Kubu Island

{{Short description|Dry granite rock island in the Makgadikgadi Pan of Botswana}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox islands | name = Kubu Island | native_name = Ga'nnyo | native_name_link = | native_name_lang = Tswana | sobriquet =  | image_name = KubuIsland 02.jpg | image_size = | image_caption = Kubu Island | image_alt = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_size = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_relief = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates =  | etymology = | location = Makgadikgadi Pan area of Botswana | GridReference =  | archipelago = | waterbody = | total_islands = | major_islands = | area_km2 =  | area_footnotes = | rank = | length_km =  | length_footnotes = | width_km =  | width_footnotes = | coastline_km =  | coastline_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_footnotes = | highest_mount = | country =  | country_admin_divisions_title = | country_admin_divisions = | country_admin_divisions_title_1 = | country_admin_divisions_1 = | country_admin_divisions_title_2 = | country_admin_divisions_2 = | country_capital_type = | country_capital = | country_largest_city_type = | country_largest_city = | country_capital_and_largest_city = | country_largest_city_population = | country_leader_title = | country_leader_name = | country_area_km2 =  | country_1 = | country_1_admin_divisions_title = | country_1_admin_divisions = | country_1_admin_divisions_title_1 = | country_1_admin_divisions_1 = | country_1_capital_type = | country_1_capital = | country_1_largest_city_type = | country_1_largest_city = | country_1_capital_and_largest_city = | country_1_largest_city_population = | country_1_leader_title = | country_1_leader_name = | country_1_area_km2 =  | demonym = | population = | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_rank = | population_rank_max = | density_km2 = | density_rank = | density_footnotes = | languages = | ethnic_groups = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | website = | additional_info = | footnotes = }} '''Kubu Island''' (Ga'nnyo) is a dry granite rock island located in the Makgadikgadi Pan area of Botswana.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Slotta|first1=Franziska|last2=Helle|first2=Gerhard|last3=Heussner|first3=Karl-Uwe|last4=Shemang|first4=Elisha|last5=Riedel|first5=Frank|last6=Heußner|first6=Karl-Uwe|date=2017|title=BAOBABS ON KUBU ISLAND, BOTSWANA – A DENDROCHRONOLOGICAL MULTIPARAMETER STUDY USING RING WIDTH AND STABLE ISOTOPES (δ13C, δ18O)|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44280264|journal=Erdkunde|volume=71|issue=1|pages=23–43|jstor=44280264 |issn=0014-0015}}</ref> The island is located a few kilometers away from Orapa and Letlhakane mining towns and can be accessed through Mmatshumo in the Boteti district. The entire island is a national monument, and is considered a sacred site by the indigenous people of the area.

It is accessible by four wheel drive vehicles and has basic camping facilities. The campsite is run for the benefit of the local population.

The British television programme ''Top Gear'' travelled through the area in their 2007 Botswana Special, with presenter Jeremy Clarkson describing the island as "just about the most astonishing place I've ever been". It was significant enough to be chosen as the location to end the 2024 final episode of the presenters' successor show ''The Grand Tour''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Emily |first=Olivia |date=2024-09-18 |title=The Grand Tour Wraps Up With 'One For The Road' |url=https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/culture/top-gear-botswana-special/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=Country and Town House |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Natural history== The Makgadikgadi Pan is a large salt pan in northern Botswana, the largest salt flat complex in the world. These salt pans cover approximately 16,000 km2 and form the bed of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi that began evaporating millennia ago.

==Archaeological heritage== The name ''Kubu'' means either "large rock" in the Kalanga language<ref name=wondermondo>{{cite web|url=http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/Af/Botswana/Central/KubuIsland.htm|title=Kubu Island (Ga'nnyo)|publisher=Wondermondo|access-date=17 June 2013|archive-date=8 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180608060413/http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/Af/Botswana/Central/KubuIsland.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> or hippopotamus in Tswana.<ref>History of Kubu Island. 2009</ref> Local Khoe people call the site Ga'nnyo. Archaeological recovery in the Makgadikgadi has revealed the presence of prehistoric humans through abundant finds of stone tools; some of these tools have been dated sufficiently early to establish their origin as earlier than the era of ''Homo sapiens''.<ref>C. Michael Hogan. 2008</ref> Kubu Island also contains dry stone wall, which is up to 1.25 m high, and 344 circular stone cairns.<ref name="wondermondo"/>

==References== * C. Michael Hogan. 2008. ''Makgadikgadi'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham [http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22373&mode=&order=0] * Kingsley Holgate. 2006. ''Africa. In the Footsteps of the Great Explorers''. Struik publishers, {{ISBN|1-77007-147-4}} ([https://books.google.com/books?id=axxC0CRH9e0C&dq=%22Kubu+Island%22&pg=PA39 restricted online version (google books)]) * [http://www.botswana-travel-guide.com/bradt_guide.asp?bradt=792 Kubu Island in Botswana Travel Guide] * [http://www.kubuisland.com/ History of Kubu Island. 2009]

==Line notes== {{reflist}}

Category:Islands of Botswana Category:Makgadikgadi Pan