Large animals like elephants, lions, and giraffes live in the harsh, arid Namib Desert. How do these animals survive? The secret is the desert’s geography. Watch this video from the Nat Geo WILD program “Destination Wild.” Then consult the tabs for some critical thinking questions, a list of fast facts to enhance viewing comprehension, links to related materials, and a short glossary of vocabulary used in the video.

Instructional Ideas

You can use National Geography Standard 7.1 to better understand how Earth’s physical systems contribute to the “Secret of Survival” in the Namib Desert.

4th Grade: There are four components of Earth's physical systems (the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere). Therefore, the student is able to identify attributes of Earth's different physical systems, as exemplified by being able to identify different attributes of physical systems in photographs (e.g., sky, clouds, plants, soil, oceans, lakes, mountains).

• Questions 1-2 explore attributes of physical systems in the Namib Desert.

8th Grade: The four components of Earth’s physical systems (the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere) are interdependent. Therefore, the student is able to identify and describe patterns in the environment that result from the interaction of Earth’s physical processes, as exemplified by being able to identify and describe the patterns that result from the connections between climate and vegetation (e.g., examples of patterns of ecosystems and biomes).

• Question 3 explores how climate impacts life in the Namib Desert.

12th Grade: The interactions of Earth's physical systems (the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere) vary across space and time. Therefore, the student is able to explain how the effects of physical processes vary across regions of the world and over time, as exemplified by being able to analyze and explain the relationships between physical processes and the location of land features (e.g., river valleys, canyons, deltas, glaciated lakes and moraines, limestone deposits, caves, alluvial fans, canyons).

• Question 4 explores how Earth’s physical systems have changed the landscape of the Namib Desert over time.