Geography of South Africa and Lowveld is the southern basin of the Kalahari Desert, which borders Namibia and Botswana at an elevation of 600 meters to 900 meters. The western section of South Africa on the inland side of the Cape Fold Mountains is dominated by the Great Karoo, a semi-desert region that is divided by the Great Escarpment into the Upper Karoo (at an elevation of 1100–1600 m) and the Lower Karoo (at an elevation of 600–800 m). Separated from the Great Karoo by the Swartberg mountain range is the Little Karoo. In the southwest, running parallel to the coastline, the mountains of
Tirari Desert and the Sturt Stony Desert runs aligned with the Birdsville track to the north east. The desert experiences harsh conditions with high temperatures and very low rainfall (mean annual rainfall is below ). The main vehicular access to the desert is via the unpaved Birdsville Track which runs northwards from Marree to Birdsville. The Mungerannie Hotel is the only location between the two towns that provides services. The Tirari Desert region has a number of large cattle stations which are stopping points on the Channel Country aviation mail run. Dulkaninna Station has been run by the same family for 110