Within the hyper-arid central dune Namib, the dune-free Tsondab Flats, extending 40 km west from Tsondab Vlei, are characterized by terraced topography incised into a conglomerate-capped red sand-stone. The hypothesis is posed that the terraces are fluvial in origin and that they preserve a record of fluvial incision and arid interruption. It is shown that although the first part of the hypothesis may be accepted, subsequent modification by deflation requires caution in the acceptance of the second. Keywords: Namibia, Namib Desert, Tsondab Vlei, Kuiseb River, Kuiseb drainage basin, weathering, geomorphology, loess deposit, sedimentology, aeolian andforms, aeolian deposit.