Etosha National Park was first established when Namibia was a German colony known as South West Africa. At the time, the park’s original 100,000 km² (38,500 mile²) made it the largest game reserve in the world. Due to political changes since its original establishment, the park is now slightly less than a quarter of its original area, but still remains a very large and significant area in which wildlife is protected. The Etosha Pan dominates the park. The salt pan is roughly 130 km long and as wide as 50 km in places. The hypersaline conditions of the pan limit the species that can inhabit the pan. The salt pan is usually dry, but fills with water briefly in the summer, when it attracts pelicans and flamingos. Perennial springs attract a variety of animals and birds throughout the year, including the endangered Black Rhinoceros and the endemic Black-faced Impala. In the dry season, winds blowing across the salt pan pick up saline dust and carry it across the country and out over the southern Atlantic. This salt enrichment provides minerals to the soil downwind of the pan on which some wildlife depends, though the salinity also creates challenges to farming. Etosha is a first class wildlife destination offering unique species such as the desert adapted springbok, Oryx and Brown Hyena.
