Namibia's Skeleton Coast Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

The Skeleton Coast begins along the northern coast of Namibia at the Angolan border and ends at the Swakop River, not quite halfway down the coast. It is a common misconception that all of Namibia's coastline is the Skeleton Coast. This is because all of the shoreline is part of the Namib Desert though the southern portion has different characteristics.

Answer: Swakopmund

Swakopmund and the nearby city of Walvis Bay are popular resort destinations in Namibia, especially for those daring enough to explore the Skeleton Coast.

Swakopmund is home to the National Maritime Museum and many golf courses. Walvis Bay is also a destination city but it is much more industrialized than Swakopmund and has more sports arenas. Both cities have a heavily Germanic culture.

Answer: Fog

Cassimbo is a kind of fog caused by the meeting of the cold ocean current and the warm winds from the desert. The cassimbo is a very thick fog that makes it impossible to see. Cassimbo is responsible for the many shipwrecks that are littered up and down the Skeleton Coast. Each year, less than a half inch of rain falls.

Answer: From the whale bones that lie ashore

The whaling industry was once very prosperous off the coast of Namibia. Whale and seal bones would wash ashore, which gave the area its name. In modern times, the wrecks of ships, called skeletons, are a common sight along the Skeleton Coast. The Skeleton Coast was popularized worldwide by author John Henry Marsh in his novel of the same name about a shipwreck.

Answer: Surfing

Skeleton Bay or Donkey's Bay is located in a particularly brutal and challenging part of the Skeleton Coast. The only way there is to hire a local guide to drive you. Skeleton Bay has some of the world's longest waves and is usually not crowded. Any potential surfers must bring all of their own supplies, food and water, the latter of which is very scarce in the Skeleton Coast.

Answer: The interior portion of the Skeleton Coast

While the area of the Skeleton Coast along the shoreline has soft sand and has a tolerable climate in portions, the interior just beyond the shoreline is particularly difficult. The sand is rockier and the cool breezes from the Atlantic Ocean do not reach inland as much so the weather is typically very dry and very hot.

The Portuguese sailors who were lucky enough to land safely called the area the Gates of Hell while the local Bushmen call it "the land God made in anger".

Answer: Cape Fria

Cape Fria is part of Skeleton Coast National Park and is best known for its colony of seals. Cape Fria is so remote that it is only accessible via helicopter. Its remoteness protect the seals from human activity and from hunting in the Golden Age of the whaling industry off Namibia's coast. Its name in English means "cold cape", a reference to its fierce winds.

Answer: False

The clay castles along the Hoarisib River were formed by wind and water erosion of the clay formations. There is some evidence to suggest people once lived in the Skeleton Coast but no flourishing civilization is known to have lived there on a permanent basis. The people who did live there were either nomads passing through or a civilization that could not survive in the harsh conditions and moved elsewhere or died.

Today, there are small clans of Bushmen who go out to the Skeleton Coast, though most people who do so live in nearby towns like Swakopmund or Walvis Bay.

Answer: Warthogs

Warthogs can be found in Namibia but neither the common nor desert varieties can live in the Skeleton Coast. The black rhino can be found in the Skeleton Coast. The region's inhospitableness provides the black rhino with some protection from poachers, although they are still threatened. Hippos live in small number in the coast's marshy areas. Elephants play an important role in the Skeleton Coast. They dig up water wells which provide the other animals with much needed hydration that is very scarce and difficult to find.

Answer: Roar

The sand dunes along the Skeleton Coast are said to roar and some visitors claim they sound like low flying jets. The roaring sound comes from the wind that is trapped between the grains of sand at the bottom of the dune and cannot escape.