The Etosha Pan halophytics ecoregion lies entirely within Etosha National Park in northern Namibia, encompassing a vast saline depression of roughly 4,850 square kilometers that forms part of the Cuvelai-Etosha Basin and is the remnant of a large inland Pliocene lake. This is the largest pan system in Namibia, mostly dry cracked clay that floods with a thin, heavily salted sheet of water after good rains. Vegetation is sparse and salt-tolerant: the pan surface is colonized by grasses such as Sporobolus spicatus that flush quickly after rain, while dense mopane woodland frames the surrounding margins. The climate is harsh and strongly seasonal, with a mean annual rainfall near 430 millimeters falling mostly in late summer, three distinct seasons (hot and wet, cool and dry, hot and dry), and temperatures swinging from below freezing in winter to over 45 degrees Celsius in summer. The pan is a Ramsar wetland of international importance and a crucial breeding ground, drawing up to 1.1 million flamingos in flood years alongside its flagship great white pelican, and the park supports one of the largest black rhino populations in the world.
Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 18.8°S, 16.2°E.
Climate snapshot for this ecoregion
°C
°F
Current zone range (2011–2040)
12a
Plotwright
CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.
Projected (2041–2070)
12a-12b
Plotwright
Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.
Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +4.4°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.
At a glance
Dominant biome
Flooded Grasslands & Savannas
Realm
Afrotropic
Approximate area
2,978 sq mi
Conservation tier
Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)
About the flooded grasslands & savannas biome
Grasslands and savannas subject to seasonal or year-round flooding, including large wetland complexes. Exceptionally productive, they concentrate waterbirds and aquatic life.
Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion
No catalog plants intersect this ecoregion's zone range. As the catalog grows to cover this region's climate band, suggestions will surface here.
Collections for this ecoregion
No curated collection's plants all fit this ecoregion's zone range. We surface a collection only when every member would grow here — partial fits get filtered out rather than mislead. As the catalog and the curated set both grow, this section will fill in.
Related ecoregions
Other flooded grasslands & savannas ecoregions to explore: