The Makgadikgadi Pans National Park is a large salt pan in the middle of the dry savanna of northeastern Botswana. It is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is the remains of the formerly Lake Makgadikgadi, which dried up several thousand years ago. Makgadikgadi is technically not a single pan but many pans with grassland in between, the other pans include the Nxai Pan National Park for example. In the Makgadikgadi, presence of prehistoric man made stone tools; some dated as earlier than the era of Homo sapiens, create interest from many visitors. The prominent baobab trees found in the area function as local landmarks, one named after James Chapman, served as an unofficial post office for early explorers.
Very little wildlife can exist here during the harsh dry season of strong hot winds and only salt water, but following a rain the pan becomes an important habitat for migrating animals including wildebeest and one of Africa’s biggest zebra populations, and the large predators that prey on them. The wet season also brings migratory birds such as ducks, geese and Great White Pelicans. The pan is home to the only breeding population of Greater Flamingos in southern Africa.