Cuvelai-Etosha Basin

Cuvelai-Etosha Basin
Area
 • Total160,000 km2 (60,000 sq mi)
Population
850 000

The Cuvelai-Etosha Basin is a transboundary wetland area shared by Angola and Namibia extending over 450 kilometres from north to south. Covering almost 160,000 km2, the widest point of the basin is along the Angola-Namibia border from the Kunene River east to the Okavango River.[1]

The basin consists of hundreds of drainage channels, known as iishana (singular oshana), that flow from north to south from the southern Angolan highlands to Namibia's Etosha pan. Many of these channels are dry for most of the year but are prone to major flooding during the rainy season due to the terrain being extremely flat.[2] Most of the basin lies between 1,100 and 1,200 metres above sea level with little change in altitude.[3]

Located in the north-central part of Namibia, this drainage basin stretches across four regions, namely Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana and Oshikoto. The basin is further divided into four sub-basins, namely Olushandja, Lishana, Nipele and Tsumeb.[1]

  1. ^ a b Mendelsohn, John (2013). A Profile and Atlas of The Cuvelai-Etosha Basin. Raison and Gondwana Collection. ISBN 978-99916-780-7-8.
  2. ^ "The River Basin". Cuvecom. 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-30.
  3. ^ Mendelsohn, John (2013). "A Profile and Atlas of The Cuvelai-Etosha Basin". Jaro Consultancy. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19.