European arrival at Lake Ngami and crossing of the Kalahari
Llegada europea al lago Ngami y cruce del Kalahari
- Date
- 1 de agosto de 1849 · confidence high
- Place
- Lake Ngami, North-West, Botswana
- Credited to
- David Livingstone, William Oswell and Mungo Murray
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
An expedition that crossed the edge of the Kalahari and reached Lake Ngami, in the Okavango delta, whose existence was known from local peoples' accounts. It opened for Europeans the route to the Zambezi and the southern interior.
It is a discovery only for Europeans: the Batawana and other peoples knew it and earlier accounts existed. The lake fluctuates in size and has dried up repeatedly.
What it led to
- Livingstone's journeys to the Zambezi and Victoria Falls
- ivory trade and colonisation of Bechuanaland
- mapping of the Okavango-Makgadikgadi system