第4章 Lesson 4: The Skeleton Coast

Have you ever heard of the Skeleton coast? It sounds like a scary place, but it is really one of the most awesome landscapes on the planet.

The Skeleton Coast is a stretch of coastline in a country called Namibia, located in Southwestern Africa. It is a place where barren dunes of desert sand rise up along the Atlantic Ocean in peaks as high as 500 metres. These dunes are part of the Namib Desert, which takes up most of the area of Namibia. The place seems spooky and desolate, especially when the fog rolls in, which it often does.

The coastline is often shrouded in fog, because a current of cold water —called the Benguela current—passes through the waters of the coast, making the sea breezes cold, too. These cold sea winds are blown towards the land, which is hotter. The air mixes along the coast, producing a thick fog, which is unusual for desert areas.

The frequent fogs are the reason why this stretch of coastline is called the Skeleton Coast. There have been hundreds of shipwrecks in these waters over the years. And there are many stories of shipwrecked sailors washing ashore into the desert, dying of thirst, only to perish in the dunes. If you are there, you will see the remains of many ships that have been washed up on the shore, looking in many ways like the skeletons of old ships.

However, the fog which has brought death to so many sailors over the centuries is what brings life to this unique desert land. Areas of low green desert bushes, fed by wet winds, can be found in the canyons of the area. Animals like the desert elephant, springbok, brown hyena, and the spiral-horned oryx antelope make this desert their home. And at Cape Cross, there are even seal colonies and an assortment of birds including the flamingo, pelican and rare tern.

Although it became a place of doomed sailors and ship remains, this seemingly scary coast is also a land of fascinating wildlife, and a fine example of how even a harsh environment can be home to abundant life.

I. Word List

awesome: amazing, incredible

dunes: hills of sand

desert: an area that is very dry

spooky: scary

harsh: very difficult conditions

abundant: a lot of something

II. Answer the following questions.

1. On which continent is the Skeleton Coast located?

___________________________________________________________.

2. What is an unusual characteristic of the Skeleton Coast?

___________________________________________________________.

3. What kind of winds does the Skeleton Coast have?

___________________________________________________________.

4. What are some animals that live in southwestern Africa?

___________________________________________________________.

5. How did the Skeleton Coast get its name?

___________________________________________________________.

III. Circle the words that describe the Skeleton Coast.

scary sunny foggy unique interesting

rainy snowy dry windy dangerous

IV. Write T (true) or F (false) for each sentence.

___ 1. The Skeleton Coast is in northern Africa.

___ 2. There have been shipwrecks on the Skeleton Coast.

___ 3. There are many kinds of birds on the Skeleton Coast.

___ 4. The Skeleton Coast is beside the Pacific Ocean.

___ 5. No plants grow on the Skeleton Coast.