Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert covers over 360,000 square miles in Africa. It's a bit unique for a desert as in some places frequent rainfall results in lush vegetation. In fact, it's considered a semi-arid desert, unlike the super dry deserts such as the Atacama Desert which receives only about 1 millimeter of rain each year.

Kalahari Desert

It as the name, but the Kalahari Desert isn't a desert by the strict definition. 250 millimeters of rain falls in some areas. But the rain isn't dependable, that's why it's called a desert. Native languages call this place great thirst or place without water.

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. By comparison Makgadikgadi was about the size of Lake Superior. The average depth was about 30 meters. The last of the lake drained about 10,000 years ago.

Survivor man filmed an episode in the Kalahari Desert when the host spent six days there. It was 107.6°F in the shade! If was as high as 149°F out in the sunlight. As hot as it was during the day, it was cold 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.

One of the most important aspects of surviving in a desert like the Kalahari Desert is trying to drink enough water. That's generally true. But when it's 140°F it's even more critical. Water was hard to come by for the survivor man. He tried everything to gather some. He tried collecting water with a urine still. Waste not want not. He also found some plants that kept a lot of water, but the roots had to be chewed so it was the equivalent of only a few drops. Dizzy and dehydrated, he stopped after six days. Six days was the most this trained survivalist could take.

Kalahari Desert

That's life in the Kahalari Desert. Or is it death?