The Okavango Delta | Botswana Game
Reserves: The Okavango Delta is one of the world's largest inland water systems,
the only inland delta of its kind and a unique oasis of life in the centre of the Kalahari
Desert. It stretches over 16,000 square km and supports a staggering variety of animal,
plant, fish and birdlife.
The Okavango Delta, Botswana: The water was once
thought to have reached the sea, but this is no longer the case. After a series of
tectonic uplifts and earthquakes running along geological fault lines, the land at the
edge of the Delta now lies lower than that of the surrounding area. Hence the water very
rarely flows further South than Maun.
Once the rains begin, around November, the floodwater begins its 250km journey downstream
from the Angolan highlands towards Maun. Because of the gentle slope of the Okavango Delta
floor (1: 36,000) the floods take approximately six months to travel to their eventual
destination. The hottest month is October with mean maximum temperatures of 350º F. The
coldest months are June and July with a mean minimum of 60º F. The rains usually fall
between November and April with the heaviest downpours occurring in January and February.
The Okavango Delta consists of a multitude of main channels, smaller tributaries and
lagoons as well as floodplains, islands and mainland areas. The watercourses are
constantly changing due to annual flooding as well as a combination of sediment transport,
seismic activity, the construction of termite mounds, and the continual opening up of new
channels by feeding hippopotami and the closing of others by new vegetation growth. There
are two fairly distinct areas of the Okavango Delta - the permanent swamp, which is
inundated with water all year round, and the seasonal swamp, which is flooded annually and
dries gradually with the onset of summer.
The vegetation of the permanent swamp includes groves of wild date palm, swathes of
papyrus, islands fringed with forest and lagoons covered with floating water lillies. |
