- Etosha pan
The Etosha pan is a large
endorheic salt pan, forming part of theKalahari Basin in the north ofNamibia . The 120-kilometre-long (75-mile-long) dry lakebed and its surroundings are protected asEtosha National Park , one of Namibia's largest wildlife parks. Herds ofelephant s occupy the densemopane woodland on the south side of the lake. Mopane trees are common throughout south-central Africa, and host the mopane worm, which is the larval form of the moth "Gonimbrasia belina " and an important source of protein for rural communities. It was first explored by the EuropeansCharles John Andersson andFrancis Galton in1851 . American commercial travellerMcKeirnan visited the area in1876 .The area exhibits a characteristic white and greenish surface, which spreads over hundreds of kilometres. The pan developed through
tectonic plate activity over 10 million years. About 16,000 years ago, whenice sheet s were melting across theNorthern Hemisphere land masses, a wet climate phase in southern Africa filled Etosha Lake. Today, Etosha Pan is seldom seen with even a thin sheet of water covering the salt pan. It is assumed that today'sKunene River fed the lake at that time but over time plate movements caused a change in river direction causing the lake to run dry and leave a salt pan. Now theEkuma River is the sole source of water. Typically, little river water or sediment reaches the dry lake because water seeps into the riverbed along its 250-kilometre (55-mile) course, reducing discharge along the way. The year-round meager vegetation lends gives the Etosha its characteristic green colouring. In particularly rainy years the Etosha pan becomes a lake approximately 10 cm in depth and becomes a breeding ground forflamingo s, which arrive in their thousands.The Etosha area was used as a backdrop during the filming of "".
References
*"This article was originally developed from the [version at the German Wikipedia, see http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etosha-Pfanne."
*cite web | url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17261 | title=Ekuma River and Etosha Pan, Namibia | publisher=NASA Earth Observatory | accessdate=2006-05-01
* [http://www.sunsafaris.com/maps/area.aspx?lngareaid=8 Map of Etosha Pan]
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