Related Research Articles
Botswana is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, north of South Africa. Botswana occupies an area of 581,730 square kilometres (224,610 sq mi), of which 566,730 km2 (218,820 sq mi) are land. Botswana has land boundaries of combined length 4,347.15 kilometres (2,701.19 mi), of which the constituent boundaries are shared with Namibia, for 1,544 km (959 mi); South Africa 1,969 km (1,223 mi); Zimbabwe, 834 km (518 mi) and Zambia, 0.15 km (0.093 mi). Much of the population of Botswana is concentrated in the eastern part of the country.
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi), covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
The Okavango River is a river in southwest Africa. It is the fourth-longest river system in southern Africa, running southeastward for 1,600 km (1,000 mi). It begins at an elevation of 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the sandy highlands of Angola, where it is known by the Portuguese name Rio Cubango. Farther south, it forms part of the border between Angola and Namibia, and then flows into Botswana. The Okavango does not have an outlet to the sea. Instead, it discharges into the Okavango Delta or Okavango Alluvial Fan, in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert.
Lake Makgadikgadi ( məˈkɑːdiˈkɑːdi) was a paleolake that existed in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana from 2,000,000 years BP to 10,000 years BP. It may have once covered an area of from 80,000 to 275,000 km2 and was 30 m deep. The Okavango, Upper Zambezi, and Cuando rivers once all emptied into the lake. Its remains are seen in the Makgadikgadi salt pans, one of the largest salt pans in the world.
The Cuando River is a river in south-central Africa flowing through Angola and Namibia's Caprivi Strip and into the Linyanti Swamp on the northern border of Botswana. Below the swamp, the river is called the Linyanti River and, farther east, the Chobe River, before it flows into the Zambezi River.
Gloeocapsa is a genus of cyanobacteria. The cells secrete individual gelatinous sheaths which can often be seen as sheaths around recently divided cells within outer sheaths. Recently divided cell pairs often appear to be only one cell since the new cells cohere temporarily. They are also known as glow caps, a term derived from the yellowish hue given off by the cap.
The Boteti River is a natural watercourse in Botswana. It derives flow from the core Okavango Delta through the Thamalakane River in Maun.
The Thamalakane River is a river located in Botswana, Africa, at the southern end of the Okavango Delta. It has no well defined beginning (spring) and no clear end (delta). It is the result of the Thamalakane fault - which began to form about two million years ago by the geological process of rifting that is currently splitting Africa apart along the East African Rift.
The Makgadikgadi Pan, a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadikgadi, which once covered an area larger than Switzerland, but dried up tens of thousands of years ago. Recent studies of human mitochondrial DNA suggest that modern Homo sapiens first began to evolve in this region some 200,000 years ago, when it was a vast, exceptionally fertile area of lakes, rivers, marshes, woodlands and grasslands especially favorable for habitation by evolving hominins and other mammals.
The Kalahari Basin, also known as the Kalahari Depression or the Okavango Basin, is an endorheic basin and large lowland area covering over 2.5 million km2 covering most of Botswana and Namibia, as well as parts of Angola, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The outstanding physical feature in the basin, and occupying the centre, is the large Kalahari Desert.
Kubu Island (Ga'nnyo) is a dry granite rock island located in the Makgadikgadi Pan area of Botswana. The island is located a few kilometers away from Orapa and Letlhakane mining towns and can be accessed through Mmatshumo in the Boteti district. The entire island is a national monument, and is considered a sacred site by the indigenous people of the area.
Maun Airport is an international airport serving the town of Maun in the North-West District of Botswana. It is on the north side of the town and is accessible by shuttle bus or taxi.
Mosetse is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located along the road from Francistown to Nata. The population was 1,661 in 2001 census. Mosetse lies along the Mosetse River, which ultimately discharges to the Sua Pan, a part of the Makgadikgadi Pan.
Mopipi is a village in Central District of Botswana. It is located close to Makgadikgadi Pan. The population was 3,066 in 2001 census.This village was named after a tree called Mopipi,which is commonly found in the region. This area has witnessed steady acidification and desertification since the Pleistocene, but perhaps most dramatically since the 19th century. In particular, the Boteti River used to flow year around in this area on its way to discharge to the Makgadikgadi Pans, but presently this flow is only in the rainy season.
Branchinella spinosa is a species within the family Thamnocephalidae. This fairy shrimp species occurs in parts of Southern Africa, notably the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana. Other crustacean species found in this region of Botswana in co-existence with B. spinosa include Moina belli.
The Ntwetwe Pan is a large salt pan within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. The Ntwetwe is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Sua Pan. Ntwetwe Pan is now a seasonal lake with filling occurring in the rainy season. Ntwetwe was first described to the European world by David Livingstone, pursuant to his explorations in this region. Significant archaeological recoveries have occurred within the Nwetwe Pan, including Stone Age tools from people who lived in this area, in an earlier time of prehistory when a large year round lake occupied the Nwetwe Pan area within the Makgadikgadi.
The Sua Pan or Sowa Pan is a large natural topographic depression within the Makgadikgadi region of Botswana. It is located near the village of Sowa, whose name means salt in the language of the San. The Sua salt pan is one of three large pans within the Makgadikgadi, the other two being Nxai Pan and Nwetwe Pan.
The Nata River or Manzamnyama River is a natural watercourse in Southern Africa. It is an ephemeral river flowing in Zimbabwe and Botswana. It has a length of 330 km from its source to mouth, 210 km in Zimbabwe and 120 km in Botswana. Its total catchment area is 24,585 km2. The river originates in Sandown, a small farming town located on the Zimbabwean central watershed 50 km south west of Bulawayo and ends in the Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana. There is no outlet from the salt pans which can be considered as the “dead sea” of the south. The upper reaches of the river are located in a commercial farming area where good environmental and farming practices have resulted in the river experiencing very little siltation/sedimentation. Impressive sedimentation starts occurring about 65 km along the river course marking the beginning of a 90 km stretch in Zimbabwe where the river passes through communal farming areas. It is on this stretch where the sand-abstraction potential of the river is realised and communities rely on the sand river water for domestic, farming and livestock purposes. Within the country of Botswana the Nata River is a source of water to the ephemeral wetlands of the Makgadikgadi Pans, where a number of species of limited distribution thrive. Specifically the Nata River discharges to Sua Pan, draining parts of eastern Botswana and southwestern Zimbabwe.
Nxai Pan is a large salt pan topographic depression which is part of the larger Makgadikgadi Pans in northeastern Botswana. It lies on the old Pandamatenga Trail, which until the 1960s was used for overland cattle drives. The area is speckled with umbrella acacias and is said to resemble the Serengeti in Tanzania. The Nxai Pan was added to the National Park System to augment the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, thus providing an enlarged contiguous area of natural protection.
The Mosope River is a natural watercourse in Botswana, passing through the village of Moshupa. The Mosope River joins the Kolobeng River to form Metsimotlhaba which joins Notwane River around Mochudi, and continues to the Limpopo River.