Botswana
Sand Origin
Deception Valley, Campsite CKDEC-02, Central Kalahari
Random Sand Fact
In Botswana, large diamond deposits were found with the help of sand grains dug up by termites.
Most of the country lies beneath the thick sand of the Kalahari. The diamonds sit in the rock far below, in a type of rock full of tiny red garnets.
Termites dig down through the sand, sometimes tens of metres, and carry grains up to their mounds. If a mound stands above such rock, the garnets come up too.
Geologists sieved sand from the surface and the termite mounds and counted the red grains. Where there were more of them they searched further, and they found some of the world’s richest diamond mines. The money transformed the country.
