Deadvlei is a white clay pan located near the most famous Sossusvlei salt pan, inside Namib-Naukluft Park in Namibia. Also written DeadVlei or Dead Vlei, its name means "dead swamp" (from dead English, and Afrikaans vlei, a lake or swamp in a valley in the dunes). The pan is also called "Dooie Vlei" which is the (allegedly original) completely Afrikaans name. In Google there are many references to the site, its name is often incorrectly translated as "dead valley"; un vlei is not a valley (which in Afrikaans is "vallei"). Nor is the site a valley; the pan is a dried vlei.
Dead Vlei has been declared to be surrounded by the highest sand dunes in the world, the highest reaching 300-400 meters (350 m on average, called "Big Daddy" or "Crazy Dune"), which rest on a sandstone terrace . The clay pan was formed after the rains, when the Tsauchab river flooded, creating temporary shallow ponds where the abundance of water allowed the growth of thorny camel trees. When the weather changed, the drought hit the area, and the sand dunes invaded the pan, which blocked the river from the area.
The trees died, as there was not enough water left to survive. There are some species of plants left, such as syrup and nara tufts, adapted to survive the morning fog and very rare rainfall. The remaining skeletons of the trees, believed to have died between 600-700 years ago (around 1340-1430), are now black because the intense sun burned them. Although not petrified, the wood does not decompose because it is so dry.
info and timetables: Among the films shot in part there are The Cell, The Fall and Ghajini.
Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00
Saturday and Sunday closed.
Dead Vlei
Address: 38 Chilwan Crescent, Helderberg Industrial Estate, Strand 7129, Sud Africa
Phone: +27 (0) 21 845 7400
Site:
https://nomadtours.co.za/Location inserted by
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