The Kalahari Desert
Before you read:
The Kalahari Desert is Africa’s second-largest desert. Can you name the largest desert in Africa? What do you
know about deserts? Look at the following words. Which words do you associate with deserts? Look up any
words that you do not know. You will need them when you read the text.
dry
wildlife
humid
hot
towns water
salt
cold
frost
oasis rain
sand
snow
soil
stone
ice
plants
arid
Use some of the words to fill the gaps in the following text about deserts.
Deserts are very ___ places. A desert is defined as an area that gets less than 25 centimetres of ____ per year.
In extremely dry years, there might be no rain at all. The lack of water means that there are usually very few
_____ and little ________. Temperatures in the desert are also extreme, often very hot during the day and very
____ at night.Typical desert landscapes consist of ____, ____ and rocky surfaces. There is not usually much
____.
It is difficult for people and animals to live in deserts. The only places in deserts with permanent human
habitation are areas with water. A place like this – natural or artificial – is called an _____, and has a spring
or well that can support life.
However, not all deserts are hot. The biggest desert in the world is Antarctica, a so-called “cold desert”.
There, the typical landscape is obviously ____ and ___. The biggest hot desert is the Sahara in northern
Africa. In all, deserts take up one third of the Earth’s land surface.
Click here to see the right text:
Deserts are very dry places. A desert is defined as an area that gets less than 25 centimetres of rain per year.
In extremely dry years, there might be no rain at all. The lack of water means that there are usually very few
plants and little wildlife. Temperatures in the desert are also extreme, often very hot during the day and very
cold at night.Typical desert landscapes consist of sand, stone and rocky surfaces. There is not usually much
soil.
It is difficult for people and animals to live in deserts. The only places in deserts with permanent human
habitation are areas with water. A place like this – natural or artificial – is called an oasis, and has a spring
or well that can support life.
However, not all deserts are hot. The biggest desert in the world is Antarctica, a so-called “cold desert”.
There, the typical landscape is obviously snow and ice. The biggest hot desert is the Sahara in northern
Africa. In all, deserts take up one third of the Earth’s land surface.
The Kalahari – southern Africa’s desert
The Kalahari Desert covers parts of Botswana, Namibia and western and central South Africa.
GLOBETREKKING
Destination: South Africa
Theme: Landscapes and Cityscapes
It is characterised by its red sand, which has been formed into parallel ridges. Unlike the sand dunes of
many other deserts, the ridges are permanent – they don’t move in the wind. The ridges can be as high as 60
metres.
There are also other ways in which the Kalahari is not a typical desert. There is only one permanent river
but, in some areas, there is occasionally more than 25cm of rain. This means that there is more vegetation
than usual, mostly grass and acacia trees, and a number of different species of animals, for example, lions,
hyenas and antelope. It also means that people can live there, and have done so for at least 22,000 years.
The inhabitants come from many different tribes, but are often known collectively as “Bushmen”. They are
traditionally nomadic hunter-gatherers. In other words, they do not live permanently in one place and find
food as they go. Nowadays, they often also work as labourers on cattle farms.
Global climate change is affecting the Kalahari Desert. There is now less rain than before and more wind.
This will limit the numbers of plants and animals that can survive there. It will also influence the lives of
the people who have lived there for thousands of years. The increasing wind means that the sand dunes will
start moving again. This will also affect all life in the desert. Even an area as remote as the Kalahari cannot
escape the influence of world events.
GLOBETREKKING
Destination: South Africa
Theme: Landscapes and Cityscapes