The highest peak in Namibia is the Konigstein (2,606 m) in the Brandberg mountain range.
The Namib Desert is said to be the world's oldest desert.
The sand dunes in the Namib Desert are among the highest sand dunes in the world.
The Fish River Canyon in Namibia is one of the most spectacular canyons in the world.
The Arnhem Cave, around 4,500 metres long, is Namibia's longest cave. The National Museum of Namibia maintains a record of all the country's caves.
The "Petrified Forest", forty-two kilometres from Khorixas, dates back two hundred million years.
The Hoba Meteorite, nineteen kilometres from Grootfontein, is the world's largest meteorite. It is estimated that the Hoba Meteorite fell on the earth around eighty thousand years ago.
Fossils of dinosaur footprints, between one hundred and fifty and one hundred and eighty-five million years old, have been designated a national monument of Namibia.
Rock paintings in the Brandberg mountain range include the famous "White Lady" in Maack's Cave.
Namibia's largest conservation area is the Namib-Naukluft Park, also one of the largest conservation areas in the world.
The Etosha National Park, designated a game reserve in 1907, is one of Africa's most important wildlife sanctuaries.
The Portuguese were the first Europeans to discover "Namibia". Diego Cao arrived in 1486 and Bartholomew Diaz landed in the country in 1488.
Germany annexed Namibia, then known as South West Africa, towards the end of the nineteenth century.
Uprisings between 1892 and 1905 left many dead and homeless. It is thought that eighty percent of the Herero people were killed.
During the First World War SWA came under the control of South Africa. This control was maintained for many years.
In 1968 South West Africa was renamed Namibia by the United Nations but Namibia did not gain independence until 1990.
In 1994 the South African exclave of Walvis Bay was finally reintegrated into Namibia. (Walvis Bay, Namibia's best harbour, was annexed by Britain in 1878 and later administered by South Africa).
Namibia is a member of the Commonwealth.
In March 2005 President Sam Nujoma, known as the founding father of Namibia, handed over the presidency to Hifikepunye Pohamba after fifteen years in office.