The Baynes Mountains are a mountain range in Namibia.

Description

The Baynes Mountains form an

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

plateau in

Kunene Region Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo, its governor is Marius Sheya. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Besides the capital Opuwo, the region contains the ...

in northwest Namibia, near the border with Angola (formed here by the Kunene River). The mountains range in altitude from . The Baynes are of quartz sandstone and have steep cliffs and gorges. The Baynes Gorge is where the Kunene River passes the Zebra and Baynes Mountains before entering the

Namib Desert The Namib ( ; pt, Namibe) is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. The name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namib ...

. Annual rainfall in the Baynes is about .

Flora

Baynes Mountains flora include ''

Abrus kaokoensis ''Abrus kaokoensis'' is a plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to Namibia. The species is named for the country's Kaokoveld Desert. Description ''Abrus kaokoensis'' grows as a woody suffrutex (subshrub) tall. The leaves consist of four ...

'', ''

Baynesia lophophora ''Baynesia'' is a genus of plants in family Apocynaceae Apocynaceae (from ''Apocynum'', Greek for "dog-away") is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane fam ...

'' and ''

Euphorbia ohiva ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

''.

References

Mountain ranges of Namibia {{Africa-mountain-stub