The Okavango Delta or Okavango Grassland is a vast inland delta in Botswana formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an elevation of 930–1,000 m (3,050–3,280 ft) [2] in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari Desert.
The Okavango Delta is one of Africa's last great natural sanctuaries, a pristine and rich wilderness home to vast concentrations of wildlife.
One of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Okavango Delta – including Moremi Game Reserve in its centre and Khwai on the eastern fringes – is an enormous oasis home to a wide variety of wildlife, and its tourist value contributes around 13% of Botswana’s GDP.
The river—formerly sometimes called the Okovango—takes its name from the Okavango (Kavango) people of northern Namibia. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, and the first European known to have seen the Okavango, reached its swampy delta in 1849.
The Okavango Delta is one of a very few large inland delta systems without an outlet to the sea, known as an endorheic delta, its waters drain instead into the desert sands of the Kalahari Basin. It is Africa’s third largest alluvial fan and the continent’s largest endorheic delta.