Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as well as the towns Arandis, Karibib and Usakos. All the main centres within this region are connected by paved roads.
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 has 44,725 inhabitants and covers 196 km2 (76 sq mi) of land.
Omaruru is a city in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. The town has 14,000 inhabitants and encompasses 352 square kilometres (136 sq mi) of land. It is situated near Mount Erongo, on the usually dry Omaruru River. It is located on the main paved road from Swakopmund to Otjiwarongo. The name in the Otjiherero language means 'bitter milk', as Herero cattle herds used to graze on the local bush that turned their milk bitter.
Karibib is a town in the Erongo Region of western Namibia. It has 3,800 inhabitants and owns 97 square kilometres (37 sq mi) of town land. Karibib is the district capital of the Karibib electoral constituency. It is situated on the Khan River, halfway between Windhoek and Swakopmund on the B2, the main road between the Walvis Bay and Johannesburg. The town is known for its aragonite marble quarries and the Navachab Gold Mine.
Henties Bay is a coastal town in the Erongo Region of western Namibia. It is located 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of Swakopmund and is a holiday and retirement settlement, with angling a popular activity. It also serves as a gateway to the seal colony of Cape Cross, which lies 46 kilometres (29 mi) to the north of the town. The town had 4,720 inhabitants in 2011, an increase from 3,285 in 2001. The mayor of Henties Bay is Lewies Vermaak.
The Rössing Uranium Mine in Namibia is the longest-running and one of the largest open pit uranium mines in the world. It is located in the Namib Desert near the town of Arandis, 70 kilometres from the coastal town of Swakopmund. Discovered in 1928, the Rössing mine started operations in 1976. In 2005, it produced 3,711 tonnes of uranium oxide, becoming the fifth-largest uranium mine with 8 per cent of global output. Namibia is the world's fourth-largest exporter of uranium.
Otjimbingwe is a settlement in the Erongo Region of central Namibia. It has approximately 8,000 inhabitants.
Usakos is a town on the banks of river Khan, 140 kilometres north-east of Swakopmund in the Erongo Region of Namibia. It is located on the B2, the main road between the Walvis Bay and Johannesburg. The town has 3,000 inhabitants and owns 58 square kilometres (22 sq mi) of land.
Trekkopje is a mountain in the Erongo Region of Namibia, c. 85 kilometres (53 mi) north-east of Swakopmund on the road to Usakos.
The Swakop River is a major river in western central Namibia. Its river source is in the Khomas Highland. From there it flows westwards through the town of Okahandja, the historic mission station at Gross Barmen, and the settlement of Otjimbingwe. It then crosses the Namib desert and reaches the Atlantic Ocean at Swakopmund. The Swakop is an ephemeral river; its run-off is roughly 40 million cubic metres per annum.
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.
Arandis is a town in the Erongo Region of western central Namibia. It has been called the Uranium Capital of the World as it is located just 15 km outside the world's largest open-pit uranium mine, the Rössing Uranium Mine.
Mining is the biggest contributor to Namibia's economy in terms of revenue. It accounts for 25% of the country's income. Its contribution to the gross domestic product is also very important and makes it one of the largest economic sectors of the country. Namibia produces diamonds, uranium, copper, magnesium, zinc, silver, gold, lead, semi-precious stones and industrial minerals. The majority of revenue comes from diamond mining. In 2014, Namibia was the fourth-largest exporter of non-fuel minerals in Africa.
The Supreme Court of Namibia is the highest court in the judicial system of Namibia. It is the court of last resort and the highest appellate court in the country. It is located in the city centre of Namibia's capital city, Windhoek. A Supreme Court decision is supreme in that it can only be reversed by an Act of Parliament that contradicts it, or by another ruling of the Supreme Court itself.
Namibia is an arid country that is regularly afflicted by droughts. Large rivers flow only along its northern and southern borders, but they are far from the population centers. They are also far from the country's mines, which are large water users. In order to confront this challenge, the country has built dams to capture the flow from ephemeral rivers, constructed pipelines to transport water over large distances, pioneered potable water reuse in its capital Windhoek located in the central part of Namibia, and built Sub-Saharan Africa's first large seawater desalination plant to supply a uranium mine and the city of Swakopmund with water. A large scheme to bring water from the Okavango River in the North to Windhoek, the Eastern National Water Carrier, was only partially completed during the 1980s.
Lichens are a composite organism consisting of fungi and algae living in symbiotic relationship. They are well adapted to survive in harsh conditions. One of the many places they can be found is the Namib, the desert that gave Namibia its name. Fog in the coastal parts of the desert provides the necessary moisture for the organisms' survival. In the Namib they grow on shrubs, rocks and pebbles of the gravel plains. These small organisms can densely cover large areas, forming lichen fields.
The Husab Mine, also known as the Husab Uranium Project, is a uranium mine near the town of Swakopmund in the Erongo region of western-central Namibia. The mine is located approximately 60 kilometres (37 mi) from Walvis Bay. The Husab Mine is expected to be the second largest uranium mine in the world after the McArthur River uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, Canada and the largest open-pit mine on the African continent. Mine construction started in 2014. The Husab Mine started production towards the end of 2016 after completion of the sulfuric acid leaching plant.
Orano SA is a multinational nuclear fuel cycle company headquartered in Châtillon, Hauts-de-Seine, France. The company is engaged in uranium mining, conversion-enrichment, spent fuel recycling, nuclear logistics, dismantling, and nuclear cycle engineering activities. It was created in 2017 as a result of restructuring and recapitalizing of the nuclear conglomerate Areva. Orano is majority owned by the French state. As of September 2021, Orano is the second largest uranium producer in the world with 9% share in global uranium production.
The Erongo Desalination Plant, also known as the Orano Desalination Plant, is a sea water desalination plant in Namibia. The facility was constructed between 2008 and 2010 by Orano Mining Namibia, which at the time was known as Areva Resources Namibia. The desalination plant was established to supply water to Orano’s Trekkopje Uranium Mine. At the time this plant was commissioned, it was the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in Southern Africa.
