We took the kids to Swakopmund the week after Easter. Reid’s schedule doesn’t often coincide with the kids’ so it makes things a bit tricky when planning outings. The International School the kids attend, WIS (Windhoek International School), follows the American academic year in that classes begin in August and end in May/June. Reid’s university on the other hand follows Africa time. So, we did have to take the kids out of school this time. We have come to the rationalization, however, that the education for the kids is in being here and experiencing this opportunity to the fullest. Indeed, every outing presents an occasion to learn something about Namibia, its fascinating geology, exotic flora and unique fauna. With that in mind, we booked a “minerals tour” of the Namib desert that borders the coast. The Namib is the oldest desert in the world and its apparent vast emptiness is home to some very interesting meteorological and geologic activity.
Let’s begin with the weather patterns that created a desert at the edge of the sea. Our guide told us that because of the Benguela current, a cold water current that comes up from Antarctica, the moisture that is typically produced by the sea and returned to the coast in the form of rain, is trapped as fog/cold mist on the coast and never makes its way inland. So the area surrounding Swakopmund receives little to no rainfall despite its proximity to an ocean full of water. On our last day there, we got to experience this phenomenon. The waves were crashing wildly on the beach and everything was shrouded in this fine mist. It made it difficult just to see a short way down the coast.
Swakopmund on the other hand sits at the mouth of the Swakop River. The Swakop River is said to be ephemeral in that water only flows within its banks on rare occasions. Apparently, though, there is water to be found underground and so within this vast desert, a linear oasis appears which terminates in the city of Swakopmund. Swakopmund itself does not have to desalinate ocean water. It actually has access to fresh water through a number of boreholes, although the water does have a funny after taste. So, the streets of the city of Swakopmund are lined with palms and other lush vegetation, all carefully tended to and watered by municipal workers.
The geology is a little more difficult to explain. Suffice it to say that there was once and continues to be a good deal of geologic activity below the Namib as well as much of Namibia as a whole. This has produced a geologist’s dream. If ever I were to be a geologist, Namibia is the place I’d want to ply my trade. In the Namib, there are plumes that rise up to the surface of the earth carrying all sorts of materials. We encountered huge chunks of raw iron that had flowed to the surface. Many of the sites we visited were old prospector sites, where individuals had come to try their luck. Precious and semi-precious stones abound in the region. We found tourmaline, a variety of quartz, even uranium right on the surface. The guide also took us to an abandoned processing site where vast amounts of rose quartz chips lay strewn on the ground almost like gravel on a driveway. There the kids found amethyst, olivine, and mica--- unfortunately no diamonds for us. The outing reminded me of the scene in Madagascar 2, where Moto Moto (the hippo) is digging in the dry riverbed, desperately trying to locate water, and when he returns to the surface and is questioned as to whether or not he found any, he says he’s only come across more diamonds and gold. That summarizes the Namib.
The tour venue was near and around Rossing Mountain. Rossing Mountain is home to a uranium mining company. The uranium is mined and apparently exported. The Namibians don’t have any application for it. It is, we are told, quite a profitable enterprise despite the low concentration of uranium. It does make one wonder where it ends up after being extracted from the earth.
I think the kids, as well as the adults, learned more natural history and science in that half day outing than would have been acquired after weeks in a lecture hall. The kids wanted to know what every stone that they picked up was and the guide happily obliged them. Of course, they also wanted to keep every single one they came across. What with the haul of sea stones they took from the beach, we’ll definitely be paying the exorbitant airline fee for extra weight on our flight home!
Let’s begin with the weather patterns that created a desert at the edge of the sea. Our guide told us that because of the Benguela current, a cold water current that comes up from Antarctica, the moisture that is typically produced by the sea and returned to the coast in the form of rain, is trapped as fog/cold mist on the coast and never makes its way inland. So the area surrounding Swakopmund receives little to no rainfall despite its proximity to an ocean full of water. On our last day there, we got to experience this phenomenon. The waves were crashing wildly on the beach and everything was shrouded in this fine mist. It made it difficult just to see a short way down the coast.
Swakopmund on the other hand sits at the mouth of the Swakop River. The Swakop River is said to be ephemeral in that water only flows within its banks on rare occasions. Apparently, though, there is water to be found underground and so within this vast desert, a linear oasis appears which terminates in the city of Swakopmund. Swakopmund itself does not have to desalinate ocean water. It actually has access to fresh water through a number of boreholes, although the water does have a funny after taste. So, the streets of the city of Swakopmund are lined with palms and other lush vegetation, all carefully tended to and watered by municipal workers.
The geology is a little more difficult to explain. Suffice it to say that there was once and continues to be a good deal of geologic activity below the Namib as well as much of Namibia as a whole. This has produced a geologist’s dream. If ever I were to be a geologist, Namibia is the place I’d want to ply my trade. In the Namib, there are plumes that rise up to the surface of the earth carrying all sorts of materials. We encountered huge chunks of raw iron that had flowed to the surface. Many of the sites we visited were old prospector sites, where individuals had come to try their luck. Precious and semi-precious stones abound in the region. We found tourmaline, a variety of quartz, even uranium right on the surface. The guide also took us to an abandoned processing site where vast amounts of rose quartz chips lay strewn on the ground almost like gravel on a driveway. There the kids found amethyst, olivine, and mica--- unfortunately no diamonds for us. The outing reminded me of the scene in Madagascar 2, where Moto Moto (the hippo) is digging in the dry riverbed, desperately trying to locate water, and when he returns to the surface and is questioned as to whether or not he found any, he says he’s only come across more diamonds and gold. That summarizes the Namib.
The tour venue was near and around Rossing Mountain. Rossing Mountain is home to a uranium mining company. The uranium is mined and apparently exported. The Namibians don’t have any application for it. It is, we are told, quite a profitable enterprise despite the low concentration of uranium. It does make one wonder where it ends up after being extracted from the earth.
I think the kids, as well as the adults, learned more natural history and science in that half day outing than would have been acquired after weeks in a lecture hall. The kids wanted to know what every stone that they picked up was and the guide happily obliged them. Of course, they also wanted to keep every single one they came across. What with the haul of sea stones they took from the beach, we’ll definitely be paying the exorbitant airline fee for extra weight on our flight home!
In the photos, you can somewhat grasp the vastness of the desert as you see little Annie in the foreground surrounded by nothingness. Emma is showing off her finds at the abandoned mineral processing site.
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