@inbook{5881f77475154437a57c037fd9290e86,
title = "Of dunes, depressions and dry valleys: The arid landscapes of the Kalahari Desert",
abstract = "The combination of vegetated orange–red dunes , seasonal pans and dry valleys in the Kalahari creates a landscape with outstanding scientific and aesthetic value. This chapter describes the geomorphological features of the Kalahari Desert within South Africa and adjacent areas of Botswana and Namibia, with a special emphasis on aspects that make the landscape unique. The Kalahari is an arid to semi-arid region underlain by Cretaceous to recent Kalahari Group sediments , including a surface blanket of unconsolidated Kalahari sands . The landscape is dominated by three sets of landforms: (a) dry valley systems, including the Auob , Nossob , Kuruman and Molopo river s; (b) partially vegetated linear dunes , which stretch in a broad zone from Upington on the Orange River into Botswana and Namibia; and (c) seasonally flooded pan s. The importance of the long-term geological history of the Kalahari for understanding the present landscape is also discussed.",
keywords = "Kalahari Desert, dunes, ephemeral drainage, pan depressions, duricrusts",
author = "David Nash",
year = "2015",
month = mar,
day = "6",
doi = "10.1007/978-3-319-03560-4_15",
language = "English",
isbn = "9783319035598",
series = "World Geomorphological Landscapes",
publisher = "Springer International",
pages = "129--137",
editor = "S. Grab and J. Knight",
booktitle = "Landscapes and Landforms of South Africa",
}