The Desert Portal
by Rand Ningali
Title
The Desert Portal
Artist
Rand Ningali
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
DEAD VLEI - NAMIBIA
Dead Vlei and Kolmanskop (an abandoned diamond mining settlement) are what made me initially fall in love with Namibia, but after spending 12 days there I found so much more to love about it. It’s an incredibly beautiful country with amazing landscapes, wildlife and people. Dead Vlei has been shot to death but I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and I gave it a couple of bullets of my own. I walked around for hours in the hot sun exploring and looking for shots and then spent as much time waiting for people to enjoy the scenery and then move out of my composition so I could get the shots I planned. Patience pays off I think and I’m very pleased with this shot.
“Deadvlei is a white clay pan located near the more famous salt pan of Sossusvlei, inside the Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia. Its name means "dead marsh" (from English dead, and Afrikaans vlei, a lake or marsh in a valley between the dunes). The pan also is referred to as "Dooie Vlei" which is the (presumably original) fully Afrikaans name. The clay pan was formed after rainfall, when the Tsauchab river flooded, creating temporary shallow pools where the abundance of water allowed camel thorn trees to grow. When the climate changed, drought hit the area, and sand dunes encroached on the pan, which blocked the river from the area.
The trees died, as there no longer was enough water to survive. There are some species of plants remaining, such as salsola and clumps of nara, adapted to surviving off the morning mist and very rare rainfall. The remaining skeletons of the trees, which are believed to have died 600–700 years ago (ca. 1340-1430), are now black because the intense sun has scorched them. Though not petrified, the wood does not decompose because it is so dry.”
Uploaded
December 22nd, 2022
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