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| Sossusvlei: 1. Sesriem Canyon 2. Dead Vlei 3. Dune 45 4&5. Dead Vlei 6. Big Mama dune. |
Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park. Its name is of mixed origin and roughly means "dead-end marsh". It owes this name to the fact that is an endorheic drainage basin (i.e., a drainage basin without outflows) for the ephemeral Tsauchab River. Its dunes are among the highest in the world; many of them are above 200m, the highest being the one nicknamed Big Daddy, about 380m high. Fauna in the Sossusvlei area is relatively rich, and much of it is endemic and highly adapted to the specific features of the Namib.
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