Okavango Delta

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Amazing example of african biodiversity, especially during rainy seasons.

Category: Sanctuary of flora and fauna
Country: Botswana
Location: View in Maps
Views: 102
Date added: 04-11-2024

Place overview

The Okavango Delta in Botswana is a vast inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an altitude of 930–1,000 m in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari.

The Okavango Delta is both a permanent and seasonal home to a wide variety of wildlife which is now a popular tourist attraction. All of the big five game animals—the lion, leopard, African buffalo, African bush elephant and rhinoceros (both black and white rhinoceros)—are present among a variety of other different species, including a large number of birds.

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as one of the few interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is largely intact. All the water reaching the delta is ultimately evaporated and transpired. Each year, about 11 cubic kilometres of water spreads over the 6,000–15,000 km area. Some flood waters drain into Lake Ngami. The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that had mostly dried up by the early Holocene.

The delta was named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, which were officially declared on 11 February 2013 in Arusha, Tanzania. On 22 June 2014, the Okavango Delta became the 1000th site to be officially inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Learn more about Okavango Delta

Place location

Click the following link to view in maps: Okavango Delta Maps

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Gallery

View the source gallery here: Okavango Delta Wikimedia