Moçâmedes Desert

Moçâmedes Desert, desert, southwestern Africa, extending north along the Atlantic coast of Angola from the Angola-Namibia border for about 275 miles (450 km) and constituting the northernmost extension of the Namib Desert. Fronting the Atlantic Ocean to the west, it gradually ascends in elevation eastward to a semiarid plain (dominated by acacia and mopane [African ironwood] trees) that abuts the steep Serra de Chela escarpment. The Moçâmedes Desert is an area of gravel plains and rock platforms interspersed with sand dune fields. The frequent fog and relatively cool temperatures of the area are caused by the cool offshore Benguela Current. Namibe (formerly Moçâmedes) city in the centre of the desert receives less than 2 inches (50 mm) of rainfall annually. The desert is almost totally uninhabited except for the residents of the small coastal fishing towns and the iron-ore exporting centre of Namibe. Welwitschia mirabilis, a curious plant whose two gigantic leaves sprawl over the surface of the ground, is unique to the area.