The Kaokoveld Desert occupies a coastal strip covering 45,700 square kilometers (17,600 sq mi), from 13° to 21°S and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Namibian savanna woodlands to the east, and the Namib Desert to the south. It includes the Moçâmedes Desert of southern Angola. The Kaokoveld is a harsh desert of drifting sandunes and rocky mountains. It receives most of its rainfall during summer, which distinguishes it from the adjacent Namib Desert to the south, which receives most of its rain during winter. The Kunene River is the only permanent watercourse but many dry riverbeds (including the Hoanib, Hoarusib and Khumib Rivers) carry moisture through the desert and are home to animals including elephants, black rhinos, and giraffe. Other than those the area is ancient desert sand, moistened by occasional coastal fog.
Floraedit
The Kaokoveld is home to the Welwitschia mirabilis, a plant that has no close living relatives.
Faunaedit
The Kaokoveld is home to a number of endemic reptiles while large mammals including desert elephants (Loxodonta africana), black rhinos (Diceros bicornis) and giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis) visit the riverbeds. There is a great deal of birdlife including the endemic Cinderella waxbill (Glaucestrilda thomensis) on the Kunene River.
Threats and preservationedit
The Skeleton Coast National Park runs for 500 km along the coast of Namibia and is the main protected area in the region, along with other smaller conservancies inland. Much of the area was formerly protected under Game Reserve 2, which was reduced in size to become Etosha National Park in 1967, with a subsequent increase in poaching and more recently uncontrolled off-road driving. There is an area of sand dunes in Iona National Park in Angola.
Referencesedit
^"Kaokoveld desert". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
External linksedit
Media related to Kaokoveld at Wikimedia Commons
World Wildlife Fund, ed. (2001). . WildWorld Ecoregion Profile. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2010-03-08.
"Kaokoveld desert". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
kaokoveld, this, article, about, desert, ecoregion, angola, namibia, bantustan, kaokoland, desert, coastal, desert, northern, namibia, southern, angola, landscape, north, orupembe, namibialocation, ecologyrealmafrotropicalbiomedeserts, xeric, shrublandsborders. This article is about the desert ecoregion in Angola and Namibia For the bantustan see Kaokoland The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola KaokoveldLandscape north of Orupembe NamibiaLocation of the KaokoveldEcologyRealmAfrotropicalBiomedeserts and xeric shrublandsBordersAngolan miombo woodlandsNamib desert Namibian savanna woodlandsGeographyArea45 600 km2 17 600 sq mi CountriesAngolaNamibiaConservationConservation statusCritical endangered 1 Contents 1 Setting 2 Flora 3 Fauna 4 Threats and preservation 5 References 6 External linksSetting editThe Kaokoveld Desert occupies a coastal strip covering 45 700 square kilometers 17 600 sq mi from 13 to 21 S and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west the Namibian savanna woodlands to the east and the Namib Desert to the south It includes the Mocamedes Desert of southern Angola The Kaokoveld is a harsh desert of drifting sandunes and rocky mountains It receives most of its rainfall during summer which distinguishes it from the adjacent Namib Desert to the south which receives most of its rain during winter The Kunene River is the only permanent watercourse but many dry riverbeds including the Hoanib Hoarusib and Khumib Rivers carry moisture through the desert and are home to animals including elephants black rhinos and giraffe Other than those the area is ancient desert sand moistened by occasional coastal fog Flora editThe Kaokoveld is home to the Welwitschia mirabilis a plant that has no close living relatives Fauna editThe Kaokoveld is home to a number of endemic reptiles while large mammals including desert elephants Loxodonta africana black rhinos Diceros bicornis and giraffes Giraffa camelopardalis visit the riverbeds There is a great deal of birdlife including the endemic Cinderella waxbill Glaucestrilda thomensis on the Kunene River Threats and preservation editThe Skeleton Coast National Park runs for 500 km along the coast of Namibia and is the main protected area in the region along with other smaller conservancies inland Much of the area was formerly protected under Game Reserve 2 which was reduced in size to become Etosha National Park in 1967 with a subsequent increase in poaching and more recently uncontrolled off road driving There is an area of sand dunes in Iona National Park in Angola References edit Kaokoveld desert Terrestrial Ecoregions World Wildlife Fund External links edit nbsp Media related to Kaokoveld at Wikimedia Commons World Wildlife Fund ed 2001 Kaokoveld desert WildWorld Ecoregion Profile National Geographic Society Archived from the original on 2010 03 08 Kaokoveld desert Terrestrial Ecoregions World Wildlife Fund Kaokoveld Minerals Erongominerals com 17 30 S 12 00 E 17 5 S 12 E 17 5 12 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kaokoveld amp oldid 1166898578, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
