Deadvlei is a white clay pan located near the more famous salt pan of

Sossusvlei Sossusvlei (sometimes written Sossus Vlei) 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 of Namibia. The name "Sossusvlei" is often used in an exten ...

, in a valley between the dunes in the Namib-Naukluft Park in

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. Also written DeadVlei or Dead Vlei, its name means "dead marsh" (from English ''dead'', and

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

vlei A vlei (; ) is a shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent lake, intermittent nature. It even might refer to seasonal ponds or marshy patches where frogs and similar marsh dwellers breed. Commonly, vleis vary in their extent, or e ...

'', meaning lake or marsh). The pan also is referred to as "Dooie Vlei" which is the Afrikaans name. There are many references to the site on the Internet, its name often being translated erroneously in terms such as "dead valley"; a

is not a valley (which in Afrikaans is "vallei"). Nor is the site a valley; the pan is a desiccated vlei. Dead Vlei has been claimed to be surrounded by the highest sand

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s in the world, the highest reaching 300–400 meters (350m on average), named "Big Daddy" or "Crazy Dune", resting on a

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

terrace. The clay pan was formed after rainfall, when the

Tsauchab The Tsauchab is an Ephemerality, ephemeral river in the Hardap Region of central Namibia. Its source is in the southern Naukluft Mountains, from where it flows westwards through the Namib-Naukluft National Park into Sossusvlei, an endorheic ba ...

river flooded, creating temporary shallow pools where the abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow. When the climate changed, drought hit the area, and sand dunes encroached on the pan, which blocked the river from the area. The trees died as there was no longer enough water to survive. However, some species of plants remain, such as salsola and clumps of

nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, adapted to surviving off the morning

mist Mist is a phenomenon caused by small droplets of water suspended in the cold air, usually by condensation. Physically, it is an example of a Dispersion (chemistry), dispersion. It is most commonly seen where water vapor in warm, moist air meets ...

and very rare rainfall. The remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to have died 600–700 years ago (ca. 1340-1430), are now black and scorched by the intense heat. Though not

petrified In geology, petrifaction or petrification () is the process by which organic material becomes a fossil through the replacement of the original material and the filling of the original pore spaces with minerals. Petrified wood typifies this proce ...

, the wood has not decomposed because the area is so dry. Films partly shot there include '' The Cell'', '' The Fall'', '' Ghajini'' and '' Ayan''.

Gallery

Dead Vlei, Sossusvlei, Namibia, 2018-08-06, DD 086.jpg, A dried out camel thorn (''

Vachellia erioloba ''Vachellia erioloba'', the camel thorn, also known as the giraffe thorn, mokala tree, or Kameeldoring in Afrikaans, still more commonly known as ''Acacia erioloba'', is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae. Its preferred habitat is ...

'') in Deadvlei. Deadvlei in the morning.JPG, Deadvlei early in the morning before most visitors start arriving. Dead Vlei Kalkkruste.jpg, The parched ground in Deadvlei. Dead Vlei, Sossusvlei, Namibia, 2018-08-06, DD 055.jpg, General view of Deadvlei. Deadvlei Vogelperspektive.jpg, Aerial view of Deadvlei (2017). Vachellia erioloba tree in Dead Vlei.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Acacia erioloba Dead Vlei Namibia.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Dead Vlei Acacia erioloba.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Alberi nel deserto.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Dead Vlei Panorama.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Dead Vlei sand.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Dead Vlei Vista.tif, General view of Dead Vlei Road to Dead Vlei.tif, Road to Dead Vlei

References

Resources

More information and photos of Deadvlei

Gallery

References

Resources

Further reading