The Kalahari Desert covers over 360,000 square miles in Africa. Unlike many deserts, or even the common perception of a desert, it includes large areas of lush grazing land after rains fall. That is why this desert is considered a semi arid desert, unlike the Atacama Desert in which only about 1 millimeter of rain falls every year.
The Kalahari Desert isn’t technically a desert. Some areas receive a great deal of rain – up to 250 millimeters of rain each year. However, the rain is sporadic, so it’s called a desert. It’s known as either place without water or great thirst by the people in Africa.
The Kalahari Desert wasn’t always like this. It was once part of a lake called Makgadikgadi. The lake covered a huge area, 80 thousand square kilometers. In the United States all of the great lakes cover about 244,000 square kilometers combined. 30 meters was the depth of this lake on average. The lake disappeared completely about 10,000 years ago.
Survivor man filmed an episode in the Kalahari Desert when the host spent six days there. During his time there the surface temperature on the sand reached 107.6F, in the shade! Out of the shade, forget about it – 149°F. That’s a huge contrast to the temperatures at night. At lowest, the Survivorman had to sleep in 44F cold. He didn’t know which one he liked less, the cold or the heat.
It’s important to stay hydrated when you’re in the Kalahari Desert. It’s necessary in normal places. It can become a matter of life and death in 140° Fahrenheit dry heat. The survivor man did not have enough water. He tried everything to gather some. He built a urine still. He knows best. He also found a few drops of water in the roots of plants that he chewed. He called it quits after six days, dizzy from a lack of hydration. Six days was the most this trained survivalist could take.
Living isn’t easy in the Kalahari Desert. Not much of a vacation spot is it?
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