Skeleton Coast
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The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
coast of
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
and south of
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire
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, Nami ...
coast. The indigenous
San people The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are members of various Khoe, Tuu, or Kxʼa-speaking indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures that are the first cultures of Southern Africa, and whose territories span Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia ...
(formerly known as Bushmen), of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell". On the coast, the
upwelling Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface. It replaces the warmer and usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The nut ...
of the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs (called ''cassimbo'' by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds annually, and the
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavy surf on the beaches. In the days before engine-powered ships and boats, it was possible to get ashore through the surf but impossible to launch from the shore. The only way out was by going through a marsh hundreds of kilometres long and only accessible via a hot and arid desert. The coast is largely soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops. The southern section consists of
gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...
plains, while north of Terrace Bay the landscape is dominated by high sand dunes. Skeleton Bay is now known as a great location for
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
. The Saltyjackal, a surf camp located in
Swakopmund Swakopmund (german: Mouth of the Swakop) is a city on the coast of western Namibia, west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. The town has 44,725 inhabitants and covers ...
, Namibia, is currently the only group that runs guided surf trips along the Skeleton Coast.


Etymology

The area's name derives from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore from the
whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...
industry, although in modern times the coast harbours the skeletal remains of the shipwrecks caught by offshore rocks and fog. More than a thousand such vessels of various sizes litter the coast, notably the ''
Eduard Bohlen ''Eduard Bohlen'' was a ship that was wrecked on the Skeleton Coast of German Southwest Africa (now Namibia) on 5 September 1909 in a thick fog. The wreck currently lies in the sand from the shoreline. Service The ship was a 2,272 gross ton ca ...
'', ''Benguela Eagle'', ''Otavi'', ''
Dunedin Star MV ''Dunedin Star'' was a UK refrigerated cargo liner. It was built by Cammell Laird and Co in 1935–36 as one of Blue Star Line's -class ships, designed to ship frozen meat from Australia and New Zealand to the United Kingdom. It served i ...
'' and ''Tong Taw''. The name "Skeleton Coast" was coined by John Henry Marsh as the title for the book he wrote chronicling the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star. Since the book was first published in 1944, it has become so well known that the coast is now generally referred to as Skeleton Coast and is given that as its official name on most maps today. See , below.


History

One of the oldest shipwrecks in the Skeleton Coast region is the wreck near the town of
Oranjemund Oranjemund (German for ''"Mouth of Orange"'') is a diamond mining town of 4,000 inhabitants situated in the ǁKaras Region of the extreme southwest of Namibia, on the northern bank of the Orange River mouth at the border to South Africa. Histo ...
which was wrecked during the 1530s. It is known to be one of the oldest discovered shipwrecks of the Iberian Atlantic tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa. On Thursday, 22 March 2018, a Japanese registered fishing vessel, MVF ''Fukuseki Maru'', got into trouble and ran aground near Durissa Bay, south of the Ugab River mouth, about 200 km from
Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The ci ...
, lying 2 km from the Skeleton Coast beach. All 24 foreign crew members were rescued by Namibian authorities. Past human occupation by Strandlopers is shown by
shell middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...
of white
mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...
found along parts of the Skeleton Coast.


Wildlife

Namibia has declared the
Skeleton Coast National Park Skeleton Coast National Park is a national park located in northwest Namibia, and has the most inaccessible shores, dotted with shipwrecks. The park was established in 1971 and has a size of .Shollenbarger, MariaMars on Earth: Traveling Namibia's ...
over much of the area, from the
Ugab River The Ugab River is an ephemeral river in north-western Namibia. Its lower section forms the border between Kunene Region and Erongo Region but its catchment area extends well into the Otjozondjupa Region. Ugab's source is near Otavi. From there ...
to the Kunene. The northern half of the park is a designated
wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
. Notable features are the clay castles of the Hoarusib River, the Agate Mountain salt pans and the large
seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
colony at Cape Fria. The remainder of the coast is the National West Coast Recreation Area. The national park would be part of the proposed
Iona – Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area The Iona–Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area is a proposed transfrontier conservation area for which four areas are being considered as components. Two in Angola are the: * Iona National Park, and the * Namibe Partial Reserve. The ...
. The coast has been the subject of a number of wildlife
documentaries A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in term ...
, particularly concerning adaptations to extreme aridity, including the 1965 ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' documentary ''Survivors of the Skeleton Coast''. Many of the plant and insect species of the sand dune systems depend on the thick sea fogs which engulf the coast for their moisture and windblown detritus from the interior as food. The desert bird assemblages have been studied in terms of their
thermoregulation Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...
, coloration, breeding strategies and
nomadism A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, Nomadic pastoralism, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and Merchant, trader nomads. In t ...
. The riverbeds further inland are home to
baboon Baboons are primates comprising the genus ''Papio'', one of the 23 genera of Old World monkeys. There are six species of baboon: the hamadryas baboon, the Guinea baboon, the olive baboon, the yellow baboon, the Kinda baboon and the chacma ba ...
s,
giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...
s,
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s,
black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...
, spotted and brown hyena, as well as
springbok The springbok (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is a medium-sized antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm ...
. The animals get most of their water from wells dug by the baboons or elephants. The black rhinoceros population was the main reason why the CBBC show '' Serious Desert'' was filmed in the region.


In popular culture

*''Skeleton Coast'' is a book by John Henry Marsh. The true story of the wrecking in 1942 of the British
refrigerated The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
cargo liner ''
Dunedin Star MV ''Dunedin Star'' was a UK refrigerated cargo liner. It was built by Cammell Laird and Co in 1935–36 as one of Blue Star Line's -class ships, designed to ship frozen meat from Australia and New Zealand to the United Kingdom. It served i ...
'' and the eventual rescue of all her 106 passengers and crew, at the cost of a tug, an SAAF aircraft and the lives of two rescuers. *''
Skeleton Coast The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San peo ...
'' is a novel by
Clive Cussler Clive Eric Cussler (July 15, 1931 – February 24, 2020) was an American adventure novelist and underwater explorer. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached ''The New York Times'' fiction best-seller list m ...
that uses the shifting sands of the coastline as a prominent plot device in the fourth entry in the
Oregon Files The ''Oregon Files'' is a series of novels written by author Clive Cussler and several co-authors. Craig Dirgo was a co-writer for the first two titles, Jack Du Brul was a co-writer for the next seven titles, Boyd Morrison took over as co-write ...
. *The plot of the 1968 fiction film ''
A Twist of Sand ''A Twist of Sand'' is a 1968 British adventure film directed by Don Chaffey and starring Richard Johnson, Jeremy Kemp, Honor Blackman and Peter Vaughan based on the novel by Geoffrey Jenkins. Plot A former British naval officer now makes hi ...
'' involves diamonds hidden in a shipwreck buried in the sand dunes of the Skeleton Coast. *Much of season 1, episode 7 of Amazon's ''
The Grand Tour ''The Grand Tour'' is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November ...
'' was filmed on the Skeleton Coast. *The final scenes of ''Golden Urchin'' by Madeleine Brent (a pseudonym of
Peter O'Donnell Peter O'Donnell (11 April 1920 – 3 May 2010) was an English writer of mysteries and of comic strips, best known as the creator of ''Modesty Blaise'', an action heroine/undercover trouble-shooter. He was also an award-winning gothic h ...
) take place along the Skeleton Coast down to Swakopmund. *The first episode of ''
Wonders of the Universe ''Wonders of the Universe'' is a 2011 television series produced by the BBC, Discovery Channel, and Science Channel, hosted by physicist Professor Brian Cox. ''Wonders of the Universe'' was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two from ...
'' featured the Skeleton Coast, and the shipwrecks there were utilized as part of an analogy by Brian Cox to demonstrate the effects of time. *Drummer
Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the ''Mode ...
has written an album inspired by his visit to the area, called ''Tales from the Skeleton Coast''. *Punk rock band
The Lawrence Arms The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively. Band history Pre-history Prior to forming the Lawrence Arms, the three band members were active i ...
released their seventh LP, ''Skeleton Coast'', named in reference to the region. * Dude You’re Screwed - Season 2 Episode 1


References


External links


Skeleton CoastPBS Golden Seals of the Skeleton CoastThe true story of the wrecking of the big British passenger liner Dunedin Star and the eventual rescue of her more than 100 passengers and crew
{{authority control Tourism in Namibia National parks of Namibia History of Namibia Coasts of Namibia