GCSE · Geography · AQA · Spec 8035

Case study of a hot desert

Empty sand, nothing to do? The Kalahari sells diamonds, powers homes with sunshine, feeds cattle and draws safari visitors — and most of them come with a catch.

Geography · Hot desert case study

One activity, three ways of seeing it

Here are eight things happening in the Kalahari, a hot desert in southern Africa. Tick every circle each one belongs to — some belong in more than one, and that's the whole point. Go with your best judgement, then check: each one comes with a note explaining where it goes.

  • A A development opportunity for the Kalahari
  • B Held back by the desert's shortage of water or its remoteness
  • C Threatens the San people's access to their ancestral land
  1. Mining diamonds, copper and uranium
  2. The Kathu Solar Park
  3. Crop farming and livestock ranching
  4. Safari tourism in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve
  5. Tourism jobs for local people, which may include San guides and craft sellers
  6. Building the Trans Kalahari Corridor highway
  7. Building the Kalahari East Water Scheme
  8. Forcing San people off the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002

Geography · Meet the Kalahari

Is a hot desert just empty sand?

The Kalahari is a vast hot desert of almost 900,000 km² in southern Africa, in the Southern Hemisphere. It's landlocked — hundreds of kilometres from the ocean — and stretches across Botswana, South Africa and Namibia, with most of it in Botswana.

Before you read on: which is closest to what you'd expect to find there?
How sure are you?

Mining → development

?

Reason it through

How can diamonds in the ground end up paying for education, healthcare and roads?

Link 1 of 3

First link · your turn

A diamond in the ground earns nobody anything. What has to happen to it first?

2
Locked — reveal the link above first
3
Locked — reveal the link above first

Geography · Extreme temperatures

Scorching days — so how cold are the nights?

On summer days the Kalahari can reach 50°C. How low do you think temperatures can drop at night? Slide to your guess, then lock it in.

Your estimate

20°C

-10°C50°C

Geography · Use the case study

Write it, then check it

Using the Kalahari, explain how the desert's physical challenges limit its development opportunities, and why development can threaten the San people. [6 marks]

0 words · your answer stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

What a hot desert offers, what holds it back, and who pays the price.

What you need to know

  • Where it is: the Kalahari is a hot desert of almost 900,000 km² in southern Africa, landlocked and stretching across Botswana, South Africa and Namibia — mostly Botswana.
  • Opportunities: minerals (diamonds, copper, uranium), solar energy, farming in the wetter areas, and safari tourism.
  • Challenges: extreme temperatures (up to 50°C by day, about 0°C at night), a limited water supply, and inaccessibility.
  • People: the indigenous San have lived in the Kalahari for around 20,000 years, and development threatens their access to ancestral land.

The big picture

The Kalahari is a hot desert in southern Africa. Its development opportunities are minerals, solar energy, farming and tourism; its challenges are extreme temperatures, a limited water supply and inaccessibility. The same developments that bring money can also threaten the indigenous San people by pushing them off their ancestral land.

Key points

1Large areas of the Kalahari get less than 250 mm of rain a year, but wetter parts give it relatively high biodiversity for a hot desert — over 320 species of mammals and birds.
2Mining money reaches people through jobs and taxes, which can be reinvested in education, healthcare and roads. Botswana earned about $7.4 billion from diamond exports in 2022.
3Around 3,000 hours of sunshine a year make solar power an opportunity: the Kathu Solar Park supplies around 179,000 households in South Africa.
4Farmers in the wetter parts adapt with drought-resistant sorghum and millet and irrigation from rivers and underground water stores.
5Safari tourism is a growth industry in Botswana: 13% of its GDP comes from tourism, and it creates jobs for local people.
6Remoteness made the £370 million Trans Kalahari Corridor and the £27 million Kalahari East Water Scheme hard to build.
7San people were relocated after mineral finds in the 1980s and 1990s, forced off the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002 to make way for diamond mines, and are blocked from ancestral land by tourism lodges and farming.

Worked example

Problem

Explain why solar energy is a development opportunity in the Kalahari.

⚠ Watch out

Writing about 'hot deserts' in general. A case-study answer needs Kalahari specifics — a named place, project, figure or people — such as the Kathu Solar Park, the Central Kalahari Game Reserve or the San.

🧠

Memory hook

Four Ds of opportunity — Diamonds, Daylight, Dinner (farming) and Days out (safari). Then ask every D two questions: what does the desert make hard, and who loses out?

✓

Check yourself

Without looking back: pick one Kalahari activity that brings money, is held back by the desert and threatens the San. Give one piece of evidence for each of the three.

Flashcards

(14)
Where is the Kalahari, and how big is it?
Southern Africa (Southern Hemisphere), landlocked, across Botswana, South Africa and Namibia — mostly Botswana. Almost 900,000 km².
What rainfall makes an area a hot desert — and does the whole Kalahari fit?
Less than 250 mm a year. Large areas of the Kalahari are below it, but some parts receive more.
What does the Gochas (Namibia) climate graph show?
A wet season and a dry season with little or no rain; average temperatures of about 28°C in December and January and about 12°C in June.
Why is Kalahari biodiversity relatively high for a hot desert?
Some areas are wetter. It supports over 320 species of mammals and birds, such as lions, meerkats, giraffes and ostriches.
How are the camel thorn tree and devil's claw adapted?
Camel thorn: deep tap roots, thick bark, small leaves. Devil's claw: an ephemeral that lies dormant until rain.
Name three ways the San are skilled at living in the Kalahari.
Any three: store water in ostrich eggs; get moisture from roots and tubers; hunt and use every part of an animal; make food from over 100 plant species; live in small groups so as not to overuse food and water.
Which minerals make the Kalahari a mining opportunity?
Copper, uranium (about 5% of global uranium) and high-value diamonds.
How does mineral wealth become development?
Minerals are sold on international markets → money through jobs and taxes → reinvested in education, healthcare and roads. Botswana: about $7.4 billion from diamond exports in 2022.
How do Kalahari farmers cope with the dry conditions?
They grow drought-resistant crops such as sorghum and millet and irrigate from rivers and large underground water stores. Livestock include sheep, cattle, goats and ostriches.
What does tourism bring to Botswana?
Safari tourism (e.g. the Central Kalahari Game Reserve) is a growth industry: jobs for local people, possibly including San guides and craft sellers, and 13% of Botswana's GDP.
How do extreme temperatures hold back development?
Up to 50°C by day: livestock heat stress, softened road tarmac, a very difficult working environment. About 0°C at night (no cloud cover): frost damage to heat-tolerant crops.
How does the limited water supply hold back development?
Crop and livestock farming are very difficult and there isn't enough water for large-scale tourism. The Kalahari East Water Scheme (1990s, £27 million) was hard to build because of the remote location.
Why is inaccessibility a challenge in the Kalahari?
Few roads, many passable only with four-wheel drive, and wind blows sand across them. Moving materials and workers made the £370 million Trans Kalahari Corridor a severe challenge to build.
How does development threaten the San people?
Relocation after coal, diamond and uranium finds in the 1980s–90s; forced off the Central Kalahari Game Reserve in 2002 for diamond mines; tourism lodges and farmland block ancestral hunting and gathering land.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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