Limits RegistryPUBLIC RECORD
Limits RegistryThe Namib Desert, along the Atlantic coast of Namibia, is widely considered the oldest desert on Earth, with geological evidence suggesting it has remained continuously arid for at least 55-80 million years, cooled and dried by the cold Benguela ocean current offshore. The exact age estimate varies across studies depending on which sedimentary evidence is used, so it is best treated as an approximate, actively researched figure rather than a single precise number.
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The Namib Desert, along the Atlantic coast of Namibia, is widely considered the oldest desert on Earth, with geological evidence suggesting it has remained continuously arid for at least 55-80 million years, cooled and dried by the cold Benguela ocean current offshore. The exact age estimate varies across studies depending on which sedimentary evidence is used, so it is best treated as an approximate, actively researched figure rather than a single precise number.
The greatest estimated length of time any of Earth's deserts has remained continuously arid, based on geological and paleoclimate evidence.
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Limits Registry. LR-OLDEST-DESERT-ON-EARTH. Oldest desert on Earth. 2026.