Know about world's only coastal desert, Namib Sand Sea

New Delhi: The world's only coastal desert is in Namibia, Africa.It consists of dune fields winding over its 3 million hectares.The most widespread and dominant type of desert sand dune are linear dunes, with crescent shaped dunes common along the coast and clusters of star dunes, such as the towering horseshoe of dunes at Sossusvlei, found in the eastern reaches of the sand sea. It comes as no surprise therefore to discover that the entire western section of Namibia is comprised of the Namib, which spreads beyond the borders of Namibia and flows into southern Angola and the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. With ephemeral rivers flowing unexpectedly across an ancient landscape, its dunes, plains, rivers and a foggy coast have all become vital components to support an outstanding and fascinating array of bizarre desert flora and fauna. It's also known as the world's oldest desert, believed to have been formed by the erosion of materials from thousands of kilometers away. The desert is completely uninhabited by humans except for some indigenous pastoral groups.While it is incredibly arid, with fog as the primary source of water, the desert still boasts a wide array of endemic wildlife, including the Welwitschia plant, the Dune Lark, and various reptiles and invertebrates. It has been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.The aridity of the desert is caused by the descent of dry air of the Hadley Cell, cooled by the cold Benguela current along the coast. It is an important location for the mining of tungsten, salt and diamonds.Southern Namib has a vast dune sea with some of the tallest and most spectacular dunes of the world, ranging in color from pink to vivid orange. Geologists have not been able to know the reason behind the complexity and regularity of dune patterns.