What is the Okavango Delta?

It is a large inland delta in northern Botswana, where the Okavango River spreads into a maze of channels, lagoons, floodplains and islands in the Kalahari and never reaches the sea.

When does the Okavango flood?

The flood usually peaks between June and August, during the local dry season, because the rain that feeds it falls in Angola months earlier.

What animals live in the Okavango Delta?

Elephants, hippos, red lechwe, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, lions, leopards, wild dogs, Nile crocodiles and hundreds of bird species, among many others.

Why is the Okavango called an inland delta?

A delta usually forms where a river meets the sea. The Okavango forms one inland, in a basin with no outlet, so its water ends up in the air and ground instead.

Is the Okavango Delta protected?

Yes. Much of it lies in Moremi Game Reserve and protected wildlife areas, and the delta was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

A river that never reaches the sea, spreading into a maze of lagoons in the Kalahari

Okavango Delta

3D landscape · Okavango Delta, Botswana

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Most rivers end at the sea. The Okavango begins in the highlands of Angola, flows southeast through Namibia's Caprivi Strip into Botswana and then fans out into a huge, nearly flat wetland in the middle of the Kalahari, where almost all of its water evaporates, is transpired by plants or soaks into the ground. In this app you can land in the delta and explore it in interactive 3D: clear shallow channels and lagoons, floating water lilies, reed and papyrus beds, and islands topped with palms and big trees rising out of floodplain grass.

Elephants wade between islands, hippos rest in deeper pools, herds of red lechwe splash across the shallows, Nile crocodiles bask on the banks, and zebras, giraffes and herons share the floodplains. The delta was the 1,000th site added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, in 2014.

Key facts

Model setting: Okavango Delta, BotswanaShallow channels, lagoons and palm islands in the permanent and seasonal swamps
Type: Inland (endorheic) deltaThe river's water never reaches the sea; it ends in the Kalahari Basin
Size: About 15,000–22,000 km²Depending on the year's flood; the permanent swamp is much smaller
Water loss: Over 95% evaporates or is transpiredOnly a few percent flows out or seeps into groundwater
Flood peak: June to AugustRain in Angola's highlands from about November to April takes months to arrive, so the delta floods in the dry season
Islands: Over 150,000Many begin as termite mounds, according to research on how the islands form
UNESCO: World Heritage Site since 2014The 1,000th site inscribed on the list
Elephants: Botswana has the world's largest populationRoughly 130,000 African savanna elephants, many in and around the delta

A delta in a desert

The Okavango Delta lies in a shallow basin in northern Botswana, at the edge of the Kalahari. It formed where geological faults, part of the southwestern end of the East African rift system, block and spread out the river. Across a distance of about 250 km the land drops only around 60 m, so the water spreads slowly in many channels instead of cutting a single river bed.

Most of the delta's water arrives as the river's annual flood, but it also receives local summer rain. Without the river, this would be dry savanna on deep sand; with it, the delta is an oasis the size of a small country.

The flood that arrives in the dry season

Rain falls on the Angolan highlands from roughly November to April. The floodwater takes months to travel down the river and then creep slowly across the delta. It usually reaches the lower delta around June to August, during Botswana's dry winter, when the surrounding Kalahari is at its driest.

This timing makes the delta a magnet for wildlife. As the land around dries out, animals move in towards the water, and the delta's population of grazers and predators swells in the middle of the dry season.

Salt islands

Plants on the islands draw so much water that dissolved salts are left behind in the soil at the islands' centres. Over time these become bare, salty patches ringed by trees, a key part of how the delta stays fresh rather than turning salty.

Papyrus, lilies and palm islands

In the permanent swamps, channels are lined with tall papyrus and reeds, and the water surface is dotted with day and night water lilies. Shallow floodplains grow grasses and sedges that are flooded for part of the year. The islands support riverine forest with jackalberry, sycamore figs, sausage trees and real fan palms, whose fruit elephants love.

Many islands are thought to start as termite mounds built on slightly higher ground. Trees grow on the mound, trap sediment and draw in water, and the island slowly grows.

Elephants, hippos and lechwe

The delta and its surroundings hold huge numbers of African elephants, which wade and swim between islands. Hippos spend the day in deeper channels and pools and graze on land at night; their paths through the reeds help keep channels open. Red lechwe, antelope with long, splayed hooves, are built for running through shallow water.

Nile crocodiles hunt in the channels, and the delta is famous for its predators, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs. Hundreds of bird species live here, from African fish eagles and many herons and egrets to the rare Pel's fishing owl and wattled crane.

People and conservation

People have lived in and around the delta for a very long time. The River BaYei use dugout canoes called mokoro to travel the shallow channels, and the San, Hambukushu and other groups also call the region home. Much of the delta is protected as part of the Moremi Game Reserve and surrounding wildlife management areas, and tourism is a major source of income for Botswana.

The delta depends on water from upstream in Angola and Namibia. Dams, irrigation or mining along the river could change its flood, so the three countries cooperate through a river basin commission. Climate change, wildfire and conflict between people and wildlife at the delta's edges are other concerns.

Surprising facts about Okavango Delta

The Okavango River flows away from the sea and ends in the Kalahari Desert, where nearly all its water evaporates.
The flood reaches the delta in the middle of the dry season, months after the rains that caused it.
Many of the delta's islands began as termite mounds.
Salt left behind by thirsty island trees helps keep the rest of the delta's water fresh.
Red lechwe have long, splayed hooves that help them run through shallow water.
The Okavango Delta was the 1,000th site added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Okavango Delta?: It is a large inland delta in northern Botswana, where the Okavango River spreads into a maze of channels, lagoons, floodplains and islands in the Kalahari and never reaches the sea.
When does the Okavango flood?: The flood usually peaks between June and August, during the local dry season, because the rain that feeds it falls in Angola months earlier.
What animals live in the Okavango Delta?: Elephants, hippos, red lechwe, buffalo, zebras, giraffes, lions, leopards, wild dogs, Nile crocodiles and hundreds of bird species, among many others.
Why is the Okavango called an inland delta?: A delta usually forms where a river meets the sea. The Okavango forms one inland, in a basin with no outlet, so its water ends up in the air and ground instead.
Is the Okavango Delta protected?: Yes. Much of it lies in Moremi Game Reserve and protected wildlife areas, and the delta was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

Keep exploring

The landscapes in Ember’s Universe are procedural 3D scenes modelled on real places. The landforms, plants and light follow the real thing, but the details are generated, not mapped.

Sources