World's Oldest Desert

Updated July 24, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

The Question:

What is the world's oldest desert, and in which country is it located?

The Answer:

The Namib Desert in Namibia is considered the world's oldest desert.

It covers more than 102,248 square miles (270,000 square kilometers) of the southwestern edge of the African continent.

It also has the distinction of having the highest sand dunes in the world. Some of them rise to more than 1,300 feet (400 meters).

For more information, see The Greatest Places: Namib Desert and pictures of the Namib Desert.

-The Editors

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