Swakop River

The Swakop River is a major river in the western part of Namibia, reaching the sea at the southern edge of the city of Swakopmund . The Swakop is an ephemeral river, its run-off is roughly 40 million cubic metres per annum.The Swakop River, along with its main tributary Khan, is one of the largest temporary water-bearing rivers in the dry western part of Namibia. It is 460 km long and has a 30,100 km ² large catchment area. In Swakopmund, it flows into the South Atlantic. The name comes from the Khoekhoe languages of the Nama and Damara Tsoa-xaub. Tsoa means ‘excrement opening’ or ‘anus‘ while xaub stands for the ‘contents of excrement.’ This name derives from the observation that the flow of large amounts of brownish sludge in the rain with it and discharges into the Atlantic Ocean.The area around the river mouth and the surrounding dunes are also known for rich bird life and some unusual plant species that use the regular fog drifting in from the sea to sustain themselves in the absence of other moisture.Groundwater levels in the area have also dropped about 0.3 m further due to the presence of two big dams built on the Swakop River.