The evolution of the morphological framework of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, since the Early Cretaceous

The Central Namib Desert in Namibia is a hyper arid area which was greatly affected by tectonic changes in the Early Cretaceous. associated with the o pening up of the the South Atlantic Ocean, continental fragmentation of Wes t Gondwanaland and the movement of a major mantle plume (the Tristan Plume) . These events led to the formation of a range of subvolcanic complexes - t he so-called Damaraland Complexes - and to the deposition of flood basalts - the Etendeka Lavas. The Damaraland Complexes include some striking inselb erg Features of great size, including Erongo, Brandberg and Spitzkoppe. The Great Escarpment, which bounds the Central Namib to landward, is of uncert ain age, but it appears to have experienced a substantial degree of erosion by the Late Cretaceous. The feature is rather less well developed and pers istent in the Central Namib than elsewhere in southern Africa. It is probab le that the Namib has been dry for much of the last 130 Mal and there is ev idence for aridity in the early Cretaceous and in the mid-Tertiary.