Little Canyon, Big Canyon

Sesriem Canyon

Above is the canyon at Sesriem, near Sossusvlei- this picture was taken whilst standing in the canyon. Sossusvlei is a mud and salt pan close to the sandy desert, so provided no relief from the intense sun during the day. Being in the shade of the canyon was surprisingly and refreshingly cool; some parts contain permanent water holes which are invaluable to the local lifeforms. Sesriem canyon is thirty metres deep at most, rather slim with parts only a metre or two wide, and about a mile long.

Below is a picture of Fish River Canyon, surpassed in size only by the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Having not seen the Grand Canyon, Fish River is without doubt the most incredible and awe inspiring geological feature I have ever seen. For me, it was really too big to take in; it looked more like a film set than the actual view in front of me. It is one hundred times as long as Sesriem canyon, spanning nearly seventeen miles wide in places, and reaching up to five hundred and fifty metres deep. During the rains it holds a river, and once the rains cease many pools of fresh water remain. Its origins lie in plate movements hundreds of millions of years ago, which is a good example of how ancient some if the Namibian landscape is.

Due to its terrific size, it is rather hard to do justice with a single photograph, but hopefully the immensity of its scale can be sensed:

Fish River Canyon