The largest inland delta on Earth, formed where the Okavango River, rising in the Angolan highlands, spreads across the sands of the Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana and disappears entirely through evaporation and absorption rather than reaching the sea. Because the floodwaters take months to travel downstream from Angola, the delta flood peak arrives during the Botswana dry season, turning parched grassland into a seasonal wetland that draws immense concentrations of elephants, lions, hippopotamuses and African wild dogs. Inscribed as the one thousandth UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the channels and floodplains of the delta shift from year to year, so no single map of the system stays accurate for long.
Facts
Disputed
Area (sq km)The flooded extent of the delta varies seasonally from roughly 6,000 square kilometers in the dry season to as much as 15,000 to 22,000 square kilometers at peak flood; this figure reflects a commonly cited maximum extent. Classification
Biogeographic Realm Protected StatusManaged or Multiple-Use Protection 1 Connections
Demonstrates
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Hosts
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source African Bush Elephant (Wikipedia)
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source African marsh harrier (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Eurasian bittern (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Impala (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
Source Wikidata: Hippopotamus
Additional Source Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)Article text
In Biome
An inland river delta in the Kalahari that never reaches the sea, ending instead in seasonal freshwater flood plains and permanent freshwater swamp.
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
In the Other Atlases
Same As
Also in Geography Atlas: the same subject.
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/place/Okavango-River, delta description paragraph
This delta region, less than half of which is swamp year-round, covers an area of about 6,500 square miles (16,800 square km).
- Biogeographic realm: afrotropic (derived from location stated in entity description)
Protected status (stated plainly in the entity own recorded description)
Inscribed as the one thousandth UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, the channels and floodplains of the delta shift from year to year, so no single map of the system stays accurate for long.
- Demonstrates: Water Cycle
- Hosts: African Elephant
- In Biome: Freshwater
View the Source World Wildlife Fund
Impala (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: Impala, Threats and conservationQuote, Hosts: Impala, Threats and conservation
Around a quarter of the common impala populations occur in protected areas, such as the Okavango Delta (Botswana); Masai Mara and Kajiado (Kenya); Kruger National Park (South Africa); the Ruaha and Serengeti National Parks and Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania); Luangwa Valley (Zambia); Hwange, Sebungwe and Zambezi Valley (Zimbabwe).
African Wild Dog (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: African Wild Dog, Sneeze communication and 'voting'Quote, Hosts: African Wild Dog, Sneeze communication and 'voting'
Populations in the Okavango Delta have been observed 'rallying' before setting out to hunt.
African Bush Elephant (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHosts: African Bush Elephant, PathogensQuote, Hosts: African Bush Elephant, Pathogens
From April to June 2020, over 400 bush elephants died in Botswana's Okavango Delta region after drinking from desiccating waterholes that were infested with cyanobacteria.
Eurasian bittern (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Eurasian bittern, Distribution and habitatQuote, Hosts: Eurasian bittern, Distribution and habitat
The subspecies B. s. capensis is endemic to southern Africa, where it is found sparingly in marshes near the east coast, the Okavango Delta and the upland foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains.
African marsh harrier (Wikipedia)
Hosts: African marsh harrier, ConservationQuote, Hosts: African marsh harrier, Conservation
Outside South Africa there are still large areas of suitable habitat, e.g. the Okavango Delta in Botswana and over much of Zambia, and the species is still locally common .
Okavango Delta (Wikipedia)
Hosts: Sable Antelope, Article text
species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
Hosts: Vervet Monkey, Article text
wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
Hosts: Marabou Stork, Article text
The delta also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian goose, South African shelduck, African jacana, African skimmer, marabou stork, crested crane, African spoonbill, African darter, southern ground hornbill, wattled crane, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird and common ostrich.
Hosts: Aardwolf, Article text
kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
Hosts: Tsetse Fly, Article text
Most Batawana, however, have traditionally lived on the edges of the delta, due to the threat that the tsetse fly poses to their cattle.
Hosts: Hippopotamus, Article text
species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
Hosts: African Buffalo, Article text
All of the big five game animals, the lion, leopard, African buffalo, African bush elephant, black and white rhinoceros are present.
Hosts: Common Warthog, Article text
tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
Hosts: African skimmer, Article text
The delta also hosts over 400 bird species, including the helmeted guineafowl, African fish eagle, Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian goose, South African shelduck, African jacana, African skimmer, marabou stork, crested crane, African spoonbill, African darter, southern ground hornbill, wattled crane, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird and common ostrich.
Hosts: Giraffe, Article text
species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
Hosts: Greater Kudu, Article text
species include the giraffe, blue wildebeest, plains zebra, hippopotamus, impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger,
Hosts: Caracal, Article text
impala, common eland, greater kudu, sable antelope, roan antelope, puku, waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
Hosts: Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis), Article text
waterbuck, sitatunga, tsessebe, cheetah, African wild dog, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal, caracal, serval, aardvark, aardwolf, bat-eared fox, African savanna hare, honey badger, common warthog, chacma baboon, vervet monkey and Nile
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