Baynes Mountains

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The Baynes Mountains are a mountain range in Namibia.

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Description

The Baynes Mountains form an escarpment plateau in Kunene Region in northwest Namibia, near the border with Angola (formed here by the Kunene River). The mountains range in altitude from 700–2,000 metres (2,000–7,000 ft). [1] The Baynes are of quartz sandstone and have steep cliffs and gorges. [2] The Baynes Gorge is where the Kunene River passes the Zebra and Baynes Mountains before entering the Namib Desert. [3] Annual rainfall in the Baynes is about 200 mm (8 in). [4]

Flora

Baynes Mountains flora include Abrus kaokoensis , [4] Baynesia lophophora [5] and Euphorbia ohiva . [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Namibia</span>

At 824,292 km2 (318,261 sq mi), Namibia is the world's thirty-fourth largest country. After Mongolia, Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world. Namibia got its name from the Namib desert that stretches along the coast of the Atlantic. It is also known for its wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namib</span> Desert in Southern Africa

The Namib is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres (280 mi) from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in the aridest regions to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South America's Atacama Desert to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himba people</span> Ethnic group of Namibia

The Himba are an indigenous people with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region and on the other side of the Kunene River in southern Angola. There are also a few groups left of the OvaTwa, who are also OvaHimba, but are hunter-gatherers. Culturally distinguishable from the Herero people, the OvaHimba are a semi-nomadic, pastoralist people and speak OtjiHimba, a variety of Herero, which belongs to the Bantu family within Niger–Congo. The OvaHimba are semi-nomadic as they have base homesteads where crops are cultivated, but may have to move within the year depending on rainfall and where there is access to water.

<i>Abrus</i> Genus of legumes

Abrus is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, and the only genus in the tribe Abreae. It contains 13–18 species, but is best known for a single species: jequirity. The highly toxic seeds of that species are used to make jewellery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunene Region</span> Region in Namibia

Kunene is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Opuwo, its governor is Marius Sheya. The region's name comes from the Kunene River which forms the northern border with Angola. Besides the capital Opuwo, the region contains the municipality of Outjo, the town Khorixas and the self-governed village Kamanjab. Kunene is home to the Himba people, a subtribe of the Herero, as well as to Damara people and Nama people. As of 2020, Kunene had 58,548 registered voters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunene River</span> River in southern Africa

The Cunene or Kunene is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands southwards to the border with Namibia. It then flows in a westerly direction along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of the few perennial rivers in the region. It is about 1,050 kilometres (652 mi) long, with a drainage basin 106,560 square kilometres (41,143 sq mi) in area. Its mean annual discharge is 174 m3/s at its mouth. The Epupa Falls lie on the river. Olushandja Dam dams a tributary of the river, the Etaka, and helps to provide the Ruacana Power Station with water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaokoland</span>

Kaokoland was an administrative unit and a bantustan in northern South West Africa. Established in 1980 during the apartheid era, it was intended to be a self-governing homeland of the Ovahimba, but an actual government was never established, and the territory was administered by the leaders of Hereroland. Like other homelands in South West Africa, the Kaokoland bantustan was abolished in May 1989, at the beginning of the transition of Namibia towards independence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South-western black rhinoceros</span> Subspecies of the black rhinoceros

The south-western black rhinoceros is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros, living in southwestern Africa. It is currently listed as near threatened by the IUCN. The biggest threat towards the subspecies is illegal poaching.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NamPower</span> Electricity utility company in Namibia


Namibia Power Corporation, commonly known as NamPower, is the national electric power utility company of Namibia. The company is responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the country. Its activities are licensed, supervised and regulated by the Electricity Control Board (ECB) of Namibia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruacana Falls</span> Waterfall in Ruacana, Northern Namibia

Ruacana Falls is a waterfall located in Ruacana, Omusati on the Kunene River in Northern Namibia. The waterfall is 120 meters (390 ft) high and 700 meters (2,300 ft) wide in full flood. It is among the largest waterfalls in Africa, both by volume and width.

Euphorbia kaokoensis is a rare species of plant found in certain rocky areas of Namibia and Angola. It can appear as a woody shrub or a small tree, with green leaves that pale on undersides, which contain conspicuous veins. Males produce clusters of flowers from November to January. The species is very rare, found only at a few locations, although no threats are known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Angola</span> Geographical features of Angola

Angola is located on the western Atlantic Coast of Southern Africa between Namibia and the Republic of the Congo. It also is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the east. The country consists of a sparsely watered and somewhat sterile coastal plain extending inland for a distance varying from 50 to 160 km. Slightly inland and parallel to the coast is a belt of hills and mountains and behind those a large plateau. The total land size is 1,246,700 km2 (481,400 sq mi). It has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 518,433 km2 (200,168 sq mi).

A trypanocidal agent is an antiprotozoal agent that acts upon trypanosome parasites.

The Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station is a hydroelectric power plant near Ruacana in northwest Namibia, close to the Angolan border. Commissioned in 1978, it is by far the largest power station in Namibia. Its operator is NamPower, the Namibian national electric power utility company.

The Cimba, also spelled Tjimba, are a remote, Herero-speaking hunter-gatherer people of the Kaokoveld desert in northwest Namibia and southwest Angola, in the mountain ranges bordering the Kunene River. They continue to use stone tools, and use Adenium boehmianum to poison their arrows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black mongoose</span> African mongoose subpecies

The black mongoose is a subspecies of the Angolan slender mongoose occurring in Namibia and Angola. Although originally described as a separate species by Oldfield Thomas in 1928, it has often been considered a subspecies of the slender mongoose. However, genetic analysis indicated that it was distinct, and it was later classified as a distinct species. However, more evidence indicates that it is in fact conspecific with the Angolan slender mongoose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zemba</span>

The Zembapeople are a Bantu ethnic group residing in the border regions of Namibia and Angola. In Namibia, they are predominantly found in the Kunene region, most notably in the Opuwa area. They speak the Zemba language, also known as OtjiZemba or Dhimba. The Zemba are well-known for their distinctive hairstyles, intricate iron and copper jewelry, as well as traditional clothing that often incorporates animal hides. Additionally, they decorate themselves with a blend of ash, ochre paste, and rancid butter to enhance their appearance.

Abrus kaokoensis is a plant in the legume family Fabaceae, native to Namibia. The species is named for the country's Kaokoveld Desert.

The Baynes Hydroelectric Power Station is a planned 600 megawatts (804,613 hp) hydroelectric power plant in northwest Namibia, at the border with Angola.

References

  1. Bollig, Michael (2010). Risk Management in a Hazardous Environment: A Comparative Study of two Pastoral Societies. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 87. ISBN   9780387275826.
  2. van Jaarsveld, Ernst (December 2005). "The Slangkloof expedition" (PDF). SANBI . Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. "Cunene River". Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 Swanepoel, W.; Kolberg, H. (August 2011). "Abrus kaokoensis (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae-Abreae), a new species from Namibia". South African Journal of Botany . Elsevier B.V. 77 (3). doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2010.12.005 . hdl: 2263/58380 .
  5. Loots, Sonja (2005). "Red Data Book of Namibian Plants" (PDF). SABONET. p. 16. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  6. Swanepoel, W. (November 2008). "Euphorbia ohiva (Euphorbiaceae), a new species from Namibia and Angola". South African Journal of Botany . Elsevier B.V. 75 (2). doi: 10.1016/j.sajb.2008.11.009 . hdl: 2263/8892 .

17°12′S12°40′E / 17.200°S 12.667°E / -17.200; 12.667