Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari Desert is a large area of desert and bushland in the southern part of Africa, very dry for much of the year, and very few things can survive there. It formed after vast wetlands and flooded areas evaporated thousands of years ago.

Although the southwestern part of the Kalahari is an official desert, the northeastern area receives much more rainfall and, climatically, cannot qualify as a desert.
There are tremendous thunderstorms over the desert, but the moisture seeps into the ground very quickly.
Some plants that can grow produce seeds that can survive until the next year, but the plants themselves often die.
The water that has flowed through the desert in the past created "pans", vast areas of clay or other minerals that have hardened and are almost cement-like.