The Löwen and Fish River Canyons: Namibia’s Ancient Wrinkles

If rocks could talk, the ones in southern Namibia would sigh and say: “been there, done that”. The geological bones of the Löwen and Fish River Canyons have been baking under the sun for around 300 million years, storing tales of tectonic drama, fiery magmas and ancient rivers.

These formations belong to the Namaqualand Metamorphic Complex, which, despite sounding like a rock album, happens to be one of the oldest geological foundations in southern Namibia. Once, these rocks formed a mountain range that rose high over the landscape, stitched into the vast supercontinent Rodinia (long before Gondwana) in a slow-motion cosmic game of Tetris.

Then came the breakup — literally. Around 750 million years ago, Rodinia began to tear itself apart. Magma pushed through the fractures, forming bold dolerite dykes that still cut through the desert today. Think of them as the Earth’s scars — proof that even continents have growing pains.

A few hundred million years later, between 350 and 500 million years ago, the crust cracked again, creating a long, north–south trench known as a graben. The ancient Fish River spotted the opportunity and moved right in, beginning the slow process of carving what would become one of Africa’s greatest canyons. When Gondwana eventually split and the African continent lifted skyward (about 120 million years ago), the rivers found new energy — slicing deep into the bedrock and creating gorges: the Fish River Canyon plunging over 550 meters, and the Löwen River Canyon following close behind at about 200 meters.

But these canyons aren’t just hikers’ paradise. They’re time capsules. The sandstone formations scattered across the region are sprinkled with fossils — from Mesosaurus, the small, semi-aquatic reptile who swam through ancient seas, to delicate shell fragments and stromatolites, the layered traces left by some of the first life on Earth. This isn’t just paleo geology; it’s the planet’s autobiography.

And here’s where the rewilding story becomes a long-term balancing act.

Rewilding in such a landscape isn’t about returning it to some imagined past. It’s about recognizing what’s already there — a living continuity between ancient time and today’s desert life. 

Those same rocks that survived eons of tectonic chaos now host plants and creatures uniquely adapted to this harsh, beautiful terrain. The dolerite slopes, with their mineral-rich soils and fractured surfaces, cradle tiny ecosystems — succulents, lichens, and endemic flora that have turned endurance into an art form.

Because here, in southern Namibia, even the stones are wild — and they’ve been rewilding themselves long before we arrived to give it a name.