| Fish River Canyon - Fischfluss Canyon | |
|---|---|
 Panorama from Main View Point | |
  Map of Namibia | |
| Coordinates | 27°35′21″S 17°35′51″E / 27.589293°S 17.597587°E |
| Area | 5,900 km2 (2,300 sq mi)[1] |
| Governing body | Ministry of Environment and Tourism |
The Fish River Canyon (Afrikaans: Visrivier Canyon or Visrivier Kuil, German: Fischfluss Canyon), is located in the south of Namibia. It is the largest canyon in Africa, as well as the second most visited tourist attraction in Namibia.[2] It features a gigantic ravine, in total about 160 kilometres (100 mi) long, up to 27 km wide and in places almost 550 meters deep.
The Fish River is the longest interior river in Namibia. It cuts deep into the plateau which today is dry, stony and sparsely covered with hardy drought-resistant plants. The river flows intermittently, usually flooding in late summer; the rest of the year it becomes a chain of long narrow pools. The hot springs resort of ǀAi-ǀAis is situated at the lower end of the Fish River Canyon.
Public view points can be visited near Hobas, a camp site 70 km north of ǀAi-ǀAis. This part of the canyon is part of the ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, while the remainder is privately owned.
- ^ Namibia Tourism Board (2009). ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park Archived 2014-07-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 19 May 2009.
- ^ Matador Trips - 27 of the deepest canyons you can experience.