THE DESICCATION OF AFRICA. 



169 



Poort was the continuation of the Loangwe River before the 

 Zambesi cut across it. 



On the Kalahari side we are fortunate in having a com- 

 plete description of the river-system by Livingstone, J. 

 Chapman, Galton Andersson, P. C. Reid, A. Schulz, and by 

 Passarge, in his work on the Kalahari- The Etosha Pan 

 forms practically a drainless area just inside the coastal 

 rampart- From the north the Cunene River drains the high- 

 lands of Angola, and formerly it poured its ample waters mto 

 the Etosha Pan; the vigorous head-stream erosion of the 

 coastal river, however, has cut back through the coastal 

 rampart and has now drained off most of this water. The 

 capture is actually in progress at the present time. Although 

 now when in flood, some of the water may overflow into the 

 Etosha Pan, m ordinary times the drainage from the Angola 

 highlands goes straight to the sea. Above Kinga the Cunene 

 River flows through an extensive plain with practically no 

 fall, and the river lies in a broad, marshy valley, with very 

 low banks. When in flood the river overflows its southern 

 bank, and the flood water finds its way, to the east of Humba 

 and above Kinga, into two large omirimba, the Oware and the 

 Kwamatua, which lead into the Etosha Pan. One large river 

 from the Angola highlands still, however, flows directly to 

 the pan, and in a few years this will be the only source of 

 supply. 



WAL V I S H 8 ^ Y 



'a.noersso,*>s 



VUEY V 



Fig. 8. 



