The
Namib is a
coastal desert in
southern Africa. The name
Namib is of
Nama origin and means "vast place". According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than along the Atlantic coasts of
Angola,
Namibia, and
South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the
Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as
Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring
Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to inland to the foot of the
Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from in the most arid regions to at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured
arid or
semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world, competing with only South America's
Atacama Desert for the title, itself already recognized as the "driest place on Earth".