The Okavango Delta in Botswana is likely one of the world’s largest inland deltas. Whereas most river deltas often result in an ocean, the Okavango River empties onto open land, flooding the savanna and creating a singular and ever-changing inland delta.
40 Interesting Facts About The Okavango Delta
We’ve pulled collectively 10 attention-grabbing pieces of information in regard to the Okavango Delta, considered one of Africa’s most intriguing wildlife locations.
In this article, I am going to share 22 interesting facts about the Okavango Delta.
1. The Okavango Delta, which covers an area of approximately 15,000 square kilometers, is the biggest inland Delta in the world. It is without a doubt a distinctive location since, unlike other Deltas, the flood waters spread out over land rather than water.
2. Hot and dry September and October are additionally notably good months to go to the Okavango Delta as thirsty animals are concentrated in monumental numbers on its fringes (the Moremi Game Reserve is especially rewarding presently) whereas the November to April wet summer season sees the Okavango Delta flooding away.
3. Throughout its 15,000 sq. kilometers, the Okavango Delta may be very flat, various simply two meters in peak.
4. The Okavango is produced by seasonal flooding. The Okavango River drains the summer (January–February) rainfall from the Angola highlands and the surge flows 1,200 km (750 mi) in around one month.
5. The delta swells virtually thrice in dimension between March and August. It fluctuates between 6,000 sq. kilometers to roughly 15,000.
6. The Okavango Delta is deemed one of many world’s premier wilderness areas. Elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, hippos, antelope, leopards, hyenas, zebras, and crocodiles are all examples of animals that you simply would possibly see. In the course of the dry season, round 260,000 mammals congregate across the delta.
7. The Okavango Delta is a vital wildlife space protected by each of the Moremi Game Reserves on its jap edge and quite a few wildlife concessions inside Ngamiland. Nonetheless, the Delta is understood for its excellent wildlife with large inhabitants of mammals and wonderful birding, notably within the breeding season.
8. The Okavango Delta has greater than 150,000 islands. Some are just some meters broad whereas the bigger islands will be longer than 10 kilometers.
9. The supply of the Okavango Delta flood truly lies within the extraordinarily moist highlands of Angola. (Angola lies to the north of Botswana.) From right here the Cubango River flows south, by means of Namibia, away from the ocean. Gathering every extra water till it lastly reaches Botswana, the place the river turns into is referred to as the Okavango.
10. Ngamiland is in North West Botswana the place around 40% of the working inhabitants are employed within the tourism trade. Roughly 100,000 folks keep on the 60-odd lodges and campsites within the Okavango Delta contributing drastically to the native economic system.
11. Many individuals take pleasure in water-based safaris within the delta, traversing the waterways on a conventional mokoro canoe. These conventional boats have been as soon as comprised of a carved-out tree trunk, nonetheless, now they’re made out of extra environmentally-friendly fiberglass.
12. In Botswana, crocodiles are mostly present in and around the Chobe River and the Okavango Delta. They reside in lakes, rivers, and swamps and will be noticed in estuaries and mangrove swamps. The Nile crocodile can exceed 1000kgs in weight, the load of the average SUV.
13. Animals aren’t the one inhabitants of the delta. The BaSarwa live within the Moremi Game Reserve on the eastern side. The 5 tribes use the world for fishing, rising crops, and searching.
14. In 2014, the Okavango Delta grew to become the 1,000th place to be enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Web site. It was additionally voted as one of many Seven Pure Wonders of Africa the yr before.
15. The Okavango Delta is dwelling to 530 hen species together with the extraordinarily uncommon Pel’s Fishing Owl, the world’s solely fish-eating owl.
16. Tragically, a number of the animals within the Okavango Delta are endangered. Particularly, the black rhino has inhabitants of simply 5 whereas the white rhino sits at roughly 35.
17. The Okavango Delta is 6,000 sq. kilometers (2,316 sq. miles). Nonetheless, when the floodwaters arrive within the winter months from March to September, the delta triples in dimension, to about 15,000 sq. kilometers (5,791 sq. miles).
18. The Okavango Delta is protected by its standing as a RAMSAR site and itemizing as a World Heritage Site. These mechanisms shield these fragile surroundings and type the premise for the shut monitoring and management of access to the world.
19. The Okavango Delta is comparatively new in geological words—solely a meager 60 000 years previous. Before the formation of the delta, for some two million years, the Okavango River flowed properly by means of Botswana and drained into a large lake someplace within the area of the Makgadikgadi pans in Botswana.
20. The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Grassland) (previously spelled “Okovango” or “Okovanggo”) in Botswana is a swampy inland delta-shaped place the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough within the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari.
21. Okavango Delta – the well-known safari attraction in Botswana. The Okavango Delta has a very particular wildlife range and it is accurately regarded as considered one of Africa’s finest safari locations all yr spherical. Camps and lodges are of an exceptional standard. Their lodges are notably effectively fitted to first-timers to Africa.
22. Referred to as the “Jewel of the Kalahari”, the Okavango Delta in Botswana is a kaleidoscopic maze of waterways spread over 15,000 kilometers of arid land.
23. One million people living in Botswana, Namibia, and Angola rely mostly on the Okavango River Basin for their water supply. The Delta is a popular tourist destination as well, giving residents of the riverside settlements a significant source of income and employment.
24. The Okavango Delta, the biggest inland delta in the world, is the most surprising miracle of all: water in a desert. A lush and wet oasis with crystal clear lagoons and channels, reeded islands, and rich floodplains is created as the broad Okavango River falls into the barren sands of the Kalahari Desert.
25. The complete southwestern part of the Okavango Delta is as dry as a bone. The annual flood from the Okavango’s catchment was at its lowest range this yr. The low water discovered empty rivers and it’s unlikely that the trickle will attain Maun this yr. The Thaoge River move into Lake Ngami died within the mid-1900s.
26. The Okavango Delta is created when a large river empties into the Kalahari desert in the center of the southern African continental landmass rather than the ocean.
27. One of the rare wilderness locations in the world is the Okavango Delta. This UNESCO World Heritage Site serves as the stage for the magnificent spectacle of wild Africa and offers unmatched wilderness experiences in a tranquil inland delta that is unlike anyplace else on Earth.
28. The Okavango is not only the biggest inland delta in the world—also it’s in a desert! Due to a geological occurrence that took place more than 50,000 years ago, the Okavango Delta may be found in the center of the Kalahari Desert with its flowing waterways and rich vegetation.
29. Ngamiland Explorations, a business incorporated in England and Wales, trades under the name Okavango Delta Explorations (Company No. 09704075).
30. The delta has become a more popular location for farming, tourism, and wildlife poaching due to its steady water supply and variety of fauna and ecosystems. The integrity of this treasure in the Kalahari Desert is threatened by all of these operations.
31. The delta is situated in both the Kalahari Desert and the Moremi Wildlife Reserve. The average depth of the shallow water sections is 20 meters.
32. Flooding during specific seasons creates the Okavango. The Okavango River drains the Angolan highlands’ summer (January–February) precipitation, and the surge travels 1,200 km (750 mi) in about a month. Over the subsequent four months, the floods covered the region of the delta that measures 250 by 150 km (155 by 93 mi) (March–June).
33. The Okavango Delta is home to a variety of animals. There are hundreds of diverse plant and animal species that call the Okavango Delta home. Nearly 200 species of mammals, more than 150 species of reptiles, and more than 400 species of birds may all be found here.
34. The Okavango Delta has historically been inhabited by three primary ethnic groups: the Banoka, the Bayei, and the Hambukushu. The Hambukushu were driven from their territory along the Zambezi River in the eighteenth century and relocated to the Chobe Region. Along the Chobe River, they build a residence.
35. A large portion of Botswana’s GDP is made up of tourists visiting the Okavango Delta. The Delta’s 60 or so campers and lodges get some 100,000 visitors annually, considerably boosting the local economy.
36. The Okavango Delta is best visited between June and August and from September to October, but thanks to its permanent wetlands and a wealth of resident animals, it is a year-round safari destination.
37. The Okavango Delta and the African grasslands are ruled by the lion. The most sociable species of cat, great cats may weigh between 300 and 500 pounds and live in prides.
38. African Bush Elephant, African Buffalo, Hippopotamus, Lechwe, Topi, Blue Wildebeest, Giraffe, Nile crocodile, Lion, Cheetah, Leopard, Brown Hyena, Spotted Hyena, Greater Kudu, Sable Antelope, Black Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros, Plains Zebra, and Warthog are just a few examples of the diverse wildlife found in the Okavango Delta.
39. While cheetahs pursue warthogs and marsh antelopes, wild dogs lurk through the thorny vegetation. Reeds and papyrus conceal hippopotamuses and Nile crocodiles. Before the floodwaters evaporate or recede into the red desert sands, the delta hums with life for several months.
40. The northern delta and the southern delta are two broadly defined regions within Okavango. The northern regions have several areas that stay moist all year round, in contrast to the southern regions, which may dry out almost completely during the dry season.
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