Sossusvlei is a
salt and
clay pan surrounded by high red dunes, located in the southern part of the
Namib Desert, in the
Namib-Naukluft National Park of
Namibia. The name "Sossusvlei" is often used in an extended meaning to refer to the surrounding area (including other neighbouring
vleis such as
Deadvlei and other high dunes), which is one of the major
visitor attractions of Namibia. The name "Sossusvlei" is of mixed origin and roughly means "dead-end marsh".
Vlei is the
Afrikaans word for "marsh", while "sossus" is
Nama for "no return" or "dead end". Sossusvlei owes this name to the fact that it is an
endorheic drainage basin ephemeral
Tsauchab River.