Elephants in the Okavango Delta seen from the dubious safety of a makoro (small boat).

A Lechwe Antelope "flying" over a patch of clear water

NASA view of Okavango Delta

The Okavango Delta viewed from a Cessna at 1,200 ft.

The Okavango Delta (or Okavango Swamp), in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. a picture I took of some elephants grazing in the delta. ... a picture I took of some elephants grazing in the delta. ... Two wooden makoros A makoro is a type of canoe commonly used in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1775x1210, 247 KB) Опис файлу An antelope flying over a patch of clear water in Okavango Delta, Botswana. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1775x1210, 247 KB) Опис файлу An antelope flying over a patch of clear water in Okavango Delta, Botswana. ... Binomial name Kobus leche Gray, 1850 The Lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in Okavango Delta of Botswana, the Kafue Flats and Bengwelu Swamps of Zambia, and the very southeast of Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Genera Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others Antelope are herbivorous mammals of the family Bovidae, often noted for their horns. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (790x636, 112 KB) Okavango Delta Part of http://visibleearth. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (790x636, 112 KB) Okavango Delta Part of http://visibleearth. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 210 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Okavango Delta ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1536x1024, 210 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Okavango Delta ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ...

The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Today, the Okavango River has no outlet to the sea. Instead, it empties onto the sands of the Kalahari Desert, irrigating 15,000 km² of the desert. Each year some 11 cubic kilometres of water reach the delta. Some of this water reaches further south to create Lake Ngami. 1897 (MDCCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Lake Makgadikgadi is an ancient lake that existed in what is now the Kalahari Desert in Botswana. ... The Okavango River is a river in southwest Africa. ... The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in southern Kgalagadi Africa extending 900,000 km² (562,500 sq. ... Lake Ngami is a lake in Botswana north of the Kalahari desert. ...

The water entering the delta is unusually pure, due to the lack of agriculture and industry along the Okavango River. It passes through the sand aquifers of the numerous delta islands and evaporates/transpirates by leaving enormous quantities of salt behind. This precipitation processes are so strong that the vegetation disappears in the center of the islands and thick salt crusts are formed. For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ...

The waters of the Okavango Delta are subject to seasonal flooding, which begins about mid-summer in the north and six months later in the south (May/June). The water from the delta is evaporated relatively rapidly by the high temperatures, resulting in a cycle of cresting and dropping water in the south. Islands can disappear completely during the peak flood, then reappear at the end of the season.

People

The Okavango Delta peoples consist of five ethnic groups, each with its own ethnic identity and language. They are Hambukushu (also known as Mbukushu, Bukushu, Bukusu, Mbukuschu, Ghuva, Haghuva), Dceriku (Dxeriku, Diriku, Gciriku, Gceriku, Giriku, Niriku), Wayeyi (Bayei, Bayeyi, Yei), Bugakhwe (Kxoe, Khwe, Kwengo, Barakwena, G/anda) and ||anikhwe (Gxanekwe, //tanekwe, River Bushmen, Swamp Bushmen, G//ani, //ani, Xanekwe). The Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Wayeyi are all Bantus who have traditionally engaged in mixed economies of millet/sorghum agriculture; fishing, hunting, and the collection of wild plant foods; and pastoralism. Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ...

The Bugakhwe and ||anikwhe are Bushmen who have traditionally practiced fishing, hunting, and the collection of wild plant foods; Bugakhwe utilized both forest and riverine resources while the ||anikhwe mostly focused on riverine resources. The Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Bugakhwe are present along the Okavango River in Angola and in the Caprivi Strip of Namibia, and there are small numbers of Hambukushu and Bugakhwe in Zambia as well. Within the Okavango Delta, over the past 150 years or so Hambukushu, Dceriku, and Bugakhwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the Magwegqana in the northeastern Delta. ||anikhwe have inhabited the Panhandle and the area along the Boro River through the Delta, as well as the area along the Boteti River. The Bushmen (also known as Basarwa in Tswana, or San in Nama) are an indigenous population of the Kalahari Desert, which spans South Africa and neighboring Botswana and Namibia as well southern Angola. ... Location: Caprivi, Namibia Area: 19,532km (7,541 mi ) Population: 79,852 (2001), 90,422 (1991) Capital: Katima Mulilo Time Zone: South African Standard Time: UTC+1 Caprivi, sometimes called the Caprivi Strip or Caprivi Region and formally known as Itenge, is a narrow protrusion of Namibia eastwards about 450km...

The Wayeyi have inhabited the area around Seronga as well as the southern Delta around Maun, and a few Wayeyi live in their putative ancestral home in the Caprivi Strip. Within the past 20 years many people from all over the Okavango have migrated to Maun, and in the late 1960s and early 1970s over 4,000 Hambukushu refugees from Angola were settled in the area around Etsha in the western Panhandle. Maun - although officially still a village - is the third largest town in Botswana. ...

The Okavango Delta has been under the political control of the Batawana (a Tswana sub-tribe) for several hundred years. Most Batawana, however, have traditionally lived on the edges of the Delta. Small numbers of people from other ethnic groups such as Ovaherero and Ovambanderu now live in parts of the Okavango Delta, but since the majority of the members of those groups live elsewhere and the habitation is recent they are not considered as part of the Okavango Delta peoples. There are also several Bushmen groups represented by a handful of people. These groups were decimated by diseases of contact in the middle part of the 20th century, and most of the remaining members have intermarried with the ||anikwhe. Tswana (Motswana, plural Batswana) is the name of a Southern African people. ...

Wildlife

The Okavango is home to a prosperity of wildlife and attracts thousands of visitors a year. There are number of camps within the delta region that cater to these visitors.

The delta provides a seasonal habitat to numerous different species. Among these are African elephants, the African Buffalo, the Hippopotamus, the Lechwe, the Topi, the Blue Wildebeest, the Giraffe, the Nile crocodile, the Lion, the Cheetah, the Leopard, hyenas, wild dogs, the Greater Kudu, the Sable Antelope, both the Black and the White Rhinoceros, the water monitor, zebras, the Warthog and then chacma baboon. The delta also includes over 400 species of birds, including the African Fish Eagle, the Crested Crane, and the Sacred Ibis. Species Loxodonta adaurora (extinct) Loxodonta africana Loxodonta cyclotis African elephants are the two species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta, one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. ... Binomial name Syncerus caffer (Sparrman, 1779) Subspecies The African Buffalo or Cape Buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a bovid from the family of the Bovidae. ... Binomial name Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 Range map The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), from the Greek ‘ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamos, hippos meaning horse and potamos meaning river), is a large, mostly plant-eating African mammal, one of only two extant in the family Hippopotamidae. ... Binomial name Kobus leche Gray, 1850 The Lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in Okavango Delta of Botswana, the Kafue Flats and Bengwelu Swamps of Zambia, and the very southeast of Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Binomial name Damaliscus lunatus Burchell, 1823 Topi standing in Masai Mara The Topi, or Tsessebe, as it is called in Southern Africa, (Damaliscus lunatus also known as Tiang or Korrigum) is a savannah and floodplain antelope found in Sudan, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania, and Southern Africa. ... Binomial name Connochaetes taurinus (Burchell, 1823) The Blue Wildebeest is a large ungulate mammal of the genus Connochaetes which grows to 1. ... Binomial name Giraffa camelopardalis Linnaeus, 1758 Range map The giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all land-living animal species. ... Binomial name Crocodylus niloticus (Laurenti, 1768) The Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) is one of the 3 species of crocodiles found in Africa, and the second largest species of crocodile. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Distribution of Lions in Africa Synonyms Felis leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae and one of four big cats in the genus Panthera. ... Binomial name Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber, 1775) Type species Acinonyx venator Brookes, 1828 (= Felis jubata, Schreber, 1775) by monotypy The range of the Cheetah The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an endangered member of the cat family (Felidae), a poor climber that hunts by speed and stealth. ... Binomial name Panthera pardus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Felis pardus Linnaeus, 1758 The Leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the four big cats of the genus Panthera. ... Subfamilies and Genera Hyaeninae Crocuta Hyaena Parahyaena Protelinae Proteles Hyenas or Hyænas are moderately large terrestrial carnivores native to Africa, Arabia, Asia and the Indian subcontinent. ... Wild Dog may refer to one of the following: African Wild Dog — an African mammal Wild Dog (comics) — a DC Comics character Wild Dog (Time Crisis) — a villain in the Time Crisis series of videogames Category: ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Hippotragus niger Harris, 1838 The Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger) is an antelope that inhabits wooded savannah in East Africa south of Kenya, and in Southern Africa. ... Binomial name Diceros bicornis Linnaeus, 1758 Black Rhinoceros range Subspecies Diceros bicornis michaeli Diceros bicornis longipes Diceros bicornis minor Diceros bicornis bicornis The Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis also colloquially Black Rhino is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania... Binomial name Ceratotherium simum Burchell, 1817 The White Rhinoceros original range (orange: Northern (C. s. ... Binomial name Varanus salvator (Laurenti, 1768) The Water monitor Varanus salvator is a member of the monitor lizard family. ... Species Equus zebra Equus hartmannae Equus quagga Equus grevyi The Zebra is a part of the horse family, Equidae, native to central and southern Africa. ... Binomial name Phacochoerus africanus (Pallas, 1766) // Warthogs are really cool man, innit. ... Binomial name Papio ursinus (Kerr, 1792) The Chacma Baboon (Papio ursinus) is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. ... Binomial name Haliaeetus vocifer (Daudin, 1800) The African Fish-eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer[1]) or - to distinguish it from the Ichthyophaga true fish eagles, African Sea-eagle - is a large species of eagle and a bird of prey. ... Binomial name Balearica regulorum Bennett, 1834 The Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum) is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. ... Binomial name Threskiornis aethiopicus Latham, 1790 The Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) is a species of wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae, which breeds in sub-Saharan Africa, SE Iraq and formerly in Egypt, where it was venerated and often mummified as a symbol of the god Thoth. ...

The Namibian government presented plans to build a dam in the Caprivi region to regulate the water-flow, which could threaten the rich wild and plantlife in the Delta.

Mokoro trip in the Okavango Delta Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 540 pixelsFull resolution (1626 × 1098 pixel, file size: 541 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Made by myself http://www. ...	Water lillies in the delta ImageMetadata File history File links Okavango_Water_Lillies. ...	Girl gathering food in the Okavango Delta Image File history File linksMetadata Gathering_food_in_the_Okavango. ...	Waiting for the hippos in the delta Image File history File linksMetadata Mokoro_Polers_in_the_delta_waiting_for_hippos_to_surface. ...
Hippos as seen from a small boat in the Okavango Image File history File links BotswanaOkavangoHippos. ...	A pair of Saddle-billed Storks Image File history File links Download high resolution version (3038x2012, 617 KB) Опис файлу A pair of Saddle-billed Storks browsing in the Okavango Delta. ... Binomial name Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis (Shaw, 1800) The Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), also known as the Jabiru Stork, is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. ...	Hyperolius argus (Reed Frog) in the Okavango Delta Image File history File links ReedFrogDelta. ... Binomial name Hyperolius argus Rapp, 1842 Argus Reed Frog or African Reed Frog, Hyperolius argus; one of only five species of frogs in which males and females do not share the same coloring. ...

Further reading

• Bock, J. (2002). Learning, Life History, and Productivity: Children’s lives in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Human Nature 13(2) 161-198. Full text

External links

• Safari in the Delta : general information
• Okavango Delta Peoples of Botswana
• Description of Okavango Delta, by Cecil Keen
• Conservation International
• The Ngami Times is Ngamiland's weekly newspaper.Flow charts and rain data are also available.
• Flow : information for Okavango Delta planning is the weblog of the Library of the Harry Oppenheimer Okavango Research Centre.
• Picture gallery of the Okavango Delta
• Official Botswana Government site on Moremi Game Reserve, inside the Okavango Delta
• Info on the Okavango Delta in Botswana

Coordinates: 19°00′S, 23°00′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...

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Okavango Delta