Tectonic and volcanic activity created the Great Serengeti Rift and the giant Ngorongo crater, which houses an isolated population of species such as wildebeest and lions which normally participate in the greatest land animals migration, but here are prone to excessive incest, especially since Maasai grazing grounds lock out wild relatives. Other lakes with peculiarities house or host such remarkable populations as most of the world's small flamingos.

Namibia's Namib desert is the result of Atlantic winds eroding ancient mountains. Extremely hot and arid, it requires elaborate adaptations from wildlife and rare tribal populations.

The Okavango Delta, in northern Botswana, comprises various wetlands, some (river arms and marshes) deep enough for hippopotamuses to live in, many drying out many months, some barely seasonal waterholes. Many species (like buffalo) and people migrate in and out on the flood rhythm, while only the Bushmen survive all year in the neighboring Kalahari desert.