Geography of Namibia#Extreme points

The Namibian landscape consists generally of five geographical areas, each with characteristic abiotic conditions and vegetation with some variation within and overlap between them: the Central Plateau, the Namib Desert, the Great Escarpment, the Bushveld, and the Kalahari Desert.

The Central Plateau runs from north to south, bordered by the Skeleton Coast to the northwest, the Namib Desert and its coastal plains to the southwest, the Orange River to the south, and the Kalahari Desert to the east. The Central Plateau is home to the highest point in Namibia at Königstein elevation {{convert|2606|m|ft|0}}.[http://landsat.usgs.gov/gallery/detail/367/ Landsat.usgs.gov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907062948/http://landsat.usgs.gov/gallery/detail/367/ |date=7 September 2008 }} Within the wide, flat Central Plateau is the majority of Namibia's population and economic activity. Windhoek, the nation's capital, is located here, as well as most of the arable land. Although arable land accounts for only 1% of Namibia, nearly 1/3rd of the population is employed in agriculture.World Almanac. 2004.

The abiotic conditions here are similar to those found along the Escarpment; however, the topographic complexity is reduced. Summer temperatures in the area can reach {{convert|40|°C}}, and frosts are common in the winter.

{{main|Namib}}

The Namib Desert is a broad expanse of hyper-arid gravel, gravel with no moisture, plains, and dunes that stretches along the entire coastline, which varies in width between 100 and many hundreds of kilometres. Areas within the Namib include the Skeleton Coast and the Kaokoveld in the north and the extensive Namib Sand Sea along the central coast.Spriggs, A. 2001.(AT1315) The sands that make up the sand sea are a consequence of erosional processes that take place within the Orange River valley and areas farther to the south. As sand-laden waters drop their suspended loads into the Atlantic, onshore currents deposit them along the shore. The prevailing southwest winds then pick up and redeposit the sand in the form of massive dunes in the widespread sand sea, the largest sand dunes in the world. In areas where the supply of sand is reduced because of the inability of the sand to cross riverbeds, the winds also scour the land to form large gravel plains. In many areas within the Namib Desert, there is little vegetation with the exception of lichens found in the gravel plains, and in dry river beds where plants can access subterranean water.{{cn|date=April 2023}}

"Fairy circles", which are circular patches of land barren of plants, varying between 2{{Convert|2|and|12|m|ft|0}} in diameter and often encircled by a ring of stimulated growth of grass, are found in the Namib,{{cite web | title=Enigma of Namibia's 'fairy circles' | website=BBC NEWS | date=31 March 2004 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3587431.stm | access-date=4 April 2023}} such as those near the Wolwedans desert camp.{{cite web | last=Pinkstone | first=Joe | title='Fairy circles' of Africa baffle scientists | website=The Telegraph | date=30 July 2020 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/namibia/1461430/Fairy-circles-of-Africa-baffle-scientists.html | access-date=4 April 2023}}

The Great Escarpment swiftly rises to over {{convert|2000|m|ft|0}}. Average temperatures and temperature ranges increase as you move farther inland from the cold Atlantic waters, while the lingering coastal fogs slowly diminish. Although the area is rocky with poorly developed soils, it is nonetheless significantly more productive than the Namib Desert. As summer winds are forced over the Escarpment, moisture is extracted as precipitation.Spriggs, A. 2001.(AT1316) The water, along with rapidly changing topography, is responsible for the creation of microhabitats which offer a wide range of organisms, many of them endemic. Vegetation along the escarpment varies in both form and density, with community structure ranging from dense woodlands to more shrubby areas with scattered trees. A number of Acacia species are found here, as well as grasses and other shrub vegetation.

The Bushveld is found in northeastern Namibia along the Angolan border and in the Caprivi Strip which is the vestige of a narrow corridor demarcated for the German Empire to access the Zambezi River. The area receives a significantly greater amount of precipitation than the rest of the country, averaging around {{convert|400|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} per year. Temperatures are also cooler and more moderate, with approximate seasonal variations of between {{convert|10|and|30|°C|°F}}. The area is generally flat and the soils sandy, limiting their ability to retain water.Cowling, S. 2001. Located adjacent to the Bushveld in north-central Namibia is one of nature's most spectacular features: the Etosha Pan. For most of the year, it is a dry, saline wasteland, but during the wet season, it forms a shallow lake covering more than {{convert|6000|km2|sqmi|0}}. The area is ecologically important and vital to the large numbers of birds and animals from the surrounding savannah that gather in the region as summer drought forces them to the scattered waterholes that ring the pan. The Bushveld area has been demarcated by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Angolan mopane woodlands ecoregion, which extends north across the Cunene River into neighbouring Angola.

File:Gewitter in der Kalahari.jpg in the Kalahari near Stampriet]]

The Kalahari Desert is perhaps Namibia's best-known geographical feature. Shared with South Africa and Botswana, it has a variety of localised environments ranging from hyper-arid sandy desert to areas that seem to defy the common definition of desert. One of these areas, known as the Succulent Karoo, is home to over 5,000 species of plants, nearly half of them endemic; fully one-third of the world's succulents are found in the Karoo.

The reason behind this high productivity and endemism may be the relatively stable nature of precipitation.Spriggs, A. 2001.(AT0709) The Karoo apparently does not experience drought regularly, so even though the area is technically a desert, regular winter rains provide enough moisture to support the region's interesting plant community. Another feature of the Kalahari, indeed many parts of Namibia, are inselbergs, isolated mountains that create microclimates and habitats for organisms not adapted to life in the surrounding desert matrix.

Namibia's Coastal Desert is one of the oldest deserts in the world. Its sand dunes, created by the strong onshore winds, are the highest in the world.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_540.html

|title=NASA – Namibia's Coastal Desert

|publisher=nasa.gov

|access-date=9 October 2009

}}

The Namib Desert and the Namib-Naukluft National Park are located here. The Namibian coastal deserts are the richest source of diamonds on earth, making Namibia the world's largest producer of diamonds. It is divided into the northern Skeleton Coast and the southern Diamond Coast. Because of the location of the shoreline—at the point where the Atlantic's cold water reaches Africa—there is often extremely dense fog.

{{cite web

|url=http://www.geographia.com/namibia/

|title=An Introduction to Namibia

|publisher=geographia.com

|access-date=9 October 2009

}}

Sandy beach comprises 54% and mixed sand and rock add another 28%. Only 16% of the total length is rocky shoreline. The coastal plains are dune fields, gravel plains covered with lichen and some scattered salt pans. Near the coast, there are areas where the dunes are vegetated with hammocks.

{{cite web |url = http://www.nacoma.org.na/Our_Coast/WalkOnOurCoastline.htm |title = NACOMA – Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project |publisher = nacoma.org.na |access-date = 9 October 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090721154939/http://www.nacoma.org.na/Our_Coast/WalkOnOurCoastline.htm |archive-date = 21 July 2009}}

Namibia has rich coastal and marine resources that remain largely unexplored.

{{cite web |url=http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/83/333/477 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022235829/http://afraf.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/pdf_extract/83/333/477 |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 October 2013 |title=Namibia's Coastal and Marine Development Potential – Sparks 83 (333): 477 – African Affairs |publisher=afraf.oxfordjournals.org |access-date=9 October 2009 |last=Sparks |first=Donald L.}}

File:SAC Namibia-cactus.jpg|Fish River Canyon.

File:SAC Namibia-desert-1.jpg|Namib Desert.

File:SAC Namibia-escarpment2.jpg|Namib Escarpment.

File:Kalahari C17.JPG|The Kalahari Desert.

File:Windhoek-Skyline.jpg|Windhoek skyline.

File:Namibia’s Protected Coast.jpg|Natural-colour satellite image of the Namibian coast.

File:Koppen-Geiger_Map_v2_NAM_1991–2020.svg Namibia has more than 300 days of sunshine per year. It is situated at the southern edge of the tropics; the Tropic of Capricorn cuts the country about in half. The winter (June–August) is generally dry, both rainy seasons occur in summer, the small rainy season between September and November, and the big one between February and April.{{Cite web

|publisher=Real Namibia

|title=The Rainy Season

|url=http://www.realnamibia.com/rn_028rainyseason.htm

|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209093846/http://www.realnamibia.com/rn_028rainyseason.htm

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=9 December 2012

|access-date=28 July 2010

}} Humidity is low, and average rainfall varies from almost zero in the coastal desert to more than {{convert|600|mm|in|0|disp=or}} in the Caprivi Strip. Rainfall is however highly variable, and droughts are common.{{cite encyclopedia

|title=Namibia

|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/402283/Namibia/43996

|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica

|access-date=28 July 2010}} A bad rainy season occurred in the summer of 2006/07.{{Cite news

|last=Olszewski

|first=John

|newspaper=Namibia Economist

|title=Climate change forces us to recognise new normals

|url=http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=531:weather&id=14308:climate-change-forces-us-to-recognise-new-normals&Itemid=54

|date=28 May 2009

}} Very low rainfall was recorded in 2019.{{Cite web|last=Namibian|first=The|title=State of drought emergency extended|url=https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=archive-read&id=193796|access-date=2020-11-24|website=The Namibian|language=en|archive-date=10 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310104544/https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?page=archive-read&id=193796|url-status=dead}} Due to the dry winters snowfall constitutes a very rare occurrence and prompts media coverage whenever it happens. The {{As of|June 2011|alt=last}} snow was reported at Spreetshoogte Pass in the Namib-Naukluft Park in June 2011.{{cite news

|url = http://www.namibian.com.na/news/full-story/archive/2011/june/article/snow-sets-another-record/

|title = Snow sets another record

|last = Smith

|first = Jana-Mari

|date = 9 June 2011

|newspaper = The Namibian

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120422174131/http://www.namibian.com.na/news/full-story/archive/2011/june/article/snow-sets-another-record

|archive-date = 22 April 2012

}}

Weather and climate in the coastal area are dominated by the cold, north-flowing Benguela Current of the Atlantic Ocean which accounts for very low precipitation totalling {{convert|50|mm|in|0|disp=or}} per year or less, frequent dense fog, and overall lower temperatures than in the rest of the country. In winter, occasionally a condition known as Berg wind or Oosweer (Afrikaans: East weather) occurs, a hot dry wind blowing from the inland to the coast. As the area behind the coast is a desert, these winds can develop into sand storms with sand deposits in the Atlantic Ocean visible on satellite images.{{Cite news

|last=Olszewski

|first=John

|newspaper=Namibia Economist

|title=Understanding Weather – not predicting it

|url=http://www.economist.com.na/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=575&Itemid=54&limitstart=5

|date=25 June 2010

}}

The Central Plateau and Kalahari areas have wide diurnal temperature ranges of up to {{convert|30|C-change|F-change|1|disp=or}}.

{{Weather box

|location = Windhoek ({{convert|1728|m|ft|0|disp=or}}), Namibia

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 36.0

|Feb record high C = 35.8

|Mar record high C = 34.9

|Apr record high C = 31.3

|May record high C = 31.8

|Jun record high C = 26.1

|Jul record high C = 25.7

|Aug record high C = 30.0

|Sep record high C = 33.2

|Oct record high C = 35.1

|Nov record high C = 36.5

|Dec record high C = 36.6

|Jan high C = 30.0

|Feb high C = 28.6

|Mar high C = 27.2

|Apr high C = 25.6

|May high C = 22.7

|Jun high C = 20.2

|Jul high C = 20.5

|Aug high C = 23.4

|Sep high C = 26.5

|Oct high C = 29.1

|Nov high C = 29.6

|Dec high C = 30.7

|year high C = 26.1

|Jan mean C = 23.3

|Feb mean C = 22.1

|Mar mean C = 21.0

|Apr mean C = 18.9

|May mean C = 15.8

|Jun mean C = 13.2

|Jul mean C = 13.1

|Aug mean C = 15.8

|Sep mean C = 19.3

|Oct mean C = 21.7

|Nov mean C = 22.5

|Dec mean C = 23.5

|year mean C = 19.1

|Jan low C = 17.2

|Feb low C = 16.5

|Mar low C = 15.4

|Apr low C = 12.8

|May low C = 9.2

|Jun low C = 6.7

|Jul low C = 6.3

|Aug low C = 8.6

|Sep low C = 11.9

|Oct low C = 14.6

|Nov low C = 15.6

|Dec low C = 16.9

|year low C = 12.7

|Jan record low C = 7.5

|Feb record low C = 6.8

|Mar record low C = 3.7

|Apr record low C = 2.4

|May record low C = -1.6

|Jun record low C = -2.8

|Jul record low C = -2.6

|Aug record low C = -3.9

|Sep record low C = -1.1

|Oct record low C = 1.6

|Nov record low C = 0.4

|Dec record low C = 3.3

|Jan precipitation mm = 78.1

|Feb precipitation mm = 80.3

|Mar precipitation mm = 78.7

|Apr precipitation mm = 37.7

|May precipitation mm = 6.6

|Jun precipitation mm = 1.2

|Jul precipitation mm = 0.7

|Aug precipitation mm = 0.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 2.8

|Oct precipitation mm = 11.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 26.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 41.7

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 11.1

|Feb precipitation days = 10.7

|Mar precipitation days = 10.5

|Apr precipitation days = 5.5

|May precipitation days = 1.9

|Jun precipitation days = 0.7

|Jul precipitation days = 0.5

|Aug precipitation days = 0.3

|Sep precipitation days = 0.9

|Oct precipitation days = 2.8

|Nov precipitation days = 5.3

|Dec precipitation days = 7.5

|Jan humidity = 42

|Feb humidity = 56

|Mar humidity = 51

|Apr humidity = 44

|May humidity = 37

|Jun humidity = 32

|Jul humidity = 27

|Aug humidity = 19

|Sep humidity = 17

|Oct humidity = 22

|Nov humidity = 30

|Dec humidity = 34

|Jan sun = 288

|Feb sun = 254

|Mar sun = 282

|Apr sun = 273

|May sun = 310

|Jun sun = 309

|Jul sun = 326

|Aug sun = 341

|Sep sun = 321

|Oct sun = 319

|Nov sun = 297

|Dec sun = 285

| source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst{{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_681100_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Windhuk (Windhoek) / Namibia

| publisher = Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

| access-date = 2 November 2016

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190512035512/https://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_681100_kt.pdf

| archive-date = 12 May 2019

| url-status = dead

}}

| source 2 = Danish Meteorological Institute (sun only)

{{cite web

|url = http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|title = Stationsnummer 68110

|publisher = Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate

|access-date = 2 November 2016

|url-status = deviated

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130116071752/http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|archive-date = 16 January 2013

}}

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Pelican Point, Walvis Bay ({{convert|7|m|ft|0|disp=or}}), Namibia (1958–1984)

|metric first = yes

|single line = yes

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 25.3

|Feb record high C = 26.4

|Mar record high C = 34.5

|Apr record high C = 35.0

|May record high C = 36.0

|Jun record high C = 32.5

|Jul record high C = 32.9

|Aug record high C = 33.4

|Sep record high C = 31.3

|Oct record high C = 27.5

|Nov record high C = 28.3

|Dec record high C = 25.5

|Jan high C = 20.0

|Feb high C = 20.3

|Mar high C = 19.6

|Apr high C = 18.6

|May high C = 19.0

|Jun high C = 18.8

|Jul high C = 17.8

|Aug high C = 16.4

|Sep high C = 15.8

|Oct high C = 16.6

|Nov high C = 17.7

|Dec high C = 19.0

|year high C = 18.3

|Jan mean C = 17.6

|Feb mean C = 17.9

|Mar mean C = 17.2

|Apr mean C = 15.7

|May mean C = 15.6

|Jun mean C = 15.2

|Jul mean C = 14.1

|Aug mean C = 13.2

|Sep mean C = 13.2

|Oct mean C = 14.0

|Nov mean C = 15.3

|Dec mean C = 16.6

|year mean C = 15.5

|Jan low C = 15.2

|Feb low C = 15.5

|Mar low C = 14.7

|Apr low C = 12.9

|May low C = 12.1

|Jun low C = 11.4

|Jul low C = 10.3

|Aug low C = 10.1

|Sep low C = 10.7

|Oct low C = 11.5

|Nov low C = 12.9

|Dec low C = 14.2

|year low C = 12.6

|Jan record low C = 10.5

|Feb record low C = 9.2

|Mar record low C = 10.5

|Apr record low C = 8.5

|May record low C = 7.0

|Jun record low C = 5.0

|Jul record low C = 3.4

|Aug record low C = 4.4

|Sep record low C = 6.1

|Oct record low C = 5.0

|Nov record low C = 8.5

|Dec record low C = 9.6

|Jan precipitation mm = 1.0

|Feb precipitation mm = 2.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 5.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 1.0

|May precipitation mm = 1.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 2.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 0.0

|Aug precipitation mm = 0.2

|Sep precipitation mm = 0.1

|Oct precipitation mm = 0.1

|Nov precipitation mm = 0.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 0.1

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 0.6

|Feb precipitation days = 0.8

|Mar precipitation days = 1.1

|Apr precipitation days = 0.5

|May precipitation days = 0.4

|Jun precipitation days = 0.5

|Jul precipitation days = 0.0

|Aug precipitation days = 0.4

|Sep precipitation days = 0.5

|Oct precipitation days = 0.4

|Nov precipitation days = 0.6

|Dec precipitation days = 0.4

|Jan humidity = 87

|Feb humidity = 87

|Mar humidity = 89

|Apr humidity = 89

|May humidity = 86

|Jun humidity = 81

|Jul humidity = 82

|Aug humidity = 86

|Sep humidity = 89

|Oct humidity = 88

|Nov humidity = 88

|Dec humidity = 88

|Jan sun = 232

|Feb sun = 189

|Mar sun = 211

|Apr sun = 237

|May sun = 251

|Jun sun = 231

|Jul sun = 236

|Aug sun = 220

|Sep sun = 189

|Oct sun = 226

|Nov sun = 210

|Dec sun = 214

| source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_681040_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Pelican Point / Walfisch-Bucht / Namibia

| publisher = Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure

| access-date = 4 November 2016}}

| source 2 = Danish Meteorological Institute

{{cite web

|url = http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|title = STATIONSNUMMER 68104

|publisher = Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate

|access-date = 4 November 2016

|url-status = deviated

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130116071752/http://www.dmi.dk/dmi/tr01-17.pdf

|archive-date = 16 January 2013

}}

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Lüderitz

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|Jan record high C = 32.5

|Feb record high C = 30.0

|Mar record high C = 34.1

|Apr record high C = 36.5

|May record high C = 33.0

|Jun record high C = 31.6

|Jul record high C = 30.7

|Aug record high C = 33.0

|Sep record high C = 35.1

|Oct record high C = 35.0

|Nov record high C = 37.5

|Dec record high C = 30.6

|year record high C = 37.5

|Jan high C = 21.4

|Feb high C = 21.3

|Mar high C = 21.1

|Apr high C = 19.9

|May high C = 19.2

|Jun high C = 19.0

|Jul high C = 17.9

|Aug high C = 17.2

|Sep high C = 17.3

|Oct high C = 18.0

|Nov high C = 19.2

|Dec high C = 20.5

|year high C = 19.3

|Jan mean C = 17.7

|Feb mean C = 17.8

|Mar mean C = 17.4

|Apr mean C = 16.3

|May mean C = 15.5

|Jun mean C = 15.1

|Jul mean C = 14.1

|Aug mean C = 13.7

|Sep mean C = 13.9

|Oct mean C = 14.7

|Nov mean C = 15.8

|Dec mean C = 17.0

|year mean C = 15.7

|Jan low C = 14.0

|Feb low C = 14.3

|Mar low C = 13.8

|Apr low C = 12.6

|May low C = 11.7

|Jun low C = 11.2

|Jul low C = 10.4

|Aug low C = 10.2

|Sep low C = 10.5

|Oct low C = 11.4

|Nov low C = 12.3

|Dec low C = 13.5

|year low C = 12.1

|Jan record low C = 5.5

|Feb record low C = 5.0

|Mar record low C = 6.0

|Apr record low C = 5.5

|May record low C = 3.3

|Jun record low C = 0.2

|Jul record low C = 3.0

|Aug record low C = 4.8

|Sep record low C = 3.4

|Oct record low C = 3.4

|Nov record low C = 4.9

|Dec record low C = 3.9

|year record low C = 0.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 0

|Feb precipitation mm = 1

|Mar precipitation mm = 2

|Apr precipitation mm = 2

|May precipitation mm = 3

|Jun precipitation mm = 3

|Jul precipitation mm = 1

|Aug precipitation mm = 2

|Sep precipitation mm = 1

|Oct precipitation mm = 0

|Nov precipitation mm = 0

|Dec precipitation mm = 0

|year precipitation mm = 17

|unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

|Jan precipitation days = 1.0

|Feb precipitation days = 1.0

|Mar precipitation days = 1.0

|Apr precipitation days = 0.9

|May precipitation days = 1.4

|Jun precipitation days = 1.4

|Jul precipitation days = 1.0

|Aug precipitation days = 0.7

|Sep precipitation days = 0.5

|Oct precipitation days = 0.5

|Nov precipitation days = 0.5

|Dec precipitation days = 0.7

|year precipitation days = 10.6

|Jan humidity = 82

|Feb humidity = 81

|Mar humidity = 82

|Apr humidity = 80

|May humidity = 79

|Jun humidity = 72

|Jul humidity = 74

|Aug humidity = 78

|Sep humidity = 80

|Oct humidity = 80

|Nov humidity = 80

|Dec humidity = 80

|year humidity = 79

|Jan sun = 198.4

|Feb sun = 203.4

|Mar sun = 257.3

|Apr sun = 216.0

|May sun = 213.9

|Jun sun = 144.0

|Jul sun = 170.5

|Aug sun = 201.5

|Sep sun = 216.0

|Oct sun = 201.5

|Nov sun = 189.0

|Dec sun = 176.7

|year sun =

|Jand sun = 6.4

|Febd sun = 7.2

|Mard sun = 8.3

|Aprd sun = 7.2

|Mayd sun = 6.9

|Jund sun = 4.8

|Juld sun = 5.5

|Augd sun = 6.5

|Sepd sun = 7.2

|Octd sun = 6.5

|Novd sun = 6.3

|Decd sun = 5.7

|yeard sun = 6.5

|source 1 = Deutscher Wetterdienst

{{cite web

| url = http://www.dwd.de/DWD/klima/beratung/ak/ak_683000_kt.pdf

| title = Klimatafel von Lüderitz-Diaz Point (Leuchtturm) / Namibia

| work = Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world

| publisher = Deutscher Wetterdienst

| language = de

| access-date = 29 March 2016}}

|date=August 2011

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Keetmanshoop

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|Jan high C = 34.8

|Feb high C = 34.0

|Mar high C = 32.2

|Apr high C = 28.8

|May high C = 25.0

|Jun high C = 21.7

|Jul high C = 21.3

|Aug high C = 23.5

|Sep high C = 27.2

|Oct high C = 30.1

|Nov high C = 32.4

|Dec high C = 34.5

|year high C = 28.8

|Jan low C = 19.0

|Feb low C = 19.3

|Mar low C = 17.8

|Apr low C = 14.4

|May low C = 10.4

|Jun low C = 7.0

|Jul low C = 6.4

|Aug low C = 7.5

|Sep low C = 10.7

|Oct low C = 13.7

|Nov low C = 15.7

|Dec low C = 17.6

|year low C = 13.3

|Jan precipitation mm = 24

|Feb precipitation mm = 42

|Mar precipitation mm = 36

|Apr precipitation mm = 15

|May precipitation mm = 5

|Jun precipitation mm = 2

|Jul precipitation mm = 1

|Aug precipitation mm = 1

|Sep precipitation mm = 3

|Oct precipitation mm = 6

|Nov precipitation mm = 11

|Dec precipitation mm = 13

|Jan humidity = 28

|Feb humidity = 36

|Mar humidity = 40

|Apr humidity = 40

|May humidity = 38

|Jun humidity = 39

|Jul humidity = 36

|Aug humidity = 31

|Sep humidity = 27

|Oct humidity = 24

|Nov humidity = 24

|Dec humidity = 25

|Jan sun = 353

|Feb sun = 300

|Mar sun = 312

|Apr sun = 306

|May sun = 304

|Jun sun = 287

|Jul sun = 305

|Aug sun = 323

|Sep sun = 319

|Oct sun = 343

|Nov sun = 348

|Dec sun = 370

|Jan percentsun= 84

|Feb percentsun= 82

|Mar percentsun= 82

|Apr percentsun= 89

|May percentsun= 91

|Jun percentsun= 91

|Jul percentsun= 93

|Aug percentsun= 93

|Sep percentsun= 89

|Oct percentsun= 87

|Nov percentsun= 86

|Dec percentsun= 86

|year percentsun=

|source 1 = [http://www.meteona.com/attachments/035_Namibia_Long-term_Climate_Statistics_for_Specified_Places%5B1%5D.pdf Tabulation of Climate Statistics for Selected Stations in Namibia]

}}

{{Weather box

|location = Katima Mulilo, Namibia

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|width = auto

|collapsed = yes

|Jan high C = 31.3

|Feb high C = 30.5

|Mar high C = 29.8

|Apr high C = 29.1

|May high C = 27.4

|Jun high C = 24.5

|Jul high C = 25.0

|Aug high C = 29.1

|Sep high C = 33.8

|Oct high C = 33.0

|Nov high C = 30.3

|Dec high C = 29.8

|year high C = 29.5

|Jan low C = 19.1

|Feb low C = 19.1

|Mar low C = 18.7

|Apr low C = 14.6

|May low C = 10.2

|Jun low C = 6.1

|Jul low C = 4.6

|Aug low C = 8.3

|Sep low C = 14.1

|Oct low C = 17.8

|Nov low C = 19.3

|Dec low C = 18.8

|year low C = 14.2

|Jan humidity = 68

|Feb humidity = 66

|Mar humidity = 70

|Apr humidity = 61

|May humidity = 53

|Jun humidity = 53

|Jul humidity = 62

|Aug humidity = 50

|Sep humidity = 42

|Oct humidity = 46

|Nov humidity = 49

|Dec humidity = 57

|year humidity = 56.4

|Jan precipitation mm = 169.4

|Feb precipitation mm = 160.6

|Mar precipitation mm = 88.7

|Apr precipitation mm = 17.7

|May precipitation mm = 1.9

|Jun precipitation mm = 0.5

|Jul precipitation mm = 0

|Aug precipitation mm = 0.2

|Sep precipitation mm = 2.6

|Oct precipitation mm = 18.8

|Nov precipitation mm = 69.7

|Dec precipitation mm = 151.8

|year precipitation mm = 681.9

|source = Ministry of Works and Transport (Meteorological Service Division)

{{cite web

|url =http://www.meteona.com/attachments/035_Namibia_Long-term_Climate_Statistics_for_Specified_Places[1].pdf |title =Ministry of Works & Transport: Tabulation of Climate Statistics for Selected Stations in Namibia

|year=2012}}

|date=March 2012}}

{{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Namibia}}

Namibia is the driest country in sub-Saharan Africa and depends largely on groundwater. With an average rainfall of about {{cvt|350|mm|in|0}} per annum, the highest rainfall occurs in the Caprivi in the northeast (about {{cvt|600|mm|in|0}} per annum) and decreases in a westerly and southwesterly direction to as little as {{cvt|50|mm|in|0}} and less per annum at the coast. The only perennial rivers are found on the national borders with South Africa, Angola, Zambia, and the short border with Botswana in the Caprivi. In the interior of the country, surface water is available only in the summer months when rivers are in flood after exceptional rainfalls. Otherwise, surface water is restricted to a few large storage dams retaining and damming up these seasonal floods and their runoff. Where people do not live near perennial rivers or make use of storage dams, they are dependent on groundwater. Even isolated communities and those economic activities located far from good surface water sources, such as mining, agriculture, and tourism, can be supplied from groundwater over nearly 80% of the country.{{cite web |url=http://www.iwrm-namibia.info.na/iwrm/fundaments-in-iwrm/groundwater-in-namibia/index.php |title=Groundwater in Namibia |website=Integrated Water Resource Management |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729155617/http://www.iwrm-namibia.info.na/iwrm/fundaments-in-iwrm/groundwater-in-namibia/index.php |archive-date=29 July 2016 }} The longest river in Namibia is the Fish River with a length of {{convert|650|km|mi|abbr=on}}.

More than 120,000 boreholes have been drilled in Namibia over the past century. One-third of these boreholes have been drilled dry.{{cite book |title=Groundwater in Namibia |url=http://www.namhydro.com/downloads.html |editor1=Greg Christelis |name-list-style=amp |editor2=Wilhelm Struckmeier |via=Namibian Hydrogeological Association |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-86976-571-5 |access-date=2018-07-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404091336/http://namhydro.com/downloads.html |archive-date=4 April 2015 |url-status=dead }} An aquifer called "Ohangwena II", located on both sides of the Angola-Namibia border, was discovered in 2012. This aquifer has been estimated to be capable of supplying the 800,000 people in the North for 400 years, at the current (2018) rate of consumption.{{cite web|last=McGrath |first=Matt |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18875385 |title=Vast aquifer found in Namibia could last for centuries |publisher=BBC World |date=20 July 2012 |access-date=10 September 2013}} Experts estimate that Namibia has {{convert|7720|km3|cumi|abbr=on}} of underground water.{{cite web|last=McGrath |first=Matt |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17775211 |title='Huge' water resource exists under Africa |publisher=BBC World Service |date=20 April 2012 |access-date=10 September 2013}}{{cite journal|vauthors=MacDonald AM, Bonsor HC, Dochartaigh BÉ, Taylor RG |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/024009|title=Quantitative maps of groundwater resources in Africa|journal=Environ. Res. Lett. |volume=7 |page=024009|year=2012|issue=2|bibcode=2012ERL.....7b4009M|citeseerx=10.1.1.693.4081|s2cid=154336728 }}

Efundja, the annual flooding of the northern parts of the country, often causes not only damage to infrastructure but loss of life.{{cite news

|url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/04/debilitating-floods-hit-northern-and-central-namibia/

|title=Debilitating floods hit northern and central Namibia

|last=Adams

|first=Gerry

|date=15 April 2011

|publisher=United Nations Radio

|access-date=23 April 2012

|archive-date=20 December 2016

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220185613/http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/2011/04/debilitating-floods-hit-northern-and-central-namibia/

|url-status=dead

}} The rains that cause these floods originate in Angola, flow into Namibia's Cuvelai basin, and fill the Oshanas (Oshiwambo: flood plains) there. The worst floods {{As of|2012|alt=so far}} occurred in March 2011 and displaced 21,000 people.{{cite news

|url=http://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=28&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=79689&no_cache=1

|title=Heaviest floods ever in Namibia

|last=van den Bosch

|first=Servaas

|date=29 March 2011

|work=The Namibian}}

{{Main article|List of cities and towns in Namibia|Namibia#Urban settlements}}

File:Sandstorm while driving from Swakopmund to Walfish Bay, 2005.jpg and Walvis Bay, Namibia.]]

The capital and largest city, Windhoek, is in the centre of the country. It is home to the country's Central Administrative Region, Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, and the country's railhead. Other important towns are:

• Arandis, uranium mine
• Walvis Bay, seaport, international airport, railhead
• Oshakati, main business centre in the North, railhead
• Otjiwarongo, main business centre in Central-North, rail junction
• Lüderitz, sea port, railhead
• Gobabis, farming centre
• Keetmanshoop, railhead
• Tsumeb, mining
• Swakopmund, Tourism (Ex German Colonial town)
• Rundu,
• Katima Mulilo
• Okahandja

Location:

Southern Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and South Africa

Geographic coordinates:

{{Coord|22|00|S|17|00|E|type:country}}

;Area:

:*Total: 824,292 km²{{cite web|title=Rank Order – Area|publisher=CIA World Fact Book|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003422/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2147rank.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 June 2007|access-date=12 April 2008}}

:**country rank in the world: 34th

:*Land: 823,290 km²

:*Water: 1,002 km²

; Area comparative

:* Australia comparative: slightly larger than New South Wales

:* Canada comparative: approximately {{sfrac|1|8}} smaller than British Columbia

:* United States comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Nevada

:* EU comparative: slightly less than 2{{sfrac|1|2}} times the size of Finland

Land boundaries:

total:

4,220 km

border countries:

Angola 1,427 km, Botswana 1,544 km, South Africa 1,005 km, Zambia 244 km

Coastline:

1,572 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea:

{{convert|12|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}

contiguous zone:

{{convert|24|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on|lk=in}}

exclusive economic zone:

{{convert|564748|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} and {{convert|200|nmi|km mi|1|abbr=on}}

Terrain:

Mostly high plateau; Namib Desert along the coast; Kalahari Desert in the east. In the north near the border with Angola there is a flat area that has been designated by the World Wildlife Fund as part of the Angolan mopane woodlands ecoregion.

Elevation extremes:

lowest point:

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

mean elevation: 1,414 m

highest point:

Königstein 2,573 m

Natural resources:

diamonds, copper, uranium, gold, silver, lead, tin, lithium, cadmium, tungsten, zinc, salt, hydropower, fish

note:

suspected deposits of oil, coal, and iron ore

Land use:

agricultural land:

47.2% (2018)

arable land:

1% (2018)

permanent crops:

0% (2018)

permanent pasture:

46.2% (2018)

forest:

8.8% (2018)

other:

44% (2018)

Irrigated land:

80 km² (2012), 75.73 km² (2003), 70 km² (1998 est.), 60 km² (1993 est.)

Total renewable water resources:

17.72 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards:

prolonged periods of drought

{{anchor|Environmental issues}}Environment – current issues:

depletion and degradation of water and aquatic resources; desertification; land degradation; loss of biodiversity and biotic resources; wildlife poaching

Environment – international agreements:

party to:

Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

This is a list of the extreme points of Namibia, the points that are farther north, south, east, or west than any other location.

• Northernmost point – unnamed location on the border with Angola in the Kunene River immediately west of the Epupa Falls, Kunene Region
• Easternmost point – the tripoint with Botswana and Zambia, Zambezi Region
• Southernmost point – unnamed location in Pella Drift on the Orange River border with South Africa, ǁKaras Region
• Westernmost point – unnamed section of coast west of the Okotuso well, Kunene Region

{{Commons category|Geography of Namibia}}

• Namibia
• Towns in Namibia
• List of rivers of Africa
• Rivers in Namibia

• Atlas of Namibia Team, 2022, [https://atlasofnamibia.online/ Atlas of Namibia: its land, water and life], Namibia Nature Foundation, Windhoek

{{Reflist}}

{{Namibia topics}}

{{Geography of Africa}}

{{Africa topic|Climate of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geography of Namibia}}