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Kaukausib

river in Namibia

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 3, 2026
Entity authorityQ31862103
Source-derived summary

Kaukausib-River in German called Kaukausib-Mulde is a rivier (dry river) within the Diamond Restricted Area also called Sperrgebiet in the south of Namibia. The Kaukausib-Rivier extends through the Namib from south to north-north-west. It ends in the Namib Desert without reaching the Atlantic, or any other river. At the upper end of the Kaukausib Rivier there is a spring, which carries water throughout the whole year and is a drinking trough for various animals, especially for Oryx and Ostrich. The Kaukausib-spring is located 62 km southeast of Lüderitz and 40 km east of the Atlantic coast on 375 m above sea level (1235 ft).

In early days, on the march from Lüderitzbucht to Aus oxen were watered at the Kaukausib-well. The Germans write: ... und bald darauf war die Wasserstelle Kaukausib erfüllt von Lärm und Staub, von Gestampf und Ochsengebrüll.

In English it means:

... and soon the watering place Kaukausib was filled with noise and dust, with stamping and oxen bellowing.

Editorial summary

“Kaukausib” enters the record as river in Namibia. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Kaukausib, river and Namibia can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA strong orientation record where physical form, institutional use and historical geography need to be read together. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1235—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Kaukausib, river and Namibia.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Kaukausib” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Kaukausib, river and Namibia provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q31862103. Authority coordinates are -26.883, 15.367. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1235.

Critical limits

Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Kaukausib”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Kaukausib primary sources, Kaukausib archive and Kaukausib research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Kaukausib”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Kaukausib” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.