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 Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source World Wildlife Fund
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
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
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.