Namib-naukluft park “Sossusvlei, a large ephemeral pan, is set amid red sand dunes which tower up to 200m above the valley floor and more than 300m over the underlying strata. It is part of a 300km-long and 150km-wide sand sea that covers over 32,000 sq km of western Namibia and contains the world’s highest, oldest and arguably most picturesque dunes. This sand probably originated in the Kalahari between three and five millions years ago. It was washed down the Orange River and out to sea, where it was swept northwards with the Benguela Current to be deposited along the coast.” –Lonely Planet Namibia |