INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEOMORPHOLOGISTS

Gallery of landform images

Spitzkoppe (left) and the Pondoks (right) rise abruptly from the desert plain, attaining 600-700 m high. The shape of Spitzkoppe justifies its name as the ‘Matterhorn of Namibia’.

The tower of Spitzkoppe from the north-east. The piedmont angle is remarkably well developed here.

Perfectly planar pediment surface north of Gross Spitzkoppe, with episodic watercourses marked by linear stripes of vegetation.

In the Pondoks fascinating geomorphology co-exists with fascinating world of plants. This is ‘quiver tree’ as Aloe dichotoma is locally called.

The inselberg of Mirabib consists of several closely spaced massive granite domes, separated by topographic lows along more densely jointed granite compartments. Large-scale exfoliation operates along sheeting planes as seen on the dome in the left of the picture.

Bare rock surface of Vogelfederberg in the hyper-arid part of the Namib. Even here, local differences in moisture are used by vegetation along the footslope.

Weathering along subhorizontal joints gives rise to huge recesses and overhangs. This one, the ‘Bushman’s Paradise’ in the east part of the Pondoks, is famous of its rock art.

The entrance of one of the biggest tafoni in the Spitzkoppe area. In fact, the entire hill is pierced through a series of chambers and galleries developed along joints.

A double-bottomed weathering pits in the Spitzkoppe area, measuring almost 2 m across.

Shallow rills or runnels have developed on curved granite surfaces on the north flank of Spitzkoppe.