Surface water is practically non-existent and subterranean water is brackish and hard to find.
Namaqualand hides much of her treasure, which is great mineral wealth , with large copper deposits and rich diamond diggings on a hundred kilometres of its coastline. Gem-stones, gypsum and sillimatite are also mined. And here in this desert, one of the most remarkable wonders of nature occurs. The famous flowers of Namaqualand are of a wide variety, but principally saisies of many colours, red Gazanias, purple Cineraria, orange and black spotted Gortevia are a few of the species. Beyond the granite mountains, the legendary copper mountains of the Nama tribe, the road crosses a great plain.