# Kuiseb River > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kuiseb_River > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kuiseb_River.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiseb_River > Source revision: 1324442874 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) River in Erongo, Namibia Kuiseb River The Kuiseb River during rain season Satellite image of the Kuiseb River Location Country Namibia Regions Khomas, Erongo Physical characteristics Source west of Windhoek • location Khomas Highland Mouth Atlantic Ocean • location Walvis Bay • coordinates 23°07′S 14°32′E / 23.117°S 14.533°E / -23.117; 14.533 • elevation 0 m (0 ft) Length c. 480 km (300 mi) Basin size 15,500 km2 (6,000 sq mi) Discharge • average c. 20 million cubic metres per annum (710×10^6 cu ft/a) Basin features Tributaries • left Gomab River, Ojab River, Chausib River, Gaub River • right Koam River, Nausgomab River, Goagos River Waterbodies Friedenau Dam The **Kuiseb River** is an [ephemeral](/source/Ephemeral) river in western-central [Namibia](/source/Namibia). Its source is in the [Khomas Highland](/source/Khomas_Highland) west of [Windhoek](/source/Windhoek). From there it flows westwards through the [Namib-Naukluft National Park](/source/Namib-Naukluft_National_Park) and the [Namib](/source/Namib) desert to [Walvis Bay](/source/Walvis_Bay). Several settlements of the [Topnaar people](/source/Topnaar_people) are on the banks of the lower Kuiseb, for instance [Homeb](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Homeb&action=edit&redlink=1), [Sandfontein](/source/Sandfontein%2C_Namibia), [Rooibank](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rooibank&action=edit&redlink=1), and [Utuseb](/source/Utuseb).[1][2] Inflows of the Kuiseb are [Gomab](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gomab_River&action=edit&redlink=1), [Ojab](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ojab_River&action=edit&redlink=1), [Chausib](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chausib_River&action=edit&redlink=1), [Gaub](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gaub_River&action=edit&redlink=1), [Koam](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Koam_River&action=edit&redlink=1), [Nausgomab](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nausgomab_River&action=edit&redlink=1) and [Goagos](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goagos_River&action=edit&redlink=1).[3] The Kuiseb's [catchment area](/source/Catchment_area) (including its tributaries) is estimated to be between 15,500[3] and 16,692 km2 (6,445 sq mi).[4] It has a mean run-off of roughly 20 million cubic metres per annum (710×10^6 cu ft/a).[5] [Friedenau Dam](/source/Friedenau_Dam), built in 1972, is on the river.[6] In January 2005, for the first time in years, the Kuiseb flowed to the ocean. Between Naukluft and Namib the Kuiseb carved out a canyon in a barren and inaccessible area. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II) the area around the Kuiseb Canyon served as a shelter for [Henno Martin](/source/Henno_Martin) and [Hermann Korn](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermann_Korn&action=edit&redlink=1) who moved there to wait the war out.[7] Two books and [a film](/source/The_Sheltering_Desert) were subsequently published about this 2-year stay; the ruins of their shelter can be visited. On its course through the Namib the Kuiseb is bordered on one side by some of the tallest [sand dunes](/source/Sand_dune) in the world, and on the other by barren rock.[3] The red sand dunes south of the river reach heights over 150 meters. The prevailing winds blow the dunes northward, but their movement is blocked by the river. In the process, so much sand and silt is deposited in the Kuiseb that it only reaches the sea while it is in flood.[8] In 1907, the area between the [Swakop River](/source/Swakop_River) and the Kuiseb was designated by the German colonial administration as a game reserve. The area is currently part of the [Namib-Naukluft National Park](/source/Namib-Naukluft_National_Park). The *Desert Research Foundation of Namibia* (DRFN) is located at [Gobabeb](/source/Gobabeb) on the banks of the river.[9] - Natural-colour satellite image of the Kuiseb River. - Aerial view of Kuiseb River (2017) - Kuiseb River (2018) - Aerial view of the [Gobabeb](/source/Gobabeb) Training and Research Centre - Ruins of the Shelter of Korn and Martin - [C14](/source/C14_road_(Namibia)) bridge over the Kuiseb Canyon ## See also - [List of rivers of Namibia](/source/List_of_rivers_of_Namibia) ## References ### Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMalan1998120–125_1-0)** [Malan 1998](#CITEREFMalan1998), p. 120–125. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEMoritz19974–5_2-0)** [Moritz 1997](#CITEREFMoritz1997), pp. 4–5. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Jacobson_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Jacobson_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Jacobson_3-2) Jacobson, Peter J.; Jacobson, Kathryn M.; Seely, Mary K. (1995). [*Ephemeral rivers and their catchments: Sustaining people and development in western Namibia*](http://www.the-eis.com/data/literature/Ephemeral%20rivers%20and%20their%20catchments_1995.pdf) (PDF 8.7MB). [Windhoek](/source/Windhoek): Desert Research Foundation of Namibia. pp. 140–141. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9991670947](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9991670947). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Strohbach, B.J. (2008). ["Mapping the Major Catchments of Namibia"](http://www.nbri.org.na/sites/default/files/Mapping%20the%20Major%20Catchments%20of%20Namibia_draft.pdf) (PDF 1.0MB). *Agricola*. **2008**: 63–73. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780353358164](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780353358164). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1015-2334](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1015-2334). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [940637734](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/940637734). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-el2010_5-0)** ["ELECTIONS 2010: Erongo regional profile"](http://www.newera.com.na/article.php?articleid=14109). [New Era](/source/New_Era_(Namibia)). 16 November 2010.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_deprecated_archival_service)) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Friedenau](http://www.namwater.com.na/data/dams/friedenau.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20081121140523/http://www.namwater.com.na/data/dams/friedenau.html) 2008-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) at NamWater 1. **[^](#cite_ref-TSD_7-0)** Martin, Henno (2006). *The Sheltering Desert*. Hamburg: Two Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9783935453035](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783935453035). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Morin, Efrat; Grodek, Tamir; Dahan, Ofer; Benito, Gerardo; Kulls, Christoph; Jacoby, Yael; Langenhove, Guido Van; Seely, Mary; Enzel, Yehouda (April 2009). "Flood routing and alluvial aquifer recharge along the ephemeral arid Kuiseb River, Namibia". *Journal of Hydrology*. **368** (1–4): 262–275. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.02.015](https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jhydrol.2009.02.015). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0022-1694](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0022-1694). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Desert Research Foundation of Namibia"](https://www.namibweb.com/drfn.htm). namibweb.com. Retrieved 3 October 2019. ### Literature - Malan, Johan S (1998). *Die Völker Namibias* [*The Tribes of Namibia*] (in German). Windhoek, Göttingen: Klaus Hess. - Moritz, Walter (1997). *Verwehte Spuren in der Namibwüste - Alte Ansiedlungen am Kuiseb* [*Withered Traces in the Namib - Old Settlements on the river Kuiseb*] (in German). Windhoek: Typoprint. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [99916-750-0-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/99916-750-0-0). - *The original entry was from the [NASA Earth Observatory](/source/NASA_Earth_Observatory) [\[1\]](https://web.archive.org/web/20031230142225/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=4087)* ### Videos - ['HURININ People of the Sea' - The Topnaar people’s search for human rights and recognition](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymyhjQ50M2A) on [YouTube](/source/YouTube_video_(identifier)) ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Kuiseb River](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kuiseb_River). - [NASA Earth Explorer page](https://web.archive.org/web/20031230142225/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=4087) - [PhD Dissertation at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ](https://web.archive.org/web/20140417085156/http://www.ufz.de/export/data/global/29151_ufzdiss5_2010_.pdf) Authority control databases International VIAF Other Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kuiseb River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiseb_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiseb_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.