Whenever we think of a desert, we only think of water in terms of survival in this extremely dry expanse of land. We don’t imagine a desert near a vast body of water like the ocean.

Below, two deserts “neighboring” to the ocean:

Namib Desert
Along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa stretches the extraordinary Namib Desert; a coastal desert where the desert literally embraces the Atlantic Ocean.

Because the desert has been in a state of aridity for around 55 to 80 million years, it is considered one of the oldest deserts in the world. In 2013, the desert was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Namib Desert is not suitable for human habitation. However, a number of living things such as ostriches, antelopes, rodents and birds have successfully adapted to this desert.

The Namib Desert is home to the Namib-Naukluft National Park, dubbed “Africa’s Super Park” by National Geographic. The park is the largest animal park in Africa and the fourth in the world.

The park contains a surprising collection of creatures that manage to survive in the hyper-arid region, including snakes, geckos, hyenas and jackals. Some of the highly specialized desert dwellers include the Welwitschia plant, considered a living fossil, and the fog beetle.

The most important attraction of the park is Sossusvlei, a salt and clay basin surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the Namib Desert.

Sossusvlei is one of the most photographed places in sub-Saharan Africa due to its fascinating landscapes. The area has been used as a setting for a number of music videos and films such as The Cell (2000)

Atacama Desert
The Atacama Desert is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Cordillera.

Due to its high altitude, almost no cloud cover, dry air, and the lack of light pollution and radio interference from heavily populated towns and villages, the Atamaca Desert is one of the best places to the world to make astronomical observations.

The Atacama Desert is often used for Mars Expedition simulations by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration due to its otherworldly qualities.

Some of the other attractions include:

Field in Geyser El Tatio
More than 80 active geysers are present at El Tatio Geyser Field. It is the third largest geyser field in the world.

Atacama Salar
Chile’s largest salt flat, the Salar de Atacama, is just 54 km south of San Pedro de Atacama. Spectacular views from the salar, the third largest in the world, include several large volcanoes and the Andes mountains.

Los Flamencos National Reserve
This magnificent nature reserve includes a number of the most impressive sites of the Atacama Desert, including the Miscanti, Miñiques and Chaxas lagoons and the Salar de Tara and Salar de Aguas Calientes salt pans. The reserve takes its name from the lively pink flamingos that have taken up residence in the lagoons.