Kalahari Desert

Most deserts and (semi-) arid regions occur between 10° and 35° latitude (e g. Sahara desert, Kalahari desert), in the interior parts of continents (e g. Australia, Gobi desert) and in rain shadow areas in fold belts (e.g. Peru, Nepal). Large parts of the arctic tundra receive less than 250 mm precipitation per annum and qualify as arid regions too (FAO, 2001). 

A large drug manufacturer has decided to study this molecule and formulate it into a drug if it proves to be safe and effective. As an aside, the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert are currently impoverished and oppressed. If P57 becomes a money-making drug in developed countries, it may mean a better life for people of this tribe, since they will receive royalties (money) when the drug is sold. This drug is very early in the research process and it will be several years before it could be available in the United States. 

The morama bean is an underutilized leguminous oilseed native to the Kalahari Desert and neighboring sandy regions of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa (Limpopo, North-West, Gauteng, and Northern Cape provinces), and forms part of the diet of the indigenous population in these countries. It is also known as gemsbok bean. 

The morama bean is presently known only in the wild state. It tolerates the scorching heat and long drought periods of the Kalahari Desert of Botswana and Namibia (Fig. 5.2), where it is an important component of... 

Bousquet, J. (1982). The morama bean of the Kalahari Desert as a potential food crop, with a summary of current research in Texas. Desert Plants 3, 213-215. 

The Tsodilo Hills World Heritage Site is located in northwestern Botswana, in the Kalahari Desert, about 40 km from the Okavango River and is surrounded by relict linear sand dunes. This is one of the most interesting archaeological localities in southern Africa, in part because hills in the region are rare, the nearest to Tsodilo being about 200 km away. Evidence of human activity at the... 

Brook et al. (1990) found pollen grains incorporated in the pore spaces within the speleothem fabric. Since the age of the encapsulating calcite could be determined by U/Th methods, the age of the pollen could also be determined far beyond the usual limitation of carbon-14 dating. From pollen speciation in speleothems. Brook et al. concluded that the Chihuahuan Desert of southwestern United States and the Kalahari Desert of northwestern Botswana were wetter during northern hemisphere glacial and interstadial times. In contrast, wetter conditions in the Somali-Chalbi Desert corresponded with interglacials and to a lesser extent with interstadials. 

Brook, G.A., Burney, D.A., and Cowart, J.B., 1990, Desert paleoenvironmental data from cave speleothems with examples from the Chihuahuan, Somali-Chalbi, and Kalahari deserts, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 76 311-329. 

Nash, D.J., Thomas, D.S.G. Shaw, P.A. (1994) Siliceous duricrusts as palaeoclimatic indicators evidence from the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. Palaeogeog-raphy, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 112, 279-295. 

Nash, D.J. Hopkinson, L. (2004) A reconnaissance Laser Raman and Fourier Transform Infrared survey of silcretes from the Kalahari Desert, Botswana. Earth Surface Processes Landforms 29, 1541-1558. 

There are three types of wind erosion, namely, deflation, attrition and abrasion. Deflation results in the lowering of land surfaces by loose unconsolidated rock waste being blown away by the wind. The effects of deflation are seen most acutely in arid and semi-arid regions. For example, basin-like depressions are formed by deflation in the Sahara and Kalahari deserts. 

World resources are very large but distributed irregularly. The reserves (known and workable ore bodies) are estimated to 670 Mtonnes (metal content). Of this amount South Africa provides 55% and Ukraine 20%. If instead the reserve base is considered (known ore bodies that may be worked at some future time) the total amount is enormous 5000 Mtonnes, of which 80% is in South Africa. Two very big deposits are Hotazel in the Kalahari desert in South Africa near the border with Botswana and Groote Eylandt at Carpentaria Bay in Australia. 

Herbaceous trailing perennial flowers red in axils fruit with pointed and barbed woody grapples to 2.5 cm long occurring in steppes on red sand in south tropical Africa, especially in the Kalahari desert and in the Namibian steppes plus Madagascar. The secondary tuber, about 6 cm in diameter 20 cm long, is the part used. 

Melons Cucumis melo) are relatives of cucumbers. The first melons were bitter, but they were bred to produce sweeter fruit and introduced into Europe from Africa by the Moors. They reached France in the fifteenth century and were taken to the New World by Columbus. Melons and cantaloupes contain high levels of carotenes. Watermelons Citrullus lanatus) are distant relatives of melons, widely spread throughout Africa. They were known to the Egyptians and wild watermelons grow in the Kalahari Desert. Watermelons were introduced to Europe in the fifteenth century. Watermelon can contain high levels of carotenes, particularly lycopene 23-72 mg/1 have been reported (van den Berg et al. 2000). 

Wiggs, G.F.S., Livingstone, I., Thomas, D.S.G., andBuUard, J.E. 1996. Airflow and roughness characteristics over partially vegetated hnear dunes in the southwest Kalahari, Desert. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 21(1) 19-34. 

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