Sossusvlei

Sossusvlei, Namibia's famous highpoint in the heart of the Namib desert. It is an enormous clay field, surrounded by huge sand dunes. Some of these spectacular sand hills measuring 300 meters high are the highest in the world.

Only after a heavy rainstorm, a rare phenomenon in this area, the field is filled with water. Since the clay layers hardly let any water go through, there is for a short time a turquoise lake.

The dunes of the Namib desert were formed during many millions of years. Geologists believe that vast quantities of sand originated from the Orange River and were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. The sand was then moved northwards by the Benguela gulfstream, which then threw it back on land.
So the coastal dunes developed and were blown further inland by the wind. The wind is continuously changing the contours of the massive dunes in the Namib Desert. The sand blows on the windward side of the summit, after which it falls down in the lee of the wind. Leeward is therefore considerably steeper than the windward side.

Located in the heart of Sossusvlei lies Dead Vlei, a dried up salt lake at the foot of high sand dunes. The white plains stand dead trees from 700 to 900 years old. These black trees on a white flat soil in front of the red sand dunes and azure sky is a surreal spectacle.