Where is the Kalahari Desert located?

Kalahari desert

The Kalahari Desert extends over large areas for three countries, where we find large parts of it in Botswana, and also extending to parts of the state of Namibia, reaching even the state of South Africa, where its area is estimated at 900.000 square kilometers.

Kalahari desert location

The Kalahari Desert is located on the African continent, and is surrounded by depressions known as the Kalahari Depressions on an area exceeding 2.5 million square kilometers. We find these depressions in the largest part of the territory of the State of Botswana, but they go beyond it to include some lands of the State of South Africa, and also the State of Namibia. And also part of the territory of Angola, and some of the territory of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Geography of Kalahari Desert

A main river passes through this desert, which is known as the Okvango River, as we find it a river flowing from the delta in the northwestern part of this desert, which in turn forms numerous swamps, in which rich wild life abounds, despite the wide and large areas that it extends over. This desert, which is characterized by its red-coloured sand, and despite the lack of water, its scarcity and the absence of water sources in it, some geographers do not consider it a desert, and the reason is that the rainfall that occurs in large parts of it reaches an estimated 250 mm annually. The southwestern part of it receives little rainfall and may not reach more than 175 mm annually. As for its temperatures, they range between 20 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius in the summer, while in the winter, its atmosphere is dominated by dryness and very low cold, even reaching the point of frost at night, with a drop in temperatures reaching zero at times. .

Language in the Kalahari Desert

The language spoken by the inhabitants of this desert is a local language specific to the state of Botswana, and the name of the Kalihari Desert comes from the name keir, which means (great thirst). In the Kalahari Desert there are many mines, such as coal mines, and also copper, and we find uranium mines, and also nickel, It has a diamond mine, and this is considered one of the richest and greatest mines in the world, as it is located in the northeastern region of the desert in the Uraba region.

Kalahari desert provinces

There are several provinces to this desert, the most important of which is Kgalagadi Province, in addition to Ganzi Province, and also Kweneng Province. We also find the Southern Province, the Central Province, and there is also the Northwestern Province, all of which are located within the State of Botswana, while the Namibia Province is located within the State of Namibia.

Inhabitants of Kalahari Desert

The inhabitants of this desert are Bushmen tribes, and they are still primitive tribes. They are called Basarwa and also San. However, they do not prefer these titles, as they are considered an insult to them. Most of them are worshipers of the spirits of the dead, and at the same time they believe in the existence of a great God who is the God of goodness. A lesser god is the god of evil.