Editing Namib (section)

{{Short description|Desert in Southern Africa}}
{{Hatnote group|
{{About|the desert in Southern Africa|the South Korean TV series|Namib (TV series){{!}}''Namib'' (TV series)}}
{{Distinguish|Namibia|Namibian}}
}}
{{Infobox valley
| name               = Namib
| other_name         = 
| photo              = Namib desert MODIS.jpg
| photo_caption      = An image of the Namib Desert by the [[Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer|MODIS]] instrument
<!--    MAP     -->
| map                = 
| map_image          = LocationNamib.png
| map_caption        = Approximate boundaries of the Namib Desert
<!--  Location  -->
| location           = 
| country            = Namibia
| country1           = South Africa
| country2           = Angola
| region             = 
| state              = 
| coordinates   = {{Coord|24|45|07|S|15|16|35|E|region:NA_type:landmark_scale:2500000|display=inline, title}}
<!-- Statistics -->
| elevation          = 
| elevation_m        = 
| elevation_ft       = 
| elevation_ref      = 
| length             = 
| length_mi          = 
| length_km          = 1600
| length_orientation = 
| length_note        = 
| width              = 
| width_mi           = 
| width_km           = 50-160
| width_orientation  = 
| width_note         = 
| area               = 
| area_mi2           = 
| area_km2           = 160000
| depth              = 
| depth_ft           = 
| depth_m            = 
| type               = 
| age                = 
| border             = 
| topo               = 
| traversed          = 
| river              = Swakop River
| river1             = Kuiseb River
| river2             = Cunene River
| river3             = Orange River
| river4             = [[Olifants River (Western Cape)|Olifants River]]
| river5             = Tsauchab
<!-- Below --> 
| footnotes = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
  |child = yes
  |Official_name = Namib Sand Sea
  |ID = 1430
  |Year = 2013
  |Criteria = Natural: vii, viii, ix, x
  |Area = 3,077,700 ha
  |Buffer_zone = 899,500 ha 
  }}
}}

The '''Namib''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɑː|m|ɪ|b}} {{respell|NAH|mib}};<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Namib+Desert |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729112629/https://www.lexico.com/definition/namib_desert?s=t |url-status=dead |archive-date=2022-07-29 |title=Namib Desert |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> {{langx|pt|Namibe}}) is a coastal [[desert]] in [[Southern Africa]]. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than {{convert|2000|km}} along the Atlantic coasts of [[Angola]], [[Namibia]], and northwest [[South Africa]], extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the [[Olifants River (Western Cape)|Olifants River]] in Western Cape, South Africa.<ref name="Goudie">{{cite book|author=Goudie, Andrew |author-link=Andrew Goudie (geographer) |chapter=Chapter 17: Namib Sand Sea: Large Dunes in an Ancient Desert |editor1-first=Piotr |editor1-last=Migoń|editor-link=Piotr Migoń|title=Geomorphological Landscapes of the World |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-TI55urJYyEC&q=Geomorphological%20Landscapes%20of%20the%20World&pg=PR2 |year=2010 |publisher=Springer |location=New York, NY |pages=163–169 |isbn=978-90-481-3054-2}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Stone|first=A. E. C.|date=2013-06-01|title=Age and dynamics of the Namib Sand Sea: A review of chronological evidence and possible landscape development models|journal=Journal of African Earth Sciences| volume=82| pages=70–87| doi=10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2013.02.003| bibcode=2013JAfES..82...70S |issn=1464-343X}}</ref><ref name="Gates-Appiah">{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Africa |editor1-first=Henry Louis |editor1-last=Gates |editor1-link=Kwame Anthony Appiah |editor2-first=Kwame Anthony|editor2-last=Appiah |editor2-link=Kwame Anthony Appiah |year=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-533770-9 |page=213 |volume=2 }}</ref> The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends {{convert|450|km}} from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as [[Moçâmedes Desert]], while its southern portion approaches the neighboring [[Kalahari Desert]]. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to {{convert|200|km}} inland to the foot of the [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]].<ref name="Goudie" /> Annual precipitation ranges from {{convert|2|mm}} in the aridest regions to {{convert|200|mm}} at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa.<ref name="Goudie" /><ref name="Gates-Appiah" /><ref name="Spriggs">{{cite web|url=http://worldwildlife.org/ecoregions/at1315 |title=Namib desert (AT1315) |author=Spriggs, Amy |work=Wild World |publisher=World Wildlife Fund |access-date=11 December 2011}}</ref> Having endured [[Desert climate|arid]] or [[Semi-arid climate|semi-arid]] conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world<ref name="Goudie" /><ref name="Spriggs" /> and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South America's [[Atacama Desert#Aridity|Atacama Desert]] to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks.{{efn-ua|It is hypothetized that Atacama Desert had climatic conditions that were akin to the Namib Desert prior to the rise of the [[Andes]] in [[Cenozoic|the last 25 millions years]] when Atacama turned hyper-arid.<ref name=namib>{{Cite journal |title=A comparative study of the atmospheric water vapor in the Atacama and Namib Desert |journal=[[Global and Planetary Change]] |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921818123002941 |last1=Veloso |first1=José Vicencio |volume=232 |last2=Böhm |first2=Christoph |doi=10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104320 |year=2024 |last3=Schween |first3=Jan H. |last4=Löhnert |first4=Ulrich |last5=Crewell |first5=Susanne|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} Most of Namibia's share of the Namib Desert is protected under the environmental protection included in the constitution of the country. 

The desert geology consists of [[sand sea]]s near the coast, while gravel plains and scattered mountain outcrops occur further inland. The sand dunes, some of which are {{convert|300|m}} high and span {{convert|32|km}} long, are the second-largest in the world after the [[Badain Jaran Desert]] dunes in China.<ref name="Goudie" /> Temperatures along the coast are stable and generally range between {{convert|9|-|20|°C|°F}} annually, while temperatures further inland are variable—summer daytime temperatures can exceed {{convert|45|°C}} while nights can be freezing.<ref name="Nicholson2011" /> [[Fog]]s that originate offshore from the collision of the cold [[Benguela Current]] and warm air from the [[Hadley cell]] create a fog belt that frequently envelops parts of the desert. Coastal regions can experience more than 180 days of thick fog a year.<ref name="Goudie" /><ref name="Spriggs" /> While this has proved a major hazard to ships—more than a thousand wrecks litter the [[Skeleton Coast]]—it is a vital source of moisture for desert life.

The Namib is almost completely uninhabited by humans except for several small settlements and indigenous pastoral groups, including the [[Himba people|Ovahimba]] and [[Herero people|Obatjimba Herero]] in the north, and the [[Nama people|Topnaar Nama]] in the central region.<ref name="Gates-Appiah" /> Owing to its antiquity, the Namib may be home to more [[Endemism|endemic species]] than any other desert in the world.<ref name="Nicholson2011">{{cite book |title=Dryland Climatology |last=Nicholson |first=Sharon E. |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-51649-5 |pages=385–388 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fqussIGJ0NcC&pg=PA388 |access-date=13 December 2011}}</ref> Most of the desert wildlife is [[arthropod]]s and other small animals that live on little water, although larger animals inhabit the northern regions. Near the coast, the cold ocean water is rich in fishery resources and supports populations of [[brown fur seal]]s and shorebirds, which serve as prey for the Skeleton Coast's [[lion]]s.<ref name="Nicholson2011" /> Further inland, the [[Namib-Naukluft National Park]] supports population of [[Mountain Zebra|mountain zebra]]s, and other large mammals. Further north near the Skeleton Coast, [[Lion|lions]], [[African bush elephant|elephants]] and [[Black rhinoceros|rhinos]] can be found. Although the outer Namib is largely barren of vegetation, [[lichen]]s and [[Succulent plant|succulents]] are found in coastal areas, while grasses, shrubs, and [[ephemeral plant]]s thrive near the [[escarpment]]. Several types of trees are also able to survive the extremely arid climate.<ref name="Nicholson2011" />