Fairy Circles
Across the Namib Desert, millions of bare circles dot the grassland, each one ringed with taller grass.
What was reported
Along the edge of the Namib Desert, the grassland is covered in bare, round patches, from a couple of metres to more than 30 metres across, each with a ring of taller grass around its edge. Seen from the air, they spread across the landscape in a strangely regular pattern.
Each circle can last for decades. Local stories have explained them as the footprints of gods, and similar circles were found in Western Australia in 2016.
Explanations offered
Scientists disagree. One group says sand termites eat the grass roots at the centre, creating a bare patch that traps water for the ring around it. Another says the grasses arrange themselves this way as they compete for scarce water. Some think both may be at work.
- When
- Ongoing
- Where
- Namib Desert, Namibia
- Witnesses
- Local communities, visitors and scientists
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.