association with La
(BWh) in the southeast and northwest, and semi-desert Niña conditions (Muller et al. 2008). On April 21st 2006
steppe (BS) in the north and north east. Respectively these Gobabeb received 24.5 mm in 24 h—around the average
cover 17, 36 and 47 % of the country (van der Merwe 1983). annual total in one day. An even wetter day occurred on

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 37
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_3, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
38 3 Climate

Table 3.1 Mean average temperatures (°C) for selected stations

Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Coastal
Elizabeth Bay 17 17 17 16 15 15 14 13 14 14 15 17 (Range 4)
Walvis Bay 17 18 17 16 16 15 14 13 13 13 15 16 (Range 5)
Inland
Grootfontein 24 23 22 21 17 15 14 17 22 24 25 25 (Range 11)
Rundu 25 25 24 22 19 16 16 19 24 26 26 26 (Range 10)
Windhoek 25 23 22 20 17 13 13 16 20 23 25 25 (Range 12)

Fig. 3.1 Rainfall map of

Namibia (from Mendelsohn et al.
2002, p. 84, in (http://www.uni-
koeln.de/sfb389/e/e1/download/
atlas_namibia/) (Accessed 30
January, 2014)

March 12, 2011, when 49 mm fell (Eckardt et al. 2012). On the coast over almost the entire length of the Namib”
March 30, 2013, another storm deposited 38 mm. Such high (Olivier 1995, p. 132), though the highest frequency occurs
precipitation events can have great impacts on vegetation near Walvis Bay, with 139 fog days per year. Inland from
dynamics, causing seeds to germinate (Fig. 3.3). Generally, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund the number of fog days is
however, individual rainfall events are modest. At Gobabeb reduced to c 40 within the first 40 km and to c 10 at a
in 2001, for example, the annual total of 10.3 mm in that dry distance of 100 km inland. The amount of fog precipitation
year was spread over 12 rainy days, with each rain day exceeds rainfall at the coast and mean annual fog precipi-
experiencing only a few millimeters of precipitation. tation amounts to c 34 mm at Swakopmund, rising to c
The coastal Namib is also a foggy desert with fog on over 183 mm at some of the inland hills such as Swartbank and
100 days in the year in the area around Swakopmund Vogelfederberg, and then declining to around 3–15 mm
(Fig. 3.4). This precipitates appreciable amounts of moisture. further inland (e.g. at Ganab and Zebra Pan) (Lancaster et al.
A zone of high fog frequency (>50 fog days per year) “hugs 1984, Table 5).
3.1 Climatic Background 39

Fig. 3.2 Rainfall variability in

Namibia (from Mendelsohn et al.
2002, p. 86, in (http://www.uni-
koeln.de/sfb389/e/e1/download/
atlas_namibia/) (Accessed 30
January 2014)

Fig. 3.3 In wet years like 2011,

grass can sprout densely over
wide areas, as here near Gobabeb
40 3 Climate

Fig. 3.4 Number of Fog days

per year in the Namib (After
Olivier 1995, Fig. 1)

Data on daily fog precipitation amounts for three sites amounts of rain vary from the wettest and most tropical areas
along the Kuiseb Valley are provided by Shanyengana et al. in the north east, to the extremely arid Namib Desert in the
(2002) and again demonstrate the considerable quantities of west. In the north east there are large areas where the mean
fog that may be deposited on exposed surfaces: 3,308 ml/m2 annual rainfall exceeds 500 mm and in Caprivi it can exceed
at Klipneus, 2,390 at Swartbank, and 508 at Gobabeb 600 mm. In the Namib, as we have already seen, the mean
(Fig. 3.5). Whilst not all fog days precipitate fog moisture annual rainfall is below 50 mm (and in some places as low as
Lancaster et al. (1984, Table 6) indicate the number of fog 15 mm). Rainfall is highly variable from year to year, espe-
precipitating days per year as 65 for Swakopmund, 87 for cially in the west and south of the country. In general lower
Swartbank, and 3 for Ganab. falls occur in El Niño years and higher falls during La Niña
In the interior, the climate is much more continental so that ones. Over most of the country, there is a summer rainfall
summer temperatures can be very high and winter tempera- regime, though the south west also receives some winter rain.
tures quite low. Altitude is also an important control of cli- Namibia also suffers from high rates of evapotranspiration,
mate, and the central highlands are both slightly cooler and with the highest rates (>2,500 mm per year) occurring in the
wetter than is the norm. Across the country as a whole, south east of the country near Keetmanshoop. The whole
3.1 Climatic Background 41

units (Lancaster 1982). They are highest of all in the southern

coastal Namib, where, according to Lancaster (1984) they
reach 2,346–2,823 vector units—among the very highest
values that have been determined on Earth.

3.2 The Onset of Aridity and an Ancient

Namib Desert

Namibia’s climate has a long history, and one very important

question to raise is just how long-lived the arid climate of the
region has been. Like the Damaraland Complexes and the
Great Escarpment, the development of aridity in the Namib
Desert is closely related to plate tectonics. The existence of
arid conditions in the Namib must have been controlled to a
considerable extent by three main factors: the opening up of
the seaways of the Southern Ocean as the fragments of
Gondwanaland moved apart, the location of Antarctica with
respect to the South Pole, and the initiation of the offshore,
Fig. 3.5 Fog at Gobabeb cold Benguela Current (Tankard and Rogers 1978).
The precise date of the initiation of aridity has, however,
country potentially loses more water through evaporation been a matter of some controversy (Koch 1961; Van Zinderen
than it receives in rain. This is termed a ‘water deficit’. Bakker 1975; Ward et al. 1983) and Stengel and Busche
With regard to winds, the most significant winds in the (2002, p. 122) have gone so far as to argue that ‘there has been
interior come from the east (as shown in Fig. 3.6, Ondangwa
and Windhoek), whereas winds from the south and west
predominate along the coast (as shown in Fig. 3.6, Lüderitz).
This helps to account for the different orientations of dunes
found on the coast compared with those further inland (see
Chaps. 17 and 18). Sometimes, however, the coast can be
subjected to occasionally hot, dry easterly berg winds. These
often produce dust storms, especially between April and
September, which whip up silt from the channels of the Kuiseb
delta and the ephemeral streams of the Namib, and then
transport it into the Atlantic (Eckardt and Kuring 2005;
Tlhalerwa et al. 2005; Vickery and Eckardt 2013; Vickery
et al. 2013) (Fig. 3.7). The southern Namib Desert, in the
vicinity of Pomona, appears to be especially prone to being
swept by high velocity winds, causing wind scouring of
bedrock surfaces, yardang formation, and severe deflation.
Just inland of Bogenfels major valleys in the Gariep Group
schists are aligned roughly north–south, funnelling the
southerly winds which pick up in intensity along the valleys.
As a result, some of them have been so scoured that their
bottoms are now below sea level. In general, wind velocities at
the coast are much higher than they are inland. The potential
amount of sand which can be moved in a year is called the drift
potential and is expressed in vector units. These units are
derived from measured wind velocities and their duration, the
latter expressed as a percentage of the total measurement
period. The longer that high velocity winds blow, the higher
Fig. 3.6 Wind direction frequency (in %) through the year for
the vector units. Annual drift potentials at Walvis Bay are 518 Windhoek, Lüderitz and Ondangwa (http://weatherspark.com/averages/
vector units (Fryberger 1979) and at Möwe Bay are 397 vector stations/Namibia) (Accessed 30 January 2014)
42 3 Climate

Chap. 1) may have been weathered under moist, tropical

conditions (Miller 2008, Chap. 23).
It is probable that the degree of aridity has fluctuated
considerably since the early Cretaceous, but that some
intensification took place with the establishment of the
Benguela Current in the Miocene (Siesser 1980). Support for
this scenario was given by Ward et al. (1983) who said (p.
182) that “A review of the Late-Mesozoic-Cenozoic geology
leads us to conclude that the Namib tract, which dates back
to the Cretaceous, has not experienced climates significantly
more humid than semi-arid for any length of time during the
last 80 million years”. There is the evidence of the Neogene
Tsondab Sandstone lithified erg in the southern Namib. This
aeolianite dates back to at least the Lower Miocene, and
overlies wind-sculptured Late Proterozoic rocks (Senut et al.
1994). The Miocene terrace deposits of the Orange River
contain calcretes and gypcretes which formed under rela-
tively dry conditions (Roberts et al. 2013). Likewise,
through the study of pollen, charcoal fragments and the
stable isotopic composition of plant waxes from an ocean
core off Namibia, Hötzel et al. (2013) and Hötzel (2013)
suggested that during the Late Miocene there was a great
expansion of C4 grasses (which are particularly adapted to
dry conditions).
As already mentioned a crucial control of aridity was the
development of the cold Benguela Current and upwelling
Fig. 3.7 MODIS image (June 2004) of dust plumes blowing off the offshore. Hypotheses to account for the intensification of
Namib into the Atlantic Ocean (courtesy of NASA)
this current in the last twelve million years include
increasing Antarctic glaciation and global cooling, the
a largely non-arid landform history since the Late Creta- northward movement of the African continent, the closing of
ceous’. On the other hand, many workers have suggested that the Central American seaway and African mountain uplift.
the Namib is an ancient desert. For example, Van Zinderen The most recent studies of the ocean core sediments indicate
Bakker (1975) believed that it could date back to the Oligo- that the cold upwelling regime developed about 11.8 million
cene (p. 72): years ago (Heinrich et al. 2011) or 10 million years ago
(Rommserskirchen et al. 2011), and that soon after that there
… since the Early Oligocene, when the South Atlantic Ocean
was an increase in dust inputs to the ocean, pointing to
had developed a sufficient width, its associated climatic and
oceanic system could have had a drying influence on the west overall drier conditions (Roters and Henrich 2010).
coast of Southern Africa. It seems therefore that in Early Oli- Upwelling then continued throughout the entire Pleistocene
gocene times, when the cold Antarctic intermediate water could (Os’Kina and Dmitrenko 2011). The history of cold offshore
move northward, the stage was set for the origin of the Namib
waters is itself related to the development of ice over Ant-
Desert.
arctica. Although some glaciation dates back to the latest
Indeed, it is conceivable that aridity may have been the Eocene (37–34 million years ago), there was a marked
dominant climatic condition since the time of early Creta- intensification of glaciation during the Middle Eocene (c
ceous continental fragmentation itself, for dune beds (aeo- 16–11.6 million years ago) (Lewis et al. 2008; Anderson
lianites) from the upper part of the Etjo Formation are et al. 2011), and a further expansion in the Late Pliocene
interdigitated with the Etendeka Lavas in the Huab Basin (after c 3.3 million years ago) (McKay et al. 2012). The
(Horsthemke et al. 1990; Mountney et al. 1999; Jerram et al. Benguela upwelling system appears to have shown contin-
2000). They are also found offshore over large areas (Light uous cooling across the Pliocene-Pleistocene from 5 to
et al. 1993). Comparable deposits, in the shape of the aeolian 3.5 Ma to the end of the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (c
Botucato Formation, occur in southern Brazil and indicate 0.6 Ma) (Rosell-Melé et al. 2014). In sum, evidence sug-
the presence of a large early Cretaceous sand sea prior to the gests both that arid conditions were established in the early
separation of South America and Africa (Scherer 2000). On Cretaceous, and became intensified in the Miocene and
the other hand, the post-breakup African Surface (see Pliocene.
3.3 Quaternary Climatic Change 43

3.3 Quaternary Climatic Change 1987; Brook et al. 1999). Cave deposits (speleothems) have
also proved to be productive of palaeoclimatic information.
In most parts of the world, climatic changes in the Quater- In addition, some evidence of changes in runoff has been
nary (the last couple of million years) have been crucial in gained from studies of the clay mineral content in offshore
determining landscape character. Such changes were fre- marine cores (Gingele 1996).
quent, often abrupt, and very often severe (Anderson et al. The results of different investigations are not always
2013). Because of the way in which the world’s climatic consistent in terms of the dating of wet phases in Namibia
zones are connected by oceanic and atmospheric circula- during the Quaternary and their correlation with other areas.
tions, it is inevitable that such events as the multiple great ice Geyh and Heine (2014), who used 230Th/U dating of a
ages of the Pleistocene in high and mid latitudes will have speleothem from Rössing Cave in the Central Namib,
had an impact on the lower latitudes. However, both the identified three relatively wet phases since 420,000 years
evidence for climatic change and the reliability of dating of ago (at 420–385 ka, 230–207 ka, and 120–117 ka). These,
Quaternary sediments in the Namib are relatively poor. they believe, correlated with warm interglacials. Conversely,
There are few depositional basins on shore, and the preser- Stuut et al. (2002) analysed sediment sizes in offshore cores
vation of pollen is limited. In addition, there have been to reconstruct wind velocities and aeolian activity over the
discrepancies between different dating methods, and prob- last 300,000 years and found that in the Late Quaternary the
lems in interpreting the palaeoenvironmental significance of area was relatively arid during interglacial stages and rela-
particular deposits. On the other hand an increasing amount tively humid during glacial stages, when the polar front
of evidence is now being gained by the study of offshore shifted equatorward, resulting in a northward displacement
sediment cores (e.g. Daniau et al. 2013). of the zone of westerlies and a consequent increase of
Tankard and Rogers (1978) were not convinced of the rainfall. Shi et al. (2001) have argued that over the last 135
antiquity of the Namib (p. 334) and believed that while ka there have been six periods during which enhanced south
aridity was initiated in the late Tertiary, it only became fully east trade winds contributed to strong upwelling of the
established in the Quaternary. Some evidence of the initia- Benguela Current and to reduced sea surface temperatures.
tion and maintenance of arid climatic conditions in the The most prominent of these occurred c 130 ka BP (Before
Quaternary in Namibia comes from the analysis of offshore Present), 42–56 and 17–23 ka BP. They suggest that the
sediment cores (e.g. Diester-Haass et al. 1988; Pichevin et al. good correspondence between the pollen influx record off
2005). For example, Dupont et al. (2005) used pollen anal- Namibia and the deuterium isotope record from the Vostok
ysis to show that rapid desiccation occurred in Namibia at ice core on Antarctica indicates that pronounced glacial
2.2 Ma (i.e. in the early Pleistocene), and that this was Antarctic cooling was accompanied by intensification of the
associated with increasing upwelling and decreasing sea- south east trades and enhanced aridity. Heine (1998, p. 190–
surface temperatures. Maslin et al. (2012), using similar 191) on the other hand concluded that during the last
techniques, suggest that there has been very little change in 125,000 ka BP, the hyper-arid coastal zone of the Namib
moisture availability over the last 2.5 million years. Lan- Desert has experienced an arid climate without any precip-
caster (2002) concurred that the Namib has experienced itation changes greater than those found within the current
mostly hyperarid conditions throughout the Quaternary. desert climate.
However, some investigators have found evidence for By contrast, Daniau et al. (2013), using micro-charcoal
relatively wet conditions in the Quaternary. This evidence is analysis of an ocean core, found evidence for six fire cycles in
diverse. The presence of lake, pond and swamp deposits at the last 170,000 years and related these to changes in rainfall
scattered localities in the Namib Sand Sea has been used to amount and seasonality. An early study of speleothems in a
infer former moister conditions. Lake beds have, for exam- cave at Rössing, inland from Swakopmund, indicated sinter
ple, been described from Narabeb (23° 41′S, 14° 47′E) deposition under more humid conditions between 41,500 and
(Selby et al. 1979) and from many other locations to the 22,500 years BP (Heine and Geyh 1984). Shi et al. (2000)
south of the Kuiseb Valley (Teller et al. 1990). Stone et al. found evidence for three phases of aridification over the past
(2010) have dated water-lain interdune deposits including 21,000 years, caused by changes in upwelling and the oce-
those of the Tsondab River, and have found that some of the anic thermohaline circulation. Scott et al. (2004) used pollen
deposits date back to c 128–75 thousand years (ka) ago evidence associated with fossil hyrax dung in the Brandberg
(Marine Isotope Stage 5), while others date back less far, to c massif to show that at the Last Glacial maximum, c
16.9–10.5 ka ago. In the Kuiseb Valley and in the Naukluft 20,000 years ago, the vegetation was dominated by small
Mountains there are very extensive tufa deposits, such as the Asteraceae shrubs, in contrast to the Holocenevegetation
tufas at Blasskrantz in the Naukluft which are around 80 m which shows more succulents, grass and woody elements. In
high and 200 m across (see Chap. 20), which may have summary, the Quaternary history of Namibian climate
formed under wetter conditions in the Quaternary (Ward appears complex with much evidence of alternating wet and
44 3 Climate

dry periods, but little agreement over the synchroneity of Brook GA, Marais E, Cowart JB (1999) Evidence of wetter and drier
these with glacial and interglacial conditions elsewhere. conditions in Namibia from tufas and submerged speleothems.
Cimbebasia 15:29–39
The widespread development of linear dune fields in the Chase BM, Meadows ME, Scott L, Thomas DSG, Marais E, Sealy J,
Kalahari of southern Angola (Shaw and Goudie 2002), Reimer PJ (2009) A record of Holocene climate change preserved in
northern Botswana (Grove 1969), and northern and eastern hyrax middens from southwestern Africa. Geology 37:703–706
Namibia appears to have taken place at times of greater Chase BM, Meadows ME, Carr AS, Reimer PJ (2010) Evidence for
progressive Holocene aridification in southern Africa recorded in
aridity than today, for many of them are now stable and Namibian hyrax middens: implications for African monsoon
mantled in vegetation. The Last Glacial Maximum (22– dynamics and the “African Humid Period”. Quat Res 74:36–45
18 ka ago) may have been a time of aridity over most of Daniau A-L, Goni MFS, Martinez P, Urrego DH, Bout-Roumazeilles
Namibia (Eitel et al. 2004), with the possible exception of V, Desprat S, Maron HR (2013) Orbital-scale climate forcing of
grassland burning in southern Africa. Proc Nat Ac Sci. doi:10.1073/
the Caprivi Strip, but Late Quaternary dates for such vege- pnas.1214292110
tated ridges in the Caprivi area are provided by Thomas et al. Diester-Haass L, Heine K, Rothe P, Schradre H (1988) Late Quaternary
(2000) and Eitel et al. (2004). history of continental climate and the Benguela Current off South
With regard to the Holocene, Heine (2005) reviewed a West Africa. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclim Palaeoecol 65:81–91
Dupont LM, Donner B, Vidal L, Peréz EM, Wefer G (2005) Linking
large amount of evidence, and while acknowledging that desert evolution and coastal upwelling: Pliocene climate change in
there may have been greater moisture availability during the Namibia. Geology 33:461–464
early Holocene, and extreme floods during the Little Ice Age Eckardt F, Kuring N (2005) SeaWiFS identifies dust sources in the
c 500 years ago, he argued that overall climatic fluctuations Namib Desert. Int J Remote Sensing 26:4159–4167
Eckardt FD, Soderberg K, Coop LJ, Muller AA, Vickery KJ, Grandin
in the Holocene have been modest. However, support for RD, Jack C, Kapalanga TS, Henschel J (2012) The nature of
wetter conditions in the early Holocene between c 9 and 5 moisture at Gobabeb, in the central Namib Desert. J Arid Env 93:7–
thousand years ago, is provided by ocean core evidence of 19
great fluvial inputs at that time (Gingele 1996). Similarly, Eitel B, Blümel WD, Hüser K (2004) Palaeoenvironmental transitions
between 22 ka and 8 ka in monsoonally influenced Namibia. Lect
analysis of material preserved in fossil hyrax middens has Notes Earth Sci 102:167–194
been productive (Gil-Romera et al. 2006). Fossil hyrax dung Fryberger SG (1979) Dune forms and wind regime. US Geol Surv Prof
from Spitzkoppe has shown relatively wet phases in the Paper 1052:137–169
Holocene, with four between 8700 and 3500 years ago Geyh MA, Heine K (2014) Several distinct wet periods since 420 ka in
the Namib Desert inferred from U-series dates of speleothems. Quat
(Chase et al. 2009). In Kaokoland, analyses of dune sands Res (In Press)
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4,000 years ago (Bödeker 2006). Aridity is hypothesized to Holocene moisture changes in the desert of northwest Namibia
have increased after c 3,800 years ago (Chase et al. 2010). A derived from fossil hyrax dune pollen. Holocene 16:1073–1084
Gingele FX (1996) Holocene climatic optimum in Southwest Africa—
speleothem from Dante Cave near Tsumeb has also indicated evidence from the marine clay mineral record. Palaeogeogr
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 Vegetation, Fauna and Humans
4

Abstract
In response to the variety of climatic conditions that exist, Namibia has a range of vegetation
types, with savanna in the north east and deserts in the west and these play an important role in
determining the nature and power of geomorphological processes. Wild and domestic animals
may also have an important biogeomorphological role. Recently, the human impact has
become significant and examples of deliberate and accidental geomorphological consequences
of human activities are presented.

4.1 Vegetation and Fauna controls the volume of plant matter produced—it also con-
trols their distribution within an area of desert; some areas,
One consequence of the present aridity of Namibia is that the because of their soil texture, topographic position or distance
vegetation cover is generally low—a closed cover is seldom from rivers or groundwater, have virtually no water available
encountered. A sample of different areas in southern to plants, whereas others do. The widespread development
Namibia showed that the average ground cover by vegeta- of banded vegetation (tiger bush) reflects this (see Chap. 25).
tion was between 4.7 and 15.3 % (Strohbach 2001), while a In the drier parts of Namibia there are two general classes
more general survey for the whole country (Strohbach et al. of vegetation: annuals or ephemerals, which have a short
1996) showed the vegetation cover situation for October lifecycle and may form a fairly dense stand immediately
1994, just before the main rains. Over 93 % of the country after rain, and perennials, which may be succulent and are
had less than 25 % vegetation cover. The only areas where often dwarfed and woody. The ephemeral plants evade
the vegetation canopy is almost complete is in the wood- drought. Given a year of favourable precipitation such
lands of the north east, including the Caprivi Strip. Whatever plants, which include grasses such as Stipagrostis, will
the extent and nature of vegetation, it can play many roles in develop vigorously and produce large numbers of flowers
the development of landforms and landscapes for which the and fruit. This replenishes the seed content of the desert soil.
umbrella term of biogeomorphology is often used. The seeds then lie dormant until the next wet year, when the
A useful measure of the degree of vegetation develop- desert blooms again (see Fig. 3.3).
ment in an area is its biomass, the total amount of living The perennial vegetation adjusts to the aridity by means
plant material above and below ground. Deserts in general of various avoidance mechanisms. Most desert plants are
have a low biomass, often 100 times less than that of an xerophytes. They possess drought resisting adaptations:
equivalent area of temperate forest. Water is the vital influ- transpiration is reduced by means of dense hairs covering
ence on plant growth, of course, and is responsible for this waxy leaf surfaces, by the closure of stomata to reduce
low biomass level. Most plant tissues die if their water transpiration loss and by the rolling up or shedding of leaves
content falls too low; the nutrients that feed plants are at the beginning of the dry season. Some xerophytes, the
transmitted by water; water is a raw material in the vital succulents, impound water in their structures. Namibian
process of photosynthesis; and water regulates the temper- examples include various types of aloes, euphorbias and
ature of a plant by its ability to absorb heat and because commiphoras. Another way of countering drought is to have
water vapour lost to the atmosphere during transpiration a limited amount of mass above ground and to have exten-
helps to lower plant temperatures. However, water not only sive root networks below ground. It is not unusual for the

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 47
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_4, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
48 4 Vegetation, Fauna and Humans

Fig. 4.1 Nebkha dunes near Gobabeb

roots of some desert perennials to extend downwards more Fig. 4.2 Large herbivores at Okakuejo, Etosha, have probably
than ten metres. Some plants are woody in type—an adap- contributed to pan excavation
tation designed to prevent collapse of the plant tissue when
water stress produces wilting. Another class of dryland plant along the ephemeral rivers, vegetation is extremely limited,
is the phreatophyte. These have adapted to the environment though in wetter years even the driest parts of the desert can
by the development of long tap roots which penetrate sometimes support a short-lived grass cover. The lack of
downwards until they approach the assured water supply vegetation in the desert is one reason why there are extensive
provided by groundwater. They commonly grow near stream areas of moving sand and dunes.
channels, springs or on the margins of lakes and can act as a The coastal fringe also has extensive lichen fields within
focus for sand accumulation and nebkha formation the fog belt (Schieferstein and Loris 1992), and these may
(Fig. 4.1). A common phreatophyte in Namibian rivers is the contribute to geomorphic processes, through enhancing rock
tamarisk (Tamarix usneoides). weathering and reducing the erosion of desert pavement
The pattern of vegetation in Namibia at a gross scale surfaces. Lichens are able to grow under very dry conditions,
reflects the rainfall pattern (see Chap. 3). Thus plant life is at and can utilise moisture in fog. Whilst they grow very
its lushest and most prolific in the north east and progres- slowly, and are often small and inconspicuous, they can
sively shorter and sparser in the west and south. The dry cover large areas of the land surface. Lichens are effective at
woodlands of the north-east are in the highest rainfall part of trapping dust and protecting fine grained sediment from
the country (500–700 mm) and merge with the tree savanna erosion by wind and runoff.
of the north-central area. They are characterised by Baikea Namibia, especially in the past, prior to modern-day
plurijugia, Burkea africana, Guibourtia coleosperma and hunting, was the home of many large mammals, and these
Pterocarpus angolensis. Savanna has variable proportions of have contributed to landscape development through a
trees (e.g. acacias, mopane, etc.), shrubs and grass. Indeed, range of biogeomorphological processes such as trampling
savannna covers about two thirds of Namibia. The camel- (Boelhouwers and Scheepers 2004) and the excavation of
thorn savanna (300–400 mm rainfall) of the central Kalahari pans and river floodplains (e.g. by elephant wallowing)
is an open savanna with Acacia erioloba as the dominant (Ramey et al. 2013) (Fig. 4.2). Animal tracks, produced by
tree. Common shrubs include Acacia hebeclada, Ziziphus both wild and domesticated animals, are an important
mucronata, Tarconanthus camphoratus, Grewia flava, landscape component in some areas (Fig. 4.3). Smaller
Ozoroa paniculosa and Rhus ciliata. The thornbush savanna organisms, such as termites and ants, have contributed to the
(400–500 mm rainfall) is the dominant vegetation type in the formation of various types of patterned ground (see
central part of the country. Characteristic species include Chap. 25), while in the Walvis Bay lagoon the feeding of
Acacia reficiens, A. erubescens and A. fleckii. The mopane flamingos creates round mounds in the coastal muds.
savanna (50–500 mm rainfall) is a distinct vegetation type
dominated by Colophospermum mopane, which occurs in
tree and shrub forms, in the north-west of the country. In the 4.2 The Human Impact
south of the country is the extensive Nama Karoo biome.
This has a varied assemblage of plant communities that Humans have lived in southern Africa for several million
range from deciduous shrub vegetation to perennial grass- years, and the latest episode in the history of the Namibian
lands and succulent shrubs. In the Namib Desert, except landscape is their impact on its geomorphology. Humans
4.2 The Human Impact 49

Fig. 4.3 Google Earth image of

animal tracks in the Otjinjange
Valley, northern Namibia. Scale
bar 0.10 km (© 2012 Google
Image, Google)

modify the landscape in a whole range of ways and their across the Kuiseb River, and attempts to stop dune move-
actions have intensified over the past 300 years or so, ment and sand encroachment on Walvis Bay’s suburbs by
leading some to champion the term Anthropocene for this erecting sand fences (Le Roux 1974). Humans also affect the
latest period of time (Goudie 2013). The extent of human landscape accidentally by changing vegetation cover by, for
influence on geomorphology over the Anthropocene has example, the use of fire (Sheuyange et al. 2005), by defor-
been impressive, even in a relatively sparsely populated estation (Seely and Klintenberg 2011) and by introducing
country like Namibia. For example, humans have excavated grazing by domestic stock (Bester 1998/9; Kuiper and
large holes in connection with mining activity, as is the case Meadows 2002). There are now over 7 million cattle, sheep
with the uranium mine at Rössing and the diamond mines and goats in Namibia. These factors may cause accelerated
along the southern coastline (Fig. 4.4). Material excavated in soil erosion and rill and gully formation (Strohbach 2000;
one place may be deposited elsewhere, and waste from the Eitel et al. 2002) as well as bush encroachment. Desert
coastal diamond mines affects the intertidal zone and sub- surfaces, including those covered by lichens, are easily
tidal reefs (Pulfrich et al. 2003) and, as at Elizabeth Bay, can disturbed by off road driving, and this can produce unsightly
cause beach accretion (Smith et al. 2002). Other deliberate scars and break up the desert pavement surface, exposing
landform modification includes attempts to stop flooding in underlying fine materials to wind attack and dust storm
Walvis Bay by the construction of a flood retention dam generation (Eckardt and White 1997). Other dust storms can

Fig. 4.4 Google Earth image of

diamond workings north of the
Orange River mouth. Scale bar
1 km (©2012 Terra Metrics,
Digital Globe, Google)
50 4 Vegetation, Fauna and Humans

Table 4.1 Dams in Namibia with a capacity >5 million m3

Dam name River Date Capacity (million m3)
Dreihuk Hom 1978 15.49
Friedenhau Kuiseb 1972 6.72
Hardap Fish 1962 294.59
Naute Loewen 1972 83.58
Oanab Oanab 1990 34.51
Olushandja Kunene 1990 42.33
Omdel Omaruru 1984 41.29
Omatako Omatako 1981 43.49
Omatjenne Omatjenne 1933 5.06
Otivero Main White Nossob 1984 9.81
Otivero Silt White Nossob 1984 7.79
Von Bach Swakop 1970 48.56
Swakoppoort Swakop 1978 63.49
Source Analysed from data in http://www.namwater.com.na (accessed 13th January, 2013)

Fig. 4.5 Google Earth image of

small linear dunes formed in the
lee of old mining buildings at
Bogenfels Ghost Town. Scale bar
0.10 km (© 2013 GeoEye,
Google)

be generated from exposed mine tailings, as at Rosh Pinar References

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mines on intertidal and subtidal reefs and rock lobster populations. Strohbach BJ, Calitz, AJ, Coetzee ME (1996) Erosion hazard mapping:
Aquat Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst 13:257–278 modelling the vegetative cover. Agricola 8:53–59
Ramey EM, Ramey RR, Brown LM, Kelley ST (2013) Desert-dwelling Taylor MP, Kesterton RG (2002) Heavy metal contamination of an arid
African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Namibia dig wells to river environment: Gruben River, Namibia. Geomorphology
purify drinking water. Pachyderma 53:66–72 42:311–327
 Part II
Regional Studies
 The North East Kunene Region: The Kunene
River, Sand Sea and Yardangs 5

Abstract
In the far north east of Namibia is a little studied region with a range of interesting landforms,
including the valley of the Kunene river itself, which forms the border with Angola, Hartmann
Valley, the Kunene erg or sand sea, and extensive areas of wind fluted bedrock (called
yardangs). The variety of fluvial forms and dune types is discussed as is the origin of yardangs
and their distribution elsewhere in Namibia.

5.1 The Kunene River from many km upstream. The terraces are heavily calcreted,
but have not so far been dated in detail.
The area to the west of the Hartmann Mountains and north of In contrast, the Hartmann Valley which runs north–south
Cape Fria is a remote, wild and largely unstudied area of on the west side of the Hartmann Mountains appears to have
territory. Within it you can find a huge diversity of landscapes, been formed many millions of years ago during the evolu-
all produced on ancient Swakop Group rocks, dating back tion of the Kunene River system but has had a very different
some 850–600 million years and within a hyper-arid climate. history. It now only contains a very small, ephemeral river
The Kunene River has a clearly sinuous course as it cuts across system and the entire valley is choked with sediment which
the desert with many waterfalls and rapids. Geology has had a has built up over millions of years. On the west side of the
major influence over the river’s course, with large faults Hartmann Valley towards the northern end, are a series of
providing easy paths for it to follow, and resistant bands of stable and seemingly ancient alluvial fans fronting gneiss
rock forming major obstacles which the river has skirted and mica schist hills. These understudied alluvial fans are
round, or flowed over in the case of waterfalls. heavily calcreted and covered with gravels.
The Kunene River is clearly a potent erosive force. Near
Serra Cafema there are a range of dramatic falls cutting into
the ancient rocks, and in and around the present channel 5.2 The Kunene Sand Sea
there are a host of streamlined and sculpted rocks and pot-
holes (Fig. 5.1). Several side channels here probably only The Kunene Sand Sea is located in the far north west of
experience flows under very high flow conditions, and yet Namibia, and is bounded to the north by the Kunene River,
the walls of these channels are gouged with a wide range of to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by a large
large and small potholes. Some of these features are found area of wind eroded bedrock in Kaokoland, and to the east
very high up (sometimes more than 3 m above current flow by the Hartmann range of mountains (Goudie 2007a). The
depths). Whilst hard to date, these erosional features are sand sea is relatively small in size (c 2,000 km2 in area).
evidence of formerly high flow conditions (Fig. 5.2). Unlike the more southerly Namib Sand Sea (Lancaster 1989)
Another sign of a previously much larger Kunene River and the Skeleton Coast Sand Sea (Lancaster 1982), its
in this area is the presence of extensive cobble terraces near landforms have never been adequately described, except for
Serra Cafema (Fig. 5.3). Brown quartzite cobbles have been some dunes in the Hartmann Valley (Hartmann and Brunotte
deposited in a c. 1 m thick spread over rock surfaces c 5 m 2008). It is located in a hyper-arid area and it is probable that
above the present floodplain (Nicoll 2010). The rounded the mean annual rainfall is less than 50 mm. The nearest
quartzite cobbles are not found locally and must have come climate station in Angola, at Tombua (Porto Alexandre),

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 55
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_5, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
56 5 The North East Kunene Region…

Fig. 5.1 Dramatic falls on the

Kunene River to the west of Serra
Cafema, looking East with river
terraces on south bank

Fig. 5.2 Highly eroded mica

schist bedrock sculpted by fluvial
erosion near Serra Cafema
5.2 The Kunene Sand Sea 57

Fig. 5.3 Rounded quartzite

cobble from Kunene River
terrace, near Serra Cafema

generally receives between 10 and 30 mm per annum. Beetz southern Peru, but they are comparable in width to those from
(1934) noted that sand had filled valleys developed in an old Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and the southern Namib. Previous
land surface (peneplain) cut across ancient rocks and had, in studies have shown that rates of barchan movement decrease
the Cretaceous and Tertiary, entered Angola. He observed as dune size increases (e.g. Cooke et al. 1993, Fig. 23.24).
sand thicknesses of up to 150 m in sections along the These tend to suggest that the Kunene sand sea barchans will
Kunene River. move at rates of less than 10 m per year, and probably around
Analysis of Landsat-7 imagery shows that three main c 5 m per year. The linear dunes, which average 7.08 km in
types of dune dominate the Kunene Sand Sea: barchans, length, appear to be overlain by some of the transverse forms,
transverse and linear. Crescentic barchans, of simple and and may, therefore, be of greater age. In the far north east of
compound form, cover an area of 348.6 km2, which is 17.4 % the sand sea they become increasingly west-east in their
of the total area of the sand sea. They are largely located in orientations. The Curosa-Bahia dos Tigres dune field in
the south west of the region and abut the zone of yardang Angola, on the other side of the Kunene, shows a similar
development to their south. Transverse dune ridges are the swinging round of the linear forms as one moves eastwards. It
most extensive dunes of the sand sea, covering c 525.1 km2 also has transverse dunes overlying linears.
(26.3 % of the area). They dominate the north western part of The presence of barchans in the west of the region, in
the region. To the east lies a field of seemingly subdued linear proximity to the ocean, mirrors the situation in the Namib
ridges which covers 403.6 km2 (20.2 % of the area). and Skeleton Coast sand seas and may be related to a con-
The barchans have a mean length of 560 m, and a mean stancy of wind direction (a necessary prerequisite for bar-
width between their horns of 193 m. Their orientation near chan development) and also to a limited sand supply. Wind
the coast is much more north to south than it is further inland. data for stations further south on the north Namibian coast,
The transverse dune ridges average 2.9 km in length. In including Möwe Bay, show strongly unimodal winds com-
general terms dunes in the west and south of the area have ing from the south, whereas inland stations to the east, such
northerly orientations, whereas in the north and east of the as Ondangwa, show more variable wind regimes but with a
area they swing round to have an orientation that has a greater clear tendency for winds to blow from the east. It is this
west to east component. The Kunene Sand Sea barchans are which probably explains the changing orientations of the
relatively large compared to the classic examples studied in dunes as one moves inland.
58 5 The North East Kunene Region…

Fig. 5.4 Landsat 7 image of the

yardang and barchan fields to the
south of the Kunene River
(courtesy of NASA)

The forms may go through a cycle of development and

5.3 Yardangs eventual obliteration (Halimov and Fezer 1989). Although
they are dominantly aeolian erosion features there has been a
To the south of the Kunene sand sea satellite images indicate considerable debate as to the relative importance of defla-
that there is a very large area of what appears to be wind- tion, aeolian abrasion, fluvial incision and mass movements
fluted basement rock belonging to the Swakop Group (570– in moulding yardang morphology (Goudie 1999). That
900 Ma). It consists of an expanse of narrow, linear ridges abrasion is important is indicated by polished, fluted and
(Fig. 5.4) that trend approximately from south south east to sand-blasted slopes, and the undercutting of the steep
north north west, and appear to have similar orientations in windward face and lateral slopes. It is probably the dominant
that area to the barchans that move across their surface and process in hard bedrock yardangs whereas deflation may be
to the orientations of the predominant sand streams that have important in the evolution of yardangs developed in soft
been identified in the Skeleton Coast sand sea to the south. sediments such as old lake beds. Fluvial erosion may pro-
This also corresponds to the predominant wind directions vide an avenue along which wind erosion may occur but
recorded at Mowe Bay, where 62.5 % of winds blow from excessive fluvial erosion would tend to obliterate yardangs.
between 157.5 and 212.5°. The area contains individual Mass movements may also be significant when their slopes
ridges running typically for distances of 8–10 km, and with a have been over-steepened by wind erosion.
spacing of around 300–350 m. Field work needs to be done Goudie (2007b) analysed the key factors that determine
to confirm the precise nature and origin of these features, but the global distribution of mega-yardangs and came up with
it appears possible that they are features called yardangs. the following relationships. Firstly, large yardangs occur in
Yardang was introduced by Hedin (1903) as a term for hyper-arid areas. Nearly all mega-yardangs occur where
wind abraded ridges of cohesive material. They range in size rainfall totals are less than 50 mm per annum, whereas pans,
from small centimetre-scale ridges (micro-yardangs) through as we have seen, become more significant in areas where
to forms that are some metres in height and length (meso- rainfall is between 150 and 500 mm per year. Large yardangs
yardangs), to features that may be tens of metres high and occur in dry areas where deflation is at a maximum, vege-
some kilometres long (mega-yardangs) (Cooke et al. 1993, tation cover is minimal, and where sand abrasion can occur.
pp. 296–297) (Fig. 5.4). Secondly, yardangs do not occur in sites of active dune
Greeley and Iversen (1985, p. 140) believed that the accumulation (e.g. sedimentary basins), though they do
shape of yardangs, like an upturned ship’s hull, was an occur in former pluvial lake depressions. Basins are areas of
equilibrium shape, which typically would be ‘an elongate sand sea development rather than surface aeolian erosion.
hill of 1:4 width-to-length ratio, asymmetric in profile, and Yardangs do not occur in areas with massive alluvial fan
with the highest part in the upwind one-third of the hill’. accumulation, in truly mountainous areas, or in areas with
Ward and Greeley (1984) found a 1:4 width to length ratio; integrated drainage systems.
Halimov and Fezer (1989) found that the ratios of length, Thirdly, mega-yardangs occur in trade wind areas with
width and height were 10:2:1, while Goudie et al. (1999) unidirectional or narrow bimodal wind directions, as is made
found volume, length, width, height ratios of 18.7:9.9:2.7:1. evident by their association in some cases with barchans
5.3 Yardangs 59

(e.g. Northern Namib)—a dune form that only occurs where Cooke RU, Warren A, Goudie A (1993) Desert geomorphology. UCL
winds are relatively constant in direction. It is only with such Press, London
Corbett I (1993) The modern and ancient pattern of sandflow through
constant wind directions that forms can develop that are the southern Namib deflation basin. Spec Publ Int Ass Sediment
parallel to the prevailing wind. They sometimes occur 16:45–60
upwind of sand seas, in areas where sand transport occurs Goudie AS (2007a) Desert landforms in Namibia – a Landsat
(e.g. in Northern and Southern Namibia). interpretation. In: AS Goudie and J Kalvoda (eds). Geomorpholog-
ical Variations. Nakladatelstvi P3 K, Prague, pp 19–36
Fourthly, mega-yardangs occur in relatively homoge- Goudie AS (2007b) Mega-yardangs: a global analysis. Geogr Compass
neous rocks without complex structures (e.g. sandstones), 1:65–81
but with jointing along which incision can occur. They do Goudie AS, Stokes S, Cook J, Samieh S, El-Rashidi OA (1999)
not solely occur in ‘soft rocks’. Yardang landforms from Kharga Oasis, south-western Egypt.
Z Geomorphol Suppl 116:1–16
Yardangs in Namibia are not restricted to the Kunene Goudie AS (1999) Wind erosional landforms: yardangs and pans. In
region. In southern Namibia, between the Namib Sand Sea Aeolian Environments, Sediments and Landforms, ed. AS Goudie, I
and the Orange River, there is a hyper-arid area with mega- Livingstone, S Stokes. Chichester, Wiley, pp 167–180
yardangs developed in ancient crystalline and metamorphic Greeley R, Iversen JD (1985) Wind as a geological process on Earth,
Mars, Venus and Titan. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
rocks with complex structures (Corbett 1993). Many of the Halimov M, Fezer F (1989) Eight yardang types in Central Asia.
ridges are in excess of 20 km long and are c 1 km across. Z Geomorphol 33:205–217
They run approximately SSE to NNW, which is the same as Hartmann K, Brunotte E (2008) The genesis and current reshaping of
the trend of individual aeolian dunes in the area. This also dunes at the eastern end of the northern Namib Desert (Hartmann
Valley, NW Namibia). Modelled wind-flow patterns, multi-tempo-
corresponds to the dominant annual sand transport directions ral aerial photograph analysis and anthropogenic morphodynamics.
for Alexander Bay, which lies on the coast to the south of the Z Geomorphol Suppl 52:1–14
wind fluted zone (Lancaster 1989, p. 82). Some of the cor- Hedin S (1903) Central Asia and Tibet. Scribners, New York
rasional features near Pomona have previously been recor- Krenkel E (1928) Geologie Afrikas. Reimer, Berlin
Lancaster N (1982) Dunes of the Skeleton Coast, Namibia (South West
ded as being 100 m high (Krenkel 1928, p. 668). There are at Africa): geomorphology and grain-size relationships. Earth Surf
least four main areas where large yardangs occur: just to the Proc Landf 7:575–587
south of Lüderitz (c E15o 07′, S 26° 42′); near Pomona (E15° Lancaster N (1989) The Namib Sand Sea: dune forms, processes and
21′, S 27° 03′; and E 15° 19′, S 27° 09′), and inland from sediments. Balkema, Rotterdam
Nicoll K (2010) Geomorphic development and Middle Stone Age
Chamais Bay (E 15° 37′, S 27° 47′). archaeology of the Lower Cunene River, Namibia-Angola border.
Quat Sci Rev 29:1419–1431
Ward AW, Greeley R (1984) Evolution of the yardangs at Rogers Lake,
References California. Bull Geol Soc Am 95:829–837

Beetz PFW (1934) Geology of South West Angola, between Cunene

and Lunda axis. Trans Geol Soc S Africa 36:137–176
 Etosha Pan and the Karstveld
6

Abstract
Etosha Pan is one of the iconic landscape features in Namibia, which now acts as a major area
of waterholes attracting wildlife. Geomorphologically, it is a large area of internal drainage,
which is ephemerally flooded. It has, however, a long history, which has been influenced by
both changes in the network of inflowing rivers and changes in climate. Around its shores are
old shorelines, lunette dunes, stromatolite accumulations, and spring mounds. The area also
has extensive spreads of calcrete. The old limestones and dolomites to the east of Etosha have
given rise to a range of karst phenomena, including closed depressions and caves which are
also of great scientific and scenic interest.

The long-term history of the basin has been discussed by

6.1 Etosha Pan
Miller et al. (2010). In the late Miocene, some 5–7 million
years ago, the upper Kunene and Okavango rivers fed a large
The Etosha Pan of northern Namibia (Fig. 6.1), which lies at
lake, which reached an extent of c 55,000 km2 at about
an altitude of 1,070–1,085 m above sea level, is an
3 million years ago. This large lake has been called Lake
impressive closed basin which covers 4,760 km2, with a
Kunene (Hipondoka 2005). Subsequently, when a river
maximum north to south extent of 80 km and an east to west
cutting back from the Atlantic coast captured the headwaters
extent of 120 km. In wet years, when flow comes down the
of the Kunene, the lake began to shrink. On its northwest
Oshigambo and Ekuma rivers, the Etosha Pan may be
side it was replaced by the shallow, seasonally inundated
flooded across almost its whole surface (Fig. 6.2). This
linear depressions and pools—oshanas—of the Cuvelai
happened in 2011. In dry years (Fig. 6.3) it may dry up
system that occur in the north of Namibia. Since the late
almost completely, and then it becomes one of Southern
Pliocene or early Pleistocene, the pan has been modified by
Africa’s prime dust storm source areas. In recent years,
water inundation during the rainy season, limestone solution,
Etosha has stimulated scientific research interest as a pos-
salt weathering and dust storms (Bryant 2003; Buch 1997;
sible analogue for lakes on Titan, Saturn’s major moon
Vickery et al. 2013). Deflation has caused a series of lunette
(Cornet et al. 2012).
dunes, composed of material derived from the pan floor and
Etosha is situated in the southern part of the Owambo
from alluvial spreads produced by rivers like the Ekoma, to
basin, which is floored by Mesoproterozoic rocks of the
accumulate as ridges on the western shore (Buch and Zoller
Congo Craton. The basin, which owes its development to the
1992; Buch et al. 1992; Hipondoka et al. 2004, 2014). At
break-up of the Rodinia super-continent, contains some
times, under slightly wetter, low energy, saline conditions,
8,000 m of sedimentary rocks, at the top of which lies the
cyanobacteria produced limestones called stromatolites—the
sandy and silty Andoni Formation and the Etosha limestone
Poacher’s Point Formation (Smith and Mason 1991; Brook
and calcrete of the Cenozoic Kalahari Group. The Kalahari
et al. 2013). They have proved difficult to date, but some of
Beds reach a thickness of as much as 500 m on the Namibia/
them may have formed during a prolonged period of
Angolan border. The Etosha basin is a structural depression
flooding during the early Holocene at c 9–6.6 thousand years
(Buch and Trippner 1997) and Etosha Pan is not just the
ago and others in the Late Pleistocene at c 34–26 thousand
result of wind excavation. The mineralogy and geochemistry
years ago (Brook et al. 2011, 2013). The stromatolites are
of the pan sediments are described by Buch and Rose (1996).

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 61
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_6, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
62 6 Etosha Pan and the Karstveld

Fig. 6.1 Google Earth image of

Etosha Pan. Scale bar is 35 km (©
2013 digital globe)

sediment by the damp, vegetated ground in proximity to

springs.
Another interesting and related phenomenon in the area is
the development of extensive tracts of carbonate-rich crusts
called calcrete (see also Chap. 16). These are associated with
groundwater and springs along the contact between the
soluble Otavi Group dolomites and limestones and the
Mulden Group arkoses and phyllites. In places these cal-
cretes exceed 100 m in thickness, and some of them may be
dolomite rich (Miller 2011, p. 21). They form an apron c
80 km wide that skirts the Otavi Group carbonates.

Fig. 6.2 MODIS image of Etosha in July 2011 following heavy rains 6.2 Karst Landforms
(courtesy of NASA)
Close to Etosha, to the east, is a very different landscape
exposed on Pelican Point and Andoni Bay. Fossils have also which records the influence of rainfall in sculpting the sur-
been found of some semi-aquatic animals such as sitatunga, face. A suite of karst landforms are found here. Karst is a type
which are indicative of perennial lake or swamp conditions of terrain named after the classic area near Trieste on the
in the area (Pickford et al. 2009; Hipondoka et al. 2006). borders of Italy and Slovenia. The dominant process that
Such moist phases created a suite of palaeo-shorelines that produces karst features is the solution of calcareous rocks,
are evident on the southwestern boundary of the pan (Brook such as limestone, dolomite and marble, by rainwater. In the
et al. 2007; Hipondoka et al. 2014). There may have been relatively high rainfall environment of the Otavi Highlands
about seven phases of high lake level over the last (500–600 mm of rain per year according to Mendelsohn et al.
150,000 years (Hipondoka 2005). 2002), where ancient limestones and dolomites of the Otavi
One intriguing feature of the Etosha basin, visible on its Group are prevalent, there are many classic landforms pro-
southern shore and showing up clearly on Google Earth duced by such solutional processes—karstification—includ-
images (e.g. Fig. 6.1), is a series of round landscape features ing various types of solutional rills (karren), closed
notably on the southern margins of the pan. These are depressions (dolines), and caves (as at Ghaub) (Schneid-
believed to be spring mounds created by sedimentation of erhöhn 1921). Many of the outcrops near Tsumeb and Otavi
chemical matter and the trapping of aeolian and fluvial appear on remotely sensed images to consist of a multitude of
6.2 Karst Landforms 63

Fig. 6.3 MODIS image of

Etosha in 2002 (a drier year).
Note the dust pall blowing out on
the west side (courtesy of NASA)

small hillocks interspersed with irregular depressions Northwest of the mining town of Tsumeb, are two unu-
(Fig. 6.4) and may be roughly analogous to one type of karst sual, deep surface lakes, Otjikoto (Fig. 6.5) and Guinas. The
characteristic of tropical regions, called cockpit karst. Primate former was visited by Charles James Andersson (1857) in
(Otavipithecus namibiensis) and hyrax remains have been the company of Francis Galton. Andersson, who measured,
found in cave breccias of Miocene age (Conroy et al. 1996; sketched and swam in it, described it (p. 137) ‘as the most
Rasmussen et al. 1996). Fossil Homo remains have been extraordinary chasm it was ever my fortune to see’, and (p.
found at Berg Aukas Cave (Grine et al. 1995) and a mum- 138) as ‘one of the most wonderful of Nature’s freaks’.
mified baboon in Ludwig Cave (Hodgins et al. 2007). One of Otjikoto has a diameter of c 102 m and a depth that may be
the largest caves is Dragon’s Breath Cave. This has a large in excess of 75 m. Guinas is rather larger, with a maximum
underground lake with an area of almost 2 ha and a depth that diameter of 140 m and a depth of 153 m. These two lakes
recent diving expeditions have indicated exceeds 100 m. have formed in the carbonate rocks of the Neoproterozoic

Fig. 6.4 Google Earth image of

hills and hollows in Otavi Group
rocks near Tsumeb. Scale bar
1 km (© 2013 Google Image, ©
2014 Digital Globe, © 2014
CNES/Astrium)
64 6 Etosha Pan and the Karstveld

Fig. 6.5 Otjikoto

Otavi Group and have resulted from their solution. They are Buch MW, Zöller L (1992) Pedostratigraphy and thermoluminescence-
sinkholes created by solution and collapse of surface rocks chronology of the western Margin- (Lunette-) dunes of Etosha Pan,
northern Namibia. Würzburger Geogr Arb 84:361–384
into large sub-surface caverns and appear to be analogous to Buch MW, Rose D, Zoller L (1992) A TL-calibrated pedostratigraphy
the cenotes of Yucatan, Mexico. Indeed, the term cenote is of the western lunette dunes of Etosha Pan/northern Namibia:
often applied to them, and they are most certainly not vol- palaeoenvironmental implications for the last 140 ka. Palaeoecol
canic craters as White (1969) had once proposed. Afr 23:129–147
Conroy GC, Senut B, Gommery D, Pickford M, Mein P (1996) Brief
communication: new primate remains from the Miocene of
Namibia, southern Africa. Am J Phys Anthropol 99:487–492
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der geologischen Verhältnisse des Otaviberglandes, Deutsch
 Twyfelfontein and its Desert Varnish
7

Abstract
Twyfelfontein, a World Heritage Site, which lies in a tributary valley of the Huab River in
north western Namibia, is located in an area with Jurassic Etjo Sandstones. These rocks are
covered in desert varnish and it is into this material that the famous rock art has been engraved.
A discussion is provided of the various ways in which such varnish can develop.

Rocks in Namibia are not always what they seem on the gave rise to the Afrikaans name of the site, for Twyfelfontein
surface, for many of them are covered in a thin layer of a means ‘doubtful spring’.
substance called ‘desert varnish’. If this dark veneer is The Etjo sandstones, which have an aeolian origin,
removed then the underlying rocks often have a completely weather to produce large blocks, rock shelters and clean rock
different colour. At Twyfelfontein, the varnish has been faces. The role of the sandstone as an escarpment former is
removed by pecking or chiselling by early inhabitants of the clearly shown in Fig. 7.2, as is the scatter of large boulders
area to produce spectacular rock art, which is since 2007 the produced by rock falls from the steep face of the escarpment.
basis of a World Heritage Site. This site provides a really There are also some magnificent cavernous weathering
good example of the importance of geomorphological pro- forms, called tafoni, of which the ‘Lion’s Mouth’ is the most
cesses in influencing cultural heritage. Without the desert famous example. Other tafoni in Namibia occur on the
varnish the carved rock art would not have been so dramatic. inselbergs of the Central Namib Plains and their origin is
The desert varnish also helps to date the rock art, as it discussed in Chap. 12.
develops within the carved areas over time. The lighter the The nature and origin of desert varnish is a matter of some
carved surface the younger the rock art. At Twyfelfontein interest. It forms a hard rind, 5 μm to about 100 μm thick
there are notable representations of many animals, especially (rarely 500 μm), and most varnishes consist of approximately
giraffe, rhino and zebra (Viereck and Rudner 1957; Vinni- 30 % Mn and Fe oxides and 70 % mixed layer illite/mont-
combe 1972) (Fig. 7.1). Other petroglyphs produced by morillonite clay minerals (Potter and Rossman 1977). Early
engraving into varnish occur on the granite hills at Piet workers believed varnishing to be a physicochemical pro-
Albert’s near Kamanjab. cess, associated with high Eh (dry, oxidizing) and pH (un-
Twyfelfontein,/Ui-//aes, located in the Kunene Region of leached, alkaline) conditions. The occasional incoherence of
north western Namibia, lies in a tributary valley of the Huab the underlying rock suggested to some that iron and man-
River (Fig. 7.2). The valley is bounded by sandstones of the ganese had been drawn in solution from the rock beneath,
Jurassic Etjo Formation and shales of the Gai-As Formation, weakening it internally and then precipitated as a varnish by
which were laid down in a large lake. These in turn are evaporation. Thus, early models saw varnish constituents as
underlain by dark Kuiseb Formation schists of the Neopro- being from the underlying rock (Dorn 1998). Engel and
terozoic Damara Sequence. A freshwater spring, thrown out Sharp (1958), while still assuming physicochemical fixation,
at the junction of the permeable sandstones and the less discovered that many of the elements in varnishes were
permeable shales, provided water for early people and also derived from an external source—dust. It has been

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 67
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_7, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
68 7 Twyfelfontein and Its Desert Varnish

Fig. 7.1 Rock engravings of giraffes and elephant at Twyfelfontein

Fig. 7.2 Google Earth image of

the site of Twyfelfontein. Scale
bar 350 m. (© 2014 Digital
Globe)

demonstrated that most varnish constituents could not have References

come from underlying rocks, many of which have little iron
or manganese. The dominant view is now that varnish is an Dorn RI (1998) Rock coatings. Elsevier, Amsterdam
external accretion (Potter and Rossman 1977), derived not Dragovich D (1993) Distribution and chemical composition of
only from dust but also from direct aqueous atmospheric microcolonial fungi and rock coatings from arid Australia. Phys
deposition (Thiagarajan and Lee 2004). This view is sup- Geogr 14:323–341
Engel CE, Sharp RP (1958) Chemical data on desert varnish. Geol Soc
ported by the presence of radio-isotopes (137Cs and 210Pb) Am Bull 69:487–518
and anthropogenic metals in varnish samples (Fleisher et al. Fleisher M, Liu T, Broecker WS, Moore W (1999) A clue regarding the
1999). Moreover, most varnishes overlie the rock with a origin of rock varnish. Geophys Res Letters 26:103–106
sharp boundary (Potter and Rossman 1977). Kuhlman KR, Venkat P, La Duc MT, Kuhlman GM, McKay CP (2008)
Evidence of a microbial community associated with rock varnish at
The physicochemical model was challenged by biological Yungay, Atacama Desert, Chile. J Geophys Res 113:G04022.
models of manganese fixation and this explanation is now doi:10.1029/2007JG000677
widely adopted (Kuhlman et al. 2008). Micro-organisms Potter RM, Rossman GR (1977) Desert varnish: the importance of clay
(lichens, fungi, and bacteria) play a key role in fixing minerals. Science 196:1446–1448
Thiagarajan N, Lee C-TY (2004) Trace-element evidence for the origin
manganese (Dragovich 1993). The increasing use of high of desert varnish by direct aqueous atmospheric deposition. Earth
resolution geochemical techniques and microscopy has Plan Sci Lett 224:131–141
revealed just how complex the composition of varnishes can Viereck A, Rudner J (1957) Twyfelfontein: a centre of prehistoric art in
be and how many processes, biological and physicochemi- south west Africa. S Afr Arch Bull 12:15–25
Vinnicombe P (1972) Myth, nature, and selection in southern African
cal, contribute to their evolution. rock art. Africa 42:192–204
 The Ephemeral Rivers and Dunes
of the Skeleton Coast 8

Abstract
Along the Skeleton Coast of north western Namibia a series of ephemeral rivers flow into the
Atlantic and each demonstrates a very different style of interaction with the area’s sand dunes,
depending on the width and height of the dune belt they have to traverse. Five different
scenarios are described as reflected in the situations found in the Koigab, Uniab, Hunkab,
Hoanib and Hoarusib catchments.

The Skeleton Coast on the Atlantic shores of northwest numerous shallow braided channels. It forms a large fan-
Namibia provides excellent examples of the interrelationship shaped feature that covers about 120 km2, and extends over
of dunes (aeolian process regimes) and ephemeral rivers about 10 km from the coastal escarpment towards the
(fluvial process regimes). It is crossed by a series of largely Atlantic coastline. The channel extends headwards into the
east-east flowing major ephemeral rivers (Fig. 8.1). There is Etendeka Plateau. The fan has been much winnowed by
also an extensive north to south trending dune belt, composed strong wind deflation (Krapf et al. 2009) and the river plays
of barchans and transverse ridges, which starts about 15 km an important role in providing sand for the southern end of
north of the Koigab River. To the south of the Koigab’s mouth the erg.
there is also an area of a dune type that is rare in Namibia, the Type 2—the Uniab—occurs where the river has to pass
parabolic or hairpin-shaped dune, which in contrast to a bar- through a dune belt of limited width and height, which fails
chan has its nose at the front and trailing ridges behind. There to provide a permanent barrier to river flow (Svendsen et al.
are various different forms of interaction between these rivers 2007). The Uniab, which is located near Torra Bay, exem-
and the dunes which gives an array of different landform plifies this well, as this river has cut down into the dune belt,
clusters. Krapf (2003) and Krapf et al. (2003) divide these into forming a broad corridor. The Uniab fan is composed of at
a series of types represented by a south to north sequence of least six channels, and as a result of bifurcations eight or
catchments. Using space-for-time substitution, also com- nine mouths reach the sea. Fluvial processes dominate and it
monly known as ergodic reasoning, they can also be seen as takes a long time for the healing of aeolian dunes to occur
representing different points in a temporal sequence moving after each flooding event. Past megafloods, accentuated by
from examples where the fluvial regime dominates to those aeolian damming and then breaching, have deposited
where the aeolian processes dominate, as might happen with organic debris and large boulders of semi-consolidated dune
progressive desiccation of the climate. sand, some greater than 10 m in length (Blümel et al. 2000;
Type 1—the Koigab—occurs where there is no dam Svendsen et al. 2003). The river enters the sea via a large
created by the dunes and the river is free to reach the ocean. waterfall about 1 km east of the present coastline and there is
The lower reaches of the Koigab exemplify this well, being active marine cliffing (Scheepers and Rust 1999) and terrace
characterised by sheet floods and channelized flows in formation.

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 69
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_8, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
70 8 The Ephemeral Rivers and Dunes of the Skeleton Coast

Type 3—the Hunkab—occurs where flow is normally

blocked by dunes. This is illustrated by the Hunkab where
the river cuts through the erg at times of high flood (as in
April, 1995) but then the river bed is covered quickly by
dunes after a flood event (Blümel et al. 2000). This river lies
between the Uniab and the Hoanib.
Type 4—the Hoanib—occurs where a wide, high dune
field stops the river flow (Stannistreet and Stollhofen
2002). Only great floods can force their way through to the
sea. This situation is found in the Hoanib catchment in
which the extensive 30 × 6 km Gui-Uin floodbasin
develops inland from the dunes, with extensive river-end
deposits called the Amspoort Silts (Fig. 8.2), some of
which are of late Holocene age (Eitel et al. 2005). Large
floods are ponded up in interdune corridors and then break
through from time to time but healing of the dune belt is
very rapid, taking only about 2 years after a flood event.
The river only reaches the Atlantic once every 5–10 years
(Eitel et al. 2006).
Type 5—the Hoarusib—occurs where the river sup-
presses the northward advance of windblown sand and
successfully reaches the sea most of the time, as is the case
for the Hoarusib. Here the river flows regularly and reaches
the sea almost every year, enabling large wetlands and
dense vegetation to develop along its banks. The Hoarusib
itself is notable for the development of ‘Clay Castles’
caused by aggradation of fine-grained sediments in a trib-
utary immediately upstream of a narrow gorge, c 20 km
upstream of the river mouth (Srivastava et al. 2005)
(Fig. 8.3). Optical dates suggest deposition in the Late
Pleistocene between 44 and 20 ka years ago, under con-
ditions wetter than today. The castles rise up to 70 m above
the present river bed.

Fig. 8.1 Landsat TM5 image of the Skeleton Coast rivers, 1984 (from
Krapf et al. 2003, Fig. 2)

Fig. 8.2 The Hoanib River showing the, showing the extensive surface deposits collectively known as the Amspoort silts (from Eitel et al. 2005,
Fig. 1)
References 71

Fig. 8.3 Location of Clay

Castles in the Hoarusib basin
(from Srivastava et al. 2005,
Fig. 1)

References river dominated Koigab Fan, north-west Namibia. In: Blum MD,
Marriott SB, Leclair SE (eds) Fluvial sedimentology VII. Black-
well, Oxford. doi:10.1002/9781444304350.ch6
Blümel WD, Hüser K, Eitel B (2000) Uniab-Schwemmfächer und Scheepers ACT, Rust IC (1999) The Uniab River fan: an unusual
Skelettküsten-Erg: Zusammenspiel von äolischer und fluvialer alluvial fan on the hyper-arid Skeleton Coast, Namibia. In: Miller
Dynamik in der nördlichen Namib. Regensburger Geogr Schrift AJ, Gupta A (eds) Varieties of fluvial form. Wiley, Chichester,
33:37–55 pp 273–294
Eitel B, Kadereit A, Blümel WD, Hüser K, Kromer B (2005) The Srivastava P, Brook GA, Marais E (2005) Depositional environment
Amspoort Silts, northern Namib Desert (Namibia): formation, age and luminescence chronology of the Hoarusib River clay castles
and palaeoclimatic evidence of river-end deposits. Geomorphology sediments, northern Namib Desert, Namibia. Catena 59:187–204
64:299–314 Stannistreet IG, Stollhofen H (2002) Hoanib River flood deposits of
Eitel B, Kadereit A, Blümel WD, Hüser, Lomax J, Hilgers A (2006) Namib Desert interdunes as analogues for thin permeability barrier
Environmental changes at the eastern Namib Desert margin before mudstone layers in aeolianite reservoirs. Sedimentology
and after the Last Glacial maximum: new evidence from fluvial 49:719–736
deposits in the upper Hoanib River catchment, northwestern Svendsen J, Stollhofen H, Krapf CBE, Stannistreet IG (2003) Mass and
Namibia. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclim Palaeoecol 234:212–222 hyperconcentrated flow deposits record dune damming and cata-
Krapf CBE (2003) Ephemeral river systems at the Skeleton Coast, NW- strophic breakthrough of ephemeral rivers, Skeleton Coast Erg,
Namibia. Doctoral Dissertation, Universiy of Würzburg Namibia. Sed Geol 160:7–31
Krapf CBE, Stollhofen H, Stanistreet IG (2003) Contrasting styles of Svendsen J, Friis H, Stollhofen H, Hartley N (2007) Facies discrim-
ephemeral river systems and their interaction with dunes of the ination in a mixed fluvio-eolian setting using elemental whole-rock
Skeleton Coast erg (Namibia). Quat Int 104:41–52 geochemistry—applications for reservoir characterization. J Sed
Krapf CBE, Stannistreet IG, Stollhofen H (2009) Morphology and Res 77:23–33
fluvio-aeolian interaction of the tropical latitude, ephemeral braided-
 The Etendeka Plateau
9

Abstract
The Etendeka Plateau is composed of eroded sheets of basaltic lava laid down in the early
Cretaceous as a result of sea floor spreading and the opening of the South Atlantic. It is part of
one of the world’s large igneous provinces and is matched in Brazil by the Paraná basalts. The
lavas give rise to striking flat-topped hills and plateaus, which are the eroded remnants of
previously more extensive flows.

The Etendeka Plateau of northwestern Namibia is an lavas produce steps on the sides of the flat-topped towers
excellent exemplification of the importance of plate tectonics (Fig. 9.2), and valleys are deeply incised.
in landscape evolution (see Chap. 2). The detailed picture which has emerged to explain this
Namibia is now located on what is called a passive vast pile of volcanic material, much of which is basaltic lava,
margin (Gallagher and Brown 1999). That is to say that it is is that in late Jurassic to early Cretaceous times continental
neither in a zone of collision of two or more plates, nor break-up along the line of the proto-South Atlantic Ocean
currently at a zone of splitting. It thus has certain similarities was initiated and progressed northwards in a step-like
to some of the other coastal regions of the fragments of manner. From 150 Ma rifting started at the latitude of the
Gondwanaland, such as western India, eastern Brazil or southernmost tip of South America, but not until about
eastern Australia, but is in sharp contract to the active 50 million years later was the final breach made in the
margin of western South America where plate collision is northern part of the ocean, between South America and
creating the very active Andean mountain belt. About Africa. The Paraná basalts of South America and the Ete-
180 million years ago Gondwanaland began to break up into ndeka continental flood basalts appear to have erupted at the
South America-Africa, Australia-Antarctica, and India. The same time that the northward propagating South Atlantic
initial opening up of the South Atlantic between South Rift reached the latitude of Namibia. Particularly dramatic
America and Africa began about 135 million years ago. volcanic activity occurred in Damaraland because of the
The Etendeka Plateau of northwestern Namibia, located presence of the Tristan Plume, a plume which appears to
between the ephemeral Huab River in the south and the have been particularly hot and vigorous (Wilson 1992). In
Hoanib River in the north, was created by the spewing out of South America the basalts cover around 1.5 million km2,
volcanic rocks as the South Atlantic Ocean opened causing whereas they only cover 78,000 km2 in Namibia. There are
an outpouring of flood basalts. These rocks, described in two main hypotheses for these dramatic differences in cov-
Miller (2008, Chap. 17), have a preserved thickness of erage. First, the spewing out of the lavas was asymmetric,
800 m at Tafelberg, and have produced an array of flat- with more being emplaced on the western side (which is now
topped hills. The name Etendeka in the local Himba lan- in South America). Second, part of the difference may be
guage means ‘the place of flat-topped mountains’ (Fig. 9.1). accounted for by severe erosion over the last 50 million
The Plateau forms prominent relief and towers 700–800 m years or so under the relatively sparse vegetation cover that
above the surrounding plains which are eroded into ancient occurs in Namibia in comparison with western South
metamorphic rocks. Layers of different hardness within the America.

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 73
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_9, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
74 9 The Etendeka Plateau

was probably precipitated by uplift and weakening of the

lithosphere by the Tristan plume. The White and McKenzie
model (1989) suggests that flood volcanics form at a conti-
nental margin when the opening of a new ocean basin (in
this case the South Atlantic) coincides with a mushroom of
hot mantle produced by an ascending plume (the Tristan
plume). In this model, the sudden onset of volcanic activity
is attributed to the passive upwelling of hot mantle as the
lithosphere stretches and thins in response to the opening of
the ocean. Without very precise dating it is difficult to
establish whether effects of the mantle plume precede or
follow rifting. There is also considerable debate as to the
lateral extent of the plume, though a diameter of
Fig. 9.1 Flat-topped mass of Etendeka Lava 500–2,000 km is often postulated. Such a plume would have
caused doming, uplift and drainage pattern modification
Milner et al. (1995) presented a chronological summary (Cox 1989).
of events which was as follows. First, at c 137–125 Ma ago, High rates of Late Cretaceous denudation which have
igneous activity started, initially with limited activity among been postulated by some cosmogenic dating studies (see
the Damaraland Complexes (e.g. Cape Cross). Then at Chap. 1) may account for the widespread removal of sheets
135–132 Ma ago, there was a voluminous outpouring of the of Etendeka lavas, the previous extent of which may be
Parana-Etendeka volcanic rocks, contemporaneous with, and indicated by the occurrence of basaltic dyke swarms that
in response to, the onset of sea-floor spreading. may have been the feeders of now eroded lavas (Trumbull
Several contrasting genetic models for continental flood et al. 2004). Certainly, dramatic erosion must have occurred
volcanic events of the Paraná-Etendeka type have emerged at some stage after the lava was emplaced to produce the
over the last two decades. Most models postulate that mantle complex terrain in this area, with numerous flat-topped hills
plumes are responsible (e.g. Richards et al. 1989), though and plateau features.
there is debate about their size and structure (Campbell and The Etendeka/Paraná is one of a number of what are
Griffiths 1990). Where they differ is as to whether melting of called ‘Large Igneous Provinces’, which were characterised
the asthenosphere upon rifting above a pre-existing mantle by rapid and very extensive eruptions of magmatic mate-
plume generates flood volcanism or, conversely, whether the rial. Other examples include Columbia/Yellowstone in
rise of a mantle plume causes flood volcanism and initiates North America, Ethiopia/Yemen on either side of the Red
lithospheric extension. The view of Renne et al. (1992), Sea, the Deccan plateau of India, and the Karoo volcanics
based on new 40Ar/39Ar data for the Paraná flood volcanics, of South Africa. In all cases the extensive outpourings of
is that the eruption rate was very high, occurred before the igneous rocks have left a very visible imprint on today’s
initiation of sea-floor spreading in the South Atlantic and landscape.

Fig. 9.2 Hills in the Etendeka

lava, showing the role of lava
layers of different resistance in
producing stepped profiles. Note
the Himba settlement in the
foreground
References 75

References Renne PR, Ernesto M, Pacca IG, Coe RS, Glen JM, Prevot M, Perrin M
(1992) The age of Parana flood volcanism, rifting of Gondwana-
land, and the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary. Science 258:975–979
Campbell IH, Griffiths RW (1990) Implications of mantle plume Richards MA, Duncan RA, Courtillot VE (1989) Flood basalts and hot-
structure for the evolution of flood basalts. Earth Plan Sci Lett spot tracks. Science 246:103–107
99:79–83 Trumbull RB, Vietor T, Hahne K, Wackerle R, Ledru P (2004)
Cox KG (1989) The role of mantle plumes in the development of Aeromagnetic mapping and reconnaissance geochemistry of the
continental drainage patterns. Nature 342:973–976 Early Cretaceous Henties Bay-Outjo dike swarm, Etendeka Igneous
Gallagher K, Brown R (1999) Deundation and uplift at passive Province, Namibia. J Afr Earth Sci 40:17–29
margins: the record on the Atalntic Margin of southern Africa. Phil White R, McKenzie D (1989) Magmatism at rift zones: the generation
Trans R Soc Lond A 835–859 of volcanic margins and flood basalts. J Geophys Res 94
Miller RMG (2008) The geology of Namibia, vol 3. Geological Survey (B6):7685–7729
of Namibia, Windhoek Wilson M (1992) Magmatism and continental rifting during the
Milner SC, Le Roex AP, O’Connor JM (1995) Age of Mesozoic opening if the South Atlantic Ocean: a consequence of lower
igneous rock in northwestern Namibia, and their relationship to Cretaceous super-plume activity. Geol Soc London (Special Pub)
continental breakup. J Geol Soc London 152:97–104 68:241–255
 Brandberg, Messum and Spitzkoppe
10

Abstract
Several early Cretaceous igneous complexes have produced very distinctive landscapes in
central Namibia and in this chapter three are discussed: Brandberg, Messum and the
Spitzkoppe group. Brandberg is composed of a circular mass of granite that was intruded at
depth and has now been exposed by erosion. Messum, which was originally the centre of a
caldera, is a ring complex composed of such rocks as gabbro, rhyolite and syenite. The
Spitzkoppe group consists of a series of granitic inselbergs, on which are found striking
landforms such as weathering pits, natural arches and rock shelters.

subsidence on a ring fracture 25 km in diameter, a sequence

10.1 Brandberg
of rings and plugs of granite were emplaced into the volcano
(Fig. 10.2). This emplacement occurred about 130 million
Three major igneous complexes of early Cretaceous age give
years ago. The thermally metamorphosed Karoo strata gen-
some of the most splendid landscapes in Namibia: the
erally dip towards the complex, having been dragged
Brandberg, Messum and the Spitzkoppe group. Their geol-
downward by subsidence of the granite along the peripheral
ogy is described in detail by Miller (2008, Chap. 18).
ring-fault.
The first of these, the Brandberg, ‘the burnt mountain’ in
The great dome (Fig. 10.3), created by the intrusion of the
German, is called thus because of the colour of its weathered
plutonic material, has since been altered in shape as a result
granites (Kirk-Spriggs and Marais 2000). The Damaran name
of the erosion of the great bulk of the overlying cover of
Dâures or Daureb has the same meaning. It is the highest
Karoo rocks (Dauteuil et al. 2013). Apatite fission track
point in Namibia (its Konigstein peak attains almost 2,579 m
analysis (Raab et al. 2005) suggests that there may have
in altitude). It rises spectacularly above the Late Precambrian
been as much as 5 km of denudation in the Brandberg region
schists of the Namib plain (Fig. 10.1) which has a mean
since the Late Cretaceous. Much of this took place in the
elevation of around 700 m above sea level. Located just south
Late Cretaceous itself, with rates of 200 m per million years,
of the Ugab River, it has an area of c 420–450 km2. This
declining to an average of <20 m per million years in the
makes it is one of the largest sub-volcanic complexes in
Tertiary. This tends to confirm the lower rates of current
northwest Namibia. Its nearly circular stock of granite, over
denudation implied by some studies based on long term
20 km in diameter, and so plainly displayed on satellite
dating by cosmogenic nuclides (see Chap. 1 for further
images, is surrounded by a collar or skirt of Permo-Triassic
details).
Karoo sediments and remnants of basalt and quartz latite of
Brandberg is not only notable for its geomorphology,
the Etendeka Group. To the north of Brandberg, across the
with its deep gorges cut into masses of granite and granite
Ugab River, is an area of modest sand dunes.
boulders, but it is also the location of a rich array of
Brandberg was a volcano at least 25 km in diameter and
archaeological sites, of which the so-called White Lady rock
2 km high that was active immediately after eruption of the
painting in the Tsisab Gorge, is the most famous.
Etendeka volcanic rocks (Miller 2000). Following cauldron

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 77
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_10, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
78 10 Brandberg, Messum and Spitzkoppe

Fig. 10.1 Brandberg

Fig. 10.2 Brandberg.

a Geological cross-section
modified from the Geological
Map of Namibia, 1:250,000
series, sheet 2114, Omaruru (from
Goudie and Eckardt 1999, Fig. 8),
b Relief transect across
Brandberg

approximately 18 km, and is bounded by ring-faults (Milner

10.2 Messum and Ewart 1989; Ewart et al. 2002). The geomorphology of
the complex is striking and heavily influenced by the com-
The nature of the Messum ring complex (Fig. 10.4), named plex geology (Fig. 10.5), with the whole concentric structure
after sea captain and explorer William Messum, was recalling “petrified waves in a mud puddle into whose
unravelled by two great German geologists, Hermann Korn middle a stone has been dropped” (Korn and Martin 1954,
and Henno Martin in the 1930s. It lies to the southwest of p. 87). It consists of concentric hills and flats joined by radial
Brandberg, covers approximately 400 km2, has a diameter of gaps, with the outer rings being dominated by the black hues
10.2 Messum 79

Fig. 10.3 Google Earth image of Brandberg. Scale bar is 10 km (© 2012 CNES/Spot Image, Google)

Fig. 10.4 Google Earth image of Messum. Scale bar is 5 km (© 2012 GeoEye, Google, Digital Globe)

of gabbros and the more central parts by the grey tones of

granites and syenites. Dating back to 135–132 million years, 10.3 Spitzkoppe
it is of similar age to features such as Erongo and the Ete-
ndeka volcanic sequences (Bauer et al. 2003). It was origi- Gross and Klein Spitzkoppe and the Pondok Mountains in
nally the centre of a volcanic caldera, formed when a west-central Namibia are dramatically prominent inselberg
volcano collapses down into itself (Ewart et al. 2002). groups that are visible for huge distances (Fig. 10.6).
80 10 Brandberg, Messum and Spitzkoppe

Fig. 10.5 The Geology of

Messum Crater (from Ewart et al.
2002, Fig. 3)

Inselbergs, one of the iconic landforms of Africa, are iso- There have over the years been a range of hypotheses
lated hills that stand above a flat or gently rolling topogra- evoked to explain inselberg formation. One widely accepted
phy. The topographic boundary between the hill and the view is that inselbergs are products of a two-stage develop-
plain is fairly abrupt. They are residual landforms made of ment involving differential deep weathering in the first phase
strong and resistant rock, often granite, which have been and stripping of the weathered mantle in the second one,
developed as a result of the relative wearing down or back of which leaves an unweathered rock mass (the inselberg) at the
the surrounding terrain. Spitzkoppe is one of the tallest, if surface. The unevenness in the depth of weathering results
not the tallest inselbergs on Earth (Migoń 2010) and is often from differences in the degree of jointing in the bedrock.
referred to as the “Matterhorn of Africa”. The gently sloping Another hypothesis, championed in southern Africa by
surfaces around the hills are called pediments. These are cut Lester King (King 1949), invokes scarp retreat across
into rock and typically slope at less than 2°. unweathered, but possibly differentially jointed bedrock,
10.3 Spitzkoppe 81

Fig. 10.6 Spitzkoppe and

neighbours (after Frindt et al.
2004, Fig. 1)

leading to the creation of outliers at a varying distance from Spitzkoppe of 1,584 m and the Pondoks of 1,628 m, while the
major escarpments. A third hypothesis, which seems widely surrounding plains have an altitude of 1,000–1,100 m.
applicable in Namibia, is that the inselbergs are the result of On the Spitzkoppe inselbergs a wide range of smaller
long continued differential erosion, with massively jointed landforms are present, largely produced by weathering pro-
rocks made of resistant minerals standing proud as the land cesses. For example, weathering pits are extensively devel-
around them is lowered (e.g. Selby 1982). In this respect, oped and unusually large (Goudie and Migoń 1997) as are
Spitzkoppe is composed of potassium-rich granite which is rock shelters (as at Bushman’s Paradise), and natural arches
relatively resistant to chemical attack, mechanically strong, (e.g. The Bridge) (Fig. 10.8). The southwestern face of Gross
poorly jointed and with widely spaced fractures. Spitzkoppe also shows the effects of large-scale rock slides,
Recently, cosmogenic nuclides have been used to assess with a chaos of enormous boulders, some as much as 30 m
the rate at which the Spitzkoppe granites are eroding (Mat- long, lying beneath an area from which a great slab, which
mon et al. 2013). These suggest that the inselbergs are being was at least 50 m thick, has evidently been dislodged (Migoń
lowered very slowly—at about 1–2 mm per thousand years, 2006, p. 175). The Spitzkoppe granites are similar to those of
but that cliff retreat is taking place at a faster rate—c 8 mm Erongo and details of their composition are given by Mathias
per thousand years. (1962), Frindt et al. (2004) and Haapala et al. (2007). They
Gross and Klein Spitzkoppe rise abruptly and spectacu- are of early Cretaceous age. The granites were emplaced at
larly from the partially calcreted planation surface developed depths of several km below the ground surface that existed at
across basement rocks, of which the Salem Granite and Da- the time, indicating substantial amounts of erosion since then.
mara mica schists and gneisses are the most important. Gross As indicated by the piles of boulders and rock debris sur-
Spitzkoppe (Fig. 10.7) reaches an altitude of 1,728 m, Klein rounding the plains, massive rock falls have taken place.
82 10 Brandberg, Messum and Spitzkoppe

Fig. 10.7 Gross Spitzkoppe

Fig. 10.8 Natural arch

developed in granite at
Spitzkoppe

References in terms of a downsag-cauldron subsidence model. J Volcanol

Geotherm Res 114:251–273
Frindt S, Trumbull RB, Romer RL (2004) Petrogenesis of the Gross
Bauer K, Trumbull RB, Vietor T (2003) Geophysical images and a Spitzkoppe topaz granite, central Namibia: a geochemical and Nd-
crustal model of intrusive structures beneath the Messum ring Sr-Pb isotope study. Chem Geol 206:43–71
complex, Namibia. Earth Plan Sci Letters 216:65–80 Goudie AS, Eckardt F (1999) The evolution of the morphological
Dauteuil O, Deschamps F, Bourgeois O, Mocquet A, Guillocheau F framework of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, since the early
(2013) Post-breakup evolution and palaeotopography of the North Cretaceous. Geogr Ann 81A:443–458
Namibian Margin during the Meso-Cenozoic. Tectonophysics Goudie AS, Migoń P (1997) Weathering pits in the Spitzkoppe area,
589:103–115 Central Namib Desert. Z Geomorph 41:417–444
Ewart A, Milner SC, Duncan AR, Bailey M (2002) The Cretaceous Haapala I, Frindt S, Kandara J (2007) Cretaceous Gross Spitzkoppe
Messum igneous complex, S.W.Etendeka Namibia: reinterpretation and Klein Spitzkoppe stocks in Namibia: Topaz-bearing A-type
References 83

granites related to continental rifting and mantle plume. Lithos Miller RMG (2000) Geology of the Brandberg Massif, Namibia and its
97:174–192 environs. Cimbebasia Memoir 9:17–38
King LC (1949) A theory of bornhardts. Geogr J 113:83–87 Miller RMG (2008) The geology of Namibia, vol 3. Geological Survey
Kirk-Spriggs AH, Marais E (2000) Dâures—biodiversity of the of Namibia, Windhoek
Brandberg Massif, Namibia. Cimbebasia Memoir 9, National Milner SC, Ewart A (1989) The geology of the Goboboseb mountain
Museum of Namibia, Windhoek volcanics and their relationship to the Messum Complex, Namibia.
Korn H, Martin H (1954) The Messum igneous complex in south west Comm Geol Surv Namibia 5:31–40
Africa. Trans Geol Soc S Afr 57:83–122 Raab MJ, Brown RW, Gallagher K, Weber K, Gleadow AJW (2005)
Mathias M (1962) A disharmonious granite: the Spitzkop granite, south Denudational and thermal history of the early Cretaceous Brandberg
west Africa. Trans Geol Soc S Afr 65:281–292 and Okenyenya igneous complexes on Namibia’s Atlantic passive
Matmon A, Mushkin A, Enzel Y, Grodek T, ASTER Team (2013) margin. Tectonics 24: TC 3006
Erosion of a granite inselberg, Gross Spitzkoppe, Namib Desert. Selby MJ (1982) Rock mass strength and the form of some inselbergs
Geomorphology 201:52–59 in the central Namib Desert. Earth Surf Proc Landf 7:489–497
Migoń P (2006) Granite landscapes of the world. Oxford University
Press, Oxford
Migoń P (2010) Spitzkoppe: the world of granite landforms. In: Migoń
P (ed) Geomorphological landscapes of the world. Springer,
Dordrecht, pp 155–162
 Erongo
11

Abstract
Erongo, the largest of the Cretaceous plutons, is a caldera structure consisting of lavas and
pyroclastic products. It was formed by cauldron subsidence, following which the granitic
rocks were passively emplaced in the space provided by the subsidence. Where these granites
outcrop, such as at Ameib, they produce a very striking landscape, with large domes, arches,
precariously balanced boulders (as at the Bulls Parties), and remarkable weathering pits, while
deep recesses produced by weathering have created numerous shallow caves or rock shelters.

The striking bulk of Erongo (Fig. 11.1), which lies some human occupation occur. The most famous of these is
25 km west of the small town of Omaruru, is the largest of Phillip’s Cave. The dome into which Phillip’s Cave is cut is
the Cretaceous plutons, having a mean diameter of some notable for some patterns that have developed on the surface
35–40 km. It was described, and its relative youth deter- of the granite (Fig. 11.5). Polygonal fracture patterns consist
mined by the great German structural geologist Hans Cloos mainly of pentagonal or hexagonal cracks meeting at *120°
over 100 years ago (Korn and Martin 1953). Formed where they make tri-radial junctions on predominantly
between 137 and 124 million years ago, with the greatest curved rock surface pavements (Young et al. 2009). Polyg-
spasm of activity at c 132–130 million years ago (Wigand onal crack diameters may vary from *5 cm to over 50 cm
et al. 2003), it is contemporaneous with the Etendeka Lavas and in some instances micro-polygonal cracking has been
(see Chap. 9). It is irregular in outline, and is the only one of observed within larger tessellation plates (Robinson and
the plutons in which the roof strata are still substantially Williams 1989).
intact. It forms a large mass (Fig. 11.2) that rises to some Although understanding the origin of tessellation has
1,000 m above the plain and attains a maximum altitude of caused some debate (Young et al. 2009), and may differ
2,305 m (Hüser 1977; Blümel et al. 1979). Karoo sediments between sites, it is a particularly common phenomenon in
outcrop as a band along the edge of the Erongo mountains case-hardened rocks associated with regions of seasonal
and dip between 5° and 20° toward their centre (Hegen- precipitation patterns (Robinson and Williams 1989, 1992).
berger 1988). The interpretation of Erongo is that it is a Some of the likely causative mechanisms suggested include
central caldera structure consisting of lavas and pyroclastic shrinkage of silica gel due to changing rock thermal and/or
products (Fig. 11.3). It was formed by cauldron subsidence, moisture conditions (Robinson and Williams 1989, 1992),
following which the granitic rocks were passively emplaced simply through thermal changes which set up differential
in the space provided by the subsidence (Pirajno 1990). surface stress (Branagan 1983; Croll 2009), expansion to
Encircling the main complex is a ring dyke of olivine dol- accommodate precipitating solutions of iron, etc., and ther-
erite, up to 200 m thick. mal stresses or geochemical changes caused by emplacement
The Cretaceous granites that outcrop at Ameib, which is of dolerite dykes (Velázquez et al. 2008).
at the southern edge of the Erongo mountains, produce a The weathering pits at the Bulls Parties are clearly visible
very striking landscape, with large domes, arches, precari- on satellite images (Fig. 11.6). One of the pits is notable for
ously balanced boulders (as at the Bulls Parties) (Fig. 11.4), being deep (c 4 m) yet only 6–7 m across. It is also
and remarkable weathering pits. Deep recesses produced by remarkable for the fact that its floor is flat and devoid of any
weathering have created numerous shallow caves or rock sediments, which brings about the question of what hap-
shelters in which rock paintings and other evidence of pened to the weathered material liberated during its

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 85
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_11, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
86 11 Erongo

Fig. 11.1 Erongo

Fig. 11.2 Google Earth Image of Erongo. Scale bar 10 km (© 2012 Google, CNES/Spot Image)

formation (Goudie and Migon 1997). Three possible ways flat stones, some of which have possibly been moved from
have been suggested (Smith 1941) to explain sediment-free surrounding slopes by scavenging baboons.
pits (Fig. 11.7), namely solutional transport, washing out Such small closed depressions, also called ‘gnammas’,
during excessive rainfalls, and deflation. Flotation is another ‘Opferkessel’ or ‘pias’, are common on horizontal and
possible mechanism, but no direct observations have been gently inclined rock surfaces in many parts of the world’s
made. However, the occurrence of deep closed pits devoid of drylands. They have been described from a range of silicate
any sediment remains puzzling and no satisfactory expla- rock types, most frequently granites (Twidale and Vidal
nation of their emptiness has been offered (Netoff et al. Romani 2005) and sandstones (Young et al. 2009). They
1995). On the other hand some pits contain large numbers of may be similar in their broad morphology to solutional pits
11 Erongo 87

Fig. 11.3 Erongo. a Geological

cross-section (modified from the
Geological Map of Namibia,
1:250,000 series, sheet 2114,
Omaruru). b Topographic
situation (from Goudie and
Eckardt 1999, Fig. 4)

Fig. 11.4 Granite boulders on

pedestals at the Bulls Parties,
Ameib

developed in carbonate rocks, to which the term ‘kamenitza’ There is a great deal of uncertainty concerning the pro-
is often applied. Pits may have a variety of forms, including cesses involved in their development. Chemical processes of
pans, bowls, cylinders and armchairs. solution are usually invoked (Domínguez-Villar et al. 2008),
88 11 Erongo

Fig. 11.5 Polygonal cracking in

granite, Phillip’s Cave

Fig. 11.6 Google Earth Image of

the Bulls Parties, Ameib, showing
weathering pits on dome surface.
Scale bar 100 m (© 2007 Digital
Globe)

but other processes may include hydration, the mechanical rock basins; these are known to dissolve the cement between
action of frost and salt and biochemical weathering. Complex sandstone grains and also act as biological sealants to water
biofilms, often black in colour, may accumulate at the base of infiltration (Chan et al. 2005). Positive feedback mechanisms
11 Erongo 89

Fig. 11.7 Weathering pit,

Erongo. Notice the lack of
sediment. Pole for scale

related to the ever-growing amount of water available as a pit Hegenberger W (1988) Karoo sediments of the Erongo Mountains,
enlarges may account for a localised high intensity of their environmental setting and correlation. Comm Geol Surv South
West Africa/Namibia 4:51–57
weathering (Schipull 1978). Goudie and Migoń (1997) Hüser K (1977) Namibrand und Erongo. Karlsruher Geogr Hefte 9
argued that weathering pits are of larger-scale significance, Korn H, Martin H (1953) Der intrusionmechanismus der Grossen
hypothesising that they played a major role in the develop- Karroo-Plutone in Südwestafrika. Geol Rundsch 41:41–58
ment of the pediments that surround the inselbergs, as their Netoff DI, Cooper BJ, Shroba RR (1995) Giant sandstone weathering
pits near Cookie Jar Butte, Southeastern Utah. Trans and Proc
lateral and vertical growth contributes to surface lowering. Series NPS/NRNAU/NRJP 95(11):25–53
Pirajno F (1990) Geology, geochemistry and mineralisation of the
Erongo volcanic complex, Namibia. S Afr J Geol 93:485–504
References Robinson DA, Williams RBG (1989) Polygonal cracking of sandstone
at Fontainbleau, France. Z Geomorph 33:59–72
Robinson DA, Williams RBG (1992) Sandstone weathering in the high
Blümel WD, Emmermann R, Hüser K (1979) Der Erongo. Geowis- Atlas, Morocco. Z Geomorph 36:413–429
senschaftliche Beschreibung und Deutung eines südwestafrikanis- Schipull KV (1978) Waterpockets (Opferkessel) in Sandsteinen des
chen Vulkankomplexes. Sci Res Series SWA Series, SW Afr Sci zentralen Colorado-Plateaus. Z Geomorph 22:426–438
Soc 16 Smith LL (1941) Weather pits in granite of the southern Piedmont.
Branagan DF (1983) The Sydney basin and its vanished sequence. J Geomorph 4:117–127
J Geol Soc Austr 30:75–84 Twidale CR, Vidal Romani JR (2005) Landforms and geology of
Chan MA, Beitler Bowen B, Parry BWT, Ormö J, Komatsu G (2005). granite terrains. Balkema, Leiden
Red rock and red planet diagenesis: comparisons of Earth and Mars Velázquez VF,Giannini PCF, Riccomini C, Sallun AEM, Hachir J,
concretions. GSA Today 15:4–10 Gomes C de B (2008) Columnar joints in the Patiño formation
Croll JGA (2009) Possible role of thermal ratchetting in alligator sandstones, eastern Paraguay: a dynamic interaction between dyke
cracking of asphalt pavements. Int J Pavement Eng 10:447–453 intrusion, quartz dissolution and cooling-induced fractures. Epi-
Domínguez-Villar D, Arteaga C, Garcia-Gimenez R, Smith E, Pedraza sodes 31:302–308
J (2008) Diurnal and seasonal water variations of temperature, pH, Wigand M, Schmitt AK, Trumbull RB, Villa IM, Emmermann R
redox potential and conductivity in gnammas (weathering pits): (2003) Short-lived magmatic activity in an anorogenic subvolcanic
implications for chemical weathering. Catena 72:37–48 complex: 40Ar/39Ar and ion microprobe U-Pb dating of the Erongo,
Goudie AS, Eckardt F (1999) The evolution of the morphological Damaraland, Namibia. J Volcanol Geothermal Res 2715:1–21
framework of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, since the early Young R, Wray R, Young A (2009) Sandstone landforms. Cambridge
Cretaceous. Geogr Ann 81A:443–458 University Press, Cambridge
Goudie AS, Migoń P (1997) Weathering pits in the Spitzkoppe area,
central Namib Desert. Z Geomorph 41:417–444
 Weathering on the Namib Plains: Marble
and Granite 12

Abstract
In the central Namib there are numerous outcrops of Pre-Cambrian dolomitic marbles.
Mechanical disintegration appears to be the most widespread weathering process operating on
this marble, producing extensive spreads of coarse marble sand akin to granitic grus. On the
other hand, some marble outcrops, including those at the very foggy location of Swartbank,
have solutional rillenkarren, particularly on rock faces oriented towards the Atlantic Ocean and
the direction of incoming fogs. Some marble outcrops display the impact of lichen weathering.
East-facing marble surfaces within the central Namib also exhibit a wide range of aeolian
fluting, grooves and helical scores. The many granite outcrops of the area display a fine array
of weathering forms, including tafoni, accumulations of grains (grus), A-tents, pits, exfoliation
features, and rinds.

12.1 Introduction 12.2 Marble

Rising up above the Namib Plains between the Swakop and In the central Namib there are numerous outcrops of Pre-
Kuiseb rivers, are a number of inselbergs composed of Cambrian dolomitic marbles. They weather and break down
marbles (e.g. the Hamilton Range) and granites (e.g. Mirabib in a range of different ways. While it is possible that various
and Vogelfederberg). The hills and the plains around them mechanisms could contribute to this degradation, Rayleigh
are an excellent environment in which to study weathering (1934) suggested that marbles that had been baked at tem-
forms and processes. Weathering forms abound and they peratures of 100 °C or even less had their rigidity dimin-
impressed the Victorian explorer and painter Thomas Baines ished. He suggested that this was due to the uneven way in
(1864, p. 23) as he passed up the Swakop valley on his way which calcite crystals expanded on heating. Rayleigh was,
from Walvis Bay to the interior: therefore, advocating heating and cooling (insolation
weathering or thermoclasty) as a cause of marble break-
Passing through a small break in the hills we entered a small
desolate valley enclosed by barren pyramids, cones and preci- down. More recently, Royer-Carfagni (1999) has used
pices of fantastic shapes and dry arid colours, the yellowish grey scanning electron microscopy to identify changes in marble
of the generality of the stone being only relieved by a darker tint structure on heating, and has suggested why it is that certain
banded by light pink streaks of quartz crossed by lodes of black types of marble may be prone to the effects of quite modest
ironstone, or speckled by a black substance splitting easily into
thin glittering laminae. The whole surface of the rock seemed heating treatments (p. 119): ‘Calcite is known to expand on
undergoing rapid disintegration and in places it was almost heating much more in the direction of its optical axis than
dangerous to step on what seemed a solid rock lest it should perpendicular to it. The grains’ shapes change with tem-
crumble under foot. In this manner, caves, holes in the rocks and perature and a grain which fits snugly into the mosaic at a
peaks or blocks of every shape were found. One which I sket-
ched had a singular resemblance to a gigantic head and face and given temperature is no longer able to do so when the
others Mr Dixon told me were called Hansom Cab and other temperature is varied; this is because the anisotropy direc-
names expressive of their shape. tions of the individual grains are oriented randomly. The

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 91
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_12, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
92 12 Weathering on the Namib Plains: Marble and Granite

Fig. 12.1 Marble rillen at

Swartbankberg in the Central
Namib

result is a springing apart of contiguous grains, giving rise to On the other hand, some marble outcrops, including those
a non-zero residual stress state inside the material.’ at the very foggy location of Swartbank near the Kuiseb
Sweeting and Lancaster (1982) indicated that mechanical River downstream from Gobabeb, have solutional rillen-
disintegration appears to be the most widespread weathering karren (Fig. 12.1), particularly on rock faces oriented
process operating on marble within the central Namib, pro- towards the Atlantic Ocean and the direction of incoming
ducing extensive spreads of coarse marble sand like granitic fogs (Sweeting and Lancaster 1982, p. 200). At a larger
grus. Near coastal salt pan environments, blocks cut from scale, there are some marbles in the central Namib that are
locally-sourced Karibib marble in a field experiment showed the sites of caves, but on account of the aridity this speleo-
deterioration after only 3 years in situ as a result of salt genesis has been attributed to hydrothermal action from
weathering (Viles and Goudie 2007). However, Viles (2005, underground water sources (Irish et al. 2000).
p. 205) emplaced locally-quarried Karibib marble blocks at Some marble outcrops display the impact of lichen
four locations (Kleinberg, Vogelfederberg, Gobabeb and weathering. At Swartbank, for example, Viles and Goudie
Ganab) which showed much less deterioration than those left (2000) collected samples that under the SEM showed bore-
out in the coastal salt pan. After three years, SEM obser- hole production by fungal hyphae at the base of lichens—
vations showed that “the marble blocks were undergoing illustrating the importance of biochemical weathering pro-
internal weakening through widening of grain boundaries cesses in areas which experience frequent fogs. Indeed,
and occasional cracking of calcite crystals”. This was very within the fog belt of the coastal Namib Desert a diverse
similar to the effects produced by experimental heating and lichen community is found (especially up to about 30 km
cooling of marble blocks in the laboratory (Goudie and Viles from the coast) where surfaces are stable enough to support
2000). Blocks from Ganab (over 100 km inland from the them. According to Schieferstein and Loris (1992) maximum
coast) were the most affected and crumbled easily to gran- lichen coverage is found about 5 km from the coast, whilst
ular debris when sub-sampled with a geological hammer, biomass peaks at c 1 km from the coast. Foliose and fruticose
and this was the site where the highest diurnal rock surface species are often found on west-facing surfaces in the central
temperature ranges were recorded with a data logger. Viles Namib, whilst crustose (and especially endolithic) species
(2005, p. 205) concluded, “In the absence of any SEM inhabit east-facing surfaces which are prone to drying winds
evidence for dissolution, biological weathering or salt crys- coming from the east (Schieferstein and Loris 1992).
tallization occurring on the marble blocks, thermal expan- Lichens weather rocks through a range of biochemical
sion and contraction producing fatigue and crack and biophysical processes, often working synergistically.
development is proposed as the most likely process occur- However, lichens can also provide a bioprotective role on
ring during the initial stages of breakdown”. rock surfaces, reducing the impact of other weathering
12.2 Marble 93

processes and enhancing surface stability (Viles 2008). 12.3 Granite

Lichens growing in desert and other hostile environments are
now known to be associated with a wide range of microbial The many granite outcrops of the central Namib display a
species as well as arthropods and other small animals (Lalley fine array of weathering forms, including tafoni (Fig. 12.3),
and Viles 2005), and such micro-ecosystems may contribute accumulations of grains (grus), A-tents, pits, exfoliation
to weathering in complex ways. features, split boulders and rinds (Selby 1977b; Ollier 1978;
Finally, east-facing marble surfaces within the central Migoń and Goudie 2000). Many of these features are
Namib also exhibit a wide range of aeolian fluting, grooves beautifully displayed in the grounds of the Desert Training
and helical scores (Bourke and Viles 2007). Strong, dry berg and Research Station at Gobabeb and its immediate environs
winds blow intermittently from the east, bringing sand which (Goudie 1972) (Fig. 12.4).
can then abrade east facing rock surfaces. Abrasion results in Granites are found widely across the region, including the
a great diversity of small scale relief features (Fig. 12.2) Damara granite dating from 470 to 650 Myr ago, and form
depending on the structure and texture of the rocks involved. the main inselbergs and peaks within the area e.g. Mirabib
There has been much debate about how and why regular (Fig. 12.5). The mechanisms by which the granitic insel-
abrasion features such as aeolian flutes form as reviewed by bergs in Namibia themselves came into existence have been
Bourke and Viles (2007). discussed by Selby (1977a, b; 1982) and Ollier (1978) (see
Thus, across the central Namib there is evidence for Chap. 11 for more details).
multiple processes of weathering and rock breakdown These granites are extremely hard and resilient to
affecting marble outcrops, working together to produce a weathering, as evidenced by the lack of deterioration of
great diversity of small scale features. A general gradient can Damara granite blocks after 2 years in situ in a coastal salt
be observed from salt weathering dominating in pans near pan and complete absence of evidence of any weathering
the coast, biochemical and dissolutional effects and wind after 3 years exposed at inland sites in comparison with
fluting around Gobabeb, Swartbank and Vogelfederberg and Karibib marble blocks (Viles 2005; Viles and Goudie 2007).
thermal insolation weathering further inland. Furthermore, most granite outcrops across the central Namib
exhibit surface crusting with an often hard, dark brown
(iron-rich) layer a few mm to cm thick. There appears to be
some climatic control of this crust development, with par-
ticularly clear examples further east where higher rainfall is
experienced. At Gobabeb one of the intriguing weathering
features is the presence of iron-enriched raised rims left after
weathering of small granite outcrops (Migoń 2006, p. 284).
Vogelfederberg inselberg (Fig. 12.6), located some 60 km
east of Walvis Bay, is a relatively low granite dome, about
50 m high. It is notable, however, for having a partially
sand-filled, shallow depression present around a portion of
its perimeter. Such features are known as scarp-foot
depressions, or Bergfussniederungen in German. Migoń
(2006, p. 115) suggests that their origin ‘is related to sub-
surface weathering, which is enhanced at the slope/plain
junction because of increased availability of water, derived
from surface runoff’. In addition he suggests that ‘Episodic
washing of weathering material excavated an initial trough,
which may deepen through both subsequent weathering and
episodic fluvial erosion’.
Tafoni and other cavernous weathering features are also
found on many granite outcrops within the central Namib
Desert, including notable occurrences on the granite boulders
Fig. 12.2 Aeolian abrasion features on marble exposures in the which mantle the surfaces surrounding Gobabeb and on the
Central Namib sides of Mirabib. Tafoni (singular tafone) are cavernous
94 12 Weathering on the Namib Plains: Marble and Granite

Fig. 12.3 Tafoni underming the

granite at Mirabib inselberg

Fig. 12.4 Split boulders at

Gobabeb

weathering forms (Fig. 12.7) typically several cubic metres in These enigmatic features occur where some kind of
volume with arch-shaped entrances, concave inner walls, positive feedback sets in as a small initial hollow becomes
overhanging margins (visors) and fairly smooth gently enlarged, thus altering the microclimatic conditions within it
sloping, debris-covered floors. First described from Corsica, and further encouraging weathering. Around the hollow, the
they occur in many parts of the world (Goudie and Viles development of surface crusts probably also inhibits such
1997), including polar regions, and have been described in weathering further focusing weathering activity differentially
many deserts. within the expanding hollow. The cavernous hollows of
12.3 Granite 95

Fig. 12.5 Google Earth image of Mirabib inselberg. Scale bar 0.1 km (© 2012 GeoEye, Google)

Fig. 12.6 The Vogelfederberg

inselberg

tafoni are believed to result largely from flaking and granular some early workers thought that the actual excavation of a
disintegration caused by a range of possible weathering cavity might be achieved by wind abrasion, many tafoni
processes that include hydration, salt crystallization, lichen occur in environments where sand blasting does not occur or
growth, and chemical attack by saline solutions. Some they may have an aspect (i.e. the leeward side of a boulder) or
workers have found clear evidence of salt weathering being a height up a cliff face that precludes such a mechanism.
involved, while others have not. The role of case hardening in Further research is needed to both understand the general
their formation is also the subject of debate, but can help to positive feedback loops which occur, and the contribution of
explain the formation of the visor. For a cavity to grow there individual processes in order to explain in more detail why
needs to be a mechanism to remove flakes and spalls. Wind tafoni develop, how quickly they form, and whether they are
may play a part, as do organisms such as pack rats. Although still actively developing in the coastal Namib Desert.
96 12 Weathering on the Namib Plains: Marble and Granite

Fig. 12.7 A model of tafoni

development (from Goudie and
Viles 1997, Fig. 6.9)

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Royer-Carfagni GF (1999) On the thermal degradation of granite. Int J
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Baines T (1864) Explorations in South-West Africa. Longman Green, Schieferstein B, Loris K (1992) Ecological investigations on lichen
London fields in the Central Namib 1: distribution patterns and habitat
Bourke MC, Viles HA (2007) A photographic atlas of rock breakdown conditions. Vegetatio 98:113–128
features in geomorphic environments. Planetary Science Institute, Selby MJ (1977a) Bornhardts of the Namib Desert. Z Geomorph NF
Tucson 21:1–13
Goudie A (1972) Climate, weathering, crust formation, dunes and Selby MJ (1977b) On the origin of sheeting and laminae in granitic
fluvial features, of the Central Namib Desert, near Gobabeb, South rocks: evidence from Antarctica, the Namib Desert and the Central
West Africa. Madoqua Ser II 1:15–31 Sahara. Madoqua 10:171–179
Goudie AS, Viles HA (1997) Salt weathering hazard. Wiley, Chichester Selby MJ (1982) Rock mass strength and the form of some inselbergs
Goudie AS, Viles HA (2000) The thermal degradation of marble. Acta in the Central Namib Desert. Earth Surf Proc Landf 7:489–497
Universitas Carolinae 2000 Geographica, XXXV, Supplementum, Sweeting MM, Lancaster N (1982) Solutional and wind erosion forms
pp 7–16 on limestone in the Central Namib Desert. Z Geomorph NF
Irish J, Martini J, Marais E (2000) Cave investigations in Namibia VI. 26:197–207
The desert caves in and around the Namib-Naukluft Park. Viles HA (2005) Microclimate and weathering in the Central Namib
Cimbebasia 16:177–193 Desert, Namibia. Geomorphology 67:189–209
Lalley JS, Viles HA (2005) Terricolous lichens in the northern Namib Viles HA (2008) Understanding dryland landscape dynamics: do
Desert of Namibia: distribution and community composition. biological crusts hold the key? Geogr Compass 2(3):899–919
Lichenologist 37:77–92 Viles HA, Goudie AS (2000) Weathering, geomorphology and climatic
Migoń P (2006) Granite landscapes of the world. Oxford University variability in the Central Namib Desert. In: McLaren SJ, Kniveton
Press, Oxford DR (eds) Linking climate change to land surface change. Kluwer,
Migoń P, Goudie A (2000) Granite landforms of the Central Namib. Dordrecht, pp 65–82
Acta Universitatis Carolinae 2000 Geographica, XXXV, Supple- Viles HA, Goudie AS (2007) Rapid salt weathering in the coastal
mentum, pp 17–38 Namib desert: implications for landscape development. Geomor-
Ollier CD (1978) Inselbergs of the Namib Desert. Processes and phology 85:49–62
history. Z Geomorph Suppl 31:161–176
 Salt Weathering in the Namib: Soutrivier
and the Coastal Salt Pans 13

Abstract
In the coastal zone of the Namib salt weathering is a potent agent of rock disintegration. It has
also caused the corrosion and failure of various engineering structures. Spectacular examples
of the impacts of salt weathering can be seen along the coastal road from Swakopmund to
Henties Bay, and where the road from Vogelfederberg to Gobabeb crosses the Soutrivier. At
Soutrivier there are salt crusts and efflorescences in and around the damp river bed, and the
granites show a wide range of weathering phenomena, including splitting, flaking, alveoles
and tafoni. Not only has salt weathering given rise to extensive weathering phenomena but it
may help to explain the development of the central Namib plains by a process of
‘haloplanation’, generating the great topographic monotony of some of the Namib coastal
plain areas. Furthermore, salt weathering may be an important source of dust which blows off
the Namib coast in great plumes. Recently, various experiments based on field exposure of
rock blocks over one or more years have demonstrated the rapidity of presumed salt
weathering in the Namib. These studies using rock blocks have confirmed that highly
aggressive ground conditions occur in the fog belt and within and around coastal salt pans,
producing weathering ‘hotspots’. Further inland conditions are less severe and salt weathering
is limited to topographic hollows where suitable microclimatic conditions prevail and where
groundwater seepage occurs.

13.1 Introduction 13.2 Salt Weathering Mechanisms

and Implications
One consequence of the presence of substantial quantities of
both calcium sulphate and sodium chloride in the coastal It has been known since antiquity that salt attacks rock and
zone of the Namib is that salt weathering is a potent agent of building materials (Goudie and Viles 1997), but major
rock disintegration (Viles and Goudie 2013). It has also developments in the study of salt weathering only came from
caused the corrosion and failure of various engineering the end of the nineteenth century onwards. It has become
structures including the pipeline that supplies water from the clear that salt weathering comprises a range of mechanisms,
Omaruru River aquifer to Swakopmund and Rössing (Bulley some chemical and some mechanical. Experimental studies
1983) (Fig. 13.1). Signs of the potency of salt weathering have demonstrated that, of the mechanical processes, crystal
can be seen in many places within the coastal Namib Desert, growth from solution in rock pores and cracks is the most
such as where the road from Vogelfederberg to Gobabeb effective. It results from a decrease in solubility as temper-
crosses the aptly named, Soutrivier (Salt River) (Fig. 13.2). ature falls, by evaporation of solutions, or by mixing of
Here there are salt crusts and efflorescences in and around different salts in solution (the common ion effect).
the damp river bed, and the granites show a wide range of However, disruptive stresses may also be exerted by
weathering phenomena, including splitting, flaking, alveoles anhydrous salts, dehydrated in high desert temperatures,
and tafoni (Fig. 13.3). which from time to time become hydrated. Sodium sulphate,

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 97
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_13, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
98 13 Salt Weathering in the Namib…

Fig. 13.1 Water pipeline ruined

by salt attack between Rössing
and Swakopmund

Fig. 13.2 Soutrivier

sodium carbonate and magnesium sulphate are examples of rocks such as granite (Cooke and Smalley 1968). Their
these sorts of salts. As a change of phase takes place to the expansion may set up disruptive stresses in the rock.
hydrated form, water is absorbed. This increases the volumes In addition to these three main categories of mechanical
of the salt and thus develops pressure against pore walls. In effects, salt can also cause chemical weathering in susceptible
addition, many common desert salts have high coefficients of rocks (Schiavon et al. 1995), and experimental studies using
volumetric expansion that are higher than those of common a range of salts and scanning electron microscopy showed
13.2 Salt Weathering Mechanisms and Implications 99

Fig. 13.3 Soutrivier, showing

weathering forms

that salts could cause chemical etching of quartz grains after weathering and dust production. Great plumes of dust can
only short periods of exposure (Magee et al. 1988). often be seen blowing off the Namibian desert in MODIS and
Not only has salt weathering given rise to extensive rel- other satellite imagery (e.g. Viles and Goudie 2007, Fig. 9).
atively small scale landforms such as weathering phenomena Weathering in salt pans is one key source of such fine-grained
but it may help to explain the development of the central debris, which plays an important role in soil development and
Namib plains by a process of ‘haloplanation’, generating the biogeochemical cycles within the desert environment and can
great topographic monotony of some of the Namib coastal also be entrained in upper winds and carried across the
plain areas (as for example between Uis and Henties Bay). Atlantic. The fact that there are several semi-permanent
Evidence for this haloplanation action comes from obser-
vations of rocks suffering from what has been termed ‘shark
fin weathering’, in that a narow fin is left protruding above
the ground surface as a remnant of a much larger sub-surface
clast (Fig. 13.4). Over time, the fins will disappear and the
entire land surface becomes planed off. Salt weathering may
also explain the high rates of denudation indicated by some
cosmogenic isotope studies of inselbergs. Cockburn et al.
(1999) used measurements of cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al
from granite inselbergs at three central Namib locations at
40–80 km from the coast—Blutkopje, Mirabib and Vogel-
federberg —to estimate long term erosion rates. A mean rate
of summit lowering of 5.07 ± 1.1 m per million years over
the last >105 years was recorded. In comparison with data
from Australian inselbergs (where rates of around 0.7 m per
million years have been calculated) this is quite rapid. They
attributed this higher denudation rate in the central Namib to
active salt weathering associated with ample fog precipita-
tion at the sampled inselbergs.
One link between weathering and erosion of specific
interest which links the landscape of the central Namib to the Fig. 13.4 Two examples of ‘shark fin weathering’ from the moist salty
global climate system concerns the interplay of salt zone at Tomato Pan, north of Swakopmund
100 13 Salt Weathering in the Namib…

groundwater seeps across the central Namib, which are likely As well as fog, dew may be an important source of
to experience similarly high rates of salt weathering, means moisture for weathering processes in the Namib Desert.
that such weathering hotspots are highly likely to be impor- Henschel and Seely (2008, p. 364) stated that dew in the
tant contributors to the dust budget here. Namib “occurs very frequently during most of the year”.
They report that in 2001 dew occurred on 53 nights at
Gobabeb. As Eckardt et al. (2012) note it is hard to distin-
13.3 Weathering Experiments: The Role guish fog from dew and it can be highly patchy. As with fog,
of Moisture dew is a key additional source of moisture which can con-
tribute to the weathering of rock surfaces and both directly
Recently, various experiments based on field exposure over through facilitation of chemical reactions and indirectly
one or more years of rock blocks have demonstrated the through its enhancement of lichen growth. Information on
efficacy of salt weathering in the Namib. Goudie et al. the amount and importance of dew and fog precipitation at
(1997) emplaced blocks of a Jurassic oolitic limestone in a Gobabeb and Kleinberg is provided by Kaseke et al. (2012).
near-coastal salt pan (Tomato Pan) within the fog belt 22 km The Namib also shows large diurnal swings in relative
north of Swakopmund and at a distance of c 4 km from the humidity, which are important in terms of salt crystallization
coast. The land surface there is often moist and is impreg- and hydration cycles. Analyses by Viles (2005, Table 5)
nated with halite (NaCl) and gypsum. Rock outcrops display indicate that at Vogelfederberg there may be over 20 days a
flakes, splits, alveoli, shark fin weathering etc. The rock month when relative humidity values cross crucial thresh-
blocks were left in this environment for 2 years. Many dis- olds for the hydration and crystallization of sodium sulphate
played considerable disintegration, particularly those that (one of the common desert salts proven to be highly effective
had been emplaced on salty, stone pavement surfaces. as a weathering agent). Given that, in reality, a number of
Geochemical analyses of the weathered blocks suggested salts in mixtures are often found on rocks in the Namib, (e.g.
that the active salt was halite and the climatology of the area sodium chloride and calcium sulphate mixtures as reported
implies that numerous salt crystallization cycles occurred in by Viles and Goudie 2007), it is likely that key thresholds
response to frequent wetting of rocks by fogs and subsequent (which vary from salt to salt) will be crossed very frequently.
drying by the sun and the wind. Subsequent laboratory If one considers the combined occurrence of rain, fog pre-
simulations under Namib conditions confirmed the effec- cipitation and dew fall it is apparent that at Gobabeb mois-
tiveness of sodium chloride crystallization in such a coastal, ture is potentially deposited on rock surfaces on about 40 %
foggy, pavement environment (Goudie and Parker 1998). of the days of the year (Henschel and Seely 2008, p. 364).
Viles and Goudie (2007) emplaced a wider range of rock Some rock surfaces will experience longer periods of wet-
types, including two Namibian rocks, Karibib marble and ness as a result of microenvironmental conditions (shading,
Damara granite, at the same Tomato Pan site. After 2 years topographic hollows etc.) which favour slow evaporation
of exposure the pre-weighed cut blocks were reweighed, rates.
tested for strength (Dynamic Young’s Modulus) using the In addition to fog, rain and dew, another important source
Grindosonic apparatus, examined under the SEM, and had of moisture in some parts of the central Namib is ground-
their soluble salt contents determined. The Karibib marble water discharge via springs, seeps and pans (Viles and
blocks showed observable deterioration, whilst the Damara Goudie 2013). This is particularly true of the coastal zone to
granite ones were characterized by strength increases and the north of Swakopmund, where there are large areas of
pore-filling by soluble salts. moist ground that are readily identifiable on satellite imag-
These studies using rock blocks have confirmed that ery. However, ground water discharge is also evident at
highly aggressive ground conditions occur within and some localities further inland, as, for example, on the pedi-
around coastal salt pans producing weathering ‘hotspots’, ment slopes on the southern side of Rössing Mountain, along
whereas inland conditions are less severe and salt weathering the Swakop canyon, in the bed of the Soutrivier (Day and
is limited to topographic hollows where suitable microcli- Seely 1988) and also at Ubib in the central Namib plains
matic conditions might prevail (Viles 2005). A potentially (Brain and Koste 1993). It is clear that groundwater is of
very important source of moisture for weathering processes great importance for weathering in the central Namib as it
in near-coastal areas is fog. Directly fog provides a source of provides an often perennial source of moisture, and one
moisture for a range of chemical and physical weathering which usually has high dissolved salt concentrations. Fur-
processes, especially salt weathering, whilst indirectly fog thermore, groundwater discharge provides a deep seated and
can support diverse lichen communities which themselves consistent source of moisture for weathering, rather than the
have been shown to play a key role in weathering here (Viles more superficial and intermittent delivery of moisture from
and Goudie 2000). fogs, dews and rainfall.
References 101

References Henschel JR, Seely MK (2008) Ecophysiology of atmospheric moisture

in the Namib Desert. Atmos Res 87:362–368
Kaseke KF, Mills AJ, Esler K, Henschel J, Seely MK, Brown R (2012)
Brain CK, Koste W (1993) Rotifers of the genus Proales from saline Spatial variation of “non-rainfall” water input and the effect of
springs in the Namib Desert, with the description of a new species. mechanical soil crusts on input and evaporation. Pure appl Geophys
Hydrobiologia 255(256):449–454 169:2217–2229
Bulley BG (1983) The engineering geology of Swakopmund. Geolog- Magee AW, Bull PA, Goudie AS (1988) Chemical textures on quartz
ical Survey, report, Windhoek 13/4/2/90 grains: an experimental approach using salts. Earth Surf Proc Landf
Cockburn H, Seidl HA, Summerfield MA (1999) Quantifying denu- 13:665–676
dation rates on inselbergs in the Central Namib Desert using in situ Schiavon N, Chiavari G, Schiavon G, Fabbri D (1995) Nature and
produced cosmogenic 1ºBe and 26Al. Geology 27:399–402 decay effects of urban soiling on granitic building stones. Sci Total
Cooke RU, Smalley IJ (1968) Salt weathering in deserts. Nature Environ 167:87–101
220:1226–1227 Viles HA (2005) Microclimate and weathering in the Central Namib
Day JA, Seely MK (1988) Physical and chemical conditions in an Desert, Namibia. Geomorphology 67:189–209
hypersaline spring in the Namib Desert. Hydrobiologia Viles HA, Goudie AS (2000) Weathering, geomorphology and climatic
160:141–153 variability in the Central Namib Desert. In: McLaren SJ, Kniveton
Eckardt FD, Soderberg K, Coop LJ, Muller AA, Vickery KJ, Grandi DR (eds) Linking climate change to land surface change. Kluwer,
RD, Jack C, Kapalanga TS, Henschel J (2012) The nature of Dordrecht, pp 65–82
moisture at Gobabeb, in the central Namib Desert. J Arid Environ Viles HA, Goudie AS (2007) Rapid salt weathering in the coastal
93:7–19 Namib desert: implications for landscape development. Geomor-
Goudie AS, Parker AG (1998) Experimental simulation of rapid rock phology 85:49–62
block disintegration by sodium chloride in a foggy coastal desert. Viles HA, Goudie AS (2013) Weathering in the central Namib Desert,
J Arid Environ 40:347–355 Namibia: controls, processes and implications. J Arid Environ
Goudie AS, Viles HA (1997) Salt weathering hazards. Wiley, 93:20–29
Chichester
Goudie AS, Viles HA, Parker AG (1997) Monitoring of rapid salt
weathering in the Central Namib Desert, using limestone blocks.
J Arid Environ 37:581–598
 The Namib Plains: Gypsum Crusts and Stone
Pavements 14

Abstract
In the central Namib gypsum crusts (gypcrete) are a widespread surface material, particularly
in drier areas. Their origin is complex. One model to explain the presence of sulphate in the
coastal tracts of the central Namib is that marine biogenic hydrogen sulphide (H2S), developed
on the highly productive Namibian shelf, erupts from time to time and is carried inland by
south westerly winds. Another suggested source of sulphate is anhydrite and bedrock sulphide.
Some of the Namib gypsum may be distributed across the desert surface by dust storms that
have deflated evaporite material from the many small pans and sabkhas identified on satellite
images. Another important surface type in the Namib Plains is the stone or desert pavement.
These are armoured surfaces composed of a mosaic of fragments, usually only one or two
stones thick, set on or in matrices of finer material. They are formed by a range of processes
that cause coarse particle concentration at the surface: (a) deflation of fine material by wind; (b)
removal of fines by surface runoff and/or creep; and (c) processes causing upward migration of
coarse particles to the surface.

evaporation from high groundwater levels (the per ascensum

14.1 Gypsum Crusts
type), while the latter, which are widespread in the Namib
and often have columnar structures, had an illuvial or per
A number of different crusts have formed in the central
descensum origin (i.e. they formed by the sub-surface
Namib Desert. The most widespread crust type in the coastal
accumulation of gypsum materials brought in from the sur-
sector is the gypsum crust or gypcrete (CaSO4 · 2H2O)
face, leached downwards, and then precipitated when the
(Watson 1979). It is generally found in areas where the
infiltrating water dries up). The third category he termed
rainfall is less than 50 mm per year and in a belt within
‘surface crusts’. These are the result of the exhumation and
50–70 km of the coast between Walvis Bay and the Ugab
degradation of subsurface crusts.
River (Eckardt 1996; Eckardt and Spiro 1999; Bao et al.
Gypsum-rich materials may cover around 207 million ha of
2000, 2001; Eckardt et al. 2001). Petrographic details are
Earth’s surface and the majority occur where the mean annual
provided by Watson (1985, 1988) and profile details by
rainfall is less than 200–250 mm. This is because gypsum is
Wilkinson (1990) and Heine and Walter (1996a).
semi-soluble (*2.6 g/l at 25 °C) and is normally leached out
Watson (1985) suggested that there were three main types
under higher rainfall conditions. Gypsum crusts are recorded
of gypsum crust. The first of these he termed ‘bedded
in many of the world’s deserts, but it is probably in Tunisia and
crusts’, which he believed originated as laminated, shallow-
the Namib that they show their greatest development (Watson
water evaporites which accumulate when shallow pools or
1979, 1988). The relative aridity of the Namib favours gypsum
lagoons evaporate to dryness. The second type he termed
accumulation (Heine and Walter 1996b), but considerable
‘subsurface crusts’. These, he believed, occurred in two
debate has surrounded the source of the sulphate that makes up
forms, one made up of large crystals (>1 mm in diameter),
the crusts. Gypsum crusts are relatively less well developed in
often called desert roses, and the other of mesocrystalline
the southern part of the Namib Desert (the Sperrgebiet), and
(finer than 1.0 mm in diameter) material. The former tended
this may in part be due to extreme wind scour preventing crusts
to develop in low-lying situations in association with
from accumulating (Miller 2008, Sect. 25.6.8) and in part to

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 103
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_14, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
104 14 The Namib Plains: Gypsum Crusts and Stone Pavements

the lack of sulphate as large sulphate inputs occur preferen- 1972), although later analyses seemed to refute this. Another
tially in the central Namib. suggested source of the sulphate is anhydrite and bedrock
There are two main conceptual models to explain the sulphide (Cagle 1975). Some sulphate could be derived from
source of sulphate for the Namib gypsum crusts (Figs. 14.1 deflation of inland saline pans (e.g. Etosha) and its transport
and 14.2). The first model proposed by Henno Martin to to the western Namib by easterly ‘berg’ winds. However,
explain the presence of sulphate in the coastal tracts of the sulphur isotope studies of potential sulphate sources and
central Namib is that marine biogenic hydrogen sulphide chemical analyses of fog water indicate that most fog water
(H2S), developed on the highly productive Namibian shelf, is extremely pure (Eckardt and Schemenauer 1998) and that
erupts from time to time (with malodorous consequences) neither biogenic H2S nor bedrock are the source of the
and is carried into the desert by south westerly winds (Logan sulphate (Eckardt and Spiro 1999).
1960; Martin 1963; Wilkinson et al. 1992) (Fig. 14.1). The The second conceptual model to explain the source of
location of the Central Namib favours such a scenario sulphur for the Namib Desert gypsum crusts proposes that
because it is both the foggiest part of the coast (Olivier 1995) the primary source is the oxidation of marine dimethyl sul-
and is adjacent to the thickest organic-rich sediment accu- phide (DMS), with secondary reworking. This aerosol-
mulations on the Namibian shelf, which are fed by the derived material (Fig. 14.2) may have been accumulating in
highly productive surface waters of the Benguela Current. the old and hyper-arid Namib since the late Miocene and is
Remote sensing studies suggest that such sulphide eruptions redistributed by wind action (including deflation from
are large in extent, of frequent occurrence and of long numerous pans) and sporadic surface runoff (Eckardt et al.
duration (Brüchert et al. 2009). Some early analyses of fog 2001). Evidence from Δ17O studies by Bao et al. (2000,
water showed that it had high sulphate contents (Goudie 2001) seems to point in the same direction.

Fig. 14.1 Martin’s model of

gypsum crust development
(courtesy of Dr. Frank Eckardt)

Fig. 14.2 Eckardt’s model of

gypsum crust development
(courtesy of Dr. Frank Eckardt)
14.1 Gypsum Crusts 105

Whatever its primary source, some of the Namib gypsum remain after finer materials have been dislodged and
may be distributed across the desert surface by dust storms removed by raindrop erosion and running water (Wain-
that have deflated evaporite material from the many small wright et al. 1995). Plainly the role of sheetfloods should not
pans and sabkhas that have been identified on satellite be ignored as a horizontal transport mechanism (Williams
images (Eckardt et al. 2001). This gypsum contributes to and Zimbelman 1994; Dietze et al. 2013).
further weathering through its contribution to salt weathering The third group of hypotheses involves vertical rather
processes. Furthermore, the presence of gypcrete up to 1.5 m than horizontal movement of particles. The concentration of
thick within soil profiles affects the balance between coarse particles at the surface and at depth, and the relative
weathering and erosion across large swathes of the coastal scarcity of coarse particles in the upper soil profile suggest
gravel plains, probably contributing to the relatively low that stones may have moved upwards through the soil to the
rates of long term denudation recorded there by cosmogenic surface by cycles of freezing and thawing, wetting and
isotope studies. drying, or salt heave. Of these the most effective and
widespread migration mechanism in deserts is thought to be
associated with wetting and drying of the surface soil
14.2 Stone Pavements (McFadden et al. 1987). When a soil containing expanding
clay minerals is wetted, it expands and a coarse particle is
Another important surface type in the Namib Plains is the lifted slightly. As the soil shrinks on drying, cracks are
stone or desert pavement. These are armoured surfaces produced around the particle and within the soil. Because of
composed of a mosaic of fragments, usually only one or two its large size the coarse particle cannot move down into the
stones thick, set on or in matrices of finer material com- cracks, whereas finer particles can. The net effect is an
prising varying mixtures of sand, silt or clay. upward displacement of the coarse particle. Subsidiary
They are formed by a range of processes that cause coarse mechanisms of upward migration applicable to the Namib
particle concentration at the surface: (a) the classic mecha- Desert may be salt heave (Searl and Rankin 1993), and the
nism of deflation of fine material by wind (Fig. 14.3); (b) activity of soil fauna, including ants, termites, and burrowing
removal of fines by surface runoff and/or creep; and (c) mammals. Whether or not bioturbation causes stone pave-
processes causing upward migration of coarse particles to ment formation or disruption is, however, still a matter of
the surface. In addition, it has become increasingly clear that debate. On the one hand, churning and burrowing may bring
pavements may evolve in close association not only with fine material to the surface, where it can be deflated, while
aeolian erosion but also with dust deposition and soil-profile on the other the process may cause coarse particles to sink
differentiation caused by weathering. and for homogenisation to occur. Under higher rainfall
Pavements have usually been explained as being pro- conditions, e.g. during pluvials, it is probable that pavement
duced by the classical mechanism of deflation of fine disruption predominates. Lichens may also contribute to the
material from the surface, which leaves a residue, lag or stabilisation of pavement surfaces once established, and
armour of coarse particles. The concentration of coarse there is good evidence that the lichen-dominated biological
particles has been seen as a function of their distribution in soil crusts along the coastal area of the central Namib Desert
the original sediment and the extent of deflation. However, are agents of bioprotection (Lalley and Viles 2008; Viles
lateral movement of fine materials could also be achieved by 2008). Once damaged or destroyed by, for example, off-road
the second mechanism, i.e. removal by runoff or creep. driving, this bioprotection is lost and fine material is easily
Experimental observations show that some pavements are blown away. Finally, in recent years it has become appre-
often composed, at least in part, of coarse particles that ciated that significant amounts of dust are delivered to desert

Fig. 14.3 The deflational model

of stone pavement formation
106 14 The Namib Plains: Gypsum Crusts and Stone Pavements

surfaces by dust storms, and it is therefore inevitable that Lalley JS, Viles HA (2008) Recovery of lichen-dominated crusts in a
such dust contributes to the development of stone hyper-arid desert. Biodivers Conserv 17:1–20
Logan RF (1960) The Central Namib Desert, South West Africa.
pavements. National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council Publi-
cation, 758, Washington DC
Martin H (1963) A suggested theory for the origin and a brief
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dissolved sulphate in the Central Namib Desert, Namibia. Sed Geol Research Papers p 231
123:255–273 Wilkinson M (1992) J, Hems DR, Whitehead VS (1992) Albedo
Goudie A (1972) Climate, weathering, crust formation, dunes and patterns and gypsum generation in the Central Namib desert: land,
fluvial features, of the Central Namib Desert, near Gobabeb, South sea and air interactions on an arid west coast. Geosci Remote Sens
West Africa. Madoqua ser II 1:15–31 Symp 2:1565–1567
Heine K, Walter R (1996a) Gypcretes of the central Namib Desert, Williams SH, Zimbelman JR (1994) Desert pavement evolution: an
Namibia. Palaeoecol Afr 24:173–199 example of the role of sheetflood. J Geol 102:243–248
Heine K, Walter R (1996b) Die Gipkrustenböden der Zentralen Namib
(Namibia) und ihr paläoklimatischer Aussagewert. Petermanns
Geogr Mitt 140:237–253
 The Homeb Silts
15

Abstract
The Homeb Silts are 26 m thick deposits which form some very clear flat-topped terraces and
castle-shaped remnants, with very evident stratification, along the sides of the Kuiseb River.
They occur at up to 45 m above the present channel floor. There have been four different
hypotheses for their origin. The first is that they are lake sediments that arose when the Kuiseb
was dammed by northward moving dunes coming out of the Namib Sand Sea. The second
hypothesis is that they are river end-point sediments laid down by the Kuiseb under arid
conditions when the river had less energy than today. The third hypothesis is that they are
flood plain sediments laid down by an aggrading Kuiseb under semi-arid conditions that were
wetter than today. The fourth hypothesis, which is not that different from the previous one, is
that they are river flood sediments, called slackwater deposits, which were laid down by floods
associated with intense precipitation events in the headwater regions. Also controversial is the
age of the deposits, and different dating methods have given varying ages that span the late
Holocene to the Late Pleistocene.

On the Kuiseb, upstream from Gobabeb, is the small Top- third hypothesis is that they are flood plain sediments laid
naar village of Homeb. It has given its name to one of the down by an aggrading Kuiseb under semi-arid conditions
most striking and controversial landform sites in Namibia— that were wetter than today. Despite the overall fine-grained
the terraces of the Homeb Silts. These can be seen from the texture of the Homeb sediments, there are also coarser beds
dirt road that descends from the Namib Plains into the Ku- with structures indicating rapid deposition from a shallow,
iseb Valley and then to the village (Fig. 15.1). These 26 m fast-flowing, flash-flooding, sediment-laden stream (Ward
thick deposits form some very clear flat-topped terraces and 1987; Smith et al. 1993). The fourth hypothesis, which is not
castle-shaped remnants, with very evident stratification that different from the previous one, is that they are river
(Fig. 15.2). They occur at up to 45 m above the present flood sediments, called slackwater deposits, which were laid
channel floor. They have been greatly eroded and show down by floods associated with intense precipitation events
some of the characteristics of a badland landscape. What has in the headwater regions (Heine and Heine 2002; Heine et al.
not been clear is their origin. As Miyamoto (2010) has 1999; Miyamoto 2010). They accumulated in the low energy
pointed out, there have been four different hypotheses. The setting of tributary valleys and were laid down in a suc-
first of these is that the silt terrace deposits are lake sedi- cession of floods.
ments that arose when the Kuiseb was dammed by north- Also controversial is the age of the deposits, and different
ward moving dunes coming out of the Namib Sand Sea dating methods have given varying ages that span the late
(Goudie 1972; Rust and Wieneke 1980). However, as Heine Holocene to the Late Pleistocene. Miyamoto (2010), using
and Heine (2002) have pointed out, the silt layers show radio-carbon dating, believed that almost all the silts were
neither the varved nor the deltaic stratification of lake sedi- deposited between 25 and 19 thousand year ago, and Heine
ments, and chemical precipitates are almost absent. The and Heine (2002) report broadly similar radiocarbon dates
second hypothesis is that they are river end-point sediments equating with the Last Glacial Maximum. Conversely, opti-
laid down by the Kuiseb under arid conditions (Marker and cally stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates obtained by
Müller 1978) when the river had less energy than today. The Bourke et al. (2003) gave ages between 6.3 and 9.8 ka, i.e.

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 107
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_15, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
108 15 The Homeb Silts

Fig. 15.1 The Homeb Silts

Fig. 15.2 The Homeb Silts

during the early to mid Holocene. More recent OSL dates from of these intriguing silt deposits and to compare them with the
Srivastava et al. (2006) indicate that rapid deposition of the Amspoort silts and Clay Castles in similar ephemeral catch-
Homeb Silts occurred at around 15 ka and 6 k during climate ments further north (see Chap. 8).
transitions from arid to humid. They argued that the transition
to a wetter climate favoured channel aggradation because that
is when the stream had enough energy to transport sediment References
and yet there was no vegetation to prevent its removal from
hillslopes. As the climate becomes wetter, the vegetation Bourke MC, Child A, Stokes S (2003) Optical age estimates for hyper-
cover became greater which promoted an increase in the water/ arid fluvial deposits at Homeb, Namibia. Quat Sci Rev
22:1099–1103
sediment ratio and the incision of previously deposited sedi- Goudie A (1972) Climate, weathering, crust formation, dunes and
ments. Evidently, there is need for further dating and palaeo- fluvial features, of the Central Namib Desert, near Gobabeb, South
environmental work to clarify the age and modes of formation West Africa. Madoqua Series II 1:15–31
References 109

Heine K, Heine JT (2002) A paleohydrologic reinterpretation of the Rust U, Wieneke F (1980) A reinvestigation of some aspects of the
Homeb Silts, Kuiseb River, central Namib Desert (Namibia) and evolution of the Kuiseb River valley upstream of Gobabeb.
palaeoclimatic implications. Catena 48:107–130 Madoqua 12:163–173
Heine K, Heine C, Kühn T (1999) Slackwater deposits der Namib- Smith RMH, Mason TR, Ward JD (1993) Flash-flood sediments and
Wüste (Namibia) und ihr paläoklimatischer Aussagewert. Zbl Geol ichnofacies of the Late Pleistocene Homeb Silts, Kuiseb River,
Palaont Teil 1(5/6):587–613 Namibia. Sed Geol 85:579–599
Marker ME, Müller D (1978) Relict vlei silt of the middle Kuiseb Srivastava P, Brook GA, Marais E, Morthekai P, Singhvi AK (2006)
Valley, South West Africa. Modoqua 11:151–162 Depositional environment and OSL chronology of the Homeb silt
Miyamoto S (2010) Late Pleistocene sedimentary environment of the deposits, Kuiseb River, Namibia. Quat Res 65:478–491
“Homeb Silts” deposits, along the middle Kuiseb River in the Ward JD (1987) The Cenozoic succession in the Kuiseb Valley, Central
Namib Desert, Namibia. Afr Study Monographs Suppl 40:51–66 Namib Desert. Geol Surv South West Africa/Namibia Memoir 9
 Calcretes: The Kamberg Calcrete Formation
and the Karpencliff Conglomerate 16

Abstract
Calcretes are calcium carbonate-rich duricrusts and are extensively developed in Namibia.
Some of the most beautiful calcretes are those that cap the Karpencliff Conglomerate on the
margins of the Kuiseb canyon. These have been termed the Kamberg Calcrete Formation. The
calcrete pre-dates the canyon incision of the Kuiseb and so may date towards the end of the
Miocene. The calcrete formed under semi-arid conditions over a long period of relative
landscape stability, perhaps half a million years in length. The chapter discusses the various
hypotheses that have been put forward to account for calcrete formation.

To the west of the 500 mm isohyet line a carbonate-rich type Heinrich (Trittschack and Borg 2008). Elsewhere in Nami-
of duricrust, called calcrete, is almost ubiquitous in southern bia calcrete caps the Weissrand Plateau (see Chap. 22), the
Africa and is encountered in river sections, around lake Grunau area in the south of the country, and the terraces
shorelines, and in countless borrow-pits along roads. In along the Auob and Nossob Rivers. The main outcrops of
particular it is dominant in a great arc running down through the KambergCalcrete are notable for the small solutional
the interior of Namibia into the Northern Cape of South depressions—dayas—that dot their surfaces (see also Chap.
Africa. Borehole records indicate that complex calcrete 22). These can be seen on the surface to the south of the
profiles can attain considerable thickness—sometimes over Kuiseb between Donkerhoek in the north and Spaarwater in
30 m—most notably in a belt associated with the Auob, the south.
Nossob, Molopo and Kuruman rivers (Goudie 1973). Even Some of the most beautiful calcretes in Namibia are those
thicker calcrete accumulations occur in the Ovambo Basin, that cap the Karpencliff Conglomerate on the margins of the
where the Etosha Calcrete may be up to 120 m thick (see Kuiseb canyon (Fig. 16.1). These have been termed the
Chap. 6). Kamberg Calcrete Formation (Ward 1987). The Karpencliff
Although gypcretes dominate the drier, western portions Conglomerate overlies the Tsondab Sandstone and was
of the Namib (see Chap. 14), there are some extensive deposited in a proto-Kuiseb and a proto-Gaub Valley. Some
spreads of calcrete here as well. They cap, for example, facies indicate deposition in an alluvial fan environment.
some of the Kuiseb terraces near Gobabeb (Lancaster et al. They then became cemented, with profiles up to 5 m thick
2000; Yamagata and Mizuno 2005) and they also cement the developing. The calcrete pre-dates the canyon incision of the
pediments around Spitzkoppe and also in the vicinity of Kuiseb and so may date towards the end of the Miocene. The
Erongo (Blümel and Vogt 1979; Blümel 1981). Some of the calcrete formed under semi-arid conditions over a long
Namibian calcretes are of Lower Pliocene or Miocene age period of relative landscape stability, perhaps half a million
(Eitel 1994; Blümel and Eitel 1994) and tend to be rich in years in length. Netterberg (1967) developed a classification
palygorskite (Eitel 2000). Calcretes in ancient palaeodrai- of carbonate enrichment types, which included calcified
nage channels can be hosts for uranium, as at Langer soils, powder, nodular, honeycomb, hardpan, laminar and

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 111
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_16, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
112 16 Calcretes: The Kamberg Calcrete Formation and the Karpencliff Conglomerate

Fig. 16.1 The calcrete-capped

Karpencliff Conglomerate above
the Kuiseb Canyon

boulder calcretes. This useful scheme sees calcified soils as levels are less or from which water is lost by evaporation.
the least developed form. With progressive calcification a This is the per descensum hypothesis (Fig. 16.2a). Until the
powder calcrete develops, which is characterised by loose late 1970s most models of calcrete formation were
carbonate silt or sand particles with few or no host soil physiochemical.
particles or nodules present. Nodular (or glaebular) calcrete Since then the role of organic processes has become
is the next stage. As calcrete nodules increase in size and clearer (Goudie 1996). Field relations and characteristics
number they coalesce to form a honeycomb calcrete, the show that many calcretes are non-pedogenic, having been
voids in which are still filed by soil material. Next, when the deposited near a water table (the per ascensum hypothesis)
voids of the honeycomb calcrete become infilled or (Fig. 16.2b). The main mechanism may be evaporation from
cemented, a hardpan calcrete develops. Some of these are the capillary fringe, but carbonate deposition can be induced
indurated layers up to 3 m thick. These may often be capped below a water table by the changing CO2 contents of the
with a laminar horizon. Finally, the calcrete may become water. Water-table calcretes develop especially in alluvium,
degraded, producing a boulder calcrete or brecciated masses. where water-tables are near the surface and where the matrix
Each of these types of calcrete can be observed in Namibia is coarse. Other calcretes form by recementation by soil
within various outcrops and exposures. water of calcrete debris on pediment slopes (the detrital
Calcretes can form in a wide variety of ways. Most cal- model) (Fig. 16.2c).
cretes are pedogenic (i.e. soil phenomena) though by no As with gypcrete (Chap. 14), at least some of the solutes
means all (Nash and McLaren 2003), and the thick Etosha which contribute to the lithification of calcrete come from
Calcrete appears to have been precipitated from groundwater weathering of carbonate rocks, such as marble. Over the
(Miller 2008, Chap. 24). In the case of pedogenic calcretes, long term, such calcretes also contribute to reduction of
such as those of the Weissrand Plateau, much calcium comes denudation rates by providing a resistant barrier to erosion.
from dust or rain. This calcium is mobilized in surface This effect might be one cause of the relatively low long–-
horizons with high CO2 contents, through which rainwater term denudation rates found from some areas of the Namib
infiltrates, and deposited lower down the profile where CO2 Desert in cosmogenic dating studies.
References 113

Fig. 16.2 a The per descensum

model of calcrete development.
b The per ascensum model of
calcrete development. c The
detrital model of calcrete
development

References Eitel B (1994) Kalkreiche Decksedimente und Kalkrustengenerationen

in Namibia: Zur Frage der Herkunft und Mobilisierung des
Calciumcarbonats. Stuttgarter Geogr Studien p 123
Blümel WD (1981). Pedologische and Geomorphologische Aspekte der Eitel B (2000) Different amounts of pedogenic palygorskite in South
Kalkkrustenbildung in Südwestafrika und Südostspanien. Karlsruhe West African Cenozoic calcretes: geomorphological, paleoclimat-
Geogr Hefte 10 ical and methodological implications. Z Geomorphol Suppl
Blümel WD, Vogt T (1979) Croûtes calcaires de Namibie. Rech Géogr 121:139–149
à Strasbourg 12:55–64 Goudie AS (1973) Duricrusts in tropical and subtropical landscapes.
Blümel WD, Eitel B (1994) Tertiäre Deckschichten und Kalkrusten in Oxford University Press, Oxford
Namibia: Entstehung und geomorphologische Bedeutung. Z Geo- Goudie AS (1996) Organic agency in calcrete development. J Arid
morphol 38:385–403 Environ 32:103–110
114 16 Calcretes: The Kamberg Calcrete Formation and the Karpencliff Conglomerate

Lancaster N, Schaber GG, Teller JT (2000) Orbital radar studies of Trittschack R, Borg G (2008) Lithostratigraphie und Sedimentologie
paleodrainages in the Central Namib Desert. Remote Sens Environ der Uranführended Langer Heinrich Formation/Namibia. Zentralbl-
71:216–225 att Geol Paläontol Teil 1, vol.Jg.2008. Heft 1:139–156
Miller RMcG (2008) The Geology of Namibia. vol 3. Geological Ward JD (1987) The Cenozoic succession in the Kuiseb Valley. Central
Survey of Namibia, Windhoek Namib Desert, Geol Surv South West Africa/Namibia Memoir 9
Nash DJ, Mclaren SJ (2003) Kalahari valley calcretes: their nature, Yamagata K, Mizuno K (2005) Landform development along the
origins and environmental significance. Quat Int 111:3–22 middle course of the Kuiseb River in the Namib Desert, Namibia.
Netterberg F (1967) Some roadmaking properties of South African Afr Study Monogr Suppl 30:15–25
calcretes. In: Proceedings of 4th Regional Conference on Soil
Mechanisms and Foundation Engineering, pp 77–81
 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay
and on the Skeleton Coast 17

Abstract
Barchans are mobile crescentic dunes that form transverse to the wind. Barchans have a range
of forms from slim to pudgy and are found in areas with limited sand supply and narrowly
bimodal winds. Near Walvis Bay there are particularly good examples, formed by winds
coming from the south west. Long term studies, using air photographs, show that these dunes
can move at rates of some metres per year. Large sand ripples are also found on some of the
coastal dunes between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund.

Barchans are individual mobile dunes of crescentic shape, Classic symmetrical barchans—pudgy and fat. Some
the two horns of which face in the direction of dune simple crescentic forms possess a larger area in relation to
movement. Sand avalanching takes place on their lee sides. their width than the examples given above. The horns are
They are generally regarded as occurring in areas of limited relatively small in relation to the total mass of the dune and
sand supply, on planar surfaces, with a low precipitation may be nearly absent. Such dunes have shapes reminiscent
(usually less than 100 mm per annum) and vegetation cover, of kidneys, broad beans and pectens. Fat dunes occur in
and where winds are narrowly bimodal in direction (with a areas where there is a substantial sand influx and lower shear
directional index that is normally around 0.7–0.9). At a velocities (Parteli et al. 2007). Many of the world’s barchans
global scale they are quantitatively of limited significance— described in the literature appear to be fat rather than slim,
less than 1 % of all dune sand on Earth is contained within and this is the shape of many of the barchans in the Kuiseb
them—but they can be locally dominant, as is the case in delta area (Barnes, 2001).
some parts of the coastal Namib Desert. They are variable in Classic symmetrical barchans—large, fat and unstable.
size, ranging in height from a few metres to over 500 m in Some barchans are large features, which may be termed
the case of megabarchanoids (Bishop 2010). mega-barchans. Over 500 m in width, they often have sec-
Bourke and Goudie (2009) compared the shapes of ondary features on their flanks, which may be indicative of
barchans in the Namib and on Mars and developed the instability. They may also shed small barchans onto the
following classification scheme: desert plains downwind. This appears to be an example of
Classic symmetrical barchans—slim. The simplest form what Elbelrhiti et al. (2005) describe as ‘surface-wave-
of barchan is the classic individual crescentic feature. Some induced instability’. They argue that dune collisions and
of these are elegantly slim as shown by examples on the changes in wind direction destabilize larger dunes and
rocky plains to the south and east of Lüderitz and Elizabeth generate surface waves on their lee flanks. The resulting
Bay (Fig. 17.1). They also appear to be rather angular in surface waves propagate at a higher speed than the dunes
plan. They display a wide range of sizes, with some having themselves, producing a series of small, new born barchans
widths as great as 500–600 m, and some being only a few by breaking the horns of large dunes. This type of barchans
tens of metres in width. The slim symmetrical type of can be seen near the Walvis Bay salt works.
barchans is a feature of areas with unidirectional winds and Classic symmetrical barchans composed of smaller
with low sand influx and high values for shear velocity barchans. In southern Namibia a single classic barchan form
(Parteli et al. 2007). some 400 m across and 700 m long that is predominantly

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 115
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_17, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
116 17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast

Fig. 17.1 Google Earth image of slim barchans near Elizabeth Bay. Scale bar 0.5 km. (© 2012 Google Image, Digital Globe)

made up of a cluster of smaller barchans exists. It may be an the vicinity of Walvis Bay there are migrating barchan dunes
extreme an example of a proto-megabarchan (Cooke et al. that are so mobile that they can pose problems for roads, the
1993, p. 327). railway and houses. They are driven primarily by winds
Barchans developing into linear dunes. Following on coming from the south west (Fig. 17.4). These migrating
from the classic model of Bagnold (1941) it is evident that dunes are of the classic symmetrical—large, fat and unstable
some simple crescentic forms are deformed into linear (seif) type (Fig. 17.5). Good examples can be seen near the Radio
features when they move into areas with changing wind Station and also at the Salt Works to the south of the Walvis
regimes. Linear ridges some km long can develop downwind Bay lagoon. The barchans near the Radio Station, illustrated
from the original barchans, creating a tadpole shape. Good in Figs. 17.6 and 17.7, have changed form with changes in
examples of this can be found in northern Namibia along the wind regime and through time. Thus in July 2004, some of
Skeleton Coast (Fig. 17.2). the barchans have plainly been moulded by northeasterly
Barchan dunes developing into transverse ridges. There winds, as their arms face to the south west, whereas in
are many examples of classic individual barchans merging September 2010 they point in the opposite direction. By
together with their neighbours to form ridges transverse to 2010, the five dunes being shed from the westerly arm have
the formative winds. The original barchanoid and linguoid disappeared, while those being shed from the easterly arm
elements are clearly visible. It is generally believed that sand have migrated northwards and have developed a classic
availability is a crucial control, and that with greater sand form.
supply transverse dune ridges rather than individual isolated The Salt Works barchans have a mean height of around
barchans will occur (see below). 8 m, though some are nearly 20 m in height. The movement
Barchan convoys developing into linear ridges. Some history of these latter dunes has been described over a period
intriguing linear dune ridges appear to be formed by convoys of some decades by Slattery (1990) and Barnes (2001)
of approximately equally sized barchans. Wang et al. (2004) (Fig. 17.8). Slattery (1990) found a mean annual rate of
proposed this style of barchans merging in their model of movement of 13.5 m. Barnes, on the other hand, found that
complex linear dune formation. rates varied from decade to decade and year to year, ranging
Another type seems to have formed downwind of major from just 4.2 m per annum between 1976 and 1988, to
nebkha fields. These develop from sand that has accumu- 56.1 m per annum between 1997 and 1999. She related these
lated around bushes, rather than through the normal style of differences to changes in wind velocities during the period of
evolution from a non-anchored sand pile. observations.
Moving barchans dunes can encroach upon houses, rail- One of the reasons why the Walvis Bay barchans are of
ways, roads and other types of infrastructure (Fig. 17.3). In particular interest is because unlike inland dunes they have
17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast 117

Fig. 17.2 Google Earth image of barchans elongating into linear dunes on the Skeleton Coast. Scale bar 1,000 m. (© 2007 Digital Globe)

Fig. 17.3 Dune encroaching

upon the abandoned mining town
of Kolmanskop, southern Namib
118 17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast

an appreciable salt content (Besler 1981) and are frequently

wetted by fog, and this affects sand movement and some of
the micro-forms developed upon them, including slab ava-
lanches. They have recently been studied as a possible
analogue for dunes on Mars.
Between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund the narrow
coastal dune range is composed of a variety of dune types,
but many of them are ridges that run transverse to the south
westerly winds. On their seaward side there are large areas,
visible from the main coastal road, where there are excep-
tionally large sand ripples, which are also perpendicular to
the south westerly winds. Wind ripples are the smallest of
aeolian bedforms and are present on almost all sand surfaces
except those undergoing very rapid deposition. They gen-
erally trend perpendicular to the sand-transporting winds,
although on sloping surfaces where the downwind compo-
nent of grain movement is supplemented by gravity, they
may be slightly flow oblique. Typically they have a wave-
length of 13–300 mm and an amplitude of 0.6–14 mm. Like
dunes, ripples have gentle windward slopes (in general
Fig. 17.4 Wind rose for Walvis Bay Airport for the whole year (http:// between 8 and 13°) and rather steeper lee slopes (up to 30°).
www.windfinder.com/windstats/windstatistic_walvis_bay_airport.htm)
However, the large ripples of the coastal tract, many with a
(accessed 30th January 2014)
wavelength of c 3 m, are called granule ripples (Fryberger

Fig. 17.5 Barchans near Walvis

Bay, 2011. These are the same
ones as shown on the Google
Earth Images. The large dune
from which the smaller dunes
have been shed is in the
background
17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast 119

Fig. 17.6 Google Earth image of Walvis Bay barchans, July, 2004. Scale bar 200 m. (© 2012 Google Image, Digital Globe)

Fig. 17.7 Google Earth image of Walvis Bay barchans, September 2010. Scale bar 200 m. (© 2012 Google Image, GeoEye)

et al. 1992). These are ‘aeolian bedforms comprised of a et al. 2009). They tend to be significantly larger than wind
sandy core that is covered by a surface layer of granules, ripples formed in well-sorted fine sand. They are also known
particles that are typically 1–2 mm in diameter’ (Zimbelman as gravel ripples or megaripples (Isenberg et al. 2011).
120 17 Barchan Dunes: Walvis Bay and on the Skeleton Coast

Fig. 17.8 The Walvis Bay

barchans from 1961–1997
(modified after Barnes 2001, in
Livingstone, 2013, Fig. 6)

References Elbelrhiti H, Claudin P, Andreotti B (2005) Field evidence for surface-

wave-induced instability of sand dunes. Nature 437:720–723
Fryberger SG, Hesp P, Hastings K (1992) Aeolian granule ripple
Bagnold RA (1941) The physics of blown sand and Desert Dunes. deposits, Namibia. Sedimentology 39:319–331
Methuen, London Isenberg O, Yizhaq H, Tsoar H, Wenkart R, Karnieli A, Kok JF, Katra I
Barnes J (2001) Barchan dunes on the Kuiseb River delta, Namibia. (2011) Megaripple flattening due to strong winds. Geomorphology
S Afr Geogr J 83:283–292 131:69–84
Besler H (1981) Surface structures on Namib dunes caused by Parteli EJR, Durán O, Herrmann HJ (2007) Minimal size of a barchan
moisture. Namib und Meer 9:11–17 dune. Phys Rev E 75: article no. 011301
Bishop MA (2010) Nearest neighbour analysis of mega-barchanoid Slattery MJ (1990) Barchan migration on the Kuiseb River Delta,
dunes, Ar Rub’ al Khali, sand sea: The application of geographical Namibia. S Afr Geogr J 72:5–10
indices to the understanding of dune field self-organization, Wang X, Dong Z, Zhang J, Qu J (2004) Formation of the complex
maturity and environmental change. Geomorphology 120:186–194 linear dunes in the central Taklimakan Sand Sea, China. Earth Surf
Bourke MC, Goudie AS (2009) Varieties of barchan form in the Namib Proc Land 29:677–686
Desert and on Mars. Aeolian Res 1:45–54 Zimbelman JR, Irwin RP, Williams SH, Bunch F, Valdez A, Stevens S
Cooke RU, Warren A, Goudie A (1993) Desert geomorphology. UCL (2009) The rate of granule ripple movement on Earth and Mars.
Press, London Icarus 203:71–76
 Namib Sand Sea
18

Abstract
The modern Namib Sand Sea is underlain by the Tsondab Sandstone Formation. Dating from c
21 million years ago, it is a red brown sandstone, up to 220 m thick. Large parts of the Tsondab
Sandstone are aeolian though there are also pan and fluvial facies. Overlying the Tsondab
Sandstone Formation between Lüderitz and the Kuiseb River is the modern Namib Sand Sea. At
the coast crescentic dunes are dominant, including highly mobile barchans. The heart of the sand
sea is dominated by linear dunes that are associated with more bi-directional wind regimes
(SSW–SW and NE–E). Star dunes, characterised by their pyramidal morphology and radiating
sinuous arms, are associated with complex, multidirectional wind regimes (SW–WSW, NE–E
and N) that occur along the sand sea’s eastern margin, close to the Great Escarpment. The
sharply defined northern margin of the Sand Sea is formed by the Kuiseb River. Much of the
sand may have been supplied by the Orange River to the coastal zone and then been blown
inland. The colour of the dune sand of the Namib shows clear spatial trends, the reasons for
which are discussed. In coastal areas dominated by crescentic dunes the sand is yellowish brown
to light yellowish brown, whereas in eastern areas it becomes a very striking yellowish red.

movement, the grains begin to roll along the ground, but

18.1 Introduction
after a short distance this gives rise to a bounding or jumping
action called saltation. Grains are taken up a small distance
Dunes are one of the world’s most fascinating and aesthet-
into the airstream and then fall back to the ground in a fairly
ically pleasing landform types. As Ralph Bagnold remarked
flat trajectory. The descending grains dislodge further par-
in his classic ‘Physics of Blown sand and Desert Dunes’
ticles and thereby the process of saltation is maintained
(1941, p. xxi):
across the surface. Dunes form because saltating grains tend
Here, instead of finding chaos and disorder, the observer never to accumulate preferentially on sand-covered areas rather
fails to be amazed by a simplicity of form, an exactitude of than on adjoining sand-free surfaces. This means that a small
repetition and a geometric order unknown in nature on a scale
larger than that of crystalline structure. In places vast accumu- sand accumulation gets bigger and turns into a dune under
lations of sand weighing millions of tons move inexorably, in some positive feedback conditions. The precise form of such
regular formation, over the surface of the country, growing, a dune will depend on such factors as the wind regime, the
retaining their shape, even breeding, in a manner which, by its degree of vegetation cover, the amount of sand available,
grotesque imitation of life, is vaguely disturbing to an imagi-
native mind. Elsewhere the dunes are cut to another pattern— and the size of the grains involved.
lined up in parallel ranges, peak following peak in regular The Namib desert has a number of sand seas (ergs) in
succession like the teeth of a monstrous saw for scores, even which these dunes occur—in southern Angola is the Curosa-
hundreds of miles, without a break and without a change in Bahia dos Tigres sand sea, in northern Namibia are the
direction, over a landscape so flat that their formation cannot be
influenced by any local geographical features. Kunene (see Chap. 5) and Skeleton Coast sand seas, while in
the south is the largest of them all—the Namib Sand Sea
Under strong wind conditions, sand grains are transported itself (Stone 2013). This magnificent area was inscribed as a
across desert surfaces. When the wind velocity exceeds the UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013. The Namib
threshold velocity that is required to initiate sand grain Sand Sea is in many parts active today, but the amount of

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 121
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_18, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
122 18 Namib Sand Sea

sand present overall indicates that more than a million years

may have been required for it to accumulate (Vermeesch
et al. 2010; Garzanti et al. 2012).

18.2 The Tsondab Sandstone—Predecessor

of the Namib Sand Sea

The modern Namib Sand Sea (Fig. 18.1) is underlain by

what has been called the Namib Sandstone (Besler and
Marker 1979) but which is now generally known as the
Tsondab Sandstone Formation (Ward 1988). This is a truly
remarkable phenomenon. Dating back to c 21 million years
ago, it is a red brown sandstone, up to 220 m thick, and is
especially well exposed to the south of Solitaire on the
Conas Cliffs located on the farm Dieprivier. Large parts of
the Tsondab Sandstone are aeolian (Kocurek et al. 1999),
though there are also pan and fluvial facies. The structures in
the aeolian deposits appear to have formed under a broadly
similar wind regime to that of the present, with barchans in
the west and linear and star forms in the east. They also
contain the fossilized tracks and burrows of termites and
golden moles that live in the Namib today, together with Fig. 18.1 The location of the Namib Sand Sea (from Livingstone et al.
2010, Fig. 1)
lithified ostrich eggs, spider webs, carnivore footprints,
coprolites, and the remains of an extinct species of hyaena,
Crocuta dietrichi (Senut et al. 1998; Pickford 2000; Ségalen Lüderitz, where they often cross the railway and the main
et al. 2002; Morales et al. 2011). In effect the Tsondab road respectively. They have encroached on the old mining
Sandstone is a massive fossilized sand sea that at about 16 town of Kolmanskop. Where there is a large sand supply, the
million years ago extended from the Orange to the Kunene, barchans sometimes coalesce to create transverse ridges.
but much of which has now been eroded. The portion to the Elsewhere they may have the form of mega-barchans, with
south of the Aus to Lüderitz road is called the Rooilepel small features developed on a much larger crescentic base.
Sandstone Formation (Miller 2008, pp. 25–22). Also in the coastal zone are nebkhas. This is an Arabic
term given to mounds of wind-borne sediment (sand, silt of
pelletized clay) that have accumulated to a height of some
18.3 Dune Diversity metres around shrubs or other types of vegetation. Plants that
gain their water supply from high groundwater levels (e.g.
Overlying the Tsondab Sandstone Formation between tamarisk) may often form the core around which accumu-
Lüderitz and the Kuiseb River, the modern Namib Sand Sea lation occurs. The largest nebkhas (mega-nebkhas) accu-
(Lancaster 1989) covers some 34,000 km2. Its main dune mulate around clumps of trees. Nebkhas are sometimes
types have been mapped and described by Livingstone et al. called shrub-coppice dunes (see Rango et al. 2000). They
(2010), Bullard et al. (2011) and Livingstone (2012) may occur on bigger dunes, in inter-dune areas, on pan
(Fig. 18.2), and their internal structures have been studied by surfaces, near wadis and on or behind beaches and sabkhas.
McKee (1982). Some nebkhas are more or less circular mounds, whereas
At the coast crescentic dunes are dominant, including others show clear elongation and consist of a long plume to
highly mobile barchans (Slattery 1990; Barnes 2001). Their the lee of the anchoring vegetation. Extensive fields of
horns point in the direction of movement, they have steep nebkhas occur just to the north of Lüderitz at Agate Bay and
slopes (c 32°) on their lee sides and gentler slopes (2–10°) also behind Hottentots Bay.
on their windward (stoss) sides, they have an ellipsoidal The heart of the sand sea is dominated by linear dunes
shape in plan-view, and have formed in response to the (Fig. 18.4) that are associated with more bi-directional wind
strong unidirectional (SSW) wind regimes that are prevalent regimes (SSW-SW and NE-E) (Bubenzer and Bolten 2008).
in the coastal zone (Fig. 18.3). These can be seen inland The former winds blow inland from the South Atlantic
from Walvis Bay (see Chap. 17) and in the vicinity of Ocean and the latter sweep down the Great Escarpment from
18.3 Dune Diversity 123

Fig. 18.2 Dune types in the Namib Sand Sea (from Livingstone et al. 2010, Fig. 2)
124 18 Namib Sand Sea

Fig. 18.3 Some major types of

dune found in the Namib in
relation to wind directions

Fig. 18.4 Linear dune near

Gobabeb

the interior. The dominant annual sand movement appears to 1,500–2,000 m. The dunes are mostly between 6,000 and
be from the south, as has been revealed by long-term 900 m wide and between 50 and 150 m high. They are the
monitoring of a small linear dune near Gobabeb (Besler et al. dominant dune form in the sand sea, covering about 74 % of
2013). the sand sea area (Lancaster 1989). Changes in their form
The spacing of linear dunes varies through the sand sea. It and the nature of wind flow over them during three decades
is greatest in the central regions at 1,800–2,500 m, whereas have been described by Livingstone (1985, 2003). He found
in the southern parts these dunes are generally spaced at that the crests of the dunes move laterally back and forth in
18.3 Dune Diversity 125

response to seasonal switching of wind direction, but return laminated silts, but at the present time they do not have the
at the end of the year’s cycle to their position at the begin- power to reach the Atlantic (Stone et al. 2010). If and when
ning. This, says Livingstone, suggests that the dune is an conditions were moister in the past, these rivers may have
equilibrium response to the wind regime and that there is no extended further into the sand sea than they do today,
evidence of any lateral shifting of the dune. However, recent depositing lake sediments (Teller and Lancaster 1986).
studies using Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating and The sources for the sand that make up the Sand Sea are
Ground Penetrating Radar (Bristow et al. 2005, 2007) have probably varied and could include eroded material from the
suggested that a few hundreds of metres of lateral migration older Tsondab Sandstone Formation (Besler and Marker
have taken place in the last few thousands of years. 1979), weathered debris from granites and Karoo sandstones
Star dunes (Fig. 18.5), characterised by their pyramidal carried down by streams from the interior (Besler 1984),
morphology and radiating sinuous arms, are associated with deflation of sand from river beds, and derivation from the
complex, multidirectional wind regimes (SW–WSW, NE–E Atlantic shoreline. Lancaster and Ollier (1983) believe that
and N) that occur along the sand sea’s eastern margin, close much of the sand may have been supplied by the Orange
to the Great Escarpment. The dunes are highest and most River to the coastal zone and then been blown inland, and
widely spaced in the central and some northern parts of the this has recently been confirmed by Garzanti et al. (2012)
erg, with progressively lower and more closely spaced dunes and Gehring et al. (2014).
towards the margins. Some of the star dunes, including those
in proximity to the much visited Sossus Vlei, are well over
150 m high, and some may reach heights of 200–300 m, 18.4 The Source and Colour of the Dune
making them some of the largest dunes in the world, only Sands
exceeded perhaps by those of China’s Badain Jaran Desert.
The sharply defined northern margin of the Sand Sea is The colour of the dune sand of the Namib shows clear
formed by the Kuiseb River, for although this is only spatial trends (Fig. 18.6). In coastal areas dominated by
ephemeral, it flows sufficiently often and powerfully to crescentic dunes the sand is yellowish brown to light yel-
prevent the dunes, driven by winds from the south, from lowish brown, whereas in eastern areas it becomes a very
moving further north, except in the immediate coastal fringe striking yellowish red, a shade that would not disgrace a
between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund. Further south, rivers ripe apricot. Four main hypotheses have been suggested to
deriving their flow from the mountains of the interior, such account for the reddening of dunes as one progresses
as the Tsauchab and the Tsondab Vleis, have entered the inland (Walden et al. 1996; Walden and White 1997). The
dune field and deposited light coloured, horizontally first of these is that the increasing age of the sands inland

Fig. 18.5 Star dunes near Sossus

Vlei
126 18 Namib Sand Sea

Fig. 18.6 Dune colour trends in

the Namib Sand Sea (from
Walden and White 1997, Fig. 1)

allows greater time for weathering processes to develop the References

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is that in areas of active sand transport and high energy Bagnold RA (1941) The physics of blown sand and desert dunes.
winds near the coast, coatings may be lost or fail to Methuen, London
develop. The third is that different sand source materials Barnes J (2001) Barchan dunes on the Kuiseb River delta, Namibia.
occur in the coastal zone compared with inland. Finally, it S Afr Geogr J 83:283–292
Besler H, Marker ME (1979) Namib Sandstone: a distinct lithological
may be that a regional climatic gradient with warmer and unit. Trans Geol Soc S Afr 82:155–160
wetter conditions inland provides a control on the rates of Besler H (1984) The development of the Namib dune field according to
weathering processes which generate the haematite coat- sedimentological and geomorphological evidence. In: Vogel JC (ed)
ings. On the basis of detailed analyses, Walden and White Late Cainozoic plaeoclimates of the Southern Hemisphere. Balk-
ema, Rotterdam, pp 445–453
(1997) suggest that different sand source materials play a Besler H, Lancaster N, Bristow C, Henschel J, Livingstone I, Seely M,
major role, but that so also do age and environmental White K (2013) Helga’s dune: 40 years of dune dynamics in the
gradients. Namib Desert. Geogr Ann A86:381–388
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Bristow CS, Lancaster N, Duller GAT (2005) Combining ground Pickford M (2000) Fossil spider’s webs from the Namib Desert and the
penetrating radar surveys and optical dating to determine dune antiquity of Seothyra (Araneae, Eresidae). Ann Paléontol 86:147–155
migration in Namibia. J Geol Soc 162:315–321 Rango A, Chopping M, Ritchie J, Havstad K, Kustas W, Schmugge T
Bristow CS, Duller GAT, Lancaster N (2007) Age and dynamics of (2000) Morphological characteristics of shrub coppice dunes in
linear dunes in the Namib Desert. Geology 35:555–558 desert grasslands of southern New Mexico derived from scanning
Bubenzer O, Bolten A (2008) The use of new elevation data (SRTM/ LIDAR. Remote Sensing Environ 74:26–44
ASTER) for the detection and morphometric quantification of Segalen L, Renard M, Pickford M, Senut B, Cojan I, Le Callonnec L,
Pleistocene megadunes (draas) in the eastern Sahara and the Rognon P (2002) Environmental and climatic evolution of the
southern Namib. Geomorphology 102:221–231 Namib Desert since the Middle Miocene: the contribution of carbon
Bullard JE, White KW, Livingstone I (2011) Morphometric analysis of isotope ratios in ratite eggshells. C R Geosci 334:917–924
aeolian bedforms in the Namib Sand Sea using ASTER data. Earth Senut B, Dauphin Y, Pickford M (1998) New avian remains from the
Surf Proc Landf 36:1534–1549 Neogene of the Sperrgebiet (Namibia): refinement of the avian
Garzanti E, Ando S, Vezzoli G, Lustrino M, Boni M, Vermeesch P biostratigraphy of Namib Desert aeolianites. C R Acad Sci Series
(2012) Petrology of the Namib Sand Sea: long-distance transport IIA Earth Plan Sci 327:639–644
and compositional variability in the wind-displaced Orange Delta. Slattery MJ (1990) Barchan migration on the Kuiseb River Delta,
Earth-Sci Rev 112:173–189 Namibia. S Afr Geogr J 72:5–10
Gehring AU, Riahi N, Kind J, Almqvist BS, Weidler PG (2014) The Stone AEC (2013) Age and dynamics of the Namib Sand Sea: a review
formation of the Namib Sand Sea inferred from the spatial pattern of of chronological evidence and possible landscape development
magnetic rock fragments. Earth Planet Sci Letters 395:168–172 models. J Afr Earth Sci 82:70–87
Kocurek G, Lancaster N, Carr M, Frank A (1999) Tertiary Tsondab Stone AEC, Thomas DSG, Viles HA (2010) Late Quaternary
Sandstone: preliminary bedform reconstruction and comparison to palaeohydrological changes in the northern Namib Sand Sea: new
modern Namib Sand Sea dunes. J Afr Earth Sci 29:629–642 chronologies using OSL dating of interdigitated aeolian and water-
Lancaster N (1989) The Namib Sand Sea: dune forms, processes and lain interdune deposits. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclim Palaeoecol
sediments. Balkema, Rotterdam 288:35–53
Lancaster N, Ollier CD (1983) Sources of sand for the Namib Sand Sea. Teller J, Lancaster N (1986) Lacustrine sediments at Narabeb in the
Z Geomorph Suppl 45:71–83 central Namib desert, Namibia. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclim Palaeoecol
Livingstone I (1985) The dynamics of sand transport on a Namib linear 56:177–195
dune. Unpublished DPhil thesis, University of Oxford Vermeesch P, Fenton CR, Kober F, Wiggs GFS, Bristow CS, Xu S
Livingstone I (2003) A twenty-one-year record of surface change on a (2010) Sand residence times of one million years in the Namib Sand
Namib linear dune. Earth Surf Proc Landf 28:1025–1031 Sea from cosmogenic nuclides. Nature Geosci 3:855–862
Livingstone I, Bristow C, Bryant RG, Bullard J, White K, Wiggs GFS, Walden J, White K (1997) Investigation of the controls on dune colour
Baas ACW, Bateman MD, Thomas DSG (2010) The Namib Sand in the Namib Sand Sea using mineral magnetic analyses. Earth Plan
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Aeolian Res 2:93–104 Walden J, White K, Drake NA (1996) Controls on dune colour in the
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coastal part of the Namib Desert. Estudios Geol 67:207–215
 Sossus Vlei and its Star Dunes
19

Abstract
Sossus Vlei occurs as the termination of the Tsauchab River. Its westward passage to the
Atlantic has been blocked by northwards migrating dunes of the Namib Sand Sea. It is only in
exceptionally wet years that the Tsauchab reaches Sossusvlei. When it does so, the dry silt
pans of the valley (vlei) are replaced by shallow lakes. Star dunes rise up to 325 m above its
floor. They appear to be preferentially developed in areas with multi-directional or complex
wind regimes, and are often located close to topographic features, such as the Namibian Great
Escarpment, which modify the regional wind regimes and tend to increase wind variability.

Sossus Vlei, first documented in 1909 by Lieutenant Walter 2–3 km at c 25,000 years ago, and again in the early
Trenk of the German Schutztruppe, is one of the most Holocene at 9–7 thousand years ago (Brook et al. 2006). The
famous and iconic sites in Namibia and lies in the Namib Tsauchab today is a small, ephemeral stream which has its
Sand Sea within the Namib Naukluft Park. It is the most source to the east of the Naukluft Mountains. Before it
visited landform site in the whole country. It is notable for its reaches the sand sea it passes through a canyon that it has
huge red dunes, the colour of which contrasts with the created, the 30 m deep Sesriem Canyon. This is cut into the
almost white lake or flood silts that lie in the Vlei itself, and lightly cemented, calcified gravels of the Karpenkliff For-
the cobalt blue of the sky. Tourists can drive down the mation, which date back to c 15 million years ago (middle
Tsauchab valley on a good road, admiring and photo- Miocene) and which were probably deposited on a former
graphing the dunes that occur on both sides, until they reach braided plain of a Proto-Tsauchab. It is only in exceptionally
the Vlei, though some stop en route at about 45 km from wet years that the Tsauchab reaches Sossusvlei so that the
Sesriem to climb Dune 45. At Dead Vlei, gaunt skeletons of dry silt pans are replaced by shallow lakes. Recent examples
camelthorn trees stand on the vlei silts, and most of them of such years include 1963, 1974, 1976, 1987, 1997, 1999,
seem to have stated growing during a moist phase about 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2011. After a few months the vlei
880 years ago. They may have survived for around 300 years dries out and the pale, pan sediments crack into polygonal
before the climate deteriorated and killed them. The river forms.
derives its name from a Nama term for ‘the river where there Star dunes rise up to 325 m above the floor of the vlei
are many salsola bushes’ and these plants, Salsola aphylla, (Fig. 19.2). They rest in part on an elevated terrace cut into
known as ganna, are found all along the river and at Sossus the Tsondab sandstone. They are some of the biggest dunes
Vlei itself. Some of the sandy areas on the drive to the vlei known on the face of Earth, though not the biggest as has
have fairy circles, the nature of which is described in sometimes been claimed. Star dunes (or rhourds) are dunes
Chap. 25. that have three or more arms extending radially from a
Sossus Vlei is the current end point of the Tsauchab central peak. Each arm has a steep-sided, sinuous crest, with
River, the westward passage of which to the Atlantic has avalanche faces. Typically between 1 and 2 km across, they
been blocked by northwards migrating dunes of the Namib are often the largest dune type found in many sand seas.
Sand Sea (Fig. 19.1). In the past its palaeochannel, which is They have been recorded from many deserts, but have until
locally marked by gravels to the west of Sossus Vlei, may comparatively recently been the subject of relatively little
have entered the ocean at Fischersbrunn, south of Meob Bay. research (Nielson and Kocurek 1987). They are particularly
The Tsauchab reached beyond its present end-point by important in the Grand Erg Oriental of the Sahara (where

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 129
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_19, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
130 19 Sossus Vlei and its Star Dunes

Fig. 19.1 Google Earth image of Sossus Vlei, silt pans and star dunes. Scale bar 2 km (© 2012 GeoEye, Google)

Fig. 19.2 Sossus Vlei, with

nebkhas and white silts in the
foreground

they comprise about 40 % of the dunes), on the east side of Deserts and also from some of the Saharan ergs (Lancaster
the Murzuk sand sea in Libya, the north end of the Erg 1995, p. 71). They appear to be preferentially developed in
Chech and the north end of the Erg Iguidi. Good examples areas with multi-directional or complex wind regimes, and
also occur on the margins of the Rub Al’ Khali in south are often located close to topographic features, such as the
Oman, and the Badan Jarain desert of China. However, they Namibian Great Escarpment, which modify the regional
appear to be absent from the Australian, Kalahari and Thar wind regimes and tend to increase wind variability.
References 131

References Lancaster N (1995) Geomorphology of desert dunes. Routledge,

London
Nielson J, Kocurek G (1987) Surface processes, deposits, and
Brook GA, Srivastava P, Marais E (2006) Characteristics and OSL development of star dunes: Dumont dune field, California. Bull
minimum ages of relict fluvial deposits near Sossui Vlei, Tsauchab Geol Soc Am 99:177–186
River, Namibia, and a regional climate record for the last 30 ka.
J Quat Sci 21:347–362
 The Naukluft Mountains and their Tufa
Cascades 20

Abstract
The Naukluft Mountains occur on the western edge of the interior highlands and form part of
the Great Escarpment. The dissolution of ancient carbonate rocks within these mountains, has
caused streams draining the area to be heavily charged with dissolved calcium carbonate. As a
result, large accumulations of freshwater calcium carbonate have been produced at points
within the channel, often forming impressive cascades and barrages. These are known as tufa
or travertine deposits, and their formation is often mediated and influenced by plants and
microbes growing within the streams.

The Naukluft Mountains form one of the corner buttresses of dioxide is removed from the water through turbulent
the Great Escarpment (see Chap. 1) that marks the western degassing, evaporation, or biological uptake. Suitable con-
edge of the interior highlands. They rise to as much as ditions for precipitation of tufa and travertine are often found
1,965 m above sea level, and are composed of three main in or near karst areas where dissolution of limestone pro-
geological units: the metamorphic and intrusive rocks of the vides high levels of dissolved carbonate, or where thermal
Rehoboth and Sinclair sequences (c 1,000–2,000 million waters, rich in carbon dioxide, originate in areas of recent
years old), Nama group sediments (c 600 million years old) volcanic activity. There has been much debate over the
and the Naukluft Nappe Complex (Korn and Martin 1959), major controls on tufa and travertine formation and in par-
which was emplaced during the Damara Orogeny c 500–- ticular the role of organisms in their genesis. Certainly,
550 million years ago. Parts of this landscape are ancient, for aquatic plants and microorganisms can aid deposition of tufa
the much-folded mountains are truncated by a great, inclined —by providing precipitation nuclei, by removing carbon
peneplain, so that the highest mountains are flat-topped, dioxide from the water and perhaps also be direct precipi-
while the broad valleys, many of them U-shaped, may have tation of calcium carbonate—but in some environments
been moulded by Dwyka ice. The Nama sediments, which physicochemical controls on precipitation outweigh any
were deposited in a shallow, tropical sea, include limestones biological involvement. Within rivers tufas and travertines
and dolomites, and waters passing through these have first can form spectacular barrages often with waterfalls cascad-
dissolved them, to produce caves (Irish et al. 2000), dolines ing over them, and with clastic tufa accumulating behind the
and other karstic features, and then have caused deposition barrage. In some fluvial environments, suites of lakes
of tufa to occur (Figs. 20.1 and 20.2). become created between barrages. Around springs, mounds
Tufa and travertine are terrestrial freshwater accumula- and terraces can develop, and where springs debouch on
tions of calcium carbonate, whose formation often involves a steep slopes such deposits can form huge prograding
degree of organic involvement. The names tufa and traver- cascades.
tine can be used synonymously, but often tufa is taken to Tufa deposits are widespread in parts of the central Namib.
refer to a softer, more friable deposit whilst travertine refers They occur at various points along the Kuiseb Valley, where
to a harder, more resistant material frequently used as a they are called the Hudaob Tufa Formation (Ward 1984) but
building material. Tufas and travertines form in freshwater have their best development in the Naukluft Mountains,
environments where thermodynamic and kinetic character- where there are extensive cascade deposits (Figs. 20.3 and
istics favour the precipitation of calcium carbonate from 20.4). Tufa is found commonly in both northward and
carbonate-rich waters. Such conditions arise where carbon southward draining catchments in the Naukluft—although the

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 133
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_20, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
134 20 The Naukluft Mountains and their Tufa Cascades

Fig. 20.1 Blasskopf deposit,

farm, Naukluft Moutains

Fig. 20.2 Actively depositing in

the Naukluft Park

northward draining ones only experience relatively rare flows 1. An initial irregularity in the stream long profile creates
in today’s climate, the southward draining ones have peren- turbulence in the stream which leads to carbonate depo-
nial pools and small amounts of flow over the barrages and sition if water supply conditions are adequate. Moss also
cascades. The tufa deposits in the Naukluft Mountains show contributes to tufa deposition. A barrage gradually builds
the imprint of highly variable flow regimes that cause differ- up. These barrages can be vast and complex features,
ing facies associated with deposition, quiescence and erosion with steeply angled cascade facies developed where
as explained by Viles et al. (2007) who suggest the following water shoots over the top forming waterfalls. Pools
model of tufa formation to explain the different facies that develop behind the barrage so that laminated and reed
occur: facies develop in the quieter waters.
20 The Naukluft Mountains and their Tufa Cascades 135

Fig. 20.3 Map of cascades

upstream from Klein Blasskopf
(from Viles et al. 2007, Fig. 2)

2. A phase of episodic high flows causes incision of the enigma, but there is evidence for deposition within the
softer tufa barrages by large transported boulders. Total Holocene and further back into the Pleistocene. Brook et al.
obliteration may sometimes occur, but normally rem- (1999) present preliminary radiocarbon dates showing tufa
nants are preserved and the resultant deposits contain a deposition between 11,000 and 20,000 years ago, whilst
mixture of boulders surrounded by tufas. Stone et al. (2010) report a reliable U/Th date of c
3. Subsequent lower flow conditions cause boulder depo- 80,000 years ago for part of a large barrage in a southward
sition in the stream bed and tufa is deposited in their draining catchment. Tufa is acknowledged to be complex to
interstices. date using radiometric methods, because of multiple prob-
As a result of repeated episodes of tufa build-up and lems including detrital contamination and open systems
erosion occurring over very long timespans quite complex behaviour, as Stone et al. (2010) acknowledge. Despite the
barrage, cascade and channel tufa sequences can be devel- relatively dry climate and low water flow rates, there is clear
oped (Fig. 20.4). At Blasskranz, for example, the Klein evidence of current active tufa deposition within southward
Blasskopf tufa cascade is some 80 m high and 400 m wide, draining streams within the Namib Naukluft Park (e.g. along
whilst the main Blasskopf deposit is around 100 m high the Waterkloof Trail section of the Naukluft River) associ-
(Fig. 20.1). How old the deposits are is something of an ated with organic and inorganic influences.
136 20 The Naukluft Mountains and their Tufa Cascades

Fig. 20.4 Model of cascade

morphology (from Viles et al.
2007, Fig. 9)

Elsewhere in central Namibia, the accumulation of salt Irish J, Martini J, Marais E (2000) Cave investigations in Namibia VI.
may produce features akin to calcareous tufas. In the Swa- the desert caves in and around the Namib-Naukluft Park. Cimbeb-
asia 16:177–193
kop canyon, 8 km upstream from its confluence with the Korn H, Martin H (1959) Gravity tectonics in the Naukluft Mountains
Khan, groundwater seepage has produced a 200 m long wall of South West Africa. Geol Soc Am Bull 70:1047–1078
of tufa, festooned with stalactites and stalagmites. It encrusts Stone AEC, Viles HA, Thomas L, van Calsteren P (2010) Can
234
plant material and ostrich feathers, and XRD analyses indi- U–230Th dating be used to date large semi-arid tufas? challenges
from a study in the Naukluft Mountains, Namibia. J Quat Sci
cate that it is primarily composed of calcite and halite, with 25:1360–1372
some silica. Viles HA, Taylor MP, Nicoll K, Neumann S (2007) Facies evidence of
hydroclimatic regime shifts in tufa depositional sequences from the
arid Naukluft Mountains, Namibia. Sed Geol 195:39–53
Ward JD (1984) A reappraisal of the Cenozoic stratigraphy in the
References Kuiseb Valley of the central Namib Desert. In: Vogel JC (ed) Late
Cainozoic palaeoclimates of the Southern Hemisphere. Balkema,
Brook GA, Marais E, Cowart JB (1999) Evidence of wetter and drier Rotterdam, pp 455–463
conditions in Namibia from tufas and submerged speleothems.
Cimbebasia 15:29–39
 Linear Dunes of the Kalahari
21

Abstract
The Kalahari of eastern and northern Namibia has many linear sand dunes, some of which have
tuning-fork junctions. In the north they run from east to west, while in the south west they
generally run from northwest to southeast. Many of these dunes are currently inactive and may
be the product of formerly drier conditions. In the southwest of the Kalahari they occur in an
area where the rainfall is less than 250 mm per annum whereas in the northern areas the present
rainfall well exceeds 1,000 mm. Those in the southwest have mobile crests in dry, windy years.
In recent years a number of studies have been undertaken on the ages of the Kalahari dunes
using thermoluminescence (TL) or optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques.
These have shown that there have been a number of phases of dune accumulation over at least
the last 186,000 years and that the dunes of the south west Kalahari have been partially active
during both the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. The chapter discusses the various models
that have been proposed to account for the formation of linear dunes.

rainfall well exceeds 1,000 mm. Those in the southwest have

21.1 Introduction
mobile crests in dry, windy years, but over the rest of the
Kalahari most of the dunes now appear to be stabilized by
The dunes of the Kalahari are notable for a variety of rea-
vegetation. The great bulk of the dunes, eighty five percent in
sons: they cover a vast area, most of them are inactive, few
the southwest (Fryberger and Goudie 1981), are linear types
are very spectacular, most are linear dunes (Fig. 21.1), and
and this dominance is again reminiscent of Australia. The
many of those have particularly well developed ‘tuning-fork
linear dunes, especially in the southwest, have ‘tuning-fork’
junctions’ (Fig. 21.2). They are composed of the famous,
junctions that have a similar morphometry to dendritic stream
generally red and ocherous Kalahari Sand, which is domi-
systems (Goudie 1969) and which are seldom as well
nantly quartzose and for the most part derived from local
developed in other sand seas, except perhaps those of the
sources, including accumulated weathering products derived
Simpson Desert in Australia.
from Karoo and other rocks (Thomas and Shaw 1991,
Sect. 3.4.1).
The dunes extend from the Upington region on the Orange 21.2 Origin of Linear Dunes
River in South Africa far northwards into Angola, Zambia,
Zimbabwe and the Congo (Fig. 21.3). They form a great anti- What are linear dunes and how do they form? The first point
clockwise wheelround not unlike the pattern of dunes found to make is that linear dunes, or seifs, are straightish ridges
over Australia (Goudie 1970). Those in southeast Namibia with slip faces on both sides that run more or less parallel to
trend more or less from northwest to southeast, though to the the resultant wind trend. Linear dunes are also sometimes
east of the Karas Mountains there is a small area where the called sand ridges or longitudinal dunes, but linear dune is
dunes run from west to east. Those in northeastern Namibia now the preferred term, partly because it has no genetic
run more or less from east to west. In the southwest of the connotations. They often develop a sharp crest which
Kalahari they occur in an area where the rainfall is less than explains why they are called seif (a sword) in Arabic. They
250 mm per annum whereas in the northern areas the present may also display a meandering tendency (Parteli et al. 2007).

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 137
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_21, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
138 21 Linear Dunes of the Kalahari

Fig. 21.1 Google Earth image of parallel linear dunes in the south west Kalahari. Scale bar 5 km (© 2012CNES/Spot Image, GeoEye, Google)

Fig. 21.2 Google Earth image of dunes with tuning-fork junctions in the south west Kalahari. Scale bar 1 km (© 2012 CNES/Spot Image,
Google, AfriGIS (Pty) Ltd.)

They occur in loose sand in areas where there is seasonal or more unimodal wind regime if the sand is locally stabilised
diurnal change in wind direction (Fig. 21.4)—i.e. a bimodal by vegetation, sediment cohesion (due to the presence of
wind regime and where sand supply is relatively high salt, moisture or mud) or topographic shelter (Rubin and
(Parteli et al. 2009). They can also occur in areas with a Hesp 2009).
21.2 Origin of Linear Dunes 139

Fig. 21.3 The dunefields of the Mega-Kalahari. The 150 and 1,000 mm isohyets are shown

Some linear dunes may be modest in height (ten to Namib (Chap. 18) or those of the Rub Al’ Khali. The
twenty metres) and spacing (a few hundreds of metres) but larger linear dunes are often described as complex or
others can be considerably larger, with heights in excess of compound forms and may have multiple sub-dunes super-
150 m, and a spacing of one or two kilometres. Examples imposed on a large plinth or draa. In general, as linear
of the former are the dunes of Australia and the Kalahari, dunes get higher so they become more widely spaced
whereas examples of the latter are the dunes of the central (Lancaster 1995, p. 63).
140 21 Linear Dunes of the Kalahari

by modifying wind flow and by providing a local source of

sand supply from their dry beds.
One early theory for linear dunes was that they were
moulded by thermally-generated helical roll vortices (Bag-
nold 1953). These vortices, sometimes known as Langmuir
circulation, are created by shearing in the boundary layer of
the atmosphere. Bagnold suggested, speculatively, that
paired, horizontal roll vortices, whose axes are parallel to the
dominant wind direction, might sweep sand out of interdune
troughs and onto sand ridges where currents would meet and
ascend. In this model the wind pattern would create the dune
and the dune spacing would represent the width of a pair of
vortices. Roll vortices do exist, but a number of arguments
have been developed that suggest that this model is not of
general applicability (Livingstone 1988). First, there is little
coincidence in the lateral spacing of linear dunes and the
Fig. 21.4 The relationships between major dune types, availability of measured sizes of roll vortices. The latter are generally much
sand, and wind directional variability (after ideas of Wasson and Hyde, greater. Secondly, roll vortices display measured transverse
1983) velocities well below that required to move sand. Thirdly,
the model requires that winds blow parallel to the dune
There is a great range in the size and morphology of trend, an event which occurs rarely in many linear dune
linear dunes, and this suggests that it would be an error to fields.
expect to be able to explain them by any one simple model. Bagnold (1941) had also argued that linear dunes could
Some linear dune fields show a whole range of morpholo- form from barchan dunes that became deformed as they
gies, and this is the case, for example, with the south west moved into a regime which had less unimodal winds. This
Kalahari (Bullard et al. 1995; Bullard and Nash 1998). The may happen in local situations, but scarcely seems a model
presence of river channels may modify the patterns of linear that can apply, for example, in Australia, or, indeed the
dunes as is the case with the valley-marginal dunes in that Kalahari, where linear dunes are near ubiquitous but
area (Bullard and Nash 2000) (Fig. 21.5). They may do this barchans are almost absent. Verstappen (1968) suggested

Fig. 21.5 Google Earth image of river bordering dunes in the Kalahari. Scale bar is 1 km. The river valley runs on the north side of the road (©
2012CNES/Spot Image, Google)
21.2 Origin of Linear Dunes 141

that in the Thar Desert of India linear dunes could arise from Bagnold RA (1953) The surface movement of blown sand in relation to
the progressive elongation of parabolic dunes. This model meteorology. Res Counc Israel, Spec Pub 2:89–93
Blümel WD, Eitel B, Lang A (1998) Dunes in southeastern Namibia:
may again have local applicability, but many linear dunes evidence from Holocene environmental changes in the southwestern
occur in areas where parabolic dunes are absent, which is the Kalahari based on thermoluminescence data. Palaeogeogr Palaeoc-
case in most of the Namib. lim Palaeoecol 138:139–149
Modern models, based on field measurement of wind Bullard JE, Nash DJ (1998) Linear dune pattern variability if the
vicinity of dry valleys in the southwest Kalahari. Geomorphology
directions and velocities, relate linear dune development to 23:35–54
the effects of bimodal wind regimes. Notable here are the Bullard JE, Nash DJ (2000) Valley-marginal sand dunes in the south-
studies of Livingstone in the Namib Sand Sea (1989, 1993). west Kalahari: their nature, classification and possible origins.
He showed that the crest of the linear dunes migrated lat- J Arid Env 45:369–383
Bullard JE, Thomas DSG, Livingstone I, Wiggs GFS (1995) Analysis
erally in response to seasonally bimodal wind regimes, but of linear sand dune morphological variability, southwestern Kala-
that net sand transport was along the dunes. hari Desert. Geomorphology 11:189–203
Assuming that linear dunes result from the operation of Fryberger SG, Goudie AS (1981) Arid geomorphology. Progr Phys
bimodal wind regimes, there are two different ways in which Geogr 5:420–428
Goudie AS (1969) Statistical laws and dune ridges in southern Africa.
they may develop. On the one hand there is the downwind Geogr J 135:404–406
extension model which envisages that linear dunes extend Goudie AS (1970) Notes on some major dune types in southern Africa.
longitudinally by progradation along their length. They are S Afr Geogr J 52:93–101
fed by sediment from upwind and the dunes become pro- Lancaster N (1995) Geomorphology of desert dunes. Routledge,
London
gressively younger downwind. Telfer (2011) found evidence Livingstone I (1988) New models for the formation of linear sand
for this in the southwest Kalahari, by dating a linear dune dunes. Geography 73:105–115
extending into a pan. Livingstone I (1989) Monitoring surface change on a Namib linear
dune. Earth Surf Proc Land 14:317–332
Livingstone I (1993) A decade of surface change on a Namib linear
dune. Earth Surf Proc Land 18:661–664
21.3 The Age of Kalahari Linear Dunes Parteli EJR, Durán O, Herrmann HJ (2007) Minimal size of a barchan
dune. Phys Rev E 75:011301
In recent years a number of studies have been undertaken on Parteli EJR, Durán O, Tsoar H, Schwämmle V, Herrmann HJ (2009)
Dune formation under bimodal winds. Proc Nat Acad Sci
the ages of the Kalahari dunes using thermoluminescence or 106:22085–22089
optically stimulated luminescence dating techniques. They Rubin DM, Hesp PA (2009) Multiple origins of linear dunes on Earth
have demonstrated that there have been a number of phases and Titan. Nat Geosci 2:653–658
of dune accumulation (Thomas et al. 2000; Stone and Stone AEC, Thomas DSG (2008) Linear dune accumulation chronol-
ogies from the southwest Kalahari, Namibia: challenges of recon-
Thomas 2008) over at least the last 186,000 years and that structing late Quaternary palaeoenvironments from aeolian
the dunes of the south west Kalahari have been partially landforms. Quat Sci Rev 27:1667–1681
active during both the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene Telfer MW (2011) Growth by extension, and reworking, of a south-
(Blümel et al. 1998). western Kalahari linear dune. Earth Surf Proc Land 30:1125. doi:10.
1002/esp.2140
In future decades, with global warming, it has been Thomas DSG, Shaw PA (1991) The Kalahari Environment. Cambridge
postulated that many of the linear dunes of the Mega-Kal- University Press, Cambridge
ahari will become much more active in response to a reduced Thomas DSG, O’Connor PW, Bateman MD, Shaw PA, Stokes S, Nash
vegetation cover resulting from lower precipitation and DJ (2000) Dune activity as a record of late Quaternary aridity in the
northern Kalahari: new evidence from northern Namibia interpreted
greater moisture loss through evapotranspiration (Thomas in the context of regional arid and humid chronologies. Palaeogeogr
et al. 2005). Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 156:243–259
Thomas DSG, Knight M, Wiggs GFS (2005) Remobilization of
southern African desert dune systems by twenty-first century global
warming. Nature 435:1218–1221
References Verstappen HTh (1968) On the origin of longitudinal (seif) dunes.
Z Geomorph 12:200–220
Bagnold RA (1941) The physics of blown sand and desert dunes. Wasson RJ, Hyde R (1981) Factors determining desert dune type.
Methuen, London Nature 304:337–339
 The Weissrand and the Aligned Drainage
of the Western Kalahari 22

Abstract
In southeastern Namibia is a large area of aligned terrain consisting of broadly parallel
drainage lines, running approximately from NW to SE, and along which there are a multitude
of small closed depressions, called dayas. The depressions have developed on the extensive
calcrete deposits of the region. The spacing and alignment of the drainage lines implies (i) that
they may have been superimposed onto the calcrete by a formerly more extensive dune cover
and (ii) that the closed depressions may have developed along the drainage lines because of
localized solution of the underlying calcrete, assisted perhaps by other pan-forming processes
such as deflation and animal activity.

Analysis of Landsat 7 images of southeastern Namibia shows The spacing and alignment of the drainage lines on the
that there is a large area of aligned terrain (Fig. 22.1). It con- Plateau implies (i) that they may have been superimposed
sists of broadly parallel drainage lines, running approximately onto the calcrete by a formerly more extensive dune cover
from NW to SE, and along which there are a multitude of small and (ii) that the closed depressions may have developed
closed depressions, called dayas (Goudie 2010), identification along the drainage lines because of localized solution of the
of which on the ground is far from easy, given the great sub- underlying calcrete, assisted perhaps by other pan-forming
tlety of the relief. There is also an area of small dayas in the processes such as deflation and animal activity.
Ubib embayment of the Central Namib (Marker 1982), and In southeastern Namibia, the best developed aligned
similar features exist in the Aminuis area in the Kalahari. drainage occurs in a zone to the east of Marienthal and
The depressions have developed on the extensive calcrete Keetmanshoop and to the west of the Auob River, at *26oS
deposits of the region, which cap Ecca (Permian) sedimen- and 19oE. This area is known as the Weissrand. It covers a
tary rocks (which include shales and mudstones) and Kala- large tract of country that runs approximately 150 km from
hari Bed sediments, which include calcrete. The pedogenic northwest to southeast and 50 km from southwest to north
calcrete profiles of the southwestern Kalahari can attain east. On its western side, particularly in the north, it is
considerable thicknesses—sometimes over 30 m. The age of bounded by a clear escarpment, though further to the south
the Weissrand calcretes is probably early Tertiary and they this becomes much less obvious. The Weissrand is a plateau
are associated with the development of the African Surface with very limited slopes, and mostly lies at an altitude of
(Mabbutt 1955; Blümel and Eitel 1994). Some of the cal- around 1,000–1,200 m above sea level. To the west it is
crete contains fluvial pebbles, which form a scatter over the bounded by a depression which drains to the Fish River and
surface where they have been liberated from the calcrete its tributaries, one of which, the Löwen, also forms the
congolomerate by weathering. Although cal-silcretes and sil- southern boundary to the plateau. To the north, near Mari-
calcretes occur, most deposits are dominated by calcium enthal, there is a triangular outlier to the Plateau, separated
carbonate, with average calcium carbonate contents com- from the main body by the drainage of Die Vlak. To the east
prising *70–80 % (Goudie 1973). Thick, pure calcretes, lie the main linear dunes of the southwest Kalahari, most of
like other limestones, may therefore be susceptible to kars- which are *10–20 m in height. The aeolian dunes are
tification which involves the dissolution of calcium car- dominantly linear forms, many with tuning fork junctions
bonate to produce distinctive erosional terrain, characterized (see Chap. 21). Their alignment is predominantly from
by sinkholes. northwest to southeast, and this is exactly the same

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 143
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_22, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
144 22 The Weissrand and the Aligned Drainage of the Western Kalahari

Fig. 22.1 Landsat 7 image of the

Weissrand, showing linear dunes
in the east, pans, and aligned
dayas (courtesy of NASA)

alignment as the drainage developed on the calcrete surface (1) In Stage 1 there is an extensive calcrete surface over
of the Plateau. The dunes may have been more active in the which there is a complete cover of branching linear
Late Quaternary. dunes. Some very shallow depressions develop along
The depressions occur in large numbers. There are the interdune swales either as a result of deflation or
approximately 2 per square kilometer. They tend to occur in solution, or a combination of the two, but most of the
lines running from northwest to southeast, with around calcrete is not directly exposed to the atmosphere.
1.3–1.4 km between depressions. The alignments in which (2) In Stage 2 the dune cover becomes stripped from the
they occur are spaced at approximately 1 km intervals. The western part of the plateau, either because of a reduc-
depressions themselves have long axis lengths that range tion in sand supply, or because of a shift in wind
between about 100 and 1,200 m, with the mean being around direction. This exposes the calcrete surface to the
460 m. atmosphere. The depressions formed in the Stage 1
There is a striking near correspondence between the form an aligned pattern etched into the calcrete surface.
alignment of the Weissrand drainage and the alignment of (3) In Stage 3 the depressions are developed further as a
the linear dunes and inter-dunal depressions of the Kalahari. result of karstic processes, and themselves start to
Both run from northwest to southeast. It is this near corre- become foci for shallow drainage lines, which means
spondence which suggests that the aligned drainage align- that a more dendritic pattern develops. Such a dendritic
ment has been imprinted from a former more extensive cover pattern is accentuated near the escarpment edge, when
of Kalahari dunes. This cover formerly extended further west drainage cuts back into the escarpment from the Fish
than it does today, and has now largely been stripped off, River System, which lies to the west.
though small patches remain. Patches of linear dunes still (4) In Stage 4 when the calcrete caprock becomes pierced,
occur on the downwind sides of depressions like that at the underlying Ecca shales (Prince Albert Formation) are
Koes, and at the nearby salt pan at Vertwall. subjected to pan development by such processes as salt
The nature of the depressions (dayas) on the Weissrand weathering and deflation, and eventually large, charac-
Plateau (Fig. 22.2) and their spatial arrangement, suggests teristically shaped pans evolve, some with lunettes on
that they may have evolved through the following four their lee sides, as shown by Koes Pan (see Chap. 23). A
stages (Goudie 2010): centripetal drainage pattern develops, focused on the pan.
22 The Weissrand and the Aligned Drainage of the Western Kalahari 145

Fig. 22.2 Google Earth image of Weissrand dayas. Scale bar 5 km (© 2012 CNES/Spot Image, Digital Globe, Google)

Fig. 22.3 The Finger of God

(Mukorob) before its collapse in
1988
146 22 The Weissrand and the Aligned Drainage of the Western Kalahari

One very distinctive landform that used to exist on the References

western side of the Weissrand was a very slim and precari-
ous rock pillar called Mukorob (the Finger of God) Blümel WD, Eitel B (1994) Tertiäre Deckschichten und Kalkrusten in
(Fig. 22.3). The sandstones and mudstones that the Mukorob Namibia: Entstehung und geomorphologische Bedeutung. Z Geo-
was developed in belong to the Permian Prince Albert For- morp 38:385–403
Goudie AS (1973) Duricrusts in tropical and subtropical landscapes.
mation of the Karoo Sequence (270 million years old). The
Oxford University Press, Oxford
structure was 12 m high and up to 4.5 m wide, and weighed Goudie AS (2010) Dayas: distribution and morphology of dryland
some 450 tons. Its base, developed in erodible mudstone, solutional depressions developed in limestones. Z Geomorph
just 3 m long and 1.5 m wide, was narrower than the mass of 54:145–159
Mabbutt JA (1955) Erosion surfaces in Namaqualand and the ages of
rock which it supported. With the soft mudstone neck eaten
surface deposits in the south-western Kalahari. Trans Geol Soc S
away at a greater rate than the sandstone head, the neck Afr 58:13–29
eventually became too thin to support the head. It collapsed Marker M (1982) Aspects of Namib geomorphology: a doline karst.
in December, 1988, perhaps because of an earth tremor or Palaeoecol Afr 15:187–199
because of a rainstorm, thus depriving Namibia of one of its
most visited landforms.
 Koes and the Nature and Origin of Pans
23

Abstract
In the western Kalahari there is a group of classic pans. Such closed depressions are
widespread in the Kalahari. Their origin has generated a large literature and hypotheses for
their formation have included solution, excavation by animals, karstic and pseudo-karstic
solution, and tectonic subsidence. However, that most pans are at least in part of aeolian origin
is indicated by their distinctive morphology, their orientation with regard to prevailing wind
directions, the bulbous shore on their lee sides, the presence of lunettes (composed in part of
sediment deflated from pan floors) on their lee sides and observations on the ground and from
space of dust plumes blowing from their surfaces. Lunette dunes are composed of mixtures of
clay, silt, sand and salts derived from the pan floor, and there may be several generations
evident.

In the western Kalahari, on the Weissrand Plateau, there is a The origin of pans has generated a large literature and
group of classic pans of which Koes is the most impressive hypotheses for their formation have included solution,
and accessible (Fig. 23.1). It has well developed lunette excavation by animals (elephants, hogs, etc.), karstic and
dunes forming mounds on its southeast margin, and a cluster pseudo-karstic solution, and tectonic subsidence (Goudie
of linear dunes running away from it in a south easterly and Wells 1995). That pans are at least in part of aeolian
direction. It is about 4.3 km across (from SW–NE), and has a origin is indicated by their distinctive morphology (it has
classic bulbous shore on its south east side. Its lowest point, often been likened to a pork chop) with a crenulated wind-
at about 964 m above sea level is c 50–60 m lower than the ward side and a bulbous concave lee side, their orientation
plateau into which is it cut. Heading south eastwards from with regard to prevailing wind directions, the presence of
Koes are a number of other pans, all of which have a similar lunettes (composed in part of sediment deflated from pan
morphology and all of which have a cordon of lunettes and floors) on their lee sides (as is the case at Koes and its
linear dunes on their south east sides. neighbours) and observations on the ground and from space
Such closed depressions are widespread in Namibia of dust plumes blowing from their surfaces (Vickery et al.
(Fig. 23.2), especially in the Kalahari. Large numbers, ori- 2013). That said, other processes may contribute to the
ented in response to north westerly winds, occur in an development of closed depressions in desert areas, including
immense tract of country to the east of Karasburg, Keet- solution and animal excavation. The last process may have
manshoop and Marienthal towards the Botswana border. been more potent before huge herds of wild animals were
Another rather smaller group occurs in the vicinity of Tsu- decimated by human hunting (Alison 1899).
mkwe in north east Namibia, and yet another large tract of Paul Shaw and David Thomas, two desert geomorphol-
pans occurs in the Ohangwena and Oshitoko districts between ogists with extensive Kalahari experience, have suggested
Etosha Pan and the Angolan border. These appear to have that desert depressions originate through four main types of
become oriented in response to winds blowing from the east. process: structural controls (e.g. faulting and rifting, and

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 147
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_23, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
148 23 Koes and the Nature and Origin of Pans

Fig. 23.1 Google Earth Image of

Koes Pan. Scale bar 2 km (©
2012CNES/Spot Image, Google)

excavated material, frequently (though not invariably) occur

on their lee sides. In addition to a rainfall control on their
distribution (they are a feature of semi-arid areas) there is
also a strong control exercised by surface materials. The
pans of southern Africa tend to occur on Ecca Shales, which
weathers into fine-grained material, and Kalahari Sands,
which are essentially friable. Both are therefore deflated
relatively easily compared to stronger or coarser materials.
Goudie (1999) developed a model of pan development
(Fig. 23.3) which both recognized the variety of formative
influences, and classified them into various categories. First
of all, there is the predisposing condition of low precipita-
tion which has various consequences: vegetation cover is
limited and so deflation can occur; animals concentrate at
pans, causing trampling and overgrazing which also promote
deflation; and salt accumulation occurs so that salt weath-
ering can attack the fine-grained bedrock in which the
depression lies, producing rock flour which can then be
Fig. 23.2 The three main areas of inland pans in Namibia. A northern
evacuated by the wind (Goudie and Viles 1997). These are
area, B Tsumkwe area, C south western Kalahari
accentuating processes, which serve to enlarge hollows,
whether they are formed by other initial formative processes
downwarping); erosional controls (e.g. deflation, solution, such as solution of carbonate and gypsum beds, or tectonics.
animal scouring); ponding (e.g. in interdune troughs or It is also important if pans are to develop that the initial
ephemeral rivers) and dramatic (e.g. meteorite impacts, surface depression is not obliterated by the action of inte-
volcanic cratering) (Shaw and Thomas 1997). Pans are a grated or effective fluvial systems. Non-restraining condi-
feature of low angle surfaces on which the development of tions that limit fluvial activity are low angle slopes, episodic
integrated surface drainage is limited. Whilst they probably desiccation and dune encroachment, the presence of dolerite
result from a variety of processes, aeolian excavation is intrusions and tectonic disturbance. In addition it is impor-
probably the most important. Lunette dunes, composed of tant that pans do not lie in areas of active sand accumulation
23 Koes and the Nature and Origin of Pans 149

Fig. 23.3 A model of pan

development (From Goudie 1999,
Fig. 8.6)

which might cause infilling of an existing hollow, though other semi-arid areas, including the High Plains of America,
pans can and do develop in inter-dune depressions, partic- Tunisia, the Pampas of Argentina, the West Siberian
ularly in linear and parabolic dune fields. Steppes, and the interior of South Africa (Goudie and
Lunette dunes of the type found downwind from Koes Thomas 1985). They are composed of mixtures of clay, silt,
(Fig. 23.4) were first named about seven decades ago in sand and salts derived from the pan floor, and there may be
Australia, and since then have been recorded from many several generations evident. At Koes, Lancaster (2000)
150 23 Koes and the Nature and Origin of Pans

identified an inner clay lunette and two outer, sandier lu-

nettes. Linear dunes in the vicinity of Koes and its neigh-
bours may have been active in the early Holocene (Blümel
et al. 1998).

References

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South Afr 4:159–161
Blümel WD, Eitel B, Lang A (1998) Dunes in southeastern Namibia:
evidence from Holocene environmental changes in the southwestern
Kalahari based on thermoluminescence data. Palaeogeogr Palaeoc-
lim Palaeoecol 138:139–149
Goudie AS (1999) Wind erosional landforms: yardangs and pans. In:
Goudie AS, Livingstone I, Stokes S (eds) Aeolian environments,
sediments and landforms. Wiley, Chichester, pp 167–180
Goudie AS, Thomas DSG (1985) Pans in southern Africa with
particular reference to South Africa and Zimbabwe. Z Geomorph
29:1–19
Goudie AS, Viles HA (1997) Salt weathering hazards. Wiley,
Chichester
Goudie AS, Wells GL (1995) The nature, distribution and formation of
pans in arid zones. Earth-Sci Rev 38:1–69
Lancaster N (2000) Eolian deposits. In: Partridge TC, Maud R (eds)
The Cenozoic of southern Africa. Oxford University Press, New
York, pp 73–87
Shaw PA, Thomas DSG (1997) Pans, playas and salt lakes. In: Thomas
DSG (ed) Arid zone geomorphology: process, form and change in
drylands, 2nd edn. Wiley, Chichester, pp 293–317
Vickery KJ, Eckardt FD, Bryant RG (2013) A sub-basin scale dust
plume source frequency inventory for southern Africa, 2005–2008.
Fig. 23.4 Koes Pan cross-profile and sketch showing the three lunettes Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1002/grl.50968
and the leeward linear dunes (Modified after Lancaster 2000)
 Circular Geomorphic Features: Roter Kamm
and Gross Brukkaros 24

Abstract
Roter Kamm and Gross Brukkaros are two circular structures which at first sight might appear
to have a similar origin. This is not the case. Roter Kamm, which lies in the Sperrgebiet,
developed in 1,200 million year old Precambrian granitic rocks as a result of meteorite impact
in the Pliocene c 3.7–5 million years ago. Gross Brukkaros is an impressive and isolated hill
near Berseba, whose formation began towards the end of the Cretaceous c 75 million years
ago. It started with the intrusion of carbonatite-rich magma into the Nama sediments that then
covered this part of Namibia. The Brukkaros inselberg has since been brought into landscape
prominence by downwearing of the surrounding surface.

24.1 Roter Kamm and Other Meteorite 1965; Fudali 1973). It is thought to have formed in the
Impacts Pliocene c 3.7–5 million years ago (Miller 2010). Its impact
origin is indicated by the fact that it has a relatively low,
In southern Namibia there are two circular structures which narrow rim, a broad floor and almost perfect circularity. In
at first sight might appear to have a similar origin. These are fact it is not perfectly circular, for the NW–SE diameter is
Roter Kamm (Miller 2008, Chap. 26) and Gross Brukkaros almost 250 m longer that its NE–SW diameter. This may be
(Miller 2008, Chap. 20). In reality there origins are very because the trajectory of the impacting body was north-
different. westerly (Miller 2010). It also contains shock-metamor-
Namibia is notable for the meteorites that have fallen onto phosed rocks (Hecht et al. 2008) and major ejecta aprons
its surface. In the north of the country, near Grootfontein, have been found, especially on the northwest side of the
lies the Hoba Meteorite, a 60 ton iron-rich monster that is crater. There are no volcanic rocks exposed and no evidence
believed to be the largest in the world (Spencer 1932). It of a volcanic explosion. Equally, no remnants of the original
must have fallen to Earth quite slowly, as it failed to create meteorite that created the crater have been recovered. It lies
an impact crater. In the south of the country, near Gibeon, within a zone of aeolian sands of the Sossus Sand Formation
covering an area of c 275 × 100 km, is one of the world’s and has been seen as a possible analogue for such features on
largest concentrations of meteorites. Also of importance is a Mars. The sand obscures part of the rim and fills up a large
beautiful circular crater called Roter Kamm (meaning ‘red portion of the crater by up to 500 m (Grant et al. 1997). The
ridge’ in German), which lies in the Sperrgebiet 50 km west morphology of the dunes around and in the crater are shown
of the mining town of Rosh Pinah at 27o46′S, 16o18′E. Its in the Aster image (Fig. 24.1). To the north west of the crater
rim rises c 140 m above the surrounding plain and 160 m there is an area that has been scooped out by deflation
above the crater floor. The diameter from rim to rim is c (Miller 2010). Lorenz et al. (2014) have suggested that the
2.5 km. It has developed in 1,200 million year old Pre- interactions between the crater and these eolian features
cambrian granitic rocks as a result of meteorite impact (Dietz provides a possible analogue for Titan.

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 151
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_24, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
152 24 Circular Geomorphic Features…

across, Morokweng, Kalkkop and Tswaing (formerly called

the Pretoria Salt Pan) all in South Africa and Kgagodi in
Botswana.

24.2 Gross Brukkaros: Product of Differential

Erosion

Rising up by about 600 m above the generally flat terrain

between Mariental and Keetmanshoop in the Karas region of
southern Namibia, and located about 15 km northeast of the
primarily Nama town of Berseba, is an impressive and iso-
lated hill called Gross Brukkaros. It Nama name is Geitsi
Gubib. Lying c 40 km west of Tses at c 28o52′S and 17o47′
E) it has a basal diameter of c 7 km, and a steep-sided ring-
shaped ridge bordering a central depression or crater and
with a diameter of c 3 km. Its top reaches an altitude of
1,586 m above sea level. Brukkaros Mountain rests upon
flat-lying reddish-brown sandstones and shales of the Fish
River Subgroup (upper Nama Group; c 530 million years
old), which were overlain by tillites and shales of the Dwyka
Formation (Karoo Sequence; c 220 million years old).
During subsequent uplift of southern African most of the
Dwyka beds were removed by erosion, but a few remnants
occur locally on the eastern and southwestern slopes of the
mountain.
At first sight it might be construed to be a meteorite
Fig. 24.1 Aster image of Roter Kamm, showing the neighbouring impact crater or volcano (Rogers 1915; Janse 1969), but the
sand dunes (courtesy of NASA) reality is different (Stachel et al. 1994, 1995). The formation
of Gross Brukkaros (Fig. 24.2) began towards the end of the
Roter Kamm is one of a number of impact craters that has Cretaceous c 75 million years ago. It started with the
been recognised in southern Africa. Others include the intrusion of carbonatite-rich magma into the Nama sedi-
ancient and enormous Vredefort structure, some 300 km ments. This magma, working with superheated steam

Fig. 24.2 Google Earth image of

Brukkaros. Scale bar 2 km. (©
2012 CNES/Spot Image, Digital
Globe, Google)
24.2 Gross Brukkaros: Product of Differential Erosion 153

derived from groundwater, caused the surface to bulge up Hecht L, Reimold WU, Sherlock S, Tagle R, Koeberl C, Schmitt R-T
and formed a 400 m high and 10 km wide dome, into which (2008) New impact-melt rock from the Roter Kamm impact
structure, Namibia: further constraints on impact age, melt rock
more magma was intruded, producing more steam. This then chemistry, and projectile composition. Meteoritics Plan Sci
caused a great explosion that blew out the centre of the dome 43:1201–1218
and created a crater. Groundwater drained into the new Janse AJA (1969) Gross Brukkaros, a probable carbonatite volcano in
crater, where it came into contact with more magma, leading the Nama plateau of Southwest Africa. Geol Soc Am Bull
80:573–586
to further explosions from deeper levels within the Earth’s Kurszlaukis S, Lorenz V (1997) Volcanological features of a low-
crust. In the final stages of explosive activity material from viscosity melt: the carbonatitic Gross Brukkaros volcanic field,
2 km deep was blasted out of the crater. This combined Namibia. Bull Volcanol 58:421–431
activity of water and magma is a process called phreato- Lorenz RD, Miller RM, Hayes AG, Radebaugh J, Barnes JW, Arnold
KD, Chandler CK (2014) Roter Kamm impact structure, Namibia:
magmatism. The hill is surrounded by many dikes and car- new field and remote sensing insights and analogies with Titan
bonatite pipes (Kurszlaukis and Lorenz 1997). Subsequently Dune: Crater interactions. In: Lunar and Planetary Science Confer-
the crater was occupied by a lake, in which at least 300 m of ence Abstracts, vol 45, p 1479
sediments accumulated. These contain fossils that indicate Miller RMG (2008) The geology of Namibia, vol 3. Geological Survey
of Namibia, Windhoek
the existence of a coniferous forest. Alluvial fans also Miller RMG (2010) Roter Kamm impact crater of Namibia: new data
accumulated. Subsequently, the Brukkaros inselberg has on rim structure, target rock geochemistry, ejecta, and meteorite
been brought into landscape prominence by downwearing of trajectory. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 465:489–508
the surrounding surface—possibly an etchplain—since the Rogers AW (1915) Geitzi Gubib, an old volcano. Trans Roy Soc S Afr
5:247–258
late Cretaceous (Stengel and Busche 2002). Spencer LJ (1932) Hoba (South–West Africa), the largest known
meteorite. Mineral Mag 23:1–19
Stachel T, Lorenz V, Stanistreet IG (1994) Gross Brukkaros (Namibia):
References an enigmatic crater-fill reinterpreted as due to Cretaceous caldera
evolution. Bull Volcanol 56:386–397
Stachel T, Brey G, Lorenz V (1995) Carbonatite magmatism and
Dietz RS (1965) Roter Kamm, Southwest Africa: probable meteorite fenitization of the epiclastic caldera-fill at Gross Brukkaros
crater. Meteoritics 2:311–314 (Namibia). Bull Volcanol 57:185–196
Fudali RF (1973) Roter Kamm: evidence for an impact origin. Stengel I, Busche D (2002) Namibia’s oldest inselbergs—exhumed
Meteoritics 8:245–257 landforms of a Late Proterozoic Etchplain. In: Yang X (ed) Desert
Grant JA, Koeberl C, Reimold WU, Schultz PH (1997) Gradation of and alpine environments. China Ocean Press, Beijing, pp 121–143
the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia. J Geophys Res 102
(E7):16327–16338
 Mounds, Rings and Stripes
25

Abstract
There are various types of patterned ground in Namibia. The circular ‘Fairy Rings’ of the pro-
Namib are a vegetation pattern that has been likened to an ostrich skin. Mounds are also
abundant. In the Western Cape in South Africa they are termed ‘heuweltjies’ and are thought
to resemble the mima mounds of North America. Further north in Namibia one moves into an
environment where large numbers of mounds are produced by the termite, Macrotermes. In
the southern Kalahari there are extensive areas of banded vegetation stripes, which are
generally called tiger bush or brousse tigreé. The possible origins of these different patterns are
described.

Namibia is rich in patterned ground. There is a range of (Picker et al. 2012) or to growth inhibition as a result of
mounds, rings and stripes. They are spread over much of the allelopathic compounds released by dead Euphorbia da-
country and so no one site has been selected to visit and marana plants, but as yet there is no entirely satisfactory
view them, but fairy circles are particularly clearly seen in explanation for their origin (van Rooyen et al. 2004). It has
Hartmann’s Valley in the north west, mounds are commonly also been proposed that they may be the result of micro-
found in the north east of the country, and banded vegetation seepage of gases and hydrocarbons (Naudé et al. 2011).
on the west and south eastern margins of the Weissrand They are ephemeral features that have a lifespan on the order
Plateau. of decades (Tschinkel 2012).
The circular ‘Fairy Circles’ of the pro-Namib (a term used Mounds are also abundant (Fig. 25.3). In the winter
to describe the eastern, slightly wetter margins of the Namib rainfall belt of the Western Cape in South Africa they are
Desert) in Namibia (Albrecht et al. 2001) are a type of termed ‘heuweltjies’ and are thought to resemble the enig-
intriguing, but little understood, vegetation pattern, that has matic mima mounds of North America (Francis et al. 2012).
been likened to an ostrich skin (Picker 2012) (Fig. 25.1). In South Africa they average 17 m in diameter and 1.45 m in
They occur in their thousands in areas with sandy soils and height (Picker et al. 2007). Their average density is just
where the mean annual rainfall is 50–150 mm. They consist under 300 mounds per km2. Examination of Google Earth
of circular bare areas c 2–12 m in diameter surrounded by images suggests that morphologically identical features
perennial grasses such as Stipagrostis. In general they seem extend in south central Namibia north of the Orange River in
to decrease in size from north to south, with the largest a belt about 30 km wide up to c 27–26oS.
occurring in Hartmann’s Valley in the far north of the They have been the subject of considerable debate as to
country. Here there also appear to be some areas where the origin, with the role of bioturbation by rodents being
circles have ‘healed’, leaving circular patches of vegetation favoured for the analogous mima mounds of the USA
(Fig. 25.2a). Other features in that area are of interest (Burnham and Johnson 2012; Gabet et al. 2014). This
because they appear to have been elongated and possibly mechanism, involving mole rats, has been advocated for
deflated by south westerly winds (Fig. 25.2b). Fairy circles examples from the Cape Region in South Africa (Cox
are widespread between the Orange River and southern et al. 1987), but in southern Africa the southern harvester
Angola (Becker and Getzin 2000; Picker et al. 2012). It is termite, Microhodotermes viator, also appears to be impli-
possible that their origin owes something to the foraging cated. On the other hand, Cramer et al. (2012) have sug-
action of termites (Grube 2002; Juergens 2013) or ants gested that the mounds are the result of the protection of the

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 155
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_25, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
156 25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes

Fig. 25.1 Google Earth image of fairy circles. Scale bar is 100 m. (© 2013 Digital Globe)

Fig. 25.2 a Google Earth image of possible ‘healed’ fairy circles in Globe). b Google Earth image of elongated fairy circles from the far
the west of the Hartmann’s valley. On the east side of the image there north of Namibia. Scale bar 0.2 km. (© 2012 GeoEye)
are some partially healed forms. Scale bar, 0.25 km. (© 2014 Digital

soil from erosion by the presence of roots of regularly Further north in Namibia one moves into an environment
spaced woody shrubs, and that this protection produced where large numbers of another sort of mound are produced
deeper soils that favoured secondary faunal activity, by another type of termite, Macrotermes (Turner et al. 2006;
including that by termites. Grohmann et al. 2010) (Fig. 25.4). The morphology of these
25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes 157

Fig. 25.2 continued

Fig. 25.3 Google Earth image of heuweltjie mounds. Scale bar 0.2 km. (2012 ©AfriGIS (Pty) Ltd, GeoEye, Google)

mounds consists of three components: a central cone-shaped In the southern parts of Namibia there are extensive areas
mound with an average basal circumference of c 7.5 m, a tall of banded vegetation stripes (Fig. 25.5), which are generally
thin spire which tilts northward at an angle similar to the called tiger bush or brousse tigrée, but have only been very
sun’s average zenith angle, and a broad outwash pediment briefly described in Namibia by Stengel (2000) and by
that results from erosion of the mound (Turner 2000). Goudie (2007). Banded vegetation (tiger bush or brousse
158 25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes

Fig. 25.4 Google Earth image of termite mounds in Caprivi. Scale bar is 0.5 km. (2012 © Google, GeoEye, US Dept of State Geographer)

Fig. 25.5 Google Earth image of tiger bush stripes near Bullsport. Scale bar 1 km. (2012 © GeoEye, Google)

tigrée) is a clear vegetational pattern when observed from air facing upslope. The bands can form long and continuous
in arid and semiarid areas of the entire planet. It gives rise to stripes of vegetation or they can be interrupted and ‘degra-
a peculiar landscape formed by alternating bands of vege- ded’ to different degrees (Valentin et al. 1999). Indeed, four
tation (grass, shrubs or trees) and interbands of bare soil different patterns of vegetation have been defined by
(sometimes with termite mounds and or clumps of grasses). d’Herbes et al. (2001): banded, fuzzy, dashed or dotted, and
The vegetated bands are usually curved, with the convex part spotted. The principal environmental controlling factors
25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes 159

Fig. 25.6 Landsat image of

inter-dunal tiger bush (Courtesy
of NASA)

determining the different patterns are two: slope gradient of the Naukluft Mountains, but the main zone occurs
(very low) and mean annual rainfall (arid or semiarid between latitudes S24o and S28o to the west and south east
regimes). Such phenomena are extensively developed in the of the Weissrand Plateau between Marienthal, Keetmans-
world’s drylands where there is between c 100 and hoop and the South African border. It has developed where
c 600 mm of mean annual rainfall (Tongway and Ludwig the mean annual rainfall averages between 150 and 200 mm,
2001). but does not appear to occur in drier areas than this, probably
Banded and patterned vegetation is thought to be the best because there is less sheetflood activity and a much sparser
adaptation, for selected species, to water harvesting in arid vegetation cover. Examples of tiger bush are present in three
and semiarid environment as a result of spatial self-organi- main geomorphological situations: in interdunal corridors
zation (Rietkerk et al. 2002), with erratic and extremely (Fig. 25.6), on low angle slopes developed on alluvium or
variable rainfall. Banded patterns result from the interplay outcrops of fine-grained Ecca and Dwyka sedimentary rocks,
between mechanisms of short range facilitation and of long and along the courses of ephemeral streams. They do not
range competition with surrounding vegetation (D’Odorico occur on areas with complete aeolian sand cover (probably
et al. 2006), even if there is not yet a generally accepted because this restricts overland flow), on the top of the
model of banding formation and new analysis and models Weissrand Plateau (where drainage mostly seeps under-
are proposed with increased frequency (see, for example, ground through the aligned karstic hollows or dayas), or on
Ursino 2007). The general mechanism invoked can be steep slopes in mountainous areas, where runoff tends to be
summarized as follows: when water flows over the bare soil more concentrated. The dark stripes tend to occur with a
areas (interband) it does not infiltrate due to the presence of frequency of around 4–10 per km (i.e. the wavelength of a
crusty, almost impermeable, muddy soils. As soon as the cycle including a band and an interband is around
water sheet reaches the vegetated bands it passes over a very 100–250 m). This is broadly comparable to figures reported
porous soil (due to the disintegrating action of the roots) and from other areas in Africa and in Australia (see, for example,
it infiltrates downward. The water act also as a conveyor Valentin and Poesen 1999, Table 2, p. 7). Another tiger bush
sheet and leads to further accumulation of litter, sand, and location is on the granite pediment slopes near to Spitzkoppe
other organic and inorganic particles at the vegetated band (Fig. 25.7).
that acts thus as a dam. Finally, some linear vegetation patterns, found near
Tiger bush occurs in two isolated zones near Bullsport Berseba and Tses in southern Namibia, result from structures
(24o09′S; 16o25′E) and Mara (24o50′S; 16o38′E) on the edge in the underlying bedrock (Stengel and Busche 2003), and
160 25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes

Fig. 25.7 Google Earth image of tiger bush on the granitic pediments south west of Spitzkoppe. (© 2012 Google Image, GeoEye)

polygonal vegetation patterns of uncertain origin have been Gabet EJ, Perron JT, Johnson DL (2014) Biotic origin for mima mounds
found in calcretes and Tsondab Sandstone in the Kuiseb supported by numerical modeling. Geomorphology 206:58–66
Goudie AS (2007) Desert landforms in Namibia: a Landsat interpre-
terraces and interdunes to the south of Gobabeb (Ollier and tation. In: Goudie AS, Kalvoda J (eds) Geomorphological varia-
Seely 1977). tions. Nakladatelstvi P3K, Prague, pp 19–36
Grohmann C, Oldeland J, Stoyan D, Linsenmair KE (2010) Multi-scale
pattern analysis of a mound-building termite species. Insectes Soc
57:477–486
References Grube S (2002) The fairy circles of Kaokoland (Northwest Namibia)—
is the harvester termite Hodotermes mossambicus the prime causal
Albrecht CF, Joubert JJ, De Rycke PH (2001) Origin of the enigmatic, factor in circle formation? Basic Appl Ecol 3:367–370
circular, barren patches (‘fairy rings’) of the pro-Namib. S Afr J Sci Juergens N (2013) The biological underpinnings of Namib desert fairy
97:23–27 circles. Science 339:1618–1621
Becker T, Getzin S (2000) The fairy circles of Kaokoland (North–West Naudé Y, van Rooyen MW, Rohwer ER (2011) Evidence for a
Namibia): origin, distribution, and characteristics. Basic Appl Ecol geochemical origin of the mysterious circles in the Pro-Namib
1:149–159 desert. J Arid Env 75:446–456
Burnham JHL, Johnson DL (eds) (2012) Mima mounds: the case for Ollier CD, Seely MK (1977) Patterned ground near Gobabeb, central
polygenesis and bioturbation. Geol Soc Am Spec Pub, p 490 Namib desert. Madoqua 10:213–214
Cox GW, Lovegrove BG, Siegfried WR (1987) The small stone content Picker M (2012) Little landscapers: social insects transform landscapes
of mima-like mounds in the South African Cape region: implica- by recycling and releasing nutrients and increasing floral diversity.
tions for mound origin. Catena 14:165–176 Veld Flora 98:174–177
Cramer MD, Innes SN, Midgley JJ (2012) Hard evidence that Picker MD, Hoffman MT, Leverton B (2007) Density of Microhod-
heuweltjie earth mounds are relictual features produced by differ- otermes viator (Hodotermitidae) mounds in southern Africa in
ential erosion. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol relation to rainfall and vegetative productivity gradients. J Zool
350–352:189–197 271:37–44
d’Herbes J-M, Valentin C, Tongway DJ, Leprun J-C (2001) Banded Picker MD, Ross-Gillespie V, Vlieghe K, Moll E (2012) Ants and the
vegetation patterns and related structures. In: Tongway DJ, Valentin enigmatic Namibia fairy circles—cause and effect? Ecol Entomol
C, Seghieri J (eds) Banded vegetation patterning in arid and semi- 37:33–42
arid environments: ecological processes and consequences for Rietkerk M, Boerlijst MC, van Langevelde F, HilleRisLambers R, van
management. Ecological studies no. 149. Springer, New York, de Koppel J, Kumar L, Prins HHT, de Roos AM (2002) Self-
pp 1–19 organization of vegetation in arid ecosystems. Am Nat, Notes
D’Odorico P, Laio F, Ridolfi L (2006) Patterns as indicators of Comments 160:524–530
productivity enhancement by facilitation and competition in dryland van Rooyen MW, Theron GK, van Rooyen N, Jankowitz WJ,
vegetation. J Geophys Res 111:G03010 Matthews WS (2004) Mysterious circles in the Namib desert:
Francis ML, Ellis F, Lambrechts JJN, Poch RM (2012) A micromor- review of hypotheses on their origin. J Arid Env 57:467–485
phological view through a Namaqualand termitaria (Heuweltjie, a Stengel I (2000) Brousse tigreé – Muster und Materialverspülung und
mima-like mound). Catena 100:57–73 Pflanzewuchs in Südnamibia. Petermanns Geogr Mitt 144(2):4–5
25 Mounds, Rings and Stripes 161

Stengel I, Busche D (2003) Structurally induced sand ridge and Turner S, Marais E, Vinte M, Mudemgi A, Park W (2006) Termites,
vegetation patterns in the Berseba/Tses area, southern Namibia. water and soils. Agricola 16:40–45
Geo-Öko 24:163–176 Ursino N (2007) Modeling banded vegetation patterns in semiarid
Tongway DJ, Ludwig JA (2001) Theories on the origins, maintenance, regions: interdependence between biomass growth rate and relevant
dynamics, and functioning of banded landscapes. Ecol Stud hydrological processes. Water Res Res 43:W04412
149:20–31 Valentin C, d’Herbès J-M, Poesen J (1999) Soil and water components
Tschinkel WR (2012) The life cycle and life span of Namibian fairy of banded vegetation patterns. Catena 37:1–24
circles. PLoS ONE 7(6):e38056 Valentin C, Poesen J (1999) The significance of soil, water and
Turner JS (2000) Architecture and morphogenesis in the mound of landscape processes in banded vegetation patterning. Catena
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ermitinae) in northern Namibia. Cimbebasia 16:143–175
 Part III
Heritage Issues
 Valuing, Conserving and Raising Awareness
of Namibia’s Landscapes and Landforms 26

Abstract
The geomorphological landscapes of Namibia are of huge importance within their own right
and also for the foundations they provide for biodiversity. Whilst many landscapes are
conserved with statutory designations, other planned conservation zones have not yet been
implemented. Many human activities threaten the integrity of Namibia’s geomorphological
landscapes, and conflicts between economic development and geoconservation are not always
easy to resolve. Several bodies, including the Geological Survey of Namibia, are working hard
to improve public understanding of the special and unique geomorphological landscape of the
country. The importance of geotourism for sustaining Namibia’s geomorphological landscapes
should not be underestimated.

geodiversity (such as topographical diversity or relief vari-

26.1 Introduction
ation, number of rock types, number of iconic geosites), but
whichever one is used, Namibia would score very highly. It
The landscapes and landforms of Namibia are a highly
is a truly geodiverse country and one in which, because of
important natural resource for the country, matching in
the relatively arid conditions and lack of thick vegetation
diversity and touristic value the better-documented ecosys-
cover, the geological and geomorphological dimensions of
tems and species. Whilst people undoubtedly flock to
the landscape are clear to see. As Gray (2013) points out,
Namibia to see elephants, lions and other charismatic spe-
geodiversity is a very important factor underpinning biodi-
cies, the backdrop provided by the rocks and physical
versity. Without the rich geodiversity of Namibia, the bio-
landscape diversity across the country is also of immense
diversity of the country would be impoverished. For
interest to most tourists. The sheer beauty of the Namib Sand
example, the habitats provided by the ephemeral river sys-
Sea, as captured in so many tourist photos of the huge star
tems of the Skeleton Coast are vital to the maintenance of
dunes which surround Sossus Vlei, demonstrates the con-
the desert-adapted elephant population which roams widely
tribution that geomorphological landscapes make to inspir-
across these river systems. The elephants are supported by
ing tourists in Namibia. Valuing, conserving and marketing
the riparian forests which grow within and around the
the geomorphological landscapes of Namibia are three key
ephemeral stream channels, nurtured by the shallow
tasks in order to maximise ensure their sustainable conser-
groundwater and occasional surface flow. Furthermore, the
vation and enhance sustainable development.
lichen fields of the fog-influenced gravel plains along the
northern Skeleton Coast are crucial parts of Namib’s biodi-
26.2 Valuing Geomorphological Landscapes versity (including many rare and endemic species) and rely
in Namibia: Geodiversity on the desert pavement surfaces to provide a home.
and Geoheritage As Thomas (2012) notes, geomorphological processes
are, in turn, vital for the maintenance of geodiversity—
As reviewed by Gray (2013) geodiversity is an increasingly without the interplay of denudation and tectonic activity
used concept to describe the variety of geology, geomor- geodiversity of Earth would have declined over millions of
phology and soils within an area. There are a range of dif- years. Geomorphic processes refresh the landscape, creating
ferent metrics which can be used to measure such further elements of geodiversity. Gray (2013) also reminds

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 165
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_26, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
166 26 Valuing, Conserving and Raising Awareness…

us that geodiversity is important in its own right, as testa- against which world heritage sites can be listed, including
ment to the Earth’s history and as something that we should aesthetic, geological, geomorphological and biological.
value for its beauty, cultural associations and scientific sig- Other attempts at conserving the geomorphological
nificance. Many of the landscapes reviewed in this book, landscape have been less successful to date, but are never-
such as Spitzkoppe and Brandberg are iconic parts of theless important and reflect the richness of the Namibian
Namibia’s geodiversity and geoheritage. However, smaller geology and geomorphology. In 2004, a proposal for the
and less obviously dramatic landscapes such as those dom- ‘Gondwanaland Geopark’ was produced by Gabi Schneider
inated by the salt weathering at Soutrivier and the tufas of and colleagues with UNESCO funding. Geoparks are
the Naukluft Mountains are also important components of another UNESCO initiative designed to complement and
the complex and dynamic geodiversity of Namibia. extend the World Heritage list by protecting a larger number
of geomorphologically and geologically important areas.
What marks geoparks out as special is their joint commit-
26.3 Conserving Geomorphological ments to conservation of geodiversity, encouragement of
Landscapes in Namibia: From National economic development and furthering sustainable develop-
Monuments to World Heritage Sites ment within each park. The Global Geoparks Network was
established in 2004 and as of 2014 there are 100 Geoparks
The value of Namibia’s geomorphological landscapes can worldwide with high numbers in China and Europe. There
partly be measured by the number of sites listed for con- are as yet no geoparks in Africa.
servation at local, national and international level (Fig. 26.1). The Gondwanaland Geopark is an ambitious concept—
Namibia’s National Heritage Council catalogues, names and covering an area of c 60,000 km2 between 20 and 22oS and
conserves sites of outstanding importance. These are desig- 13–16oE in the central western part of Namibia. The geo-
nated as National Monuments. Among the geomorphologi- morphological contributions to the geopark are clarified
cal sites for which they have responsibility are Brandberg, early on in the proposal which notes that ‘the area boasts
the Fish River Canyon, Mukorob, Gaub Cave, Otjikoto, scenic landforms… and bears witness to geomorphic pro-
Spitzkoppe, Twyfelfontein, and Waterberg. Namibia has a cesses’ (Schneider and Schneider 2004, p. 1). It has been
large protected area network which consists of around 20 designed to contain several of the sites described in this book
national parks and nature reserves. While much of this is —including Brandberg, Spitzkoppe, Erongo and the Ete-
essentially done for conservation of fauna and flora, these ndeka Plateau. Addressing the aims of geoparks to promote
protected areas also, even if incidentally, give a large degree economic and sustainable development, the proposal docu-
of protection to key geomorphological landscapes. They ments how the c 45,000 population of the area could benefit.
include the Namib Naukluft, the Waterberg Plateau, Etosha They foresee enhanced geotourism activities, alongside the
Pan, the Fish River Canyon, and almost the entire coastline. long-established mineral extraction activities (e.g. for ame-
Within these conserved areas, strict rules apply to prevent thyst, dimension stone, salt and tungsten) and extensive
damage to the landscape from, for example, off-road driving. farming systems which cover some parts of the proposed
Namibia has two sites that have been given UNESCO park. By 2014 the Gondwanaland Geopark had still not been
World Heritage status, meaning that they have been turned into reality, largely because of delays in getting the
acknowledged as being of outstanding universal value— legislative framework in place.
Twyfelfontein (2007) and the Namib Sand Sea (2013). There Conservation of geodiversity and geoheritage reflects not
are in addition additional sites that have been placed on the only the values of the geomorphological landscape, but is
Tentative List: Brandberg National Monument Area (2002), also a measure of the threats to it. Complex and dynamic
the Fish River Canyon (2002), and the Welwitschia Plains geomorphic environments can be threatened by a range of
between the Swakop and Khan rivers (2002). These tentative human activities, such as bad land management practices
list sites all owe at least part of their value to the underlying and off-road driving (which can both accelerate soil erosion),
geomorphology and geology. mining (which can cause very large scars on the landscape,
Of the two current Namibian World Heritage sites, Twy- not only directly destroying landforms but also reducing the
felfontein is listed only for its cultural heritage values, because aesthetic value of the area) and groundwater extraction.
of the rock art found there, but this rock art would not exist With regard to threats to Namibia’s geomorphological
without the canvas provided by the rocks and geomorpho- heritage, considerable concern has been expressed with
logical landscape (see Chap. 7). Undoubtedly, it is the award regard to the potential spread of mining activity, not least in
of World Heritage Status to the Namib Sand Sea (Fig. 26.2) the Central Namib (Wassenaar et al. 2013). Many areas,
that is the most important event in terms of geomorphological have, for example, been granted uranium mining licences
landscape protection with the country. The nomination file (Fig. 26.3). Several licences have been granted within the
illustrates that the site meets all four of the natural criteria proposed Gondwanaland Geopark. A considerable threat to
26.3 Conserving Geomorphological Landscapes in Namibia… 167

Fig. 26.1 Protected areas in Namibia (http://www.met.gov.na/Pages/Protectedareas.aspx) (accessed 14th February 2014)
168 26 Valuing, Conserving and Raising Awareness…

Fig. 26.2 Delimitation of the

Namib sand sea UNESCO World
Heritage Site

the Namib Desert comes from off-road driving associated National Park is the drop in the water table along the Kuiseb
with mineral prospecting and tourism. The impact is the River, caused to a large degree by the extraction of
greatest on the gravel plains where vehicle tracks may groundwater near Walvis Bay. The Kuiseb River and the
remain for more than 40 years because the rainfall is too vegetation within it act as a windbreak that retards the
episodic and sparse to erase them. These unsightly tracks northwards movement of the Namib Sand Sea onto the
cause long-lasting damage to lichen fields. Lichens are gravel plains, and so any reduction in the river’s surface flow
particularly sensitive to mechanical damage as they grow or in the vegetation cover along its channel could have
extremely slowly. A major threat to the Namib-Naukluft widespread consequences.
26.4 Raising Awareness of Namibia’s Geomorphological Landscapes… 169

Fig. 26.3 Uranium deposits and mining licence areas. EPL is an exclusive prospecting licence (from Wassenaar et al. 2013, Fig. 2)

information about many even iconic parts of the Namibian

26.4 Raising Awareness of Namibia’s landscape (such as the Fish River Canyon) is very limited.
Geomorphological Landscapes: The Geological Survey of Namibia not only carries out a
Information and Geotourism vast range of fundamental research on the country’s land-
scapes and resources, but has also produced a range of
As has been found in many other areas, public understanding informative posters about major geosites (e.g. Brukkaros,
and appreciation of geomorphology and geology is much Twyfelfontein, Sperrgebiet, Gamsberg and Fish River) freely
less developed than that of species and ecosystems. Whilst available from their website. These provide an informed, but
many Namibian people past and present have undoubtedly comprehensible, account of the major geological and geo-
had close relationships with the physical landscape, there are morphological features. It would be good to see this series
few records of intangible cultural associations such as grow and reach wider audiences of interested visitors.
myths, told stories and legends. Establishing a collection of Several other activities have been designed to enhance
the diverse meanings given to different landscapes by dif- both the scale and awareness of conservation in Namibia,
ferent tribal and other groups would be of immense value. and whilst these largely focus on bioconservation they also
Modern scientific studies on the Namibian landscape, many help focus attention of the importance of conserving geo-
of which have been reviewed in this book, are diverse and morphological landscapes. For example, Namibia estab-
instructive—but not easy for lay people to access nor lished Namibian Coast Conservation and Management
understand. However, in comparison with many countries (NACOMA) project in 2005. The objective of this was to
within Western Europe, for example, the depth of scientific strengthen conservation, encourage sustainable use of the
170 26 Valuing, Conserving and Raising Awareness…

coast’s natural resources and to mainstream biodiversity Greater Sossusvlei-Namib, and the Greater Fish River
conservation in coastal and marine ecosystems in Namibia. Canyon landscape. Funding and commitment from politi-
Funded by the Namibian Government and by Global Envi- cians and a wide range of stakeholders is vital if these sorts
ronment Facility (GEF), its aims were to: of schemes are going to be successful.
• Enable Namibians to agree on a common vision for the Engaging tourists with Namibian geomorphological
management of the coastal zone landscapes is another vital task to increase awareness of their
• Develop and support the implementation of the Gov- value and the threats to them, and thus contribute to con-
ernment’s coastal policy servation. In Namibia there are have been many recent
• Clarify the legal and regulatory framework for coastal attempts to increase the participation within the tourist
zone development planning industry of indigenous people and to develop their share of
• Harmonize institutional mandates and roles for the the economic benefits of tourism. Such community-based
management of the coastal zone tourism activities can be a potent way of linking the different
• Provide required training and practical skills to key facets of conservation within Namibia—i.e. the conservation
stakeholders responsible for managing the coast of biodiversity, geodiversity and cultural heritage. Not-for-
• Improve awareness about the coastal biodiversity, envi- profit groups such as Namibia Community Based Tourist
ronmental problems and the coastal value Assistance Trust (NACOBTA) provide a forum for small
Similarly, the Namibia Protected Landscape Conserva- scale community tourism initiatives, such as that at Spit-
tion Areas Initiative (NAM-PLACE), or ‘Landscapes zkoppe which provide a campsite and local tours around this
Namibia’, is a five year project established by The Ministry major geosite.
of Environment and Tourism (MET), with co-financing from
the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and with the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the Imple- References
menting Agency. Started in November 2011, it aims to
remove barriers to conservation, provide landscape scale Gray M (2013) Geodiversity, 2nd edn. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester
conservation of biodiversity and build a more extensive Schneider GIC, Schneider MB (2004) Gondwanaland geopark.
protected area network. The project aims to establish new Proposal document. Accessed 21 Mar 2014 at http://portal.unesco.
org/en/files/31729/11400823131Gondwana_Park_draft1corr.pdf/
Protected Landscape Conservation Areas (PLCA) and also Gondwana+Park+draft1corr.pdf
to formalize already existing ones by introducing collabo- Thomas MF (2012) A geomorphological approach to geodiversity-its
rative governance structures. Each protected landscape in the applications to geoconservation and geotourism. Quaestiones Geogr
scheme will link an existing State Protected Area with 31:81–89
Wassenaar TD, Henschel JR, Pfaffenthaler MM, Nutota EN, Seely MK,
adjacent Communal Conservancies and Private Reserves. Pallett J (2013) Ensuring the future of the Namib’s biodiversity:
The project aims to add a further 15,550 km2 of protected ecological restoration as a key management response to a mining
land beginning with five demonstration sites: Mudumu boom. J Arid Env 93:126–135
landscape, Greater Waterberg, the Windhoek Green Belt, the
 Index

A Desert varnish, 33, 67

Ameib, 85, 87, 88 Dew, 100
Amspoort silts, 70, 108 Diamond Coast, 22
Angola, 3, 6–9, 12, 14, 15, 44, 55, 57, 121, 137, 155 Diamonds, 22
Animal tracks, 48 Dolerite dykes and sills, 32, 33
Apatite fission tracks, 11, 77 Dolomite, 4, 9, 22, 28, 62, 133
Atlantic Ocean, 3, 18, 42, 55, 73, 92, 122 Doros, 32
Auob River, 143 Dune colour, 125, 126
Dunes, 3–6, 8, 12, 17–19, 22, 28, 34, 41, 48, 50, 55, 57, 61, 69, 70, 77,
107, 115–118, 121, 122, 124, 125, 129, 130, 137–141, 143, 144,
B 147–152, 160, 165
Banded vegetation, 155, 157 Dust storms, 7, 41, 49, 61, 105, 106
Barchans, 28, 57, 58, 69, 115–120, 122, 140 Dwyka glaciations, 4, 27
Baynes Mountains, 4
Blasskrantz, 43
Bogenfels, 22, 41, 50 E
Brandberg, 5, 6, 11, 28, 32, 43, 77–79, 166 Earthquakes, 34
Brousse tigrée. See Tiger bush Elephants, 147, 165
Brukkaros, 6, 151–153, 169 Elizabeth Bay, 6, 22, 49, 115, 116
Bulls Parties, 85, 87, 88 El Niño, 40
Eocene, 42
Epupa Falls, 15
C Erongo, 5, 11, 28, 32, 79, 81, 85–87, 89, 111, 166
Calcrete, 6, 8, 9, 61, 62, 111, 112, 143, 144 Etendeka, 4, 11, 28, 30–33, 42, 69, 73, 74, 77, 79, 85, 166
Cape Cross, 19, 32, 74 Etjo Sandstone, 28, 67
Cape Fria, 19, 55 Etosha pan, 4, 7, 8, 14, 16, 28, 61, 62, 147, 166
Caprivi, 4, 15, 40, 44, 47, 158
Case hardening, 95
Caves, 4, 62, 63, 85, 91, 92, 133 F
Chamais Bay, 59 Fairy circles, 28, 129, 155, 156
Clay castles, 70, 71, 106 Fauna, 47, 105, 166
Climate, 3, 7, 8, 18, 37, 40, 41, 43, 55, 69, 99, 108, 129, 134, 135 Fingerklip, 14
Coastline, 3, 12, 18, 19, 22, 32, 49, 69, 166 Fish River Canyon, 3, 9, 17, 166, 169, 170
Conas Cliffs, 122 Floods, 8, 12, 16, 17, 44, 69, 70, 107
Conception Bay, 23 Fog, 7, 38, 40, 41, 48, 92, 99, 100, 104, 118, 165
Cretaceous, 11, 17, 19, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33, 42, 57, 73, 74, 77, 81, 85,
152, 153
Cubango, 8 G
Cuvelai, 4, 8, 12, 15, 61 Gamchab basin, 6
Gamsberg, 9, 10, 169
Geology, 3, 27, 37, 42, 55, 77, 80, 165, 166, 169
D Geopark, 166
Damaraland complexes, 11, 30, 32, 41, 74 Geosite, 165, 169, 170
Dante cave, 42 Giant’s Playground, 33
Dayas, 6, 111, 143–145, 159 Glacial valleys, 15, 27
Denudation, 11, 74, 77, 99, 105, 112, 165 Gobabeb, 6, 12, 13, 37, 38, 38, 92–94, 97, 100, 107, 110, 124, 160
Desert pavement, 48, 49, 105, 165 Gondwanaland, 8, 10, 17, 27, 28, 30, 33, 41, 73, 166

A. Goudie and H. Viles, Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia, World Geomorphological Landscapes, 171
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015
172 Index

Great Escarpment, 3–6, 9–11, 15, 33, 37, 41, 122, 125, 130, 133 Mima mounds, 155
Groundwater seepage, 136 Miocene, 15, 28, 33, 42, 61, 63, 104, 111, 129
Guinas, 4, 63 Mirabib, 91, 93–95, 99
Gypsum crusts, 103, 104 Mount Etjo, 28, 30
Möwe, 19, 41, 57
Mud Islands, 19
H Mud volcanoes, 34
Hartmann’s Mountains, 55 Mukurob, 146
Hebron fault, 34
Heuweltjies, 155
Hoanib River, 7, 70, 73 N
Hoarusib River, 28 Nama-Karoo basin, 6
Holocene, 7, 22, 28, 43, 44, 61, 70, 107, 108, 129, 135, 141, 150 Namib Desert, 3, 6–8, 11, 40–43, 48, 92, 93, 95, 97, 100, 103–105,
Homeb Silts, 28, 107, 108 112, 115, 121, 155, 168
Hudeob tufa formation, 133 Namib Sand Sea, 5, 6, 12, 17, 19, 22, 28, 43, 55, 59, 107, 121–123,
Human impact, 48, 50 126, 129, 141, 165, 166, 168
Hunkab River, 14, 70 Namib sandstone, 122
Hydrogen sulphide, 104 #Naminus (Lüderitz), 5
Hyrax middens, 44 Natural arch, 81, 82
Naukluft Mountains, 5, 9, 17, 43, 129, 133, 134, 159, 166
Nebkhas, 122, 130
I Neotectonics, 34
Impact crater, 151, 152 Nossob River, 110
Inselbergs, 5, 6, 28, 67, 80, 81, 89, 91, 93, 99
Islands, 6, 19, 22, 32
O
Okavango River, 61
K Okonjeje, 32
Kalahari, 3–9, 18, 27, 28, 33, 34, 44, 48, 61, 130, 137–141, 143, 144, Okorusu, 32
147, 148 Omaruru River, 13, 97
Kamanjab, 4, 67 Omatako Mountains, 28, 30
Kamberg, 111 Omatako Omuramba, 12
Kaokoland, 7, 44, 55 Orange River, 6, 8, 17, 18, 22, 42, 58, 125, 137, 155
Karas Mountains, 6, 17, 137 Oshanas, 4, 16, 61
Karoo, 4, 6, 8, 11, 15, 27, 28, 32, 33, 48, 74, 77, 85, 125, 137, 146, 152 Otavi highlands, 62
Karpencliff conglomerate, 111 Otjikoto, 4, 63, 64, 166
Karstveld, 4 Ovambo Basin, 111
Keetsmanshoop, 33
Khomas Hochland, 5, 10, 12
Koes, 28, 144, 147–150 P
Koigab, 69 Palgrave Point, 19
Kuiseb River, 6, 7, 49, 91, 92, 107, 122, 125, 168 Pans, 4, 6, 8, 12, 17, 19, 48, 58, 87, 93, 99, 100, 104, 105, 129, 130,
Kunene erg, 55 144, 147–149
Kunene River, 7, 18, 55, 57 Parabolic dunes, 141
Paraná basalts, 31, 73
Paresis, 5, 32
L Passive margin, 73
Lake deposits, 43, 125 Phillip’s cave, 85, 88
Landslips, 28 Piet Albert’s petroglyphs, 67
La Niña, 37, 40 Plate tectonics, 41, 73
Lichens, 48, 49, 68, 92, 93, 105, 168 Pleistocene, 4, 5, 7, 12, 17, 34, 42, 43, 61, 70, 107, 141
Linear Dunes, 4, 8, 18, 28, 50, 57, 116, 117, 122, 124, 137–141, 143, Pliocene, 15, 28, 42, 61, 111, 151
144, 147, 150 Polygonal cracking, 85, 88
Loess, 7
Lüderitz (#Naminus), 5
Lunettes, 144, 147, 150 Q
Quaternary, 11, 28, 43, 44, 144
Quiver Tree Forest, 33
M
Marble landforms and weathering, 62, 91
Marienthal, 33, 143, 147, 159 R
Marine terrace, 19 Rainfall, 5, 8, 11, 18, 37–40, 43, 48, 55, 58, 62, 86, 93, 100, 103, 105,
Mekgacha, 18 137, 148, 155, 159, 168
Meob Bay, 21, 22, 129 Raised beach, 22
Messum, 32, 77–80 Rehoboth plateau, 5
Meteorites, 151 Rifting, 11, 27, 28, 33, 73, 74, 147
Index 173

River bordering dune, 140 Tsondab Vlei, 19, 125

Rivers, 3–8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17–19, 47, 48, 61, 69, 70, 91, 111, 125, Tsumkwe, 147, 148
133, 148, 166 Tufa, 5, 6, 13, 43, 133–136
Rodinia, 27, 28, 61 Tumas River and flats, 12
Rössing, 43, 49, 97, 100 Tywfelfontein, 28, 67, 68, 166, 169
Roter Kamm, 28, 151, 152
Ruacana Falls, 15
U
Ugab River, 15, 77, 103
S Uniab River, 14, 69
Salt weathering, 61, 92, 93, 95, 97, 99, 100, 105, 144, 148, 166
Sandwich Harbour, 3, 12, 19
Schwarzrand, 6, 17 V
Sesriem Canyon, 12, 129 Vegetation, 14, 37, 38, 43, 44, 47–49, 58, 70, 73, 108, 115, 121, 122,
Skeleton Coast, 6, 14, 19, 32, 55, 57, 69, 70, 116, 117, 121, 165 137, 138, 141, 148, 155, 157–159, 165, 168
Soil erosion, 49, 166 Vingerklip, 14
Sossus Vlei, 12, 19, 28, 125, 129, 130, 165 Vogelfederberg, 36, 91–93, 95, 97, 99, 100
South Africa, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 22, 74, 110, 137, 149, 152, 155
Soutrivier, 97, 100, 166
Speleothem, 43, 44 W
Sperrgebiet, 6, 33, 103, 151, 169 Walvis Bay, 5, 6, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, 37, 38, 41, 48, 49, 91, 93, 103,
Spitzkoppe, 5, 28, 32, 44, 77, 79, 81, 82, 111, 159, 160, 166, 170 115–120, 122, 125, 168
Spring mounds, 62 Walvis Ridge, 18, 32
Star dunes, 125, 121, 125, 129, 130, 165 Waterberg plateau, 28, 29, 166
Steilrand Mountains, 4 Weathering, 6, 7, 33, 48, 61, 67, 80, 81, 85, 88–95, 97, 99, 100, 105,
Stone pavements, 105, 106 126, 137, 143, 144, 148, 168
Sulphide eruptions, 104 Weathering pits, 81, 85, 88, 89
Swakop River, 12, 19, 34 Weissrand, 6, 111, 112, 143–147, 155, 159
Swakopmund, 6, 12, 13, 19, 34, 38, 40, 43, 97, 100, 118, 125 World Heritage Site, 67, 121, 166

T Y
Tafoni, 67, 93–97 Yardangs, 58, 59
Termite mounds, 158
Tiger bush, 47, 155, 157–160
Tsauchab River, 129 Z
Tsondab Sandstone, 11, 12, 28, 42, 111, 121, 122, 125, 129, 160 Zebra Mountains, 4