Is Deadvlei the 8th Wonder of the World?

Photo by Marcelo Novais on Unsplash

Deadvlei is a spectacular site located outside Soussuvlei in Namibia. Its name means dead marsh and it tells us that it was once a marsh, but has dried out.

Deadvlei is surrounded by some of the highest sand dunes in the word that have rusted over a long period of time and now look fiery from rusting.

The clay pan of the Deadvlei apparently formed over a thousand years ago after the Tsauchab river flooded. Camelthorn trees started growing in the marshes but, 200 years in, the climate started to change and there was a big drought in the area. The river got blocked by the sand dunes and the marsh lost all of its water.

Miraculously, the trees didn’t disappear, though they were unable to live without water. They dried out and turned into blackened bones thanks to the desert sun.