View source for Skeleton Coast

{{short description|Atlantic coast of northern Namibia and southern Angola}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox landform
| name                  = Skeleton Coast
| native_name           = <!-- {{Native name|<IETF language tag>|<the native name>}} -->
| other_name            = 
| type                  = Coast
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| photo                 = Otavi 1945.jpg
| photo_alt             = 
| photo_caption         = ''Otavi'', shipwrecked 1945
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| coordinates           = {{coord|21|36|44|S|14|32|24|E|region:NA_type:landmark_source:dewiki}}
| coords_ref       = 
<!--     Location     -->
| location              = [[Namibia]]
| range                 = 
| part_of               = [[Namib Desert]] coast
| water_bodies          = [[Atlantic Ocean]], [[Kunene River]], [[Swakop River]]
<!--      Naming      -->
| etymology             = Named for whale and seal bones that used to litter the coast, partly due to [[whaling]], and for the thousands of [[shipwreck]]s
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| area                  = <!-- {{Convert|NN|ha|acres}} -->
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| length                = {{convert|310|mi|km}}
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}}

The '''Skeleton Coast''' is the northern part of the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast of [[Namibia]]. Immediately south of [[Angola]], it stretches from the [[Kunene River]] to the [[Swakop River]], although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire [[Namib Desert]] coast. The indigenous [[San people]] (formerly known as Bushmen), of the Namibian interior called the region "The Land God Made in Anger", while [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".

On the coast, the [[upwelling]] of the cold [[Benguela current]] gives rise to dense ocean [[fog]]s (called ''cassimbo'' by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds {{convert|10|mm}} annually, and the [[climate]] is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavy [[Breaking wave|surf]] on the beaches. In the days before engine-powered ships and boats, it was possible to get ashore through the surf, but impossible to launch from the shore. The only way out was by going through a marsh hundreds of kilometres long and only accessible via a hot and arid desert.

The coast is largely made up of soft sand occasionally interrupted by rocky outcrops. The southern section consists of [[gravel]] plains, while north of Terrace Bay the landscape is dominated by high [[sand dune]]s.

Skeleton Bay is known as a great location for [[surfing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.carvemag.com/2013/08/skeleton-bay-the-miracle-mile/ |title=Skeleton Bay – The Miracle Mile?|website=carvemag.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222103124/http://www.carvemag.com/2013/08/skeleton-bay-the-miracle-mile/ |archive-date=2015-12-22 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Schiffswrack Zeila, Namibia 2014.jpg|thumb|''Zelia India'' shipwreck, south of [[Henties Bay]], November 2014]]
The area's name derives from the whale and seal bones that once littered the shore, partly due to the [[whaling]] industry, although in modern times the coast also harbours the skeletal remains of the [[shipwreck]]s caused by offshore rocks and fog.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/11/the-shipwrecks-of-skeleton-coast-namibia.html|title=The Shipwrecks of Skeleton Coast, Namibia|website=www.amusingplanet.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624150028/https://www.amusingplanet.com/2013/11/the-shipwrecks-of-skeleton-coast-namibia.html|archive-date=2021-06-24 |url-status=live}}</ref> More than a thousand such vessels of various sizes litter the coast, notably the ''[[Eduard Bohlen]]'', ''Benguela Eagle'', ''Otavi'', ''[[Dunedin Star]]'' and ''Tong Taw''.

The name "Skeleton Coast" was coined by John Henry Marsh as the title for the book he wrote chronicling the shipwreck of the ''Dunedin Star''. Since the book was first published in 1944, it has become so well known that the coast is now generally referred to as "Skeleton Coast" and is named so on most maps today. See {{section link|#In popular culture}}, below.

==History==
{{Further|List of shipwrecks of Africa#Namibia}}
[[File:Skelettküste.jpg|thumb|right|One of many rusting ship hulls along the Skeleton Coast ({{MV|Dunedin Star||2}})]]
One of the oldest shipwrecks in the Skeleton Coast region is that of the ''[[Bom Jesus (ship)|Bom Jesus]]'', near the town of [[Oranjemund]]. It ran aground during the 1530s and is known to be one of the oldest discovered shipwrecks of the Iberian Atlantic tradition in Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chirikure |first1=Shadreck |last2=Sinamai |first2=Ashton |last3=Goagoses |first3=Esther |last4=Mubusisi |first4=Marina |title=Maritime Archaeology and Trans-Oceanic Trade: A Case Study of the Oranjemund Shipwreck Cargo, Namibia |journal=Journal of Maritime Archaeology |date=October 2010 |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=40 |doi=10.1007/s11457-010-9059-9 |jstor=23747443 |s2cid=162225466 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23747443|url-access=subscription }}</ref> 

Past human occupation by [[Strandloper peoples|Strandlopers]] is shown by [[Midden|shell middens]] of white [[mussels]] found along parts of the Skeleton Coast.

In 1942 the British [[Reefer ship|refrigerated]] [[cargo liner]] ''[[MV Dunedin Star|Dunedin Star]]'' ran aground.  All her 106 passengers and crew were eventually rescued, but at the cost of a [[Tugboat|tug]], an [[South African Air Force|SAAF]] aircraft and the lives of two rescuers.  The account is recorded in a book ''Skeleton Coast'' by John Henry Marsh.

On Thursday, 22 March 2018, a Japanese registered fishing vessel, MVF ''Fukuseki Maru'', got into trouble and ran aground near Durissa Bay, south of the Ugab River mouth, lying 2&nbsp;km from the Skeleton Coast beach in the ocean. All 24 foreign crew members were rescued by Namibian authorities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://economist.com.na/34085/environment/japanese-fishing-vessel-stuck-near-walvis-bay/|title=Japanese fishing vessel stuck near Walvis Bay &#124; Namibia Economist|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105014924/https://economist.com.na/34085/environment/japanese-fishing-vessel-stuck-near-walvis-bay/|archive-date=2021-11-05 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Wildlife==
[[File:Seals on the Skeleton Coast (5832914651).jpg|thumb|right|Brown fur seal colony on Skeleton Coast.]]
Namibia has declared the {{convert|16000|km2|sqmi}} area of coastline and adjacent deserts, scrub and marshlands as [[Skeleton Coast National Park]], from the [[Ugab River]] to the [[Cunene River|Kunene]]. The northern half of the park is a designated [[wilderness area]]. Notable features are the clay castles of the [[Hoarusib River]], the Agate Mountain [[Dry lake|salt pan]]s, and the large [[brown fur seal]] colonies at [[Cape Fria]]. The remainder of the coast is the National West Coast Recreation Area. The national park is part of the [[Iona – Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area]].<ref name="SCIONA">{{cite web |title=About- Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Park and the SCIONA project |url=http://sciona.nust.na/about |publisher=Namibia University of Science and Technology |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>

The coast has been the subject of a number of wildlife [[documentaries]], particularly concerning adaptations to extreme aridity, such as the 1965 ''[[National Geographic]]'' documentary ''Survivors of the Skeleton Coast''.<ref>{{cite web | title = Survivors of the Skeleton Coast | website=[[IMDb]]| url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146296/}}</ref> Many of the native species of [[Succulent plant|succulent plants]] depend on the thick sea [[Fog|fogs]], which roll-in from the coast, for their moisture; in addition to water droplets for their hydration, windblown detritus from the arid interior serves as a food source for numerous [[Invertebrate|invertebrates]], which, in turn, feed the [[Herpetology|herpetofauna]] and form the base of the desert food chain. The desert bird assemblages have been studied in terms of their [[thermoregulation]], coloration, breeding strategies and [[nomadism]].

The riverbeds and flatlands further away from the beaches are home to [[African bush elephant|bush elephants]], [[Chacma baboon|Chacma baboons]], [[southern giraffe]], [[lion]]s, [[African leopard|leopard]], [[black rhinoceros]], [[spotted hyena|spotted]] and [[brown hyena|brown hyenas]], [[gemsbok]] and [[springbok (antelope)|springbok]], among many other species.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=Lynn |last2=Jones |first2=Jennifer |last3=Schnitzer |first3=Kate |title=Monuments in the Desert: A Maritime Landscape in Namibia |journal=Journal of Maritime Archaeology |date=October 2012 |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=114 |doi=10.1007/s11457-012-9087-8 |jstor=43551372 |s2cid=161362350 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43551372|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The animals get most of their water from wells dug by one another, in addition to consuming various water-laden succulent plants. The black rhinoceros population was the main reason why the CBBC show ''[[Serious Desert]]'' was filmed in the region.

==In popular culture==
*''[[Skeleton Coast (novel)|Skeleton Coast]]'' is a novel by [[Clive Cussler]] that uses the shifting sands of the coastline as a prominent plot device in the fourth entry in the [[Oregon Files]]. 
*The plot of the 1968 fiction film ''[[A Twist of Sand]]'' involves diamonds hidden in a shipwreck buried in the sand dunes of the Skeleton Coast.
*Much of season 1, episode 7 of Amazon's ''[[The Grand Tour]]'' was filmed on the Skeleton Coast.
*The first episode of ''[[Wonders of the Universe]]'' featured the Skeleton Coast, and the shipwrecks there were utilized as part of an analogy by [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]] to demonstrate the effects of time.
*For the American TV series ''[[Fallout_(American_TV_series)|Fallout]]'', scenes depicting the post-apocalyptic Wasteland were filmed on the Skeleton Coast.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/the-big-fallout-tv-show-interview-with-jonathan-nolan-walton-goggins-and-more |title=The Big Fallout TV Show Interview With Jonathan Nolan, Walton Goggins, and More |date=December 4, 2023 |website=[[IGN]] |last=Bankhurst |first=Adam |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240121195535/https://www.ign.com/articles/the-big-fallout-tv-show-interview-with-jonathan-nolan-walton-goggins-and-more |archive-date=January 21, 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
*Drummer [[Billy Cobham]] has written an album inspired by his visit to the area, called ''Tales from the Skeleton Coast''.
*Punk rock band [[The Lawrence Arms]] released their seventh LP, ''Skeleton Coast'', named in reference to the region.

{{Gallery
|title=Gallery
|width=120 |height=100
|align=center
|File:Skeleton Coast (23910020708).jpg
   |An aerial view of Skeleton Coast
   |alt=
|File:Namibia homelands 78.jpeg
   |A map from 1964 to 1965 showing the [[Namibia]]n "homelands" or [[Bantustans]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bantustan | title=Bantustan &#124; Definition, History, Map, & Facts &#124; Britannica }}</ref> when Namibia was under the rule of apartheid South Africa.
   |alt2=
|File:Eduard Bohlen anagoria.jpg
   |Shipwreck of ''[[Eduard Bohlen]]''
   |alt3=
|File:Ugabmund_Gate.jpg
   |Ugabmund Gate (Ugab River Gate) of the [[Skeleton Coast National Park]]; note the skulls-and-crossbones in the gate
   |alt4=
|File:Dune Formation Namib Skeleton Coast (37504515070).jpg
   |A [[dune]] formation on the coastline
   |alt5=
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20220324094811/http://namibweb.com/skeleton.htm Skeleton Coast]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100513082848/http://www.gorp.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-namibia-sidwcmdev_056304.html Animals of the Skeleton Coast]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090226032306/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/goldenseals/ PBS Golden Seals of the Skeleton Coast]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100513082848/http://www.gorp.com/weekend-guide/travel-ta-namibia-sidwcmdev_056304.html Animals of the Skeleton Coast Adapted to a Desert Habitat]
*[http://rapidttp.co.za/skeleton/ The true story of the wrecking of the big British passenger liner Dunedin Star and the eventual rescue of her more than 100 passengers and crew]
{{Regions of Africa}}{{authority control}}

[[Category:Tourism in Namibia]]
[[Category:National parks of Namibia]]
[[Category:Coasts of Namibia]]