Namib Sand Sea
Namib Sand Sea is the only coastal desert in the
world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog. Covering an
area of over three million hectares and a buffer zone of 899,500
hectares, the site is composed of two dune systems, an ancient
semi-consolidated one overlain by a younger active one. The desert dunes
are formed by the transportation of materials thousands of kilometres
from the hinterland, that are carried by river, ocean current and wind.
It features gravel plains, coastal flats, rocky hills, inselbergs within
the sand sea, a coastal lagoon and ephemeral rivers, resulting in a
landscape of exceptional beauty. Fog is the primary source of water in
the site, accounting for a unique environment in which endemic
invertebrates, reptiles and mammals adapt to an ever-changing variety of
microhabitats and ecological niches.