Namaqualand

Namaqualand is a desert region of southwestern Africa.

Namaqualand

About Namaqualand:

  • It is a desert region of southwestern Africa.
  • From north to south, it stretches from the Karas region of Namibia to the Northern Cape province of South Africa. 
  • From west to east, it stretches from the Namib Desert to the Kalahari
  • It covers an area of 400,000 square kilometres.
  • The Namibian section, north of the Orange River, is sometimes called Great Namaqualand. 
  • The South African section, south of the Orange River, is sometimes called Little Namaqualand.
  • It is very dry. For a large part of the year succulents are almost the only plants that can be seen on the vast plains.
    • Succulents can hold water for long periods and can survive in droughts.
  • Rain falls mostly in the winter. If there is enough rain, wildflowers cover Namaqualand for a few weeks during springtime.
  • The area was traditionally inhabited by the Nama people before the German occupation of the region in the 19th century.
  • There are large deposits of copper in Namaqualand. The Nama mined them for hundreds of years. 
  • In the early 1900s diamonds were discovered in several places in Namaqualand, including Sperrgebiet in Namibia and the Richtersveld in South Africa.

What are Termites?

  • Termites are insects that eat wood
  • They can damage buildings, furniture, and other wooden items.
  • Termites are found all around the world, and there are more than 2,000 species. However, they are most common in tropical rainforests.
  • Termites build damp nests in wood or underground.
    • Some underground nests rise partly above the ground as mounds or towers.
    • The nests are made of dirt, clay, and chewed wood.
  • Termites live in organized groups called colonies. Mature termite colonies can contain 60,000 to 1 million termites, depending on the type of termite colony.
    • Each colony has three kinds of termites: royalty, soldiers, and workers.
    • Each kind of termite has a certain job within the colony.
  • Termites also help nature by breaking down dead wood into nutrients. The nutrients can then be recycled and used by bacteria and plants.

Q1: Where is the Kalahari Desert?

The Kalahari Desert is a vast interior plateau, covering a large portion of southern Africa, encompassing almost all of Botswana, approximately one third of neighboring Namibia and a large portion of the Northern Cape province of South Africa to the south. Receiving less than 250 mm of rainfall per year, the Kalahari region is a desert, characterized by a landscape of gently undulating topography at approximately 900 meters above sea level.

Source: “Astonishing” Discovery – 34,000-Year-Old Inhabited Termite Mounds Discovered in South Africa

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