The Ugab River is an ephemeral river in north-western

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. Its lower section forms the border between Kunene Region and

Erongo Region Erongo is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. The capital is Swakopmund. It is named after Mount Erongo, a well-known landmark in Namibia and in this area. Erongo contains the municipalities of Walvis Bay, Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Omaruru, as w ...

but its

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

extends well into the

Otjozondjupa Region Otjozondjupa is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia. Its capital is Otjiwarongo. The region further contains the municipalities of Okahandja and Grootfontein and the towns Okakarara and Otavi. , Otjozondjupa had 97,945 registered voters. Ge ...

. Ugab's source is near

Otavi Otavi is a town of 4,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of central Namibia. Situated 360 km north of Windhoek, it is the district capital of the Otavi electoral constituency. Geography The towns of Otavi, Tsumeb (to the north) and ...

. From there the riverbed leads westwards past the Paresis Mountains and the Fransfontein Mountains into the

Skeleton Coast The Skeleton Coast is the northern part of the Atlantic coast of Namibia and south of Angola from the Kunene River south to the Swakop River, although the name is sometimes used to describe the entire Namib Desert coast. The indigenous San peo ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. Inflows of the Ugab are Erundu, Ozongombo, Okomize and

Uis UIS may refer to: * Uis, a village in Erongo Region, Namibia * Underwater Inspection System, a component of the Underwater Port Security System developed for the United States Coast Guard *Universal Interactive Studios (now Vivendi Games) *Universi ...

. The river only flows above the surface of its

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class ...

y bed a few days each year, but even during much of the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

its subterranean

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...

surfaces as pools in places, and provides an important resource for species in the

Damaraland Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras. It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek i ...

region of northern

. The Ugab's mean run-off is roughly 20 million cubic metres per annum, its

(including its tributaries) is estimated to be between 24,800 and . The Ugab River's large subterranean water content makes it a major Namibian river. Stretching for , the river provides water for species such as the rare desert elephant, as well as

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, '' Giraffa camelopardal ...

mountain zebra The mountain zebra (''Equus zebra'') is a zebra species in the family Equidae, native to southwestern Africa. There are two subspecies, the Cape mountain zebra (''E. z. zebra'') found in South Africa and Hartmann's mountain zebra (''E. z. hartman ...

and the largest population of free-roaming

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

es in the world. The ''Ugab Wilderness Area'' was established here to protect the future of these rare animals. Important tourism destinations are the Brandberg, the

Doros Crater Doros can refer to * Doros, Cyprus, a village in Limassol District *Doros, the medieval name for Mangup, Crimea * ''Doros'' (fly), a genus of insects in the family Syrphidae *Dorus (mythology) In Greek mythology, Dorus ( grc, Δῶρος probabl ...

and

Vingerklip The Vingerklip (Afrikaans for "Rock Finger"), a rock needle built up from sedimentary rock layers dating from the Tertiary period, is situated about 80 km southwest of the town of Outjo and approx. 50 km east of the city of Khorixas in n ...

, settlements in its catchment area are the towns of Outjo and

Otjiwarongo Otjiwarongo ( hz, beautiful place) is a city of 28,000 inhabitants in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Otjiwarongo electoral constituency and also the capital of Otjozondjupa. Otjiwarongo is situated in c ...

, as well as the settlements of

Kalkfeld Kalkfeld is a settlement in the Otjozondjupa Region of Namibia. It is situated halfway between Omaruru and Otjiwarongo on the national road C33 and belongs to the Omatako electoral constituency. The place normally receives an annual average ra ...

, Omatjette and

. It is possible to drive or trek the length of the sandy river, passing local

Herero Herero may refer to: * Herero people The Herero ( hz, Ovaherero) are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting parts of Southern Africa. There were an estimated 250,000 Herero people in Namibia in 2013. They speak Otjiherero, a Bantu language. Though t ...

farmers and the pink granite

inselberg An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s (isolated rocky hills left behind after volcanic activity) dotted throughout the region. These bizarre stones have been shaped over the years into vaguely recognisable shapes, some look like toadstools, while others are eerie hollow structures known as the 'Petrified Ghosts'. Quite a few plants grow there; much of the visible vegetation is the wild tobacco ('' Nicotiana glauca''). Also found there are some stunted

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus nam ...

trees and ǃnara bushes ('' Acanthosicyos horridus''), with their almost-leafless spiky green stems, and improbably large melons.

References

{{Commons category Rivers of Namibia Geography of Erongo Region Geography of Kunene Region Geography of Otjozondjupa Region