The vast Kalahari Desert is a dry region that occupies about 360,000 square miles (930,000 square kilometers) in Southern Africa. It covers most of Botswana, much of Namibia, and part of northern South Africa. Lake Ngami and the Zambezi River are to the north, and the Orange River is to the south. The Kalahari lies about 3,000 feet (900 meters) above sea level.

Geography

The Kalahari is covered mostly by reddish sand broken by dry lake beds. Dunes are common in the southwestern part of the Kalahari. These dunes reach anywhere from 20 to 200 feet (6 to 60 meters) in height. The desert has little surface water, but some rainwater does collect in natural ponds call pans. The pans are usually shallow and lined with salty clay.

Summers in the Kalahari are hot, and winters are cool with cold nights. Rainfall varies from year to year but ranges from about 5 inches (13 centimeters) per year in the southwest to 20 inches (51 centimeters) per year in the northeast.

An area is generally considered a desert if it gets less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain each year. This is true of the southwestern part of the Kalahari but not of the northeastern part. The northern region is considered part of the desert because it has no surface water.

Plants and animals

Although shallow-rooted plants cannot survive a year in the Kalahari, plants that grow quickly after a good rain can sometimes live until the next rainy season. Trees with roots deep enough to reach permanently moist sand levels do well. The dry southwestern Kalahari has shrubs and short grasses. The central Kalahari, with more rain, has shrubs, grasses, and scattered trees. The wetter northern Kalahari has open woodlands, palm trees, and even forests.

Despite difficult living conditions, the Kalahari is rich with animals. Among them are antelope, giraffes, warthogs, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, jackals, and bat-eared foxes. Birds in the region include the kori bustard, the sand grouse, and several types of larks.

People and culture

San (Bushmen) and Khoikhoi peoples live in the Kalahari. The San probably descended from the original inhabitants of east, central, and southern Africa. Only a few small groups remain in Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. The San used to live by hunting animals and gathering food, but some now work for white settlers. About half still follow a nomadic, or wandering, way of life, traveling in small groups and living off the desert. The few remaining Khoikhoi live mostly in villages and are farmers and laborers.

Europeans first entered the Kalahari as travelers, missionaries, ivory hunters, and traders early in the 19th century. Until the 1960s they lived in isolation and poverty. Since then, however, they have been able to own land there and improve their living conditions. Most other whites in the Kalahari are government employees or are engaged in private business.

Economy

Diamonds were discovered in Botswana in 1969–70, soon after the country gained its independence. Soon mining activities began to develop in scattered locations of the Kalahari. Tourism and the sale of handicrafts have also become economically important.

Grazing and some farming are possible in certain areas. The people keep herds of cattle to sell and goats to provide milk and meat. Most families cultivate crops of corn, sorghum, and pumpkins.

History

Early exploration of the Kalahari was difficult because of the region's lack of surface water and its deep sands. The Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone was the first European to cross the desert in 1849. The introduction of automobiles in the 20th century improved transportation into the Kalahari, but large areas still remained unexplored into the 1950s. By the mid-1970s transportation had improved so that people could travel more easily in the Kalahari.