Okavango River: Dissolving in the Desert and Giving Life

The Okavango River flows on the African continent through the territory of Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It is interesting in that it does not flow anywhere. For 1,600 kilometers, it carries its waters not to the ocean, sea or lake. Okavango forms a vast delta, spilling over the surrounding space and dissolving in a swamp. It is also interesting that this swampy lowland is located in the northwest of the Kalahari desert. An incredible combination of swamp and desert. The Okavango Delta is the most extensive inland delta in the world. The view of it from above is striking in its beauty and originality.

Okavango originates in the mountains of Angola, but in this country it is called Kubango. Further, it flows to the southeast and, reaching the McGadikgadi Basin in the territory of Botswana, spreads, forming a vast swamp. Scientists believe that as early as 10,000 years ago, the Okavango River had a completely ordinary delta, flowing into the ancient Lake McGadikgadi. But over time, this pond dried up, leaving behind several salt lakes that exist only in the rainy season and a short time after it. But Okavango still carries its waters in the usual direction, only it has nowhere to flow into it - the desert is all around. Kalahari Desert.

Kalahari is Africa's largest desert south of the equator. Its area is already 600,000 square kilometers, and it continues to grow. Contrary to popular belief, deserts are not only hot sands and the absence of rain. Deserts include territories where the annual rainfall does not exceed 250-300 millimeters, and this amount is much less than the moisture spent on evaporation. That is, rains are even possible there, as, for example, in Kalahari, where the rainy season begins in summer. The fauna of this desert is quite diverse. In addition to lizards and snakes, lions, cheetahs, leopards, rhinos, giraffes, antelopes and zebras live here. But the fauna reaches the greatest diversity in the swamps that Okavango forms.

The Okavango Delta is not only an unusual geographical object, but also a unique biosystem. In these impassable swamps, hundreds of species of various animals, including very rare and unusual ones, have remarkably settled down. Thanks to the swamp, dense thickets of papyrus and water lilies, this region has been preserved almost in its original form. Of the people here are a few locals, tourists and photographers. They move here only on narrow small boats, in a different way, just through the thicket of reeds just can not get through. Here live interesting ungulates that have adapted to life in the swamps: the Sitatung antelope, swamp goats, red lychee. There are also lions and cheetahs that are used to swamp life. In the Okavango Delta, the world of near-water birds is very rich and diverse.

And all this magnificent diversity on the edge of the desert is possible only thanks to Okavango, an amazing river that dissolves in the sands, giving life.