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32-519: The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana , as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa . It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal desert, whose name is of Khoekhoegowab origin and means "vast place". Kalahari

64-462: A tropical savanna climate or a humid subtropical climate . These climates tend to have hot, or sometimes extremely hot, summers and warm to cool winters, with some to minimal precipitation. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found in Africa , Australia , and South Asia . In Australia, a large portion of

96-464: A complex climatic history over the past million or so years, in line with major global changes. Changes in the last 250,000 years have been reconstructed from various data sources, providing evidence of former extensive lakes and drier periods. During the latter, the area of the Kalahari has expanded to include parts of western Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Angola. Due to its low aridity, the Kalahari supports

128-469: A cooler climate than that of the Sahel or Sahara . For example, winter frost is common from June to August, rarely seen in the warmer Sahelian regions. For the same reason, summer temperatures certainly can be very hot, but not in comparison to regions of low altitude in the Sahel or Sahara, where some stations record average temperatures of the warmest month around 38 °C, whereas the average temperature of

160-434: A location has a semi-arid climate, the precipitation threshold must first be determined. The method used to find the precipitation threshold (in millimeters): If the area's annual precipitation in millimeters is less than the threshold but more than half or 50% the threshold, it is classified as a BS (steppe, semi-desert, or semi-arid climate). Furthermore, to delineate hot semi-arid climates from cold semi-arid climates,

192-409: A mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm. A location with a BS -type climate is classified as hot semi-arid ( BSh ) if its mean temperature is above this isotherm, and cold semi-arid ( BSk ) if not. Hot semi-arid climates (type "BSh") tend to be located from the high teens to mid-30s latitudes of the tropics and subtropics , typically in proximity to regions with

224-406: A small region toward the west-southwest of Tsaraxaibis (Southeast of Namibia). The average annual rainfall ranges from around 110 mm (close to aridity) to more than 500 mm in some north and east areas. During summertime in all regions, rainfall may go with heavy thunderstorms. In the driest and sunniest parts of the Kalahari, over 4,000 hours of sunshine are recorded annually on average. In

256-470: A variety of flora. The native flora includes acacia trees and many other herbs and grasses. The kiwano fruit, also known as the horned melon, melano, African horned cucumber, jelly melon, or hedged gourd, is endemic to a region in the Kalahari Desert (specific region unknown). Even where the Kalahari "desert" is dry enough to qualify as a desert in the sense of having low precipitation , it

288-566: Is derived from the Tswana word Kgala , meaning "the great thirst", or Kgalagadi , meaning "a waterless place"; the Kalahari has vast areas covered by red sand without any permanent surface water. The Kalahari Desert was not always a dry desert. The fossil flora and fauna from Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana indicates that the region was much wetter and cooler at least from 30 to 11 thousand Before Present , especially after 17,500 BP. Drainage of

320-649: Is home to the lion ( Panthera leo ), cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ), African leopard ( Panthera pardus ), spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), brown hyena ( Parahyaena brunnea ), and African wild dog ( Lycaon pictus pictus ). Birds of prey include the secretarybird ( Sagittarius serpentarius ), martial eagle ( Polemaetus bellicosus ) and other eagles, the giant eagle owl ( Bubo lacteus ) and other owls, falcons , goshawks , kestrels , and kites . Other animals include wildebeest , springbok , gemsbok and other antelopes , Cape porcupines ( Hystrix africaeaustralis ), and ostriches ( Struthio camelus ). Some of

352-655: Is not strictly speaking a desert because it has too dense a ground cover. The main region that lacks ground cover is in the southwest Kalahari (southeast of Namibia, northwest of South Africa, and southwest of Botswana) in the south of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park . For instance, in the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality of South Africa, total vegetation cover may be as low as 30.72% on non-protected (from cattle grazing) farmlands south of Twee Rivieren Rest Camp and 37.74% in

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384-695: Is situated in the Kalahari Basin . In 1996, De Beers evaluated the potential of diamond mining at Gope. In 1997, the eviction of the San and Bakgalagadi tribes in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve from their land began. In 2006, a Botswana High Court ruled in favor of the San and Bakgalagadi tribes in the reserve, finding their eviction unlawful. The Government of Botswana granted a permit to De Beers' Gem Diamonds/Gope Exploration Company (Pty) Ltd. to conduct mining activities within

416-425: Is sub-humid rather than semi-arid in the north and east, where the dry forests, savannahs, and salt lakes prevail. South and west, where the vegetation is predominantly xeric savanna or even a semi-desert, the climate is "Kalaharian" semi-arid . The Kalaharian climate is subtropical (average annual temperature greater than or equal to 18 °C, at peaks reaching 40 °C and above, with mean monthly temperature of

448-755: The ABC Islands , the rain shadows of Hispaniola 's mountain ranges in the Dominican Republic and Haiti , parts of the Southwestern United States including California's Central Valley , and sections of South America such as the sertão , the Gran Chaco , and the poleward side of the arid deserts, where they typically feature a Mediterranean precipitation pattern, with generally rainless summers and wetter winters. They are also found in few areas of Europe surrounding

480-599: The Mediterranean Basin . In Europe, BSh climates are predominantly found in southeastern Spain . It can also be found primarily in parts of south Greece but also in marginal areas of Thessaloniki and Chalkidiki in north Greece , most of Formentera , marginal areas of Ibiza and marginal areas of Italy in Sicily , Sardinia and Lampedusa . Cold semi-arid climates (type "BSk") tend to be located in elevated portions of temperate zones generally from

512-523: The Outback surrounding the central desert regions lies within the hot semi-arid climate region. In South Asia, both India and parts of Pakistan experience the seasonal effects of monsoons and feature short but well-defined wet seasons , but are not sufficiently wet overall to qualify as either a tropical savanna or a humid subtropical climate. Hot semi-arid climates can be also found in parts of North America , such as most of northern Mexico ,

544-587: The Kalahari "desert", but in the Kalahari basin, halophytic vegetation to the north is adapted to pans, lakes that are completely dry during the dry season, and maybe for years during droughts, such as in Etosha ( Etosha Pan halophytics AT0902) and Makgadikgadi ( Zambezian halophytics AT0908). A totally different vegetation is adapted to the perennial fresh water of the Okavango Delta , an ecoregion termed Zambezian flooded grasslands AT0907. The Kalahari

576-603: The Kalahari Desert was once a much wetter place. The ancient Lake Makgadikgadi dominated the area, covering the Makgadikgadi Pan and surrounding areas, but it drained or dried out some 10,000 years ago. It may have once covered as much as 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 sq mi). In ancient times, there was sufficient moisture for farming, with dikes and dams collecting the water. These are now filled with sediment, breached, or no longer in use, though they can be readily seen via Google Earth. The Kalahari has had

608-590: The Kalahari, there are three main mechanisms of atmospheric circulation, dominated by the Kalahari High anticyclone in winter, and by the Kalahari Heat Low in summer: There are huge subterranean water reserves beneath parts of the Kalahari; the Dragon's Breath Cave , for example, is the largest documented non-subglacial underground lake. Such reserves may partly be the residues of ancient lakes;

640-756: The areas within the Kalahari are seasonal wetlands , such as the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana . This area, for example, supports numerous halophilic species, and in the rainy season, tens of thousands of flamingos visit these pans. The following protected areas were established in the Kalahari: The San people have lived in the Kalahari for 20,000 years as hunter-gatherers . They hunt wild game with bows and poisoned arrows and gather edible plants, such as berries, melons and nuts, as well as insects. The San get most of their water requirements from plant roots and desert melons found on or under

672-601: The climate is drier, it becomes a true semi-desert with ground not entirely covered by vegetation: "open" as opposed to "closed" vegetation. Examples include the north of the ZF Mgcawu District Municipality , itself in the north of South Africa, and the Keetmanshoop Rural in the southeast of Namibia. In the north and east, dry forests cover an area of over 300,000 km in which Rhodesian teak and several species of acacia are prominent. These regions are termed Kalahari Acacia-Baikiaea woodlands AT0709. Outside

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704-548: The coldest month strictly below 18 °C), and is semi-arid with the dry season from April to September, the coldest six months of the year. It is the southern tropical equivalent of the Sahelian climate with the wet season during summer. The altitude has been adduced as the explanation why the Kalaharian climate is not tropical; its altitude ranges from 600 to 1600 meters (and generally from 800 to 1200 meters), resulting in

736-429: The desert floor. They often store water in the blown-out shells of ostrich eggs. The San live in huts built from local materials—the frame is made of branches, and the roof is thatched with long grass. Most of their hunting and gathering techniques replicate pre-historic tribes. Bantu -speaking Tswana , Kgalagadi , and Herero and a small number of European settlers also live in the Kalahari desert. The city of Windhoek

768-592: The desert is by dry black valleys, seasonally inundated pans, and the large salt pans of the Makgadikgadi Pan in Botswana and Etosha Pan in Namibia. The only permanent river, the Okavango , flows into a delta in the northwest, forming marshes that are rich in wildlife. Ancient dry riverbeds—called omuramba —traverse the central northern reaches of the Kalahari and provide standing pools of water during

800-525: The mid-30s to low 50s latitudes, typically bordering a humid continental climate or a Mediterranean climate . They are also typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature warm to hot dry summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates. Unlike hot semi-arid climates, areas with cold semi-arid climates tend to have cold and possibly freezing winters. These areas usually see some snowfall during

832-484: The protected (from cattle grazing) South African side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park: these southernmost Kalahari xeric savanna areas are truly semi-deserts. However, in all the remaining Kalahari, except on salt pans during the dry season, the vegetation cover can be denser, up to almost 100%, in some limited areas. In an area of about 600,000 km in the south and west of the Kalahari,

864-693: The rainy season. A semi-desert, with huge tracts of excellent grazing after good rains, the Kalahari supports more animals and plants than a true desert, such as the Namib Desert to the west. There is little rainfall, and the summer temperature is very high. The driest areas usually receive 110–200 mm (4.3–7.9 in) of rain per year, and the wettest just a little over 500 mm (20 in). The surrounding Kalahari Basin covers over 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi) extending farther into Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, encroaching into parts of Angola , Zambia and Zimbabwe . The climate

896-672: The reserve. Botswana Namibia South Africa 23°S 22°E  /  23°S 22°E  / -23; 22 Semi-arid climate A more precise definition is given by the Köppen climate classification , which treats steppe climates ( BSh and BSk ) as intermediates between desert climates (BW) and humid climates (A, C, D) in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential. Semi-arid climates tend to support short, thorny or scrubby vegetation and are usually dominated by either grasses or shrubs as they usually cannot support forests. To determine if

928-518: The vegetation is mainly xeric savanna . This area is the ecoregion identified by World Wide Fund for Nature as Kalahari xeric savanna AT1309. Typical savanna grasses include Schmidtia , Stipagrostis , Aristida , and Eragrostis ; these are interspersed with trees such as camelthorn ( Acacia erioloba ), grey camelthorn ( Acacia haematoxylon ), shepherd's tree ( Boscia albitrunca ), blackthorn ( Acacia mellifera ), and silver cluster-leaf ( Terminalia sericea ). In certain areas where

960-406: The warmest month in any region in the Kalahari never exceeds 29 °C, though daily temperatures occasionally reach up to close to 45 °C (113 °F) (44.8 °C at Twee Rivieren Rest Camp in 2012). The dry season lasts eight months or more, and the wet season typically from less than one month to four months, depending on location. The southwestern Kalahari is the driest area, particularly

992-557: The western US, as well as the Middle East and other parts of Asia. However, they can also be found in Northern Africa, South Africa, sections of South America, sections of interior southern Australia (e.g. Kalgoorlie and Mildura ) and southern New Zealand ( Alexandra ) and sections of Europe. Kalahari High The Kalahari High is an anticyclone that forms in winter over the interior of southern Africa, replacing

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1024-796: The winter, though snowfall is much lower than at locations at similar latitudes with more humid climates. Areas featuring cold semi-arid climates tend to have higher elevations than areas with hot semi-arid climates, and tend to feature major temperature swings between day and night, sometimes by as much as 20 °C (36 °F) or more. These large diurnal temperature variations are seldom seen in hot semi-arid climates. Cold semi-arid climates at higher latitudes tend to have dry winters and wetter summers, while cold semi-arid climates at lower latitudes tend to have precipitation patterns more akin to Mediterranean climates , with dry summers, relatively wet winters, and even wetter springs and autumns. Cold semi-arid climates are most commonly found in central Asia and

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