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Sossusvlei is a salt and clay pan surrounded by high red dunes as far as the eye can see, reputed to be the highest in the world, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia.
The area is characterized by high sand dunes of vivid pink-to-orange colour, a consequence of a high percentage of iron in the sand and consequent oxidation processes. The oldest dunes are those of a more intense reddish colour. These dunes are among the highest in the world; many of them are above 200 metres, the highest being the one nicknamed Big Daddy, about 380 metres high.
Fauna in the Sossusvlei area is relatively rich. It mostly comprises small animals that can survive with little water, including a number of arthropods, small reptiles and small mammalians such as rodents or jackals; bigger animals include antelopes (mainly oryxes and springboks) and ostrichs.
Oryx – Gemsbok Race (Oryx gazella), Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia, Africa

Nikon D200, Nikkor 80-400 mm, 1/250 sec at f/ 11, ISO 200
© Konstantinos Arvanitopoulos Photography. All Rights Reserved.

BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2010 Competition
Category: Animals in their Environment
Stage reached: Semi-Final

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