Travel the World - Week 25

I started a Travel the World Series last year. (It should be noted that I did a similar thing in 2018, only it was the 50 states.) For 50 weeks in 2019, I visited a different country (virtually) and shared facts about that country. I then selected one tidbit of information about that week's country as inspiration for a card. Fifty weeks; fifty countries... BUT there are 195 countries in the world so that was just a little over 25% of them. Of course I couldn't stop, so this year I'm continuing with fifty more countries, one per week.

This week's country is...

Namibia

Namibia is located in Southern Africa, an 11-hour flight from London/England or a 3-hour flight from Johannesburg/South Africa. The African country shares state borders with South Africa in the South, Zambia and Botswana in the East and Angola to the North.

It was formerly known as South West Africa. The country became Namibia in 1990 when it was granted independence from South Africa, which had taken over the territory during the First World War.

The Namib is littered with impact craters, such as Roter Kamm - shown here - created by a meteorite the size of an SUV that struck between four and five million years ago. They look pretty awesome from space.

The country gets its name from the Namib Desert – one of the world’s oldest deserts.

It’s home to the world’s oldest desert – the Namib Desert, which is 80 million years old.

 Dragon's Breath Cave in Namibia has the largest known underground lake in the world. The lake is 196 feet below ground level and 215,178 square feet in size

Most of the country lies on a high plateau. 

Namibia is almost as big as half of Alaska, pretty huge! And the vast country is almost as sparsely populated as is Alaska and is the second sparsely populated country on the African continent, after Western Sahara.

Namibia's Skeleton Coast was named due to the shipwrecks, whale bones, and human skeletons in the area. The shipwrecks were caused by the dense fog surrounding the coast, but many have disintegrated and washed away.

Namibia takes conservation seriously. In fact, more than 40 percent of the country is under conservation management. It was also the first African country to incorporate environmental protection into its constitution. 

The Petrified Forest in Namibia consists of about 50 fossilized tree trunks. 

There is a wide variety of food available in Namibia with the ocean supplying fish and seafood and the farms in the countryside providing lamb, beef and ostriches.

Namibia is the second least densely populated country in the world.

Despite its low population, Namibia is still home to 13 different ethnic groups.

Namibia is home to the world’s largest population of free-roaming cheetahs.

Sossusvlei Sand Dunes are some of the highest in the world. They’re one of Namibia’s most impressive sights.

Namibia’s dramatic landscapes, which range from desolate deserts to shimmering salt pans, have been used as the backdrop for numerous big budget blockbusters including 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and Flight of the Phoenix (2006).

Once a well-heeled mining town, Kolmanskop was abandoned in the Thirties when the diamond rush took prospectors elsewhere. The Namib Desert slowly started to reclaim the middle-of-nowhere outpost, which is now a popular tourist attraction.

Namibia is home to one of the two populations of desert-adapted elephants in the world. The elephants have larger feet, longer legs, and are capable of going without water for longer than regular elephants.

The wild horses of the Namib Desert are the world's last desert-dwelling horses. The exact origin of the animals is still unknown and a matter of debate, but they are thought to be the descendants of either escaped farm animals, those abandoned by German cavalry, or a 1909 herd at Duwisib Castle. Recent research shows they are most likely a mix of all of these sources, as well as lost South African army horses.

Namibia is home to the world’s largest population of free-roaming black rhinos.

Namibia enjoys 300 days of sunshine every year.

I decided to let this Namibia fact be the inspiration for this week's card... About 90% of South African flamingos spend the winter in Namibia's Walvis Bay Lagoon.

Here's the inside of my card:

At the suggestion of a FB friend, I'm entering this card in the Summertime Challenge at My Time to Craft.


Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Stamps: A Muse Sunsational Day and Whipper Snapper Figaro Flamingo stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers

Papers: Accent Opaque 120# White and SU Daffodil Delight CS and AMuse Studio Polka Dot DP

Dies: MFT Stitched Rounded Rectangle and Sizzix Oval

Embellishments: Enamel Dots from an unknown vendor