View source for Namib-Naukluft National Park

{{short description|National park in Namibia}}
{{Infobox Protected area
| name = Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia
| photo = Namib-Naukluft_Sand_Dunes_(2011).jpg
| photo_caption = Sand dunes near Sossusvlei
| iucn_category = II
| map = Namibia
| map_width = 300
| relief = yes
| AlternativeMap = Namibia protected areas.svg
| location = [[Namibia]]
| nearest_city = [[Windhoek]]
| coordinates = {{coord|24|32|47|S|15|19|47|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| area_km2 =49768
| established = 1907
| visitation_num = 
| visitation_year = 
| governing_body = Ministry of Environment and Tourism
}}

The '''Namib-Naukluft National Park''' is a [[national park]] in western [[Namibia]], situated between the coast of the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and the edge of the [[Great Escarpment]]. It encompasses part of the [[Namib Desert]] (considered the world's oldest desert), the [[Naukluft Mountains|Naukluft mountain range]], and the lagoon at [[Sandwich Harbour]]. The best-known area of the park and one of the main visitor attractions in Namibia is [[Sossusvlei]], a clay pan surrounded by dunes, and [[Sesriem]], a small canyon of the [[Tsauchab]]. The desert research station of [[Gobabeb]] is situated within the park.

==Location and description==
With an overall area of {{convert|49768|km2|abbr=on}}, the Namib-Naukluft National Park was at the time of its last expansion the largest game park in [[Africa]] and the fourth largest in the world.<ref>[http://www.namibweb.com/naukluft.htm Namib Naukluft Park]</ref> It consists of a strip of land on the Atlantic Ocean, including {{convert|1609|km}} of sea, that extends roughly {{convert|600|km}} north-to-south from the [[Swakop River]] to the [[B4 road (Namibia)|B4 road]] to [[Lüderitz]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Namib-Naukluft National Park {{!}} Namibia |url=https://www.wildsafariguide.com/listing/namib-naukluft-national-park/ |access-date=2021-02-04 |website=Wild Safari Guide |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Wildlife==
[[Image:NamibNaukluftParkDunes.JPG|left|thumb|250px|Ancient dunes near [[Sossusvlei]], in the relatively frequently visited center of the national park, accessible by road from [[Sesriem]].]] 

A surprising collection of creatures survives in the hyper-arid region, including [[snake]]s, [[gecko]]s, unusual insects, [[hyena]]s, [[gemsbok]], [[Springbok]], [[leopard]]s, [[African wildcat]]s, [[cape fox]]es, [[baboon]]s, [[caracal]]s, [[bat-eared fox]]es and [[jackal]]s.

==Geography==
The region is characterised by high, isolated [[inselberg]]s and [[kopjes]] (the [[Afrikaans]] term for rocky outcrops), made up of dramatic blood-red [[granites]], rich in [[feldspars]] and [[sandstone]]. The easternmost part of the park covers the [[Naukluft Mountains]].

More moisture comes in as a [[fog]] off the [[Atlantic Ocean]] than falls as rain, with the average of 106 millimeters of rainfall per year concentrated in February and April.

The winds that bring in the fog are also responsible for creating the park's towering [[sand dune]]s, whose burnt orange color is a sign of their age. The orange color develops over time as [[iron]] in the sand is [[oxidation|oxidized]], like rusty metal; the older the dune, the brighter the color.

These dunes are the tallest in the world, in places rising more than 300 meters (almost 1000 feet) above the desert floor.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 August 2000 |title=Namib Desert |url=https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/namib-desert |access-date=2025-08-25 |website=[[United States Geological Survey]] |language=en}}</ref> The dunes taper off near the coast, and [[lagoon]]s, [[wetland]]s, and [[mudflat]]s located along the shore attract hundreds of thousands of birds.

'Namib' means "open space", and the Namib Desert gave its name to form Namibia – "land of open spaces".

==History==
The park was established in 1907 when the German Colonial Administration proclaimed three game reserves in [[German South West Africa]]. Today's Namib-Naukluft park was proclaimed as "Game Reserve No. 3".  The other two were the [[Omuramba]] Omatako and [[Etosha]]. The northern border of the reserve was {{convert|5|km|mi|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} south of the [[Swakop River]], and the southern border was  {{convert|10|km|mi|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} south of the [[Kuiseb River]], so that the park included the Kuiseb but excluded the Swakop due to the economic activities at its banks. After [[World War I]] the [[Union of South Africa|South African]] administration of [[South West Africa]] confirmed the proclamation of the Germans. For the Namib-Naukluft Park, the area of [[Sandwich Harbour]] was added in 1941, and a small extension of the southern border followed in 1962.<ref name=Bridgeford>{{Cite journal | title=One Hundred Years of Conservation. From Game Reserve No.3 to Namib-Naukluft Park | last=Bridgeford | first=Peter | journal=Journal | publisher=Namibia Scientific Society | volume=56 | issue=56 | year=2008 | pages=45–62 | url=http://www.the-eis.com/data/literature/100%20years%20of%20conservation.pdf}}</ref> 

In 1966 "Game Reserve No. 3" was deproclaimed, and the '''Namib Desert Park''' was established in its stead. The Namib Desert Park included a small area north of the Swakop River where ''[[Welwitschia]]'' grow, as well as the Moon Landscape east of [[Swakopmund]]. In 1979 two more large areas were added. The ''Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park'' was included so that the [[Naukluft Mountains]] now formed part of the protected area. It previously comprised 14 commercial farms that were bought by the government to protect the [[Hartmann mountain zebra]]. The second area added was a {{convert|1000|mi|km|adj=on|order=flip}} strip of the [[Atlantic Ocean]], making the Namib-Naukluft Park Namibia's first marine reserve.<ref name=Bridgeford/>

The park's present boundaries were established in 1986 when the government was given control over parts of the ''[[Sperrgebiet]]'', an area restricted for diamond mining. This vast strip of land has remained inaccessible to the general population but is now part of the Namib-Naukluft Park.<ref name=Bridgeford/>

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="180px" heights="120px" perrow="3">
Image:Namib-Naukluft-Park-Borders-Sat.jpg|Satellite photo indicating the borders of the Namib-Naukluft National Park and the Namib Rand Nature Reserve
File:Stenocara gracilipes.jpg|[[Namib desert beetle]], ''Stenocara gracilipes''
Image:NEO namib-naukluft big.jpeg|High dunes in the Namib desert
File:Dead_Vlei_4.jpg|550-year-old dead trees in [[Dead Vlei]]
Image:Sossusvlei Dune Namib Desert Namibia Luca Galuzzi 2004.JPG|A typical dune in the park
File:Namib.jpg|Moon landscape near Swakopmund
File:Eupodotis rueppellii (Namib-Naukluft, 2011).jpg|[[Rüppell's korhaan]] in the grasslands near the dunes
File:Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia.jpg|Isolated [[Aloidendron dichotomum|quiver tree]] at Namib-Naukluft Park

Dune nel Parco Nazionale Namib-Naukluft.tif|Dunes in the Namib-Naukluft National Park
Roard to Dead Vlei panorama.tif|Road to Dead Vlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park
Namib-Naukluft National Park.tif|Namib-Naukluft National Park
Namib-Naukluft National Park Trees.tif|Trees in the Namib-Naukluft National Park
Namib Naukluft National Park.tif|Namib-Naukluft National Park
Strada nel deserto del Namib nel Namib-Naukluft National Park.tif|Road in the Namib Desert in the Namib-Naukluft National Park



</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of national parks of Namibia]]

==References==
<references responsive />

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
{{wikivoyage}}
*{{cite web|title=Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia (1)|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16328|publisher=NASA Earth Observatory|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20031021021926/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16328|archivedate=2003-10-21}}
*{{cite web|title=Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia (2)|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=10766|publisher=NASA Earth Observatory|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011035705/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov///Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=10766|archivedate=2006-10-11}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080828092359/http://www.met.gov.na/publications/policy/Namib%20Naukluft%20Park%20Management%20Plan.pdf Ministry of Environment and Tourism report]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080417071306/http://www.gobabeb.org/index.htm Gobabeb Training & Research Centre ] - A major centre for Namib ecological and development research since 1962; joint venture between [http://www.met.gov.na the Ministry of Environment and Tourism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100715185720/http://www.met.gov.na/ |date=2010-07-15 }} and [https://web.archive.org/web/20060421024343/http://www.drfn.org.na/index.htm the Desert Research Foundation of Namibia]
*[https://storyateverycorner.com/namibia-sossusvlei-namib-naukluft-national-park Visiting Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia]

{{National Parks of Namibia}}

[[Category:Namib-Naukluft National Park| ]]
[[Category:Namibian savanna woodlands]]
[[Category:Protected areas established in 1907]]
[[Category:1907 establishments in German South West Africa]]

[[de:Namib-Skelettküste-Nationalpark#Namib-Naukluft]]