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Makgadikgadi
The Makgadikgadi Pan (Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up tens of thousands of years ago. Recent studies of human mitochondrial DNA suggest that modern ''Homo sapiens'' first began to evolve in this region some 200,000 years ago, when it was a vast, exceptionally fertile area of lakes, rivers, marshes, woodlands and grasslands especially favorable for habitation by evolving hominins and other mammals. Location and description Lying southeast of the Okavango Delta and surrounded by the Kalahari Desert, Makgadikgadi is technically not a single pan, but many pans with sandy desert in between, the largest being the Sua (Sowa), Ntwetwe and Nxai Pans. The largest individual pan is about . In comparison, Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Makgadikgadi
Lake Makgadikgadi ( tn, Letsha la Makgadikgadi, label=Setswana, ) was a paleolake that existed in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana from 2,000,000 years BP to 10,000 years BP. It may have once covered an area of from and was 30 m deep. The Okavango, Upper Zambezi, and Cuando rivers once all emptied into the lake. Its remains are seen in the Makgadikgadi salt pans, one of the largest salt pans in the world. DNA research suggests the lake region is the homeland of ''Homo sapiens'', where humans first evolved as a distinct species about 200,000 years ago, before expanding to other parts of Africa about 70,000 years later. Origin and history Approximately 3 million years ago, strong easterly winds formed long dunes, which ran from east to west across the middle of the Kalahari Desert. During wetter times, these dunes channeled the great rivers of the area, the Okavango, Chobe, and Upper Zambezi, southeastward to join with the Limpopo River and drain into the Ind ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Makgadikgadi Basin
The Makgadikgadi Pan (Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up tens of thousands of years ago. Recent studies of human mitochondrial DNA suggest that modern ''Homo sapiens'' first began to evolve in this region some 200,000 years ago, when it was a vast, exceptionally fertile area of lakes, rivers, marshes, woodlands and grasslands especially favorable for habitation by evolving hominins and other mammals. Location and description Lying southeast of the Okavango Delta and surrounded by the Kalahari Desert, Makgadikgadi is technically not a single pan, but many pans with sandy desert in between, the largest being the Sua (Sowa), Ntwetwe and Nxai Pans. The largest individual pan is about . In comparison, Salar de Uyuni in Boli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sua Pan
The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. It is located near the village of ''Sowa'', whose name means salt in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Nwetwe Pan. The Sua Pan was first described to the European world by David Livingstone, pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant archaeological recoveries have been made within the Nwetwe Pan, featuring Stone-Age tools from peoples who lived in this area when a large year-round lake occupied the Sua and Nwetwe Pans. The Brines of Sua Pan being one of the largest playa lakes in the world spans approximately 24000 square kilometers. While sodium chloride is the prime constituent, there are many other salts found within this area such as sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium sulfate, and minor amounts of potassium chloride (potash). Currently, Sua Pan is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kubu Island
Kubu Island (Ga'nnyo) is a dry granite rock island located in the Makgadikgadi Pan area of Botswana. The island is located a few kilometers away from Orapa and Letlhakane mining towns and can be accessed through Mmatshumo in the Boteti district. The entire island is a national monument, and is considered a sacred site by the indigenous people of the area. It is accessible by four wheel drive vehicles and has basic camping facilities. The campsite is run for the benefit of the local population. ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson described the island as "just about the most astonishing place I've ever been" on the Botswana Special episode. Natural history The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in northern Botswana, the largest salt flat complex in the world. These salt pans cover approximately 16,000 km2 and form the bed of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi that began evaporating millennia ago. Archaeological heritage The name ''Kubu'' means either "large rock" in the Kal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ntwetwe Pan
The Ntwetwe Pan is a large salt pan within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. The Ntwetwe is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Sua Pan. Ntwetwe Pan is now a seasonal lake with filling occurring in the rainy season. Ntwetwe was first described to the European world by David Livingstone, pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant archaeological recoveries have occurred within the Nwetwe Pan, including Stone Age tools from people who lived in this area, in an earlier time of prehistory when a large year round lake occupied the Nwetwe Pan area within the Makgadikgadi.C.M.Hogan, 2008 See also * Semowane River References * David Livingstone (1868) ''Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa: Including a Sketch of Sixteen Years' Residence in the Interior of Africa'', Harper Publishers. * Bryan Robert Davies and Keith F. Walker (1986) ''The Ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between livi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalahari Basin
The Kalahari Basin, also known as the Kalahari Depression, Okavango Basin or the Makgadikgadi basin, is an endorheic basin and large lowland area covering approximately 725,293 km2 covering most of Botswana and Namibia, as well as parts of Angola, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The outstanding physical feature in the basin, and occupying the centre, is the large Kalahari Desert. The perennial river bifurcation of Selinda Spillway (or Magweggana River), on the Cuando River, connects the Kalahari basin to the Zambezi Basin.Is this Harry and Meghan's honeymoon hotel? The Telegraph. 29 may 2018. General characteristics of the basin The |
Kalahari Desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert, whose name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". Etymology ''Kalahari'' is derived from the Tswana word ''Kgala'', meaning "the great thirst", or ''Kgalagadi'', meaning "a waterless place"; the Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. History The Kalahari Desert was not always a dry desert. The fossil flora and fauna from Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana indicates that the region was much wetter and cooler at least from 30 to 11 thousand BP (before present) especially after 17,500 BP. Geography Drainage of the desert is by dry black valleys, seasonally inundated pans and the large salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana and Etosha Pan in Namibia. The only permanent river, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nata River
The Nata River or Manzamnyama River is a natural watercourse in Southern Africa. It is an ephemeral river flowing in Zimbabwe and Botswana. It has a length of 330 km from its source to mouth, 210 km in Zimbabwe and 120 km in Botswana. Its total catchment area is 24,585 km2. The river originates in Sandown (S20.425036˚, E28.180660˚), a small farming town located on the Zimbabwean central watershed 50 km south west of Bulawayo and ends in the Makgadikgadi Pans (S20.348816˚, E26.240166˚) in Botswana. There is no outlet from the salt pans which can be considered as the “dead sea” of the south. The upper reaches of the river are located in a commercial farming area where good environmental and farming practices have resulted in the river experiencing very little siltation/sedimentation. Impressive sedimentation starts occurring about 65 km along the river course marking the beginning of a 90 km stretch in Zimbabwe where the river passes through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It is connected to Zambia across the short Zambezi River border by the Kazungula Bridge. A country of slightly over 2.3 million people, Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world. About 11.6 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city, Gaborone. Formerly one of the world's poorest countries—with a GDP per capita of about US$70 per year in the late 1960s—it has since transformed itself into an upper-middle-income country, with one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Modern-day humans first inhabited the country over 200,000 years ago. The Tswana ethnic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nxai Pan
Nxai Pan is a large salt pan topographic depression which is part of the larger Makgadikgadi Pans in northeastern Botswana. It lies on the old Pandamatenga Trail, which until the 1960s was used for overland cattle drives. The area is speckled with umbrella acacias and is said to resemble the Serengeti in Tanzania. The Nxai Pan was added to the National Park System to augment the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, thus providing an enlarged contiguous area of natural protection. The 'x' represents a palatal click sound. Click sounds are typical of the Khoisan languages and some southern Bantu languages. Wildlife This landform is a major part of the Nxai Pan National Park, and is a seasonal home to large herds of zebra and wildebeest. In the rainy season between December and April the pan becomes grassy and attracts these animals in their tens of thousands, along with smaller numbers of gemsbok, eland and red hartebeest. See also * Nwetwe Pan * Sua Pan The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boteti River
The Boteti River (also Botletle RiverHelgren, David M. (1984) "Historical Geomorphology and Geoarchaeology in the Southwestern Makgadikgadi Basin, Botswana" ''Annals of the Association of American Geographers'' 74(2): pp. 298–307, page 298Johannesburg Sheet 34, Edition 5, TPC, 1970 Series 2201, U.S. Army Map Service or Botletli) is a natural in . It derives flow from the core ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozambique to the east. The capital and largest city is Harare. The second largest city is Bulawayo. A country of roughly 15 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona language, Shona, and Northern Ndebele language, Ndebele the most common. Beginning in the 9th century, during its late Iron Age, the Bantu peoples, Bantu people (who would become the ethnic Shona people, Shona) built the city-state of Great Zimbabwe which became one of the major African trade centres by the 11th century, controlling the gold, ivory and copper trades with the Swahili coast, which were connected to Arab and Indian states. By the mid 15th century, the city-state had been abandoned. From there, the Kingdom of Zimbabwe was established, fol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
