In this study the most important soils of the central Namib are discussed after a brief preliminary discussion of the climate. Precipitation consists of rain and fog, resulting in sparse vegetation, and succulent in sheItered places. Grass appears only after sufficent rain has fallen. Keywords: Foggy desert, Metamorphic schists, Marble, Granite, Peneplains, Calcrete, Gypcrete, Inselberge, Cold Benguela Current, Westerly winds, Vegetation, Lichen, Algae, Succulent pIants, Pegmatite dykes, Cretaceous calcrete, Pleistocene, Mica schists, Triassic, Jurassic, Chemical weathering, Mechanical weathering, Fog, precipitation.