Skeleton Coast

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Skeleton Coast
Coast
Otavi 1945.jpg
Otavi, shipwrecked 1945
Coordinates: 21°36′44″S14°32′24″E / 21.61222°S 14.54000°E / -21.61222; 14.54000
Location Namibia
Part of Namib Desert coast
Offshore water bodies Atlantic Ocean, Kunene River, Swakop River
Etymology Named for whale and seal bones that used to litter the coast, partly due to whaling, and for the thousands of shipwrecks
Dimensions
 • Length310 miles (500 km)

The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the 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 sailors once referred to it as "The Gates of Hell".

Contents

On the coast, the upwelling of the cold Benguela current gives rise to dense ocean fogs (called cassimbo by the Angolans) for much of the year. The winds blow from land to sea, rainfall rarely exceeds 10 millimetres (0.39 in) annually, and the climate is highly inhospitable. There is a constant, heavy 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 dunes.

Skeleton Bay is known as a great location for surfing. [1]

Etymology

Zelia India shipwreck, south of Henties Bay, November 2014 Schiffswrack Zeila, Namibia 2014.jpg
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 shipwrecks caused by offshore rocks and fog. [2] 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 § In popular culture, below.

History

One of many rusting ship hulls along the Skeleton Coast (Dunedin Star) Skelettkuste.jpg
One of many rusting ship hulls along the Skeleton Coast (Dunedin Star)

One of the oldest shipwrecks in the Skeleton Coast region is that of the 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. [3]

Past human occupation by Strandlopers is shown by shell middens of white mussels found along parts of the Skeleton Coast.

In 1942 the British refrigerated cargo liner Dunedin Star ran aground. All her 106 passengers and crew were eventually rescued, but at the cost of a tug, an 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 km from the Skeleton Coast beach in the ocean. All 24 foreign crew members were rescued by Namibian authorities. [4]

Wildlife

Brown fur seal colony on Skeleton Coast. Seals on the Skeleton Coast (5832914651).jpg
Brown fur seal colony on Skeleton Coast.

Namibia has declared the 16,000 square kilometres (6,200 sq mi) area of coastline and adjacent deserts, scrub and marshlands as Skeleton Coast National Park, from the Ugab River to the 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 salt pans, 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. [5]

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. [6] Many of the native species of succulent plants depend on the thick sea 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 invertebrates, which, in turn, feed the 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 bush elephants, Chacma baboons, southern giraffe, lions, leopard, black rhinoceros, spotted and brown hyenas, gemsbok and springbok, among many other species. [7] 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.

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">Namib-Naukluft National Park</span> National park in Namibia

The Namib-Naukluft 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, the 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swakopmund</span> City in Erongo, Namibia

Swakopmund is a city on the coast of western Namibia, 352 km (219 mi) west of the Namibian capital Windhoek via the B2 main road. It is the capital of the Erongo administrative district. As of 2011, the town had 44,725 inhabitants and 196 km2 (76 sq mi) of land. In 2023, the population had increased to 75,921 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namaqualand</span> Arid region of Namibia and South Africa

Namaqualand is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over 1,000 km (600 mi) and covering a total area of 440,000 km2 (170,000 sq mi). It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions – Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kaokoveld</span> Desert ecoregion in Angola and Namibia

The Kaokoveld Desert is a coastal desert of northern Namibia and southern Angola.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Bay, South Africa</span> Town in Northern Cape, South Africa

Alexander Bay is a town in the extreme north-west of South Africa. It is located on the southern bank of the Orange River mouth. It was named for Sir James Alexander, who was the first person to map the area whilst on a Royal Geographical Society expedition into Namibia in 1836. With diamonds being discovered along the West Coast in 1925, Alexander Bay was established to service the mining industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Nolloth</span> Place in Northern Cape, South Africa

Port Nolloth is a town and small domestic seaport in the Namaqualand region on the northwestern coast of South Africa, 144 kilometres (89 mi) northwest of Springbok. It is the seat of the Richtersveld Local Municipality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iona National Park</span> National park in Angola

Iona National Park is the largest and oldest national park in Angola. It is situated in the Southwestern corner of the country, in Namibe Province. It is roughly bound by the Atlantic Ocean to the West, an escarpment to the East that marks the beginning of the interior plateau, the Curoca River to the North, and the Cunene River to the South. It is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of the city of Namibe and covers 5,850 square miles (15,200 km2) sq. miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gobabeb</span> Research station in the Namib Desert

The Gobabeb Namib Research Institute, short: Gobabeb, is a centre for dry land training and research in Namibia. It is located in the Namib Desert, 120 kilometres (75 mi) south-east of Walvis Bay.

<i>Eduard Bohlen</i> German cargo ship

Eduard Bohlen was a ship that was wrecked on the Skeleton Coast of German Southwest Africa on 5 September 1909 in a thick fog. The wreck currently lies in the sand 400 m (1,300 ft) from the shoreline.

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

Tourism in Namibia is a major industry, contributing N$7.2 billion to the country's gross domestic product. Annually, over one million travelers visit Namibia, with roughly one in three coming from South Africa, then Germany and finally the United Kingdom, Italy and France. The country is among the prime destinations in Africa and is known for ecotourism which features Namibia's extensive wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsau ǁKhaeb Sperrgebiet National Park</span> Diamond mining area in the Namib Desert, southwestern Namibia

The Tsau ǁKhaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park, formerly known as Sperrgebiet, is a diamond mining area in southwestern Namibia, in the Namib Desert. It spans the Atlantic Ocean-facing coast from Oranjemund on the border with South Africa, to around 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of Lüderitz, a distance of 320 km (200 mi) north. It extends to around 100 km (62 mi) inland, and its total area of 26,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi), makes up three percent of Namibia's land mass. However, mining only takes place in five percent of the Sperrgebiet, with most of the area acting as a buffer zone. Members of the public are banned from entering most of the area, despite the creation of a national park there in 2004.

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

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).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeleton Coast National Park</span> National park located on the northwest coast of Namibia

Skeleton Coast National Park is a national park located in northwest Namibia, and has the most inaccessible shores, dotted with shipwrecks. The park was established in 1971 and has a size of 16,845 km2 (6,504 sq mi). The park is divided into a northern and southern section, the southern section is open to those with 4-wheel drive vehicles, they are allowed to go up (north) as far as the Ugab River Gate. The northern section can only be reached by a fly-in safari, and the area is off-limits to all vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iona – Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area</span> Conservation area spanning Angola and Namibia

The Iona–Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area is a transfrontier conservation area. It encompasses Iona National Park and Namibe Partial Reserve in Angola and Skeleton Coast National Park in Namibia, making it one of the largest in the world. The two countries share a common boundary along the Cunene River, which is where Iona and Skeleton Coast also meet. The Namibe Partial Reserve is north of Iona and shares a border along the Curoca River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Namibe Partial Reserve</span> Protected area in Angola

Namibe Partial Reserve is a protected area in Angola. It is located to the north of Iona National Park, and separated by a narrow strip of occupied land along the Curoca River. This reserve has IUCN Category IV status and was proclaimed in 1960 by the authorities of Portuguese Angola. It covers 4,450 square kilometres (1,720 sq mi). This park is part of the Iona – Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Conservation Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorob National Park</span> National park of Namibia

The Dorob National Park is a protected area in the Erongo region, along the central Namibian coast, gazetted as a national park under the Nature Conservation Ordinance No.4 of 1975 on 1 December 2010. It is 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) in length, and with Namib-Naukluft Park it covers an area of 107,540 square kilometres (41,520 sq mi).

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

The Huab River is an ephemeral river in the Kunene Region of north-western Namibia. Its source is southeast of Kamanjab, from where it flows westwards through Mopane savanna until it reaches the Skeleton Coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Inflows of the Huab are Klein-Omaruru, Sout, Aba-Huab, Ongwati and Klip. Huab's catchment area is estimated to be between 14,800 and 16,465 km2 (6,357 sq mi), and includes the town of Khorixas as well as the settlements Kamanjab, Fransfontein, and Anker. The Twyfelfontein World Heritage Site is located on the banks of the Aba Huab.

The Bom Jesus was a Portuguese nau and Indiaman that set sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on Friday, March 7, 1533. Its fate was unknown until 2008, when its remains were discovered during diamond mining operations on the coast of Namibia, near Oranjemund. Today, the Bom Jesus is the oldest known and most valuable shipwreck ever discovered off the Western coast of Sub-Saharan Africa.

References

  1. ↑ "Skeleton Bay – The Miracle Mile?". carvemag.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-22.
  2. ↑ "The Shipwrecks of Skeleton Coast, Namibia". www.amusingplanet.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24.
  3. ↑ Chirikure, Shadreck; Sinamai, Ashton; Goagoses, Esther; Mubusisi, Marina (October 2010). "Maritime Archaeology and Trans-Oceanic Trade: A Case Study of the Oranjemund Shipwreck Cargo, Namibia". Journal of Maritime Archaeology. 5 (1): 40. doi:10.1007/s11457-010-9059-9. JSTOR   23747443. S2CID   162225466.
  4. ↑ "Japanese fishing vessel stuck near Walvis Bay | Namibia Economist". Archived from the original on 2021-11-05.
  5. ↑ "About- Skeleton Coast Transfrontier Park and the SCIONA project". Namibia University of Science and Technology. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  6. ↑ "Survivors of the Skeleton Coast". IMDb .
  7. ↑ Harris, Lynn; Jones, Jennifer; Schnitzer, Kate (October 2012). "Monuments in the Desert: A Maritime Landscape in Namibia". Journal of Maritime Archaeology. 7 (1): 114. doi:10.1007/s11457-012-9087-8. JSTOR   43551372. S2CID   161362350.
  8. ↑ Bankhurst, Adam (December 4, 2023). "The Big Fallout TV Show Interview With Jonathan Nolan, Walton Goggins, and More". IGN . Archived from the original on January 21, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Bantustan | Definition, History, Map, & Facts | Britannica".
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