Kalahari Desert
Kalahari
Desert, Southern African inland dry zone, also called
"Kalahari Basin", central and southern Africa is the main terrain area . The total area is about 630,000
square kilometers.
The
Kalahari Desert also translates the Kalahari Desert and the Kalahari
Basin. Dry inland area of southern Africa . Also called "Kalahari
(Kalahari) basin," Africa south of the main terrain area . The total area is about 630,000
square kilometers.
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| Southern African inland dry zone |
Geography
It
is a large basin-like plain on the inland plateau of southern Africa. It
occupies almost Botswana all, the
eastern third of Namibia and South Africa Cape far north
part. In the southwest than that of rice namely Namibia mix of
seaside desert as a whole. The longest part of the Kalahari Desert is
about 1,600 kilometers from north to south, and the maximum distance from east
to west is about 960 kilometers. Its area is estimated to be 930,000 square
kilometers.
North
of Lake Ngami , the
southern boundary of the Orange River (Orange River), about east longitude 26
°, near the West until the Atlantic coast. Mainly in Botswana territory
of Namibia, some belonging to Angola and
the Republic of South Africa .
Belongs
to the landscape in Africa Platform depressed
basin on the altitude of 700-1000 meters, 1,500 meters and is surrounded by
high mountains and highlands. The terrain in the basin is not very ups and
downs, and isolated islands and mountains occasionally appear. There are
many dry trenches and fine sand on the ground. There are Kalahari sand
dunes in the Kalahari Basin, which is the largest sand dune area in the world.
Edge
of the basin has a river crossing, its start and end points are outside of the
basin: northeastern portion width, r (Kwando
R.) and Zambezi upstream
(Zambezi R.); the northwest of the interior columns r (Cunene R. ) And the
Orange River (Orange R.) entrenched in the low-lying valleys of the south.
Kalahari
and Sahara Central
considerable latitude (just south latitude and latitude of
difference), similar to the climate, are also affected by the subtropical high pressure system
impact, dried ground throughout the year, annual rainfall of 125-250 mm.
Climatic vegetation
Its
climate and vegetation of the Sahara not
identical, slightly more due to precipitation of a certain vegetation
cover. The climate and vegetation change from southwest to
northeast. The west is desert, with succulent plants and shrubs growing on
sand dunes up to 100 meters high. And more rain north north-east, tropical dry grassland and savanna .
Landform
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| Kalahari Desert |
The
Kalahari Desert has little undulations, and there are sandy plains everywhere,
with elevations above 900 meters. The bedrock is only exposed in the low
and upright hills. They are few but conspicuously appear on the general
ground. In addition to this group of hills, three types of ground cover
all the characteristics of the Kalahari Desert: small sand plains, vertical
dunes and shallow lakes (depressions). The depth of sand generally exceeds
60 meters. In many areas, the sand is red, which is the result of a thin
layer of iron oxide covering the sand grains.
Dry lake
Or
depression is the biggest feature of the desert water system, and it is the
"dry lake" at the end of a very short stream. Water never flows
into the ocean from the Kalahari Desert, but each stream ends its flow in a
slightly lower pit, where there is no exit. When the stream dried up, the
fine silt particles brought by the slow stream settled down along with the
soluble calcium minerals and the salt condensed by the evaporated
water. The result is that these grounds have no vegetation, and appear
shimmering white when dry, hardened by the gluing activity of soluble minerals,
and sometimes covered by shallow, stagnant water. In places with low salt
content, the depressions may be covered with grass after rain.
Water system
In
the southern and central parts of the Kalahari Desert, surface water is only
available in widely distributed small puddles, and there is no surface water
system. Almost all the rain disappeared into the deep sand as soon as it
fell. Found in southern and some of the Central Kalahari a large number of
ancient water - some of it on the ground, others through aerial photography did
not discover. Even at the time of the most rainfall of the year, these
water systems are no longer functioning today.
soil
The
soil in the Kalahari Desert is mostly sand-based, with red color and low
organic matter content. From a chemical point of view, they are relatively
alkaline and extremely dry. In or near salt marshes, the soil tends to
contain calcium or salt, which is toxic to most vegetation.
climate
The
humid air mass comes from the Indian Ocean, with the largest amount of water in
the northeast (more than 500 mm per year on average), and a decrease in the
southwest (less than 130 mm at the southern edge of the Kalahari). But the
amount of precipitation varies greatly. Most of the rainfall occurs in the
summer when thunder and lightning are combined, and there are great changes
every year. The winter is very dry and the humidity is extremely low.
There is no rain for 6-8 months.
The
daily and seasonal temperature changes are extremely wide and regular. The
temperature in the shade in summer can still reach 43-46℃,
but it can drop to 21-27℃ in the same night; the
temperature at night in winter generally drops to freezing point or even as low
as minus 12℃.
Because
a deep layer of sand covers most of the land, it greatly affects the growth of
vegetation there. Shallow-rooted plants can not be a perennial survival
on the basis of, though annuals after a
good rain grow very fast, can sow the seeds of a good support to the next rain
season. Trees with roots deep enough to touch the layer of permanent moist
sand can grow well.
animal
There
are also more species of animals in the northern part of the Kalahari Desert
than in the southern part. The main varieties of south springbok , wildebeest and hartebeest (all of
which can sometimes occur in groups), as well as the East African oryx , eland and many
non-social species, such as kudu (large
antelope, have grown in the more dense bush areas), little rock, antelope
and gazelle . In
the " Dragon's Breath Cave " below
the desert , there is the rarest and most isolated fish in the
world-the golden catfish .
Kalahari Desert in northern raising a considerable number of giraffes, zebras, elephants, buffalo and antelope ( roan antelope , sable antelope and impala, etc.); carnivorous animals such as lions , cheetahs , leopards, wild hounds and fox; other big or medium build mammals jackals , hyenas , warthogs ; baboons, badgers, anteaters , bears, hares and porcupines ; and numerous small rodents, several types of snakes and lizards, there are a lot of birds.
Humanistic Economy
Residents
The
main inhabitants of the Kalahari Desert are Africans who speak Bantu, San who
speaks Khoisan, and a few Europeans.
Those
who live in remote areas of the Kalahari Desert are not affected by mining or
other industries. They live in villages with 200-5000 people. Most of the
houses are of traditional style, with thatched houses, mud walls and thatched
roofs in single rooms. Water is the limiting factor, limiting residential
areas to wells or ponds where water can be easily obtained.
economic
Cattle
is the economic foundation. In addition to Botswana Ghanzi outside
(Ghanzi) area (where livestock are kept in private ranches, rancher many of
which are African ), grazing land belong
to the state, local government committee to arrange use issues. The wells
and ponds may be owned by the committee, or by a federation or private owned by
the cattle owners, and cattle are restricted to herding nearby throughout the
year.
Goat
for household consumption provided
most of the meat and milk. Almost all families grow maize, sorghum and
pumpkins. Due to the drought, many crops will not be able to
yield. Wild food and the meat of hunting animals are important components
of the daily food in remote villages. All villages have trade shops or
hawkers who come to sell food and other commodities.
Culture and Education
Except
for the smallest village, all villages have state-run primary schools, and most
children go to such schools, although very few children will go to middle
schools. The national health clinics and hospitals set up in large
villages serve as supplements for herbalists and soothsayers.
The
daily transportation for locals to go out is horse riding and donkey
riding. Trucks belong only to merchants or agencies that hire miners and
are used for long-distance journeys.
Transportation
Because
sparsely populated, land-wide, only few of the Kalahari Desert roads and trails
for use, which can be most simply by truck and drive All-wheel vehicle. In
the south, southwest, and northwest, highways connect administrative centers,
main housing, and critical farmland areas. But the building has good road
in eastern Botswana and the Okavango swamps ground
and Makgadikgadi Pan connected.
Due
to the extremely low rainfall in the southwestern part of the Kalahari Desert,
there are almost no trees or large bushes-only scattered xerophytic bushes and
short grasses. There is more rain in the middle, with scattered trees and
some shrubs and grassland. There is no desert at all in the
north. There are open woodlands, palm trees grow in thickets, evergreen and
deciduous trees are grown to 15 meters high, there are some varieties of trees
suitable for timber, of whom the largest and rarest tree is the baobab tree . The
Okavango Marsh grows with reed grass, papyrus , water lilies and
other water-loving plants.
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