Abstract
Sossus Vlei occurs as the termination of the Tsauchab River. Its westward passage to the Atlantic has been blocked by northwards migrating dunes of the Namib Sand Sea. It is only in exceptionally wet years that the Tsauchab reaches Sossusvlei. When it does so, the dry silt pans of the valley (vlei) are replaced by shallow lakes. Star dunes rise up to 325 m above its floor. They appear to be preferentially developed in areas with multi-directional or complex wind regimes, and are often located close to topographic features, such as the Namibian Great Escarpment, which modify the regional wind regimes and tend to increase wind variability.
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References
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Goudie, A., Viles, H. (2015). Sossus Vlei and its Star Dunes. In: Landscapes and Landforms of Namibia. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8020-9_19
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